Chương 28: 028

Watching my own arm vanish was surreal. Some distant, clinical part of my mind—the same one that had dragged me through the worst years of my childhood—screamed that I needed to stop this now, before it took anything else. But how? The power I'd unleashed recoiled violently, time snapping back at me with cruel precision. It started at my fingers. I watched, transfixed. Skin darkened. Shriveled. Withered. My cloak followed, fabric aging decades in seconds before crumbling into ash that scattered on the wind.

I couldn't look anywhere except the empty space where my arm had been. A hysterical laugh bubbled out of my throat. At least I didn't have to watch it rot. The strange numb pause shattered all at once. Logic surged back in a shrill, blaring alarm, and with a ragged gasp I severed the spell, clutching my ruined shoulder as agony detonated through me. Pain crashed in waves, each pulse worse than the last, my heartbeat a hammer driving it deeper. I held my breath, terror coiling tight in my chest. Waiting.

Waiting to see if it would keep going. When a full minute passed and the rest of my shoulder remained intact, relief nearly forced me to my knees, but it barely had time to settle before slow clapping echoed from above. I curled instinctively around Maya and looked up. Silas leaned over the wall, eyes alight, his smile sharp with delighted cruelty.

"Now that," he said brightly, "was a performance." His laughter rang out, gleeful.

"I never imagined you'd wield Time's domain so cleanly. Usually, he's downright ferocious about his power not falling into mortal hands." He grinned wider.

"What extraordinary luck." My teeth ground together as I fought to stay conscious. Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. No wonder Time never gave this power freely. I'd destroyed my own body just touching it. And Silas, gods, the devastation he could cause... Seeing the damage it could do, I wish she hadn't given it to me. I shoved the thought aside and glared up at him.

"If you think I'm using that spell again, you're insane." Even if it hadn't wiped out my arm, I wouldn't. I didn't feel bad about using it now because the enemy was undead. Judging by the near-fanatic glint in Silas's eyes, he had plans, and I doubted his next target would be the same. Silas laughed again.

"You'll find that you won't have a choice in the matter, Nikolas. You're hardly the first person I've charmed into my employ, and you won't be the last." He gestured lazily to his side. Dominicus stood there, eyes vacant, expression hollow.

"Just ask your friend," Silas continued.

"He was pitifully easy. A prolonged handshake was all it took." My stomach dropped. Mind control through touch. I forced my gaze back to Silas.

"Then why didn't you do it to me right away?" I demanded.

"Why pretend?" He scoffed.

"Why waste effort?" His smile sharpened.

"Many of my most loyal generals were otherworlders. I never had to compel them. You, much like Dominicus here, require being brought to heel though." So Dominicus had refused to help him too. At least I knew he had an unwilling part in this mess. But what about Silas's 'generals'? If they all had powers… just what kind of people were we up against? A chill slid up my spine, and I abandoned the thought. I could spiral into an epic tier panic attack over that later. Now, I had other things to worry about.

Maya squirmed in my grasp, still trying to reach her father. I tightened my hold, refusing to let her go. Not with Silas watching.

"What is this really about?" I demanded.

"Why summon so many people?" Even as I asked, dread curdled in my gut. Silas floated down from the wall, landing a few paces away with infuriating grace.

"Isn't it obvious?" he said lightly.

"I intend to rule Nexus." He waved a dismissive hand.

"That irritating resistance kept interfering. I've been wearing them down for years." Dread inched through my veins as his words sank in. The resistance… not the undead. My breath hitched.

"Their sudden assault was… inconvenient," Silas went on.

"Especially with my generals away." He smiled.

"But you solved that problem beautifully." The pieces slammed together all at once. The staff failing. The hesitation. The way they'd circled instead of attacking.

"No," I whispered.

"What do you mean?" Please, let me be wrong. Please, don't let me have– Silas beamed.

"Oh, the undead army?" He chuckled.

"That was a lie." He gestured casually toward Maya's father.

"Thank you for eliminating the resistance for me. I couldn't have done it without you." Maya stared at the body of her father, not an undead version of him, but her actual father. She looked up at me slowly. Betrayal burned in her eyes.

"You…" she whispered.

"You killed him?" And what was I supposed to say to that? No? I'm sorry, I thought it wasn't really him? I looked out at the field, at hundreds of bodies, half-aged to dust, unmistakably human. I did this. With that thought, I lurched sideways and vomited for the third time that night.