Clear Skies

Chapter 22: Breaking the Snare

I took a little journey to the unknown,
and I come back changed – I can feel it in my bones.
I fucked with the forces that our eyes can't see;
now the darkness got a hold on me.

(Meet Me in the Woods - Lord Huron)

Riding through the wasteland kicked up black dust behind us. I kept my arms around my partner and watched the dark cloud in our wake. I murmured, "I wish we could stop and talk. There are so many things I wanted to tell you about. Oh! I know. I remembered something about myself!"

His muscles tensed. His question was neither immediate nor excited. "What was it?"

"Um. It- my last name. I can officially introduce myself. I'm Rain Orichalcum."

The whistle he loosed was shriller than the passing wind. "Orichalcum! Fancy. The princess title fits you more 'n' more. But. How come you sound so down when you introduce yourself? You not a fan of the name?"

"It's not that," I whispered. "I guess I thought you'd be more interested in me remembering something."

"Then I must not've delivered it right. Lemme try the whistle again-"

"You acted weird when I first mentioned remembering and now you're over the top." My lips pursed. The runner passed beneath an archway. Weathered and rusted steel once held a grandiose sign inviting excited families into the amusement park's gleeful grounds.

Most of the attractions had fallen. Those that remained standing were inhabited by the Zero Reverse's survivors: cockroaches. Termites. Vermin like me.

"It doesn't seem like you're being honest."

The tension returned to his limbs. "I'm sorry. I really am. There's- there is one last thing I haven't told you. It happened a long time ago. It's something you should know but you don't, and I've never understood why. Rain, you-"

"Jack!"

He leaned back. "Jack?"

The crimson spark accelerated my heartbeat. I pointed to the distant sky. The Hummingbird glyph scorched the clouds, scattered into cinders, and disappeared. I hoped his duel ended the way mine did; I hoped Carly found the light.

The Crimson Dragon's growl was gentle in my mind. Do not fear. Jack Atlas was victorious in his duel despite the dark god's control over the girl's will.

Control? The Earthbound Immortals can control the Dark Signers?

Indeed. They choose fallen humans because that state allows the dark god the option to control the husks. It is a tactic only resorted to if the Dark Signer attempts to give up.

Does that mean Kalin-

The Dragon grunted. No. When a dark god takes full control, you will know. He did not fold. He merely believed in your ability to win.

I wrapped my arms tighter around him. Kalin glanced back at me then at the sky. "That's what you meant. The new girl's duel is over. If you're worried about Jack, don't be. There's no way that chick Carly could keep it up."

"How do you know-"

Kalin floored the brakes. We stopped before the flames of Misty's dark sign, the Lizard. He said, "End of the line. We'll have to find another way around."