A Little More Time...

FOURTEEN

The man stared up at Ryan, showing no fear. "My emperor will come for me." He said, twisting his lip into a dark grin. "I have served him and he shall reward me."

Ryan's foot slammed against the man's chest, earning the sharp exhale of breath from him. "Your emperor is the one that sent me."

That statement was rewarded by the flicker of concern over the man's features.

Ryan smirked as he watched the scene play out before him. The power was in his hands, not Brendon's. He was making these men pay for his death, and he was about to see the last one's flame of life be extinguished.

Just like he had done to Ryan. Just how he deserved to die.

"What kind of emperor would give up someone who served him so thoroughly?" Ryan's past self continued to taunt. He put his hand to the man's throat, but didn't apply any pressure to it. "Someone you dedicated yourself to out of fear."

The man said nothing. His eyes began to cloud over, taking his vision to watch his worst fear play out. Fear finally began to twinge at his expression. He attempted to twist under Ryan's grip, but the grip around his neck tightened.

"I want you to suffer like I did." Ryan heard himself growl. "You brought my worst fear to life, now I'll bring yours."

Water gurgled in the man's throat as ice crystals spread from where Ryan's hand locked around his throat. The water began to spill out of his mouth, but it never hit the ground. It began to freeze, making the man's eyes grow wide. He struggled for air, but ice began to coat his airways.

Ryan looked away from the image, suddenly feeling very hot. The dirt that caked his skin was becoming damp from sweat. He wiped his arm across his face, taking some of the dirt and sweat with it. He shook his head before looking back up at the image.

The man's face was crystalized. Fear was quite literally frozen on his expression under the icy crystals.

Ryan watched his past self rise, but something changed in the image. He wasn't watching through his own eyes anymore. He was once again watching from above.

He watched himself rise from the frozen body. He ripped his hand away from the man's throat, flexing his fingers as he turned away from the man. He was still for a moment before moving forward. He continued to move until he was standing in the center of the pentagram the men had drawn in a blood red substance.

There was no more sound.

The silence fell to a ring; a deafening ring.

Ryan watched as the pentagram started to glow around him. It was faint at first, but quickly brightened to a point that it hurt Ryan's eyes. He shrunk back as he watched his past self stand tall. Victorious, having just murdered five people.

It was then that the pentagram did something strange. As if it was being swirled by a stick, it began to shift and lift off of the ground. It swirled around Ryan, slowly drawing closer to him. Then, it shot to his eyes, filling them with the same burning red.

Ryan fell to his knees. He blinked, further cementing the red in his eyes as the image began to fade.

Suddenly, Ryan was back in the barn with the Soul Keeper crouching just in front of him. The darkness of the Soul Keeper's neck had climbed up his face, licking at the bottom of his nose and ears.

"Why don't I remember doing that?" Ryan asked, suddenly feeling drained. His eyelids dropped and his muscles relaxed. He had too many questions to feel so weak. "My eyes?.."

The Soul Keeper tilted his head. "You are powerful, Ryan Ross." The empty voice echoed, but Ryan couldn't see the creature's mouth move through the darkness. "You are following your path."