Blinded

11. An Epiphany

An epiphany

Oh, my God. That was a bad idea. I should just sit back down-

No. Call out for Maet. He'll come, for sure. I'm so close.

But-

But what? There's nothing I can do but try.

I called out, "Maet! I know you're here! You want to kill me, don't you? Don't you? Yeah. You do, so PLEASE just COME OUT and try and kill me! Just do it!"

My delirium showed through in that last sentence, jolting me back to reality. I wish I didn't say that. As soon as I finished talking, something rustled in the trees about ten feet away. Someone came out. I couldn't see their face, but they were wearing a daemon's trademark red suit. They stopped and I think they looked down at me.

They walked into the moonlight where I could see that the person in the suit was not, in fact, a daemon. It was Cam.

I made a small shriek, but tried to keep calm. "Don't go all Jack Torrance on me now, Cam. Come on."

Did he betray me? Or is he possessed? Or-

He ran towards me, red eyes glowing in the faint light. I summoned the whip, and it latched around his arm. I pulled him forward, where I summoned another one. I knew I was overexerting myself, but I needed to kill Cam, or the daemon possessing him, or whatever he was at that point. The other one whipped around his neck, and he screeched, not a particularly human sound. He ripped it off and I could see that it had left a burn-like mark. I tried again, for his other arm this time. I missed, the green-glowing whip falling flat in the space between us.

He took this as an opportunity to charge again, and I let him run towards me. The daemon I assumed was possessing him would be slow, unfamiliar with controlling Cam, so when he was close to me, I dodged out of the way and he ran right into the tree that was behind me. I ran back a few feet and decided to pull out all the stops. I think Maet chose this- form, I guess- in order to get me off my game. As if breaking my literal rib didn't already do that. Even though fighting Cam was unnerving, I knew it wasn't really him. I hoped. I wasn't sure if it was really him or just an imitation. I hoped for the latter.

As I caught my breath, he came right towards me. I held out my arm for defense and as he came, I ducked. He toppled over me and onto the ground, falling flat on his back. He wheezed and I noticed something that horrified me.

Cam' s eyes flickered from the daemon's crimson red to his clear blue. It's him, for sure. I know it's him. His expression changed for a slim moment and then hardened back. He clawed at my face. I screamed as I felt some blood begin to fall. I jumped back, but it wasn't the injury that was making my heart pound. I knew I was fighting Cam- the real Cam- and I might have to kill him to save my sister.

I'd defeat him to save my sister, right? I would be able to weigh one human life for another and choose a person I'd known for all my life. Laurie. Right? But what about Madison, Cam's sister? What would she say?

I hesitated, and Cam raised his arm. I was flung into the sky. I screamed as I fell, crashing through the branches of a tree until I smacked back down again.

I hit my head. Hard. I let out a rattling breath, but rolled up to my feet as soon as I could. Everything was spinning, but one thing took me by surprise. Cam had stopped trying to attack me. He wasn't still, however. He was screaming something I couldn't quite make out. He fell to his knees and looked up at me. Our eyes met and I could see the flickering between red and blue grow more frequent, like he was fighting for control. His eyes went clear blue for a moment and he got out, "End this-" before his eyes went red again. He lunged at me and shoved me to the ground. I had gotten tired of being knocked around, but I couldn't bring myself to kill Cam quite yet.

He stood, albeit shakily. I couldn't get up. A cruel smile- nothing like Cam's- spread over his face. "You really are weaker than we thought." The voice was Cam's, but the words were not. "Cam- the boy you came here with was more of a challenge, and you were quite the opposite. Coming here was an insurmountable mistake."

I kept my calm. "Just tell me where Laurie is and I'll be on my way. Please." My curiosity somehow got the best of me, even through the mess of pain I was in. "Why did you want Laurie? What could you possibly need her for? I'm the one with power."

"Laurie? Oh. Yes. Her. She does have power, just not the kind you'd be able to see. She's one of us, more than you are. "

I had no idea where this was going. I figured I'd pass out before the conversation was through, so I just went along. "Why?"

"She- your sister- had been a daemon much longer than she had been a human. She was a spy, you see-"

"You're lying. I've known her all my life."

"I am not, my friend. She was assigned there because you were powerful. Too powerful. The Affrielles and their organization were going to get to you first- they sensed you as soon as you were born. We had to send in someone of our own to counter that."

"That's not true."

"What a sensible argument you have planned." Cam sighed, mocking me. "Are you going to hit me with the usual It can't be; she's the best person I've ever known- no. You were placed there randomly- Affrielles' souls are placed into random children. Affrieles are random- daemons are not. Know this goes back generations- longer than you could possibly know."

"I don't care about generations past or whatever. I want my sister back. What do you need me for? What do you want from me?"

"We knew this could kill two birds with one stone. We'd get her here to take her rightful place with us, and you to...assist in our plans."

"Your plans?"

"Indeed. We needed you to-"

I chose this time to tackle Cam to the ground, tapping into the power that almost killed me last time I dared use it.