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Charles lowers his head and stands in front of his friend with his shoulders hunched like a person who’s about to lose everything. He looks totally desperate and knows that he’s basically finished. The only life he knows is over.
“I didn’t want that. I… I was just so angry. I know I didn’t have the right to make that call. It’s not a hunter’s place to summarily execute a goddess.”
“Especially since you only did it to cover up your mess,” says Mr. Brian. “That’ll be your downfall.”
Charles shakes his head and says in a tremulous voice, “I’m sorry, I really am. Things got out of control. Frida understands that, and she’s going to help me. She still cares about me despite everything. She won’t let me down.” He looks imploringly at his friend. “Please, I know it’s asking a lot, but we’re friends. So if you could do me this favor… no one will ever find out, I promise. And I’ll be forever in your debt.”
Mr. Brian waits for a moment and seems to be considering Charles’ words, then he smiles and puts his arm around his friend’s shoulder.
“Actually, there is something you can help me with. Something I’ve been planning for a long time. Maybe this way that you can partly make up for what you’ve done.”
His voice sounds friendly, but his expression is that of a snake about to attack an unwary victim.
Charles is not totally unwary – the fear is written all over his face. But his hands are tied. He knows he’s about to sell his soul, and he has no choice. He slowly nods and allows his friend to lead him away.
The scene blurs again, and I’m still trying to understand what I’ve just seen when my consciousness returns to the Odyss.
Kate is still trying to pull Mr. Brian off me, and he’s still grasping my arm. I stare into his face, stunned, and he seems to correctly interpret the horror in my eyes.
“You saw something!” It’s not a question; it’s an observation. Fear flashes across his face. But what is it that we’re not supposed to know?
“I’ll kill you both,” he screams with maniacal resolve. He lets go of me abruptly, flings his arms in the air, and I briefly feel a cold tingling sensation. Then the blue light appears again, coming from Mr. Brian’s spirit. It happens so fast that I have no time to call to Yoru. I’m dragged into those cold depths and flung around until I have no idea where I am. It’s a horrible feeling. I need air, and I don’t know which way to swim. Which way is up? Which way is down? I can’t maintain my connection to Yoru, and I transform back.
I slam hard against a wall. Or is it the ground? I don’t know. I’m flipped around again and feel myself bump into something. My skin splits. Then another blow, this time straight to the head, making me see stars. My lungs are screaming for air, close to bursting. And then I’m finally grabbed by something, that pulls me in one direction. I feel something soft and see patches of rusty brown. Yoru, I realize. Then I burst out of the cold gloom and can finally breathe again.
The deluge vanishes, and I lie motionless on the ground for a moment. I feel dizzy and sick, and I think I might throw up. My whole body is racked with pain, and I’m gradually losing consciousness. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Kate lying on the ground a few yards away. She’s not moving, and I’m gripped by a chilling fear: Is she still alive?
But I can’t hold on to that thought. It disappears along with the scene in front of my eyes. It grows dark all around me, although I try as hard as I can to fight it.
And then I hear a deep growl. It’s terrifying and awakens a dim memory in me, giving me goosebumps despite my utter exhaustion. A dark figure emerges out of the gloom of the Odyss. Long scrawny arms, a body covered in sinewy black skin. Vacant red eyes. One of the fallen!
It shouldn’t surprise me. We’ve been in this place far too long. I knew that the fallen would pick up our scent sooner or later.
The creature drops down on all fours, growls again, and then dashes away, disappearing from view. I try to turn toward it, but there’s still this dull droning in my head. I feel dizzy again, but I try to fight it. I need to stand up and leave this place immediately with Kate. Otherwise, we’ll die right here and now.
I hear the sounds of a fight behind me and see lights whizzing around. Drops of water fall on me, and the hexes become more frantic. I hear screams so hideous that I’m sure they’ll stay with me forever.
I push myself up onto my hands and knees and feel the sweat running down my back, but I manage to turn myself enough to look behind me. The horror that I see before me is indescribable.
The monster is pinning Mr. Brian’s spirit to the ground with its claws. The bird’s wings are unnaturally twisted, and it keeps twitching, as if it’s fighting for its life with the last of its strength. Its movements look so helpless than I can hardly bring myself to watch. Without hesitating, the fallen beast opens its mouth and sinks its sharp teeth into the bird’s flesh. I hear a crack that makes my blood run cold. Then the creature raises its head and looks at Mr. Brian, who’s staring with horror at his spirit. He suddenly seems to realize what’s happened. He staggers back, whimpering, and resumes his normal form. Without his key spirit, he’s lost his magic. He’s a defenseless human. And he knows it.
Mr. Brian runs off, but the creature instantly gives chase. Like a wild animal, it pounces on him and knocks him to the ground. I hear screams, see blood, and close my eyes. I silently pray that I’ll get to Kate in time for us to disappear before the creature turns on us.
At first, I crawl forward on my hands and knees, then I force myself onto my feet and manage a few dragging steps. Kate’s still lying on the ground, not moving. Gray is beside her, nudging her while at the same time keeping an eye on his surroundings, ready to protect his master with his life.
I’ve almost reached her when I notice something. The sounds… they’ve… stopped.
At that terrifying realization, I turn around. Mr. Brian is lying a short distance away, motionless and brutally disfigured. And the fallen creature… is no longer with him.
I look around me in a panic, peering into every dark corner. And then I sense it. Yoru tenses, his heart rate increases, and adrenaline pumps through his little body. Then he gives a low growl, all of his attention focused in one direction. I follow his gaze and see the creature slowly approaching us. Its icy stare is fixed on me as it moves forward one step at a time. All I can hear is my own rasping breath and the menacing growl in the creature’s throat.
I know I have to do something. Right now. I send odeon to Yoru as fast as I can, but the creature seems to notice. It bounds toward me in one huge leap, knocks me to the ground, and growls loudly. Its lips curl back, and I smell its foul breath. My heart is threatening to burst, and my body is flooded with adrenaline. I call silently to Yoru and command him to attack. With every ounce of his strength.
The creature pins me down with its scrawny arms, holding me in its icy grip, and bends down toward me. It bares its teeth again, and I see its dark gums, its furrowed face, and those horrible eyes. They’re so dark, so devoid of conscience, so utterly merciless. An eerie flicker smolders in them and seems strangely familiar. Am I imagining it? Have I met this creature before? Is it maybe the one that attacked me when I first found Yoru here in the Odyss? The one that attacked me, Noah, and Frances when we were near the temple? What gives me that idea? Why does this creature suddenly seem so familiar?
There’s a sparkle in its eyes that slowly changes. Its dark eyes lighten. I don’t understand what’s happening, but the blackness seems to retreat and make way for something else. A deep blue that feels familiar. Yes, it’s like looking into a mirror, as if I have some connection to these eyes, this stare, which no longer seems threatening. It looks like a silent cry, a plea to be heard. And before my mind has processed it, my mouth is already forming the word, which makes no sense, and yet I’m totally convinced it’s right. I slowly extend my hand toward the creature. I can’t look away. I’m captivated by this connection between us, and I say the liberating word, which simultaneously brings my world tumbling down around me: “Frida.”
