Nevermor (65 page)

The Scourge made another attempt, but Rifter did not intend to be
hit again, twisting himself in the air to keep clear.  He flipped upright as
the blood from his leg dripped on the planks, taking flight to hold himself up,
hovering a mere fraction of height over the deck.  That seemed good enough for
the dark man.  His effort with the whip stopped.

"There you are.  You’re ready to face me like a man.  Though
on second thought, you might as well surrender to me this time.  You won't ever
kill me unless you stop fearing me, and we both know that will never
happen."

At
that, the Scourge began to grow, rising up and changing forms until he was
clearly no longer a man.  He was a towering giant, caught halfway between being
a man and a monster.

“Why do you
think you can beat me?” he asked, his voice deepening as he spread out and
shifted to become a horrific black beast, full of jagged teeth and wicked eyes 
“You won’t even accept the truth.  How can you hope to defeat your fear?”

Rifter tried to
tell himself that he wasn’t afraid.  His family was safe and he had nothing to
lose, but he couldn’t quite put it away.  Somehow he must have known that it
was his own fear that was giving the man power, but he couldn’t shake it. 
There was a hint in his subconscious that insisted that this was the thing he
was most afraid of.

And you have to
face it alone.  You’re all alone now.

He stood his
ground as the nightmare fiend grew bigger, his leg aching and his head swimming
with doubt.  So many red eyes were watching him, judging his faults.

The Scourge had
spoken of other brothers – real brothers.  Was it true?  Had he abandoned them
as the man had said?  What about the other boys who had died because of him? 
Was he responsible?  Guilty?

Maybe I deserve
death…

Staring at his
nightmare, he felt a bit of weight settle on his shoulder, saw a flicker of
light, and then there were whispers in his ear – a secret just for him.

“Where is that
boy I know?”
the fairy asked. 
“You’ve never been alone.  No one has ever left you.  I
have always been with you – since that first day – and I will never leave you
alone.  You may be standing here by yourself, but we’re all with you.  Now
fight!”

She’s right.

The others were
behind him, even though they weren’t here presently.  It was his duty to be
strong – to face his own fear and conquer it once and for all.

Rifter was
without his sword, but his enemy’s would work just the same to kill him.  He
stared at the monster – determined.  He knew what he had to do and he would not
back down.  He would do it for the world, for his brothers, for the girl that
he loved, but most of all, he would do it for himself.

Whisper was with
him, and she was the only one that he needed.  She was the light that had
always guided him through the darkness, and she would do the same for him now.

The fairy walked
the length of the sword, putting what was left of her power into the blade.  To
be so weak, darkness surrounded her little heart and she fell unconscious in
Rifter’s hand.  He tucked her inside his coat so that she would be safe, but
the sword was glowing with her power, and he had to act now or he would lose
his chance.

He took to the
air, sailing over the deck and toward the large smiling maw of the nightmare
which had now become so large that it had begun to spill over the edges of the
ship
, becoming
the ship.  Though it was the largest, most hideous thing
he had ever seen, he no longer felt afraid.  This was a show of power, but it
would not work the way his enemy had intended.

It was a man
that Rifter feared, after all.  Not a beast.

Rifter stabbed
downward with the blessed sword, and because the Scourge had grown so large, he
could not dodge it.  The light pierced the darkness, breaking it apart, and the
large mass of the Scourge’s nightmare body began to shatter.  It fell away in
chunks as it cracked and split like black glass.  The shadow cloud beneath the
ship began to dissipate, no longer able to hold the vessel up.  The ship was
going down.

Beneath the
sword, the beast became like a man once again.  Rifter looked into his
adversary’s eye, and for the first time, he saw himself there.  He was older,
scarred, his hair dyed black, but the Scourge’s face was his own.  Despite seeing
this, Rifter understood that he would never have to be that.  That was part of
his old life.  The reason he’d come to Nevermor was so that he wouldn’t have to
fear this fate.  He wouldn’t waste another moment fearing it!

He watched his
enemy as they fell down through the air into the volcano.  Rifter knew he had
to see the man die this time.  He had to seal that knowledge away and remember
it.

“Do you think
this will kill me for good?” the Scourge choked past the blood that filled his
lungs as the blade remained, piercing his chest.  “All you’ll have to do is
dream me up again, and I’ll be back.  I won’t ever be gone for good.  Like the
fairy said,
I’m always with you!”

Rifter didn’t
say anything, but twisted the sword roughly in the man’s chest, watching him
wince.  The Scourge chuckled as black blood ran from the corners of his mouth
and eyes.

“It’s not over,”
he promised, but Rifter had heard enough.  The heat was too intense for him,
and if he hesitated any longer, he would be burned.  He wished he could have
seen his enemy into the lava pit to make sure that he was fully consumed, but
he had to retreat.

Pushing himself
off the deck, Rifter shot into the air and away from the heat as the ship
splashed down into the lava, erupting in flame.

1

The lava that
had flowed down from the high mountain cooled instantly as soon as the Scourge
and his ship had been submerged.  The army of mimics vanished mid-battle,
leaving the Pack and the Tribals looking bewildered, standing there with nothing
but the muggy volcanic air around them.  The island was stricken with a rain of
ash that fell for hours afterward, covering everything in gray powder, but that
was not the only rain that fell.

Wren cried
bitter tears for her fallen brother.  She couldn’t even appreciate the fact
that the rest of them had come back alive, or that the Scourge had been
defeated another time.  She was drained, not knowing what to do with herself. 
She felt very alone.

