2.6
Updated: Sep 17, 2023
Content warnings: descriptions of torture, mentions of syringes, bodysharing (detail below; skip if you prefer surprises)
A character reflects on being tortured via syringes, having arteries cut open, waterboarding, and electric chairs. All are mentioned; none are described.
Two characters are depicted sharing a body. It is implied that this is by choice.
~.~
As soon as it got dark, Kai cleared away a small circle of sand with a gust of wind, exposing the rocky terrain underneath so the group could make camp. Joshua and Peter went to sleep, and the two immortals took first watch—not that Kai had the intention of waking Joshua and Peter for second watch. The mortals needed to save their energy, and they weren’t used to fighting shadow beasts, anyway.
Kai and Jinal split up to cover more ground, with Jinal taking the north side of the clearing and Kai taking the south. Kai couldn’t see what Jinal was doing, but he could sense almost every thought and emotion rolling through her head, just as she could sense all of his. Kai was always connected to Jinal like this—even in prison, the two had maintained this bond. It was just as much a reminder to Kai that Jinal was still alive as vice versa.
Kai stood up, the wind ruffling his chin-length hair. Joshua’s words kept playing back in his mind as he surveyed the horizon for any signs of shadow beasts.
“Sorry” stopped being enough the moment you involved us.
Joshua was right, of course—Kai couldn’t claim to be sorry, not after everything the Ennead had done. Still…
A pack of shark-shaped shadow beasts emerged from the sand a few feet away. Kai snapped his fingers, and a translucent dome of green light formed over Joshua and Peter, shielding them.
He was sorry.
As the shadow beasts converged on Kai, he closed his eyes and focused on his feelings of guilt and frustration. Images flashed through his mind—images of bleak prison walls, of whips and chains, of syringes, of knives running across major arteries, of electric chairs and waterboarding and drowning and—
For a brief second, Kai couldn’t breathe.
As the panic and pain of the last fifty years welled up inside of Kai, his forest green flames spiraled out of control around him, rushing towards the shadow beasts with vigor. Kai kept the emotions simmering under the surface as he let his aura consume the shadow beasts whole.
Another pack of shadow beasts burst out of the sand, but Kai was in attack mode, now, and with three well-placed bursts of green light, he eliminated the pack in seconds.
And then another pack appeared, and another.
Kai grinned, his eyes glowing a dangerous forest green as he propelled himself upwards with a blast of air. So what if he had an injured arm and leg? For the first time in years, he had someone to protect.
~.~
Jinal was pissed. For hundreds of years, she and Yaran had abided by a silent agreement: don’t bring mortals to Dimension X. This hellscape was specifically designed to torture immortal bodies and souls, after all. Today, Max had broken that agreement, and Jinal couldn’t help but feel responsible for bringing mortals into the situation in the first place.
She was snapped out of her thoughts by the roar of a nearby shadow beast. Jinal was too angry to fight it properly. Instead, she let her aura do the work. Anger filled her out, fueling the tendrils of sky blue energy that shot out from her form. Jinal glared at the nearest shadow beast and it burst into a flurry of shadow and sky blue flame.
It’s been a while since you’ve killed something with just a look, the soul splinter said wryly.
Yes, Jinal agreed. It’s been a while since I’ve been mad enough to try.
~.~
Mateeeen this is so boring, Silpa whined. Mateen raised an eyebrow but continued to watch the pack of shadow beasts lurking on the horizon.
Would you rather I attract their attention, thus putting both Morgan and Ilia in danger? Mateen shot back. Silpa wasn’t actually there—Mateen was temporarily hosting her soul until she could regenerate a body—but Mateen swore he could see her pout in his mind’s eye. He sighed.
Okay, fine, Mateen said, bringing red and black flames to his fingertips. Which shadow beast do you think will win? He gestured towards the horizon, where the pack of four beasts was growing steadily closer.
Ummm, the one on the far left, Silpa decided. Yeah! But, uh, what are you…? She trailed off as Mateen closed his left hand into a fist. Red and black flames enveloped the shadow beast on the left, and tendrils of shadow extended from Mateen’s fist.
Kill, Mateen commanded, his voice calm. The shadow beast lunged at its comrades.
Oh, Silpa said softly. I forgot you could do that. Mateen let out a bitter chuckle.
If only I could forget, he murmured. He watched his chosen shadow beast rip the others to pieces with an intense bloodlust. Then, with a wave of his hand, he disintegrated the beast he’d been controlling. Behind him, Minerva’s flames lit up the night sky.
~.~
Ridwan felt like they’d been hit by a truck. Getting stabbed in the neck was bad enough, but letting that much power out, and then standing up and walking after that had left Ridwan thoroughly drained.
I can sub in if you want, Felix offered. You’ve been steering the body this whole time. I feel bad. Ridwan jumped to the side, narrowly avoiding a shadow beast’s claws.
No need for that, Ridwan said coolly. There was a flash of indigo in their eyes, and the three shadow beasts in front of them disintegrated from the inside out. I’ll live for tonight.
That wasn’t what I was worried about, Felix grumbled. Ridwan shrugged and ducked under a fireball. They could almost feel another streak of white appear in their hair as they closed in on a shadow beast, using an illusion to capture the beast’s attention, then pierced the beast’s heart with a spear of indigo light.
Just as they vanquished the last of the shadow beasts, a swarm of shadow bats appeared in the sky. Ridwan sighed. It was starting to get harder to pull air into their lungs, and their eyes felt heavy, not to mention the phantom pain from the healed neck wound. But…
Ridwan looked back at the small camp they’d set up—at Karyme, Dani, and Juli resting fitfully on the rocks.
Sleep, Felix, Ridwan insisted, summoning another spear of indigo light in their hands. Their hands fit smoothly around the lance. I’ll let you take watch tomorrow night.
Comments