by Lenore, Lani
“What’s wrong?”
The words came from Wren’s throat, and he could see her face in his head as it was now, looking at him with concern, wishing to know the source of his obvious discomfort. There was nothing evil or malicious about her now.
Because for now, she is herself.
“Are you alright?” Calico whispered near him, almost in unison with Wren. She hadn’t drifted far from his side since they had all gathered together. But Sly knew he must not tell them. There was never any sense in worrying others when his choppy visions could be so unpredictable.
“It’s nothing,” he lied quickly. “I just can’t see the demon. It hurts to try.”
He could sense Calico’s skeptical expression, but she remained silent. Behind them, Finn crossed his arms, shifting his weight to one leg.
“What do we do then? Rush around being heroes for a bit until we just happen across the demon? We need to find the damn thing now!”
Through all of it, Sly sensed that Rifter’s expression remained flat and unconcerned, but he raised his eye to them now.
“That demon knows me,” he said. “It knows everything that I’ve ever held dear; all I might have feared. It knows everything I know – knows where I began.”
He turned to face them all, his blue eye resolute.
“I think I know where we should start,” he said.
4
The demon walked leisurely across the ground, trying to look dark and dignified, for at this moment, the dead body that it had housed itself in was wearing the elaborate costume of a pirate captain, feared by all. Though the demon knew this might be a role it would have to sacrifice, it was prepared to do so. It could turn things around quite easily, and it would still be in control. The demon’s plan was perfect. The war was brilliant and beautiful.
Whisper was hovering nearby, and the demon sensed her apprehension. He was grateful for her loyalty, but every time it thought of her undying devotion, a rumbling chuckle rose in its throat. This happened now, and with the chuckle, a bit of bile rose up, followed by a pain in its chest.
To hell with this dead man’s body!
Being inside Rifter’s living body for all those months had been much better, but the demon had not been able to control the boy fully. That was why it had urged him to let it pass into the dead body of his brother – a bad decision as well as a good one. But things would all turn out right in the end.
The demon Scourge glanced over the large group of pirates that it had surrounded itself with. There were dozens of them – a nice little army. The demon didn’t need them, but they would do well to keep the Wolf Pack busy when they got here. It could kill the more important – intrusive – one when the time came, and the Scourge’s followers would see to the deaths of the rest.
The nightmare demon wondered if Rifter was truly smart enough to look for him here. This was a perfect place – the place that everything had begun.
It was a spot in the middle of a dark jungle which had once been a desert, but a small oasis had thrived to swallow it up. The Rifter had held this place sacred – the place he called the beginning – where Rifter had first opened his eyes in this world.
It was a meaningful spot, and the perfect place for the end.
As it began, so shall it end, the demon thought to itself with a smirk, recalling words of an old prophecy that Rifter had never forgotten. That memory had been easy to uncover, even if the demon had to fight for some of the others.
When the Pack arrived, they would all see who got to live and who had to die, but the demon did not doubt its pending victory. It had orchestrated everything – played them all – and all would go according to plan.
5
Could a dead land die? As Rifter and his Pack cut through the tangle of the dark, sticky jungle, they wondered this. There had been destruction here during the night which was certainly the work of warring wisps. Tree trunks were splintered in places, charred by fire that was no longer burning. Patches of ground were frozen, while other portions of soil were broken apart as if a bolt of lightning had struck. The air was thick with shimmering dust as the morning rays grew brighter, and Wren tried her best not to inhale it, knowing that it was the remains of living creatures.
Wren was made to travel in the midst of the group as they moved along. She kept the hood of her cloak pulled closely around her face, feeling safer to be hidden within its depth. The others around her stepped carefully, watching everything, though there appeared to be nothing left in this jungle that could walk or breathe.
When the line of trees finally vanished at the edge of a cliff ahead, they ducked down to creep forward, and once they had moved slowly to the edge, they could see where they had arrived.
This was a place where every one of them had been. They had taken the Vow here – pledging themselves to Rifter and Nevermor, and had seen their brothers do the same – but for the familiarity of it, they hardly recognized it now.
It had become a place like so many others across the island – dark and dangerous – and was positively swarming with pirates. There were a few old ruins here, as if long ago the pirates themselves had built a fort in this area much like the one at Bleed Neck Bay. On a former day, the rebels might have been intimidated to see so many of their enemies, but on this day they hardly seemed to see them at all. None of them were concerned with a few buccaneers. Their eyes searched for the demon.
The telltale glow of a fairy drew their attention, and they saw Whisper hovering below. Directly next to her was the Scourge – the false Rifter; the demon in Nix’s corpse – standing still and resolute on a wooden platform. Many different sorts of anger flared within them at the sight, each one differing from the next.
“I’m going straight in,” Rifter told them quietly. “I want the rest of you to circle around so that when it’s appropriate, you can come in from different sides. I don’t imagine they’ll attack right away once they see me. They’ll leave me to their master.”
