Lucy
Midnight holds a broken thing inside her.I can’t place exactly what it is, but her shoulders are a little too tight and her gaze leaves mine too quickly.
I am too thankful for the fact she’s here to place much importance on the whats of whatever secret she harbours.
And yet, it nestles in the back of my mind like a subclause in a contract you skirt over too quickly and know it will come back to bite you.
The door to Prima Tower swings open and Lex, Bastien and Mortem barrel in, a mass of seething darkness behind them.
Wraiths.
“Incoming,” she shrieks as she slams the door shut.Lex’s fingers work at a thousand miles per hour as she casts necromantic runes around the door’s frame.Thick black ribbons of magic peel from the walls and seal us in.
“I think that’s just about enough time down here, let’s get back to Gardon,” Bastien says and shimmies us towards the staircase.
“Yeah, especially because Interitus is hunting me,” I add.
We find ourselves in a long corridor containing several doors and offshoots into various places in the tower.
But the important part is that we’re on the reverse side of the Veil arch Interitus shoved me through in the Finis dungeons.
Nodrag is the goyle sitting atop the arch, and on the other side, in Finis, is Gardon, his twin.
“Okay, let’s go,” Midnight says and hustles everyone through the Veil.
“Wait.Lex, take these, I stole them from the demonic library.”I pull the now very squashed and dented books from my robe pockets and hand them to her.She squeals in delight and Midnight shoves her through the shimmering Veil.Bastien goes right after her.
“You next,” Midnight says and nudges my bum.
I step to the edge of the Veil and the shimmering fabric turns to stone.
“Don’t think so,” Nodrag says, taking one look at me and shaking his stone head.
Midnight steps beside me pointing an accusing finger at Nodrag.“I think you’ll find if you speak to your brother, Gardon made a deal with me to let us back through.”
Nodrag barks out a laugh so violent, he flings a stone tooth right out of his mouth.
“Is that a no?”she asks, her shoulders slumping.
“Useless mortals.Let me handle this,” Mortem huffs and saunters up to the Veil arch which promptly shimmers back to life as he pounces into Finis.He comes back moments later looking rather grim.
“He’s gone back on his word, hasn’t he?”Midnight asks.
“He says you intentionally withheld information…”
“I mean… I didn’tnotdo that.But also, that traitorous bastard made a deal,” Midnight says.
She closes her eyes and frowns.Some wisps of ruby red demon magic sprout from her chest and dart towards Nodrag, but they fizzle out before getting to him.
“You used the demon magic?”I ask, my voice quiet.
“Tried.We knew we wouldn’t be able to get you out without a soul, so I tried to bargain with Gardon.”
Nodrag tuts.“Not under my watch.She’s too dangerous to be let loose in Ora.”
“Oh, that is a shame,” a familiar voice says, and my blood turns to ice.
“Interitus,” Midnight says.“RUN.”
