The Terror Gaze: Book 2 of The Mortal Guard Series

Chapter 25 - Boris: Duet

Chapter 25 - Boris: "Duet"

Later, after Boris messaged Tyler . . .

Boris felt a familiar chill wrap around his body, and he gasped lightly. Back then, he had almost gotten used to that feeling, but feeling it again after so long made him gasp. The cold crept its way into him and ran up his spine. He knew this place.

The otter felt a pair of ropes looped under his armpits, and his legs swung lightly in the air. Boris tried moving, but he realized he was suspended in the air, with only a spotlight shining down on him.

Boris looked up, squinting his eyes in the light. The ropes were moving, lowering him down slowly. Glancing down, the mustelid could only see black water below, growing closer. He also saw that was wearing his shirt and underwear—the clothes he fell asleep in.

Boris didn't speak, letting himself be lowered all the way down until his brown bare feet splashed into the dark water. He was able to stand on the surface of the liquid, and he backed up, yelping as he fell backward onto a cushioned bench.

Boris regained his composure and saw that something large was rising from the water in front of him. It was a piano, ascending from the depths as if to greet him. The otter blinked as water poured off of the instrument until it stopped rising and liquid stopped falling.

Boris strained his eyes and he realized that there was a wall of water in front of him, defying gravity, which he knew was possible in this place. In the black water that waved along the wall, he saw the reflection of himself, looking back at him sitting at the piano. It was looking on, expectantly.

As if knowing what it wanted from him, Boris lifted the cover off of the ivory keys. The device felt as if it had never even touched water. Boris placed his skinny fingers over a certain set of keys and began playing a melody he had never heard or practiced in his life.

The reflection of himself in the water stood up and moved to the side, nodding its head up and down. The only sounds in the room were the piano and the little splashes of water that were created every time Boris moved.

The reflection of himself, certainly another form of Absalom, began rocking his body and dancing to the melody he was playing, spinning and moving along the wall of water. Before he could even realize it, Boris had opened his mouth to sing.

[Boris]

The end is coming

I don't know when

And I don't feel anything

Can I ever again?

[Absalom]

I told you you're mine

Just a fool on ice

No escaping fate

No thinking twice

[Boris]

How can I get over the fact that she's gone

And it's my fault?

How can I stand here for another second

When there's only loss?

[Boris]

The contract's signed

I can't walk away so easily

[Absalom]

A feast to dine

Sweet sorrow, sweet misery