A Nameless Dark

Chapter 20

I heard myself scream as Thaddeus's Light-infused bullet shot through the air, trailing blue-white energy. Graver's head snapped back just as the conclusive sound of the gunshot hit my ears. I expected to see blood and brain matter explode from the back of his skull, but instead he simply raised his head once more, smiling slightly as a thin line of blood ran down from the perfectly round hole in the center of his forehead.

A second later the wound began to spark, throwing out random bits of energy like a downed electrical wire. The effect spread down his limbs until he was lit up like a Christmas tree from head to toe, electricity arcing and sputtering across every surface of his body. His skin glowed a pale red as if it were lit up from within by some unknown source of power.

    Then the light show fizzled out and Graver's body slumped to the floor.

    In the aftermath, I felt my mind slip into a black haze. I couldn't make sense of what I'd just seen. We had been through so much hardship to reach this place, each of us braving unspeakable horrors and mortal danger, barely escaping with our lives, all to reach the mysterious Graver in hopes that he could help us. Now, in the blink of an eye, the object of our search, our only hope to contact the other Families, was little more than a slab of well-dressed meat cooling on the ground. He'd died at the hands of a man whom I had trusted, whom we had all trusted with our lives. Over the past several weeks, Thaddeus had become like family to my brother and sister and me. When Aaron was taken and we'd been forced to run for our lives, the stoic Steel Tower commander had filled the gap left by the loss of our Uncle, becoming a guide, mentor, and friend. He'd taught us to use Core Light, and educated us about the mysteries of the incredible power we held. He'd walked alongside us through every treacherous step, right up until the moment he pulled the trigger and crushed the bond we'd built under the weight of his betrayal.

    A pressure began to build inside my skull as undiluted rage washed over me, consuming my rationality in a wildfire that blazed cross my vision to color the world red. A frenzied roar leapt from my throat and I railed against my captors, flailing and fighting, tasting blood in my mouth as my teeth closed on my tongue. I called up Light on instinct, but it was directionless, burning nothing but air in an impotent display of useless rage. My captors beat my efforts back with brutal precision. Sharp points of pain pierced my skin and cruel pressure ground into my limbs, holding me fast and containing my fury.

    To the left and right of me, I heard my brother and sister screaming their own anger at our enemies. Flashes of Light burst from Samuel's directions. Coyote's roared and snarled, meeting my brother's violence with their own until the frenzy of our struggle died out and silence reclaimed the room.

    The anger left me quickly, its flame fizzling out and leaving a numb expanse of deadened emotion strewn across the ashes of my mind. Rough hands hauled me up to my knees while Samuel and Laura we're both dragged over to kneel on either side of me. Brilliant stabs of pain flared in my chest with each breath, telling of cracked ribs or worse, and other minor jabs of injury wracked my limbs with their nagging sting. Samuel and Lara looked as battered as I felt, their heads hung in exhaustion while bitter disappointment fled their starving lungs with each rattling breath. From somewhere to my left, I heard Lin thrashing on the ground, still grunting and cussing, straining against the beasts that held her down. I wanted to help her, to save her from what I knew she was feeling. But I couldn't bring myself to look in her direction.

    My eyes stayed glued to Thaddeus.

    Our former teacher stood off to one side, a blank, glassy-eyed expression on his statuesque face. There was no shame or guilt or even anger in his demeanor, just a cold emptiness, as if everything alive inside of him had died along with Graver.