Hero of the InBetween

by Erin Snihur

  “But you are a hero, Elara. Many souls you rescued from the InBetween sing your praises and send you daily blessings to this day. I have heard many of their stories. They all believe you sacrificed your own safety to open the gates. You could have left as well, but instead you stayed to rescue the Keeper, Darius. One of my angelic warriors,” The Almighty smiles then, “He truly cares for you and your safety in order to have his friends heal you and send you back to Earth.”

  I sniffle, but keep my head buried in my knees as I hug myself tighter. His words scare me. Do the village souls truly believe me to be a hero? Me?

  “I’m no hero," I whisper for what felt like the hundredth time. “I was just a girl desperate enough to get back home. To go back to normal. Whatever that is.”

  I feel his presence grow closer and when I stare through my blurry eyes, I see it. His outstretched hand, holding the beautiful Flaming Sword, come into my view, the hilt extended for me to take.

  “Then become desperate enough to save it.”

  25

  Darius

  Elara’s screaming in pain brings me to my knees as I try to crawl toward her. The white light emanating from where her hand clutches the hilt forces me down. The pressure is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. Renna is still latched to the wall by the white tendrils. She’s snarling and hissing in pain as she tries to escape.

  I drag myself until I am underneath Elara and I reach my hand up to grab her ankle. As I grasp her bare ankle, a shock travels through my arm and I pull back. My hand is nothing but red and burning flesh.

  “Elara!” I yell, in the hopes it would get her attention. All it does is cause her more pain. As if she’s battling the demon within for domination over her body. Grasping the boulder with my good hand I attempt to pull myself to stand.

  As I stand, Elara’s screams wane and the white light pushes out another burst of energy, sending me hurtling back against the same wall that Renna is imprisoned upon.

  The white light blinds me. For a split second, I see the gleaming sword sliding out of the stone so easily. The pressure of the sword seems to split the rock and I faintly make out the form of Elara sliding off the boulder to the ground. My eyes are half-closed as the white light brightens one last time before diminishing completely.

  All that is left is Elara, holding the white sword, her eyes closed as she works to catch her breath.

  Renna and I are both dropped to the ground as the tendrils of power recede. I don’t have the energy to stand, but Renna does as she scrambles back against the wall, her black eyes and fists clenched in hate.

  “Kill him now, Ambriel. I command it of you!”

  Elara’s legs begin to move in my direction and I stare up at her, begging for her eyes to open so that I can see the truth.

  As she stands before me, sword raised, I stare into her beautiful face, “Elara.”

  Her name is all I can make out as the sword swings and I wrench my eyes away. I can’t watch my own execution at her hands. With the slice of the blade, I hear it meet flesh and then a horrendous scream fills the air before silence ensues.

  Gasping in shock, I stare up at Elara, into her white eyes.

  26

  Elara

  I have taken two lives. My heart sinks as I swipe the Flaming Sword across Renna’s neck, cutting her head from her body. As her head drops to the ground with her bloodied body, it slowly turns to ash and shadows before finally disappearing.

  Even the blood that coats the blade and stone floors dissolves into ash and blows away. It’s sickening that Renna is just gone like the wind. Nothing remaining. She had been good at one time. The darkness was too appealing to her in her grief.

  My eyes drift down to where Darius is kneeling. His eyes warily meet mine and his face is confused, if not a bit suspicious. His bloody arm is what makes me gasp and I kneel before him, my hand dropping the Flaming Sword to the floor. I grab his injured arm and pull it toward me, examining it closely.

  “Did I do this?” I whisper, my heart pounding at the thought that I’d hurt the man I loved.

  Darius shakes his head, seemingly unable to speak as he stares at me. I must look a fright. Glimpsing down at my clothes, I grimace at the torn pants, shirt and my dirty, bare feet.

  Gazing back at the deep wound on his arm, I gently caress it and an inward voice tells me, heal him, Elara.

  I stare at the wound hard. I stare so hard at it that my fingertips begin to burn as I place my palm over his wound, earning a hiss from Darius’ clenched teeth.

