The first explosion rocks the entire building, and people are immediately scrambling to the trees for the cover. I make the mistake of breathing and cough up smoke. Stumbling to the edge of the roof, I look down, and my stomach lurches. On the ground, in full armor with weapons, is an army. And Rythe is the one leading it. Scrambling backwards, I look around to see what’s going on. Alar has disappeared, but weapons are being chucked up through the hatch to the roof, so I’m assuming he’s the one arming us. Ama is casting spells and her aura is getting more solid and blacker by the second. Klef is speaking to Mom and Dad. Flo is looking around, calling Rythe’s name. Hibiscus is trying to dodge the fires that are sprouting up from falling branches and damaged parts of the roof. I stick two fingers in my mouth and whistle the best I can. They all look to me. “It’s Rythe!” I scream. “Rythe is down there leading the attacking army! If he comes up here, do not let him ‘help’ you!”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCSOe3T7JNG
Everyone stares at me in shock. Ama is the first to recover, unleashing a primeval scream before her chants pick up speed and suddenly there are dozens upon dozens of bones flying in the air from all around us, swarming at her. She sweeps one hand toward the madness below. “Attack!” she screeches, and the bones go flying.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKVVFGh7vQW
The leaders of the Crusaders are grabbing bows, pickaxes, swords, daggers, guns, whatever is being tossed up the hatch. Klef throws me a bow and a quiver of arrows, and I run to the edge of the roof, notching those suckers as fast as I can. Years of practice has made me an excellent shot, and I’m aiming to kill. One by one enemies are falling, dropping to the floor. But for every one that falls down, two are brought in to replace them. And Rythe is just standing there, a smirk on their face. “Still think you can win, do you?” he calls up, as if he’s just talking about the weather. “Give up, little Iri, you know you can’t win! You know how this ends!”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVcVrB0te05
I swallow. I had sort of pieced together what was about to happen, but that didn’t mean I was going to accept it. I notch another arrow and aim it straight at their eye. I release, and the arrow flies true to course, but gets smashed by a kind of magic I’ve never seen before. They smile up at me, waving their hand, where a charm is dangling from their wrist. I growl. Clearly, this is not going to be easy.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQoHTvoyrxm
Something behind Rythe draws my attention, and I see a giant ball of flame in a catapult, ready to fire. “Back! EVeryone, back! They’re about to burn us all to a crisp! Get back!”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL8Y0hYWWLU
Everyone who still can, runs, but Hibiscus starts sobbing. “I can’t move!” they yell. “I’m stuck!”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Ay90sbyg6
My stomach drops. No. Hibiscus? After all they’ve been through, they can’t die. I run for them, but fire explodes in the corner of my eye, and suddenly we’re falling.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzU1U9W9JdT
I sit up, not daring to groan. My vision is swimming. Fire. It’s all around me. It’s what I’m almost breathing in and what I’m choking on. I hear someone yell, “Shelter! We have to get to shelter!”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKfjRPvBTUK
Where is he? He has to be here, he couldn’t have been hit. “Klef!” I scream.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2uf8gvL6fX
Coughs erupt 3 feet away from me. I reach out and grab a hand. Klef’s hand. He squeezes it, and we struggle out of the immediate fire. BANG!776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1sKO0EoiFZ
“They’ve got guns!” I exclaim, panicked.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxiVcalS4FO
We’re sitting ducks, trapped in the base by fire. No way out this time. I look at Klef and he looks at me. There’s desperation in his eyes, and I have no doubt it’s in mine as well. And in what feels to be our final moments together…we kiss.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFfnM4GEe4P
There’s footsteps running up to the now gaping opening of the base, and Klef and I break apart. “You have to hide,” Klef orders. “Go!”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNsQzDQXeoV
“No way I’m leaving without you!” I exclaim. “Don’t you dare tell me to go hide and be safe while you’re out here being stupid!”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡueQeta3VhW
There are blurry shapes walking through the flames, approaching fast. One reaches out an appendage and slams into the back of Klef’s head, causing his eyes to widen in shock before they close and he falls face- first to the floor. I scramble backward but the same appendage grabs onto my ankle and refuses to let go. “No!” I scream, kicking wildly. “Let me go! No!”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUOFvmEiLwK
Someone behind me grabs my arms and twists them painfully. “A-ah! No! Nnn… no!”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj2iuX0yBBT
There’s a prick in my neck and everything starts swimming faster. “N… no… no…”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOTjeJMqxlt
The last thing I can clearly see is Klef lying there on the floor, and I can only imagine the panic he’ll feel when he wakes up, before my vision fades to black.
