Page 93 of Pet: Torment
One moment, I am standing before my father, and the next, I am back in the venue next to Ezra. I note that Xion’s body is gone, but I don’t have time to look for her as my hands wrap around the energy beam. Pain rips through me with an intensitythat blinds me for a split second as I close my hand around the weapon, attempting to absorb the foreign energy coursing through it. I can’t get a proper grasp on it as the pain intensifies, and I cry out in pain as I try to understand what it is I am dealing with.
It isn’t a pure energy like everything I’ve been taught. It is mingled with something else. It’s like trying to properly categorize colors when all you’ve ever seen is black and white—you don’t know what the colors mean or where they belong. You don’t even know how to explain them.
The pain suddenly subsides as the Celestivine appears next to me just as Ezra’s limp body falls into my arms. I’m can barely move, the strange weapon doing more damage than good. I’m confident the only reason it didn’t kill me is because he removed it himself, letting me know just how important it is to him that he not kill me.
“She truly has infected your mind,” he says, standing over me.
“Don’t—ngh! Touch him,” I manage.
He narrows his gaze, his disgust apparent.
“Are you telling me, you truly have no idea who I am?” he asks.
I narrow my gaze, and he has his answer. He moves faster than I can defend, his hand wrapping around my throat as he drags me away from Ezra’s unconscious form.
“How about I help you remember?”
Chapter Forty-One
Iris
I don’t know what to do as I watch Remus and this being who appeared out of nowhere disappear back into the tattered venue that once held a celebration. My chest is tight as I try to pull in as much breath as I can to remain conscious. But it feels impossible—moving feels impossible after what I just witnessed.
I flinch as pain ripples over me from the injuries I received with this being’s sudden arrival. One second, we were standing behind Ezra, our fear directed at Remus for his decision to confront his siblings in such a vicious way, and the next, a blast so powerful threw everyone within a few feet of Ezra from the tent.
My body is covered in injuries, and my head throbs like crazy. The impact of the blast knocked me unconscious for a few seconds, and Sky is still unconscious from her impact. And that was only from the recoil of his attack, not a direct hit. The deep crater that stretches a few hundred feet from Remus’s impact is the result of that. I’ve never seen Remus let a drop of rain touch him, let alone an attack. Seeing him get thrown so hard that this is the result makes my stomach knot in terror.
Whoever is attacking is no ordinary assailant. He is aCelestivine. He has to be. He not only has similar power to Remus, but also similar physical features. And none of the Divine Three seems to be capable of stopping him. I can’t even begin to understand what his purpose here could be. As I look up at the darkening sky, I note the rings are missing a section, the edges rippling like water from the damage this alien’s entrance has caused.
I don’t know how I could possibly be helpful in this current situation.
I tense as a sudden pulse vibrates the ground, and when I shift my attention back to the remains of the venue, I see a bright blue beam of light rippling toward the sky. I grip the hem of my dress, sprinting over the plain to where I last saw Sky and Noah.
Noah is over Xion’s unconscious form as I approach, frantically tapping her cheek. He must have dragged her from the venue while Remus and the attacker were on the other side.
“How is she?” I ask, kneeling next to her, my attention focused on Sky. Her breathing is shallow. She was closer to Ezra than I was. They were touching before that beam of light struck him.
Noah shakes his head.
“She’s breathing, but…” he trails off, his voice trembling.
The breath feels like it’s been knocked out of me, and I am glad that I am already kneeling. I tense as another rumble comes from inside the venue. When I look at it, what once was a beautiful backdrop and scenery to a celebration is now a ruin. The once majestic sheets billow frighteningly, briefly opening to reveal Remus and this Celestivine fighting to the death.
I feel helpless as I watch gods battle among themselves, knowing that if they come too close to me, I am dead, as well.
I let out a scream as another powerful blast rips from the venue, a large piece of the drapes being torn away. My eyes widen as Remus and theCelestivinemove at a barely decipherable speed, but I immediately notice Ezra’s body is on the ground, the beam of light that held him in place gone.
I turn to Noah.
“We have to get him while they’re distracted,” I say, standing.
Noah looks from Xion to me.
“I have to stay with her,” he says.
“Listen, I can’t carry him by myself. And if she wakes up, she’s just going to be worried about him. We need to get Ezra out of the danger zone,” I say, watching them carefully. When they move out of the venue, that is our chance.
“Mngh!” I turn at the sound of a groan, my chest heaving to see Xion waking up.