Chapter 34
CHAPTER
It took some time to prepare everything, but we were soon setting off to hunt for the invaders.
There were a lot of faces I had never seen before with us, too many to greet at once. Nicron had merely smirked as he passed me while we traveled. Had Michlael told him about Malakai and my failure in the trial?
“I’m not sure if I feel safer or more concerned with all these Aetherions around us,” Nate murmured, trying to keep his voice low. “I mean, no one would dare attack us, but what if a demon just teleported out of one of them?”
“Because demons clearly teleport,” Ashley snorted, rolling her eyes. “I bet something big must happen before they resort to asking a demon for help, right? It’s not like they pick them up like a lost puppy by the sidewalk.”
“Well… when you put it like that,” Nate muttered awkwardly.
“I’ll be sure to warn you when a demon seems friendlier than you, brother,” Mey teased with a devilish smile on her lips.
“Right, so much safer,” Nate mumbled, shivering.
I glanced over at Malakai walking a few paces ahead, he seemed unfazed, shoulders loose, carefree.
If he was bothered, he didn’t let it show in the slightest. Did he ever take it personally, considering that he was at least part demon, or was he rejecting that part completely and siding with us in those moments?
As if pulled by an invisible thread, his eyes slid to mine, noticing me staring as he arched a brow. “Sweetie,” his voice carried over the crunch of boots hitting dirt. “Stare that hard, and people might think you’ve developed… an interest.”
My stomach knotted itself at what he implied.
“Wha—I wasn’t staring!” I scowled, averting my eyes, which only seemed to amuse him.
“Of course not.” His smirk curved sharper. “Just… reliving fond memories, perhaps?”
My step faltered, as heat began surging across my cheeks.
He wouldn’t. Not here.
“You—” I hissed, quickening my pace until I leveled with him. “Keep that mouth sealed.”
His eyes sparkled with mischievousness, reveling in my reaction. “What? You mean I’m not supposed to talk about our kiss?”
My hand swung out and pressed against his lips, silencing him. “Stop, don’t utter another word!”
Behind us, Ashley’s voice rang out, oblivious. “Hey, what are you two whispering about?”
Malakai grabbed my wrist, removing my hand from his lips.
“Should I tell her or will you?” He grinned wickedly.
That piqued her interest even further, her eyes almost glittering at whatever we were holding secret.
“I—” I struggled finding an excuse, lying to her didn’t sit well with me.
“I’m part demon,” Malakai uttered, the words rolling off his tongue so easily, we almost missed the importance of it. But the air shifted, grew colder as we all held our breaths for the next moment.
Had anyone else heard?
“That’s not even funny,” Ashley snorted. “I would’ve believed you if you tried telling me you were a mage too, but a demon? That’s stretching the joke a bit too far.”
I swallowed hard, Malakai chuckled dryly. “Yes, you’re right.”
Ashley sighed, disappointed and continued past us. I nudged his shoulder. “Why did you do that?”
His eyes slid back to mine, a moment of pause stretched, before he raised his fingers, flicking my forehead.
“Hey!” I snapped, rubbing the spot he struck.
“I’m waiting, sweetie,” he answered, slowly, dragging each word out.
“I’m patiently waiting for you to acknowledge whatever you feel for me, in spite of what I am.
And I’ll continue waiting, even if it takes a life-time, even if you end up choosing the sniper boy in this one.
I’ll wait for the time you choose me and then, I’ll cherish it, even if it only lasts for a few seconds. ”
My breath hitched, my heart stuttering while listening to his words.
He noticed, his eyes softening as a warm smile spread on his lips, earnest, contagious, filling my body with heat.
Then he snagged my hand, forcing his fingers between mine, braiding them, as he tugged me along and continued our walk.
My eyes were glued to them, flustered and still I didn’t even try to pull away, sparks igniting inside my palm. It didn’t matter how much I battled my feelings, he was always there, by my side, staying no matter how frightful I became or what hateful words I spewed.
And I kept asking myself, why?
The question burned hotter than any flame I could conjure. It was dangerous, this feeling that kept unfurling inside me, no matter how hard I tried to stomp it out.
Malakai came to an abrupt stop and I stared, baffled, up at him. “What?”
The mages around us all tensed as well. They moved up, taking cover as they crept forward.
A sudden hard tug on my hand forced me behind Malakai before I felt the earth shake and an explosion echo ahead of us. Nate sprinted and threw himself onto Ashley, knocking her down to the ground as another explosion went off, sending debris our way.
“Are you okay?” Mey shouted towards Nate and Ashley.
“Except for your brother needing to learn personal boundaries? Yes!” Ashley barked, pushing Nate away.
“You were too close to that blast!” Nate snapped back, pushing himself up. “You should be thankful.”
“Thanks for tackling me and feeding me mud, Nate,” she said through her teeth.
“Guys,” I cut through, stepping out and continuing past them, my eyes landing on the horror in front of us. The bombs had left nothing but devastation in their wake. Trees were burning, blown to pieces, the ground destroyed and then… blood, bodies and severed limbs.
“It was an ambush,” Malakai said flatly.
“Michlael!” I shouted out, searching.
No response, as all that was left was the crackling fires, the groans of mages dying and bleeding. They had gotten a lot of them, we would have been caught in it too, if we hadn’t been walking in the back.
Mey pulled me backwards. “Shh, are you stupid!? What if they attack again, or if they are hiding, waiting for us to show ourselves?”
“But…” I began, but she snapped her teeth at me.
