Page 76 of Drawn into Oblivion

Against another wall stood two towers of dirty, wide-mouthed tubs. Mai would have expected to see a swarm of flies on everything, but not even vermin could subsist in a plane devoid of life.

Rosuke gently shut the sewer grate. He and everyone else had streaks of grime—or worse—on their hands and uniforms. And though he was still devastatingly handsome, he looked as tired as she felt. In fact, he looked the same as in her dream.

The realization hit Mai hard. Indeed, she and Rosuke would soon split up, but she wouldn’t be the one preparing the gate spell. She would go through the metal door with the empress, leaving the four officers behind. But why? What was about to change their plan?

Shumei held up her fist with such urgency that it broke into Mai’s thoughts. Everyone gathered in a circle once more, and the empress signaled slowly and deliberately.

All the officers reared back as though from a physical blow. Mai met Shumei’s gaze and nodded, but Vallen and Rosuke shook their heads as they flashed the only signals they could: the ones for danger and together. Shumei regarded them with calm resignation and then pointed at the large metal door behind them.

Mai found nothing of note about the door itself, but markings etched into the frame were more than decoration. They were a single phrase, written in Mahou and repeated over and over again to form a magical barrier, one that likely adorned every single way into the fortress.

Kami nomi. Gods only.

No human, unless ushered into the fortress by either a demon or the Damned One himself, could enter. If an empress ever did get this far with her soldiers, she would have to enter and face the Damned One alone, for she was the only human who could claim a relation to a god. Perhaps artillery could blow a hole into the fortress, but that required not only bringing artillery to Oblivion but getting it through an army of demons. Their small team had no way of creating its own opening, not without a great deal of noise, which would alert every demon in the area.

Mai turned back to the group. Kiyoshi and Jun, who were still confused, watched Shumei signal a simplistic explanation. They could not yet read Mahou, but Vallen and Rosuke knew it well enough, and they stared at the door in disbelief, faces and bodies tight with anger. Clearly, they were still trying to think of a way to accompany the empress, but Mai knew they would soon come to the same frustrating conclusion.

In a way, she was relieved. She wouldn’t have to worry about Rosuke, only herself and the empress. And she already had an idea of the horrible things she’d find in the bowels of the fortress. She knew which moment she had to change, or at the very least, avenge. As she shared a brief look with Shumei, she saw the empress was equally relieved.

Mai expected Rosuke and Vallen to boil over. Instead they cried silent, helpless tears. Rosuke stared at her as if memorizing her face, but then he firmed his lips and gave her a nod. She saw pride in his eyes, and her heart swelled.

She stepped into his open arms. Neither of them wanted or needed the sort of hard, desperate kiss they’d shared after the Weeping Willow, so they embraced with tenderness, lips and breaths sweetly mingling in celebration of their time together. They promised without words that this wasn’t the end. Not for humanity, and not for them.

And though their silent vow was not sealed with a Kiss of Power, her heart still pounded and her mouth tingled. Something more than magic was giving her strength. Enough to push past her fear and uncertainty. Those feelings didn’t disappear, but she was able to look up at Rosuke with clear eyes and know that no matter what happened, she would carry his love with her. Always.

⁂

The officers kept their silence spells intact, but Mai and Shumei removed theirs for a quick, hushed conference. Then Shumei handed the satchel she’d been carrying to Vallen. As a backup, the high general had also learned the gate spell, so preparing it was now up to him. The version he would draw had been created by the old court, and it would remain open a few moments longer.

He gave Shumei an intense look when she ordered him to activate it even if she failed, for he would sense the loss of his connection to her. He eventually nodded. Mai noted that Shumei did not order him to go through the gate, merely activate it. Then the empress thanked the officers for their bravery and gave her husband one last kiss.

Mai did the same with Rosuke, who managed a small smile for her. She knew he was anxious, yet he had struck a relaxed pose. Probably trying to put me at ease, she realized.

She dared not look back as she and Shumei approached the metal door. They both grasped the large, flat handle with both hands, and the empress braced her foot on the wall. Mai bent her knees. Shumei bobbed her head as she silently counted down, and together they pulled with all the strength they could muster.

The door groaned softly on its hinges, and warmth wafted from the widening crack. If the air beyond was rank with death, they thankfully didn’t smell it thanks to the spell they had cast upon reaching the waste river. But the door only grew heavier the wider they opened it, meaning it was weighted to shut on its own, and Mai’s strength was quickly running out. The second they had enough space to slip inside, Shumei did so, but Mai took one last glance over her shoulder as she stepped through.

Rosuke stood exactly where she’d seen him in her vision, this time accompanied by three others. His forehead furrowed. His lips moved. Three short words.

The empress pulled her inside before she could mouth a reply, and the door slammed shut, plunging them into darkness. She whirled around, breath held. Through her magically granted sight, she had a second’s glance of a large room with alcoves, but then the bang of the door faded, and with it her sight. Only one torch was lit on the other side of the room, but it looked like a candle flame, it was so far away. They waited for any sign that someone—or more likely, something—had heard their entrance, but they were alone. Her eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness.

The floor was covered with bones and scraps of food. A dozen long tables were situated about the room, all covered with pots, pans, dishes, and cutlery of all sizes. Most were dirty. With what, Mai didn’t care to examine. Ovens and roasting spits occupied several alcoves, but embers glowed in only one.

They had come in through the kitchens, it seemed. Having seen the courtyard with its cluttered mess of pots, tubs, tables, and half-eaten carcasses, she admitted it made sense, although why demons would care whether their victims were cooked was yet another mystery.

But where was the enemy? She had expected the fortress to be brimming with demons, yet the only large crowd of them she’d seen had been at the camp by the field of corpses.

“The watchdogs are lax in their duties, as I knew they would be,” Shumei said.

Mai didn’t dare raise her voice above a whisper. “How could you have known that?”

“Because of your vision.”

“That’s what you based our strategy on?” she asked, taken aback. “But it might not be accurate. In fact, nothing I’ve envisioned has turned out quite the same. And what about the end? Do you plan to let the Foul One pick you up by your neck and rip you open in front of his smiling court?”

“You didn’t see him kill me. You simply heard me tell you to run. You see, I want what happened in your vision to come true. I need to get close to the Damned One in order to kill him. And we’re almost there, Mai. We can do this.”

Knowing that Shumei had a plan didn’t ease the clawing sensation in Mai’s chest, but she knew she had to focus. Shumei was the first real friend she’d ever had, and she didn’t want to lose her.