Harbinger (The Bleeding Worlds) (20 page)

“Daddy?”

Mr. Murray helped her up. “It’s okay Sophia; we’ve come to take you somewhere that they can help.”

“What did you give me?”

“It’s a new medicine. We’re going to take you to the hospital that developed it.”

Sophia drew a deep breath. He was here. Her father. Just as she had planned. One more thing to do.

“Dad, is mom here?”

“Yes, she’s in the waiting room.”

“Could I have a moment with her alone?”

His eyes filled with suspicion. She had to act quickly or she’d lose her chance.

“Dad, you know mom won’t want you to take me somewhere else. Just let me talk to her, show her how much better that medicine made me. It’ll make things easier.”

He paused. Had she said the right thing? She couldn’t remember the exact words that had worked in her dream.

Her dad patted her shoulder. “You’re probably right. She can be difficult. I’ll go get her.”

Mr. Murray left the room. The two men dressed as paramedics stayed, discomfort evident in their eyes. How would they react if she told them what was going to happen? Would they run from the room?

Her dad returned with her mom.

“Just a couple minutes alone, okay?” Her dad said.

The men left the room.

Sophia threw her arms around her mom’s neck.

“Mom, we don’t have much time. You need to listen very carefully.”

Confusion painted her mother’s face. “Sophia, is it really you? Are you all right?”

“I’m fine mom. Yes. Please, we don’t have much time. If you love me, if you were only going to listen to me once in your life, now’s the time. When dad and I leave, you need to go into the waiting room and stay there until someone tells you it’s safe to come out.”

“What? I don’t understand.”

“Please, mom, I’m begging you. Just stay there until the police come and say ‘It’s safe to come out now miss.’”

“No. I’m coming with you. There’s no way I’m just letting them take you without me.”

Motherly instincts. Of all times, why did she have to have them now?

I could hurt her. Say all sorts of hurtful things that make her leave me alone.
She took a deep breath
. Is that really how I want things to end between us?

“Do you love me?” Sophia asked.

Her mother’s eyes were wet. She stroked her hand along Sophia’s cheek.

“You know I do sweetheart. That’s why—”

“Do you believe in me?”

Her mother looked stricken. “I…do. Yes, always.”

“Then do what I’m asking you to do. I love you too, and I need to know that I can trust you.”

Her mother sighed. “Okay. I will.” She didn’t sound happy about it, but Sophia felt convinced she would keep her word. “What about you? Why wouldn’t it be safe?”

“I’ll be fine.” She took her mother’s hand. “
I’ll be fine
. Just do what I ask. Please?”

“OK sweetheart.” Her mom kissed her forehead. “I love you.”

“Love you too.”

Sophia knocked on the door. Her dad and the other men came in.

“All good?” Her father asked.

Sophia nodded. She squeezed her mom’s hand tight. “I’ll see you soon mom.”

The paramedics guided Sophia to a wheelchair. As she and the men went down the hall, she turned. Her mom went back into the waiting room. The pieces had fallen into place. She should be frightened. Instead, a sense of calm had come over her. Her plan was working. Just a little further.

They passed through the doors of the psych word. Sophia counted the paces. Maybe another hundred feet. Step by step, moment by moment. Just a couple more.

A roar.

They were here.

§

Gwynn lay on
the ground sputtering. He still held Pridament’s hand in a viselike grip. His insides were on fire and dry, heaving, coughs, racked his whole body.

“Yeah, I should’ve warned you kid; the first time sucks.”

In his mind, Gwynn ran through a myriad of curses and expletives he should spout, but just managed a whimper.

“Try tearing into the Veil and draw just a little energy out. That should help.”

Gwynn stretched his fingers and flexed them. He summoned an image of the Veil, a tangible curtain, and plunged his fingers inside. A rush of power flowed into him. His limbs, feeling starved, were nourished.

The nausea passed and Gwynn managed to sit up without barfing.

“Where are we?” He asked.

“Utility closet. I scoped out the hospital for a possible entry point. This was the best I could find.”

“What did you just do?”

“Folded. It’s somewhat unpleasant to do, but it’s useful. Trick is, you have to know exactly where you’re going, or you could get lost in the Veil.”

“And if that happened?” Gwynn asked.

