IMPENDING DOOM

16

✥
SIXTEEN
Barter
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៚ THE THRONE ROOM WAS UGLY, black and red and gnarled, just like him. The akuma, the king, sat upon a twisted throne, black and villainous as he, high on a dais to be above all.

"So beautiful," he said. "So perfect." His voice in person was still that demonic rasp. He stroked his sea star as it settled in his lap. "Come closer, Shadow."

Trembling, Shadow obeyed. He got as close as he dared, stopping at the edge of the dais. He couldn't believe how terribly he shook.

"Come to me."

Shadow hesitated. His breath caught.

"Now."

He swallowed and stepped up, up, and up until he was finally level with the akuma, only a foot away.

"Kneel."

"No."

The akuma sat up straighter in his throne. He stopped stroking his pet. " 'No'?"

"I won't."

"You will."

With the smallest wave of a lifted finger, Shadow's body moved without his permission, slamming down to a knee, a fist to his heart, a fist to the ground, head down low. His breath was labored from the force and strength. 

"That's better." His black, gnarled talons outstretched, grasping Shadow's head with a foreign gentleness. "Tell me where the Emeralds are."

"There are not mine to give away, nor are they yours to use."

"Must you make everything harder for yourself? Here I am, wasting my time being merciful." He peeled back Shadow's memories, digging deep, searching for the Emeralds; Shadow tried not to scream. "Tsk. You left them with that girl," he huffed, disappointed to have found nothing. But then he nodded, releasing Shadow. "Smart. And she's beautiful, too. I approve. She'd make us a lovely princess."

Red lightning coursed up and down Shadow's arm. "Do not speak of her."

The akuma shook his head. "Temper."

Shadow suddenly felt very ill, very weak. He called to his power but it ignored him. He felt like he did when he was bound. He fell boneless to the floor at the feet of the king. The akuma was restraining him, silencing him.

"What do you want from me?"

"You, of course. My dark prince. You are mine. Robotnik did not hold up his end of the deal, so I'm afraid I must paint his planet black. I know he's long gone—these humans don't live long at all—but it is punishment all the same."

Shadow forced himself to his knees, so tired, so drained. "What deal?"

"Power. That's all these humans ever want. Power and money; money and power. I gave you that gift. You were such a frail thing, barely breathing in her arms, found abandoned in the woods. They wanted power, I gave them power: you. I allowed them my blood, my technology. I saved your life in exchange that you would be mine. You healed that poor girl and many others—that was your job—then you were to return to me." He sighed with fake sympathy, stroking Shadow. "But the humans—what did they do to you?"

Shadow didn't need to say. The memories flashed before his eyes. All the needles and straps, iron bars and isolated cells. Her screams, his screams. The bright lights of the lab, windowless, never allowed outside. Never allowed beyond his cell.

"You gave life to a girl who wasn't meant to live, and how did they repay you, my son?"

A gunshot rang out in his ear. Her body hit the floor.