Thanatophobia (noun): fear of death.
DAY 36, HOUR 3
Through our guardian-angel connection, I saw through Aran’s eyes.
She was surrounded by dozens of infected, pain radiated through her body from multiple contusions, and Sadie was naked on the ground behind her.
She crouched low and inhaled enchanted smoke.
She swept over the infected with a disturbing nonchalance as she analyzed the situation. Her thoughts were freakishly calm.
“Where are you?” I screamed through our connection, but the sound was jumbled and fuzzy.
Helplessness filled me.
Please not now.
I choked on guilt. It was my fault that our connection was inconsistent.
Desperate to do something, I grabbed my crutches and pulled myself upright out of the leather chair.
I spent the battles alone in the strategy room, mediating, and Warren knew not to disturb me. HE spent the time exploring the forest as a ferret.
Now I wished I weren’t alone.
I needed help.
Someone.
Anyone.
I clutched at my temples with trembling fists because I couldn’t think. I was panicking. My heart pounded in my chest as I struggled to breathe.
I was Aran’s guardian; I was supposed to guide her in times of distress.
This situation went beyond mere peril.
Her odds were impossible.
My crutches slammed into a chair, and I tipped over. I barely noticed.
“Can you hear me? Aran, can you hear me?” I screamed repeatedly through our link.
Nothing.
Sadie groaned with pain as she became conscious, and Aran whispered down at her through the corner of her mouth, “Don’t make any sudden movements or noises.”
Dragging my crutches in one hand, I crawled across the floor toward the enchanted pad built into the desk. I needed to alert the High Court.
Sadie’s eyes shot open.
They glowed bloodred.
She tilted her head slowly to the side, face blanching as she took in the portal on the unreachable high ceiling, and the crowd of infected with enchanted swords.
“Can you shift?” Aran whispered. “Can you shift and leap against the wall and throw us through the portal?”
Sadie scrunched her face like she was concentrating, then her expression shuttered as she looked at Aran dejectedly.
“No,” she whispered. “My cat form sustained too many injuries. It’s happened before. I won’t be able to shift until I’ve rested and healed.”
Aran swore under her breath.
Using the table legs to hoist myself up, I slammed my palm against the enchanted pad. It warmed under my fingertips and projected the High Court’s logo onto the chalkboard.
I hit the symbol.
The projection shimmered as it called.
My heavy breathing was too loud in the quiet room as I waited.
There was a loud click, then the symbol turned into letters that read “Members of the High Court military council are currently occupied. Please call back later.”
I screamed with frustration and punched the tablet.
The projection turned off.
How in the realms could the military council be busy during a military battle?
I watched through the connection.
“I can stand.” Sadie pulled herself upright.
Aran hissed under her breath, “Move slower. We don’t want to agitate them.”
“Don’t we want to kill them?” Sadie whispered as she moved with painstaking care.
I gritted my teeth and spat aloud, “No, you imbecile.” How she’d managed to remain so dumb, even after what had been done to her, was beyond my understanding.
“Not if we don’t have to,” Aran whispered softly. “We want to survive. Best-case scenario, we climb back up and out the portal without disturbing them.” She paused as an infected shouted something and made an unfamiliar hand gesture. “Worst-case scenario, we kill them and they shift into ungodly. We can’t fight off this many and live.”
Sadie grimaced as she realized their predicament. “You’ll survive,” she mouthed.
Aran shook her head and said under her breath, “They could still eat my heart.”
Sadie’s eyes filled with moisture. “They probably wouldn’t.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Aran whispered coldly. “Either we both walk out of here alive or we both die. There is no third option.”
Sadie gulped, her bloodred eyes widening at whatever she saw on Aran’s face. She rasped, “I love you.” It sounded like she was saying goodbye.
“I love you more.” Aran’s voice was hard as steel.
Sadie’s eyes shone with moisture. “I love you most.”
“Impossible,” Aran replied.
There was a loud scraping noise as an infected took a step toward them, its boot scuffing across the floor. Its gaze was mindless.
Aran took a step back protectively.
“What do we do if they attack?” Sadie asked, voice quivering.
Determination flooded through Aran. “Then we fight, and we try our best to maim but not kill.” Her voice was barely audible, and her words were clipped like it hurt to speak them aloud. “We keep them all alive.”
“That will be difficult with your sword.” Sadie nodded to the weapon in Aran’s hand.
Aran nodded, unease chipping away at her determination. “We’ll try our best. If we have to fight the ungodly, then we will. You will not die here.”
Sadie smiled sadly.
Aran’s unease became outright horror.
They both jolted as an infected woman standing a few feet away screamed something at them. It sounded like a swear word, but her accent made it impossible to decipher.
Aran slowly raised her sword higher.
“Where do you think we are?” Sadie asked as she grabbed Aran’s hand and squeezed. “It feels familiar somehow.”
Aran looked up at the high ceilings, then her eyes lingered on the portrait-covered walls.
In the strategy room, I held my breath as I waited. “Please say the location aloud. Please say it aloud. Please say it aloud,” I sent down our connection fervently.
Sun god bless Sadie and her ridiculous need to ask questions.
This was it.
My only hope.
I could feel Aran’s brain processing patterns and connections at a familiar lightning speed. For all her faults, Aran wasn’t an idiot. She had more brains than the rest of the other champions combined.
Now it was their only hope.
Sweat dripped down the side of my face, and my chest pounded so hard against my sternum that I felt lightheaded.
Aran whispered, “The floor sounded hollow. The heat. The portraits.”
“What?” Sadie asked with confusion.
“We’re in the basement of where we first battled,” Aran said with horror as she wiped at her brow.
Feet shuffled, and there was an ominous rustle as infected brandished their enchanted swords. The dimly lit room glowed blue.
“They’re moving closer.” Sadie’s hand trembled in Aran’s grip.
Aran squeezed her hand. “I’ll try to fly.” She went to pull her hand away, but Sadie wouldn’t release her.
“No.” Sadie’s voice was uncharacteristically serious. “We both know you can’t fly. Don’t waste your energy.”