“Abraxas, you can’t possibly mean to…”
Hedidn’t look at me, only atJun. “It’stime.”
Abraxaslooked intoJun’seyes, eyes the perfect mirror ofTori’s, and they held all of her ferocity right now.Abraxasrelaxed, andIthink he took comfort in knowing that they might be the last thing he saw in this life.
Henodded toJun, andItried to reach out to stop this.Itwas madness.BeforeIcould move, a single word fell fromJun’slips, but the entire room shook with it. “DIE.”
Chapter 75
Abraxas
Youburned for me, now it’s my turn to burn for you.
Itold her once thatIwould always find her, andIintended to keep my word.Iwould have rather died than spend a single moment on this earth without her, so that’s just whatIdid.
Ilanded in a river, plunging to my stomach.Thewater was ice cold, andIcould feel frost coating my skin.Thiswas no place for a living soul, andIwouldn’t be living much longer ifIlingered.Thesky above was lit by only stars, as dark and endless as a moonless night.Evenmy vision only allowed me to see a short distance ahead, and allIcould see was the endless expanse of the river that separated life and death.Itried to conjure my flames and felt nothing but the unending cold.
Imade my way with the current.Eventraveling with it, it nearly knocked me off my feet.Fightingour way back against it would be nearly impossible.Mywings were useless here.Theywere soaked in that icy water, frozen and bogged down.Ihad expected this would not be simple, butIhad counted on them.Dragonsweren’t meant to walk; they were meant for the sky.Butpeople weren’t meant to come back from the dead either.
Iwould worry about that later.Somethingsmashed into me, andIlooked down to see the culprit was a body.Ithad wrapped itself around my knees from behind, andIcarefully extracted myself as the river ripped it away.Ihad seen the man’s face but didn’t know him.Iwas sure his soul was one of the many who had fallen in our battle.Enemyor ally, it didn’t matter now.Isaid a small prayer for him as he drifted down the river.
Hehad been lifeless as he drifted with no awareness as the river carried him to the end.Wasthat whatTorihad been like?Wasthis all a farce, and she had already been swept too far for me to follow?No,Iwould not allow it.
Asthe thought plagued me,Ifelt a pull at my heart.Ourbond was still present, if only weakened.NowthatIwas here, it felt stronger.No, she was still here andIwould find her.Ifocused on that golden thread and followed into utter darkness.
BeforeIcould see it,Iheard the river change.Nolonger the forceful but calm flow, it churned.Eddiesof current ripped in erratic patterns, battering me this way and that.Thebottom of the river became slicker as if it, too, was coated in ice.Isunk my claws in to keep myself above the water, which was growing deeper and deeper asItraveled forward.
Painlanced through my wing as a sharp rock hidden just below the surface tore through it.Igingerly pulled the wing back, ice cracking along my skin asIdid, which was just as painful.Theriver was becoming more treacherous, butIhad spent my youth exploring theSeaofSpirits, andIwould not be bested by it.Imay not have had my magic, but it still held me.Ifelt the movement of air over the dark water, sensing the changes in the current around the rocks and obstacles.Thiswas all slowing me down far too much.
Thattug came at my heart again.Itwas no longerforward but to my side.Imade my way towards its source and found her.Shewas strewn across one of the razor-sharp rocks, andIcould see the flesh of her spirit was flayed, even if it did not bleed.Buther hands gripped the rock untilIcould see her nails cutting through the ice.Sheslowly raised her head, her eyes faded and unfocused.
“So, you have finally found me again,Death.Youshall not have me, not yet.”Shetightened her grip on the sharp surface, butIsaw that light return to her eyes, that same burning hatred she had thrown at me so long ago; it focused her.
Ibrought my nose close to her face, and the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes softened. “Abraxas?Isthat you?”Sheloosened her grip, but then she swiped at me with her fingers clenched like claws, grazing my nose. “No, just another of your tricks.Aparticularly cruel one.”Sheslashed at me again.
Littlebird, it’s me.Sheheld her hand aloft, butIsaw the division on her face.
“Itcan’t be.Thatwould mean you are…” she trailed off as her hand slipped on the rock.Iswung my tail around and used it to hold her before she could float away.
Itold you once before,Tori, no force on this earth, or beyond it, could keep me from you.Nowthat she was held to the rock with my tail, she lifted both hands to my snout and ran her fingers over the scales there.
“Ishould have knownIcouldn’t escape you, even in death.”Despitethe cold, imminent danger, and unending darkness, she cracked a smile mischievous enough to denyDeathhimself.
Youremember that next time you pull another stunt like this.Asif the river could hear our hope blossoming, it struck.Thetide underneath us rose, and the rock she clung to was submerged.Iwrapped my tail around her and, with no small effort, lifted her high enough for her to crawl onto my back.Icould hear the ice cracking on both her skin and mine as we moved.
Sheclimbed, sitting just in front of the joints of my wings before she collapsed.Thebond between us faltered.Shehad been fighting for so long;Ididn’t know how much longer she had.Iturned upstream and tried to claw us back to wherever in the hells we needed to go.
Tomy horror, the river kept rising, the water flowing faster and faster.Isunk my claws into the riverbed, but it was useless.Toriclung to my neck asIlost my purchase, and we were swept away.
Islammed into multiple rocks, their surfaces sharper than a newly honed blade.Eachbroke away scales and cut into the flesh below.Itried to keepToriprotected, but the next crash sent her flying.Shereached out and grabbed one of my horns, twisting herself so she landed on my face.
Inthe pitch black,Icould see her face by the golden light that radiated from my eyes.Ithighlighted her features in stark relief.Shelooked deep into my soul, and a sad smile crossed her lips.Shepressed them into the scales of my forehead, and over the din of the river,Iheard her say, “Ilove you.”
Ilove you, little bird.Untilthe void takes us.
Andit would.Icould hear it now.Theriver crashed over the edge as it fell into that place where nothing could escape.Sheheld me tight as we fell.
Itried to spread my wings, and asIdid,Ifelt not just the ice that clung to me but their very existence crackling and crumbling into nothing.Icouldn’t slow us, let alone fly.Thethin flesh became nothing more than dust on the wind.