The boys had all
looked on at her with sadness, feeling especially low.  They had dealt with
death before, but it hurt their hearts to see her so affected by it.  Even the
fairy had eventually taken pity on her, at Rifter’s persuasion.  Whisper had
taken part of the girl’s memory so that she could no longer remember
seeing
her
brother die. This had been done against Wren’s will, but they all agreed she
was better for it.  She didn’t need that image to haunt her.

Max didn’t ask
about Henry.  It was almost like he had already forgotten that he’d ever had a
brother.  For once, Wren hadn’t wanted to be near the younger boy.  She had
kept away from him, and so it was the twins who took him on as the group
prepared to leave the natives’ camp and seek their own refuge.

Calico hadn’t
wanted the boys to leave on such terms.  She’d hoped that it would lead to a
lasting truce between their clans, but she had not said anything against it,
especially since Rifter had not shown any more interest in her.  He had kept
his focus on Wren, even though the pale girl had little to say to any of them.

Rifter and his Pack
went back to the beach to camp.  Perhaps it was not the safest place, but they
had few options now.  From the sandy shore where the water rolled in calmly,
the island didn’t look as though it had been tortured or burned.  They could
pretend, for a while, that nothing had happened.  The boys even began to think
that there might be something to go home to – perhaps all had not been lost to
the fire.

“Maybe the fire
only burned the trees,” Finn suggested, looking back toward the forest where
their home had once been.

“Do you really
think so?” Toss asked hopefully.  He was willing to believe it if the rest of
them were.

“No matter what,
there are still things that we need to do,” Sly reminded them.  “We have to pay
attention.  We have to make sure he stays dead, and we have to make sure that
Rifter doesn’t forget this time.”

They all agreed
on this.  From then on, they would try harder to protect Rifter from his
dreams, and at least be certain he kept the knowledge of it.  They would show
him the cave where they had their secrets, and they would remind him of what
was.

“Do you think
she’ll be alright?” Finn asked, changing his direction to look toward Wren, who
had gone to stand at the edge of the sea.

“She took a
harsh blow,” Sly said.  “What we’ve felt cannot be compared to what she feels. 
She remembers him from her old life.”

“She’ll be able
to handle it,” Nix affirmed, and they were all surprised to hear it from him. 
“She’s stronger than she was when she first came here.  She’ll learn how to
survive in this world yet.”

“I hope you’re
right.”

Amongst
themselves, they made plans to make the journey to etch Fang’s name in the
cavern wall with the rest of the fallen.  That was the last thing they could do
to honor him.  As for what would become of Wren, time would tell.

2

Wren had left
the group to be by herself, unable to keep their company.  She stood at the
edge of the waves, wondering what was left for her.  The calm wind blew through
her hair, but she hardly felt it.

What she had
inside her heart was a pain that should not have been possible.  To think: she
had been insisting that Rifter have his memories back. 
Let him deal with
them
, she had said. 
It will do him good.  It will make him a better
person.

How could she
have said that?  She was foolish and didn’t know anything at all, because all
she wanted to do now was forget.

She couldn’t say
that she didn’t want to keep the good memories.  She didn’t want to forget that
her brother had existed.  Despite their disagreements, there had been times
when they’d gotten along, and he had given his life trying to save her.  She
didn’t want to forget that he was a hero.  He didn’t deserve to be forgotten –
just as those other boys who had given their lives needed to be remembered. 
But it hurt.  It was like sharp knives inside her.

She looked down
at her shadow mimic, which stood loyally at her side.  Perhaps it only did this
because it was forced.  It might have parted from her as well if it had been
able.

What is going to
happen now?
She wondered silently toward it.  She was surprised when the shadow shrugged
back at her.

Wren was staring
absently at the sand when she became aware of a presence behind her.  She
turned her head to see Rifter standing there, keeping away as if waiting to be
invited.  Whisper was drifting around him languidly, not quite as energetic as
she had been before.  The ordeal had taken a lot out of them all, it seemed.

Wren tried to
give him a brave smile, but it didn’t go as she’d planned.  It fell just after
it had come up and she wondered why she had made the effort at all.

Taking it as an
acceptance, Rifter approached her.  She noticed how his leg had been injured,
but he was not beaten by the pain.  Perhaps he was not putting his weight on it
as he appeared to be.

He didn’t say
anything at first when he had caught her eye, just pulled her into his arms and
held her a moment.  Her reaction was gradual as she put her arms around him,
but once she had, she didn’t think she would be able to let him go.  All she
had wanted the entire time was to cry in his arms, but now that she had the
opportunity, she couldn’t summon any more tears.

“I’m sorry about
your brother,” he said.  “If I could have stopped it, I would have.”

When he pulled
back and looked into her eyes, she knew he was telling the truth.

“He was the one
who made me realize it,” she said vaguely.  “You told me yourself, but it
didn’t affect me at the time.  Henry told me that there were things worth
fighting for.  That was something he learned from all of you.  He believed it.”

Rifter didn’t
say anything as he watched her.

“Henry believed
in this place,” she went on.  “He wanted to be here, and he fought for what he
cared about.  Even though he’s not here with me, I have to believe that he’s in
a better place.  I can’t hope for more than that.  Maybe he’s better off where
he is now.”

Rifter nodded
soberly, but still he kept quiet.  She sighed and grew tranquil somehow,
thinking of Henry finding his way to heaven and knowing that he would finally
be safe.

“If he finds his
way back here, you will take him on, won’t you?” she asked, a single tear
rolling down her cheek.  “You’ll make sure he gets to the place where he
belongs?”