Solis Falling (Aurelian Guild)
Elion
He thought they still had time.
He’d been wrong.
A gut-wrenching scream pierced the evening air, loud and shrill as it cut across their Quarter of the city.
He could feel the power behind it even from across The Rift, and his heart fractured as he prayed to Aeternus that he would stop the sound.
That they would be able to end those screams before they started.
Another scream echoed the first, longer and stronger as its owner fought back, before it too faded into the depths.
And just as before, he could do nothing to stop it.
He clenched his inked hands into fists at his sides, his own soul shattering as two more lives were claimed by The Rift.
Why, he did not know . . . no one in his entire stars-damned Guild had been able to find the answer.
Another scream ricocheted off the walls of The Rift that divided Aurelia into Quarters.
Elion’s fist slammed into the side of the smooth bulletproof ledge he sat perched upon, his knuckles bursting, marring the surface in the evening light.
It was time . . . Aeternus had spoken. The screams needed to end; the darkness couldn’t prevail.
His Guild would heed the words of the Eternal. They would answer the Eternal’s call and bring an end to the darkness that divided Aurelia, or die trying.
The Shroud was encroaching faster than they could stop it—a fog of darkness rising from the deepest corners of The Rift, covering the distance dividing the city into four.
A single spark of light shimmered from across The Rift, before being swallowed by the darkness below.
Elion lingered a moment longer, his feet swaying in the empty air as he sat on the outlook post of the Aurelian Guild Headquarters, watching the darkness spread further across Aurelia.
He knew it was time; he had allowed far too much time to pass since he first heard the call of the Eternal—since the first command to restore Aurelia had come.
But the call couldn’t be ignored any longer. Innocent lives were at stake, and the mission’s risks were extremely high. But he knew every member of the Aurelian Guild would agree that the lives at hand were worth the risks they would have to take.
The buildings towered in the distance—tall skyscrapers, whose lights were barely visible through the heavy fog. Long ago, those buildings had been his home. But that was a lifetime ago.
A time before certain groups of citizens in Aurelia turned from the Eternal. A time before the City of Gold had been divided into four Quarters through death and destruction as specific sectors of angels sought depravity. A time before greed and power tore their city apart by the seams—literally.
It had been a time before the Aurelian Guild had been needed.
Now, the Quarter directly across from his was warded.
No one could enter. No one could leave. A towering wall had been constructed—dark red bricks that had once been laid around the Quarter had been built up even more throughout the decades.
And now, looming slabs of limestone reinforced it, barricading the citizens of Solis Quarter in, leaving them willing victims of a false king’s reign.
He could sense the shadows in the distance, feel his own affinities straining against them as the darkness called out to him from beyond The Rift. His affinity rose within him, a thrum of magical power as the darkness from beyond became a stark contrast to the golden light flowing from his veins.
It had to be stopped.
The depravity and darkness needed to end.
The Wall had to fall.
Elion heard the subtle click of the keypad registering, and the soft whirl of the glass doors sliding open came from behind him, before a hardly discernible pattern of footsteps swept across the overlook.
“You need me?” A dark, husky voice emerged from the shadows, its tone cutting through the sweltering summer heat.
The air felt heavy against their skin, and small pieces of sand from the desert lands in the distance cut into their skin.
The towering male walked forward, his gait confident and silent as he joined his master at the ledge of the tower overlooking their own Quarter . . . Aurum Quarter.
“It is time,” Elion replied, heaviness lacing his tone as he looked toward the male in the shadows.
“You’re certain now is the time?” The shadow spoke, a glimmer of gold feathers reflecting as the male shifted. In the distance, the Shroud mocked the two men as they stared at its lurking depths.
“The last of the Remnant—those in Solis who follow the light—are nearly evacuated.”
“What next?” The shadowed voice spoke once more, his voice clipped—a soldier prepared for orders.
“The Eternal has spoken. He has given his command, and now, we must answer,” Elion said, an air of authority surrounding him as his grip tightened against the ledge.
His graying hair shone as the two setting suns reflected on the strands, his face weathered from seasons of conflict.
“The Eternal is displeased with his people. He wishes for the Guild to restore Aurelia to what it once was—to bring his people back to the light, to revive the golden light that once shone across the City of Gold.”
“Solis Quarter will not take the news well. You know as well as I that something far darker lurks within the walls of that Quarter. Even if we get our men across The Rift and into Solis Quarter undetected, what are the orders?”
An engine revved far below the men’s perch, the sound rippling down the street as the suns slowly set, pink light reflecting across the city’s skyscrapers, dusting the horizon in sunset hues that contrasted the stark nature of their conversation.
“For now, all I require is intel. Bring whoever you feel best. You have two weeks to gather as much information as possible on King Lucanus and how he is managing his Quarter. I trust your affinities will get you through The Wall without appearing on any recordings—without alerting their alarm systems. Completely undetected. It won’t be easy, but it is the only option we have for the path set out for us by the Eternal. ”
The male stepped forward, expansive wings of gold filling the space as he looked across The Rift, his gaze narrowing in on Solis Quarter, the harsh lines of the limestone slabs of The Wall barely visible in the dusk light as he began to plan his next moves.
Questions swarmed his mind, but he asked none as he merely nodded toward his master, the man who’d shaped him for the last 300 years.
“I’ll take Axel with me. We’ll leave at dawn and be in touch once we slip into Solis Quarter. We will be untraceable; you have my word.”
“Do not disappoint me.” Elion’s voice cut daggers through the air as he turned to leave the ledge.
His footsteps fell away as he retreated, his fingers pressing against a keypad, the sensors scanning his fingerprint, before the glass doors of the Aurelian Guild Headquarters slid open and he reentered the classified area.
He stopped just inside the doorway. Turning on his heel, he paused, eyes narrowing as he watched his protégé.
The male of the shadows stood outside a moment longer, his gaze narrowing in on the spot across the horizon.
Every muscle in his finely-honed body tensed as he stared into the distance.
He wouldn’t fail . . . not this time. Aeternus had spoken—a command that could not be ignored.
It was time for the darkness to retreat and for the light to shine once more.