He backed away so that they could all stand properly once again, out of sight beyond the edge of the cliff. Then, he directed his attention to Wren. She blinked up at him, her eyes filled with trust.
“You have no part in this,” he told her. “You’ll stay here.”
She did not feel the need to protest to this. What could she do out there to help them? The best thing would be to stay out of their way. Wren gave him a short nod, and he squeezed her shoulder affectionately, even though his face remained hard and set.
“Someone should stay with her,” Sly spoke up. “I feel that she shouldn’t be left alone.”
“Not you,” Calico protested quickly.
“You then,” he returned to her. “You should stay here too.”
Despite Sly’s obvious concern for her, Calico did not seem to appreciate this remark.
“Is this just an excuse to keep me out of the fight?” Calico accused.
“This is not your fight,” Sly tried to tell her.
“I live in this world,” she replied heatedly. “It is as much my fight as it is yours.”
“Toss,” Rifter designated finally, breaking into their argument. “Will you stay with her?”
Toss was not reluctant. He nodded his agreement.
“Scatter then,” Rifter said, trusting them to their own judgment. “I’ll give you a few moments to find a position.”
Quietly, Sly, Calico, Finn, and Mach all moved away from the cliff and branched off to travel along the edge of the pirates’ camp. Just as soon as they’d left, Wren gripped Rifter in a tight, wordless embrace. He held her close, and Toss, who remained with them, stepped aside and looked away. He had no words of protest for this brother of his now.
“You have to come back to me,” Wren begged him. “I’ve just found you again.”
Rifter lowered his mouth to her ear, letting his face rest against her curls.
“It’s going to be alright,” he promised – though he had once told her that he would make her no more promises.
That was the past. This is a chance to start again. It had started last night, and he did not want to let her go, even now.
“I love you,” he heard her say. Her voice sounded as if she was on the verge of tears. He did not want her to cry. Not after everything that had happened; she could not cry now.
“I love you too,” he told her, because she needed to hear that now, “and I won’t stop.”
He looked at her face to carry it with him – her glistening eyes so full of concern, her sweet mouth unsure. He wanted her image imprinted in his mind in case –
In case it does not go as I think.
He released her, fearing that he wouldn’t if he didn’t do it now. Rifter stepped away, facing her as he backed toward the cliff edge, seeing her slip away from him.
“It will be over before the day is out.”
With that promise, he stepped over the edge.
Chapter Thirty-Five
1
Rifter’s feet sank into the ground below, and though he had not flown in years, the Tikilin had allowed him to fall the distance from the cliff and land on his feet, unharmed.
His appearance did not go unnoticed by the pirates standing around the area, but they did not attack him, as if they had been ordered against it beforehand. They drew their weapons in case he would advance on them, but then they simply backed away as if he was not a man but a giant grizzly that had awoken from a deep sleep. Gradually, they all became aware of him, and the ones who were close enough to do so stepped out of his path.
He passed through them, noting the fear that they were trying to hide behind held their guns and swords. When he looked up, there was a clear path to the one who awaited him. The demon was dressed as the Scourge once again – assuming that it was the only way to get these pirates to be loyal to his word.
Rifter felt that he had been here before, more than once, standing before this figure. This time, however, there was no fear in him. He had beaten the Scourge years ago and had become aware of his own strength.
His image is nothing to me now.
The dark man waited with his arms crossed before him, his feet planted on a wooden platform that might have once been set for a gallows. Hovering beside him, as if she was his queen, was the fairy wisp – the first of many that had been in this world, who had once loved Rifter – but jealousy was a horrible, wicked thing, and bad deeds did not go unpunished. She was not his any longer.
They both looked at him, and he would not keep them waiting.
Rifter took gradual steps toward his enemies, ignoring the great number of henchmen who surrounded him. The demon and the wisp made no movement until he stepped directly before them, and the first thing he did was look up to the small face of the cursed fairy that had betrayed him.
What he saw there surprised him.
Whisper was staring at him as if she did not know him at all – but wait… It was the opposite of that. She was looking at him wide-eyed and open-mouthed because she did know him, and he was not who she’d expected him to be. Rifter watched her stare at him, and in that moment, he realized that she had just seen the truth.
She glanced at the Scourge imposter, who did not give her another thought. Rifter saw the confusion and pain on her face as she looked back to him once again, and then without a word, she retreated from the scene, shooting off with a flash of light.
The demon sighed after her, but did not seem surprised or saddened to see her go.
“The poor thing,” he murmured. “She’s so very confused just now, seeing you here. I can’t say I blame her though. Women are such silly things, don’t you agree?”
Rifter knew whose face rested behind those bandages, even if the others around him did not. Whisper’s behavior could only be caused by one thing: she had truly thought that Nix’s face behind those bandages was Rifter’s instead. She’d thought the demon was the one she loved, and so she had stayed by his side, despite his evil intentions – not that hers were any different, and not that the real Rifter could find it in himself to care any longer.
