The Remnants of War
Jayce
We have barely begun making our way through the drakaths when the ground beneath us trembles.
“What now?” Ahren sighs.
We all turn instinctively, steadying ourselves as another violent tremor ripples through the landscape. My eyes immediately catch on something moving amongst the cocoons.
One long fracture is tearing through the earth itself, creating a large gash. My stomach twists as I realise what it is.
“It’s a tear in the veil,” Heaven voices my thoughts. “Move!”
The ground suddenly rips open, and cocoons topple into the darkness as entire sections of earth collapse inwards.
Rock breaks apart beneath our feet, and everyone jumps back as a deafening crack echoes across the area.
My arm instantly wraps around Sienna’s waist, pulling her towards me as the land splits open.
A huge gash tears across the landscape, and through the fracture, I don’t see earth but something else.
The space beneath it shifts and ripples like liquid darkness; fragments of something unfamiliar flicker in and out of view.
“It’s huge,” Royce murmurs as the tear continues widening as we watch.
The edges aren’t stable. Reality itself seems to peel backwards, the air around it warping and distorting whilst strange pulses of energy roll from the opening.
“It must have been triggered by the amount of power released in one place.” Royce frowns.
“The veil would have been weak here to begin with,” Ahren adds.
“And it’s still growing,” Ares points out, his brows furrowed.
He’s right; the edges continue pulling apart as though something on the other side is trying to force its way through.
“It must have already been here,” I say, unable to drag my eyes away from it. “There had to be a way the drakaths entered this realm in the first place. I guess this just caused it to grow.”
Sienna glances up at me. I only then realise how tightly I’m holding her.
“I think I might be able to stop it,” she says suddenly.
My attention immediately snaps back to her. “How?”
Her wings unfurl behind her. “My demon abilities and... my aether.”
There’s no hesitation in her tone, and she frowns thoughtfully as she studies the tear.
“Aether exists between space and time. If anything can stitch the veil back together, it should be able to.” Then she hesitates. “May I try?”
The question hits harder than it should, because she doesn’t need my permission, but she had to ask.
The reminder twists something unpleasant inside my chest.
I force myself to nod. “Do whatever you wish.” The words come quietly. They are not the answer I would have given a few days ago.
I glance towards Ahren and immediately wish I hadn’t. The conflict in his eyes is impossible to miss. There is no anger there, no accusation, but something about the look still feels like a punch to the gut.
We both know there was no other choice, but we both hate that choice anyway.
Sienna pulls away from me, and I reluctantly let her go. Her wings beat once, then again, and then she rises into the air; the drakaths immediately react, turning towards the growing tear as though awaiting orders, their attention fixed entirely on the opening, waiting for a command.
Sienna lifts both hands, and her magic spreads through the surroundings as she focuses her attention on the tear. Dark, shadowy energy twists through the air, and the crack in the veil reacts.
The edges ripple and then pulse. I watch Sienna’s brow furrow as she pours more power into it, her hair lifting around her face whilst energy gathers in waves around her body.
For several long moments, nothing happens.
Then the tear stops spreading, and I realise that slowly, but surely, it’s beginning to draw back together.
“It’s working,” Heaven says as she levitates herself over to Sienna. “Take my energy and magic if you need it.”
“I can’t use your magic, but energy would be awesome,” Sienna murmurs, her eyes fixed on the gash that travels quite far across the ground.
“Then you have mine, too,” I say, holding my hand up to her. She nods slowly and smiles softly.
“Thanks…” Sienna murmurs.
“And mine,” Royce says.
“I guess I have no choice but to help, although at least one person needs to be at their strongest in case something shows up,” Ares adds.
“I’ll be that person,” Ahren remarks slyly. “I can teleport, remember?” he says, his tone somewhere between teasing and arrogant.
“Sure, run with your tail between your legs, demon.” Ares smirks, earning himself the middle finger from Ahren. Royce shakes his head, and I feel the sentiment.
“I’ll bring you all closer,” Heaven says clearly. Somehow, she’s composed herself, but I’m sure she’s still shaken from what happened with Endora.
I watch as the crack ripples as it continues to close slightly. It’s working; whatever she’s doing is working. If she can close cracks in the veil, it’s something that would give us an upper hand, as the tears in the veil have been popping up more frequently across the globe.
Things have gotten harder for our kind and humans. It makes sense: aether is the element that is made of something between space and time, and demons are not from this world. Together, it might just be the solution we need.
