Rapture

Death

The king extends his hands towards us, the gold of his eyes gleaming with a smile.

I reach out, and to my surprise, my hand passes through his. Wetness coats my skin, and I blink in confusion.

Fog?

I try to touch his chest, and his form breaks into a cascade of thick, dark tainted vapors. I snap my gaze aside, and see the queen's hand is slipping from mine. I turn and try to grab her, and she dissolves into fog between my arms.

Terror drums my heart, the rhythm thumping inside my ears.

Is this a nightmare?

I ask myself as dark steam pours and covers the earth. The moon and the sun shudder above, snapping into erratic motion that makes the sky flash and crack with lighting and color. Then it all falls dark.

I scream out the top of my lungs, but no sound comes out. I wave my arms, searching for grip in the darkness, though my fingers find only fog.

I start to run. But there is no ground for my feet to push against. I'm floating helpless in nothing. Am I nothing now too?

It might be a moment, and might be eternity in the dark. Then I hear laughter.

The sound echoes from everywhere, both soft and sharp. Evil and innocent. Light appears above me, and a child comes down.

Big eyes blue like ice meet mine. And he smiles with sharp, pearly teeth. He seems no older than four, but he walks the darkness like it's home.

"Come, Elena." His smile widens, his small hand taking mine in a sure grip. "We've got a lot to do."