We burst into a narrow corridor choked with dust and darkness, stumbling over broken stone as the sounds of shouting erupt behind us.
“It won’t hold them for long!” Moe gasps.
“I know.”
We keep running.
My lungs burn raw. My side throbs with every step. Blood drips all over my skin beneath my torn shirt.
Eventually the shouting grows fainter and fainter until we can’t hear anyone following us.
We duck into the shell of a half-collapsed building and I slam myself against the wall. My chest heaves and every limb is trembling from exhaustion.
Moe shuts the broken doorway behind us as best she can and barricades it with a slab of fallen stone. Then she comes to sit by my side.
For several moments neither of us speaks.
We simply breathe.
Then she turns to me and her eyes widen with shock.
“Nyk…” She points to my chest.
I look down. Blood has soaked most of my shirt.
“Fuck,” I groan aloud.
“We need to last a bit longer,” she whispers in a small voice, almost pleading voice. “Can you hold on until then?”
I wipe blood from my mouth with the back of my hand and force my breathing steady.
“Yes. We’ve gotten to this point, I’m not letting this ruin everything,” I grit out.
Outside, distant shouts echo through the ruins as they search for us. The good news: they don’t know where we are for now. The bad? They don’t show any signs of slowing down or stopping.
I rest my head briefly against the cold stone behind me.
“What can I do to help?” Moe asks. “You’re not healing, Nyk.”
I shake my head. “Nothing. Unless I consume some energy, my wounds won’t heal.”
She purses her lips. “I can find someone to kill,” she offers immediately. “That way—” She’s already getting up when I stop her.
“We can’t afford to do that. Not only would it put you in danger, but it would reveal our location.”
“But, Nyk… Theywillfind us. And when they do, I don’t think you can fight in this state.”
“We just need to last a little longer,” I murmur. With every word, the pain is more intense than before. Blood continues to flow out of my wounds.
Yet Moe is right in one aspect—I should have consumedsomesoul energy when I had the opportunity. Unfortunately, I can’t fight and do that at the same time. It’s been too chaotic for me to even think of that.
“I have an idea,” she says suddenly.
She shuffles closer, her upper body oriented toward me.
“I consumed all those parts of mythical beasts. I should havesometype of energy.”
“Wait.” I put a hand up. “What are you talking about? I’m not going tokillyou!” I say in outrage.
