My mind blipped when over twenty of my allies appeared in the skyline. They flew through the clouds, their golden robes somehow acting as wings as they arrowed down upon the battlefield. They were at one with the wind and as majestic as the berries.
Landing with ease, they sprinted across the ground, never missing a beat. Their robes appeared liquid as the material settled in place, the light radiating from their skin shimmering through the fabric. The only weapons they brandished were swords. But then, they didn’t need anything else. As they swung, the blades caught fire.
I struggled not to stare. One day, I would learn how to create a fire-sword, and I couldn’t wait.
Feeders converged upon them en masse, even leaving behind fallen CURED soldiers in favor of attacking the glowers. Like flies drawn to light.
CURED’s forces focused on the glowers too. Gunshots exploded through the night.
The glowers ducked and dodged, expertly swinging those flaming swords.
Lolli fought her way through the throng, hacking at feeders left and right, aiming for the glowers. I pumped my arms faster, coming up behind her. When she reached the front lines, she lifted her gun.
Determined, I bumped her shoulder with my own. She stumbled as she squeezed the trigger, the green bullet grazing a glower’s side. Phew! Not a kill shot.
Before I could interrupt, Lolli fired off another round. This one the glower avoided on his own, jumping out of the way. But only a second later, he went statue still, as if frozen in place. Because of the bullet?
Feeders rushed to him, eager to dine, but other glowers served as shields. The remaining glowers attacked the soldiers nearest the berries. Or tried to. They slammed into an invisible barrier and bounced back, toppling to the ground and writhing.
Perplexed and concerned, I cut down a feeder and followed Lolli toward another glower. Grunts and groans provided a chorus for more rounds of gunfire. Something exploded in the distance, a waft of thicker smoke sweeping over the terrain.
In the ensuing pandemonium, I spotted Archduke Heta. He wielded a spear with incredible speed, unrelenting elegance, and zero mercy. Feeders fell around him in piles. A trainee trailed him, finishing off those he injured.
There was Roman and High Prince Summit, moving in sync as if they’d been partners for years. Both men grinned, gleeful as they slayed their enemy.
My stomach and heart traded places when I spotted Cyrus. There he was, living poetry as he sliced through feeders with lethal grace. He was a Grim Reaper without equal ... until Miller got in his way. Cyrus jumped to avoid a collision and rammed into a feeder, who swiped its claws across his throat.
“No!” Forgetting everything else, I sprinted over.
A hard weight slammed into me from behind, shoving me down. Air abandoned my lungs in a rush, my goggles flew off my face, and I lost my grip on a sword.
Too-bright light blinded me. A high-pitched ring filled my ears, drowning out all other noise.
The feeder who’d tackled me didn’t suffer from any of the same problems. She clawed at my back. Searing agony overwhelmed me, but I twisted. As I held her off with one hand, I unsheathed a dagger with the other. Though my world spun, I stab, stab, stabbed until she went limp. Cold fluid wet my hand.
Huffing and puffing, I pushed the motionless body off and scrambled to my feet. A mistake. I tripped over a severed limb and fell again, crashing into a pool of blood. Wanting to vomit, I lumbered into an upright position and blinked.
The too-bright light faded at last. I expected the darkness to return. Instead, I saw colors.
No, I saw everything.
My breath caught. I did. I saw the world around me with perfect clarity. Miles of dirt, littered with both fallen and standing statues. Winding roads made of crumbling gold bricks. The mass of feeders, with heads full of slithering worms. The glowers fighting them off. The CURED soldiers who now focused solely on felling the glowers. The field of berries. The invisible but shimmering wall the glowers hadn’t yet breached. Carnival rides in the distance one way, a massive crystal castle in the other—the home of Cyrus’s grandfather, as well as Astan, the true leader of CURED. I inwardly cringed. The same shadows I’d noticed at Fort Bala slithered around its steepled roof.
I didn’t understand this. How ... why ... Domino appeared a few feet away from me, there but not there, a vein bulging in his forehead as he seemed to shout with all his might.
The ring in my ears dulled at last, new sounds hitting my awareness. All the grunts, groans, and shrill screams. Every pop of gunfire. Laughter from Mallow, who led Merlot through the fray while spraying bullets with his automatic assault rifle.
Domino’s furious voice rose above the noise. “You were told. Do not leave Lolli. You were told,” he repeated, practically spitting fire.
Cringing, I covered my ears. As panting breaths sawed between my lips, I scanned the battlefield. Cyrus, Cyrus, where was Cyrus?I’d already messed up and disobeyed the librarian’s command. Now, I wanted only to find the future king and make sure he was okay.
Felix and Winslet worked together against a glower—Ember! They brawled with Ember. As she swung her flaming sword, Felix spun behind a feeder, using the infected one as a shield. Ember’s fiery weapon cut through him, and his knees buckled. The high prince seized his opportunity, shoving the slain one into her, knocking her down. He readied to deliver an ending strike.
Nearby, Merlot miscalculated a blow and paid the ultimate price, quickly taken down by three feeders. Mallow didn’t notice, but Felix did. With a scowl, he left the fallen Ember behind in favor of rushing to the trainee, but he was too late. The maddened had already ripped out many of her vital organs.
No, no, no. I climbed to my feet, ready to fly into action. To do something. Anything. But. My neck. My face. The burn of my injuries contrasted with the ice forming in my veins. My limbs trembled, growing heavier.
Felix returned to battle, but Ember was long gone. He took out his annoyance on a different glower. A man not quite as skilled but faster. Lolli fired a green bullet at the guy and missed.
