The Silence Between Read online

  "So, like…what the hell happened?" At Ghost's silence, Desperado looked at him. He noticed a glint of guilt in his friend's eyes. "Dude. What. Happ—"

  "When I destroyed the boulder," Ghost cut in, "the shockwaves must have done something to the magic barrier keeping the shadows at bay. By all rights, that rock shouldn't have even been there! Then, why was it…?"

  "We're here and the kids are safe, though. Isn't that what matters?"

  Ghost looked at him briefly. Looking back to the outside, he released a frazzled sigh. "I suppose you're right. We'll remain until the shadows are sealed back where they—"

  "What are you doing!? CHARLIE!"

  Both men turned back to the group, then looked to Charlie. A mix of horror, disgust, surprise, and anger filled their faces as they struggled to accept what it was they saw. Charlie let out a gasp and crumpled to the floor, blood pouring from a wound in her side. She grabbed weakly at Copper's leg, weak mewling noises struggling in her throat. The man looked blankly down at her, his eyes glowing a faint gold.

  When the glow faded from his eyes, it was as if he suddenly realized just what it was he'd done. Copper shrieked. He dropped the bloodied dagger, sputtering apology after apology—to the girl, the boy. And to the swirling torrent black, chaotic energy that folded space and time to appear right before him with smoldering purple eyes. He ran, that split second glimpse an unending nightmare in the forefront of his mind as he turned and made a mad dash for…anywhere. Somewhere safe. Anywhere.

  "WHY!?" Ghost screamed after him.

  Desperado was at Charlie's side in a flash, hands pressing down to staunch the flow of blood. "No no no no! Charlie, no!" There was so much of the stuff… It wouldn't stop. "REIEM!" he shrieked. His eyes filled with tears, darted to the boy, the door, to Charlie. "LORI!"

  ‡ † ‡

  Copper dashed through the halls, not seeing any of the doors around him until he tripped over a forgotten toy and slammed his face into the wall at the end of the hall. He clutched his face with a cry, blinking back tears as he forced himself back to his feet and fumbled with the lone door before him. It led down a set of stairs. He spared a single glance behind him at the thudding rush of boots, running when Ghost growled his name from the start of the hall.

  What the fuck! he screamed inside his mind, eyes focusing on the dark steps as he went lower, deeper, darker. I didn't do that… Why did I do that!?

  Finally reaching the bottom he tried to slam and lock the door behind him, but his hands shook far too much on the lock. He suddenly shrieked and fell backwards onto his ass when a glinting silver blade etched with runes pierced through in between the door and the frame. With a force not human, the door splintered and fell open, whatever remained on the hinges slamming into the wall with a reverberating thud.

  In the shadows of the stairwell Ghost looked the very image of a madman, the inhuman light of his purple eyes casting a vicious glow across his pale face. He took slow, heavy steps forward, repeating his question in a darker tone. Copper's heart raced and, on instinct when faced with a threat to one's very life, he grabbed his machine gun and squeezed the trigger. The bullets found their mark true. Some ripped through the man's black armor, some phased through him entirely as his lithe form briefly turned to a ghostly blue. With each successful hit, Ghost's blood spattered the wall, but still he continued to walk forward as if nothing phased him.

  "Why. Did you. Do that."

  His rounds spent, Copper scooted himself across the floor, yelping when his back hit the wall. He began to grab for his sidearm when the pale man's blade shot forward, gouging him through the shoulder. Ghost's free hand rose up and closed around the soldier's neck, cutting off his air.

  "All you wanted to do was help," Ghost said softly. Copper tried taking a breath, still trying to get away despite having nowhere left to go. "And I… I allowed you to come."

  His scowl deepened as he tightened his iron grip around Copper's throat and twisted his blade ever-so-slightly. Pain jolted through Copper's shoulder. Suddenly the hand was gone from his neck and he could breathe. Then he felt the blade being torn from its spot in his shoulder. He hissed in pain right before he saw Ghost's sword arm shoot across, the butt of the blade smashing his already-bloodied nose further. Copper sobbed through the blood leaking down his face.

