"Ah, as I thought. Lightbringer." the darkness, its voice the same deep rumbling echo as before.
I thrust my hands out, activating a portal behind us. I send Macklin through as the darkness begins its attack. The power is devastating and my shield breaks on the first strike. It's just me and Katie left now, the rest have made it through. I tell her to go. She nods. The darkness sends a new attack at us.
I grab Katie and pull her back quickly, throwing a small blast of light to divert the darknesses attack. It must have worked, I don't feel any pain. I pull Katie through the portal, a small flash of light, I sent my ethereal to deactivate the portal. I collapse onto a stone floor in the council room.
We made it.
Everyone around me is silent. I look up. Melanie is crying. Phil is ashen. Gray is clutching his robe. Asrath is shaking his head.
I look around, I don't understand what's happening.
And then I see her. Katie. Her skin is black. She isn't breathing. I dive into the ethereal, I can't see her fire or her dragon. I crawl over to her.
"Please, please, please no." I whisper to her. I pull on my light and force it into her, I guide it around her body. I can't find any damage. She won’t breathe.
"NO!" I scream, tears rolling. I pull all the light now, I scream at it and pull it, it tries to refuse, I roar again and snatch at it, the crown drops from my head, I pull the light from the crown leaving it empty, the crown clatters to the floor now, physical, just a lump of dim silver.
I force the light into Katie one last time.
Please.
Forty-Two – Epilogue
Minosthin was lost in an emptiness she never could have imagined. She could feel nothing. Only sadness.
She tried to beat her wings and fly, but there were no wings. Her tail flicked, in her mind, for her tail was gone. And worst of all she couldn't feel her human, Katie, where was she? And why was she so sad?
There were tears, Thin had never cried before, but now huge tears of lava rolled, or didn't roll, for there were no eyes for tears to escape.
And then a voice, a whisper of nothing, coming from nothing. And everything. Is everything nothing? Oh, Thin was so confused.
And that whisper. What did it say? Human words. Yes. What could they mean? Thin was so sad. She didn't want to hear those voices, she just wanted Katie. And then that voice again.
GO AWAY! Thin roared. But the voice laughed. And Thin remembered the words.
Ah, it's close now. The undoing.
Pronunciations
El-Assum: El-As-Soom
El-Odun: El-Ode-Oon
El-Issir: El-Hiss-Eer
El-Coreel: El-Core-El
Al-Guul: Al-Ghoul
Gandrea: Gan-Dray-Ah
Horal: Hor-Al
Wident: Why-Dent
Minosthin: Minos-Theen
Ringothor: Rin-Goth-Or
The Darkest Light: Book 1 of The Inferno Prophecy Page 20
