28. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

" W hat do you mean there is nothing you can do?" Elaine demanded. "Surely there is something—anything—that might be able to…"

Nora waved a weary hand from her chair and chuckled dryly. "You're talking about an immense amount of power. Best case, it's a little from the six and a half thousand residents in this god-awful place that currently breathe or, it's from everyone that's lived here in the past five hundred years. Which I would point out is a lot more people."

Elaine slumped into the opposite chair and raked her fingers through her hair. "Then either I—" She caught herself and sighed. "Do you think Aya could bring everyone back?"

Nora's gaze flicked to the flames, burning low among the blackened logs. "I don't know."

It was the last thing she wanted to hear, though a little voice had whispered, ‘what did you expect'? Nothing had really gone smoothly for them. Why had she hoped this might be any different? She leaned forward on her knees and frowned into the fire. The gods entrusted their marks to her, so hypothetically, her body could contain a large amount of magic.

But it would drive you mad, which is why you never accepted all the marks before, her inner voice reminded.

"It would kill you," said Nora.

Elaine blinked. "What?"

"Absorbing that much power. You may be strong but not even you would survive that."

A protest rose up her throat. Elaine's lips parted, the very words ready to spill from her lips and—

BANG!

The world shuddered suddenly. Elaine lurched out of the chair. Nora flew out of hers, catching Elaine before she hit the ground. Another deafening bang thundered through the club, rattling her bones. Dust fell from the ceiling, only to whip up in a flurry as the floor shook again. She staggered away from Nora and tried to stand.

"What's going on?"

Without speaking, Nora grabbed her hand and hauled toward the door. They stumbled down the stairs, meeting Zari and Sabra. The pair appeared flushed, the former with a tight scowl melting away as Nora approached.

"Demons," Zari spoke in a low, husky drawl.

Dread plunged an icy dagger into Elaine's chest.

"Wait, weren't you all responsible for the last two?" she asked.

Nora slanted her a weary look. "Not the first one. We were…trying to help."

Outside, thundering roars spilled into the air. Hundreds of them. Elaine sucked in a deep breath and called upon the fire of Arcan. Tiny flames sparked along her fingers.

"Nora, we must fight!" Zari said, their voice hardening. "These demons call for blood."

"Can you sense who commands them?" Nora asked.

Zari shook their head. "Same as before. No idea."

"Fuck!" Nora spun to the door. "Just once I would very much like a fucking break."

Elaine's brows flew skyward.

Nora plunged out onto the street, Zari quick behind her. Elaine glanced to Sabra. She wasn't about to follow the first two, but Sabra would do whatever she asked.

Sabra levelled back a grim look. "Aya would be pissed if you got hurt."

"She'd be pissy if you got hurt too, idiot. Now, what are we waiting for?"

They plunged into the street, chaos slamming into them from all sides. Screams met her ears. Blood, thick and acrid, came next.

Elaine plunged into the fray. Fire burst from her palms, wrapping around her hands. Dianera's healing glow slipped through her veins next, stealing her body against the fight.

Boots pounded over the hardened earth. Elaine dug deep, gritting her teeth, as she flung herself around the first corner and out onto the main street. A wave of chaos crashed over her. Everywhere she looked, demons in armor, blue-skinned and dark-eyed, fought with locals. Vampires leapt through the air with snarling cries. A wolf exploded from the shadows of an alley, ripping a demon's head clean off. Black blood arced across the road.

Screams thickened among the cacophony. Elaine plunged after Sabra, firing blasts as demons rushed at them. Two blows struck true, dropping a demon, and wounding another. She dropped low as they launched through the air, and she pivoted at the last second and flung both palms forward. Fire exploded into existence, tearing through the air, and the demon, until only ash fell.

She turned sharply and dashed after Sabra. They wove through the crowds, cutting down demons and helping where they could. Blood roared in her ears, nearly devouring the screams and snarls, and clashing of metal. In the corner of her eye, she caught Nora carving her way through. A glowing blade burned like a sun in her hand, demons incinerated on impact.

What the fuck?

