Night couldn't remember the last time he'd felt so hurt.
Just a few seconds ago he'd been standing there, watching dumbfounded as Preciser gave away what he'd been longing to find out for years. Just when he'd told himself to give it up. But the emotion he felt at getting half the answers was not satisfaction; it was pain.
And in certain ways, he felt betrayed as well. It wasn't that he'd ever liked the giant to begin with, but he'd fought against him for so long, without the slightest clue of what he'd been guilty of the whole time.
"No . . ." he murmured in disbelief at last. He didn't remember moving, but he found himself leaning backwards against the wall, his blade no longer in his hand. Then, his shock and grief slowly converted to fury. To a bitter desire for revenge.
His subconscious shifted into a different control, twisting his normal thoughts into something dark and cold. The last thing he fully recalled was growling, "You? All this . . ."
Regarding the things that happened next, he was only partially aware of what was going on; the sky turned black again and his vision altered. The last beam of light was focused on his unconscious partner, therefore strengthening her.
He remembered lunging forward with more freedom than he'd felt in a long time, and he remembered hurling an attack at Preciser with every drop of energy he had in him. Fueled by anger, his memory seemed to skip the fight, but in a very short time he had the giant king pinned down with his frosty blade pressed against his throat.
Narrowing his eyes furiously, angry tears streaming down his face, he snarled, "I spent ten years without him asking myself over and over again, hundreds of times, what happened to him. And all this time, it was you?!"
Preciser tried desperately and vainly to push the burning cold weapon off his throat, his expression more terrified than ever seen before, but with the power Night was using it was impossible. Sitting in the blinding beam of light nearby, Sunray was beginning to stir.
"In the end," he continued confidently, "you will not be getting our gems, Preciser. Thanks for answering half of my life's biggest questions!" He forced his weapon down even harder. "Now I'll have more than just my city to fight for."
Bellowing, the giant rolled over until he was on top, but Night kicked him off, making his opponent stumble and crash into a building. He jumped to his feet and charged again. Though he knew there must've been another fight, it was not in his memory when he found himself standing alone on the street, back in clouded lighting, his weapon not in his hand and his chest burning as he gasped for air.
It being his fourth time using that power, he knew he was supposed to feel exhausted afterward, but this time, that was only a fraction of the reason he felt so drained.
The realization had hit him like a train.
And it'd hurt just as much.
He was very vaguely aware of Sunray asking him something from behind, but he felt too numb with shock to respond as he slowly backed into a wall and slid down to the road. His head was spinning with a mixture of physical exhaustion and emotional depression, but his partner beginning to move away was what jolted him back to the present.
"No, wait . . ." he burst out, suddenly terrified of being alone. "I'm sorry—I couldn't . . . I didn't . . . it—"
She sat down beside him and took his hand gently, her emerald eyes glimmering with sympathy. "It's okay," she murmured. "I understand."
He turned his gaze back to the road, no longer sure what to feel. Relief? Comfort? Confusion?
"I don't know why it was such a shock," he said at last, and Sunray glanced at him. "It's just the type of cruel thing he'd do." He sighed.
YOU ARE READING
Where Light Meets Dark
Teen Fiction[COMPLETED ~ TO BE PUBLISHED... eventually] Sunray was the light, lonely and shining. She was a beacon of hope to the public, but quiet in her own life. To everyone else, anyway. Night was her shadow, sworn to protect her just as much as his home. H...
