The Reverence of One: Book Three of the Shadow Series (39 page)

“Interesting,” commented Isaac nervously as he took as step back from them. “What is th…
?
”

Before he could finish, Test’s eyes opened, revealing the fire within. The white lights sizzled inside the red at an erratic pace. Though his mouth moved, Isaac couldn’t speak.

Enjoying the obvious look of fear on his face, Test took two steps toward Isaac. In response, the ancient Reaper’s hands ignited as he threw them forward. Both Prim and Lauren dove for the ground, but Test remained standing, untouched by Isaac’s blast as the wall on the opposite side of the room buckled from the force
of their impact
. Test continued forward as Isaac reached out for him, attempting to do to him what he’d done to Jenz and Nicole, but he couldn’t. The frustration and fear on Isaac’s face was like candy to Test
and h
e wanted more. He stopped in place, watching Isaac hold his arms to his side
while
allowing his energy to swell before throwing a massive blast that yet again had no
effect
.

“What’s the matter, Isaac?” asked Test pla
yfully. “You seem to be having some difficulty.”

Isaac’s head angled as he listened to Test’s voice. It sounded strange, fading in and out like he was speaking through an old Leslie speaker. He backed away, fearful for the first time since he was human, and bumped into Iku who was held in place by six pairs of hands. His breath came in short gasps as he watched Test take yet another step forward, barely three feet now separat
ing
them. In a moment of panic, he phased to the other side, expecting to be faster than his adversary, but was horrified to see Test standing before him, appearing exactly the same as he had stood among the living.

“That’s not possible,” muttered Isaac, the fear within causing his voice to tremble. He shifted back to the living, startled once again to see that the image of Test remained the same.

Test
crouched like a linebacker ready to break through an offensive line, and with his hands splayed to the side
, winked in honor of Cliff.

Faster than he could react, Isaac’s body was engulfed in a cold numbness as Test’s body entered his. He could feel the use of his extremities fade, and struggled in vain to phase one last time. He lowered his head, breath becomi
ng more difficult to catch, and felt his consciousness wane until the moment came when his mind was no longer his.

Lauren and Prim walked forward to where Isaac stood. His face w
as lifeless, a blank and empty st
are that looked as though it were carved from stone.

“Kill him.”

Prim and Lauren jumped back as Isaac’s mouth uttered the words with difficulty.

“Kill him,” he said again in a long, drawn out and breathy voice.

“Test?” asked Prim, taking a tentative step forward. “Is that you?”

“I don’t know how long I can hold him.” The words seethed from Isaac’s lips though they were not his own. “Kill him now.”

“How?” asked Lauren as she peered into Isaac’s eyes.

“You know there’s only one way.”

“We can’t,” answered Lauren
emotionally. “Not with you in there!”

“It’s the only way.” The words came slower and with more difficulty. “You
—have—to
.”

Alyssa stood with a hand on Ikuhabe, listening intently and trying to understand what was happening. Letting her hand fall, she reached out and touched Isaac’s shoulder. “Test, what are you doing?” she asked
, not understanding
.

Isaac’s head slowly turned to her and the corners of his lips turned up ever slightly. “Trust...,” the words stopped as a labored breath was taken. “Me…
.
”

Letting go of the energy around her, Alyssa slid peacefully into the spirit realm. Where Isaac had stood among the living, Test stood among the dead. He appeared transparent, like that of a partially materialized spirit would appear to
the living
. She reached out to touch his cheek, but her fingers passed through. A single tear fell down her cheek as she spoke.

“What will happen?” she asked.

Without moving, he looked blankly into her eyes and
whispered one last time. “Trust…me…
.
”

As she wiped the steady stream of tears that had begun to fall from her eyes, she spoke with a trembling voice. “Don’t leave me. Please
—don’t
leave me.”

“Out—of—time.” He forced the words out with a gurgling breath.

Prim and Lauren
waited as long as they could, struggling with what they knew they must do
. Deep down, they’d both hoped that there was another way and that Alyssa could change Test’s mind, but they knew he was right. There was only one way to destroy a Shadow.

Prim held out his left hand for Lauren to take. Hand in hand the
y
stood before Isaac
’s
shell and hesitated.

“Please—quickly.” The words came as a nearly silent whisper, Isaac’s lips barely moving.

Noticing a pulsating twitch within Isaac’s right arm, Prim knew that they couldn’t postpone the inevitable any longer. He ignited the flame within as he looked to Lauren. Her face bloodied and swollen, tears mixed with the blood that had dried on her face.

Lauren released Prim’s hand and whispered into Isaac’s ear. “Come back, little brother.” She backed away, flipping her internal switch as her body burst with light.
She looked to Iku’s captors and spoke wearily. “Take him away.” She watched as Iku stared at her. Gone was the ever present scornful look that had always resided on his face. Taking its place was a look of penance. He bowed his head to her as he back away under his own free will.

Prim placed a hand on each side of Isaac’s head and lowered his head in concentration. The red flashe
s
of light began to race the length of his arms and the blue light within his palms began to intensify.

Lauren placed each of her hands on either side of Isaac’s waist, her visible energy emulating that of Prim’s.

Within a matter of seconds, Isaac’s body began to shimmer. In the silence of the room, there was an audible sizzling sound th
at
slowly grew in volume as the two Shadows increased their output
of power
. Lauren looked into what once had been Isaac’s eyes
,
and her heart sank as they looked to her. With a wink that took seconds to complete, his eyes closed and a pleasant grin appeared on his face.

