Shadows stretched from the jagged corners, my head imagining scary images all by itself and I had to remind myself they weren’t real. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, before opening them again and the visions were gone. This place was playing tricks with our heads and we always expected the worst… Maybe the movement had been the shadow of a bird in the sky? The thought made me relax a bit, and the longer I looked, the more I felt confident that it hadn’t been a demon.
I wondered how long the village had been abandoned, where the people who once lived here had gone… if they were even alive. Another shadow flickered between two buildings close by.
My pulse jumped up a notch. I glanced back at the others, all sleeping peacefully. Ashley was drooling on Nate’s shirt. Malakai shifted slowly, his arms crossed over his chest in his sleep.
My heart hammered against my ribs.
This was stupid; it was probably some animal that had grown curious about our presence or something. But these were the Demon Lands, had we even seen an animal since crossing the border?
I sighed, shrugging off the tension, before I sent a small ball of fire towards the area I had seen the shadows. It lit up its path, not finding purchase or anything out of the ordinary. If something had been lurking, at least I had made them aware that I wasn’t playing along with them.
The ball of fire hit the fountain we had found Ashley at, exploding into small embers before disappearing into the darkness.
When I finally decided to pull back inside, something moved right next to me and I reacted, trying to kick my feet at Malakai.
But I was too slow.
Something cold and wet clamped over my mouth and pulled me out. A glove? A water demon? I couldn’t tell. My fire flared hot in my chest, ready to burn, but nothing lit, the magic caged inside my body.
My fires choked, crushed back into my bones as I struggled in the grip that slithered around me. My movements became sloppy, my vision sluggish before everything turned black.
CHAPTER
26
Coldness lingered inside me, like frostbite, clinging to my bones, refusing to let my flames burn past them.
I trembled, my teeth chattering.
The cold, the terrible cold that never disappeared, it stole my ability to move. I needed warmth, I longed for my people, my squad, my friends.
Malakai.
My eyes flew open and I shivered. The breath I let go turned into visible mist. Slowly, I looked around, burgundy silk embracing me.
A bed? Where was I?
My fingers twitched, trying to fight the cold holding them, it hurt. It even hurt to breathe.
The room was dim, with what I guessed was a flickering torch right outside of view.
Panic rose and I gave into it, letting the emotion fill me in the hopes of it feeding my flames. The embers sparked inside, hissing and pushing but they never reached the surface. At least it was enough to warm my body slightly.
I wiggled my fingers slowly, before pushing myself up. The air seemed to threaten me, but I did my best to ignore its chill.
My eyes widened at the sight of the interior; I had never seen anything like it before. Dark, finely carved wood decorated the walls, with bookshelves and wardrobes lining one side of the room. There was a regal set of furniture clothed in bright red in the middle of the room, a sitting area. On the other wall a massive gold framed painting of Cindara. I squinted my eyes, focusing. The painting even had details of small creeks and insignificant villages I hadn’t seen marked on other maps. Well, unless my eyes were playing tricks on me in the poor lighting.
What in the hells was this place?
At the opposite side of the room, I saw a large black door, with a golden knob. It was closed of course, yet it was the only way out that I could see.
I scooted closer to the edge of the bed, noticing that the floor was black, just like the ceiling. No wonder there was such a looming darkness in here.
Where were the windows?
None.
Shit.
