Page 16 of Godslayer
“Well, I’m no expert—” which makes him chuckle. “But I think we should lower this one. Raising up a world we’re not even in feels like a lot of work. And would require a lot more spark.”
“Agreed. So how does one lower the frequency of a world?”
“If there’s a reading labeled ‘boost’ shouldn’t there be something called… diminish?”
His smile is wild now, and so are his eyes. “Just so happens I have one of those. After you pressed your hand into mine, it popped right up.”
I cock my hip and shoot him a fake look of aggravation. “So you knew all along how to do it? Why did you ask me then?”
“Clara, I’m not gonna just go around and start pushing buttons to use up your spark without talkin’ it through first. I saw it, but I couldn’t be sure that’s what it meant. You just confirmed.”
“I think you’re giving me too much credit. I’m just guessing.”
He reaches out, pulling me forward. And suddenly his arms are wrapped around me like a cloak. He kisses me. It’s soft and a little bit lingering. And through this kiss comes a whisper. “The whole world is guessin’, Clara. No one’s got any fuckin’ idea what’s happening. Never forget that.”
Then he pulls back, mischievous smile on his face. “I’m sorry about this next science-y part, but you should know. I don’tknow how many times I’ll have to activate the diminish button, I don’t know what it’s gonna do to you, and I’m not sure how to take care of you if something happens. But know this for a fact, Iwilltake care of you.”
Wow. I might be on the verge of my own demise, but my whole body is responding to all that loyalty he just professed. I feel swoony, and tingly, and excited. But in a weird way. Like it’s spark feeling all these things.
“Is that a yes?” he asks
I nod. “Yes. Do what you have to. We need to figure this out before anything else. I trust you.”
“Good. And I trust you as well. I’ll count it down so you know to expect it. Ready?”
“Ready.”
“Three… two… one.”
When he says one, the excitement of my spark suddenly explodes. It shoots out of my hands, and comes out the top of my shirt, and heat fills my entire body. I feel time passing, but I can’t concentrate. It’s hovering—here, but not. Part of this, but away from it as well.
All around me the room shimmers, flickers, blinks.
Tyse is pressing the button again, and again. Because the spark inside me gets more and more excited until I’m at the point where I fear I might pass out. I close my eyes, willing myself to stay conscious.Don’t let it take over, I say in my head.Don’t let it take over. I say this over and over again, maybe a million times.
And it works.
My body calms, the spark still shooting out of me. Heating me up in a way I’ve never experienced before. My body is so hot, I begin to sweat. I close my eyes, repeating my new mantra.Don’t let it take over. And when the heat evens out, I open my eyes—getting the surprise of my life.
I’m floating up in the air, twirling in a slow circle. But down below, I’m standing on the ground too. Arms out, head back, spark flying out of my fingertips and mymouth. Tyse looks worried, but I can also tell he’s working. His eyes are lit up bright blue and they’re moving back and forth that way they do when he’s accessing that overlay thing.
I watch, fascinated. Every couple of seconds, his hands make little gestures. A flick of his fingertips. A pushing motion, like he’s moving things on his overlay out of the way.
Then he goes still—the spark humming all around me now, not just around my hands and my head, and he says, “Got it.”
Everything stops.
I fall back into my body with a sudden jolt and then I’m collapsing down to the floor. Tyse catches me before I hit the ground, his arms wrapping tightly around me. Then he’s cradling me in his arms. “Clara? Can you hear me?”
I nod, groggily, even though it makes my head spin, because I don’t want him to worry.
“Good. We’ve done it. We’re through.”
Which makes me smile, eyes still closed.
“Was it bad?” he asks, clearly concerned.
The sigh comes out before I can stop it. I don’t want him to know all the details. It will worry him. But he deserves to know what it costs to cross. So I force my eyes open and find his so close, I can see tiny sparks going off deep inside his soul. “I feel… spent. I don’t think I can walk. My legs are all jiggly. My head hurts. I feel like I need to sleep for a week.”
