PULL OF SHADOWS
1236 Words
Tobias' POV
"You shouldn't have come here," I hissed, my voice low but charged. Our words seemed to be swallowed by the shadows of the forest, pushing nearer. Lyra stood resolutely, her defiance a sharp contrast to the anxiety running through me.
And go back to handle Calder by yourself? No, she shot back, her voice steady even as her hands shook. "Tethering Tobias, I'm not running anymore."
I moved forward until I could feel her skin radiating heat. The will in her eyes tightened my chest. Oh, Lyra, nasty it.
"You don't understand what you're risking!" I snipped, fingers curling into fists. "Calder's not some enemy you can outsmart. He will ruin you without thinking twice.
"Maybe," she said, her voice lower now but no less firm. But I refuse to let you meet him by yourself. I can’t.”
Her words hit me harder than I wanted to admit. The weight of her loyalty—it was terrifying. For the first time in years, someone cared enough to stand by me, even if it meant marching into the lion’s den.
“Lyra...” My voice cracked, and for a second, I let my guard go. “You’re making this harder than it already is.”
Her gaze softened, and she stretched out, her fingers brushing against mine. The contact shot a spark through my body, and I hated how much I desired it.
“What am I making harder, Tobias?” she questioned, her tone kinder now. “Choosing between me and your loyalty to Calder?”
I was tense. She always saw through me, pulling back the layers I’d fought so hard to keep intact.
“I can’t—”
“You can,” she interjected, coming closer. “You just won’t.”
Her proximity set my heart racing. I wanted to bring her closer and push her away at the same time. She was deserving of better than the mess I had created.
The sound of branches breaking close by broke the moment before I could answer. Lyra and I turned together, every instinct sharpened.
She muttered, "Did you hear that?" while her eyes roved the blackness.
I said, "Stay behind me," and started in front of her.
"Tobius, wait—."
Lyra, there are no issues here.
I bent low, my senses heightening as I looked among the trees. The woodland had gone shockingly quiet, the normal buzz of activity replaced by a stifling silence.
Low and menacing, a growl rang across the night. It was something equally as deadly, but not Calder.
Lyra said, her voice shaking, "Kieran."
I let out a breathy swear. He would obviously show up now.
“Step into the light, Tobias,” Kieran’s voice called out, calm yet teasing. “Let’s have a little chat.”
I glanced at Lyra, her face pale but determined.
“Stay here,” I muttered before stepping forward.
Rising from the darkness, Kieran had a towering and commanding presence. Lyra was the one he was really seeing, even while his blue eyes fixed on me.
Always the guardian he said, a smile pulling at his lips. Tell me, Tobias, who is shielding you?
" What do you want, Kieran?" I caught myself snapping.
"Justice," he answered, his voice dripping with false sincerity. "You tore up my knapsack, Tobias. Did you think I’d forget?”
"I did what I had to," I said, my voice calm despite the guilt chewing at my stomach.
Now you will pay for it, he snarled.
Kieran sprang, faster than I could have imagined. I barely had time to block his onslaught, his claws slashing through the air where my chest had been minutes before.
“Tobias!” Lyra shrieked, and I turned just in time to see another creature emerge from the shadows.
Calder was this one; Kieran was not involved.
Lyra stopped, her body quivering as Calder fixed his eyes on hers. His grin was predatory, slow.
Well, isn't this lovely? Calder drew back, his voice a poisonous purr. "My wayward lieutenant and the girl whose key to everything."
"Stop, Kieran!." Lyra cried, her voice urgent as she moved ahead.
I cried and shouted, "Stay back."
But it was already too late. Calder’s hand shot out, gripping Lyra by the throat.
“Tobias, you’ve always been predictable,” Calder remarked, his grasp tightening as Lyra struggled for oxygen. “But this? This is a low, fresh even for you.
"Let her go," I snared, my voice hoarse with wrath.
Calder's smile became wider. "Why would I do that when she is the ideal bait?"
I attacked, but Kieran intercepted me with his claws cutting into my side. Pain burst through me, yet I continued not stopping. I cannot.
"Tobius!" Lyra screamed across the darkness, and my blood froze.
Calder twisted, pulling Lyra into the darkness.
"Lyra!," I yelled, but Kieran's strike drove me back.
Kieran responded, his voice icy and uncompromising, "You'll have to get through me first."
As Lyra's sobbing subsided, panic tore at my chest.
The jungle then becomes quiet.
The air was dense, the quiet oppressive and stifling as Lyra's cries vanished into the night. From the gash Kieran had caused as well as from the terrible terror engulfing me, my chest burned. Desperate drove my power as I pushed against him.
"Kieran, change!" I growled, speaking rough and wild.
"Not until you answer for your crimes," he spat back, his ice blue eyes shining with retribution.
"I have no time for this!" Bellowing, I avoided his next strike. My claws sliced over his arm, sending him temporarily staggering back.
"You scheduled time to trash my pack!” Kieran snapped, his voice getting angry. "Your turn now is to suffer."
Driven just by pure adrenaline, I ran onward. "If you seek retribution, fine—take it after I save her."
"save her?" He stepped in my way once more and laughed bitterly. Calder possesses her. Do you understand what that indicates? She is as decent as dead.
Though I resisted letting his words take root, they hit my chest like a dagger. Her death is not certain. I refuse to permit her to be.
Kieran's lips drew a thin line, his look wavered. "Why her?" asked Why does she mean so much to you?
"She just does!" I yelled, my voice breaking beneath the weight of feelings I could not start to articulate.
Lyra's scream sliced the darkness once more, far yet clearly. My heart paused then surged with fresh resentment.
"Kieran, either kill me or step aside," I said. "Because I'll separate you to get to her if you don't."
He stopped for a pulse, and in that instant I sensed uncertainty, doubt, and even sorrow flickering in his eyes.
Another roar from the darkness, deeper and more threatening than anything I had ever heard, burst before he could decide. The trees appeared to shake, the air getting colder.
Kieran mumbled, his cheeks becoming pale too late.
"What's too late?" I insisted, eyes racing toward the sound.
"It's not just Calder," he said, his voice tinged with terror. She has summoned it.
The growl got louder, nearer, and from the shadows a large shadow with crimson eyes and fangs bared in a snarl sent shivers down my spine.
Kieran retreated, his arrogance falling apart. "You have doomed all of us."
The planet erupted in anarchy as the beast lunged.
- Writer
