“NO!” Rorroh shrieked.
BANG!
Chapter35
ALL LIGHT FADES
SARAH WATCHED as Cyrus’ pistol discharged into hischest.
“CYRUS!” she heard herselfcry.
Fire and smoke erupted betweenhim and the Sea Zombie. Cyrus’ legs gave out.He fell backward, still clinging to the witch’s wasted hand. The Sea Zombie stumbledforward, her hood falling back over her bald, blistered head. She could not freeher grip.
Instinctively, Sarah stripped Hoblkalf’s knife from her neck. He did not resist. Instead,he just stood dumbfounded as if he had woken from an impossible dream. Sarahpushed the old man backward and rushed towards Cyrus.
The Sea Zombie continuedto try to wrench her hand free, but Cyrus’ grip would not yield.
“Cyrus!” Sara cried.
She ran to his side, heedlessof the Sea Zombie, and lifted his limp head onto her lap.
“Cyrus, don’t go, please!”
She slapped his face, tryingto rouse a response. Nothing. She looked to his chest. Dark blood stained his tunic.
“Cyrus!”
How could he have donethis? How could he have left her, given up like this? Surely there had beenanother way. She pressed her ear to his breast. No heartbeat.
“Why?” she screamed.
“NO!” the witch shrieked.
Sarah looked up, tearsstreaming down her face. The Sea Zombie began to tremble, her head and shouldersquivering. Static crackled in the air. A green glow began to shine from behind thewitch’s eyes. The emerald light started to shoot out in shards from her pointedears, her torn mouth, and from behind her painted costume nose. The witch’s backarched as if possessed. The muscles in her chest started to quiver. The spasmsslowly moved through her shoulder, then down her rotting arm and into her dead hand. The trembling passed intoCyrus’ arm. Sarah stepped back, horrified. The quivering made its way through Cyrus’shoulder and into his chest. A turquoise beam of radiant light sprang forth fromthe wound in his heart. Bright blue rays then flared from his mouth, ears, and nostrils. Finally,his eyes sprang open, shining with the eerieblue glow. Some sort of explosion ofwhite light separated Rorroh’s hand from Cyrus’ grasp.A warm wind blew back Sarah’s hair and herears popped, then rang. The witch was castbackward into a puddle of mud. All light faded. Cyrus remained sprawled out onthe ground, his eyes again shut. He lay as still as the dead. The villagers gasped,then shuffled away. Fibian stepped forward.
“Cyrus?” Edward whispered,from the froskman’s shoulder.
“Cyrus,” Sarah said,moving back to his side.
She touched his cheek, checkedhis neck. His skin felt cold. She sensed no blood flow. She lifted his eyelidsand searched his pupils. Blank, vacant. Sarah began to weep.
“No. Please, no.”
Cyrus let out a gasp ofbreath.
“Oh, thank the Angels,”Sarah said, “are you there?”
She searched his body. Was he breathing? She put her ringing ear again to his breast.She could hear the faint sound of air passing through his lungs. His chest beganto swell and his heart started to beat. Sarah looked to his face. Cyrus’ eyes opened.
“It worked,” he gasped.
Chapter36
NO MORTAL HAND
IT WAS COLD, impossibly cold. Cyrus searched about.All was black and empty. His soul was black and empty. He attempted to move. Hefelt submerged, surrounded, imprisoned in cold, dark oil. He tried to remember whathad brought him to this lonely, desolate place. His memories were vacant, lost,forgotten. No! It could not end like this.It would not end like this. He thought of Sarah, of the children, of Gabriel. Somethinginside him shifted. He felt himself wrenchedfrom the depths of the icy pit. A blue glow shone beyond. Then, like a cannonball, he was hurled forth into light.
Slowly, Cyrus’ eyesfocused. Before him rose a beautiful, fair-haired angel with stony grey eyes.
Sarah! It had worked. His plan had worked.He had killed himself, a pure creation, and had beenmade immortal, just as the witch had promised.
He held still for amoment, listening to the many beings surrounding him. He felt their hearts pumping,heard their breaths held in anticipation. He sensed the blood coursing throughtheir veins. His mind flushed with Gabriel’s warmth. What - happening? the giantasked.
Cyrus rolled to hisside and sat up from the earth, resurrected. He ripped open the front of his tunicand grasped his bloody chest. There was a ragged scar on his left breast, butno wound. How was that possible?
“Oh, Cyrus, you’re alive,”Sarah said, hugging him tightly.
“No,” Rorroh gasped, hervoice hoarse and weak.
The witch clambered toher feet, awkward and shambling.
“Kill him,” she orderedher minions, “kill him now!”
The villagers shriekedand screamed. The girl with the ice-grey eyesclung to her doll and peeked from behind thegates. Sarah stumbled backward, frightened. The horde of villains began to closein.
Slowly, Cyrus picked himselfup off of the ground and rose to his full height. He closed his eyes and took adeep breath. He sensed his body, his lungs, his fists. He flexed his back and crackedhis neck. He felt electric, fortified, humminglike a spring-loaded trap. He turned and glaredat the impending enemy onslaught.
“Behind me,” he said toSarah, acting as her shield.
A large, crusted rock klops attacked first. He slashed at Cyrus’ head with a heavybroadsword. Something in Cyrus activated. Unarmed, he caught the ruffian’s wristwith ease. He stepped between the brute’s feet and turned, driving his hips intohis attacker’s beltline. Like a mechanism Cyrus ducked and twisted. The klops grew weightless, hurtling over his right shoulder. Tendonsburst and neck bones caved as the barbarianspiked the earth face first. The beast lay dead at Sarah’s feet.
“Young Mistress,” Fibian cried.
He reached out and grabbedSarah’s wrist, pulling her from the fray.
Next,a dragon-masked nagen sprangtowards Cyrus, whirling his bladed staff around his body with practiced ease. Cyrus’vision narrowed. The demon thrust his spear into his chest. Cyrus slipped the blow,grasping the weapon’s shaft with his left hand. With his right he snatched the dead klops’ broadsword off of the ground. Cyrus wrenchedthe nagen’s lance from his grip. The creaturestumbled forward, losing hold. Cyrus then threw his weight into the attack, hackingat the villain’s throat with a heavy, backhanded chop. The sword struck the nagen’s armored neck plate. Sparks flew, steel bitdeep into steel and the saber shattered. The nagenclutched at the shard of blade buried in his gushing
