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“Ready to go,” I state, rounding off the checks as no magic seems to appear or shine anywhere. It leaves me a little off-kilter, but I count my blessings for now and continue to move forward.
I slow my pace so that both Malik and Talon can fall into step with me as we approach the opening together. They each place their hand on my shoulder when I reach out for the boulder, combining our magic to fight through the energy holding the illusion in place.
A moment later, my hand becomes translucent, disappearing into the rock, before I continue forward, all the way until I appear on the other side. Talon and Malik step through with me to reveal an empty space on the other side. Glancing over my shoulder for good measure, the grass-covered area is no longer visible, just a stone boulder like on the other side.
“Let’s not waste any time,” I mumble as they each drop their hands from my shoulders and we fall into step.
It’s like a cave in here. Nothing to see but stone. I’m sure the caveman vibe is what they want to rock, but it’s not really serving them well in my opinion.
It’s dark, the only visibility in this area comes from having our magic at play. Following the path that slowly begins to narrow before us, I start to hear voices murmuring, making my spine stiffen and my jaw tighten.
Game time.
Edging toward the path I know the noise is coming from, I make sure to keep my footsteps light, preferring to catch them off-guard rather than them do it to me. I look over my shoulder to see Malik and Talon following my every step, their faces fierce with a mixture of anger and determination, telling me they can hear the mumbling of voices too.
Happy they’re right with me, I move ahead to the crossroad of pathways, turning to the right to reveal five men standing in a semicircle. They’re all facing my way, surprising me when one of them sighs dramatically, running his fingers through his shoulder length brown hair before pointing his finger at me.
“Finally! Took you fuckers long enough.”
I glare at the asshole, but in the next breath there’s no time to consider any option but to fight as the five of them raise their hands, aiming magic toward us.
Fuck.
I holler left at the same time Malik calls right, leaving Talon to take the guy in the middle. Five versus three is far easier odds than we’ve had before and of no concern to me. What irritates me more is the fact that they were clearly waiting for us.
The man to the far left thrusts his hands in my direction, forcing strong winds at me, and it makes my step falter for a second, my teeth grinding together before I push through his power. I don’t recognize him off the top of my head, but the black marking I can clearly see on his left arm is one I’m all too familiar with.
His jaw hangs loose as he gapes at me, surprised that I can push through his abilities, but I don’t react until I’m close enough to be sure his mark is real. A smirk tips the corner of my mouth up when I see the top ember flickering in the right direction, and it grows a little more when I see him frantically thrust his hands in front of him again and again like it’s going to make a difference.
Planting my feet shoulder-width apart, I bring my hands out to my sides at my hips before thrusting my left palm into the stone beneath my feet, feeling the entire space shake with the motion.
I look up through my lashes to see the ground tear open beneath the nameless Redvellion. His screams burn my ears as the stone begins to swallow him until only his shoulders and head remain above ground. Only then do I lift my hand off the ground, rising to my full height once more as I cut the remaining distance between us in two strides.
The grunts and groans vibrate off the walls around me from the others in the room, but I keep my focus locked on this fucker first. Without a word passing my lips, I smile wide at the asshole as I lean down, grabbing his head in both of my hands before twisting, hard and fast, my magic increasing my speed, until I hear the beautiful sound of his neck snapping.
His head remains in my hands as I lean back, and I let the now useless body part tumble to the floor without care. To be extra sure, like we always do, I dig my hands into the bloody mess that remains at his neck, thrusting my fingers deep until they latch onto the organ I’m looking for.
His heart.
It’s limp in my hand as I retrieve it from his body, keeping it in my grip as I turn to look around.
These men aren’t here with answers to our questions, they're here as a distraction. A mindless game for us to entertain as quickly as possible before we move to the next level. Noose doesn’t play any other way, but it’s almost embarrassing that these men believed they had any other role today besides smearing blood on these walls.
I watch as Talon’s eyes glare pure white, his arms fully extended at either side of him as a white mist exudes from his body. The two men that had charged in his direction are locked in place, coated in the very same white magic as their eyes widen with fear.
White is such an innocent color—tales as old as time itself have painted it as such—but I know the magic at play here is anything but innocent. One by one, they drop to their knees, arms still pinned straight out at their sides as the magic works away at them.
It’s far too satisfying to watch their eyes roll to the back of their heads as blood begins to pour from their ears before they face plant into the stone beneath our feet. The magic slowly seeps back into Talon’s body, leaving the pile of limbs lifeless on the floor, all of their internal organs shut down and their magic drained from their body. There’s no coming back from that for them.
Three down… two to go.
Flexing my fingers around the bloody heart in my hand, I grin wickedly at the mess we’re making when a noise from Malik behind me catches my attention, sending me into high alert. A gargled noise like that never leaves Malik’s lips unless something is wrong, and when my eyes latch onto him, I see how wrong things are.
Somehow, the two remaining guys have managed to pin Malik to the stone wall, arms at his side as he hovers a few inches off the ground. His eyes are white, his magic bubbling to the surface as one of the guys steps forward with his arm extended in my brother's direction.
I act fast, but not fast enough. The sound of something snapping followed by another low grunt tells me something in Malik is broken. Without thought, I rush for the guy with his arms extended as Talon targets the other. It’s not until I come to a stop beside him that I realize I still have a fucking limp heart in my hands, but I use that to my advantage, smashing it into his face.
With the force behind my move, I knock the guy off balance, splattering the organ over him as he gargles in discomfort. I hear the sound of Malik’s boots hitting the ground behind me, confirming that their magic has released him, but I don’t turn to check if he’s okay, instead focusing on the task at hand first.
