Little Spark

31 - Cousin

The moment I step into the crumbling upper structure, my skin gives off a faint glow just as it did before, but when I reach the top of the stairs and looks down into the darkness below, panic slams me full-force and I flicker. Everything in me wants to run, but I squeeze my eyes shut and force myself to focus on lighting the darkness like I learned in training, figuring that if someone were here, I'd probably be dead already.

When I open my eyes, I can see almost to the bottom of the steps—which is saying a lot. I descend quickly, and breathe a huge sigh of relief when I step into the hidden chamber and find the place empty.

The room is significantly longer than it is wide. The walkway in the center extends further than my light reaches, so I can't see what's at the end of it. I decide to investigate and have almost reached the first set of pillars when everything goes horribly wrong.

"Well, well, well... Looks like we got here just in time, Ly." Melany's sultry voice wraps around me and my muscles go all gooey. That shoot-first-think-later instinct I displayed at training last week appears to have gone to bed for the night, and my light dims with each click of her heels against the marble floor as she approaches me from behind. "Now what would a sweet little Spark like you be doing in an underground crypt, hmm?"

I spin around to face her. "I was trying to find my dad's grave," I say, nonchalantly. "Obviously not down here, so I'll just go now."

I make a move toward the exit, but she shoves me back. "Oh no you don't, Lite-Brite. You're on my turf now."

Lylah is bafflingly quiet, some unspoken angst evident in her wide blue eyes. Her hair looks bigger than normal. "Mel, don't. The others will be here any min—"

"Great," Melany interrupts. "Then everyone can see how pathetic she is."

The others? "Look, I'll just go," I say, my eyes flicking to the exit. If I can just calm down enough to blaze, I'll be past her, up the stairs, and out of the cemetery before she can stop me.

"You're not going anywhere," she whispers, leaning into my face. Her breath is even colder than Reign's; all the tiny hairs on my body stand on end.

I slip around her and try to shoot up the stairs, but she anticipates the move; I slam into her right as she appears at the foot of the staircase and get thrown backward with a startling amount of force. When my tailbone hits the marble floor, my skin flares as pain shoots up my back and down my legs.

Melany appears over me. "That was cute." I can hardly see her face past her bazongas.

I scramble to my feet and try to back away from her, but I run into one of the pillars.

I'm trapped.

Melany leans close to me, and a cruel smile pushes up into her cheeks. In the dim light from my own skin, I see her eyes flicker.

The room goes black as my glow is completely snuffed out and agonizing wails fill the cavernous space. They gradually increase in volume and pitch, and I know my eardrums are on the verge of bursting.

"Stop!" I yell, falling to my knees. "Please, stop!"

Melany cackles loudly, and I squeeze my hands over my ears as the stabbing pain between my temples intensifies and radiates out into every inch of my body. My eyes and throat burn, and my muscles tense and twitch like I'm being poked with electrified acupuncture needles. The darkness claws at me, pulling my very life force from my skin.

I can't breathe. White light spreads across the insides of my eyelids, and the wails slowly die down. I must be dying.

I'm suddenly pulled to my feet. I don't have any strength in my legs, so they buckle, but something solid wraps around my waist, preventing me from falling down again. As the soothing blend of coffee, fresh pine, and dying embers fills my nose, my heart rate slows and my skin relights.