Eight of Hearts: The Vision - Book 2

Chapter 36

Kaya slammed into the deck of Isaac's ship, and the whole vessel lurched under the impact. Her feet left blackened scorch marks as her madness and rage tried to reclaim this territory as her own, but it couldn't spread beyond Kaya herself now. This was a ship created by Isaac's imagination; it was his domain to control, not hers.

Isaac spun the helm, sharply tilting the large ship and throwing Kaya off balance. Kaya in turn reached out with her own power, creating massive hands of shadow that rose up out of the darkness on either side. As the hands started to close about the ship, the cannons unleashed their fire, ripping through the dark apparitions and shredding them like paper.

Kaya glared up at Isaac, hate shining bright in her eyes. She leapt upward, rushing toward him through the air as she had done before. But before she got close, the boom swung around and caught her in the chest, knocking her back.

"Madlings are badlings!" Isaac shouted, his eyes glinting with defiance. "Kaya is my friend, and you can't have her!"

Suddenly the giant spider let out a shrill cry that echoed through the blackness. It was the sound of pain and surprise, and soon Kaya began to repeat the terrible sound. She clutched at her head as she hit the deck of the ship hard; the Madling began to lose form even as it tried to sink deeper into Kaya's head.

Isaac knew what that meant; the Madling's physical form was dead. Now its only hope of survival was to meld itself with Kaya completely, even if that meant destroying her. Isaac leapt down to the main deck toward where Kaya lay writhing. As he came close, he held his hands up before him, and they began to glow blue with psychic energy. He caught hold of the Madling before it could complete the melding, and like pulling a tick from a dog, he wrenched it from Kaya's head.

As Kaya fell back to the deck, Isaac squeezed his fist around the body of the cursed spider, his hands protected from the corrupting effect by the sheath of light around them. With one last scream that echoed through Isaac's bones, the Madling's legs curled in on its body, and then it fell still for the last time.

Isaac released it as though it were hot, and the corpse turned to a fine black dust before it hit the deck, drifting away into nothing on a still wind. Isaac let out a sigh of relief, but fell silent when he heard Kaya's weak sobs from where she still lay.

Her eyes were closed, and she still had her hands to her head, but for now it seemed the trial had passed. Now that the Madling was gone, her strength was spent. Isaac went to her, the protective light fading from his hands as he bent low and placed a supportive arm around her shoulders.

The darkness began to fade away, and a soft, silvery light glowed in its place. As the shadows cleared like a receding ocean tide, the crumbling ruins of Kaya's mind were uncovered. The once beautiful house was still standing, but looked to be on the verge of collapsing in on itself, with the front gone completely.. As Isaac's ship drifted closer, he scooped Kaya into his arms. Kaya didn't resist as he carried her over to the gangplank, which lifted on its own to bridge the gap between the ship and Kaya's house.

Once he had her inside, he set her on the floor, his arm still supporting her back. She had fallen silent, the pain of having the mind-parasite forcefully removed finally fading. But still she didn't open her eyes.

"Kaya," Isaac called to her, his voice soft and kind.

Kaya finally opened her eyes, and Isaac was pleased to see that the color had returned to them. "Isaac?" she said, her voice weak and strained.

"Do you think we can be friends now?" Isaac asked, smiling.

Kaya reached a weak hand up to his face and placed it gently on his cheek. "You saved me..." she whispered, her voice hoarse from overuse. "You...are the biggest idiot I've ever met."