Chapter 49: The War of Light and Shadows

Allison

She hears me. Unfortunately, it may be too late for Mary. When I lost everything, when they tried burning me, I couldn’t control what I absorbed from the forest near our temple. It’s a power no one on Earth can tame. I thought I could. I thought I could have my vengeance with no consequences. And when the smoke cleared, nothing but black char remained on this island. Without knowing it, I created the darkness that keeps Belzaar secluded from the rest of the world.

“Hello? What’s happening? Allison? Is that really, you?

She knows it’s me. Mary only wants to confirm my presence, my existence inside the reeds of her mind. For two hundred years I’ve laid dormant, hiding because I couldn’t face the grief I endured, the hell I conjured.

“Yes, Mary—It’s me, Allison.”

In Mary’s mind, I form a body of light. Slight features distinguish me from what she imagines me to be.

“I… What’s going on? I… I was flying—Am I still flying?”