“Let me take a look,” Mey continued, carefully stepping forward, lowering herself closer to the ground. We held our breath for a few moments, listening, but there was nothing but the grunts of the people out there, wounded, pleading for help.
“Perhaps they were just aiming to thin our numbers?” Ashley suggested, peeking out from beside a tree, watching the scene for herself.
“Or maybe, they were planted here earlier? Like a… what’s it called?” Nate pondered.
“Landmine,” Ashley filled in, her voice lowered.
“Possibly,” Malakai nodded in agreement.
I stepped forward carefully, surveying the area, but my eyes kept searching for Michlael.
“Careful—watch your every step and don’t put too much weight on one foot,” Ashley instructed firmly. Footsteps followed and when I turned, the rest of my team was already right behind me.
“We’ve got your back,” Mey reassured. “Find their leader.” I nodded towards her.
“How many of your bombs were stolen?” I turned to Ashley.
She pressed her lips into a thin line, darkness clouding into a storm inside her eyes. “These weren’t mine… but someone sure seems to have tried copying them. That is if they don’t have a bomb-specialist of their own, of course.”
“This is a disaster,” another voice clipped in.
My head darted to the side, as I saw Nicron casually stepping around the open field, looking around. “So many mages, lost.”
“We can still save some, not all of them are dead!” I argued. He turned and looked at me, his eyes blank, as if he had given up on emotions altogether.
These were his comrades, people he had trained with, saw everyday…
I couldn’t even begin to imagine what was going on inside of him right now.
The mere thought of it being any of my friends instead…
I hadn’t expected to grow so close to them, I thought I’d be able to keep my feelings locked tight and tucked away, but no…
I was not a good soldier, because my heart was on my sleeve, right out in the open.
“Do we have any medics?” I asked.
Nicron’s mouth twitched with bitterness. “You’re looking at some of them… but it seems a few of them are still standing.” He nodded towards the line of trees behind us, where a few heads peeked out, fear in their eyes.
“Then let’s move,” Malakai snapped, taking the lead. “Prioritize the ones who are still conscious, pull them back to the medic team.”
We nodded and began searching, moving slowly as we tried to secure the area at the same time.
Ashley was the petite one, so she kept watch, one hand on her gun and the other dipped into her pouch, probably clutching a bomb.
Nate easily moved some debris and found a couple of mages breathing, barely, but it was enough.
I kept searching, when I heard sobbing and I rushed towards it. I found a woman, in dirty green robes, her ginger hair wet against the sides of her face, wet with tears. Her blue eyes found mine, and her whole body trembled.
“It’s going to be okay, I’ve got you!” I stammered, as I saw her leg crushed underneath a large boulder.
She coughed out a dry chuckle, as she shook her head. “You’re lying. Everyone is lying.”
I bit the inside of my cheek, trying to find some more comforting words, but then her voice changed. “Lies, lies, lies!” she growled, her voice thick and dark, as her eyes began glowing.
“Keep it down!” I tried, using my hands to signal her in case she had lost her hearing in the explosion. But she didn’t stop.
I stumbled backwards, roots tossed the boulder aside. Shadows crept up from the ground and surrounded her. I heard awful cracking sounds from her leg, as it twitched and jerked back into its original shape and she pushed herself up.
“No,” I breathed, taking another step back.
She chuckled, but the voice wasn’t hers, something echoed inside of it, someone giving her the strength she needed to survive in her most desperate moment.
A demon.
Someone flashed before my eyes, blue robes flying in the wind as he swept in. A squelch sounded and Nicron plunged a dagger right into the woman’s heart. She gasped, choking on blood as she stared wide-eyed at him.
“I’m sorry,” he muttered. “But you can’t invite demons like that, it’s reckless.”
Her hand tugged desperately at his arm, before it fell back and her eyes went dark, lifeless.
He dropped her, like a sack of flour on the ground, staring in silence.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“Don’t be,” he answered flatly. “It was her choice to resort to summoning a demon.”
“Area secured!” Nate shouted somewhere behind us.
“No movement or trails,” Ashley confirmed from the opposite direction.
A groan sounded, not far from us. I froze for a brief second as I saw Nicron mourning his fallen, before I moved away towards the sound.
There was a tree that had fallen across the field as a result of the blast. Underneath the very top of it, where the branches were thinner, I found a wounded Michlael.
One of the thicker branches had broken off and stabbed him through the shoulder, pinning him to the ground.
It didn’t look too bad, considering, but perhaps it had burrowed deep into the ground, making it impossible for him to move.
Or maybe he had feared that the attackers would come to finish him off if he had displayed any signs of life.
“Ethalyn,” he breathed as his brown eyes landed on me. The desperation shone through, his determination to keep living.
“I’m here, tell me how I can help.” I began snapping off branches, opening up enough space for me to be able to pull him out. But I needed to remove the one pinning him down first.
“It’s stuck into the ground,” he explained, his words slow. “I’ll have to pull myself up from it, but…”
“You need my fire to not bleed out,” I nodded.
He gave me a look, and then his gaze travelled behind me, his face stiffening.
I looked back and saw Malakai looming, guarding us, his eyes glowing slightly.
“Get that thing away from me,” Michlael hissed.
“This thing is keeping your blood inside of your body right now,” Malakai snapped, clenching his teeth.
“What?”
“Not convinced?” Malakai lifted a brow, and I saw blush spreading across Michlael’s face. “Is this awkward enough, or should I try harder?” His voice was taunting, as a wicked grin spread.
“Blood-wielder,” Michlael whispered, his eyes widening slightly. “It’s impossible.”
“Call me a thing again, and I’ll show you just how possible it is,” Malakai growled.