I watch as Heaven’s aura flows through to Sienna, and I feel the strain on the bond, feeling the impact it’s having on her. I step closer to Sienna, standing feet below her, reaching out to her through the bond.
Careful there, make sure you… Take care of yourself... I trail off, not wanting to command her, making sure to word my sentence carefully.
I’m ok. Don’t worry. Although I might need some of your energy soon, she answers, her voice strained but calm.
It’s yours.
A small smile graces her lips, but she keeps her attention on what she’s doing.
Heaven flicks her hands, and the rock from beneath my feet is ripped from the ground, and I’m brought up to stand beside Sienna; simultaneously, the same happens to Ares and Royce.
“At least give a fucking warning, woman,” Ares growls at Heaven, who simply arches an eyebrow and ignores him.
“Together,” Sienna says. “I think with enough force I can slam it shut.”
“Are you sure?” Ahren asks.
Sienna nods. “I am.”
“Alright, let’s do this,” Royce says as he reaches out and places a hand on her shoulder. Ares does the same, placing his hand on her other shoulder, and I reach over, placing my hand on her back, sparks dancing through my fingertips the moment I make contact with her skin.
“She’s pregnant, so let’s be careful,” I say quietly.
Ares whistles, whilst Royce smiles. “Congratulations.”
“What on earth…” Ahren mutters, now frowning, then sighs. “Just focus on what you’re doing.” He pinches the bridge of his nose, and if the situation weren’t so dire, I may have smiled.
My gaze returns to Sienna as our energy flows through her and her power surges to an incredible level; it’s so fucking intense that I almost struggle to breathe.
She’s a beacon of pure power, her eyes glowing, hair flowing around her, and an expression of pure determination fixed on her face as a trickle of sweat drips down her forehead.
I reach up, brushing it away, and her lips curve up slightly.
Thank you, Handsome.
Anytime.
This time, she smiles properly before she lets out a roar as she raises her hands and brings them together at the same time; the huge gash through the ground slams shut, debris exploding everywhere.
Sienna wavers, and I instantly support her firmly around the waist as she blinks away the dizziness, a hand to her gorgeous curls.
“I’m ok,” she murmurs.
“Good,” I reply softly.
“She fucking did it,” Ares murmurs, sounding pretty impressed.
“Did you have any doubts?” Royce asks.
“I did actually,” Ares admits bluntly.
Heaven smiles slightly as she examines the terrain beneath us before sending us all to the ground, the rocks we stood on fitting back into the spots they rose from.
She then floats down to the ground and flicks her hair. “That was impressive, Si.”
Sienna turns in my arms and smiles at me. “Thanks; you all helped. It was a group effort, excluding Ahren, of course,” she says, her hand caressing my bicep.
“I’m still stuck on the pregnancy part,” Ahren mutters, and they both exchange looks, probably mind-linking, but even then, Sienna remains leaning against me.
I lift her bridal style, and she gasps. “I can walk!” she protests.
“You’ve done enough walking for the day. Rest; I got you,” I reply.
She closes her mouth, a soft smile crossing her lips before she locks her arms around my neck and rests her head against my shoulder, deciding against arguing.
She’s exhausted, even if she pretends she isn’t.
“So let’s go find some life out here, and I don’t mean these freakazoids,” Ares grunts.
We all nod in agreement before Royce sets the course of direction.
We begin walking in silence, and I notice the drakaths following as we make our way back towards one of the other outposts.
“Before the dome fell, we were here,” Royce explains. “But we were trapped behind a barrier suddenly.”
As we get closer, I can sense other presences and the distinct smell of blood.
Its stench is so fucking intense I stop in my tracks, looking across the snow-covered ground; blood soaks parts of the snow, the colour going from dark red to pink in certain areas.
And the bodies – so many bodies lay in the snow, surrounded by a pool of bloody snow, and my stomach twists.
These weren’t killed by the drakaths but by Vincenzo and the Indomitable.
I swallow as Sienna slowly slides out of my hold, her heart thumping as we look at the bodies lined up. There are countless bodies.
Far ahead, there’s light peering out of the broken barracks, and I stride towards it, making sure not to step on any of the dead.
A few vampires stand guard, and I realise with sinking clarity that the majority of the dead are wolves.
The vampires all tense seeing the drakaths, but I step forward.
“They are now under our command; it’s safe,” I say clearly through the howling wind.