  "Answer me," Ghost whispered.

  "I-I just… I d-d-don't know… P-p-please…!"

  With words failing him, and fear numbing him to the core, all Copper felt he could now was pray. He curled up into himself, muttering prayers to the deities he held dear to his heart.

  The rage in Ghost's eyes melted to poisoned pity at the display—a once-proud soldier, ready to do all he could to see the mission through now sobbed on the floor like an abused child quickly delving into madness. Closing his eyes, he sheathed his sword and took a small, handgun-like device from his holster. A crystal pulsated with green-black light through a transparent overlay on the bullet chamber. He placed the barrel of the device to Copper's head.

  "You will face justice for your crimes," he stated. Copper ceased his praying and shot his gaze up.

  "P-please," he whispered. Fat, wet tears streaked down his face, cutting through the drying smears of blood. "Don't send me home. Just…just kill me here! I…I can't face them, I can't—"

  "Fehr and Albel will be waiting to collect you."

  Copper screamed and scrambled to reach for his discarded handgun. With the tips of fingers just a hairsbreadth away, Ghost pulled the trigger. A shattering, almost crystalline sound echoed through the room. Instead of Copper's head exploding like it should have, his whole body digitized, morphing into black-green particles that dissolved into the air. Copper's cries for mercy faded with them.

  IV

  Lori saw the silver flash of the blade less than a second before the soldier pressing down on the wound screamed, "Get Reiem in here!"

  How this man knew Adagium's true name was beyond her, but she couldn't bring herself to turn around—not now—not with the horrifying sight of her little godchild bleeding out and one of those devils in black on top of her. She charged forward, raising her axe in a glowing red arc, the blow meant to land in the head of that stranger she swore upon her own gut wasn't their enemy, but when he looked up…all the fight left her.

  Lori dropped down beside them.

  She wanted to take all the pain away from little Charlie's eyes, wipe every tear away and say that things were going to be okay, but she couldn't—not yet. The most important thing was that she needed to focus and hope that Adagium wasn't far behind. So, she tried to take over for the soldier, barely sparing him a glance before her own hands were coated bright red with blood.

  "Just…who are you people?"

  The soldier shook his head. "We knew what was going to happen today. We knew! And we still fucked it all up!"

  By the time Adagium arrived, blood bubbled from Charlie's mouth, and she had a sickening pale to her sun-kissed skin. The soldier stayed at her side with his hands pressing down atop Lori's to keep pressure while Ignis cradled her head, stroking her hair. All the while Charlie's eyes were glazed with pain and every now and then she would let out a horrible choking noise only to go silent once more. Apart from that, she was almost lifeless—her body barely twitched even when the pair pressed harder in an attempt to stem the blood flow.

  "Can you get her to the healing chamber?"

  The soldier's eyes burned into Adagium's own. That chamber was secret knowledge; how did an outsider—an invader, no less—have access to that information? Regardless of how or why, the point was valid…but something impossible.

  "I'm far too weak to teleport." His voice a low rumble.

  Lori shot him a wide-eyed look before practically pleading, "A potion?"

  Adagium looked back to Charlie. "None. Master refuses to grant me leave to gather ingredients." There was no panic in his voice, no hurry nor pain—just the somber notes of someone who has known death. And fear.


  "Bind yourself to her," the soldier said quietly.

  "Who are you?"

  "Hey, hey! That doesn't matter! She's dying. You can save her. So…do something!"

  It was Adagium's turn to look shocked, but another weak cough from Charlie had his attention returning to what was most important here: keeping the girl quiet, still, and calm.

  "I am already bound. Unless Master wills me to break the contract, there's nothing—"

  "Fuck Marianne! Master or not, she treats you like absolute dog shit and doesn't deserve you! You deserve better! Charlie…deserves better…"

  "Please just do something," Ignis quietly begged into the ensuing silence. His hands wrapped around that of his friend's, squeezing until her teary green eyes met his. "It's okay, Charlie. Mom and…and…they'll think of something. This'll be over soon."

