Whispers (Book 3 of Wielder series)

Chapter 35 - Unleashed Hell

The world was falling apart.

Roger rolled painfully onto his side, trying to get his weak body to move. All around him, roars and thunderous booms shook the air. Was he on a battlefield? Had he gone to war for the emperor? Was the end of the realm finally at hand?

No, he told himself. The emperor was dead. The Wielder had killed him.

He put a hand to his aching head. The Wielder... He remembered fighting the Wielder. But she wasn't just the Wielder. Her name was Alison.

She was his sister.

With a start, he sat up. Everything spun. He groaned, giving himself a moment to close his eyes so his equilibrium could catch up. When his stomach settled a bit, he dared to open his eyes.

The cavern where he'd fought his sister seemed to be in chaos. Lava glowed threateningly from cracks in the ground. Toxic steam poured into the air. Close by, a young man holding the Ultimate faced down a horrible monster. His monster. The monster that had been inside him all this time, controlling him, manipulating him, devouring him.

He lifted a hand to his chest, searching for the monster within.

It was gone.

At first, his mind went blank. It was gone. What did that mean? What was he now, freed from the thing that had held him captive for so long?

He smiled. Freed. He'd been freed.

"You did it," he breathed, trembling. He turned to where he remembered his sister had stood, a breathless joy making him feel so light, he thought he might float away. "Alison, you did..."

Alison lay on the ground. Her friend crouched beside her, mumbling and rocking himself back and forth. Evan knelt on the other side of her, throwing himself into the effort of breathing life into her lungs.

Roger's blood ran cold. He remembered, now. The fight hadn't ended with just the separation of his Evil. Alie had left herself open in order to take the shot that would save him. In the same moment she'd rescued him, he had run her through.

He looked down in horror at his hand. It shook uncontrollably. He'd tried to kill her. Maybe he'd succeeded.

She had a large gash in her stomach, something that looked far from healed. It looked like Evan had tried; the blood covering her didn't seem fresh. But it was obvious Evan had only healed what was absolutely necessary to keep her alive. Or to bring her back to life. His breath caught in his throat, hoping it wasn't the latter.

Evan pressed his hand to Alie's neck. Not finding a pulse, he attempted to get Alison's heart pumping again with electric paddles. His arms trembled with the effort, as if he'd been working on her for some time. The wild look in his eyes promised he fought for her life like his own depended on it.

Roger sat dumbly, unable to move. He'd really done it. He'd killed his sister.

Evan growled in frustration. "Come on!" he called, blowing another large breath into her mouth. "Come on."

Alison's friend cupped a hand to his mouth and shook his head. "It isn't working," he breathed in agony. "She wants to go."

"Good thing it isn't her choice then," Evan snorted. He kept working.

Her friend looked like he was about to shatter into a million pieces. "It's cruel to make her stay if she doesn't want to!"

"No. What's cruel is giving up on her, when you know she wouldn't give up on us." Evan looked at the boy, pausing only long enough to get his point across. "What she wants is to go after that thing," he said, pointing to the rampaging Evil. "And I'm going to give her that opportunity."