Inner Demon: The Dark Bloods - Book I ✓

Chapter 23 - Seeing Blue

23.

Seeing Blue

 

Everything suddenly looked…weird. There was a fuzzy blue outline around all things as if an indigo cloud settled on the world. Reyna blinked, hoping the action would clear her odd vision. She was still on her back, a small clump of grass serving as a pillow under her head.

Suddenly, the skin crawling sound of a knife scraping on glass was heard. Reyna’s eyes widened when she saw a sword’s blade hovering over her face. The edge, though black, was also highlighted with the peculiar blue blur. Reyna flattened herself against the ground, waiting for the impact. The sword remained hanging in midair, slicing at a transparent sapphire object–the cause of Reyna’s blue vision– that was blocking it.

Ram, holder of the weapon, smirked as he pushed his attack down. “You don’t even know what you’re doing, Little Sister.”

Reyna’s right arm was up and angled over her chest. It was outlined in the same almost-transparent blue haze up to her elbow, traveling up to her elbow to fit her like a long glove. Hovering over her arm, and over her entire torso and head, was a bulging, half oval also the same color as the substance on her arm.

Reyna’s lips parted in surprise. “A shield?” she whispered to herself.

Ram pulled his weapon away. As soon as he did, Reyna’s arm relaxed –an involuntary action– and the azure matter vanished. She gazed at her limb, amazed. However, before she could fall into further awe, Reyna’s vision blurred for a few seconds. When she regained it, she was in a crouching position. The earth was cool on her bare feet. With one hand flat on the ground for balance, she faced Ram. He was a few yards away, his sword halfway stabbed into the soil where Reyna had previously been laying down.

His weapon looked bizarre. It resembled a sword, but there was something off about it. The weapon was entirely black –blade, guard, and hilt. The dark mass then began to shift and move through its own will, losing all resemblance of a solid object. It went through a short spasm of erratic, random movements as if unsure what form to take. It stopped only to constrict into a small ball, merely to release into a bigger one. Tiny, multiple blades would emerge and lengthen or shorten in accordance to the black mass’ current size. As it waltzed over Ram’s head, it split into a dozen pieces. Small, dully glowing blades sprouted from each lump.

“Daggers?” Reyna said under her breath, surprised she had been able to track such erratic movements so clearly against a dark sky. She paused, waiting for Mundus’ explanation on what was going on, but none came.

“Your demon is not going to answer,” Ram smiled, the daggers hovering around him like swaying leaves.

She flinched at his words but Mundus’ continued silence confirmed it. Reyna’s thoughts raced as did her heart. She couldn’t sense him. Alarmed, she lifted from her crouching position, and, again her body reacting on its own, she took what appeared to be a type of defensive stance.

“You are a big believer, aren’t you, Sister? You’re so cute!” Ram’s smile was authentic in its display of happiness, yet it sat like a twisted wire on his face.

“Why isn’t Mundus here? What did you do?” Reyna demanded. Other loved ones raced through her mind. “And where is Uncle Amon? My parents?”

Ram, grin still in place, all of a sudden began to fade in front of her as if the wind was blowing his body away. Only the floating daggers remained.

“You mean our parents!” Ram’s voice exploded in Reyna’s right ear. She gasped, turning toward him. Synchronized with her body’s twist, her arm raised and her hand tensed out. The blue mist extended out her fingertips, spooling as four, long, thick ribbons. They braided together and hardened into a lengthy, compact needle. Reyna trust her newly made weapon at him, but it only ended up passing through an afterimage. Ram was back in his original spot; the daggers, however, were not. They were flying towards Reyna.