"Remember what Dreck said; you are in his head," the voice answered, a faint echo in the confines of my mind.
"Is he even alive?"
"I knew you shouldn't live among humans. Talking to yourself is an indication..." Ash said. He didn't even move, but a wall of air slammed into me, pinning my back against the cold, rough surface of a stone. He strode forward, closing the distance until I could feel his breath on my cheek. "...of insanity."
I reached for the fire inside me, but he was faster. He grabbed my wrists, forcing them above my head. He pushed his leg between my thighs, his body crushing me against the rock. "Now, now, don't make me mad at you again."
"Let me go, you disgusting piece of shit!"
He leaned in, then diverted his head to sniff his own underarm with theatrical grace. "I know Dreck is many things, but not smelly. Shame on you."
"Stop playing games, you asshole! Who the fuck are you?"
"Forgive my disrespectful attitude," he said, his tone shifting abruptly. He released my hands and stepped back. The moment he did, the aches from his punches vanished. Not just faded—they were gone. In fact, a new, unfamiliar strength hummed beneath my skin.
He dropped to one knee, bowed his head, and placed a hand over his heart. "Ash, your highness, at your service." He looked up, and a familiar smirk played on his lips—Dreck's smirk.
"This is your chance. Attack," the voice whispered.
I hesitated for a split second, then lunged. I moved faster than I thought possible, but my body couldn't keep up. My legs tangled and I stumbled, the ground rushing up to meet me. Instead of stone, I was caught against a solid chest. Dreck?... Ash.
"We're doomed," the voice cursed.
I stared into his eyes, searching for any glimmer of the man I knew. If I was in his head, Dreck had to be alive.
"He is! Now focus. Ash's weakness is your power. Fight him with grace and you'll win," the voice confirmed.
"Thanks for the heads up," I thought.
"You are welcome," Ash answered aloud.
"Not you!" I shoved myself away from him, landing hard on my tailbone. "Ouch."
"All those blows, and only this hurts you?" He smirked, and the resemblance to Dreck was a physical pain.
Anger flared. I spun on the ground, whipping my leg around to kick him where no man is strong. He didn't even flinch. My shin connected with a force that shattered the bone with a sickening crack.
He felt like stone.
"I said your power!" The voice yelled.
I screamed, my vision whiting out from the agony. His laughter cut through it. "Seriously, Taty?"
"Don't fucking call me that!" I snapped at him.
"Don't be dramatic. It will heal," he said, settling onto the damp ground as if for a picnic. He was right. I watched, horrified and fascinated, as the bone knitted itself back together, the pain receding like a tide.
"See? Told you," he smirked.
The casual arrogance was a spark to my tinderbox of frustration. "Who are you?" I demanded, my voice low and shaking. "Why don't you just get this over with? You know you're stronger than me."
Ash sighed, as if bored by a child's repetitive questions. "It's not my fault you missed my exquisite self-introduction to attack me. We could have avoided all this drama."
"I know your name!" I screamed, the words tearing from my throat. "But who the fuck are you? Where is my.. Zahra, and Cyra? And let go of Dreck, now!"
He tilted his head, pretending to consider it. "Let me think about it..." he said, drawing out the pause. "...Not a good idea."
A white-hot wave of fury washed over me. My tattoos flared to life, burning crimson against my skin for a single, glorious second—a promise of power. But it was snuffed out instantly, crushed by an invisible force. Yet,in that brief moment, I saw it. A blink of stark, unguarded stress in his eyes. It was there and gone so fast I would have missed it if I'd blinked, a crack in his flawless, mocking armor.
Magic. I have to use my magic.
"Bingo," the spirit snapped.
"Don't you dare." His voice dropped, all playfulness vanishing into something deadly serious. "I would hate for you to disappoint me."
"Why? Am I the first one who can actually hurt you?" I thrust my hands toward him, summoning the fire. Nothing happened. My tattoos were dark, my skin just skin. "What did you do?" Panic clawed up my throat.
"Taty, you are in his play ground. You must leave immediately!" the voice screamed.
"How?" I answered.
"Open your eyes! It is not as dark as you think! Think of what Dreck told you about this place!"
"Wow, why blame me for the failure of your powers?" Ash laughed, springing to his feet. He extended a hand. "But if you want, I can teach you, Tafukt." His smile was soft, gentle—Dreck's smile when he needed a favor. It was a perfect, cruel imitation.
"And..?" I asked, my eyes tracking his every movement.
"And what?" he replied, feigning innocence.
"What's in it for you?" I got to my feet, ready for another attack.
"The good of the world," he said, as if it were the most obvious thing.
"You expect me to believe that?" I asked before I saw anger carving his eyes.
"You need to go, now!" the voice insisted, a new edge of fear in its tone.
"I'm trying!"