A grim look painted his face. “If you enjoy living, don’t do it.”

Pridament moved to the door and eased it open a crack. “We should get moving. Sooner we speak to Sophia, the sooner we can figure out how we’re going to close those tears.”

Pridament slid out the door into the hall. Gwynn eased his way back to his feet. He prepared for a wave of nausea, or weakness in his limbs. Much to his delight, he found his body responded in a more than admirable way. He followed Pridament out into the hall.

Weakness flooded his limbs.

Not from the folding, but from the destruction that faced him.

Large gashes exposed the innards of the hospital walls. Sparks flew from the ceiling lights, many of which hung by frayed wires or were smashed on the floor. A city of several hundred thousand people. A single hospital to serve them all and not a single person in sight.

Swear. Cry. Ask a million questions. Gwynn’s mind and mouth worked hard trying to reconcile an appropriate response. Neither could agree.

“They’re here.” Pridament replied to Gwynn’s questioning expression. Two words. Two syllables.

It explained everything.

“Call your sword.” Pridament said.

Xanthe.

The reassuring weight of Xanthe filled his hand, answering his call. The sword’s consciousness slithered up his arm, a serpent carrying the fruit of knowledge. His fear evaporated. The tools to deliver death granted. Pridament had drawn his staff from the Veil.

Pridament motioned for Gwynn to follow.

The hall ended with a choice of directions—left or right.

To their right, sounds of monstrous roars and clashing of weapons. To the left, the way to the psych ward and Sophia.

Pridament probed Gwynn, a question in Pridament’s eyes,
Go help, or go to Sophia?

Gwynn motioned to the right. What was the sense of seeing Sophia if he couldn’t look her in the eye?

They inched their way down the hall, the sounds of monsters and men growing louder.

The air filled with familiar electricity.

“Anunnakis?” Gwynn asked.

Pridament shrugged, but his pace quickened.

Drywall, dust and metal rained down as a wall exploded next to them.

A creature similar to Mr. Davis’ transformation stood amidst the ruins and let out a roar.

Pridament’s staff caught the beast across the jaw, sending it stumbling backward.

“Gwynn.” A voice called. A soft, familiar, feminine voice.

He saw her on the other side of the wall. Sophia. His desire to see her, to protect her, drove him forward. Xanthe, the manifestation of the darkest parts of his soul, guided him. He moved low and fast along the ground, the tip of Xanthe catching the monster just below its waist. With a quick upward flick of his wrist, Gwynn ended the menace.

He ran to Sophia.

An unseen force slammed into him and shoved him backward.

“Sorry Gwynn, not the time for reunions.” The familiar voice of Mr. Murray said.

Another of the beasts lay at Mr. Murray’s feet, while two men dressed as paramedics fought with another.

“Justinian.” Pridament called.

Mr. Murray regarded Pridament. “Who let the Fallen in?”

“You know I’m not, Justinian.”

“Of course cousin, I know very well who
you
are.” With a nod toward Gwynn he added, “Does he?”

No time for answers. The ceiling shattered above them in a hailstorm of dust and plaster.

An instinct, perhaps born of Xanthe, yelled,
Move.

Gwynn hurled himself back onto his hands and propelled backward ten feet. A clawed hand crashed through the air where his head had been.

Back on his feet. Steady, breathing slow and controlled.

Strike.

With a cry, Gwynn plunged into the fray. Xanthe sang as it hacked through the air, claiming the arm with the lethal intent.

Something howled in the haze.

No stopping. Low, out of reach of the other hand that shot out searching for a target. No injury now, just the end. Xanthe bit deep into flesh. There seemed little resistance as Gwynn dragged the blade upward, cleaving the beast in two.

Do not stop.

He twisted to the left, avoiding a killing blow as another beast descended. A quick spin and the monster’s head fell free.

Gwynn stumbled on something on the floor. He paused long enough to see it was the torn remains of one of the men dressed as a paramedic.

No matter what Xanthe pumped through his system, he couldn’t help but feel convulsions run through his stomach. A momentary pause. A human reaction to a human death.

Mistake.

The back of a hand caught Gwynn in the midsection slamming him back first into the wall.