There was no time to react as someone slammed into her. The back of her head struck the ground. Stars flashed over her vision. Someone screamed her name. Elaine flung her hands up, roaring as light tore from her chest. The pressure on her chest vanished in a blink. Sabra appeared over her, yanking her to her feet before she could even think.

"I told you, try not to fucking die!" Sabra snapped.

Elaine snarled as she fired a blast of fire past Sabra's shoulder. A demon exploded behind her. "And Aya would fucking murder me if you died!"

"I'm not going to—"

Sabra jolted to the side, a scream tearing from her throat. The next thing Elaine saw was Sabra falling, blood spilling to the ground. She exploded forward as she yanked back a hand and flung it forward. An icy spear launched from her palm. The demon slammed into a wall, pinned like a bug.

Elaine spun away and yanked Sabra up. Ignoring the string of curses spilling from those bloodied lips, she shot Sabra a warning look.

"What did I say about not dying?" she retorted and slammed her palm into Sabra's wound. Fire flared beneath her hand.

Sabra's head snapped back with a broken scream.

She tore her hand away. The wound was burned shut. It wasn't a great fix but would do until she healed.

There was no time to stop as they plunged back into the fray, fighting their way along the street. Everywhere she looked demons battled against the locals. Mangled bodies shredded to bloodied ribbons littered the street. The metallic stench choked every breath, and soon Elaine's dress was splattered and torn.

Her strength was slowly fading.

She forced herself on, refusing to stop.

"Where's Zari?" she screamed.

"Over there!" Sabra took off, darting through the chaos.

"Oh, for fucks sake!" Elaine chased in pursuit.

Far across the road, Zari flipped a demon over their back and drove a sword into its chest. As they yanked the blade out, their head jerked up.

"Where are the demons coming from?" Sabra growled. "I can't sense a portal."

"They didn't come from the demon realm." A demon came at Zari, forcing them to parry the blows before they sliced their sword right through the demon's neck. As the body dropped, Zari frowned at the chaos. "They were already here."

"What?"

"What do you think is guarding the prison of Aurora?"

Elaine strode forward. She'd had enough of secrets. Ribbons of fire swirled around her as she bore down on Sabra's frame. The battle fell away from her mind.

"When the fuck were you going to mention that?" she snarled.

Zari's gaze narrowed. "When it was relevant for you to know."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. They were in the middle of a battle, being attacked by demons she was now coming to learn were special guardians, and Zari knew the whole fucking time.

"Watch out!" Sabra shouted.

Something flashed toward her. Elaine dropped to the ground as a spear hissed through the air and struck the wall. A hair's breadth from Zari's head.

Elaine shot to her feet and spun around, blasting the demon racing toward her. Fire shot from her palm and tore right through their chest, blowing a hole clean enough through she saw the whole battle raging in the wound. The demon crumpled to the ground.

Her heart thundered in her chest, roaring a storm in her ears she couldn't drown out. Sweat ran down her, leaving her tattered dress clinging to her body. Every part of her hurt and ached, the strain of the magic wearing her down.

"Why are they attacking here? Why aren't they doing their job?"

Zari was at her side, slashing at the attackers with effortless grace. "We don't know. The attacks seem random."

"Any ideas how to stop them?"

Zari's face pinched. "I—"

The words died as the demons suddenly stopped.

The whole battle seemed to freeze. Even the screams cut off. A strange silence claimed the Dusk Quarter, as though the land were holding its breath. Waiting. The locals seemed stunned, staring at their now frozen attackers.

Elaine was about to ask what the fuck was happening when she felt it. The pressure nudging at her mind, the voice whispering through. As clear as ever, echoing with the same, ancient magic.

Stop.

A command, not for Elaine or for those with her, but for the demons.

And in a single moment, the demons blinked away in plumes of smoke.

Zari straightened up and cursed.

From the crowd, Nora jogged over. Even running, she moved with an ethereal grace Elaine found herself jealous of. Bloodied and her hair an absolute mess, Nora still looked like a damn goddess.

She straightened up, trying to bury the acid pawing at her throat.

"Did you get a lock on them?" Nora asked.

Zari shook her head. "No. It's the same as before."

