Bereft: Demise

8 | Of Dark Creatures and Darker Dreams

In the distance, Darius stood with his back to us. I knew it was the Sin. I could recognize the breadth of his shoulders and the jaded set of his posture anywhere. I tried to call him, but my molars were stuck together as if glued.

"Your kind has always been arrogant," the titan hissed, the tips of his nails pressing into my skin. His amusement was replaced by harsh exasperation. "What do you possibly think you can do for him?"

My lungs burned with the effort to scream, to beg Darius to turn and see me. He remained where he was, a monochromatic statue lost in the wasteland. The water at his knees rippled and parted, allowing small, marbled hands to emerge from the mire. They clawed at his legs, rising higher.

My heart raced.

"What can you do?" the monster mocked.

My knees trembled and my throat burned.

His nails pressed harder and drew blood on my cheek.

"What can you possibly do?"

"Kill!" goaded the darkness at our feet. "Kill! Kill and maim and rent and tear!"

"Stop it," I choked, feeling heat creep into my cheeks and eyes. "Stop it!"

"I asked you a question, girl."

"Kill! Foolish girl! Silly girl!"

The tiny dead hands grabbed the hem of Darius's jacket, trying to drag him under. The Sin stumbled, unbalanced by the horrible things.

My heart stopped.

I wouldn't let Darius fall. I wouldn't.

"He's coming! The Dream-Eater! The mad King! The Nightmare! He's coming!"

One of the hands gripped Darius's collar. He still didn't turn.

"I asked; what are you going to do to save him...shadeborn?"

I exhaled.

Something snapped, and suddenly I was running. My lungs screamed for air I could not steal from this terrible place and my legs shivered with the effort to cross the marsh. The monster disappeared in a rush of beating wings as something...darker neared. Something unseen. Something...evil.

"Darius!" I shouted. I reached for the Sin of Pride. I was almost there. I could almost touch him. I could do it. I could save him—!

The Sin turned to see me. I stumbled to a halt.

His eyes were blue.

I sat up with a garbled yell, sucking in a gasping breath as I suddenly broke from the nightmare's hold.

"Darius!" I yelped as I launched myself from the bed. The sheet got tangled about my legs, and as I bounded through the door, I landed in a heap just outside the bedroom. Panting, I shoved aside my tangled hair so I could see.

There was no sign of Darius in the parlor. The candles had been reduced to bubbly globules on the mantle, the hardened wax dripping along the façade to the hearth below. The formless light of dawn waited at the windowsill, highlighting the dingy side of the armchair and a swathe of dusty floorboards—but Darius was not here.