“Did you bring the others with you?” the demon asked in the Scourge’s deep voice. “Or did they abandon you? You look so lonely standing by yourself.”
“What is it you want?” Rifter snapped quickly. “Why bring Wren back here? Why this war?”
“This place has been corrupted, but it’s not quite like I want it. Not yet. First, all of the wolves have to die, of course; especially the animal boy. He could change this place in ways I don’t want to think about.” The demon paused, only to shudder. “Once all that is over, there will be complete power for Nevermor’s hero.”
Most of the power was not enough then? The demon would not be satisfied until it was worshiped like a god?
“And the Scourge will be that hero?”
Rifter could not see it, but he was certain that the demon was smiling. The lone eye that was visible through the bandages gleamed with sinister joy.
“Of course not. The Scourge is not the one to set things straight. He was the one who started it all. I probably should have mentioned it to you earlier, but everyone knows that the corruption began before I ever went into your body. I have the Scourge to thank for that – so therefore I suppose I have you to thank for that. At his death at the volcano so many years ago, he opened the mouth of hell, and I was able to escape. I don’t know what he meant to accomplish other than to destroy you and this world, but he set me free. Being a nightmare demon, I was naturally drawn here.
“After that, I remained in this world for a time, taking up residence in one body after another, and by that I learned the rules and ways of this world of dreams and nightmares I had been brought to. I decided to keep it for my own. This place is not God’s heaven, man’s earth, or the Devil’s hell. It is a place that should not exist. It is a place that someone like me could take for himself.
“I learned of the Rifter and the Scourge, of their mythical powers of control over this place. The Scourge no longer existed, and so there was only one other choice for me. You. I decided that in order to have complete control, I had to become the Rifter. So I sought you out, and I got what I wanted, even though I was forced to leave your soul-pit eventually. I took your friend’s body instead, and the boy looked so much like you that not many realized the difference. If they did, I killed them.”
“His name was Nix,” Rifter said forcefully, as if he hadn’t heard the rest of the demon’s words.
“I beg your pardon?” the demon asked, a tinge of laughter in his question.
“That boy’s name was Nix, and he was my brother.”
“Ah yes,” the demon gave. “Nix. Well, I suppose you ought to know that fact. You had a history with that one. You brought him here – gave him that name. You were friendly rivals. But here’s something that you may not know.”
The demon paused to give greater emphasis to his words. “I made you kill him!”
An icy wave rolled across Rifter at the sound of those words. He felt that all the blood had run out of him, now pooling thickly on the ground. It was a lie. It had to be a lie!
The demon saw the look of confusion on Rifter’s face, and it relished in it.
“When I was inside you, the only time you didn’t fight me was when you were asleep. You really didn’t sleep much, for fear of that I suppose, but sometimes…”
That was true. Rifter had never wanted to let his guard down on the demon within him. He’d done all he could to stay awake, but…
‘What do you want from me, Rifter? You want me to beg? I never beg. So do it if you’ve got the balls. Do it! Kill me!’
He recalled that moment now, a memory that he could not quite reach, images that had tried to surface but had never been able.
“You mean you truly don’t remember it?” the demon questioned. “It happened the night before you found him that way. You don’t recall pinning him against that tree as he tried to plead with you, or how you cut him open while he was still alive? You took his heart
in your hand and ripped it out –”
“No more of this!” Rifter shouted, clenching his fists so tightly that he might have broken the bones. A clap of thunder resounded and shook the ground. “It ends when I kill you, and not a moment before. Let’s get on with it!”
“Pathetic boy,” the demon chided. “You attempted that when we first met, and you had very little luck.”
“I’ve grown since then,” Rifter growled, his eye flashing. “Now how shall we do this?”
The demon seemed disappointed that the banter would not continue on. It was greatly enjoying seeing Rifter get so angry. Even so, all good things must come to an end – and that was why the demon would live on.
“As such,” the false Scourge said, and held up his hand.
Fire burst out of his palm, and the color of it was such a deep red that it did not look like man’s fire at all. It shot out above Rifter’s head, and he watched in horror as every pirate in the area was lit ablaze by it. They cried out, flailing as they burned, the smell of their melting flesh tainting the air – the hot scent of hair and nails.
The flames flared hotter than any fire Rifter had ever seen. He could feel the heat pressing in on him. Within a few seconds, however, it was snuffed out.
From the horrible sounds coming from within the blaze, Rifter expected to see the ground littered with fleshless bodies, but that was not the case. The pirates were still standing. The flesh that remained on their frames was red and shriveled, smoke rolling off them, but they had not been downed.
But they were certainly dead. They had become monsters.
Skin was burned away from their mouths, revealing lipless, skeletal grins. Their fingers were long claws, and the noises they emitted were not of pain, but much like the screeching of ravenous animals.
His brothers were not in this group, were they? No, they couldn’t have entered yet. He’d heard no sounds of battle around him while he’d confronted the demon.
