Her hesitation cost her the upper hand.
Saudane ripped theShadowshardfromNashala’sneck, and then he blinked away.
“No!”Calamitylunged forward, magic crackling at her fingertips.Shejust managed to stop herself from firing off a spell that would have hitNashalanow thatSaudanehad disappeared.
“What the fuck?”Yorickasked, appearing in the doorway.Hestill carried his pack over his shoulder.
“We have to go,”Calamitycried. “ThePandemoniumTheatre.That’swhere he’ll be.”
They all tried to squeeze through the door at the same time, having to take a breath and step back to go through single file.ButCalamitystoppedNashalabefore she could leave, holding her back with a hand to the chest.
“Did you know?” she asked, her voice breaking.Pleasedon’t have made a fool of me,she begged silently.
“No,IswearIdidn’t,”Nashalasaid, gesturing after the others, who were already down the stairs. “Nowlet’s go.”
Calamity had a choice in front of her: she could strikeNashaladown here and hedge her bets, or she could take what the monk said as truth and expose herself, possibly gaining one more person to help defeat her father.Godsknew she’d been judged enough for her past just from the way she looked, butNashalahad actively servedTrulnuroth.Couldshe be trusted?
As far asCalamitycould tell, trustingNashalawas a roll of the dice.
“This is the moment where you get to prove yourself, then,”Calamityfinally huffed. “Becauseif we can’t stop him,Trulnurothis coming.Andif you choose him,Iwon’t hold back.”
She turned and sprinted through the door, leavingNashalastanding wide-eyed behind her.
* * *
By the timeCalamityarrived atThePandemoniumTheatre, just a couple of paces behind the others, she knew they were too late.Shecould feel her focus thrumming with power the same way it had inPandemonium.Hewas here, or he was on his way.
They burst through the doors of the theatre and ran along the centre aisle towards the stage, whereSaudanestood in the middle of a twelve-pointed star made of chalk.Candlesburned at each of the six points that had remained green on the map.Allbut one of the flames was black.
Morgana ran ahead of the others, leaping onto the stage.Butjust as she left the ground, the final flame turned black, andSaudanecrouched down, plunging theShadowshardinto the centre of the star.Morgana’sblade met his neck a moment later, taking his head clean off.
But she was too late.
The shard lifted itself into the air aboveSaudane’slifeless, headless body, spinning slowly, as shadows began to spill from it like blood from a wound.Liamreached out and tried to grab it, but his hand reeled back as he cried out.Theshadows extended like grasping fingers across the floor and up the walls, dimming the afternoon light leaking into the building from the high-up windows.Thetemperature rose suddenly in the hot, dry wayCalamityhad experienced in only one other place.
The shadows drew together, forming a shape.Agateway.
And then reality tore.
The sound was like thunder and breaking glass and screaming all at once.Thestage itself simply ceased to exist, replaced by a gaping wound in the fabric of the world.
And through that wound stepped her father.
Trulnuroth, thePrinceofPandemonium, stood suddenly before them.Hiseyes burned with hellfire, and when he grinned wickedly, it was with too many teeth.Hewore robes of shadow that moved independently of any breeze, and in his clawed hand he carried a staff topped with a twelve-pointed star.Thesame symbol thatCalamitynow knew marked his organisation; his empire; his return.
The shadows coalesced behind him into new shapes–spirits, demons, things without names– filling the corners of the stage, their presence making the air thick and hard to breathe.
Trulnuroth’s gaze swept the room, taking inSaudane’sbody at his feet.Thenhis gaze shifted toNashala, at whom he nodded.Calamity’sstomach churned with betrayal.
“Daughter mine,” he said, turning toCalamity, his voice like sliding gravel and distant thunder. “Howlovely of you and your friends to deliver my key.”
Chapter32
Chloe
Ifelt terrible about everything that had happened withTeddy, butIcouldn’t let my personal feelings derail the festival.IfIlost focus now and the event failed, it would be bad for all of us– for me, obviously, since it could jeopardise my future at the farm; forJen, who had put so much faith in me; and forTeddy, too, since we were all counting on these events to go well to make enough money for her to come on full time.
SoIthrew myself into the work, staying home and tackling every detailIcould manage remotely.Teddydidn’t reach out to me once, which was for the best.Shedid show up atD&D, but we barely spoke to one another out of character, and she didn’t come to the pub afterwards.Whetherthat was more about what had transpired between us or about the heated exchange we’d had in character,Iwasn’t sure.
