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It’s the way this has to be.
Ren isn’t like them, he’s cured from their illness. They’ve gone too far, have diminished to no return.They’re killing living, breathing creatures.We do not have a need for a new apex predator. Earth had balance, and now it is skewed.
Ren releases my wrist just as they break free from the trees. Red eyes. Snarling, foaming mouths. Mud covers all three of them, so filthy that they’re nearly camouflaged against the dark bark of the trees. They’re glowing eyes are the only thing that gives them away.
Ren’s soothing voice surrounds me just before I release my Light.
“Be careful.”
And with that, I explode, radiating warmth from my fingertips, eyes, and mouth. I feel the power of my Mother behind me; of my sisters and all living souls bound to this planet. The raving maddened are lifted into the air, held immobile by the dense energy streaming from my core. I make it quick and painless.
Inky blackness jets from their mouths into mine, filling me with a cool wave of cloudlike fullness..
As quickly as it began, it ends.
The three maddened drop to the forest floor, leaves crunching beneath their limp corpses. Their eyes are white, sucked clean of everything that makes them who they are.Who they were.
Ren’s hands probe my back softly, rubbing up my spine. “It’s okay,” he whispers.
I realize I’m shaking, my lower lip trembling. “I know I’m here to do this, but it’s hard, you know?”
His arms wrap around my shoulders, hugging me from behind.
It’s hard bringing fate upon the innocent. Yes, they’ve killed, but they did so while under a sickened spell.
The last of the three to exit the forest was shorter than the other two by three feet. She had stark black hair and cheeks rounded with youth.
For a second, I almost thought she was like Ren, free from the illness plaguing the rest of her kind.
Almost.
I steel myself, taking a deep breath. “Let’s go on an adventure.” I nod my head, reassuring myself. “Maybe we’ll find a new species to catalog.”
Ren’s head presses to the back of my neck. “Finish your breakfast. I’ll take care of this before we go.”
7
Ren
Theaispositionedcross-leggedin front of the flaming fire, eating in silence. My throat burns, urging me to speak, but I don’t have the words to say.
She’s bothered by her nature today.
When I first caught sight of her in the forest, after she had eaten the Novian’s pet and then another maddened, she seemed confident. Brilliantly aware of her place in the world, and comfortable being in the seat of power.
Of course, I had observed from a distance, unable to see the details of her features. Perhaps she felt this same melancholy then, and I just couldn’t see it.
Or maybe her sadness stems from the death of the child.
I haven’t seen many children since arriving here. Even the tainted memories I’ve retained of my half-mad experiences reveal no children amongst the horde of maddened. Most probably perished before ever making it this far, succumbing to the crazed antics of their parents. Many might still be in Azure, having not made it through the opening into this world.
Thea’s emotions run deep. I may not be able to see into her thoughts, but every ounce of her personality bleeds with caring generosity. Seeing the youngling may have hurt something inside of her, especially after the child’s body dropped to the sodden ground like a bag of rubbery roots.
I avert my eyes as I grab the two adults, tossing them over each shoulder. Their noses are seeping black blood, so I’m careful to keep their heads away from my body.
Before leaving my mate, I send one more sure glance in her direction. She’s staring into the fire's flame as she tosses berries into her mouth. Her features are blank, shielding whatever is going on inside her mind.
She’ll be okay later, after I’ve distracted her with every insect in the woods.