776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8XDGjqqf1c
When I wake up, there’s something cold against my wrists and ankles. I sit up, blinking rapidly, trying to clear the swimming in my head. “Good morning, Oracle,” a voice says across from me. “You’ve been out quite a while.”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa35CkJ8W4Y
I frown and blink more, and slowly the blurry form of Rythe comes into view. I lunge forward, or at least try to, but the cold on my wrists is holding me back. They chuckle. “Don’t try and fight, little Iri, you know how this is going to end as well as I do. Not well for you, I’m afraid.”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZQe5yAH2Xx
“Screw you,” I rasp, before coughing.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1gYmaY1Vxm
A glass of water comes into my line of sight and I scowl at the hand offering it, which quickly retreats. Rythe waves a hand dismissively, and shrugs. “I can understand why you don’t want my help, Oracle, but I want to make sure you are in top condition.”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhXZoNDardK
I laugh. “You shouldn’t have tried to kill me, then. Or weren’t you the person who threw the grenade in the bedroom at the base?”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7zujMFMGBT
“I knew you were in the ensuite, I was trying to kill that pesky little boyfriend of yours.”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiHQbD2EaGA
“Somehow, that’s not reassuring,” I snark.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ8DnRNkzE1
Rythe rolls his eyes. “Yes, well. I’m afraid we won’t be talking for much longer. You see, your Sight is rather… unusual. I suppose you now know that you were in my head in your dream? Thing is, I never even felt it. I felt heightened paranoia, perhaps. The feeling I was being watched. But I didn’t know who, or how. And I want to see if we can harness that power.”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSOfKc1Thc3
I lean back into the wall behind me, staring up at Rythe with disgust. “And how are you going to do that?”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG0lI9VNku9
“Simple,” Rythe says, waving a hand. A fairy starts connecting wires to my fingers and hands, and clips glass circles to my eyes and around the back of my head. “We’re going to force your magic to conduct itself while you are awake, and see what you can see through a screen.”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaegb6YYnYY
Something starts buzzing and I arch my back in pain. It feels like my entire body is on fire, and that my soul is being split from it. Slowly, images start to take form.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbJXXXnMbSZ
Sharp, blackened shapes that stretch into the sky. Rubble all around, and dead bodies of people in their Deuxlives scattered about. Fresh deaths are just starting to rouse with groans and gasps. The head I’m in doesn’t stop looking around, and sighs. I know that sigh. Klef, I realize.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKzwA8pHUXC
“Is everyone okay?” his voice asks.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsxkCU6njiw
Someone is crying. Another person is calling out names of people they care about. One giant shape in the rubble stands up shakily. A new dragon. They look down at themselves and smile. “Well, if I had to go some way, I’m glad I got to be a dragon.”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYs383VvD9N
Hibiscus. “Hibiscus, I am so sorry,” Klef says.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7n7Il4hlOs
The dragon smiles. “Don’t worry about it. I’m more concerned about Rides’ parents. Has anyone seen them?”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMpwGus8iHd
A lump forms in my throat. Mom might still be alive in her Deuxlife. But if Dad died… he has no way of coming back this time. “I’m here,” Dad calls.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHFdPGPKUgM
Klef turns and runs over to him. “Have you seen her mother? Please tell me she’s okay!”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFxzOBqqxHe
Dad sighs. “Well, she’s technically still alive…”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡz3EUxq9MYL
My heart skips a beat. Mom died. It’s all my fault. She walks into view, rubbing her shoulders. “Klef, I never realized how complicated it is to have wings. I’ll be making some adjustments to our house rules, to better accomodate you.” Tawny yellow wings stretch out from Mom’s back.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7Uwwlz7gsz
“That’s not necessary, really, it just takes a bit getting used to,” Klef assures her. “Has anyone seen Rides, though?”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyK7keBIbBF
Everyone turns solemn. I can feel Klef’s panic in his head. “Someone has seen her, right?! She’s not gone?!”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡswHERWMpL5
Hibiscus stretches their wings. “I saw someone grab her and carry her out as I was dying. I’m sorry.”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgfXyzRfPLq
“We have to find her!” Klef exclaims. “Form a search party! We have to find out where she’s gone.”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKwnp20MN33
“No, Klef, don’t be an idiot!” I scream. “They’ll just kill you too!”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPyoDeeIUKx
Klef’s head whips around. “Ride?” he whispers.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDbn2lsMifn
