Crap . . . are they talking about me?
Supported between his father and Sunray, and slipping in and out of unconsciousness, Night could only pick up occasional words from their conversation. He mainly heard their voices going back and forth in an intense discussion. From the specifics he did hear, it sounded like he was right.
I hope he's not telling her all my embarrassing secrets.
He forced open his eyes halfway in an effort to maintain consciousness as they struggled forward, but continued to listen. Anything to keep his focus off the pain. Although literally every inch of him was hurting, it was worse in his left leg than his right, and it hurt to breathe because of sharp, painful cramps beneath his ribs. What disturbed him the most, though, was how every beat of his heart felt slow, irregular, and agonizing.
"Night?" Sunray had paused her conversation and was looking at him with gentle concern. "You back with us?"
"Mm, hm . . ." He lifted his chin slightly and tried to meet her eyes. "Can we s-stop for a second?"
"Looks like we've got no choice," another male voice behind him replied tensely. He had no idea who it was, but couldn't turn around to look. The voice went on, "That patrol is almost here. I was hoping we would make it to the tunnel before them, but . . ."
"All these darkalds, and none of them are your friends?" Sunray sounded incredulous. "Raevyn, you struck me as a social butterfly."
"I have no friends." The voice, apparently someone named Raevyn, lowered to a flat and bitter tone. "I can't. All the other darkalds of Rifugio have no minds of their own. But I'll explain that later," he added as Sunray started to ask something. "For now, we have the patrol to deal with."
His partner led him over to the side and let him sink to the ground, then knelt down to eye-level and asked, "Night, would you be able to shadow-transfer us out of here?"
Night gazed back at her in silence for a moment, swallowing. "I-I can teleport more than one person," he stammered quietly. "But Sunray . . ." Memories of that night long ago surfaced in his mind—the last time he'd tried shadow-transferring her, and the results. Guilt swept over him again as he remembered. ". . . you can't."
The light guardian hesitated, frowning. "Why not?" she protested. "It would only be for a second. I'd be fine."
"A second is too long," he tried to explain. "The darkness in a shadow portal is different, k-kinda like darksweep. You . . . I . . ." His voice trailed off, the guilty feeling growing more intense as he realized he would have to tell her his nearly fatal mistake.
"I've been in darkness longer than that," she insisted. "Seriously, it'll be okay."
"No, it won't!" Raising his voice hurt his throat, and he lowered it again. "Sunray, I know what I'm talking about. Please just trust me!"
"But Night—"
"It will literally kill you and destroy the light gem at first contact. It's already almost happened once."
That's what finally startled her into silence. At that point he'd turned his face away and closed his eyes, overwhelmed by guilt and shame. The adrenaline he'd felt during their brief argument faded away, leaving him even more drained than before. Fighting the blackness that threatened to swallow his mind if he kept his eyes closed for much longer, he forced himself to look back at Sunray, then reached out and touched the blackened ends of her hair.
"This is what happened the last time I tried to bring you through a shadow portal," he told her softly, and she froze. Although it was hard to keep looking at her, he held her gaze and repeated simply, "You can't."
YOU ARE READING
Where Light Meets Dark
Jugendliteratur[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...
