Sunrise Gate

Chapter 34

Chapter 34

“No!” Siafi wails, lunging her foggy being through Aaron and I. Her entrance freezes my heart, sending chills pulsing through my body to its beat, the force of her presence knocking Aaron and I down. I look to her wild-eyed, confused by her sudden outburst and what she had done, but her maniacal laughter says it all. I stare over at Aaron’s slumped over body and see the hand with the pendant is empty, the necklace swept from him by Siafi when she passed through us. Now, the red inside of it glows deeper, the dark aura around it stronger.

“Yes!” Siafi shouts, “Yes! I have done it! The time has come!” Her body archs backwards and lifts slightly from the ground as the ashen clouds part, the lighting leaping frantically now across the sky. A ray of yellow shimmering light shines down from the parting and onto her form, leaving her vulnerable to the Heavens and forcing the fog around her to slowly flake and peel away, floating into the wind and swirling around her.

I look behind me to see the fighting raves on, but only with the Sabres. All around, Guardian or Separatists, Humans lower their weapons and gawk at the chance they can get, amazed by the being in front of them all. The Sabres continue to fight, however, unphased by this all as if they expected it for the longest of times now. A bloodied man dressed in rags and sheets of metal strapped to his body to be some makeshift armor runs from somewhere in the crowd, the Separatist rushing Siafi in some Heroic feat to stop her. As he approaches the body the swirling flakes collide with him as if the man had run into a solid barricade, red lighting sparking from the air and launching the man backwards. His body lies on the ground twitching, his clothes charred and a hole gouged in the metal sheet on his chest. She’s made an impenetrable barrier.

I look to Demi, the mists over her body lifting away and joining the barrier forming around Siafi, a thick black brume churning around her. Demi’s body lays still, no sign of life within it and my heart skips a beat. I run to her, falling to my knees and I try to shake her awake, “Demi… Demi, get up!” Nothing. I lift her wrist searching for a pulse, closing my eyes and focusing solely on her arm. She’s dead.

“Demi!” I turn around at the sound of a hulking Nord and I see Athair rampaging through the crowd, throwing aside Sabres and Humans as if they were pillows. Athair… he’s alive. I lift myself away from Demi as the Nord comes closer and he falls over her body. He holds her, “Demi, Demi are you okay?” He waits for a response but gets nothing and takes her by the shoulder, gently shaking her. “Demi? Please, Spirits! Demi, wake yourself!” She doesn’t move and I watch as the life drains from his face, his expression growing pale and lost. He looks down at her hand and carefully scoops it from the ground in his far larger palm, holding it as if a delicate flower and he lifts it, letting it fall limp. He lowers his head and I back away, watching as Athair’s back jerks and I realize he’s crying.

I look away, my stomach twisting from the sorrowful sight. I look over the field with nothing else to gaze at and I watch as darkness settles in, the area illuminated by the ray cast down upon Siafi. I look closer to her and see her ankles begin to appear, two Human feet liberated of the fog. Humans have returned to combat, forced to fight now due to the Sabres’ relentless drive. I scan the crowd and notice that this battle is no longer about Guardian and Separatist and Sabres but about Humans surviving, as I see Guardians and Separatists helping one another and chaining their attacks back to back, blocking blows for one another, and assisting any and all they can. It appears Siafi’s presence has done more than drive a wedge in Ebonhawke. It has only pulled them closer together.

Athair pulls Demi close and hugs her tightly around the neck, tears falling from his eyes and onto her skin. “Why?” he says quietly, “Why did you have to go?” He sobs. I look over to Aaron’s corpse, a similar feeling daunting me but I look away, unable to deal with that now. Athair cries, his voice hiccuping with the tears, “I told myself when I met you... that nothing would hurt you... nothing… and when they did, I threw myself in the way. I held you with every last hope I had... and took every blow they delivered. The cuts bled and stung... and I could feel myself growing faint... but I never let go.” He clenches his eyes shut, “I’ll never let go.”