Game of Life

Chapter 18

A steely determination worked its way into my core, we wouldn't give up, we were so close I could almost taste it. Two more. I joined in the assault, adding my darkness to theirs and inch by inch we pulled it out of the air.

The beast snarled and twisted around, tearing through our web of elements and soaring high into the sky, out of the reach of our powers. It paused and opened its mouth wide. That doesn't look good. I could see swirls of energy building in its jaws, light energy.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. "Look out! Take cover!" I screeched, diving to the ground and creating a cover of darkness above my head, too far away to do anything to help the others. I didn't look as orbs of pulsing light rained down upon the lake, but I could hear the screams. Oh god.

I remembered the sting of the darkness that had hit me before, it had been agonizing and that was four beasts ago, when we could still take them out relatively easily, this one would be much worse. Ashamed at my cowardice I shattered my cover, immediately diving to the side to avoid being hit by one of the rapidly falling balls. I watched in horror as it burned through the sand, leaving a gaping hole in the ground.

Tentatively, I approached the hole, the orb still swirling inside but shrinking steadily. Ow. I winced as my hand brushed against something sharp. What the hell is that? Blood dripped from my palm, soaking my fingers and I cautiously lit a flame in my other hand. "What the.." I muttered under my breath and ran my fingers along a smoother edge. Is that..glass?

I pressed more firmly on the surface, breaking a piece off and picked it up. It is too, what the...I pocketed the fragment, careful not to stab myself, as an idea formed in my mind. 

Panicked screams tore me out my thoughts and I remembered what I had been about to do. Goddamnit pay attention Calla! I turned back to the others, they were still trying to protect themselves but the spirals of energy were just burning through the shields they made. All except the darkness.

This better work. Carefully, I pulled the shadows left by the beast, spreading them out to cover the entirety of the lake then jerking upwards to encompass the insect. Light flashes could be seen behind the barrier as the beast fired off attacks. Sweat poured down my face and my strength quickly started to wane. 

"Calla, why do you keep doing this to yourself?" Severin's taunting voice entered my mind again. 

"Just shut up," I hissed, his voice drew away from my concentration and the darkness shuddered.

"That's not very nice," he sang, finally making his presence known.

"And you think this is nice?" I snarled, sick of his games. I couldn't take it anymore, couldn't cater to his sick joys. At this point I didn't care if he was mad, I doubted he could do any worse than this.

"Calla, Calla, Calla." He shook his head in disappointment. "This is nice. I could have killed you all to start. I could have ripped your limbs from your body and feasted on your flesh while you still lived. I could have strangled the life from your body. I could have drowned you in a bowl of your own blood. I could have tied you up and fed you the flesh of your brethren until your mind deteriorated to nothing and kept you as my personal servant. I could have done many, many things that I didn't. Instead, I gave you a chance. We play a pleasant game and all you have to do to go home is win. I even gave you a gift to assist you." 

He spread his arms to indicate the power pulsing around us. "I've made the beasts to your preference, I've welcomed you into my home. I've even offered to give you a break." His voice got low, threatening, and he brushed a strand of hair behind my ear. "Now, tell me again that I haven't been nice."

I flinched away from his touch and tried to focus on stopping the attacks but I was exhuasted, weakened from my efforts on the previous beast and distracted by Severin's chipmunked voice in my ear, there was only so much I could do. A moment longer and I fell to my knees, panting for breath, my control shattered and the net faded away, sending balls of light flying, crashing down upon the lake.

Severin crouched down to my level. "See a better use of your strength would have been to just redirect the light, litte one, much simpler than trying to stop them."

Now he tells me. I shakingly rose to my feet, attempting to do as he suggested but nothing happened. I clenched my fist, trying again and pain shot through my body at the attempt, making me keel over, gasping. Severin grinned beside me. "Looks like you're out of juice. Ready for that break now?"