Chaos (The Realmwalker Chronicles Book 1) (36 page)

Chapter 61

“Hell yeah!” Right
before Sam and I are directly over the Elder Shade, he turns the bike sharply as he stops, causing the back wheel to swing around. I use the momentum to launch from the side of the bike out toward the tear. I’m quickly gauging where and how I will land in the water as I glide high over the Elder Shade’s head.

Time slows.

I’m looking down at the Elder from far above when his head snaps up. His gaze finds me and I’m immediately wrapped in his icy grip. He pulls his arm back from the tear sight and raises it up over his head toward me.

Time catches up.

He snatches me from my fall with the strength of his mind, the force of it giving me whiplash, and I hang in midair.

I stare into his hollow eyes and watch as his ragged, slick mouth becomes a grin. He’s happy to see me. He throws his arm back sending me shooting out over the beach with such speed I barely have time to save myself. Just before I’m slammed into the ground, I send force out the ends of my extended arms. It slows me down enough that I tumble roughly into the sand.

“Stay down!” I hear to my right. I drop from hands and knees to my stomach as fire blazes out over me. I bury my face in the sand and throw my arms over my head. Though I can feel the flames lick over my back and arms, I’m left unsinged.

With my face in the sand, I feel the ground shake as the combat goes on around us. The sizzling I hear to my left is the burning carcass of an unrecognizable Lesser Shade.

I turn my head around and find Ember wearing a smug grin. She makes her hand into a pretend pistol and blows smoke from the tip of her finger. I smile back at her but before I can thank her, the sand by her feet begins to quiver.

“Ember! Look out!” A flat, disk-like Shade resembling a crab claws its way out of the sand. It stands taller than our heads, snapping its pincers at us as it dances back and forth on spindly legs.

Ember waves me on. “I’ve got this. You go do what you gotta do!”

I charge down the beach, kicking up sand behind me. I have to dive and dodge around the clashing Shades and Walkers. I’m about thirty feet from the water’s edge when I trip over something large. Sprawling out on my stomach, I turn reflexively, expecting the thing that tripped me to attack now that I’m down. What I find instead is worse.

Lang-hao is lying on his side in the sand. Two barbed quills, each the size of my arm, have impaled him through the stomach and chest. He’s gasping for breath but his lungs won’t work properly. Blood flows from his wounds and out his mouth.

So much blood.

I scramble on my hands and knees through the sand until I’m by his side.

“It’s okay, Lang. I can fix this.” My hands flutter over him. His eyes roll back and he goes limp. “Stay here! Lang!” He’s lost too much blood to stay conscious. He’s hurt so badly I don’t know where to start. I look around frantically for Faye. I find her at the water’s edge healing Simone, who looks to be in misery.

I’m on my own.

“Okay, I can fix this. I can fix this,” I whisper repeatedly.

I send out energy and, using the skill that Lang himself taught me, rip the quills from his body. With my hands over his chest my mind commands his body to repair the injury. I push the process harder, faster than I ever have before. I’m so afraid he’ll bleed out before I can fix him. I watch as his muscles spread across the open wounds of his torso, reaching for each other and knitting together. Soon the flesh follows the same pattern. Once I know the worst is over, I order the body to begin creating new blood to replace the amount he lost.

An explosion behind me sends sand into my back so forcefully it tears into my clothing and cuts my skin. My ears ring from the blast. I’m dizzy from the battle raging around me.

I look toward the ocean and the tear site and see Kira and Mel struggling to keep up with the Elder Shade. He’s too strong and too fast. They’re losing strength and it won’t be long before they fall. I need to get to them.

Lang is recovering but his heartbeat is still weak and I’m afraid to leave him. I look at Faye across the beach. Simone, better now, helps the healer to her feet among the waves.

Faye.
She looks up and our eyes meet. The scars on her face stand out vivid white even at this distance.

She nods to show she understands.

But right then, a great black aquatic tentacle bursts out of the ocean behind Faye. She dodges to the left but isn’t quick enough. The slippery arm snakes itself around her mid-section. Simone’s blood-chilling scream fills the air as Faye is lifted high into the air.