Before I can say anything else, I’m disconnected from the wires that let me see him. I want to scream in frustration, but I refuse to give Rythe the satisfaction. “See your boyfriend, did you? How sweet,” they coo. “Hope you said goodbye.”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZZLPbpBPYF
I ignore Rythe in favor of looking around where I’m being held. It’s a carriage, but it’s one of the ones usually reserved for escorting prisoners. No ammount of yelling for help is going to get me anywhere, but I do recognize the rock patterns outside on the hills from pictures I’ve seen of places in west Argentor. “Do you want to see your hometown?” Rythe asks casually. “I’m sure all your friends would love to see you carted away like the criminal that you are. But then again, someone such as yourself probably doesn’t have any friends, am I right?”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZu8XoWJG8Z
They’re trying to rile me up, but I stay silent. I’m not willing to give them the satisfaction of interacting with me anymore than they force me to. They sigh. “This is going to be a long ride,” they sigh.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKt2Be6qsKB
“‘I was angry at my friend,776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuUQOOl6IvQ
“‘I told my wrath, my wrath did end.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0fKUoilSx2
“‘I was angry at my foe,776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW08BVaXrJz
“‘I told it not, my wrath did grow,” I mutter.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyJCn8uCM3C
“‘And I watered it in fears,776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzpczzsOygK
“‘Night and morning with my tears.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqiK2ydXIr5
“‘And I sunned it with smiles,776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfjv8WSHszb
“‘And with soft, deceitful wiles.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfnXlZSe4tC
“‘And it grew both day and night.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc0MGRKKG9V
“‘Till it bore an apple bright.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGi9dTUy8P9
“‘And my foe beheld it shine,776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZIlSh6KtDM
“‘And he knew that it was mine.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa4gTa0xHk4
“‘And into my garden stole,776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSPSkUCE6oj
“‘When the night had veild the pole;776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡReHT01H9LK
“‘In the morning glad I see;776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGOzciNAc3v
“‘My foe outstretched beneath the tree.’ Nice poem,” Rythe finishes. “One of our founders was fond of it as well. She actually used that to motivate herself to get things done, a lot like you.”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKxDSbDWoJN
I feel a little sick at the comparison. “You don’t get to say who I am and am not like. I’m my own person, and expect to be treated as such.”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhpGqRf41na
Rythe smirks. “Feisty like her, too.”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡc6XMATW2a1
I stand as best I can with the shackles on me and spit in their face. Rythe blinks, before laughing. “Definitely fiesty,” they say. “I really like you. If we weren’t on opposing sides I’d like you to be my partner in crime.”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkt48A2N8Bo
“You had Flo,” I point out. “Wasn’t she enough for you?”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZRTd1Vsuo6
Rythe shrugs. “She was nice, true, but she was a means to an end. We needed a Crusader base in the Werewolf Territory. And she was the most likely to start it. Shame what happened to her last night.”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡY9gIJDFiR6
I swallow and drop my eyes.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡntRRSyAX2Q
“‘Course, I would never have anyone but myself kill her. Only the best for my love,” he sighs.776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH3gt3cigVV
“You’re a monster,” I growl. “Nothing more than a monster.”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl5zQruBvB5
“Want to know how she died? With honor, maybe? It was pathetic, I’ll tell you that much. Told me that if I stopped now we could still have a chance. I smiled and shot her. Never saw it coming, dropped to the ground. I would have laughed, if it weren’t so tragic.”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNQNfImDzZy
My eyes sting. “Shut up,” I growl. “You don’t talk about the dead like that.”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP2cYYGQpss
“Maybe you don’t, but I do,” Rythe says with a satisfied grin. “Oh, you’re stuck here, my dear. May as well get used to my brand of humor.”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ2jUB5sHET
“I’m going to die anyway, what’s the point?”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOi48gDlE9F
“Die? No, no, no, no. You’re not going to die. The machine we need you for won’t kill you, we’ve made sure of that,” Rythe laughs. “You’re simply going to destroy the humans. And the grief will drive you mad when we kill the Crusaders who aren’t with us, starting with your precious boyfriend. But we need your dreams. We’re not going to kill you. We’re going to break you.”776Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVIbk7FBZBj
I bite my lip and look at the outside world. It wouldn’t take that much to break me at this point, to be honest. Flo is dead. Hibiscus died. Mom died. Klef is stranded without me. And I’m going to be instrumental in genocide. I sit back sullenly and watch the scenery go by. For all I know, it could be my last time seeing it.
and then Add to home screen.