  “It’ll only hurt for a moment,” I tell him.

  As the burning dissipates, I slowly remove my hand and gasp in wonder at the sight of his healed arm. No scar or even mark shows that he had been injured. Completely healed.

  My eyes drift to his hand that he holds pressed against his chest and I notice the burns there. He must have attempted to save me. I pull his hand away from his chest and pry the reluctant fingers back. My soothing touch and focus spreads his hand apart. I slowly heal the burned tissue there until his hand is healed completely.

  Grinning on the inside and on the outside, I turn my gaze back on Darius, peering into his dark eyes, “I guess you’re not the only one who can heal people?”

  When Darius doesn’t respond and merely stares at me with that same wary expression, I begin to grow worried and drop his hand. Backing away a few feet, I rise and pluck the sword from the floor.

  He doesn’t break his eye contact with me and I slowly become nervous under his gaze. I begin pacing around the decrepit throne room that once looked so regal. Darius’ gaze continues to follow me.

  “You’re scared of me aren’t you, because of the sword. So foolish. You’re probably angry as well because Dina and I went clubbing to lure Renna out. It wasn’t Dina’s idea, it was all mine. And besides, it all worked out in the end, right?” I realize quickly that Darius hasn’t moved from his position, nor has he responded to my rambling as I stop my pacing and turn to face Darius who still remains seated on the floor, up against the stone wall.

  “Darius? Are you in shock? Should I find the others and get help? Maybe Pascal?” I ask and watch amazed as Darius shakes his head and blinks a few times, only to return his amazed look back on me, his eyes staring directly into mine. His voice is raspy, probably from screaming out in pain due to his wounds.

  How I have missed his voice.

  “Your eyes,” He says simply, never taking his eyes from my own.

  Frowning in confusion, I lift the sword up and turn it to view myself in the mirror like blade. I cry out in shock and drop the sword in fright. Darius winces as it clamors to the ground and the noise reverberates all around us.

  My eyes are white. White as snow. There is no black iris or anything, just white.

  “What happened to my eyes?” I cry in fright and out of reaction gingerly press my fingers against my eyelids in the hopes that they would change back. When I grab the sword back up and stare at my reflection, my heart sinks at the sight of my still white eyes peering back at me.

  Darius stands, momentarily distracting me as he tries not to stare too hard at my eyes. “It must be a side-effect of Ambriel’s possession. Before your eyes had been completely black.”

  “Ambriel was here? She was the one who possessed me?” I ask, completely dumbfounded.

  As I ask my question, a loud explosion is heard beyond the castle and the entire floor begins to quake. I quickly grab the Flaming Sword, hoping it could protect us. From what, I wasn’t sure.

  Darius tenses beside me and turns his frowning face on me, “We don’t have time for this. The InBetween is about to be torn apart."

  Gritting his teeth, Darius grabs my arm and hauls me out of the throne room through the familiar fake wall. All around us I can hear walls crashing and the floors vibrating. As if by an earthquake.

  “Darius, what is going on?” I ask, the fear in my voice obvious, even with the Flaming Sword in my hands, I can sense we aren’t safe yet.
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br />   “You killed Renna and beat Ambriel’s possession. The curse that is keeping the InBetween alive has been destroyed and thus the InBetween is no longer needed and is destroying itself from the inside out,” He grits his teeth and we continue on down the hallway only to come to a standstill halt at the stairs. Or at least where the stairs would have been.

  Growling, Darius glares all around until he spots the tiny window that overlooks the crumbling InBetween.

  “Hold on," Is all he says before he’s grabbing me and we are diving through the window and plummeting toward the hard ground. I can’t help the scream that escapes from my mouth as I clutch the Flaming Sword tighter to my chest. It’s only when I don’t feel the pressure of gravity and the fact that we don’t hit the hard ground, that I open my eyes.

