Page 30 of Obsidian Dream

“Talik, my friend.”The voice was the same as he remembered, soft with an edge of humor.As if they were friends greeting each other.It was a dangerous ploy.

“Idris.”He kept his tone curt, ensuring there was no emotion.

“You brought Khalida with you.”Idris motioned to where Khalida stood.“I did not think you would ever work together.”

“Unfortunately, today is not a friendly visit,” Khalida softly said.She had moved to the other side of the small room, blocking the entrance.

Idris’s demeanor instantly changed.He lunged at Khalida.The metal chains groaned as the wall behind him shook.

She stopped him with the tip of her sword, drawing blood as Idris instantly froze.“Unlike Talik, I do not have a history with you.And I have no aversion to getting blood on my clothes.”

Idris lurched forward, pushing the blade deeper into his neck.Khalida didn’t move, instead she smiled.

“We have a medical facility that will keep you alive for however long we need.Today is not the day you get to die.”Khalida swiftly removed the sword.“Looks like you haven’t entirely lost your healing ability.”

The wound slowly bled.Too slow to put Idris’s life in danger, but slow enough to confirm the Atlantean’s ability to heal had been compromised.

“I can try other body parts,” Khalida offered.“It will be interesting to see what else you have given up.”

Idris shook the chains.

“Temper tantrums are not your style,” Talik said, drawing Idris’s attention.“The only reason you are still alive is because Rieka doesn’t have the heart to say the words, even after what you put her through.She is still too human.And we both know Dante will change his mind once he thinks you have outlived your usefulness.”

Idris snarled as he took a step back.The chains loosened slightly.Talik glanced in Khalida’s direction.She was off to the side, but she continued to watch Idris like he was a caged tiger, likely hoping that he would attack, and she would have another excuse to use bodily force against him.

“They will destroy you,” Idris mumbled, the words almost too low to decipher, but he continued to grow louder.

Idris was too far gone to reason with, but they may still unearth some useful information about their enemies.Talik had learned long ago that sometimes it wasn’t what was said but what was left unsaid that provided the greatest source of information.

He stepped forward, purposely entering Idris’s space and range.Behind him, Khalida tensed.

“Tell us about your beloved Anki and how you think they will destroy us.”

Idris smiled, his pale eyes darkening as he sat back down in his corner.His overly large frame was crouched and ready to pounce.The position was threatening.It was one that Talik was accustomed to seeing.

“Or?”

“Khalida gets to test out how well you heal.”

It wasn’t an empty threat.Idris turned his attention and slowly looked her over.

Talik fought the urge to grab him by the neck and hold him down, but he knew Khalida would just as likely turn on him for trying to help.She could take care of herself.That had been painfully drilled into him.

“They will destroy you.”Idris smiled.The yellow light made him appear maniacal.“We are everywhere.”

“And who are ‘we?’”Talik prodded.

Idris’s features distorted into a painful expression that was impossibly tinged with ecstasy as he gazed at his right arm.Something sharp indented Idris’s flesh, invisible.It sliced across him, leaving a deep, jagged wound in its wake.Blood dripped from it.The drops floated to the ground, somehow defying gravity, forming a puddle underneath him.

Talik stilled as the tension skyrocketed.He strained to hear if anyone else was in the room with them, but all he could hear was three heartbeats.Khalida looked at him, her posture transformed into a defensive position as she took a step back and surveyed the room.

A countenance of rapture crossed Idris’s features as the wounds grew larger.His body convulsed, and white foam erupted from his mouth as marks appeared along his torso and legs, red liquid stained his clothes.He shook as blood dripped from all his wounds and let loose a bloodcurdling scream.

Wincing at the unnatural screech, which sounded more animal than Atlantean, as goose bumps exploded across his body and his heart raced, he glanced at Khalida.She looked undisturbed, but her knuckles were white as she held her swords.

Idris’s body contorted unnaturally, seeming to levitate above the ground before he came crashing down in a heap.

The door behind them flew open as guards rushed in.