After Reid forced his way past Alex in front of the Shadow, he realized he wasn’t afraid. Something within urged him on. He heard the distant beating drums, as if calling out to him through another time, and he acted on instinct born into his blood.
Words, chanted melodies, hundreds of intermingled voices reached out to him.
Darkness pricked at his body and evil swirled around him like a tornado, but the steady beat of the drums kept his heart and mind calm.
The flying devil-beasts nipped at his feet, ankles, and calves, but he couldn’t feel it. Couldn’t feel his body any longer. With his eyes closed, he laughed and the sound of it was foreign even to him.
King Philip, his great ancestor, appeared behind those closed eyelids, dancing around a fire. His almond-shaped eyes implored Reid, searching him out through the fire. His prominent cheekbones set high and wide in his strong face. Muscular arms reached up, spread wide as he pumped his moccasin-clad feet into the ground with each step. Reid kept his eyes squeezed shut, afraid that if he opened them, Philip would disappear.
The King dipped his head to the ground, baring his headdress, a single woven band topped with four feathers.
Four feathers, one for each of my friends. Chills raced through Reid’s heart.
King Philip stopped his dance, looked back up at Reid and extended a hand. The more
Reid reached out, the further away King Philip became. But the King’s feet didn’t move and neither did Reid.
Drums were still beating and voices still chanting, but the king was fading from view.
Finally, all of it stopped and the image of King Philip became clear once again as he stepped into the fire. If Philip felt the fire, he didn’t show it. As the flames danced around him, enveloped him, he stood firm.
“Inside.” The king pounded his chest twice with a fist, pointed to Reid, then disappeared, leaving nothing but the flames.
Reid realized what he needed to do. Maybe, what he’d been born to do. He had led his friends into this house despite knowing the stories, the horrors that might lie within. Knowing what his ancestor had gone through hundreds of years ago.
He’d been childish and it had cost his friends their lives. But one friend remained, and he couldn’t stand by and let that life be taken, too.
With the blood of King Philip coursing through his veins, his courage pushed him forward.
All his experiences—the darkness, the loss—had brought him to this place. This was what he was meant to do. He would be the one to stop it all. Yes, he was strong enough, brave enough. Yes, he would win.
Or so he hoped.
Reid took one step closer to the beast, tipped his head back and flung his hands to his sides as if expecting an embrace. He closed his eyes and dropped his mouth open.
Beating drums echoed again in the distance.