Chapter 64 Writer's POV
Duke Ryker stumbled toward the gold, ears still bleeding from the piercing screams of the death souls. He reached the pedestal, grasping for the glowing gold. As he touched it, the gold seemed to come alive. It burned with a dark fire, and Duke Ryker let out a cry – his hands locked onto the gold, unable to pull away.
The gold began to drain something from Duke Ryker. His face twisted in agony as his life force seemed to flow into the gold. Alexis watched dispassionately. The remaining soldiers shifted uneasily.
Onyi, still passed out on the floor, was being consumed by the living darkness pooling around him. The shadows twisted tighter, like they're binding him to something ancient and evil in the tomb. Onyi's twitching grew more violent.
The chamber grew darker, like the temple itself was closing in. The air was thick with malevolence.
As the gold drained Duke Ryker's life force and the darkness bound Onyi tighter, the king raised his voice. He chanted in Latin, words of ancient power and darkness.
"Umbrae tenebraeque impero... mortis silentium."
The king threw a small, wrapped object into the air. It burst apart midair in a puff of dark smoke. Instantly, everything stopped. The draining of Duke Ryker's life halted. The twisting shadows around Onyi ceased. The darkness in the chamber hung suspended.
Onyi, caught in the binding shadows, finally passed out fully. He lay motionless on the cold stone.
The remaining soldiers moved quickly. "Take the gold," one said. They grabbed the glowing gold from the pedestal. Duke Ryker stumbled back, weakened.
The king nodded. "We have the gold. Leave this cursed place."
As they turned to leave the chamber, the darkness in the temple seemed to hold its breath. The party moved out with the gold, leaving Onyi lying in the shadows.
As the party moved out of the chamber with the glowing gold, Duke Ryker lingered back despite his weakened state. A strange look crossed his face – a mix of concern and a growing obsession with Onyi lying motionless in the shadows.
"Damn it," Duke Ryker muttered. He broke away from the party leaving the chamber and went back to Onyi. "We can't leave him here."
The king called out from the passage. "Ryker! Come!"
But Duke Ryker knelt by Onyi. "Onyi," he said, shaking him gently. Onyi didn't respond. The shadows around Onyi seemed to stir slightly at Duke Ryker's touch.
Duke Ryker lifted Onyi into a rough carry. "I'll take him," he told the king when he caught up. "He's coming." Alexis frowned but didn't utter a word.
The king frowned but nodded. "Carry him then. We leave this temple."
With Duke Ryker carrying Onyi, still passed out and bound in darkness, the party moved out of the haunted temple into the night outside.
ON THE OTHER SIDE
Morning arrived with an unnatural dawn. The clouds hung low in the sky, dark red like smoldering embers. Hawks flew overhead in eerie patterns, their sharp cries cutting through the tense air. The birds flew over both human lands and the shadowy supernatural lands bordering the haunted temple they'd left.
On a far island, cut off from the mainland by turbulent waters, two sisters lived in a small coastal cottage. The elder sister, Lena, was out gathering morning herbs when a lady ran up the path toward her – it was her younger sister, Aria.
Aria reached Lena, out of breath. "Sister... what's wrong?" Lena asked, concern on her face.
Aria's eyes were wide with anxiety but her voice was firm. "The dark ages has begun. Darkness will rule. He has been awaken... he has been unsealed. Xerxes has been awaken."
Lena's face paled. "Xerxes? The ancient one?"
Aria nodded quickly. "In the temple... something was done. I felt it. The balance shifts. Xerxes, of the old darkness... he's loose."
The sisters stood there on the windswept island shore as hawks wheeled overhead in the dark red sky. A sense of foreboding hung over their home.