Chapter 7

 

Tarrence shot a dark-glowing elemental magic ball at the priest-like figure in the center. The surprise attack caught the sorcerer unprepared: the magic hit him in the chest, and he swayed unsteadily on the ground, but managed not to fall. He directed his dark emerald eyes—his only feature visible from the dark bandana that covered his face—at Tarrence and shot back a gust of shadow magic. The air exploded in dark-gray colors, the scent of decay and dark, rotten magic rolled off in the air. I gagged, trying to hold my vision and my powers intact.

I went after the nearest dark-hooded man. Raphael followed my example. Ares and Mayatri went to aid Tarrence in his fight against the sorcerer. I quickly summoned a glowing sword and cut the head off the hooded guy. His head landed on the cold ground with a thud, revealing his face. I again noticed the bandana, its color the same as the sorcerer’s, though this guy’s magic felt weaker. Judging by the crimson gleam in his irises, he was probably a vampire. I slashed my next target and blood sprang up from his severed neck, painting the ground with crimson. I suppressed my disgust while I took in the scene around me. Raphael was fighting with a few dark-hooded figures at once, shooting magical purple blasts that reeled the dark-hooded men into the gaping hole, right at the dragon’s body. The creature’s fight against the glowing purple thread grew stronger as he saw us ambush his captors. When the dark-hooded men crashed into his body, the dragon let out a fierce screech and regarded them for a second. Before they could run away from him, he breathed a fireball at them, setting them on fire. Their painful death cries resounded in the dark space, giving me an ominous foreshadowing of what could come next for their comrades. To cement this feeling, I attacked another dark-hooded man, plunging my sword into his ribcage. Despite the blow, he proved to be stronger than the others. He swished and hurled a knife right at my face. I dodged it, the blade scratching my arm. Damn! I cursed the guy and twisted my sword deeper into his ribcage, aiming for his beating heart. This time he let out a hollow cry, his eyes losing their focus. Within seconds, he passed away, his body limp against the swords’ steel blade. I withdrew the sword and looked around for more dark-hooded men with bandanas covering their faces.

In the center ahead of me, the sorcerer desperately fought against Tarrence and Ares who had enclosed him from both ends. The black-hooded leader was hurling shadow magic blasts one after the other, but the Greek god and the demon seemed to absorb it or somehow neutralize his magic. It didn’t do any real harm to them except slow down their movements and make their blasts less deadly. The sorcerer’s frantic and panicked movements indicated he was aware his magic couldn’t take them down, yet he couldn’t run away, either. A few feet away from them, Mayatri fought against three dark-hooded guys, the ankh on her chest was glowing with a golden light, engulfing her body in a shimmering white bubble; she brandished a pointed blade at the guys, swishing at their black clothes with it. They hurled shadow magic at her, but the ankh, which I presumed was her artifact, preserved her, disabling their attacks.

Something splashed against my skin, and I spotted a dark-hooded guy, shorter than the others, aiming his shadow magic at me. I hurled my sword at him, the blade swiftly striking his neck, cutting a large part of his skin. He cried in pain.

“Where’s Drogo?” Ares barked angrily and thrust his golden spear right into the sorcerer’s body. The latter seemed to suspend it midair, but then Tarrence shot a gigantic dark blast into the guy’s back. The sorcerer didn’t anticipate it and the demonically charged magic engulfed his body, making him tumble down. The spear fell, too, a clang on the ground.

“Be smart and save your life.” I heard Tarrence growl out. “Show us Drogo! Where is he?”

The sorcerer crawled under the demon’s aggression; I hoped he’d be smart enough to spill the beans. The purple bond that pulled the dragon fae out of the underground hole electrified in bluish light, then snapped shut. The creature yelled and, breathing a fresh breath of air, flew straight into the hole, disappearing from our sight.

Phew, that was close! We managed to save his ass. Or more appropriately, our asses. I made a few steps toward the sorcerer, who was now being held captive by Ares and Tarrence when something swished in the air above my head. Pain shot up, spreading in my whole body. I looked around and spotted another, shorter guy clad in the same dark hood, the same bandana covered his face like the others; he was aiming a funny gun that resembled a children’s toy at me. What the hell? He couldn’t be serious. I didn’t leave him a chance to fire another shot at me, though: I hurled a fireball straight at him, aiming at his heart. The velocity of my strike made him reel a few feet away, staggering on the ground. He stumbled near the downed sorcerer. Speak of the devil, the demon and the Greek god were still hulking over the sorcerer, towering above him, but the stupid fool refused to reveal his master’s whereabouts.

A nearby snap of something, followed by someone’s panicked cry drew my attention, and I nearly gasped when I saw a giant black cat pounce on a burly, dark-hooded man, pinning him against the dark floor. The feline’s snow-white fangs snarled maliciously at the man whose face was now exposed; the attack had removed his hood and bandanna. The thread in my center told me this cat shifter was Mayatri: certainly, her magical signature felt the same against my senses. As the cat shifter tore the guy’s face, I averted my gaze.

“We’ve dealt with everyone in here,” Raphael said proudly as his eyes took in the battle scene. He pulled my hand toward him. “Let’s join Ares and Lucius’ pet.”

I barely made a few steps when numb pain spread on my skin, making my head dizzy. My legs felt heavier, and numbness spread onto my upper body, too. My hand instinctively held on to Raphael’s warm hand tighter, seeking support.

“Hey, are you alright?” Concern rang in Raphael’s voice. The ground felt unsteady under my feet, my head spinning around, but I managed to mumble a feeble reply to the archangel. I tried to steady myself but a new pang in my center turned the space upside down and I collapsed on the cold ground. I closed my eyes and the world fell into oblivion.