“Faye!” I yell, leaping up and running to her. As she hovers in the air, our eyes meet and a sick feeling settles into my chest.

Faster than lightning, the arm cracks downward, slamming Faye hard onto the surf.

“No!” My shout is a strangled cry.

The sea Shade raises Faye into the air again. I’m almost to her.

SLAM.

Before Faye can be lifted off the ground for a third time, Sam reaches her and dives onto the slick arm, pinning it to the ground. I arrive and push my mind into the arm of the Shade. I rip apart the flesh until the arm is severed from its body.

More tentacles stretch up out of the churning waves, feeling, groping their way toward us. Sam works to untangle Faye while I sever the monster’s other arms. One after another they come—three, four, now six. I pull apart limb after limb, littering the beach with writhing, oozing black ropes until there are no more.

“Addy,” Sam croaks, leaning protectively over Faye, “she needs you.”

I fall to the ground next to my friend’s broken body. Her eyes are closed and she’s very still.

“Is she—” Sam starts but can’t bring himself to ask.

I lift my hands over her body, intending to send my mind out toward her, when she opens her eyes. She’s in excruciating pain. I quickly shut off the pain sensors in her brain and her relief is instantaneous.

“Don’t you worry, Faye.” I try to reassure her, but she knows as well as I do how grave her injuries are.

Someone shouts for help somewhere up the beach and Sam jumps to his feet but hesitates.

“Go! I’m fine here.”

When I look back down at Faye, she’s looking behind me, her eyes wide. I spin, ready to fend off another Shade, but there’s nothing there. Looking back at Faye, I find she no longer looks surprised. Her expression is peaceful and filled with a sweet kind of longing.

I return my hands to their place above her, but she uses what little strength she has left to push them away.

“Faye? What—”

“Shhh, don’t Addy,” she whispers through cracked lips, still peering over my shoulder. “Don’t waste time.”

“Faye NO! It’s not too late.” We both know I’m lying.

“Please Addy, …” she smiles serenely, “let me go to him.”

Again I turn around and find nothing behind me. She’s hallucinating. She thinks she’s seeing her dead husband.

She whispers something but I can’t make out the words. Again I try to heal her and again she stops me.

“Faye! Please! I have to TRY,” I beg her, sobbing. I can see she’s determined but I can’t bear to say good-bye. We need her. She’s like a mother to all of us.

Her eyelids flutter and a tear rolls down the side of her face. With her last breath she utters, “Allen … my Allen.”

And then it happens.

The tear rips wide open, making an audible CRACK that resonates deep within me. The cold that had been slowly seeping from the tear site now readily flows out onto the beach, spreading invisible tendrils that reach into me and wrap around my heart, turning it to ice in my chest.

Like a dam bursting, Shades of all sizes, Lesser and Greater alike, pour from the Nether Realm and into the ocean. They slink and slither, dash and fly in all directions. The water, as if reacting to the very nature of the demons, churns violently. A murky blackness spreads out from the opening, tainting the ocean, turning it into a viscous, oily broth.

Leaving Faye’s body behind, I rush to the tear site.

The Elder Shade, having accomplished his task, turns and joins the melee on the sand. Behind him, knee deep in the water and facing the tear, I’m surprised to see Crank. I’m surprised because he looks excited—no GIDDY—as he flexes his hands eagerly.

“This is MY show now!” He throws his arms out wide and I watch, stunned, as the ocean responds to his command. The tide swells to an incredible height and the sea rushes forward.

Waves come crashing in and around the tear, forcing back the stampede of Shades. Crank’s tiny frame is dwarfed by the massive waves his awesome power is commanding. He’s holding off the armies of hell. I pray he can hold out long enough for us to reseal the tear.

I search for the two sealers, fearing the worst, but then I feel their auras. I find them in the water still, fighting against the currents of the now-crippling tide. I didn’t see them before because they’re covered in the black sludge that has bled from the Nether Realm, camouflaging them against the murky waters.

They’re weak. Mel loses her footing and is pulled beneath the waves. Before she can be washed away, I grasp for her with my mind. Holding her tightly within the grip of my power, I drag her up to the shallows where she can breathe.

