Children Of The Sky (The Scripts Of Neptune, Book 2)

Chapter 56

The world was made of stars.

Crynia laid on her back in a pool of warm water, her hair fanned out around her head like a crown, and the chill in the air woke her with a start. The stars hazed above her when she exhaled, her breath a vapor against the sky. She held her breath to look at them, and they were clear as anything she'd ever seen, sparkling like frost on a cold morning.

The voice was like a hum at first, and at the sound of it she raised her head and sat up. The sky was mirrored in the water, endless; there was no discernable horizon.

Her hair streamed with water as she stood up and shivered, looking down at her hands--she was little more than darkness herself, shadowy and sinuous. Her fingers trailed smoke when she curled them into a fist, and she stared at it, mesmerized.

"Crynia."

The voice, cold and clear and bright through the darkness, startled her so badly she jumped. Turning in a circle, she stepped backwards, trying to see where it'd come from. There was no one there--and then her eyes picked out a pocket of shadow in the sky, and the water rippled as a dark figure pulled itself free from the firmament and blinked at her with eyes bright as the stars themselves. It was a woman, tall and slender, robed in shadows that swam with stars and swirled around her feet as she walked.

An inexplicable terror gripped Crynia and left her unable to move as the woman approached, cocking her head as if curious. She stopped not a foot away, beautiful and terrible, and Crynia found it impossible to break her bright stare. The woman raised her hand, cocking her head, and smiled as she touched Crynia's cheek.

A shrill scream echoed in the night at the agony her touch caused, burning like red-hot steel and ice all at once. Crynia fell to her knees, cradling the side of her face as the pain faded, and the dark woman gazed down at her.

"Mortals are so amusingly fragile," she said passively, turning away and folding her hands behind her. Her garment was shedding stars; they fell and fizzled out as they sank in the water. "Even your souls are so susceptible to injury. It really is an unfortunate flaw in His design."

"Who are you?" Crynia forced out. "And what is this place?"

"Do you not remember being here?" The woman turned and looked at her quizzically. "Naru restored your memories not half an hour ago, and he did it rather well. You have met me many times before now."

Crynia shut her eyes as she remembered--dear gods, the pain she'd been in before she'd woken here. Naru had put a knife through her back, and she remembered seeing Jack just before she...just before she what? She'd lost a great deal of blood, she knew, and the place Naru had stabbed her...

"Am I dead?" she breathed. "Is that what this is? Am I dead?"

The dark woman's laugh was like windchimes. "Not quite, though I understand you'd much prefer that to spending time with myself. No, dear, you are not dead. Your body is dying, but I have preserved your soul here for as long as I please."

Getting to her feet, Crynia raked her hands through her hair and stepped back, looking up. The sky was endless, but it suddenly seemed like a prison. "Why do you keep haunting me?" she asked. "Who are you? I thought...I thought you were me, but I remember more than that now. You've followed me in my dreams since just after I met Sam. Why?"

The dark woman hummed and smiled again. "My name is Ness," she said, the name hissing across the water. "Your grief, dear one, called out to me so plainly. Your pain is exquisite. You were the perfect vessel."

Crynia's blood ran cold. "Vessel?"

Ness cocked her head, still smiling, and took a step towards her. "Of course. But you have not yet accepted me, so I have been waiting here for you to do so. You are very, very good at running away."