Chapter 64: Fade In (5)
Now Liam Moore seemed barely alive. My hands trembled naturally, likely because I wasn’t ready to lose him. I touched his neck. A faint, almost imperceptible pulse flickered under my fingers. It felt as though it might stop at any moment.
“He’s held on for a long time. Even when he was thrown to be its prey, he kept resisting. It must have been a pain like having his nerves severed. Anyway, like father, like son, right?”
I had to keep talking. I had to buy time until I could think of something.
“What is this painting? Why is Liam Moore in a place like this?”
“Oh, it’s nothing special. I just needed a bit of Liam Moore’s power. Got quite a lot, actually.”
The voice explaining all this was gradually changing, sounding less and less like Herschel Hopkins. It was now a young man’s voice. I could see something behind Herschel. Black horns, those were the first things I noticed.
Herschel fell helplessly to the ground as the figure stepped over him and slowly ascended onto the painting. Just then, my vision blurred. It felt as though a thin veil covered my eyes, making it hard to discern its shape. Darkness was gathering.
[I was bored. Waiting so long made me hungry. But these impudent little creatures kept interfering. They are just ants, but if they keep crawling up your leg, what do you do?]
A black shadow approached me.