Inheritance

Chapter 40- Time Overtaken

I laid in the grass, my body feeling weak beyond belief. Abaddon desperately started bringing out bandages, trying to patch up my wounds. But I had spent my entire life fixing and healing wounds with my magic... I knew it was on use, and I could tell he knew it too.
I reached up, my hand shaking, and touched his cheek. He flinched and looked at me, concerned beyond belief. I saw the first signs of tears in his eyes.
He gently laid his hand over my own.
"Don't go... Please don't go Nico," he begged.
"Abaddon... You need... To move. Their going to come any second..." It was hard to get the words out. It felt like a iron band was around my chest, constricting my breathing. Even speaking was making me feel lightheaded and dizzy.
"I am not leaving you like this." he said with conviction, and I knew he wouldn't change his mind.
I felt my eyes watering.
"I c-can't heal myself even if I wanted to... I'll only slow you down."
"But... I..." He was at a loss for words, and I could feel my heart breaking for him. The look in his eyes, the feel of his hand... It was too much. But I forced myself to stay strong. I would not have us both dying.
"P-please..." I whispered, a tear spilling down my cheek.
His eyes widened and he shook his head. I saw a few shadows curl off of his shoulder, and I wondered at it mutely. My vision started dimming, and before I lost the last dredges of my strength I said.
"Abaddon... I love you."
My eyes closed, and all was darkness.

It felt... Cold.
I felt my soul as it drifted aimlessly around in the darkness.
The iron band was still there, but now it burned into my skin with icey fire.
I couldn't think.
I couldn't breathe.
I thought I heard his voice, a shout perhaps, or a scream. And I felt something shift in the inky blackness.
Then there was nothing...

I gasped and sat up, opening my eyes. My heart pounded in my chest, my breathing irregular. I swallowed, regaining my composure.
Was that a dream..? It had to be. I was still alive.
The first thing I noticed was the roof. It was stone, and cracked slightly, as if it had been there for a long time. Then I saw the iron bars that surrounded me, and the cold plank suspended from the wall which was my bed.
A horror crept at the edge of my mind, a suspicion I was not willing to admit to. I stood up and went to the window, but stopped as my wrist tugged against me. I turned my head to look and saw a manacle wrapped around it, chained to the wall by my bed.
"No..." I whispered. This couldn't be happening. I shouldn't be in prison.
Then a hope sparked in my chest. Maybe Abaddon would save me. I mean, he always said that if we got caught we would break out together. Maybe... Maybe he's going to bust through the wall any minute, his shining scythe in hand, and we would fly away together and live happily ever after. Yes... Yes maybe he's just waiting for the right moment. Obviously I was here for awhile. My stomach was rumbling, my throat dry. He's probably recovering from the fight.
Then I heard a creak and bang as a metal door opened, and pounding feet coming down the hall. I strained against the chains, and found I could get within 4 feet of the bars before it stopped me. The footsteps seemed to echo around me.
Then I saw them. Four guards and a nobleman standing in front of me. He had white hair and cold, calculating, eyes. He could not have been much older then us, yet he seemed quite intimidating.
"Nico. It was about time you ended up in these halls. You have quite a lot to answer for."
I raised my chin and looked him square in the eyes.
"I have nothing but my own conscience to answer to, you rich scumbag. Tell me where I am."
He raised a eyebrow, mildly impressed by my wordplay. But in truth I felt powerless, more so then I would have liked to admit.
"You are under King Lucifer's castle, in the dungeon by the forest of Shin Tuiga, and here you will remain here until we get the information we need."
I narrowed my eyes at him.
"I will not tell you anything. Besides, why would I bother? I have nothing to fear. My partner, Abaddon, will break me out. And I can assure you he will destroy you if he finds out what part you had to play in this."
The nobleman studied me.
"You don't know, do you?"
"Know what?"
"Then again, you were half dead when we found you. I would be surprised if you remember anything."
"What are you talking about?"
"Your great partner, Abaddon by name and Dark Reaper by title, is dead. He killed himself with a burst of raw magic, focused at his own heart. Everyone in close proximity died or got severely hurt. None survived... Except you. You seem to remain unaffected by the magic, for the most part."
"No... It can't be... Your lying! He's stronger then that he... He has good control over his powers! He would never kill himself..." Even I didn't believe the words. I backed away from the cell door, looking down. Grief clutched me, threatening to destroy my very being.
The nobleman just lifted up something small, and shiny. I looked up and saw it was a black crystal shard. He tossed it to me, and I caught it numbly.
"There's your proof, scoundrel. Illusions and fairytales don't leave pieces of a dead heart behind."
My hand glowed slightly and I touched the crystal, my fingers trembling. I felt his magic coursing through it... This... This really was...
Tears rolled down my cheek as I cried silently, not even bothering to look at them. I held the crystal to my chest and sobbed, losing myself to my grief and pain. It should have been me, not him... He didn't deserve it. He deserved true happiness, a place where no-one could hurt him. He had already been through so much...
And he left before our happily ever after.