“A little,” I admit, snuggling deeper into his side. “You’re nice and warm.”
“Take all of the warmth you need, lovely,” Nyx says, wrapping his wing tighter around me and Rhune. “Take all of it and then some.”
I nod, struggling to keep my eyes open now that I’m not actively freezing to death. Then again, doesn’t hypothermia make you sleepy?Still, a nap sounds so good…
As I drift off, I have a strange dream about Rhune and Nyx, and I don’t know what to make of it.
“What do you think it means?” Rhune asks.
“I don’t know… it’s troubling. The wyrms haven’t come to the surface since…”
“Since this world was created.”
“Yes,” Nyx whispers. “That’s what bothers me.”
Rhune’s body trembles slightly. “Do you think it has something to do with…her? All of this strange stuff only started happening when I brought her here…”
“Maybe… but I think that’s just a coincidence. She’s just a human, after all.”
Rhune whines. “But, we were able to bond. She can’t be a human.”
“I don’t know what she is if she’s not human. I haven’t seen a single sign that she possesses even amorsel of demonblood.”
“Then… Whatisshe?”
“I’m afraid to say, Rhune. I really am.”
As the last syllable falls from his lips, I can’t hold on any longer. I slip into nothingness.
23
The Other
The Other standswith its back to the raging storm, shoulders back and head raised high toward the canopy of welwigs. The Other does not like this vessel. It is stubborn, and will not let The Other take over like it wants to. Like itneedsto.
It glances down at the object clutched in the vessel’s clawed hands, wonderingwhyhe wanted to hold on to it so badly. From memory, it looks to be a finely carved hair comb, made from the dark ice-rock in the deeper crust of The Far Place. Either way, it is useless.
It tries to throw the comb to the ground, but instead, a shudder runs through The Other’s body as the soul of the vessel rages against its constraints, trying to push it out.
It will never allow that to happen.
The ground shudders violently beneath The Other’s feet, reminding it of the rapid destabilization of this realm. If nothing is done, and soon, it will all fall apart. It will be consumed by the wild energy of the universe, never to resurface again.
Rage presses to the surface of The Other’s skin as it remembers the catastrophic failure that occurred when it tried to restore The Gray King. Instead of one whole creature,four pieces were brought back from the brink. Four unholy abominations that live because of The Other’s failure. Four insignificant beings gifted with the curse to destroy the entire realm.
It could easily fix this problem, if only it was not locked in a prison of its own making. Because of a simple miscalculation, The Other is unable to do the one thing it needs to preserve this world.
The vessel will not allow it to do what needs to be done. Even now, he fights against it, scratching and tearing at the restraints, desperate to be free of its control. He wants The Other to spare her, to let her live.
But the serafyn belongs to The Other. She is its to consume. To feast upon. To use. To restore.
But first, it must find a way to control this vessel.
The Other works to tighten its hold on its host, forcing its roots deeper into his psyche, encouraging the evil to sprout and grow until it slowly suffocates his mind.
Soon. Very soon, the balance will be restored. Just… stop fighting. It will all be better if you simplygive up.
“Cin?”
