Secrets

Awakening

I stumbled over the tray that fell from Ebony's limp hands, and rushed over to where his still body lay.

"Ebony," I whispered to him, making sure to not alert the guards. "Ebony," I whispered again, my words sharper.

On his arm, the tattoo depicting a snake lying on a pile of bones flowed a faint red. I racked my brain, trying to think of why the symbol was so important.

I stopped in my tracks. Death. It was his symbol, marking Ebony as one of his. My vision turned red.

He had done this. He had twisted Ebony, twisted him against me. And for what? Just to kill him in front of me? I shook my head. Ebony is not dead. He can't be because he is already dead. At least, I think he is? Ebony had been in the form that had been taken away from him, the very body that only appeared in Lithaniel. Now that he's here, in the Vengeful world, shouldn't he turn back into a shade?

My head throbbed from all of the what ifs I had thought of. I slowly reached out and felt Ebony's pulse.

There was none. The steady thumping that should have been there was absent, gone forever from Ebony's body. I bit back tears, and instead turned my focus to the metal bars surrounding me.

I have to defeat Death. For Ebony. I took a deep breath and shouted at the top of my lungs.

I heard the rustle of armor as the guards strode in, asking what was the matter. I waited patiently for them to unlock the door, and carefully walk in.

Once the door had been shut, I pounced. I leapt onto the first guard, who was a thin, lean man, and grabbed his shoulder pads. I pushed him into the wall, and barely managed dodging the other guard's spear. I didn't have time to see what became of the first guard.

I quickly spun toward the other guard, a more battle-hardened man. He thrust his spear out at me, and I slid underneath it, knocking the flat of the spear back into the man's head. He sagged slightly, but shook his head and continued jabbing his spear at me.

I managed to sneak a glance past him, and saw that the first guard was knocked out cold. I also saw a sword lying on the ground, unsheathed and ready to maul.

The guard, noticing my distraction, turned to look in the direction I was looking. That was his fatal mistake. I sprinted past the man, and hefted the heavy sword in my hand.

The man turned around, now agitated that I had a weapon. He noticed the distance between us, and threw the spear.

I twisted past the spear, and dashed back to the man. He barely saw me before I sliced his head clean off, a surprised expression still lingering on his face.

I dropped the sword, and exhaled. I glanced around the room. The first guard was still unconscious, the second guard was decapitated, and Ebony...

Where was Ebony? He was nowhere to be found. I looked back at the cell door and cursed. The cell door was open.

Ebony had escaped. Sighing, I ran through the open door and out toward freedom.

I wish I could say that freedom smelled good. In reality, the stench coming from the dungeons was rather nasty. I covered my nose and stumbled through the labyrinth of the Vengeful world. There were so many twists and turns that I found myself passing the same intersection again and again.

Finally, I saw bright lights and heard the mumbling of voices. This must be the exit.

I ran toward the light, feeling my eyes adjust. I skidded to a halt as I noticed where I had arrived.

This was Death's throne room. And I had just arrived behind his throne. My ears perked up as I heard Drake conversing with the King.

"She's here, Your Highness. Can you not sense her?" Drake questioned. My heart leapt into my throat. They were talking about me.

"Of course I can sense her, you dimwit! Now you have made her aware of your little scheme."

"She does not know. Of that, I am sure."

"If you keep talking like that, she will know."

"Wait one minute, Your Highness. I must attend to something." There was nothing but silence.

"Very well. Guards! Drag him back to the dungeons."

Clanking could be heard as Drake was hoisted back to the dungeons.

I breathed a sigh of relief, and turned around, only to find myself face to face with...

Drake! I bit down my scream, and hissed at him, "What are you doing here?"

His eyes shone with tears. "Death is forcing me to help him, and if I don't, he'll kill you," he rushed.

"What?"

"I am pretending to aid him right now, so don't be alarmed when you hear me 'conspiring' with the King."

I began to speak. "But how did you esca--"

He put a finger to my mouth. "I must go. Take care, Harley. And don't do anything rash."

An awkward silence filled the space. Drake's eyes kept darting around, refusing to meet mine. I looked to him.

He is probably keeping watch. We are sitting right behind Death's throne anyway. I rubbed my eyes in frustration.

However, once I opened them, Drake was gone. Sighing, I sat down on the cold, marble floor.

Planning the death of Death.