Descent

Chapter 28

The air was still, heavy - a lumbering silence only interrupted by the sound of the buzzing of blades rotating through the air. Mai stared up into the vast opening of the arena as the helicopter descended like the Holy Ghost. All her senses were actively processing numerous events around her. Mai felt the dull, painful sting of staring up into the overcast sky, watching the silhouette of La Grosse Patate grow increasingly larger as it approached almost in slow motion. She could taste and smell the familiar scent of imminent rain - hanging onto every inhale she took, breathing into her a sense of relief that this nightmare was about to be washed away.

Mai took the moment of peace to look to her allies. Her family. Her love. They abandoned their safety net near the arena walls as they closed the space between themselves and Mai, walking towards the middle of the arena floor. Her Aunt Vittoria made it a few steps before having to stop and arch her back inward, her large belly pressing out to the sky as though the baby inside her wanted to feel the same relief of the incoming rain. Thomas stayed by her side, offering a hand to squeeze. His eyes met Mai's, each one nodding in acknowledgment that their moment would have to wait for just a minuscule of a second longer. That was perfectly fine with her. Mai wasn't sure she could decide who to run to first, but she was relieved to see her mother Nayeli pressing onward, her steps speeding up until she was in the same gravitational pull as her daughter.

Mai threw her arms out, snaking around Nayeli's tiny form as they simply stood, existing in one another's orbit. For so long she had felt her mother had been out of reach, and perhaps she could say the feeling was mutual. Losing Jacob had torn their family asunder. Each one of them having their own reason to mourn him - but at the same time, nearly identical in nature. Nayeli, Mai, Malik...each one of them had lost out on precious time spent with the man who many would remember as a villain in someone else's story. But for the Lamb and Seed family, he was a soul looking to redeem the sins of his family and himself. He wanted a family to call his own and to love and to cherish. For however short it was, Mai was simply glad she got to call him father, and that she got to experience that love alongside her mother and brother.

All that was left was setting the final piece back into place. Or rather, removing it.

Mai knew her final confrontation with Raven was looming, but the question that plagued her was...where exactly was she? She had not seen her up in her viewing box after Buck had been unceremoniously taken down by Dove...so where was-

A thunderous shock sent Mai spiraling. Her arms were still outstretched, reaching for any semblance of her mother's form as she came crashing down in the dirt of the arena. She knew immediately, something had been broken, or at least cracked. Her shoulder was twisted in a way she knew she would gag if she looked at it for too long. The pain seared into her brain like an iron press, but nothing compared to the sickening snap and scream that escaped Mai as she popped it back into place. The sensation sent her head spinning, her gaze was fuzzy, trying to make out the arena as though a fog had just taken up occupancy in her eyeballs. She could see the outline of her mother's body lying on her back, and someone standing over her.

The overdramatic outfit was a dead finger for the one singular Highwayman leader left standing. Her heels made her feel giant even to Mai's own impressive stature, her overcoat flowing with each ripple of wind that passed through it, the kaleidoscope feather fringe surrounding her coat collar like a lion's mane, accentuating her overpowering presence. Raven was here. And they were all in her line of sight.

"So. This must be mommy."

Raven's usual, malicious teasing tone had left out a key component. There was no playfulness in her voice. Mai could only see the rage boiling over beneath the surface. A twisted caricature of an already unstable woman. Was it because under her dark skin, Mai saw the faintest hint of movement. Like a formation of snakes slithering just beneath the surface of the earth. Mai had seen this once before, and there she was, her stomach trapped on the edge, teetering back and forth waiting for that final push before she lost herself in the grief that she knew was about to come.