Beast of the Damned #2

* Chapter Fifteen *

This song is so PERFECT < 3

~ KINLEY ~

Bluish-green light surrounds me, stretching on like an endless galaxy void of stars. The concept of time and gravity seems to have been swallowed by the womb of this foreign realm. Here, water flows toward the green lake of fire in the sky and flowers of all colors hang from vines that drink from this pool of neon flames floating high above. Everything appears upside down yet they are right side up, flowing in harmony in a weightless existence I'm apart of.

With my hands out to my sides, I walk along the cloud road below me, watching as the atmosphere reacts to me as if it is made up of thousands of fireflies that come alive by touch. They twirl around me, dancing in the visible streams of magic my being here is somehow producing. I can feel the energy of this place inside me. It's warm and cold all at the same time.

The cloud road stops as it meets the edge of the waterfall that feeds the lake in the sky. Bending down, I scoop lukewarm water into my cupped hands. When I raise my hands out of the water, it turns green and floats off my hands like emerald shooting stars in slow motion.

I stand up as they climb out of reach, squinting against the brightness that ignites when the emerald water droplets get absorbed into the neon currents suspended above. In the middle of the green lake of fire, a white sphere bobs up and down in the streams of magic that make up this place.

What is that? As soon as the thought leaves me, the lake plummets, drowning me in a torrential downpour that sweeps me off my feet and sends me tumbling in an undercurrent I can't escape.

The more I struggle, the further down the magical energy from the lake pushes me. The whole lake has fallen on top of me, and the only thing keeping me from being lost in oblivion is the clouds that have become the bottom of the lake.

Cold begins to seep into me, biting everything it touches. The need for oxygen burns in my chest. I can't keep my mouth closed any longer.

Green flames enter my lungs. The heat of them wicks at the frigid frost trying to encapsulate me. The warmth spreads rapidly.

The strings of a violin give birth to words that pulse inside my head. I'm here, Kinley. I'm here.

It hurts.

The heat. The ice.

It's too much.

Wake. The command thunders through the green flames of fire, piercing me directly in my heart.

Scorching orange hues cause me to squint against the setting sun.

The only thing stranger than the sensation of complete weightlessness as I walked among fluffy clouds in a realm I'm sure is neither of the earth nor of the heavens is waking to find myself in the Beast of the Damned's arms.

The tender way Tristan holds me against him soaks into me, plucking at the strings inside my chest. It's an uncomfortable sensation, one that has me wanting to crawl out of my own skin to get it to stop.

A whiz coming from above disrupts my scramble to get off Tristan's lap. My eyes widen. Golden skin shimmers in the fading sunlight as shrill, panicked screams resound throughout the coliseum. The outstretched wings of the celestial being descending upon us gleam like white blades of battle armor.

Snow-colored sands spray all around me. The angel who had his sword ready to plunge into me stays crouched, his weapon dug deep in the sand.

Tristan's upper lip curls, sand granules dusting off him. He stands tall, having rolled us out of the way of the angel's strike. The sword tied to his hip hisses, gleaming with a promise of eternal rest as it meets the diminishing sunlight.