In the Ether, Cousin looked again at the Alpha Master. He was no longer recognizable as the wielder he started as. “That’s enough, Father,” she said, her voice a soft wave on still water.
The Alpha Master swung his disfigured head to peer at her with bulging eyes. “All is mine,” he slurred through blistered lips. “All mine!” He pulled harder.
Cousin showed him the sliver staff. She twirled it in her fingers. Caught it in a firm grasp, and tapped it on her leg. “Not everything is yours.”
The Alpha Master lunged. His misshapen form no longer moved as he remembered.
Cousin laughed. “Too much to eat,” she teased in a high pitched voice.
The vibration of Cousin’s voice resonated pain and blood against the Alpha Master’s thinned ear drums, and they burst like soup bubbles.
The current of power caressed over Cousin. It flowed through her. She delighted in the control she felt. The Ether filled her, and Cousin surrendered to her own core. The world of matter became small in her outward perception.
A subtle brush touched her lips, and her mind remembered Kraken’s lips on hers. Cousin remembered Gabb’s Death Smile, chasing Kor through the rigging, Jak’s food, Bry’s humor. Each member of the crew came to her mind. Cousin shifted, and Ghost was flowing through the shadows of her eyes. One word came. Trust.
Cousin and the Alpha Master fell from the Ether, and plunged back to the world of matter.
The Alpha Master screamed gurgling rage. His body boiled and rolled as power currented under his distended flesh. His skin charred and turned to ash. His eyes popped like over rip tomatoes. He tired to focus the power through chants and symbol. His voice did not work. His limbs did not move as he wished. The power of the Ether surged out of him burning up the container unable to hold it.
Cousin raised the sliver staff. “Mine.” The escaping energy raced to the upheld staff. The staff showed images of the Ether which flowed to the Ancient Gods, which flowed to a reflection of Cousin standing on a mountain top which flowed to Haven.
Leave a Reply