Something in Elaine snapped.

She paced the office, glaring at the floor. Even Sabra appeared restless and scowling, leaning against a nearby wall with her arms crossed over her chest. Her face was hard, unflinching, as she scowled at Zari across the room. Nora was out speaking with some of her workers but assured them she would be in shortly. She promised she would explain, and Elaine decided she wasn't going anywhere until she got some answers.

After what felt like an eternity, the door creaked open. It seemed to move so slowly she wondered if time itself had slowed, and the snapping remark for it to hurry the fuck up danced on her lips. Gods, she really needed to sleep. She never expected a world ending threat to be what kept her awake most nights.

Nora swept in, having changed into a clean red dress with a thigh high slit and a plunging neckline. It seemed wildly too showy for the circumstances, but she was beginning to realize this was who Nora was—glamorous and beautiful, but dangerous and clearly very cunning. Her piercing blue eyes locked on Zari first, and the demon faced her, shaking her head. A shadow of frustration pinched Nora's face before she moved again, approaching Elaine.

"We heard long ago there were guards on Aurora's imprison, designed both to keep unwelcome outsiders away and to ensure the goddess remained where she was."

Elaine stopped pacing, tilting her head with a quizzical frown. "So why are they suddenly attacking?"

"We're not sure. We weren't entirely sure at first of the connection. Zari thought someone might've opened a damn portal and brought them through, but we managed to examine one of the bodies. We found the mark of our goddess and we began to think perhaps they were the same. This attack made it clear, which is why we didn't say anything."

Zari finally wandered over. "I found several more with marks and they didn't fight like normal soldiers. There was something wild and uncoordinated about them, and I tried to speak to them in several languages of our kind. They only responded to one. A very old language that few of my kind even know."

Sabra pushed off the wall and stalked over. "And how do you know it?"

There was no ignoring the biting accusation in her words or how Zari flinched at them, as if each word were a physical blow, and they wilted a little beneath them.

"I always held a love of knowledge and language. You know that," Zari replied evenly. "I learned it at the Helsturn Academy before I joined the army."

Sabra stilled. "You went to the academy?"

There was a little note of wonder and caution in her voice.

Zari waved a hand. "I was kicked out, being an awful student and such. I never liked to talk about it, and I was quite content to bury that part of my life."

"Even from me ?"

Elaine's heart ached from the quiet sadness in her friend's voice. She inched a little closer until they were side by side.

Zari looked away, eyes downcast. "It was another life." They shook their head, as if dispelling a terrible memory from their mind. "What it means is that I'm good with different languages and those demons only recognized the oldest one. The problem was, they froze a little at it but couldn't respond. It was like they were mad."

"Mad?" Sabra echoed.

Zari nodded. "Magic would've been used to anchor them to this place. Maybe with the barrier weakening and everything else, their own anchor is crumbling. It would explain the random attacks."

"But you're not sure?" Elaine asked.

"There's no way to be sure unless we can try and follow one back. Problem is, we can't seem to latch onto the moment they leave. It's as though one moment they're fighting viciously, the next they're gone."

A frown drew her brow down. "What do you mean? The battle stopped. Everyone was kind of frozen."

It was her turn for everyone to look at her like had quite literally lost her god damn mind. She stared back, still very much confused by their reaction. The battle had stopped, and she swore she'd seen the locals looking very much confused. Hadn't she? Had that been what she saw? Or was her mind simply telling her that because the truth was that much more bizarre.

Nora took a step closer. "What did you see? Hear?"

"Hear?" she echoed, and immediately thought of Aurora's voice in her mind. "I heard—"

The door flung open. A young woman stood in the doorway, gripping the frame. Her cheeks were bright red, glistening with sweat. Unlike Nora, tattered and bloodied clothes hung off her, and she looked like she'd been running.

"Nora! You have to come quick."

The way in which Nora turned and a strangely motherly mask slid into place, completely hiding the woman she was coming to know, threw Elaine for a moment. She barely registered the babble of words rushing from the young girl.

"The crack…"

"Widening?"

The next words snapped Elaine's world into focus.

"The forest is burning! Purgatory is on fire!"