“Containment!” I roar, feeling the tug of magic pour from my hands, trapping them all inside an invisible box of my design. Gold sigils take shape over their enclosure as they pound against my barrier with hopes of shattering it. I pull on the little magic I have left, keeping our violent enemies at bay when a delayed, breathless wolf leaps from the woods, making a b-line towards Angie and the others.
I divide my magic, turning and tracking the beast, which causes my aura to falter.
“Focus, Ethan. They’ll be fine,” Alex advises, and I can sense the glooms’ desperate palms slamming against the walls of their prison. “Devour,” he snarls, raising a hand.
Inside the box, a massive slit rips through the air as lightning crackles around it. Growing larger, it sucks every gloom and turned wolf into it, imploding their bodies after entering. Those fighting to hold on are met with intense volts of electricity, and my symbols trace along their skin, pulling flesh from bone.
Sorrowful cries are swallowed by Alex’s galaxy pull and silenced as my abilities remove their heads. None survive.
Depleted, we release our spells, dropping to our knees and catching our breath. My head has been spinning with an overall flaming sensation atop my skin. Even now, my vampirine nature feels sluggish, but this drawn-out battle of dire proportions is complete, further increasing the knowledge of our foes and the information they’re after.
Facing the group, I recall an enemy who avoided my prison as relief squeezes my lungs. Exhaling, I see the blackened wolflying dead at Terra’s feet. “Thank the Gods.”
Breathless, Alex huffs, “We need to…report this. Not a single wolf of this tribe survived. A group of glooms couldn’t have done this alone.”
“I know, but this wasn’t an ordinary group of glooms. Some were special, wielding multiple magical properties and formidable. I can’t begin to fathom the amount of souls they’ve collected.”
“Agreed. I realized that after one spoke of devouring my soul. Lower tier glooms can’t form complete sentences.”
Footfalls sound in our direction as the group makes their way over. Terra is back in her fay form, naked and coated in shadowy blood, still removing rotten chunks of flesh from her hair. Angie’s eyes glow white upon arriving, and Alex stands, catching her as she collapses in his arms. Her blood pools beneath his shadow from a wound across her abdomen, too deep to heal.
“Ethan, we need to leave. Her aura’s fading!” Alex panics, knowing it’s our fault for her disastrous situation.
I try to stand and plop to a knee once more, my vision blurring with an ache clenching my core. Ever since arriving, something has felt off. Life draining in a sense. Regardless, Death tugs Angie into the afterlife, and I’d sooner die than let it happen.
Thinking alike, Alex and I combine sigils, placing a gold and black circle beneath our large group with a wide enough radius to fit everyone. Mixed hues encompass us all, and we vanish, spawning outside our medical wing. Fatigue teeters me on the verge of passing out, but I endure. At least until she is safe and recovering.
Facing Terra who is near the brink of tears, I see agony across her features, and I’m fighting against my own, trying to keep the worst from consuming me. “Get everyone checked out and report to Rebecca. We’ll see you soon.” My voice trembles, and she nods before taking off, leaving the three of us here. “Come on, Angie, stay with us,” I whisper as we rush inside.
I push every drop of magic I have remaining into her, hoping something pushes back. Nothing responds, and I prepare to travel into Persephone’s domain to bring back my half-sister from the Underworld’s Goddess.
Alexand I have been waiting outside her medical room for hours, replenishing our magic at a slower rate since being depleted. Even Elizabeth checked us out, fearing we too were knocking on Death’s door.
“Ethan, Alex, I have news,” Elizabeth says as she steps out. “Angie will be fine. A day or two of rest, and she’ll make a full recovery. Her aura was fleeting, but thank the Gods she was able to pull a little from elsewhere, helping to save her life along with her will to live.” She smiles and a shower of ease bathes over me.
With my father, mother, sister, and other brother deceased, Angie has been taking on the role of my family since Alex lost all semblance of his past. “Go update Rebecca. There’s one last thing I need to take care of before joining you,” I say, standing and exhaling in tandem. The upcoming conversation with a stubborn woman might place me back here by the night’s end.
Without another word, a shimmering gold sigil reflects against the marble surroundings, and I transport in a blink. Emerging inside my room, I know I’m stalling, but I’m in desperate need of a shower.
It doesn’t take long to rid myself of the filth and grime, scrubbing blood and hidden lumps of gloom’s flesh from my skin. Deep cleaning my hair, I reflect on a promise made to Angie’s mother. A vow which I almost broke and could have cost Angie her life.
Dragging a hand down my face, an ache twists within my chest at the thought of losing her. We were careless tonight, and this slash across my side is a burning reminder of such failures.
The sound of footfalls increases towards the bathroom door, and I shut off the water, stepping out. My aura spikes with frigid indignation filtering through me.Celine.The door pushes open, revealing one outraged viper.
“Celine, let me explain.” I fling my hair behind me as warm droplets of water turn cold atop my flesh. She takes her final steps, entering the bathroom with glowering, jaded eyes. “It’s not what you think. You know I would’ve called you.”
A literal hiss tangles into her voice. “Did you fight, yes or no, Ethan?”
“Yes, but we didn’t go with the intention of doing so. We were ambushed.”
“Ambushed?” She takes a step closer. “Explain why thefuckyou’d go into battle and not call upon me?” Her anger slices me deeply.
“We weren’t expecting a fight. At least not like that. I figured we’d run into a few glooms, at most. Not an entire army, consisting of specials and converted shifters.” Celine traces me up and down,disgusted and hurt all at once, and she has every right. This I’m aware of.
“You knew better, Ethan, yet you still went alone!” she yells, and her tears reflect betrayal.
“This isn’t the time.”
