When she woke up, everything was black. The faint dripping sound from the corner of the room would have worried her had she not known better now. As long as there was no movement then there was naught to lose sleep over.
It was dead now, probably drooling into a pool of velvet smoky blood. Yet even with the creature slain, she could not waste time glorying in a victory fete. The worst was still yet to come.
Where was Christopher? Was he still alive and if so, for how long?
Straining to prop herself up, she angled herself by her elbows, wincing as a flash of hot pain shot across her abdomen. The skin around where the creature’s talons had punctured and ripped across felt as if it was bubbling with acid.
Fatigue and pain mixed in with relief urged her to lie down, to rest, and find her strength again, but her mind screamed sense back into her. If she slept there and the darkness filled her lungs, she would not rise again. She had to stay awake. She had to get to him.
Her life would have to count for something and most of all today. He had to live even though that meant that she’d die in his stead. Ignoring the searing pain, she dragged herself across the floor, listening every now and then for the dripping sound, waiting for it to stop and the growling to begin again. But it persisted and so did her resolve to find her wounded husband. Somewhere out there in this accursed dark castle, Christopher’s life was draining away.
She could feel it. She didn’t know how, but she knew that he was close to death. If she could only see past this veil of darkness, burst through the shadow, and catch a glimpse of him. That was all she needed to find him; get to him; help him.
But the darkness was much more than just darkness now. It was alive. The essence of the creatures had made it so as it snaked in through the cracks and holes, velvety black, searching for life and draining it all.
Even now she could feel the weight of the darkness pressing hard on her, its waves seeping in through her eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. She held her breath one more time and pulled herself up, wincing at the shock of pain in her legs. Her legs wobbled madly, weak with pain then gave up as her body fell back onto the cement floor.
Please… Help me… Help me save him.
She whispered to the still wind, halfway between consciousness and unconsciousness. She could feel cold midnight blackness rushing into her lungs, demonized by the creatures, but still, she persisted.
Help me… Please…
She whispered once more to the unseen corridors.
She did not expect anything to happen. The Light Kin had not appeared in the dying realm for millenniums and least of all now when Adania was infested with Omen and Whispers, creatures of foul darkness. The light had no fellowship with darkness. Nevertheless, she called to them; willing herself to keep her eyes from closing.
Then she saw something in the distance, a flicker of light and what looked very like wings, large wings, and many faces. Then her eyes got heavy. She blinked, her eyelids drooping with sleep. The wind rushed past her, the air thick with fresh air. A tear rolled down her eye. They heard her. They had come at last.
The End
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