The Icon Unbound

Chapter Twenty-Five, Part B - The Icon

A lot of revisions here, mostly to improve readability. Thank you to all my faithful reviewers for the constant lookout! Hopefully I caught all the bugs. Please vote and comment if you feel this was worthy! --Elizabeth, UPDATED 01/20/2017  

   The Icon let go of the wall and stumbled forward, biting on her fingers to keep from crying out. Some poor woman had been twisted.

This was final horror of the dark water, the thing that everyone feared. A person had been twisted into something that would behave in only one predictable way. Even the gentlest of souls, once melded, became insanely violent.

Thus far, every other instance of the taint had been animals. Dangerous creatures they were, deadly, but nothing that could not be answered by skill and determination. This monster was nothing like them. Behind those bloodshot eyes was the intelligence and rage of a human soul, trapped in a body that could tear through a mountain. Even had she her entire heart to put as compensation, it would be futile. Icons had died trying. There was nothing to be done. Nothing that touched the dark water had ever been salvaged to its original state. Whoever this person was, they would never be whole again.

Saints and stars guide them to eternal rest....

With wolfish slowness, the monster turned. When it opened its mouth, it revealed a double row of teeth and a tongue long and black. The larvae did not move, but Antares backed against a wall, still holding Meissa in his arms. The Icon watched as he began to climb, silently, straight up the wall, with as much grace as Nadir could have managed.

The water continued to rush through the hole in the broken wall; in seconds, it would be splashing against their feet, and the Saints alone would know if it were tainted or not. Honor slipped to the fallen wreckage gesturing for them to follow.

Saiph began to pull her away, deeper into the shadow, his arm coming up to cover her face, her skin, blocking the glow and shutting out the sight of the creature. He felt tense, she imagined she could hear his heartbeat thundering in his chest as he prepared to defend his family.

Never before had she imagined a situation where she thought she would be just another ordinary, helpless girl. "I have to think, I have to think." She rubbed the empty place in her chest. "I am not worthless, I am the Icon. My heart has been sacrificed..."

Her heart was...close.

The Icon forgot her terror of the creature, forgot the luminescent quality of her skin, and the imminent danger.

Her heart was close. Very close. In some place warm...

"No!" Saiph hissed as he tried to snatch her back. "What are you doing?"

Luck or fate was on her side because he did not reach her before she darted into the water. Her knees gave out when the ground became uneven and for a moment she went completely under. Bone-shattering cold drove the breath out of her lungs. Even thus slowed Saiph did not catch her. Forcing her tired limbs to obey, the Icon fought to stand and make her way through the current. The closer she got, the more certain she became, her heart was inside that monster.

Saiph was ahead of her.

If he couldn't stop her, then he would eliminate the danger. The oaths he swore made him faster and stronger than anyone in Waterwall, but he wouldn't hold his own for long. If this water was tainted he would end up as twisted as this poor creature.