She's My Prey Episode 10

Chapter 1

SADIE

“NO!”

The circle explodes, blue and black flame engulfing Renem’s broken body. The surge of magic within the circle travels down the remaining beams of Gandorf’s power, and with a scream fueled with hate, Gandorf is swallowed whole by the spell of his own creation.

I rush toward the circle, trying to find a way in, a way to save him, but the blistering heat prevents me from getting too close. My heart feels as though it’s been wrenched from my body, icy rage and scalding grief flooding me.

Renem. My waira.

He’s gone.

The circle collapses in on itself as the flames dwindle, smoke beginning to leech into the room as the circle dissolves. The smoke stings my eyes and burns my throat, but I push through it, feeling blindly on the floor for any sign that Renem has survived the blast.

I sputter and cough as I crawl on the floor, the stones searing the skin of my knees and palms in the wake of the blast, but I keep searching. Renem is invincible. He’s not dead, he can’t be, I won’t let him.

The smoke slowly disperses, and through the haze, I see a crumpled figure on the floor.

“Renem!” I choke out, wiping at the soot collecting around my eyes. I crawl to him, bile crawling up my throat as his body comes into full view.

His heart is still glowing, but the light is dimmer than I’ve ever seen it, flickering in and out uncontrollably. Both of his legs are bent in unnatural angles, the skin torn and bones protruding in several places. The stench of burnt hair and flesh clings to his broken body, dark blood steaming around him from the heat of the stones beneath it.

Renem’s skull moves slowly to look at me, his heart sputtering from the effort. The flesh of his neck beneath his skull is ripped in an ugly gash, burns from the heat mottling the skin across his body.

“Oh, Renem,” I sob, crawling to him to cradle his skull in my lap. My hands hover uselessly above his body. I want nothing more than to heal his wounds, to help alleviate some of his pain, but I have no idea how.

“Sadie,” he rasps from beneath me. “Do not… touch.”

His breathing is too labored, his heart flickering too quickly. Fear squeezes my heart painfully.

“What do I do? How do I help?” I ask hoarsely, smoke coating the inside of my throat. “Please don’t leave me, Renem,” I add thickly, my tears coming faster, tracking through the soot on my face.

“There… is nothing… to be done,” he forces out, blood gurgling at the open wound on his throat with every word.

“No, please don’t say that, we can fix this,” I beg, looking around frantically. “You just need time to heal!”

“No,” Renem says, catching my wrist with his one good hand. “I… am… dying.”

“No! No, you’re not dying! I won’t let you!” I cry, holding the sides of his skull gently. “You promised to protect me, remember? You have to live!”

“I am… sorry,” he chokes out, and my heart shatters. Grief overtakes me completely, and my body shakes with my sobs as I hold him.

“Please, Renem,” I whimper. “You can’t die. I love you,” I say between sobs. The words don’t do my feelings justice, can’t begin to describe what I feel for him, but I say them anyway. Some small, childish part of me hopes it will be enough, that he will be magically healed by my admission of love like in the fairytales I read in the Bordello, but nothing changes. Renem’s body remains broken, the light of his heart fading by the second.

“I love… you… little dae,” Renem rasps. It sounds too much like a goodbye, I can’t take it. I look around again, desperately hoping to find something, anything, that would fix this when my eyes land on Gandorf’s body.

“You just need dark elf blood! You’ll heal if you absorb their powers!” I say, shifting Renem’s skull gently from my lap back to the ground. Renem says something I can’t understand, but I don’t waste a moment, racing to Gandorf’s body and grabbing his ankle.

Gandorf is heavy, so heavy, but I heave, dragging his body in small spurts until it rests next to Renem.

“You just need to eat,” I murmur, lifting Renem’s head. “You have to eat him, he’s powerful, you can heal!”

“No,” Renem chokes quietly.

“Just do it Renem!” I snap, a sudden anger filling me. He can’t die, I won’t let him! Why is he refusing to help me with this?

“I… cannot…” Renem gasps.

“Yes, you can! Here, I’ll help you!” I say, desperation and frustration edging into my voice. I lift Gandorf’s arm to Renem’s maw, but Renem turns his head away, his dim eyes finding mine.

“It is… too late… he… is… too far gone,” Renem grinds out. The last of the foolish, tiny hope I held on to is crushed beneath the weight of his words, my tears beginning anew. My rage returns tenfold, and I slam my hands into the ground beside me.

This is my fault.

Renem is dying, because of me.

“Why?” I scream, more at the universe than at my brave, broken waira. “Why do you have to die like this?”

As quickly as it came, the fight leeches out of me, my anger subsiding and leaving me feeling empty and grief-stricken.

“I’m so sorry,” I sob. There’s so much I’m apologizing for, but I can’t seem to find any other words to try and describe just how sorry I am. I’m sorry that I didn’t listen to him, sorry that I dragged him into this mess, sorry that I left in the dead of night, sorry that he’s now dying because of me.

A gust of air suddenly whips through the space, chasing away the last tendrils of lingering smoke. My head whips up to find the source, a cloaked figure backlit by the moonlight seeping in through the tower window.

Immediately, I throw my body over Renem’s, protecting him from this newest threat.

“No!” I scream furiously at the cloaked figure. “You can’t have him! Leave us alone!”

The figure doesn’t respond, instead, taking a step forward and drawing his hood back.

“Garagal!” I cry, relief flooding me at the sight of his gray face. The powerful dark elf smiles kindly at me and nods in response.

“I came as soon as I could,” He says softly, closing the distance between us. “Jorban and I felt Gandorf’s magic stir. Jorban gave me all of the magic he could spare and sent me ahead.”

I lean back, easing off of Renem, and Garagal’s face falls as he sees the state of Renem’s body.

“Please,” I beg Garagal, “Please help him. He’s hurt.”

Garagal turns an assessing eye to Renem, nodding at my words before walking around his body to place his hands on my shoulders. He gently guides me off of Renem, and while I know that Garagal can be trusted, every cell in my body rages against the loss of Renem’s warm weight.

“Jorban comes from a long line of orc shamans,” Garagal tells me, seeming to sense my reticence. “He is very badly hurt, but I will do what I can with our combined magic.”

I nod wordlessly, clutching at my heart as I watch Garagal kneel beside Renem. He lifts his hands, allowing them to hover slightly above Renem’s sputtering heart, and purple magic begins to dance between his fingertips.

I gasp as the magic flows like water over Renem, his wounds quivering before beginning to knit shut painstakingly slowly. Tears flow freely down my cheeks once again, except this time, they are fueled by joy.

He’s starting to heal.

And I can only hope my waira is going to be okay.