The air in his lungs rushed out of him. Stars filled his vision. Because it screamed for him to hang on, he managed not to drop Xanthe.

Something else hit him. Softer. Nothing murderous in its actions. As he tumbled away, claws raked across the wall he had been leaning against.

Whatever, whoever, had slammed into him still hung on. Time dropped to a third of its normal speed. His body spun. No helping it, his fingers loosened around Xanthe and the sword dropped away, returning to the Veil.

Time returned to normalcy as his body hammered into the floor. He met the wall with a bang, the extra weight of his savior helped to increase the velocity.

Lying against the wall, feeling battered and broken, the person against him stirred. “Are you okay Gwynn?”

“Sophia?” He croaked.

Her face came into focus. “Hi.”

Gwynn stroked a stray strand of hair from her face. “I’m sorry. I should’ve come for you sooner.”

She shook her head, the smile never leaving her face. It was her. Sophia. His Sophia. Whatever visions had plagued her before seemed to have fled. In their place, they left tranquility.

“Nope. You came at the time you were supposed to.”

Her warm, soft lips touched his. The feeling of her gentle tongue entwining with his own sent chills rocketing through his battered body. For the first time he could recall since death stole his parents, he felt alive and at peace.

Sophia leaned back, breaking their connection, so he could see her face. She wore a radiant smile. His angel, come to deliver him from this life of pain. She reached up and stroked her hand from his temple down until she held him on his cheek.

“Gwynn. I’m so sorry. This isn’t going to be easy for you. This is important. What happened to your parents wasn’t your fault. You need to remember it, believe it. When you take her hand, you’ll know you’re ready.”

Was she talking gibberish again? Her words made no sense to him.

“I don’t understand.”

“You will.” She gave him a quick kiss on his cheek. “Just know, no matter how painful, how hard this world is, in another world, you and I are happy and in love. When you don’t think you can go on, remember that. Remember that you alone have the power to protect them.”

She stood up. Her skin seemed to glow. “Gwynn, know that all those years you looked my way, I always looked back. I just wasn’t strong enough to challenge fate.”

She smiled, her eyes fixed on Gwynn. She didn’t break eye contact or stop smiling until the massive clawed hand smashed her into the wall. Her head made the sound of a pumpkin tossed from a height against concrete. When the monster released her, she crumpled to the ground like a rag doll, her once golden hair streaked with crimson.

“Sophia?” Gwynn croaked. “Sophia?” A sob tore at his throat. The sob rose into a howl.

The monster turned its attention to Gwynn.

The howl turned into a roar.

And the roar tore the world to shreds.

§

Blood splashed across
the wall feet from where Pridament stood. A wave of energy slammed into him. If he hadn’t already drawn so much from the Veil, he had little doubt he’d be dead. He struck the end of his staff against the ground and tore into the Veil. He drew energy, radiated it out from the staff, forming a defensive bubble around him. Once protected, he hazarded a glance to try to see the source of the devastation. Gwynn, kneeling over the broken body of Sophia Murray. His heart ached. First love should never end in tragedy.

Gwynn had lost all control. His skin rippled. Anunnaki glyphs covered his flesh. The boy’s eyes were blood red and shone like they were burning. He bent forward; his back bulged and swelled. Blood shot on the wall behind Gwynn as two leathery wings folded up and away from his back. Gwynn roared and flame consumed the ceiling above him.

Sweat poured from Pridament’s brow. No matter how strong his shield, if Gwynn wasn’t stopped he would overwhelm the defenses and destroy him.

Gwynn screamed, howled and roared all at once. A cacophony of sounds of anguish that tore at the fabric of the world.

“You’ll need to show him the truth.”

A girl now stood next to him. How had she entered through his defenses? How had she gotten this close without the energies Gwynn unleashed destroying her?

She glanced at Pridament. Her eyes were green, alive with experience and age that belied her seventeen–year–old appearance. A pale hand reached to him and rested on his shoulder.

“Force won’t stop him now. Only something that shocks his mind will break this. You can do that, right?”

Pridament nodded.

The girl stepped forward, her black ruffled skirt flowing like a living thing around her. On top, she wore a white old Victorian style blouse. She passed through Pridament’s shield unscathed and no matter the destruction that rained down around her, she did not waver or come to any harm.