Starlight (Book 1)

44: Stand Up, Refuse, End the Show

I heaved, my lungs struggling to take in enough air to breathe. My shoulders scraped against the bars of my cage. My body was stiff, sinking to the shingles.

Midnight's grip released. I fell, barely able to catch myself. "Are you ready to admit defeat?"

I nodded, my failure closing in. It was inevitable. My hand twitched, clutching the inner pocket of my cloak. I slashed Midnight's knee, spots of blood blooming through her suit. My weapon wasn't really a sword, more like a thin, needle-like blade. I'd figured the only way to escape was to accept my failure, and the cage would disappear. But what if I was wrong?

I focused on breathing; my hands quivered. Midnight gawked at the injury, holding her hands against the wound. The sight of blood was making my head woozy. Had I done that to her?

My sight was fading, as though I had succumbed to nothing. A world made of darkness. Whatever was happening to me, it was Midnight's doing. Laughter rolled from her, reverberating in the emptiness. "So, you think you can escape from me? Not yet. We have to struggle before we can fly."

I craned my neck to look around. My surroundings muted, the sky white and featureless. It reminded me of Echo's illusions, a nightmare where I couldn't jolt myself awake. "Why are you doing this?"

I couldn't see Midnight. I couldn't see anyone, besides the bars of my glass case and the vacant space beyond. When she spoke, it was a disembodied whisper. "Haven't you already figured that out? If not, then I bid you good luck."

I spun around, my hands shaking. I knew it wasn't real; it couldn't be. Reaching for my cloak, my hands fumbled. All that remained of my suit was gone, replaced by the clothes I wore underneath the mask. I shivered, as though exposed. The walls circled, the world spinning off its axis. I screamed, "Midnight, anyone! Let me out of here!"

The platform beneath me extended, and I feebly took a step forward. The floor built like a bridge, and I traversed through the hall, images flashing fleetingly through my awareness. My heartbeat sped up, desperately grasping on to some semblance of sense. It was mind control. Midnight was behind this.

I whirled as voices overlapped, beckoning me into the white void. I was watching my life played on rewind, speeding up, never stopping. Everything that led up to this moment unfolded, and no matter how hard I tried to chase it, I couldn't move from my position. The cage closed in, and my headache pulsated. My knees hit the ground. My voice wavered, unsteady, fragile. "I am not afraid of this. None of it is real. If this is my only fear..."

"Then what?" asked a voice. I could hear it and feel it as if Midnight spoke directly into my head.

I stared at my glass case, through the looping flashes, like looking at myself from above. A spectator. "Then I accept it," I whispered.

Breathing in, I focused. The room flickered. I accept it. In the distance, thunder clapped. Rain drizzled against my hands, my fingers dampening despite Midnight's control. Slowly, my suit returned. I reached into my pocket and removed the weapon.

I faced the glass, holding up the blade. Gripping it with both hands, I took a step back. I swung, the thin hilt smashing against the confines of the trap. A crack splintered through the glass. Reeling back, I tried again, aiming at the centre.

The cage shattered. At the same moment my vision cleared, the blade snapped in half. The trick dispersed, flaking as though it had never been there at all, temporarily rendering me stunned. Midnight screamed, as though breaking out had also broken her.

"Look down!" screamed a voice from below. My breaths sparked again as I stared down at the asphalt, as Lily waved her hands about. It felt like I'd just walked out of a movie theatre into the blinding sunlight, after forgetting the real world existed. "You have to jump, but I promise we're going to catch you!"