While I have her, I send strength through her body and rejuvenate her exhausted mind. Refreshed and feeling new, she plants her feet firmly in the sand and resumes her work on the tear. When I’m confident she can stand on her own, I repeat the process within Kira.

With the opposing forces of the charging Shades pushing back against the furious ocean, the hole between our realms continues to take the brunt of the abuse. It rips and tatters, becoming larger by the second. It will take all three of us working together to fix it.

At the back of my mind, I feel a familiar life force flicker and weaken. A woman screams and at the same time, Timothy’s light, his aura, blinks out of existence.

I can’t wait another second or more will die, more lights will extinguish.

Running through the sand and surf, I mimic Sam’s ability to utilize my muscles to their full capacity to get me to the portal sooner. I throw my thoughts out, feeling with invisible hands, tracing the edges of the tear. I begin stitching. It’s slow at first, but then Mel and Kira find the place I’m working on and join their efforts with mine.

With the strength of our combined abilities, the bottom of the tear begins to weave together. I push harder, force the fabric to meet and mend, placing bonding wards on the seam along the way so it can’t be re-opened.

It’s working. The once gaping rift is now halfway closed. The Shades in the Nether Realm turn frantic. Desperate to get through the opening before it closes, they jockey for the front of the herd. Obsidian tusks, horns, claws, tentacles, and feelers protrude from the hole as the mass of dark bodies beyond roils and churns.

We are two-thirds of the way done when the ocean suddenly stops its deluge. An unseen force plucks up Crank and tosses him like a rag doll out over the ocean.

“I’ve got you, Crank!” Lang shouts, and I spin to see the Asian’s face pinched in concentration, reaching out for Crank.

The Elder Shade, maybe sensing his work was being undone, has returned. Crank’s efforts posed the greatest threat, so he attacked him first, but soon he will turn his attention to Mel and Kira and me.

Lang catches Crank in the air and begins to pull him back to his post. In the few seconds he’s been gone, dozens of Shades have spilled out through the hole.

The Elder Shade turns toward Lang with his arms outstretched, intending to stop him from helping Crank. I know I have only a second to intervene.

HEY!

I send my thoughts out to the Elder Shade. For a minute it works. His gaze flicks in my direction.

I have to distract him. I have to keep him off the others long enough for them to do their job. But the Elder turns and takes another step toward Lang.

You were wrong about us, you stupid, worthless pawn!

His steps falter slightly.

You thought we couldn’t do it, but look at us!

I use false bravado to try and provoke his pride.

It works. He turns toward me.

YOUR PATHETIC ATTEMPT WILL NOT SUCCEED. YOU ARE NOT THE ONE AND THE ONE HAS FAILED YOU.

The one? Does he mean Mikhail? As a last ditch effort I close my eyes and feel for Mikhail’s frequency. He isn’t here. He hasn’t come to help us. I can’t feel any trace of him within Chaos at all. Feeling my despair, the Elder coughs out a wet laugh.

HIS FAILURE IS YOUR DOOM.

I move backwards, circling around him, maneuvering him away from the others. I need only keep him talking a little while longer. But the Elder Shade has something more than talking in mind.

His laughter grows louder and louder until it fills me. It bounces off the walls inside my head, blocking out everything else. I can no longer move of my own accord. My back and neck stiffen, forcing my head back, and my feet leave the ground. A sharp burning begins to spread across my abdomen.

What is that? What’s happening? I sink within myself, traveling through my body until I reach the area that’s aching. I go even deeper, all the way to the cellular level, and am horrified at what I find. My cells, my flesh and muscles and sinews and bones are unbinding. They are coming apart!
I
am coming apart. The Elder Shade is unraveling me the same way he did the fabric of reality.

Chapter 62

I act swiftly,
furiously mending my insides, countering the undoing he works inside me. I’m vaguely aware of the other Walkers battling around me. I think I hear Sam shout my name but I’m unsure. Healing myself has become my main priority, commanding all my attention. Anything else is a distraction.

Though my body is healing, it isn’t fast enough. The burning begins to spread up and across my chest, down into my thighs. The affected area is becoming too large. I can’t keep up with it. The worst part is the pain. If I quit healing for even a second to tell my brain to stop the pain, I’ll be torn to pieces.

