A Torment of Savages (The Reanimation Files Book 4)

by A. J. Locke

  The answer, which felt as though it was hollowing me out, was that I couldn’t, and I didn’t know how to accept that.

  “Well.” Revath clapped her hands together. “As much fun as this has been, I’m rather ready to be done here. It is an interesting world, but altogether too bright. Even at night. Time for us to go. Wouldn’t you like to be reunited with the rest of your soul? It’s waiting for you.”

  “What?” I said sharply as the image of Garrus flashed before my eyes. Revath smiled widely.

  “Oh I have that terribly delicious menace who took a little piece of what is mine,” she said. “I couldn’t very well let him wander free with my possession.”

  “So that’s why…” I said softly. Why Garrus never slipped over to this side and had me drop dead. He was being held captive by Revath because he carried part of my oh-so-coveted soul. I would consider it a relief that he was imprisoned if not for the fact that it seemed as though I would be joining him very soon.

  I was out of ideas, and let’s face it, I hadn’t really had any to begin with. And Revath was done talking. Before I knew it, she had closed the distance between us in the blink of an eye, wrapped her hand around my throat, and proceeded to suck out my soul.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  I was barely touching the ground by my tiptoes as Revath held on to me, her power pushing against me as though a concrete wall were slamming into me. I choked, sputtered, and struggled, trying everything I could to get her off me, but I was no match against her supernatural strength. I was helpless and scared beyond all comprehension as I felt her power sink into me and attach to my soul. I literally felt it; her power clamped on tightly to my soul, ready to pull it out. Once my soul was yanked out of my body, I was dead. That was all I could think as I stared into her maniacal, triumphant eyes. At least I would get to see Micah. I hoped I would get to see Micah. It would be bearable if we were at least together. Hot tears stung my eyes and I felt as though I could not possibly contain all the emotions that were going through me. I had delivered myself to my death. How much more stupid could I have been?

  But there had been no other choice. My mother had made it that way.

  There was also nothing happening that seemed to be making Revath any happier. Her wild glee had turned into a confused frown, and I realized through the pain that even though she had been pulling at the power she had thrust into me, it was not answering her call. There was no release. My soul did not burst from my body so she could whisk it away to the In Between and leave my corpse for Kyo and Ethan to mourn. I had no idea how this was happening, but it felt like she was trying to pull a circle out of a square hole. There was no way it would pass through. My body was not giving up my soul.

  Revath released a horrifyingly high-pitched shriek before she released me, flinging me back like I was a rag-doll. As I lay there trying to get my bearings and think past the pain of what I had just endured, I caught her eyes and saw her staring down at me with her shoulders heaving and her face in a twisted mask of anger.

  “What have you done?” Her yell was so loud I was sure she had just woken up the other side of the world. I swallowed several times, trying to bring moisture to my throat, even though I had no idea what the answer to her question was. As far as I knew, I had done nothing that would have stopped her from ripping my soul from my body.

  “Who did it?” she seethed.

  I was able to get to my feet, although I felt off balance and weak. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said hoarsely. To say my throat was severely bruised was an understatement.

  Revath released another wordless scream.

  “Who. Did. It?”

  I would have loved to be enlightened as to what she was talking about so I could throw shade at her over the fact that she had not been able to take my soul, but I was bewildered myself. Not in the angry way she was though. I was grateful, just very confused.

  “Your soul is sealed off from me.” She moved forward, and I instinctively moved back. I had no desire for her to lay a hand on me again, yet I was not sure how to avoid it.

  “Someone has sealed it inside you; I cannot take it for myself.” Her tone conveyed just how unsatisfied she was with this turn of events, and I did not want to imagine how she would display that unhappiness.

