The two-headed monster howled as the Assassin plunged her swords into the back of the wolf-head’s neck. Frederica danced back as the frog-head opened too wide and sucked in a large amount of air, pulling the woman back towards it.
Penelope cast
The moment the vortex stopped, the Lady Mane and Speckled Stalker pounced, the two Demons ignoring taunts from Tanks as they ran after Frederica.
Shadowy shackles grabbed Penelope, locking her wrists against her hips. She
“The Vairfly is a HEALER!” Circe fired a few shots at the two melee bosses. Her attempt at shackling them to the floor lasted mere moments as the chains snapped, but it gave Frederica extra time to get away.
“Fae, lock down that frog! Pen, take the other Caster off the board; we’ve got the frontline!” Patrick clenched his shield and charged into the Lady Mane, only to bounce off the charging Demon.
Penelope
YOU THINK THAT WILL WORK ON ME?
Penelope ignored the barb as more
The Terror Bug was able to get its arms up in time to block the magic, earning black marks on both forearms. It charged her, its fists swelling as it swung.
Nope, not doing melee! Penelope
Another
YOU’LL RUN OUT OF MANA BEFORE I DO! THEN I’M GOING TO WEAR YOUR PRETTY HAIR AS A NECKLACE!
Penelope blasted it with a pair of
Three more
Ribs cracked as pain shot from her stomach to her hands and feet like lightning, followed by the burning numbness that radiated from the point of impact. Her body was launched into the air, bouncing her off the 10-foot-high ceiling.
Penelope
A smile spread across the Demon’s face as it pointed at her.
- WIN.
Dark shadows swirled around the Terror Bug as it charged the spell it had been trying to cast throughout their fight. Penelope threw a
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
What did it just cast? Penelope charged
“It’s a TERROR Bug.” Jeru groaned. “You need to get out of here; if you get hit with that spell, it’s going to make
Shadows split off of each side of the Demon, forming a wall of darkness veering diagonally from the Terror Bug. Instead of the ten-foot sections that most of the Humans could create, this wall reached fifty feet past Penelope, with the ends curving behind her to block off her escape.
Penelope hit the flickering shadows with
Jeru’s words came out so fast they almost ran together. “You have to hit it at the source!”
The path between them vanished as Penelope became completely encircled by the shadowy wall of hungry flames. The tendrils morphed into the featureless faces of people, each one of them saying something different.
Ha-ha-ha
AHHH!!!!
Help me!
You’re going to die!
The last face opened its mouth too wide and tried to swallow her. Penelope blasted it apart with
Ice crept into her bones, electricity hummed in her nerves, and fire burned her skin as her heart thundered in her ears. The eyes of thousands of people stared at her on a stage where she wore nothing but the mocking shadows that were tearing at her mind.
Pain, panic, and fear tethered her to the ground. The wands slipped out of her trembling hands and clattered on the cold stone. Blindness settled over her, which amplified the sound of her heart in her ears and swelled the lump in her throat to the point she was wheezing as she gasped for air.
Someone screamed at her from the corner of her mind, but that voice was drowned in the crashing thunder in her ears. The shadows tightened around her, crushing her like people packed too tightly into a subway car.
Time froze, silencing the buzzing as the landscape warped into the familiar scene of her bedroom. Penelope took a deep breath as the sharp scent of pine trees filled her lungs.
“What’s going on?”
“I didn’t think that would work.” Jeru appeared on her bed. Instead of his usual purple robe, he was wearing jeans and a black shirt with yellow letters that read ‘What’s Your Second Wish?’. The blue Elf propped himself up on an elbow as he looked around the tidy room. “So this is your safe place.”
“How did we get in my room?” Penelope took a step forward and stubbed her toe on the cedar hope chest at the foot of her bed. “Ow!” She hopped on one foot as she rubbed the injured one. “What is this place?”
“A dreamscape.” Jeru puffed out his chest. “Jhy showed me how to do it, but I haven’t been able to do it with a Looper unless they retreated deep into themselves.”
“Your sister?” Penelope scrunched her brow.
Jeru nodded. “She’s the best Dream Rider they ever had!” He frowned. “Before they kicked her off.” He waved his hand as the room shook. “But we don’t have time for that story.”
“So why did you pull me in here?” Penelope eyed the man relaxing on her bed.
“Because time effectively stops in here and you’re about to die.” Jeru sat up. “We can reset it if you want, but that Demon lit you up like a Christmas Tree and that’s not something that just goes away when you reset.” He frowned. “It will gnaw at the corners of your mind until you face it.”
The whole room shook. Cracks splintered the walls as bits of ceiling dust rained down on them.
“It’s not a perfect dream, I get it!” Jeru shouted at the walls, then turned back to Penelope. “Look, it’s going to feel like jumping into ice water when you go back out there, but fear follows you through the loops and something like this…” He motioned at the buckling walls. “If it’s not in the rotation next time…” His voice trailed off.
“You’re worried about me.” Penelope hugged herself.
“I’m worried about all of this, but the storm that is just you existing is more weight than most people ever feel.” He steepled his fingers. “I’ve seen things like this destroy other Loopers.”
“So you want me to what?” Penelope pointed out the window at the darkness. “Hold onto the power of friendship and overcome this through willpower and song?”
Jeru snorted. “We’d be screwed if that was the way out.”
Penelope glared at him.
“You know what I mean.” He held up his hands. “You can’t even let Circe give you a hug and she’s the closest thing you’ve got out there to a friend.” He bounced off the bed to his feet.
Penelope took two steps back.
Jeru nodded. “And even though you’re more okay with me being in your head, you still don’t want to be close enough that I could hug you.”
“I get it; I can’t make friends.” Penelope sighed. “Can you just skip to the part where you tell me what to do instead of reminding me how I’m broken?”
“Fear is always going to be a part of you.” The wall behind the blue Elf blew outward. “Find something you’re more afraid of losing and use that as your strength.”
The room collapsed before Penelope could ask what he meant.
Rating, Review, Follow, Favorite, or Comment does wonders to boost my morale. If you want to help support my writing or check out advanced chapters, head over to my .
Immersive Ink
RR Writer's Guild