"You're not!" it snapped.
"Can you ask your spirit to shut up? I can't focus on our conversation with her incessant nagging. It's terribly rude," Ash said, rolling his eyes.
"He can hear me? SHIT. RUN!" the spirit screamed.
I didn't think. I just jumped to my feet and ran, bolting into the oppressive darkness.
"Keep going! Straight ahead! I will guide you!"
"He called you my spirit. What does that mean?" I yelled into the void.
"Tafukt, our destiny is to meet. When we do, all will be revealed."
"More secrets." I snapped.
"Just keep running!"
"Why won't you answer me? Who are you? Who am I? What is this place? Who is Ash?" My breath was ragged. I chanced a look back. The faint glow of the stones seemed to call to me. "It's so dark..."
"Do not look back! Do not go to the light! It's a trick!" the spirit begged.
I squinted into the gloom. A figure stood in the distance. "Dreck?" I whispered, my heart leaping.
"That is Ash! Illusions! If you want to live, to save your friends, find the door!"
"Why should I believe you? No one tells me anything, and then you judge me for breaking your expectations!" I stopped running, turning back toward the light. "I'm not a coward. I'll fight him. I'll save Dreck."
"You will die!" the spirit screamed. "RUN!"
"SHUT UP!" The command tore from me, and this time, my tattoos didn't just burn my skin—they ignited my soul. Power, raw and untamable, erupted from within.
I floated in nothing. No light, no sound, just the echo of my own fury. The void wrapped around me like chains, cold and endless, but the fire inside me wouldn't die. It thrashed, wild and aching, a storm that answered only to grief. I would tear this emptiness apart, flame by flame, until I found him. Even if it consumed me.
Heat crawled up my spine, a scream pulsing in my throat. I didn't command it; I begged it. And it answered with ruin.
I saw Ash.
"Stop! You'll burn out! We're not ready!" the spirit cried.
But my body was no longer mine to command. It belonged to my broken heart.
I surged toward him, a comet of rage. He stood waiting, confidence radiating from him. He moved at the last second, and I slammed into the wet ground. Water exploded into steam, shrouding everything in a thick, blinding fog.
"Tafukt, listen to me—"
"I said SHUT UP!" The fire grew with my anger.
"You should listen to her," Ash's voice drifted from the mist. "She knows you better than you know yourself."
"Just close your eyes, and listen to my voice," the spirit pleaded.
"Now you want me to fight blind?"
"LISTEN TO ME!" Her voice was a thunderclap in my mind.
"Do you two need a moment?" Ash mocked.
"I am not losing you too."
I closed my eyes.
"Now," the spirit whispered, "open your eyes."
I almost laughed. "What?"
"Not your physical eyes.The ones that see truth. They open when the world closes in."
I felt a shift in the air. Too late. A fist of solid shadow hit me in the chest, throwing me against a stone. The air left my lungs in a rush.
"You should have run when you had the chance," Ash said, emerging from the fog.
I spat blood, healing almost instantly. I threw a whip of fire at him, but he dissolved into shadows. The effort drained me; the fire was eating me alive.
"Focus!"
"How can I focus on him when my eyes are closed!" I snapped.
He reappeared directly in front of me. "On your feet. I don't fight injured opponents. It's unsporting."
"Focus on his breathing. Focus on his energy, his feelings, his movements. Close your eyes Taty, let me be your eyes."
"How can I trust you and you are not giving me anything to hold on to. I don't even know your name."
"Dionadair."
"What?"
"My name."
"Dionader." I repeated her name to remember it.
"It's Dionadair." Diona repeated.
"Are you done fighting like lovers?" Ash interrupted.
"Now, close your eyes, feel your presence. Command your power." Diona whispered.
"Dionadair, of the fire house of course. You finally made it to a spirit guardian. Is it not a low grade for a fire house? What did Tevareneh have to say about this.." Ash circled me in slow steps.
"Focus, he is trying to get into our temper. Don't lose your focus. Now close your eyes." Diona ordered.
"A daughter of the high Fae, Commander of the high priestesses of the temple of the fire."
"How does he know you?" I asked Diona.
"Taty, I have knowledge. Answers to your questions. Come with me and you shall have all you wish for." He stretched his hand.
"Don't listen to him. Focus. Close your eyes!"
"I trust you." I thought to Diona.
I stood, swaying with exhaustion and rage, and I closed my eyes. I was blind, but I willed myself to see.
"Good! Now find me in the darkness of your vision."
"How?"
"You'll know."
In the darkness of my vision. My senses were stronger. I felt a power in my mental world, calling for me. I followed it, and there I found a door ajar with red and yellow power begging to open the door.
"Open it Taty." Diona's voice was echoing in my mind.
"She's not ready to open the door!" Ash yelled.
"I am."