  Revath unleashed another scream that made my blood feel as though it was going to burst out of all my pores. Then she came at me again. I knew there was no way I was fast enough to avoid her, but I tried to get out of the way just the same. Before she could grab me though, my dead magic shot out of my body and slammed into her. I hadn’t really thought about using the dead magic to attack her, but some kind of instinct had taken over and caused me to unleash my power. It did little more than make her stagger back a bit, though she did stop to regard me. And laugh.

  “How courageous! To throw darkness at darkness and hope it could save you.” She made a pitying sound. “I will have your soul, girl. All debts must be paid. You would not want to witness what happens if they are not.” She spread her arms wide to indicate the Savages that stood behind her. Micah stood where she left him, unaware of anything that was going on. As I looked at the Savages, something suddenly clicked and my eyes widened.

  My dead magic was unleashed, and although I was holding it back, it was a tremendous effort due to the fact that there were a hundred darkness-filled vessels that my dead magic was drawn to. My dead magic could pull all of that darkness out of them. Darkness that had been given to them by Revath.

  “Darkness is all she is…All she has to give. Her own darkness, her own darkness, her own darkness, it’s all she has. Take it away…and what will she be?”

  Nova’s words came back to me and now it all made sense. Revath’s strength was her darkness, and she had given a lot of it away to fill up the Savages. If I took it from them, into myself, she would be weakened and I would be stronger. Then it would be easier for me to get the rune from around her neck that contained everyone’s souls. Then I could Spartan kick the bitch back into the In Between.

  The only hesitation was the thought of all of that darkness filling me up. I knew some of it would get channeled to Snake Eyes, but there was a lot of dark energy within those Savages and some of it would stay with me. I already felt the effects of carrying dark energy within myself. It was starting to change me. Being bound to the ghost snake had helped but…

  But I had no time to sit here and contemplate it. I had to do it, and deal with the consequences later.

  All of that came to me in a quick succession of thoughts, just as Revath came for me once more. She grabbed me and sunk her power into me again, trying to get my soul out, and I ignored the intense pain that brought and focused instead on my dead magic. I did what I had been training with Magda not to do these past few months. I let it go, free, uncontrolled, uninhibited. Dropped my hold on it entirely and let it slam into each and every one of the Savages, burying inside their bodies and latching on to the darkness that filled them up. Revath’s darkness. They were all little power sources for her. As long as they carried her power, she would remain strong, but if it was taken away…

  I was hoping with everything I had that the conclusion I had so quickly come to was correct.

  Once I felt connected to each and every Savage, I pulled my dead magic back. Now that it had what it wanted, it was all too willing to come back to me. To bring that massive cloud of dark energy it had pulled out of the Savages into me. Once the darkness was out of their bodies, everyone collapsed. Micah hit the ground hard.

  Revath jolted as though someone had punched their fist through her chest and abruptly let me go. She turned around wildly and stared with a gaping mouth at all of her glittering darkness dancing above the Savages, who, for the time being, were dead. I tried not to let the thought that right now Micah was dead freak me out. I was on my way to saving him.

  “No!” Revath screamed, turning to me again. “What have you done!”

  I didn’t answer her becaus
e I didn’t want to give her time to regain herself and stop me. I pulled and pulled, and swallowed all of Revath’s darkness. When that dark cloud slammed into me, I went flying back and hit the ground hard. The wind was knocked out of me and there was nothing I could do but lay there in a vortex of swirling, powerful magic, feeling it sink into my skin like hot lava. I didn’t even have the breath to scream. This was far, far, worse than when I had taken the darkness from Brian or the Savages below the Paranormal Library. This was power and magic so strong that I was not sure my body would be able to contain it. Maybe I was making it easy for Revath by killing myself. Then she could just snatch my ghost once it popped out.

  My dead magic was a ferocious thing. It consumed Revath’s dark energy like a wild beast with the most voracious appetite. Despite how much it hurt, I also felt strong. The currents that flowed through my body made me buck off the ground. I had never felt this powerful before. Or this dark. I felt absolutely certain that I could rip Revath’s head off with ease.