  We are flying. The castle is getting further and further away. As I’m staring at the castle, I can make out the remaining towers crumbling. Darius’ home is crumbling before our very eyes. Turning my eyes away from the crumbling castle, I stare up at Darius, who is not seeming strained by the fact that he is carrying me and flying at the same time.

  “Where are we going?” I call out and shiver as the winds pick up and, in the distance, dark shadows begin forming along the borders of the what remains of the wall. And we are headed straight for them.

  “Darius! Where are you taking us?”

  “To the gate! You’re going to open the gates to the afterlife,” he calls out and we land in a clearing a few minutes later. Disoriented, I spin around trying to get my bearings. Crumbling buildings and large boulders that probably rained from the sky are everywhere. Though nothing touches the circular clearing. I stare in amazement as I realize where we are. We are in the village center.

  My assessment is even further understood when Darius calls me over to a giant hole in the center of the circle. As I slowly approach, the sense of deja vu is stronger than ever. The last time I’d stood before this hole in the ground that went on and on, I’d opened the gates to the afterlife and been betrayed by Renna.

  The ground quaking has me on edge as I stare up at Darius, “What if I can’t do it? I was never able to connect with my powers like Pascal wanted!”

  Darius smiles and lifts his hand to caress my cheek lightly, “You can do anything, Little Moon. You are so strong.”

  Tears well up in my eyes and I blink rapidly to quell them before turning back to the hole and stepping up to it alone. Darius hangs back, watching, waiting. I send a prayer to the Almighty.

  If this is to be my destiny, please give me strength.

  Just as I had done that fateful day, I cut my hand with the Flaming Sword and squeeze it over the hole, watching as my blood drips into it and falls until it is no longer visible. The white light that shines upward into the darkening sky has my heart leaping out of my chest. I smile, as I turn to stare at Darius who is already gazing across the clearing to the Pearly Gates that shine through the shadows and are now opening.

  As I step away from the hole and feel my hand tingling as it begins to heal slowly, I draw Darius’ attention away and move closer in an attempt to kiss his cheek. Before I can stop him, he moves his head to face mine and our lips meet.

  The kiss is soft at first and I feel his hands snaking around my middle to bring me closer. I whimper in frustration as I move against him in the hopes that we can take the kiss further, but Darius chuckles in amusement at my frustration and I open my eyes to stare up at him.

  The booming explosion coming from the mountain and what little remains of the castle has us both tensing.

  “We need to leave,” Darius mutters, as he grabs my free hand and pulls me through the clearing in the direction of the pearly white gates that jut into the darkened sky.

  More explosions and shattering tremors have me catching my footing as I try to run with Darius still holding my hand. Once we are beyond the point where the cursed wall of the InBetween once stood and are standing before the Pearly Gates, Darius let's go of my hand.

  I can practically feel the warmth and goodness leaching out of the gates as I stare up at them. I hesitate as Darius takes a step toward the gates. He notices my hesitation and stops to stare at me in confusion. A poking memory of just recently being in a place full of warmth and happiness has my head pounding as I try to recall all of what was seen and done during this supposed possession Darius had mentioned.

  “What’s wrong?” he asks, clearly impatient as he looks around the barren, tremoring landscape.

  “They’re going to keep us apart, aren’t they?” I don’t have to explain who ‘they’ are to Darius and his face morphs into sadness as he glances back at the gates before turning back to me.

  His eyes very briefly take in my hand still clutching tightly to the Flaming Sword. Its flames are no longer licking at my hand like they had when I opened the gates. I feel my heart drop down to my toes as I try to keep the tears welling up in my eyes at bay. Darius sees my attempts at composure and rushes toward me, pulling me into his strong arms.

  His lips are pressed up against my ear as he softly murmurs, “They can try. They will fail.”

  I laugh softly and smile up at him as he pulls away long enough to kiss my nose and drags us both toward the warming gates. One thought is front and center in both our minds.

  They can try and they will fail.

  27

  Elara

  Where Hell’s warmth is boiling and made you want to strip naked, the warmth of the afterlife is invigorating. Like a hug from a parent or a first kiss. Everything was bright and cheerful. As we step through the gates, I am amazed at the differences between the InBetween and the afterlife.

