Page 33 of The Void

They must have made a sound because at that moment, the figure jerked around and turned directly towards them, as if they were visible.

Seeing the man’s face, Mia gasped and almost lost her hold on Lucas’s back.

“There!” The dark figure shouted. “In the sky.” He pointed directly at them.

The smoke creatures moved to protect the figure, then raised their long clawed hands and started shooting long boney spikes at them. It was almost as if they were shooting their fingers at them.

“Shit.” Lucas quickly shot them straight up into the night air.

Mia cried out and held on as Lucas flew so fast that she had to close her eyes as the wind hit her face.

She felt something whiz by her head, heard the sound of air whooshing past them. Felt a slight sting in her thigh. Then there was silence.

“We’re out of their reach,” Lucas finally said sometime later.

When she opened her eyes again, they were over the water and the city was directly in front of them.

“Stop,” she said to Lucas. He stilled, hovering almost a hundred yards above the front gates to the city.

“Why in the hell didn’t you tell me my brother was alive?” she barked at Feng.

“What?” Lucas jerked under her.

“Feng!” she screamed. “Why is my brother alive? Why did he just try to kill us?”

“Shit.” Lucas sighed. “Seriously? That was your brother?”

Mia nodded.

“Feng?” she asked loudly, wondering if they were too close to the city.

“I tried to warn you,” Feng replied.

“How is he alive?” Mia asked her. “Do my parents know?”

“No, child. Once the elders knew what he was, it was decided to remove him from your family. Your parents believe that he died here, at a creature’s hand. An accident. That is all they needed to know.”

“Wait, what he was?” Mia shook her head. “What is he?”

“Erebus,” Feng answered after a moment of silence. “Darkness. Shadow. Destruction. Death to this realm and beyond.”

“He’s the one that I…” Mia swallowed the lump in her throat. “The one that I’m supposed to fight?” she asked, feeling slightly sick.

“Yes, child. You are djinn. You are light. Goodness. Life. Savior of this realm,” Feng replied.

Mia felt tears sting her eyes. “I… thought he was dead.”

“It was for the best,” Feng answered. “When the time is right, you must fulfill the prophesy.”

“What prophesy?” she asked.

“Light must destroy darkness,” Feng answered and something told Mia that was the last that she was going to hear from her ancestor.

Mia sagged and tapped Lucas’s shoulder. “Let’s go. I’ll fill you in on what Feng said inside.” She sighed and rested her head on Lucas’s shoulder as he flew them back to the rooftop where they had left from almost an hour earlier. By the time they got there, her tears soaked the shoulder of Lucas’s shirt.

Thankfully, he remained quiet until after they landed. When they were back on the ground, he set her down gently.

“Think you can…” He touched her shoulder and she realized they were still invisible. With a wave of her hand, they returned to normal. She turned away, trying to hide her tears, but Lucas’s arms wrapped around her.