“Finish it!” shouted Prim, his arms now nearly one solid beam of red light.

Lauren pushed,
trying not to see Test’s face within her mind. Closing her eyes, she felt a surge swell from within, and could see the blinding white light emitted from her hands through her eyelids. A second flash from Prim’s hands signified that he too was ready, and with the white hiss of sound coming to its zenith, a sudden vacuum sucked Lauren’s hair around her face.

She opened her eyes to see a fine dust shimmer as it fell from the air. Catching and reflecting the light from above, each particle appeared as though it were glitter, alternating between varying shades of gray as it tumbled to the ground.

Both Prim and Lauren watch
ed
in silence, each of them afraid to look around and discover what they thought to be true.

Finally, as the last of the dust settled, Lauren spun on her heals. “Test?” she shouted, continuing to look around her frantically until Alyssa appeared before her.

Her eyes heavy with tears, she spoke as her bottom lip quive
red. “He’s gone. I watched him….
”
S
he paused, releasing several heavy sobs. “I watched him shatter into a million tiny pieces!” She buried her face in her hands and sobbed loudly.

Lauren wrapped her arms around her and, holding her tightly, allowed herself to release her own pain. The two held each other for several minutes, being joined first by Maggie, and then by Cliff. Prim took Lauren from behind by the waist, and kissed the back of her head gently, still numb from the fact that he’d lost so much.

Jenz was gone. He had spent nearly a lifetime with this woman that gave him new hope in a life that, at one point in time, he was prepared to give away.
He remembered the sickening feeling that overcame him just before they’d entered the building, when she’d mouthed the words ‘take care of them’. Something in him told him that
her
sacrifice was
part of
her plan all along, and he found himself angry that he hadn’t been able to stop it.
He wasn’t sure he knew how to exist without her, yet here he stood, sobbing with Lauren and
a collection of
spirits that he’d know
n
for little more than a day
. He was
about to begin a new chapter.

“Hey.” Cliff’s gruff voice cut through the sobbing like a knife. “What’s that?” he asked as he pointed to the floor where the dust had collected.

Everyone turned, and at first, they didn’t see what the old man was talking about, but suddenly, piece by piece, the particles began to separate. Everyone watched in dead silence as
,
with increasing speed, the one loosely scattered pile began to collect in a smaller, denser pile right beside it. As the flow of particles began to slow, the pile seemed to swell, to begin to grow larger. It was as if each particle were expanding and then melting with the
next
one that touched it.

As if feeling a heart beat, Prim could feel the distant pulse of a Shadow from within the rising dust. His tears of sadness turning to tears of hopeful joy, he whispered aloud. “I can feel him.” He turned to Lauren with a smile, his tear-filled eyes glimmering in the light.

Now appearing as a three foot tall
,
molded, molten statue, small points of white light began to splatter over its entire surface. Their intensity and frequency increased steadily until the point where it was impossible to look at. As they all turned their backs, they could see nothing but their shadows cast on the floor from the light behind
. Both Lauren and Prim began to find it difficult to stand in place as a powerful wave of energy had begun to push them away. The room began to tremble
;
the massive chandeliers that hung from the ceiling dancing as though they were birds on a
wire
.

Feeling faint from the pressure on her ears, Lauren looked to Prim and shouted. “We need to phase to the other side!”

With a nod Prim waited for her to phase and then followed.

The silence of the dead world was nearly as disorienting as the one they’d just left. Both of them stood erect and, realizing that they were not alone,
peered into the faces of the spirits in the room. They
were greeted by
looks of astonishment
, though not directed at them.

Lauren quickly turned and
,
in the spot where Isaac
had
stood, a gentle glow was emanating from beneath the floor. As if
melting through the earth
below, a beacon of light shot from the
ground
the center of the glow
. Within, she could see Test’
s face, his glowing red
eyes penetrating above all other light
.
She watched
,
holding her breath
,
as first his right arm came from within the solid floor, and then his left. Placing his hands flat to the floor, he held them inches away as his body continued to rise, seemingly from the ashes.

             
As the last of him cleared the earth,
Test looked down upon his form and watched as
the glow within him subsided
. H
e looked
up
to
see a
multitude of stunned faces
,
none of them
sure of what they were seeing. Prim, Lauren, Alyssa, Maggie, and Cliff st
ood
in a semi-circle
with a
mixture of pain and joy on their faces.

Taking Prim’s hand into hers, Lauren spoke to him. “Is he…
?
”
S
he
paused
.
“
D
ead?”

“I don’t know,” Prim replied
in an awestruck whisper
.

Closing his eyes once more, Test’s shoulders hunched as he took a breath. Lifting his gaze slowly upon them, he answered Lauren’s question. “No, big sister,” he said with a grin. “I’m not dead.”

His words brought about an eruption of movement as everyone who stood before him, both living and dead, rushed around him. First to reach him was Alyssa, who wrapped her arms around his neck, planting her face firmly into his shoulder while sobbing for joy. He felt different pairs of arms embrace him from all sides, their touches sending waves of comfort throughout his body. He looked to his left in time for his mother to kiss him on the cheek. Her eyes were wide and round, swelling with joy that he was still there for her to hold. As another hand squeezed his shoulder, he looked over Maggie to see his father’s youthful face glowing with pride. Standing next to him was Cliff, his dearest friend. With arms crossed and the remnants of tears tangled in the stubble on his cheeks, the old man winked as h
e
struggled to contain himself. Test had never seen Cliff cry bef
ore, and the sight of a lone tear coming from the corner of his eye brought new meaning to their friendship.