When We Were Still Human by Vaughn Foster (best ereader for textbooks .txt) 📕

the crowd before turning to face each other again. Without any cue, they ran towards the edge. Freyr grabbed a ring overhead and Freya dove towards him. She reached out her hand to his and... He missed.

The Twins were overwhelmed. Whatever attacked them was strong. Avia couldn’t see their foe, its shape somehow staying out of frame, but she could feel its bloodlust through the terror in their eyes. The twins had believed that they were in the clear and that Freyr had fought it off. But Freya was still in danger.

Freyr farther extended his hand and grabbed her finger, only for it to snap off like a pencil. Freya threw out her other hand and he caught it, but the speed of her decent severed her wrist from his grasp. Freyr dove forward, releasing the ring and grabbing onto the tight rope as he made an attempt at her left side again. He caught it, but Freya immediately wrenched her body to the side, ripping her arm from its socket as she plummeted downward.

It wasn’t enough. Freyr did his best to rescue Freya, but it was futile. The enemy was too strong. When it came to the end, they were left with two choices—Freya had to sacrifice herself or they would both die.

Freya plummeted for what felt like forever. The music faded and Avia stared wide-eyed as Freyr let go of the rope. He fell towards his sister, hands extended, with no realistic way to save either of them.

The organ struck again. Avia looked back at the marionettes to see they were spreading across the stage. Each one ripped off a part of its wooden body and threw it into the air. For whatever reason, the pieces didn’t fall back to earth, but instead came to a pause in midair. Freyr took the opportunity to leap across the wooden limbs until he was close enough to catch Freya over his shoulder. With a final kick, he shot them back into the air and grabbed on to the tightrope with his free hand.

All of the mirage weren’t dead. There were still creatures in the forest that saw what the twins had done to save them. For love and honor, they sacrificed themselves in an effort to repay an irredeemable debt.

But it wasn’t enough.

Freyr rocked back and forth on the wire in an attempt to build momentum. Seconds later, he lunged forward and shot himself to the nearest ring. His left arm stretched out while his right held on to his sister. Right as his finger brushed the wooden ring, it crumbled to dust. All of the ropes snapped and fell to the floor, where the marionettes now lay lifeless.

The image reel shattered and vanished. Avia gulped as the truth of that day became clear—Freyr and Freya had lost the battle.

The siblings began their descent. As they fell, a loud, thundering beat echoed like syncopated gusts of wind.

 Woosh. Woosh. Woosh.

Avia darted her eyes around the room but didn’t see anything. The music had slowed, but the dark presence in the room had amplified. Her stomach lurched and bile burned the back of her throat. The Mark on her arm now scorched like a hot iron, and the orange tint from her “dragon eyes” flared a deep red.

In the gods’ descent, she could now see black cords around their limbs as well. There were no smiles at this part of the act. Their eyes were glossed and calm. But in her current state, Avia could clearly see the truth. Behind red eyes was raw, frothing rage. It was the type of rage that could have only been kindled by time.

The whoosh was now an ear-splitting thunder, but the air in the tent stayed still. Avia covered her ears in an attempt to quiet the roar, but it only amplified.

A cannon of dark energy struck her chest, and she rolled from her seat like a rag doll. A booming crack exploded on all sides. The back wall of the tent tore and stone crumbled through the hole. Darkness like living shadows bled through the crack as a giant creature dove through the opening. Its grey skin was scarred where eyes should have been. Its enormous mouth was lined with thousands of tiny, sharp teeth. Its body was nearly the size of the ring itself; each wing could have easily supported the weight of the elephants that had just been on stage.

Before she could even process what her body was doing, Avia was leaping from the stands. Fire blasted from her palms as she hurled herself at the beast. Reeling back, she formed a gauntlet of magma and slashed at the creature as hard as she could. The claws of the gauntlet sank into flesh.

The monster shrieked before thrashing and writhing in the air. Avia fought to hold on but was flung from its back like an insect. Her skull crashed against the stone aisle of the bleachers. Colors and shapes swam across her vision, and for the briefest moment, she longed for the clarity that only a line of blow provided.

Another shriek brought her back to the circus. Fire licked her skin as the flames pulled her back to her feet. The darkness in the room was like kerosene. It poured in gallons, drenching her body until she could barely stand.

The creature had already forgotten about her. Its massive form had turned around and was hovering above the opposite side of the tent. Avia took a step but nearly fell back as a heat wave blasted from her core. She gritted her teeth against the power and waited for it to pass. Her gaze shot back at the monster. It hadn’t moved. It was just staring at the crowd.

Avia forced another step, but nausea and dizziness made her pause. She waited for the wave to pass. Her flames had never reached that magnitude.