Prophecy: Tome of Magic

18. Holding Out for a Hero

For someone that had almost gotten everything that he'd wanted, Andreegys hardly seemed celebratory. In fact, most of his time was spent in a persistent rage that had especially refused to subside after talking with his brother. He faced his army now, so called for the legion of troops he had at his disposal-from Nina, to the crystalline warriors, to the undead, and now the mind controlled innocents as well. The world was essentially his, already he was ninety percent of the way to creating his very own version of paradise, but he seemed to take that for granted as he yelled at his faithful.

"Such impudence! Am I to accept that even with all that breathes under my command I am still incapable of silencing the one voice that still speaks against me?" Just for kicks he snapped his fingers, murdering one of the innocents in a bloody mess. "Tobias and his freaks haven't even left this city, and yet you all are incapable of finding them. Look harder!" Of course the old god understood they were under the protection of another god-Byrenion-and they were probably hidden well by his power. Still, that brought him no comfort, and he wanted what he wanted.

"I've not come this close to watch all that I've toiled for be in vain. God will learn to fear me, to bend even his knee in my presence. All this time, all these millennia, spent in the shadows as I waited for my moment, and I will not have it go to waste. More than deserve, I've earned all that I now have-paid for it with blood and with what little breath I was able to steal away in the darkness of the night. I am your master, you all serve me in faith, fear what I can do-take heed should you fail me again and return emptyhanded." Andreegys' warning was absolute, and he vanished before them.

Meanwhile, the gang still tried to figure out their own situation back in their cave. It'd been too long that they'd lived like animals, and they'd all begun to feel the strain of being trapped in such a confined space together. Yet some felt more than others, and Myrna continued to be awestruck by how easily she could set aside her pain-the things that had happened to her-in order to see the situation at hand. Or perhaps she was just in denial. Either way, she didn't question it as she sought out Cliff, knowing that he'd retreated away from the others in his grief.

It hadn't been long at all since his soul had been returned, and the way he'd fallen to his knees-heaved for breath that he couldn't catch-told her everything that was going through his mind. It crippled him to relive the things that had happened when he was soulless and unable to really understand them, and she wanted to be there for him. It was at least a convenient excuse to ignore dealing with her own baggage. She knew he'd be in one of the deeper dwellings in the cave, and that's where she'd gone looking, but Cliff wasn't the one that she found.

"Still you refuse to look me in the eyes. I find that I wonder why that is." Byrenion stood in front of her, blocking her path. It was clear that he was indeed curious, and if for show than nothing else she met his stare, waiting until the words came to her.

"It's a little different for me than it is with them." She hesitated, unsure of if she should talk about it, looking away and hating that she proved his point. Her midnight hair-what remained of Andreegys' time in her body-hung into her vision. "I know what it's like to have someone possessing you, and I just pray that Austin really isn't in there."

"This is a debate I had believed to be finished."

"For them, maybe. But I told you it was different with me. I couldn't tell you how many times that fear went through Andreegys' mind-that even he thought it was possible. But that's beside the point; they look at you and see the thing that took Austin from them, but me, well I looked at you through his eyes for the longest time, and I don't know what to think about seeing you now that I'm back to myself. I know the good things you've done since coming to this world, but I've also seen flashes of what you were in the time before time."