  "Be strong." Lori's voice was low and miserable. Her hands were shaking. She was no longer looking at Charlie—wasn't looking at anyone. It was unnerving to see her so anxious and insecure, so unsure of her own thoughts. It wasn't right.

  But it was as if none of them had spoken. Charlie's eyes were barely open and they were staring at nothing, so blank that Ignis fumbled for her wrist and didn't take a breath until he found a rapid pulse fluttering weakly beneath his fingers.

  The soldier looked up at Adagium. "You know what to do. I know you do," he said, his voice low. With a miserable look in his eyes, he flicked his eyes down to Charlie and back up again. "We came here today to try and stop this, but fuck us, right? Seems she's supposed to die, no matter what. So, take that stupid pouch of ash out of your coat and draw the symbol for Loire on her head."

  The color drained from Lori's face. Pouch of ash? No, there had to be another way. There had to be some way to stop the bleeding and keep Charlie alive just long enough to get to the clinic. What this man was talking about… He couldn't possibly mean for Charlie to just die like this—slowly and painfully. It would traumatize her—she would never forget how it felt, how terrifying it was to fight for each breathe, facing the possibly that every single one she drew in might be the last. No, there had to be something…

  But as Charlie drew in another shallow breath and twisted beneath the weight of their combined hands, Lori began to sob. Charlie was going to die no matter what they did, and at least one of them had the power to bring her back.

  "Miss Charlotte, I need you to listen carefully to me." Adagium knelt down by the girl's side, the little red pouch of ash in hand. He dipped his fingers into the fine substance, drawing delicate lines across Charlie's forehead. "I know you are tired and in pain, but this is very important," he continued, and Ignis gently patted Charlie's cheek. As Charlie's eyelids opened a little more, Adagium nodded his thanks. "We have no potions, and no way to get you to my tower in time. I'm sorry."

  "…hurts," Charlie whispered with little effort to hide the fear and weakness in her voice. Tears fell freely now but the single sob which tried to escape only made him choke on the blood rising in her throat. It flew from her mouth in one horrible splutter and landed on Adagium's cheek. Lori winced at the sight.

  Adagium didn't even flinch. "Shh, little one, I know it does, but it will all be over soon. Do you remember the tale of Basriel and the Bunny? We have to do something just like that, but you'll be back and safe before you know it."

  "You can't do that, she's still alive!" Ignis's voice cracked a little on the last few words, tears streaming down his face.

  "Ignis, sweetie, please…go outside," Lori whispered, tears of her own flowing freely. But Ignis remained in place, his eyes glaring at Adagium.

  "Bunny?" Charlie slurred, and her eyes took on a little more focus as they met those of the pale man in black. "I'm…gonna die?"

  She started to shift weakly, but the movement was unexpected and Ignis watched as the soldier's hands slipped enough that blood began to pour once more. There was so much of the stuff; on Charlie's hands and shirt, on Lori's hands and the front of her shirt. There couldn't be much blood left inside Charlie at this rate.

  The words caught Ignis off-guard. He was sure none of them expected Charlie to really understand what they were saying, not when she was so weak. But she had and that hurt, because who wanted to tell another human—especially one as sweet and kind-hearted as Charlie—that they were going to die? Even the promise of resurrection couldn't take the fear from that…

  "No, you're not gonna die," Ignis growled. Adagium slowly raised his dark eyes to meet his vibrant blues. "We're going to help you and you'll be just fine. Right!?"

  But Adagium shook his head, like he couldn't take much more of listening to such mindless optimism in the face of honest and true tragedy. He turned his gaze back to the emerald greens of the girl.

  "Miss Charlotte, if you want this pain to stop, I can help. But this must be your decision."

  "There's…no decision," Charlie sputtered weakly. "Do it…please."

  Ignis gripped Charlie's hand tighter, trembling as more tears streamed down his face. "Charlie, there has—"

  "Listen to my voice."

  As Adagium began talking about the ocean and the apple orchard, the deep western forests and the glorious view of town from the summit—all the little places Charlie loved to go—he drew the same symbol upon his own brow in white ash.

