pretty,” and, “Tastes so good,” and, “So alive, so fresh.”
And I just give up.
I will myself to think of Miri. Her laugh. Her kiss. Her bright, beautiful eyes.
When the woman’s teeth touch my neck, I close my eyes and let my memories take me somewhere else. Anywhere else.
A bomb explodes.
I don’t hear it, but I feel it. See it.
A blast of wind blows over us, knocking the woman off of me, making the rock things let go. I feel like I’ll never see again, the light’s so blinding. It erases everything from my vision, the rocks, the woman, Horonius—everything. All I see is burning white light whether my eyes are open or not.
When I can finally take the brightness, I slowly open my eyes, finding myself curled up on the rocky ground in the fetal position, my forehead tucked against my knees. I uncurl and look around. The light’s faded some, but it still fills the corridor like noon at the beach. Horonius–the-dog faces me, dozens of rock creatures littering the floor around him. His eyes shine bright red in the light.
He walks toward me and as he does, he becomes human again. He reaches down and I see his skin riddled with cuts and bruises, yet his grip on my arm is strong when he pulls me to my feet.
“Are you well?” he asks.
I look myself over and see I have plenty of my own cuts. “Yeah. You?”
He nods. “I believe the young mistress has been found.”
“Whadd’ya mean?” I look behind me, to peer in the direction that holds Horonius’ attention. The end of the corridor—the end that had seemed like a steep drop into black nothingness—is ablaze with light. I walk toward it, feeling like I’m walking toward the light at the end of the tunnel, except I know I won’t find Heaven. But I hope I’ll find a little piece of it.
The light is so bright I have to shield my eyes, but I step up to the ledge and look down toward its source.
“James?” Her voice is small, broken. A rough and poor imitation of the voice I know so well.
“Des!”
I still can’t see her and the bright beacon of light is blinding. She begins to cry and panic shoves at my insides. Where the hell is she?
Horonius puts his hand on my shoulder, pressing down in an effort to calm me. When I can I look at him, he gestures downward. I follow the line of where he’s pointing and then I see her.
“Des, can you dial it back? I can barely see you.”
The light recedes some until I can see that she’s hanging beneath the cliff—I imagine her wrists are shackled to the underside. She’s hanging over complete black nothingness. I understood from Michael’s description that this is the bottom of everything. That this isn’t even true space, not in the way I understand it. This is nothing. Just . . . nothing. The place where all creation stops.
“James,” Desi whispers. “James.”
“Follow me,” Horonius says. He leaps from one barely-visible ledge to another and I follow without thought because to think about it would mean looking down and looking down would mean freaking out and freaking out would mean plummeting to my death. Or floating around for forever, I don’t know. Either way, I am not looking down.
I jump onto the same little ledges Horonius does until I stand beside him on the rock to which Desi is shackled.
I lay down on my stomach and look over the ledge. And there she is.
She smiles and laughs, tears catching in her lashes then slipping down her cheeks. “Thank you,” she repeats over and over again. “Thank you.”
I reach out and touch her cheek. She leans against me, presses her face into my palm.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” she says in her rough voice.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” I say. I feel like a smiling freak and my cheeks hurt.
“Thank you,” she says again.
“Well, don’t thank me yet. We’ve still gotta get you out of here and, according to your doggy, I promised something to the Ferryman that has him kind of freaked out.
And I just give up.
I will myself to think of Miri. Her laugh. Her kiss. Her bright, beautiful eyes.
When the woman’s teeth touch my neck, I close my eyes and let my memories take me somewhere else. Anywhere else.
A bomb explodes.
I don’t hear it, but I feel it. See it.
A blast of wind blows over us, knocking the woman off of me, making the rock things let go. I feel like I’ll never see again, the light’s so blinding. It erases everything from my vision, the rocks, the woman, Horonius—everything. All I see is burning white light whether my eyes are open or not.
When I can finally take the brightness, I slowly open my eyes, finding myself curled up on the rocky ground in the fetal position, my forehead tucked against my knees. I uncurl and look around. The light’s faded some, but it still fills the corridor like noon at the beach. Horonius–the-dog faces me, dozens of rock creatures littering the floor around him. His eyes shine bright red in the light.
He walks toward me and as he does, he becomes human again. He reaches down and I see his skin riddled with cuts and bruises, yet his grip on my arm is strong when he pulls me to my feet.
“Are you well?” he asks.
I look myself over and see I have plenty of my own cuts. “Yeah. You?”
He nods. “I believe the young mistress has been found.”
“Whadd’ya mean?” I look behind me, to peer in the direction that holds Horonius’ attention. The end of the corridor—the end that had seemed like a steep drop into black nothingness—is ablaze with light. I walk toward it, feeling like I’m walking toward the light at the end of the tunnel, except I know I won’t find Heaven. But I hope I’ll find a little piece of it.
The light is so bright I have to shield my eyes, but I step up to the ledge and look down toward its source.
“James?” Her voice is small, broken. A rough and poor imitation of the voice I know so well.
“Des!”
I still can’t see her and the bright beacon of light is blinding. She begins to cry and panic shoves at my insides. Where the hell is she?
Horonius puts his hand on my shoulder, pressing down in an effort to calm me. When I can I look at him, he gestures downward. I follow the line of where he’s pointing and then I see her.
“Des, can you dial it back? I can barely see you.”
The light recedes some until I can see that she’s hanging beneath the cliff—I imagine her wrists are shackled to the underside. She’s hanging over complete black nothingness. I understood from Michael’s description that this is the bottom of everything. That this isn’t even true space, not in the way I understand it. This is nothing. Just . . . nothing. The place where all creation stops.
“James,” Desi whispers. “James.”
“Follow me,” Horonius says. He leaps from one barely-visible ledge to another and I follow without thought because to think about it would mean looking down and looking down would mean freaking out and freaking out would mean plummeting to my death. Or floating around for forever, I don’t know. Either way, I am not looking down.
I jump onto the same little ledges Horonius does until I stand beside him on the rock to which Desi is shackled.
I lay down on my stomach and look over the ledge. And there she is.
She smiles and laughs, tears catching in her lashes then slipping down her cheeks. “Thank you,” she repeats over and over again. “Thank you.”
I reach out and touch her cheek. She leans against me, presses her face into my palm.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” she says in her rough voice.
“I can’t believe you’re here,” I say. I feel like a smiling freak and my cheeks hurt.
“Thank you,” she says again.
“Well, don’t thank me yet. We’ve still gotta get you out of here and, according to your doggy, I promised something to the Ferryman that has him kind of freaked out.
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