  Sprawling green hills and lakes of shimmering water abound everywhere. Little villages of gold and a large city of gold in the distance can be seen everywhere. The sun is shining brightly here, but not bright enough that I was blinded by what greeted us as we entered the afterlife.

  Hundreds of people. People I recognize instantly from the InBetween. Darius remains behind as I step forward and a loud cheer rings out from the crowd that has gathered before the now closing Pearly Gates.

  I feel my face heat and a grin form as the crowd begins to cheer my name, calling me their ‘hero’. Turning to look over my shoulder at Darius, I meet his grin and twinkling eyes. He’s proud. Of me?

  Turning back to the crowd, I smile and give a little wave with my empty hand. I can see those individuals who are joined by their families and even a few souls who have claimed to be alone in the world are joined by someone.

  A screeching laugh and fast-moving girl bursts through the crowd and darts in my direction. I only have a moment to react before the tiny sprite of a woman launches herself at me and draws me into a tight hug.

  As I pull back, I gasp at the happy face of Bea, my friend from the InBetween. She seems momentarily startled, probably from my white eyes. She quickly shrugs the wariness away and continues hugging me so tight I might pop.

  She is jumping and screeching in delight as she flings her arms around me for another bouncing hug. As I pull back, the tears that fill my eyes are happy ones as I smile down at the small woman. She looks so healthy and happy with her short hair and pink cheeks.

  “Elara! I was so happy to hear you were alive and well! Your eyes are new though. But so pretty, of course,” Bea croons above the cheering crowd. She turns and waves a hand over everyone, “Everyone owes you their lives.”

  I shake my head, my voice full with emotion, “No, Bea. If it wasn’t for you leading those souls, none of us would have made it.”

  Bea shakes her head and clasps my free hand, nodding to the sword. “I saw what you did. You knew the risks and you took on those demons. I saw everything, Elara. You are the hero of the InBetween.”

  Before I get a chance to speak up and deny everything, Bea turns back to the crowd. She raises my free hand up high with hers, “The Hero of the InBetween, Elara Greer!”

  A loud cheer sounds again and Bea grins back at me before po
intedly eyeing the sword, “Show them. They’ve been so excited to see it and you.”

  Peeking behind me at Darius, who has now leaned up against a tree, I notice the shimmering of an illusion around him. He’s hiding himself from these people. Again. Even though he nods in encouragement, I know he misses the connection he had with these people. My heart sinks and I frown as I turn to gaze down at my hand holding the famous Flaming Sword.

  Turning back to Bea, I smile, “There’s someone they need to meet first.”

  Before she can ask any further questions, I turn and march toward Darius, startling him slightly.

  I smile and meet his eyes, daring him to challenge me. He simply looks perplexed as I reach out to take his hand. He doesn’t hesitate as his hand meets mine and I pull him in for a heart melting kiss.

  Inwardly, I can feel my power rushing through my fingers, begging for his illusion to melt away with the kiss. At the sounds of gasps from the large crowd, I know it has worked. When I open my eyes and pull back, Darius is standing before me, wings extended and completely visible for all to see. His dark hair shines and his dark eyes send shivers down my spine.

  Squeezing his hand, I smile, “You’re a hero too, Darius. My hero.”

  Pulling him back to the waiting crowd, I grin all around, my voice loud so that all can hear, “Many of you may not know this, but this man sacrificed so much of his life and energy to protect the InBetween from a demonic curse. He ensured the InBetween’s safety and prosperity for all. He is every bit a hero as I am.”

  I pause and grin up at Darius whose eyes have not left my face, “May I introduce, Darius, Keeper of the InBetween and hero of my heart.”

  Loud cheers ring out and the people crowd around us. Some introducing themselves to me for the first time and others introducing themselves all over again. Some even go as far as to introduce me to their families. Darius quickly retracts his wings as he too is pulled into the mix as men shake his hand and woman hug him tightly as they introduce him to their loved ones.