Endure - Sara B. Larson Page 0,8

He roared. “No!”

He managed to get an arm free and slammed his elbow into Deron’s shoulder, then he thrust his hand out and sent Asher flying back to slam into the ground with a thud. “ALEXA!”

And then the cloud reached me, and he was gone.

At first nothing happened. I tightened my grip on my sword and lifted it up higher in preparation. I could hear more screaming — both male and female — turning my blood to ice in my veins.

And then someone rushed toward me through the darkness.

My eyes widened in shock when I saw Iker lifting his hands to hurtle another ball of his unholy fire at me. I threw my body to the side, slamming into the railing and flipping over it, falling to the ground with a bone-jarring thud. How could he be back? I’d seen him die. I’d killed him.

Iker leaped over the railing as if it were nothing, landing nimbly in front of me, then he rolled his head and his face changed, becoming Rafe. I barely kept myself from screaming as he stalked forward through the darkness.

“Look at me, Alexa,” he said, his voice hissing all around me, burning through me. “You’re mine now. You will do whatever I say.”

There was more screaming from behind me. Or in front of me. I couldn’t tell where I was anymore as I scrambled backward on my hands and feet, reaching for my sword, which had come out of my grip when I fell.

“You will kill him. You will kill all of them,” Rafe shouted, as Damian stepped forward out of the darkness, followed by Rylan. My fingers brushed the hilt of my sword, and I grabbed it, lurching back up onto my feet, even though I was strangely dizzy. The darkness and Rafe’s grinning, laughing face swam before me as I stumbled forward.

“No,” I whispered.

“Oh yes. You will be marvelous. You’ll kill everyone I tell you to.” Rafe shoved Rylan toward me. “You already started the job with this one!”

“NO!” I rushed forward, thrusting my sword into Rafe, but he popped into nothing, and my momentum carried me forward, until I tripped over something and nearly fell. I choked back a scream when I looked down at the charred body of Papa.

This isn’t real. This can’t be real. Some part of my brain attempted to convince me, but as I tried to escape the sight of my father lying there dead, I tripped over another body — this time my mother. And next to her was Marcel, his face pale and drawn, just as he’d looked when he’d fallen beside me in the jungle. Blood coated his neck, chest, and stomach.

But that didn’t make sense — he’d been killed by an arrow, not a sword.

There was a shout from behind me. Struggling to control my horror and confusion, I lifted my sword and spun around to see Damian rushing toward me with his own sword lifted, his eyes blank.

“And now you will die,” Damian said, a sneer curling his lips.

My whole body trembled and my head ached as I stepped back. “No. This isn’t real. You aren’t real!” I remembered the way Rafe had disappeared when I’d tried to attack him, and instead of continuing to retreat, I stopped and lifted my sword. “You aren’t real!”

“Are you quite sure about that?” Damian laughed scornfully. He lunged at me, and when I lifted my sword to parry his attack, the sound of steel on steel clanged through the darkness.

That was no mirage — that was a real sword. Had Damian escaped the guard? Could Manu be controlling him?

With a gasp that was half dread, half desperation, I continued to block his assault. There was more screaming, but it sounded as though it were coming from somewhere far away, echoing through the swirling darkness as if we were in a cave or a tunnel. Damian continued to smile, his eyes terrifyingly empty as he attacked again and again. How did this happen? Was Rafe back? Had he done this?

I choked on a sob as I deflected his hits again and again.

“Come on, Alexa. You’re supposed to be better than this. I admit, I’m disappointed,” Damian mocked, his voice not quite ringing true for some reason. “You’re making this too easy.”

But then I heard something else. My name, being shouted, a terrified, desperate sound — a voice I’d know anywhere. But that was impossible, because I was fighting him in front of me. How could he be shouting