Polus takes a deep breath, and the air rises from the ground, swirling and shimmering around his arm, his eyes turning dead-white. The Lord of the Axis in his absolute power now stands before me. I open my wings to their full extent and gather the shadows around me. My scythe appears in my hand, blazing with light.
The rune dissolves, and the black ink liquid moves and shifts from my hand as if to say, See you soon, Thanatos. We remember. I remember the hot and dry desert air, the cocky sneer of the djinn, his eyes alight with blue fire, and the permanent look of surprise on his face as his head hit the ground and rolled to the feet of his father.
She is hesitant to take leave of the titan. She shoots unsure glances at him and then at me, as if trying to make sense of what is happening. Polus leans in and kisses her on the lips. It is a tender kiss. I wasn’t aware that titan’s new such tenderness, with the exception of possibly Selene, but I really don’t know her. He pulls away and nods, a gesture she returns before leaving.
It is obvious what killed him. I know of only one beast that can sear the earth and a body in this manner. This was the work of a dragon, but why? They don’t usually go on the attack, plus they are so well camouflaged most humans pass by them without ever noticing.
I do not cover my face. My tears are for them. I grieve for them. I mourn for them. The remorse I feel is like a weight that would pull a mortal soul to the very depths of Tartarus. I sob my apology.
They are the afraid, the lost, the forsaken, and the forgotten. I never forget, though. I know them all…
For those few brief moments, as we walked and talked, everything seemed right with the world.
There would have been more but a black tentacle shot out, hard and fast from a wall, separating the lovers and sending the Other Than sailing backward.
I could feel a smile and…and other sensations as she entered my mind, blowing away the dead that resided there. The silver thread exploded in my mind. Then I flew.
“Yes, the one you call Than stole your Master’s robe. He is choking your Master, do you not want to stop him? Do you not want to kill Than?”
“The living, breathing pulse of Gaia, the pulse of the world. Isn’t it beautiful, Thanner?” Hyp spoke reverently from beside me.
That seals it in my mind, I knew it, Frankenstein, 1931. It was Hyp’s favorite movie.
“Peek-a-boo, I seee yoouuuu,” Emma said from nowhere, the “you” becoming a deep distorted growl.
They watched me as I went by, the sleepwalkers, their eyes turned into his. They gave Cheshire cat grins and snickered.
His arms were wrapped around her as she cradled the baby. They smiled, staring lovingly into each other’s eyes before sharing a kiss.
