The Thanaton Syndrome

Chapter Forty Six

A searing pain flashed through Seth's head and he screamed, dropping to his knees. The vial rolled across the floor. The pain vanished as soon as it had come, but when he looked up, he found himself face to face with a red-eyed Asher Pemwhor. His eyes were no longer only red, though, but glowing.

Seth jerked away, fear spiking his heart.

Jeremiah lurched forward to knock him out again, but King Morphew whipped his arm, sending the boy crashing across the room.

Next thing Seth knew, those red eyes dug into his, a gloved hand clenching his throat. When the King spoke, his voice was no longer that of Seth's father, or even the shadowy voice he'd had with the helmet on. It was another, somewhat nasally, slimy voice—one which made Seth want to curl up and cry.

"You, young outlander, have proved more brave and resourceful than I originally thought. You escaped my alpha wolf, and even killed him."

Seth gasped for air, attempting to kick the King away with little luck.

The King continued. "You escaped the Prince Spencer—twice."

The grip on his neck didn't loosen. Tears stung Seth's eyes for the tenth time that day. Would he die like this? At the hands of his own father?

"My good servant, Reash Morphew, is faltering and I expect you will escape him as well."

"Who..." Seth struggled to get the words out. "Who...are...you?"

The King smiled. "One who you will not escape."

A deafening crash hit Seth's ears. Something hard smashed into his jaw, and heat seared across his face. The pressure on his neck disappeared. He fell to the floor, and a warm light touched his body. Jeremiah's triumphant cry filled the air, and a second later, Seth's eyes widened as a fiery roar crashed through his ears.

Shaking, bleeding, and amazed, Seth lifted his face and quailed under the presence of the massive dragon. Cement and ruin surrounded him, and the creature stood valiantly in the light of the rising sun far above.

The vial with the Snow Flower juice jumped to Seth's mind, and he spun around to look for it. The pedestals of the Snow Flowers had been overturned and lay among the rubble, but the glass encasings firmly held them in. The vial shouldn't have broken either, if the Fae Children's spells held true.

Seth spotted it, squeezed beneath a rock. He scrambled to snatch it, his muscles groaning in pain as he did so.

"Seth!" Jeremiah had climbed on the dragon's back by now. "Hurry! I don't know where he went! We have to go!"

Seth grabbed the vial and spun around, hobbling as fast as he could toward the dragon. Jeremiah sat atop the creature's massive shoulder, urging him on.

A struggling figure on the ground brought him to a halt. His dad lay on the ground, pushing away a boulder.

"Seth! Don't you do it! We have to get out of here!" Jeremiah's screams filled his ears, but he hardly heard them. The eyes weren't glowing anymore.

He stumbled forward, putting the vial in his pocket and raising his hands in a peaceful gesture. "Hey...Dad..."

The man looked up. The eyes were not the shade of brown Seth remembered, but they were not glowing, leading Seth to assume he was dealing with Reash, not his controller as just seconds before.

"Listen, Dad..." He trembled as he took another step toward his father, Jeremiah still screaming. "C-come home. You don't belong here. You belong with me, and Rachel and Lydia, and...Mom. Please, come home."