  Slowly, very slowly, everything started to die down. The last of my dead magic and Revath’s power flowed into me, and I felt a bulk of it channel through the connection that bound me to Snake Eyes. I was sure the ghost snake would enjoy the unexpected boost. I was left staring up at the ceiling of the dome. I felt electrified, powerful, magnificent…I felt like a stranger in my own skin. I stood up, hyper aware of every nerve ending in my body. It was as though I could feel even the tiniest vibration on the wind. I was breathing hard, my body covered in a sheen of sweat, my dead magic a fearsome thing swirling around inside me, feasting on all of that darkness.

  Revath stood there staring at me as though she had been turned into a statue. She looked like less than half the thing she’d been before. The billowing darkness that had surrounded her was greatly reduced; now it just looked like she was wearing a flowy, black dress. Her skin had gone from ashen to pale, and the feel of power coming from her was no longer as strong.

  Now it was my turn to give her a sickly sweet smile.

  “You…you did not just…my power…my darkness…”

  “I think the balance just tipped out of your favor,” I said. My voice sounded alien to my ears. I wasn’t at all certain that I was still the one in charge of my thoughts and my body. It was like some dark being had taken over. But no, it was all me, and I was going to end this now.

  I strode up to Revath, who tried to move away but stumbled. I reached out and snatched the rune necklace as she fell, then I hauled her up and dragged her toward the open necromancer circle. Once we were there, I leveled my face with hers.

  “You may be able to recover once you’re back on the other side,” I said. “Juice up on some ghosts and think about coming back for me, but I would think twice. This is over. My soul is no longer yours to take, as you saw firsthand, and I have taken most of your power from you and will do so again should you see fit to cross back over again. So go back to hell, bitch. You’ve lost.” I shoved her forward, right into the open necromancer circle. Her face was a mask of anger and hatred as light flared around her briefly before she disappeared.

  I released a breath. A huge breath. Then slumped down onto my knees and bowed my head. I was shaking. Partly with the power that was still rioting inside me, and partly because I could hardly believe that I had actually done it. I had beat Revath. Granted, the necromancer circle was still open and I knew she would not stay weakened for long, but if she decided to come back, I was more than ready for her. I took a few deep breaths then stood up and turned around. The rune with all the souls was held tightly in my fist and the first body I looked at was Micah’s.

  As I walked over to him, I noticed that the dome was still in place. Was it because I had taken so much of Revath’s darkness that I controlled it now? I’d find out later. For now I would accept the cover it provided as I reanimated everyone. It was better to do that without cameras filming every moment of it.

  I knelt down next to Micah and drew his head into my lap, gently touching his cold face. Tears threatened, and I had to try and calm myself. Now more than ever I understood how Micah had felt when he’d been staring at my body those two minutes I was dead. I understood a lot better why he’d been willing to do whatever it took to save me.

  I opened my hand and stared at the rune as I opened my reanimation power. I thrust my power into the rune and felt the answering pull of souls. Then I pulled my reanimation power out. I didn’t know how many souls I would pull out at once, but I’d keep going until it was empty and hoped the ghosts would understand why I would want to reanimate my boyfriend first. In the meantime they could all go find their bodies and wait their turn.

  But, as it turned out, Micah’s ghost was the first to appear. Relief flooded me and I wanted to jump up and hug his ghost but decided to be patient and wait for a hug from flesh and bones Micah. When his ghost saw me, he looked as relieved as I felt and dropped to his knees on the other side of his body.

  “Selene!”

  “Oh Micah…” I reached up and touched his ghostly face. “I’m so sorry it took this long to save you.”

  “You did it.” He didn’t even sound surprised as he looked around, though he hesitated when he saw all the dead bodies behind us.

  “They’re going to be okay,” I said. “I have the rune that Revath trapped all your souls in. Once I put you back, I’ll do them.”

  “I wish I could help you,” Micah said. “That’s going to take quite some time.”

