The Dreaming: Dark Star (Book 5)

21.3. Play to win

Imorah froze when she heard the voice behind them, her first thought being that it was Brother Silas.

Tashin was still as well, and silent, except for the heavy breathing left over from his anger. He released his steel grip on her arm.

"Ahlaan walidi," the voice repeated, louder.

It was Tashin's language, not Standard, which meant it couldn't be Silas. Imorah's heart raced as Tashin slowly turned around beside her. She wasn't sure if she should stay or run. Her instincts told her to run, but instead she turned to face the stranger as well.

Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw the young man: it was Tashin's son. She recognised him from the pool. He was wearing a strange outfit and he was angry — his face was drawn up in a sneer, his eyebrows bunched together, his jaw clenched.

The two men stared at each other in silence for a long time, all but ignoring her.

Then the young man lifted his hand and at first she thought he was offering them something, and then she realised he was holding a weapon. His hand was shaking as he pointed it straight at Tashin.

Imorah gulped and took one, then two cautious steps away from Tashin, getting out of the line of fire.

They started speaking in their own language. Imorah couldn't understand a thing, but it was clear the two hated each other by their tones and the expressions on their faces.

She moved further away, and breathed a sigh of relief that Tashin didn't seem to notice.

* * *

"Who is that?" Liran asked his father, referring to the pale girl. "Your new wife?" he jeered.

Tashin laughed. "What are you going to do with that gun, my son?" he asked, ignoring Liran's question.

"You know why I'm here. You don't think I know what you've done!?" Liran screamed. "I've come for vengeance, father. You killed her — our dearest, sweetest mother," he said through clenched teeth.

Tashin looked down and said nothing.

"You don't deny it?"

Tashin said nothing.

"So it's true." Liran tried to hold the gun steady, but his arm was shaking — he wished it would stop, but his entire body was shaking with anger. He felt like his head was floating, disconnected from his body, unable to control what his body did.

"It was an accident," Tashin said, softly still looking at the ground. Then hesitantly, he looked up at Liran and said, "I'm so sorry."

"An accident!?" Liran screamed. "You're sorry!?" He spat on the ground, furious "And what about Zahra? Was that an 'accident' as well, or were you a selfish moron like you've always been?"

Tashin snarled and took two large strides towards Liran. "Don't you dare call me — ."

Liran pulled the trigger, and a bright light struck his father in the arm, ripping open his dirty shirt-dress. "I'll call you what you are — a murdering, selfish, idiotic bastard!"

"Ahhh!" the man screamed in pain, holding his injured arm. He looked at the wound on his arm and then up at Liran, his face white with pain and shock. "You... you... you shot me!"

Liran couldn't stop from feeling a sense of victory as the man he'd hated all his life was finally under his control. "Yes, father, and now I'm going to kill you!"

The girl screamed, and started running away, but she tripped on a root of the tree. 

Liran ignored her and focused on his father.

"You are a selfish, murdering bastard! You always ruined everything. Everything! It's all your fault! Zahra is gone, Hannah is an orphan, Mother is dead and it's all your fault!" Liran was crying. He wished he wasn't, but he could feel the tears on his cheeks.

Tashin lunged towards Liran, "You ungrateful wretch. You're no son of mine! I'll kill you!" His father's face was red with rage.

Liran pulled the trigger and this time, the white flash of energy hit his father's chest, leaving his shirt a smouldering mess. Blood immediately began to pour from the wound, spreading through the dirty white cotton.

His father screamed and fell to the ground.

The girl was screaming as well. She had her hands over her ears, and was sitting there on the ground, wailing, "Stop it! Stop it!" over and over again.

Tashin lay on the ground, holding his chest. He reached up to Liran, who did not respond.

* * *

Imorah saw it all happen and could do nothing to stop it. She was sitting in a hollow between two roots of the tree, her legs tangled beneath her, and she watched as the two men screamed and hollered at each other.

He was a maniac — his eyes were wild with fury. He looked just like his father in that moment, and Imorah saw instantly that they were one and the same.

Then Liran shot Tashin. The white, hot, electric light of the weapon ripped through Tashin, exploding off his chest, lighting up his hair, lighting up the area around him like a small ball of sunlight.

"Tashin!" she screamed, forgetting her desire to run away. Instead, she ran towards him, falling to the ground beside him where he lay.

His face was contorted in pain and blood was spilling from his mouth. His chest had a black hole in it the size of her hand. He sputtered and tried to speak but he could not.

She expected Tashin to do something. In his infinite wisdom, she knew he should be capable of doing something, but he just weakly nodded his head and moved his lips like he wanted to say something.

Imorah looked up at the tree where Liran stood. He still held the gun in his hand, but Imorah didn't fear him. Somehow she knew that he wouldn't shoot her.

"What did you do?" Imorah screamed. "He's dying! What did you do?"

Never before had Imorah imagined she would see something like this. His flesh – she could see the soft pink flesh, just like the zabi, underneath his skin. But he wasn't a zabi; he was a man. A living breathing strong capable human being. And now his chest was ripped open and she could see inside, the blood, everywhere.

"What did you do?!" she screamed at the boy. "You're an animal!"

The young man dropped the gun to the ground and stood there, his arm still extended. He didn't respond.

She looked down at Tashin, who was opening and closing his mouth. Tashin wouldn 't die like this. It wasn't possible.

"You can't die like this," she told him.

He looked at her, and they locked eyes.

Imorah realised that he was going to die. And he knew it too. As much as she hated Tashin, she was furious that someone could do something like this to another human being. These people up here are all animals! she thought.

She looked into Tashin's eyes – he was scared. He was dying and he was scared. She wrapped her arms around him.

He moved his lips — he was trying to say something. "What?" she asked tenderly, lowering her head until his mouth was against her ear. "Tell me, my friend."

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I'm sorry." Then he went limp in her arms, and his head rolled to the side.

Imorah screamed and shook him, but it was no use. He was gone.