  While he talked, Adagium wrapped his power around Charlie's heart—the strong, stubborn heart that was still beating in the clearly spent body. The lull of his low voice while he concentrated his entire will on keeping Charlie's heart still made the others tremble.

  The small wisp of a girl took slow, wavering breaths. For a brief instant a black hue raced through the veins on her face, and she took one long, shuddering breath, and was still, a thin line of dark blood running out of her nose.

  She was now, unquestionably, dead.

  Ignis shrieked at the stillness, shouting for his mother and the soldier in black to keep their hands at the wound, but even in his grief, he knew. It was all Lori could do to pry the boy's hands away from Charlie's, hands that turned to fists he aimed to bring down on the soldier for starting it all, on Adagium for killing his best friend. A brilliant flash threw the boy back right as his fist made contact.

  Unbothered, Adagium raised both hands over the child's form.

  As he parted his lips to speak, a gentle light coated his hands. Countless threads of purest gossamer white stretched from the tips down to the crown of the child's head, her forehead, throat, chest, abdomen, her pelvis. A flash lit the room as the glowing threads covered Charlie entirely. As Adagium whispered a word older than the earth beneath them, the ash disappeared from both Charlie's forehead and his own.

  Lori stared at Adagium, seeing the black had gone from the man's eyes, now replaced by the pure white light as it crept up his arms, throat, and face before it poured into his eyes, rending the once-black orbs a shade of brilliant teal.

  ‡ † ‡

  Slowly, a chill mist began to seep from the immortal's body, spreading, creeping.

  He could hear the little girl sobbing, which was good. If her voice had gone silent in the Beyond, it would take much more than a few words and ashen marks to return her spirit whole. And even then, there was no guarantee she wouldn't break. But she couldn't break—he refused to let her. He had to save her, for Master would…

  The starlit river full of souls held a strong current, but Adagium remained untouched by its pull and waded with ease past the countless pools and tiny whirls that would drag any other under. He could feel the waters sapping his spirit, but his ancient form was strong, so the attempt remained a mere tickle instead of the withering, all-consuming shiver.

  He paused to listen, and hearing the cry turn to a scream, rushed forward. There should be nothing in this area to cause such a fright, and he doubted the child's soul was coherent enough to realize where it was.

  Somnus' Gate was the first of nine, comprised of a veil of mist with a single dark opening, where the waters poured into the silence b
etween it and the second gate. Adagium hurried towards it, and then stopped. The child screamed not because she saw where she was, but because something had grabbed her. Standing there, looming up out of the glimmering waters was a shadow darker than night, its mass glittering with countless stars.

  It stood at relatively the same height as Adagium, and there were glowing green flames where he would expect to see eyes. The scent of moss and fresh earth rolled off the being, reminding one of the fresh scent of the grave.

  The immortal advanced on the thing slowly, keeping his eyes on the girl it held in the grip of its shadowed hands. She now seemed asleep on her feet, but restless, and she blindly grabbed at the hands at her mouth and around her waist.

  From the waters before the shadow beast rose a new figure: a man, lithe and limber, with silver hair and a cruel smirk, his body swathed in a cloak of starlight. Aside from the jagged scar that crossed his left eye, the man was the mirror image of Adagium. He stood still, his gaze locked on the man before him.

  Slowly, Adagium reached into his cloak and withdrew a long, slender black crystal. It glowed with a dark light, and generated a small field of void energy, throbbing with a pulse reminiscent of a heartbeat. He held it before him and parted his lips to speak. The other man chuckled and raised his hand, prompting the shadow beast to increase its grip on the girl. He spoke, his tone like a song, with a subtle condescending lilt.

  "How long are you going to avoid this?" He moved his eyes to the girl. "We finally have what we need! No one can cross to reach her now."

  Adagium sighed as he held the crystal. "Be silent and fade into memory. It's pointless to keep trying."

  "Oh, no, I'll try forevermore if need be. As many times as breaths you take, there, too, shall I come to reap what should have been mine a thousandfold. Spirits are eternal. And therefore, I am eternal."