Blasts, one after another, rain down around us, sending sand and pieces of Lesser Shades flying through the air. And the Elder’s assault never wavers.

My shoulders begin to burn, followed quickly by my legs. Everything’s on fire. I heal and heal but I can’t keep up. I’m in over my head and losing what little ground I have. I can’t stop shrieks of agony from escaping my throat. It feels as though my whole body is screaming with me.

Visions come unbidden to my mind. My mother. My sister. Sam, Ember, everyone I love. Everyone I’m failing. I see Angel. The little girl radiates a joy that is almost palpable. I see Faye. She’s young and beautiful. Her skin is flawless, free of scars. She’s under the arm of a handsome man who smiles down at her lovingly.

I see my father clearest of all. He looks just as I remember him. His kind smile and warm eyes send peace throughout me.

My body is beyond pain now. I’m numb from head to toe, but still I try. Still I work feverishly, concentrating on keeping my vital organs intact. I hold out as long as I can because every second the Elder spends on me is a second given to the others.

My father is reaching for me. He’s so clear, so close. His love wraps around me like a safe blanket. Everything I remembered about him floods through me, filling my senses. His sparkling green eyes, the way he smells, how it feels to fall into his arms. Suddenly I’m afraid I’ll disappoint him.

I’ve failed, Dad. I’ve failed everyone.

But all I feel from him is love and acceptance. He’s here. He wants to comfort me. All I have to do is let go and I’ll be with him. It seems such an easy thing and I wonder why I’ve been fighting it so hard.

I forget why I’m resisting. I forget all my worries. I’m ready to let go.

The image of my father, hand extended toward me, dissolves as my eyes are forced open.

The Elder Shade, mere feet away, stares into my eyes. He knows I’m seconds away from dying.

LOOK AT ME AS YOU DIE.

So he will rob me not only of my life, but of the last bit of peace I so desperately cling to.

No. I won’t let go. I refuse to give up. If I die, I die fighting.

He begins to fade from sight as my vision blackens. I’m losing consciousness.

Before he disappears completely, he snaps backward, his tall frame bent in an unnatural angle. His hold on me is broken and I fall to the sand, landing on my side. My body is so unhinged I’m unable to move. The Elder stumbles backwards, writhing and twisting in a macabre dance.

With renewed hope I continue to repair the damage he’s done to me. The Shade seems to be in pain. For the first time, I sense fear in him—fear for his life. Something is attacking him. Somehow, someone has gotten past his defenses. As soon as my neck is healed enough, I turn my head around, looking for the source of the attack. The only action left on the beach is at the tear site. Every remaining Walker stands defending Crank, Mel, and Kira.

Twisting back I watch as the Elder’s flesh stretches and expands. He looks as though he’ll burst. His head rolls around in agony. He claws at his chest and falls hard to his knees.

Where is this coming from? What’s happening?

Right now, it doesn’t matter. I must take advantage of his condition. I’ve healed the life-sustaining organs within me enough now to shift my full attention his way. Reaching a weakened arm out from where I lay in the sand, I put all of my strength behind a shockwave of pure energy directed at his chest.

Sand blasts up and out all around him but he’s unaffected. How is he still untouchable? I try sending fire. A ribbon of flames swirls up around him, but his flesh refuses to burn.

An awful bellow comes from the Shade as his ribcage swells outward and sucks back in. His stomach bulges grotesquely out to one side. The Shade arches violently back as an arm, a black sludge-covered arm, erupts from his chest. And then another. They push and pull on the ribcage from the inside, ripping the wound open, spilling the Shade’s insides out onto the sand.

The Elder Shade wraps his arms around himself, trying to keep everything in, but he’s growing weak and can no longer hold onto his defenses. As his shield—the only thing holding him together—drops, what’s left of him explodes, sending black mist and greasy clumps of ichor showering down upon the beach.

Kneeling in the sand amid the blood rain is the Shade that burst from the Elder’s chest. This one is smaller than the Elder and oddly humanoid. But now I can feel him. It isn’t another Shade—it’s Mikhail! He’s drenched in the blood of the Elder Shade and is badly shaken. I feel his body slip into shock as he falls forward onto his chest.