I'm reaching out to Renald. The sound of his screams pierces through the air, more visceral and horrifying than anything I've ever experienced. Renald convulses violently on the ground, his body twisting in an agonizing, nightmarish dance— his blood seeps into the earth, staining the ground red. Unlike the swift healing I witnessed in the colosseum, his wounds remain open and festering. When Vanhiel shot his scales out of his wings, a burst of air flung us away from him and each other. The only ones still standing are Ironvine and Hawk.
"I call upon you in my time of need!" Hawk shouts, holding his hand into the air with his palm open. "Lend me your power to smite those who rise against me!"
"Took you long enough." A deep, almost ancient, voice booms throughout the chamber.
A blinding streak of purple light pierces the ceiling, sending debris cascading to the ground. As the smoke clears, a tall, skeletal figure emerges, draped in a sharp black suit and a striking violet tie. The skeleton leans on a golden cane with a black, curved handle and a striking purple metal band. Its hollow eye sockets are filled with swirling darkness, and its razor-sharp teeth glisten with a sinister polish.
"That's right, everybody, give it up. Give it up. No need to stand." The skeleton bows. "Death has arrived."
"Avarice..." I stare at Vanhiel, who dodges a bullet. "Do not interfere. This matter has nothing to do with the gods of old."
"Oh, is that so?" The skeleton skips over to Glimmer's dad and drapes his arm over his shoulder, bending down to do so. "Abell would be pissed if he heard that one. Yup."
"I'm warning you..."
"Shut up, woulda?" The skeleton jabs its pinky into the empty socket where his left ear should be and twists it. "I don't think you get it. If I leave now, after hearing what you just said, Abell would toss me into the abyss for eternity. Got it? Plus, I've got a contract to uphold."
I'm too stunned to speak, as is everyone else. Did he call himself... Death? I ask myself over and over. Before I can wrap my head around what's happening, the skeleton steps into Hawk. A subtle tremor ripples through Hawk's body, but it quickly intensifies. His skin tightens over his bones, pulling taut until it almost seems translucent. Black horns crack through his scalp, curling upward as his entire frame stretches.
He towers over everyone now, spine elongating with each vertebra clicking into place, muscles and bones shifting grotesquely. His eyes sink deep into their sockets, voids of endless darkness. His fingers stretch, the skin peeling away to reveal jagged, skeletal claws that gleam wickedly in the dim light. Then his mouth fuses, his lips melting into his face. This leaves behind a terrifying maw of gold, where razor-sharp fangs interlock like the jaws of a predator. The skeleton's staff appears in mid-air, and Glimmer's dad catches it and aims it at Vanhiel.
"18 seconds, betrayer." A voice echoes from within his body, a mix of Hawk's and the skeleton's. "18 seconds until retribution."
Bones erupt from the trembling earth, latching onto Glimmer's dad and forming an exoskeleton. Then he steps forward slowly, disappears from my vision, and then reappears in front of Vanhiel. In the same motion, he hits Vanhiel in the jaw with his cane handle, sending him flying back.
"You dare attack me?" Vanhiel screams the question, slamming his claws into the ground and using his wings to stop his momentum.
He glares at Renald, who has finally managed to stand. Vanhiel's eyes flash a fleeting silver, his face twisting in panic. The once-solid silver skin encasing him ripples and peels away, revealing the yellow scales beneath in a disturbing display of vulnerability. I look back at Renald, and his eyes flash with the same silver as Vanhiel's. Suddenly, all of the emotion evaporates from his face.
"Everyone, don't let this chance escape!" Goldenclaw shouts, but all I can focus on is Renald.
Something isn't sitting right with me. He's changed; I can smell it. I run over to him, dodging Ironvine, who rushes past. I grab Renald by the shoulder and shake him back and forth. He doesn't respond.
"Renald!" I yell, trying to snap him out of whatever trance he's in. "Ren! Come on, you can't do this to me right now! We need you!"
He doesn't even look at me; instead, he stares into the distance. My heart pounds in my chest. The fear of losing him, just as I lost Brownblood, engulfs me.
"Whisperclaw, focus!" Ironvine's voice pierces my daze.
Ironvine swings at Vanhiel, but Vanhiel dodges. He slides behind Ironvine on his knees, spins, and slashes across Ironvine's back with his claws. Blood pours from the gaping wound. It's so deep that pieces of Ironvine's spine poke through. He stumbles forward and falls over onto his side.
"Whisperclaw, help Ironvine!" Liaz stumbles to his feet. "I'll cover you!"
He fires a barrage of bullets at Vanhiel. I look back at Renald again before shadowstepping over to Ironvine. His blood is staining his purple fur a dark red. He gazes up at me with fading strength, his eyes barely open.
"My…bag." He gasps, blood dripping from his mouth. "Inside..."
"Just stay awake for me." I plead, flipping him onto his back and digging into his pouch for his healing pills.
I feel a shift in the air. My instincts scream at me, but it's too late. A sickening, wet sound fills the space between heartbeats—metal sinking into flesh. My body freezes, and I slowly turn, my breath catching in my throat. Standing above Ironvine's writhing form is Renald. A crimson saber juts from Ironvine's stomach, the blade slick with blood, still quivering from the strike. Renald holds the weapon with unsettling ease, his face without emotion. His golden eyes, once familiar, now gleam with cold detachment. I search his expression for any sign of remorse, recognition, anything. But there's nothing. Just mechanical precision as he yanks the blade free. The sound of flesh tearing is almost drowned out by my heartbeat.
"No!" Tears of anger and confusion stream down my face. "Why?! Why would you do that?"
Renald glares at me silently, his golden eyes dilated and filled with silver flakes. He turns the blade edge on me. Hawk appears between us and catches the saber with his fingers.
"It's a shame to see you this easily corrupted." He says to Renald. "You didn't strike me as weak-willed, vampire."
Renald's face shifts from emotionless to enraged. He screams, a large set of fangs on full display. I feel a mix of shock, dread, and regret settle in my stomach. Hawk called Renald a vampire, but I didn't know vampires had horns and wings. If Renald's a vampire, why have I never seen him drink blood before? Glimmer's dad smacks Renald's blood saber out of the way and chops him in the neck. His eyes roll back, and he falls to the ground, limp. Hawk looks over at Vanhiel, hatred engraved on his face.
"That was a cheap trick." He says. "I see that nothing is beneath you now."
Glimmer's dad steps forward, with blinding speed, in front of Vanhiel. He aims the tip of his cane at Vanhiel's head. Fear flashes in Vanhiel's eyes, and the cane's end erupts, consuming him in an explosion of shadow. I desperately fumble through Ironvine's pouch, my hands shaking as I retrieve the healing pills. I force them into his mouth. Slowly, the bleeding stops, and his breathing stabilizes. Relief washes over me as the wounds close. I glance back at Renald, lying motionless amidst the chaos. A chilling sense of finality settles over me. Today marks the beginning of a new, unpredictable chapter for us all.