A Torment of Savages (The Reanimation Files Book 4) (31 page)

Revath hovered several feet off the ground looking as terribly vicious and haunting as the last time I’d seen her. Her dusky gray skin seemed shades darker in the artificial twilight, and her fiery eyes more piercing as they took me in standing there in all my faux-calm, weaponless glory. It would have made no difference to bring my rune gun because it had no effect against her, but the familiarity of it in my hands was a comfort I missed. As it was, all my useless hands could do was clench and unclench. What they wanted to do was make Revath suffer.

“Selene, so lovely of you to join us,” Revath said. Her lilting, almost lyrical voice was one I would never get accustomed to. She should have had a raspy, nightmarish voice. I hated when the bad guy didn’t fit the stereotype.

“Like I had a choice,” I said flatly. “What you issued was an ultimatum, not an option.”

She smiled. “Yes, I supposed it was, wasn’t it?

“Why even go through all this trouble?” I said, spreading my arms. “Why make such a big public show of it and make me come to you? At any time you could have found me and taken me. What’s the point of this?”

“What’s not the point?” she said, grinning. “Oh how I do love this technological world you live in. The cameras, the people watching on those screens, some of them so tiny! Why not make a show of it? Why not show the world…everything?”

I recalled her calling card; dead animals and blackened earth. She did love to put on a show. I shook my head. “So this is just a game to you.”

Her smile vanished. “Oh no, my girl, it is not a game. It is a web, one that you became tangled in a long time ago. But I am here to set you free. Or…” she spread her arms, “shall I set my little army free? Before I only let out a few at a time, I was just collecting my debt you see. But now, I have so many hungry little Savages who would lay waste to any and everything in their paths. Including…” She snapped her fingers, and just like that Micah appeared from among the crowd of Savages. I couldn’t have even said where he’d been standing. He moved up beside Revath, who floated down to the ground and snaked her arm around him, sliding her fingers through his hair. It was all I could do not to run over there and try to poke her eyes out with my thumbs.

I looked at Micah, feeling immense fear crash through me. He stood rigidly still and stared straight ahead with those glowing red eyes. It was like staring at a corpse; there was nothing of my Micah standing before me. Just an empty shell filled with vicious darkness. But it was a shell I needed to make whole again. Him and all the Savages that stood behind him. Like them, he was covered in blood and I hated to think about what he’d done as a Savage. I forced my gaze to Revath again. The rune necklace with all the Savages’ souls lay against her skin like a beacon calling to me. I had to incapacitate her somehow and get it.

“Give me his soul back,” I said. It was a useless demand, but seeing Micah like this, I couldn’t stay quiet. “His and everyone else’s souls. Give them back.”

Revath threw back her head and laughed that horrible laugh that made me want to jam something in my ears until I damaged something vital and blood poured down the side of my face. She was a disgustingly beautiful creature, and I hated every part of her. When her laughter subsided, she fixed her gaze on me again.

“They are mine,” she declared. “They are what I am owed for not getting what I was promised.”

“Then just take me, damn it,” I said. “Take me and release them. My soul is the one Nova bargained away, so just take me!” I was none too keen about dying again, this time permanently, and having my soul end up as her plaything in the In Between forever, but I would do anything to save Micah from that fate.

“Oh no, little one,” she said, wagging her finger at me. “This is not an either or situation. I get it all; their souls and yours.”

“And what happens to them after,” I said. “Their bodies that you stuffed with darkness.” I hadn’t really thought that she would take me and give them up, but I was desperate and running out of ideas as to how we could all come out of this with our souls in our bodies and Revath stuffed back into the hellhole from which she came.

“Oh, who knows, who cares,” she said with a shrug and dismissive wave of her hand. “They can lay waste to whatever they can up here before someone stops them by chopping them into itty bitty pieces.”

I swallowed hard as a visceral image of Micah’s body in multiple bloody chunks flashed before my eyes. No doubt if Revath were to claim my soul and return to the In Between, leaving the Savages here, the only way anyone would be able to stop them from their all-out rampage would be to blow them to bits. The fear that gripped me over that thought almost doubled me over. Think, Selene, think, how the hell did I win? How could I undo Nova’s deal at this point?

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 because 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.