  “It will be worth it,” I said. “Now, come on, your body is waiting for you, and I’m waiting for your arms around me.” I drew Micah’s ghost into the circle of my reanimation power, and a few minutes later had repeated what I had recently done to Kyo. Micah’s ghost sank into his body, and after a few tense moments, his eyes flew open and he took a deep breath.

  Micah was alive. He was no longer a Savage. The darkness was gone and his soul was back where it belonged. There were no words to express how I felt staring into his gray eyes right now.

  “Selene?” Micah quickly sat up and turned to face me, his eyes wide. He looked down at himself, felt his body with his hands, then looked at me again.

  “I’m back…I’m…”

  “You’re okay,” I whispered.

  “Oh God, Selene.” Micah wrapped me in his arms and crushed me against his body. I wrapped trembling arms around him and relished the feel of his body against mine. I buried my face in his neck and inhaled the musky scent of his skin. Micah. Micah. Micah. I had him back.

  Micah pulled back and held my face in his hands, bending down and kissing me gently. My cheeks were wet with tears; I didn’t even remember when I’d started to cry.

  “I’m here,” he said, wiping my tears with his thumbs. “I’m here, Selene.”

  I nodded, unable to stop myself from crying and very afraid that I would break down into a sobbing, wailing mess.

  “Oh Micah…Micah.” I didn’t know what to say beyond that so I just clutched him to me again. I felt like I was being washed away in a dark, dark sea and Micah was all there was to anchor me so I didn’t forget who I was. Although I feared that it was already too late. I was lost and my anchor was being washed away with me.

  Finally, I pulled back and kissed him, cupping my hand to his cheek.

  “More celebrating later,” I said, picking up the rune. “Now I have to put everyone else back.”

  Micah nodded, gave me one more tight hug, then we both stood up. I took a deep breath and sent my reanimation power back into the rune to draw out another soul. It seemed I could only do one at a time.

  After a few moments though I frowned, and looked up at Micah, who’d been looking at the rune waiting to see a ghost emerge. He glanced up at me.

  “Something wrong?” he asked.

  “I…” I focused on the rune and my reanimation power, searching for more souls, but the longer I stood there, the more I felt as though everything inside me was turning into horrible, dreadful ice.

  “I can’
t find…I can’t feel any…” My breath was coming in short gasps and I was on the verge of hyperventilating. Micah put his hands on my shoulders and made me look at him.

  “Selene, what’s wrong? You can’t feel any what?” But he knew. He stared at the rune, then back up at me, and he knew what I knew but didn’t want to say. Because once the words left my mouth there was no taking them back.

  But it was the truth whether or not I chose to say it out loud. “I can’t feel any more souls inside the rune,” I said as devastation crashed over me. “There was only yours…only yours…”

  “No,” Micah breathed, looking horrified.

  “She won after all,” I said, tears welling in my eyes. “She only put your soul in this rune…I just assumed they were all in here. Oh no…oh no…”

  Micah glanced behind him at all the fallen bodies. “So where are everyone else’s?”

  “With her,” I said. My legs gave out and I fell to my knees. Micah dropped down and wrapped his arms around me even though there was no amount of comfort that would make me feel better. “They’re with her in the In Between. She collected her debt. She won…”

  I could hear the echo of Revath’s laughter in my head.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

  I had no choice but to tell the truth. After standing there with Micah making attempt after attempt at finding more souls within the rune, I finally had to accept that there were no other souls in there. That left Micah and I standing in a dome of darkness with a hundred corpses who would remain dead. I could not stomach that truth; it literally made me feel nauseous, like I was going to throw up not only what was in my stomach but all of the darkness I had consumed as well. My dead magic and the power it had gobbled up from the Savages had quieted, but I was still very aware of it, and was intensely repulsed by it. I had blackened my soul for nothing. Now I would have to struggle with not letting the darkness consume me, and these people would remain dead with their souls left at the mercy of Revath for eternity.