Page 252 of Vasmora

The command made Dolion chuckle again. “Sh-sh-she c-c-can’t,” he struggled to say as the air waned in his lungs. He wanted to tell them that to open the portal, she’d have had to have been to the tunnels, but his jaw had gone stiff, the shock systematically shutting his body down.

“I need to … lead them away,” Branimir urged.

Dolion watched feet shuffle around him, black ooze spray, voices echo. Like a dream. A horrible dream.

“No!” Rykaia screamed above him. “Maevyth can heal you.”

“We have no choice, Rykaia!” Allura screamed. “Cleave him!”

“I can’t … I can’t!”

“Dolion might be infected!”

“My brother is infected! Maevyth! Maevyth!”

All the voices merged into a single clamorous sound that reminded him of an Orgoth speaking. A deep rumble in the chest. Perhaps it was his own chest.

Snap out of it.

Dolion squeezed his eyes shut, forcing himself to focus. The blurred edges of his vision sharpened only a little. Just enough to let him know he was still conscious.

Torryn growled. More black oozing fluids.

“I’ve never been to the tunnels!” Rykaia choked, her voice thick with a sob.

Dolion would’ve tried to comfort her, but he focused on his breaths to keep from losing consciousness.

Breathe. Breathe.

“Cleave him to The House of Sages!” Allura yelled, and Dolion lowered his gaze to where she sat beside him clutching her wrist, the thorn still lodged in her hand.

A blast of heat warmed the top of Dolion’s head, indicating Rykaia had opened the portal.

Dolion forced himself upright, in spite of the dizziness.

A hard yank from Torryn threw Rykaia backward, as spiders scampered out of the hatch and into the portal. So many spiders. Branimir swayed on his knees, arms outstretched and trembling, undoubtedly summoning all of his power into guiding them through the opening. A bright light glowed across his palms, but faded as the black veins moved toward the back of his hands. He let out a roar of frustration, while the spiders kept on like cattle goaded by a prod.

Dolion sighed with relief when, at last, no other spider came forth. The hatch remained open. Still. He finally caught a glimpse of his arm that’d been wrapped in torn fabric and lifted his gaze to find Torryn’s sleeve ripped at the shoulder.

Branimir crawled toward the portal, but before he could reach it, Rykaia stepped toward him, resting her hand on his shoulder. He craned his neck to look back at her, an expression of sadness shadowing his eyes.

She hooked her arm beneath his, helping him to his feet. They stared at each other for a moment, as though neither knew what to do. Rykaia lunged toward him, enveloping her brother in her arms. “I love you, Branimir. I always have. And I’m sorry. I’m sorry I never told you. That I never dared to offer you so much as a hug when I knew you were suffering. But know that I loved you just the same.”

Branimir’s eyes wavered with tears, and he hesitated at first, before wrapping his arms around her in return. “I love you.”

Even through the pain of his injuries, Dolion couldn’t hide the tears in his eyes.

As Branimir stepped toward the portal, a jarring thud echoed through the room.

Dolion snapped his attention toward a dark streak that slipped past Branimir and barreled toward Rykaia. It split into two, one lunging toward Torryn, crashing into the beastly Letalisz and knocking him backward. The other dragged Rykaia through the portal.

“Rykaia!” Allura screamed, stumbling as she pushed to her feet after her.

Dolion grasped for her, fingers clasping air until he managed to catch hold of Allura’s dress, and he gave enough of a tug to knock her backward.

Her body collapsed beside him, and she broke into a sob. “Rykaia!”

Blade in hand, Torryn stabbed the attacking spider over and over, black ooze spraying upward with every vicious bite of his knife.