This chapter has been edited due to content. If you want to see the unedited version GO HERE.
JASH
I was in a cage that extended far beyond this simple cell. Until the events of this night were through, I wouldn’t know the true meaning of the word freedom. The most unsettling part of this was that Scratch was in Alan Wake.
The mortal was mere feet from me. If only I could attack him now and end all of this waiting. To feel Scratch slowly dying in my maw was all that my nerves needed. I breathed deeply and found the urge still close to the surface.
My head turned mere moments before the other three noticed the sounds of a struggle. The stench of Taken and pleasant smells of blood were quickly filling the air. If I stayed down here, right beside the bastard in charge of this attack, I would be safe.
But my husband could be killed in the struggle and so my hands were tied.
I cast Fenrik’s Welcome and my cell door was unlocked. It took merely a push of my hand to fling the door open. I could have used a Shout but didn’t want to risk causing a distraction until I had a better idea of the state of both the FBC and my husband.
“Thank you, Hircine.” I said to my second husband. “My mouth stayed silent even as the FBC pried into my secrets.”
“Kill him!” Jaakko yelled and pointed to the bard.
Even though I shouldn’t waste my time, I looked at Alan and Scratch’s stench made me gag. The dark urge to slaughter the abomination nearly sent me into a rage that would make even Molag Bal scared.
“No.” I hissed and forced myself to run out of the room.
The sounds and smells of a struggle relaxed me. Existence was chaos but in battle there was a certainty that could not be had anywhere else. Life could end in a moment and so there wasn’t the harsh anticipation that permeated everywhere else.
I conjured two swords of pure energy. These would cut easily through both flesh and darkness. There would be no tears spared for the Taken from me. Their fates had been chosen and nothing I did could change that.
A Taken came towards me and I grinned. The darkness that had twisted the man into a mere shell did not react with anything but rage.
I didn’t mind.
The Taken’s head rolled across the floor with a twist of my wrist and I dodged another Taken who had the foresight to shoot at me. That one would require more effort but not much.
I used a Paralyze Rune and watched as the Taken twirled over my head. Before it could realize what had happened, one of my conjured swords sliced its stomach open. Its guts and blood poured over me like a cleansing rain.
Four more fell by my hands and I had to hold back laughter. This was much preferable to sitting and waiting for the Dark Presence to attack.
As the excitement died down, I used my senses to find Alex Casey. If he died then…no…not again. I wouldn’t let that happen. I couldn’t let that happen.
Had I already wasted too much time?
My feet tore through the station as I headed towards the morgue. As my muscles tensed briefly, I looked at Kiran crawling towards a closet. She was badly hurt and was wise enough to retreat. There was no shame in realizing your weakness and waiting for a better moment to strike.
Kiran’s eyes met mine and I saw a look of shock briefly consume her face. But neither of us could spare the other any real consideration until the attack was finished.
“****!” Alex yelled out as two Taken managed to push him down the stairs leading towards the morgue.
The moment his feet didn’t support him I was taken back to Solitude. I remembered going through those doors and hearing the deafening sound of his death. I couldn’t let that happen here.
Before I hadn’t used a Shout due to wanting to give the FBC a chance against the Taken. Now, though, I could see how the battle was lost and there needed to be a focus on saving all those that could be saved.
I remembered every reason I loved Alex. From his looks to the tough exterior that I had managed to break through without needing to try. I loved him in the deepest way one soul could love another.
I let that intense romance go to the deepest part of my being.
“Naal Dii Sil!” I Shouted and let my love out.
Light crashed from me into every crevice of the police station. Taken screamed loudly as they passed away. There was nothing to shame them by but, at the same time, they couldn’t resist such an intense burst of light.
I wanted Scratch to die by my Shout but that couldn’t be. It was not his to die by my Thu'um. Unless Alan suddenly became a disgrace to all bards, that was.
My hand let out a small ball of light that healed my husband completely. At least in a physical way as the power of the By My Soul Shout had ripped open his mind. Even I had to brace myself against the truths I would rather hide from.
I held out a hand to Alex as his breathing quickly steadied. My magic could heal a person but minds were a different matter. Sometimes people took a moment to realize they were no longer injured.
“Is Kiran dead?” Alex asked as he took my hand.
“Last I saw she was crawling into a closet.” I said as I helped him up. “My Magicka has not been fully depleted. If she still breathes I can save her.”
Alex followed me as I walked to the closet where Kiran was. She looked like a horker had gone to town on her. But she was alive and that was all that mattered to me. I cast Healing Hands before the dryskin had a chance to speak.
A light enveloped her and every little injury was gone as if it had never been there.
“That was you, wasn’t it?” Kiran said as she stood up. “You’re the one that cast that bright-“
“I call it the By My Soul Shout.” I told her. “It works by showing people who they are. I designed it as a form of meditation after Scouts-Many-Marshes suggested it.”
“So the Shadow was, what, shamed?”
“I don’t think the Dark Presence is capable of shame.”
“The light! You couldn’t make it feel shame but you could create an intense light source.”
I didn’t bother to ask her what the Shout had shown her as that was a very personal matter. It could only be hoped that she had grown softer towards me because of it.
“Are you going to return Jash to his cell?” Alex asked.
“That Shout isn’t something the Shadow can do.” Kiran replied. “So, no, there’s no reason to lock him up again.”
I nearly said that another reason to have me walk free was the fact that I had shown they weren’t capable of holding me. But it wouldn’t do to say that to a new ally.
“You have a plan, Jash.” Kiran said. “What’s next?”
I wanted to repay her kindness with the full truth. I yearned to show her respect. And yet…yet telling her everything could make reality itself crumble. She dealt with keeping secrets from others so it was right to repay her in kind.
“Saga will return to the station soon, Kiran.” I replied. “When she does you will let her see Alan Wake.”
“Is there a reason?” Kiran asked.
“If the truth is spoken too soon then everything you know will be destroyed. Good mortals have sacrificed themselves in order to keep the Dark Presence contained. Will you demean them so?”
“Saga wil-“ Alex chimed in.
“My love, I would tell you if your partner was in danger. She is a good friend to these eyes and I would howl a warning if I thought she was about to enter the Far Shores.”
“Is there anything I can do?” Kiran asked.
“Saga is the hero of this story.” I replied. “Her trials and tribulations can’t be completed by another.”
No comments:
Post a Comment