The snake grew in size making the cavernous space feel small. The appendages hanging from its body thickened, reaching out to grasp the walls with a sucking action that allowed it to climb.
“Cal?” Paige threw him a look of desperation.
“Stay away from it; if it injects you with the venom in its fangs you’re dead.”
Easier said than done. She followed the snake watching as it slithered up the wall and crept overhead. That was her target, if she could kill it they were more than half way home. Not wasting any time, she shot a beam of pure white light at it. The snake’s body separated allowing it to pass through harmlessly. Undaunted, she tried again, Cal reinforcing her beam this time.
Light surrounded the snake as darkness emanated from it fighting their light back until it swallowed the light and pulled them toward it. The fought to break the hold, heels dug into the floor causing gouge marks as they were pulled slowly.
“Cross our beams, Cal!”
He moved in front of her crossing the beam coming from his body with the one coming from hers. The movement broke the connection dropping them to the ground.
“What next, Paige?”
“How am I supposed to know?”
They moved to the other side of the cave, Paige in the lead. The snake dropped his tail and swung it catching Cal on the appendages of it. They impaled him, the snake lifted him high and dropped him to the floor like refuse.
“Cal!” Paige screamed hearing the sound echo around the cave.
She lost. Everything she did in the end was for nothing.
“Poor Paige, I told you I always win. Give up now and take the easy way out. You and I. With him dead, I have nothing to worry about and with you to feed on I will live an eternity. I do believe I want to rule the stars. We can leave this backwards planet; think of all you will see, the new life I will give you. Kneel Paige and accept me.”
The certain smile on his face turned her stomach. She knew she wasn’t ready. What made her bond with Cal? How could she have deceived herself into dreaming of a future with him? How was she still alive when he was dead? She reached out mentally to touch a raw wound in her mind. He truly was gone, her strength and her light.
How could she defeat the Venom snake and join Cal? There was no reason to stay behind, she had no desire to be without him. Maybe she’d see her parents again, but she didn’t have time to wallow in despair right now. She wouldn’t let Cal’s death be in vain.
Standing tall she faced the snake as it slithered its way toward her. Poison, blacker than any night, dripped from it fangs and its eyes looked like the fires of hell. Tonight it would die. She closed her eyes looking at the snake through her gift. The body moved and slivered on plates that kept it intact. They allowed it to grow massive yet remain in one piece.
She looked at her body, she glowed, and reaching deep inside of herself she touched her core. It was pure light. She cupped it in her hand before allowing the light to engulf her body. The light took on a sharpness harder than the most precious metal.
The snake’s tail came at her and she twisted, slicing through it. It wailed in pain retreating slightly. She wasn’t done, she needed it to come closer. It backed away again looking over at her heart. It turned and raced towards it. She flew overhead of it and stood between her heart and the venom snake.
“If you want to kill me, you’ll have to get through me first.”
The snake reared up before striking out with its fangs. She became like a knife slicing into one of his fangs, it dripped poison. The light coming from her burned it as fast as it fell. She flipped over cutting off several of its appendages as it screamed in outrage.
“You like to hurt, I can feel it coming from you in waves.” She cut anther appendage away. “Suffer for Cal. Die for Cal.”
She became a hurricane, a twister thinking of nothing except utter destruction. She flew at the snake’s neck slowly cutting through it as it tried to use the rest of its useless appendages against her.
“Go to hell and take your Sudir with you.” She fell to the ground as the snakes body convulsed in death.
She looked over at her heart so red and beautiful. It pumped like she would live for years. The poison of the snake slowly covered her body now that she no longer had the strength to channel her light.
“Soon Cal, I’ll be with you soon,” she whispered as she closed her eyes waiting for the inevitable.
Chapter Thirty
Paige opened her eyes not sure what to expect. She was impaled unable to move, the heavy sword that hung from her original cave was stuck through her heart making it struggle to beat.
“You won. I knew you could do it.”
“Voyager?” She turned her head to see him standing there minus the cane. He was still in his original clothing that kept her from seeing him, but he was no old man she was sure of that.