Reapers - Master of Souls (Reapers Chronicles Book III)

18 - Leverage (2 of 2)

Who will fix me now
Dive in when I'm down
Save me from myself
Don't let me drown
Drown, Bring Me the Horizon

To @Sofia5saucemention a user

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Out of the blue, the floor started to shake and this time, more violently. I spread my arms to keep my balance.

"Vincent!?" Sathariel cried out.

"Don't look at me! I'm not doing it."

Before we could assess what was happening, the lodestone at the center of the arena began to glow. It pulsed before shooting a column of light upward where the tips of the Triangle met. The air around the lodestone shimmered before it cracked. The crack slowly made its way down.

The ground beneath the lodestone bulged as if something was trying to rip it open from underneath.

Cauitously, Sathariel approached the lodestone. He pressed a hand over the crack with eyes closed.

"Impossible," he murmured, stepping back, shock registering on face.

"What's happening?" Vincent demanded.

Levi and Grigori were shouting from outside the arena, hammering on the door. Vincent ran to the door and tried to kick it down.

"Damn door won't open!" he yelled.

"Someone's trying to break in," Sathariel gasped.

"How's that even possible?!"

"I... have no idea."

As the ground around the crack began to separate, Vincent stepped in front of me.

It wasn't long before the crack widened, churning out what seemed to be a person. It was a girl, battered, curled like a fetus.

I peeked from behind Vincent. "Is that... Adrianna?"

Protectively, he lifted an arm in front of me before carefully approaching the girl. Her clothes were ripped. She had gashes and Helcium shards stuck all over her body. A tangle of Titian red hair covered her face as she twitchily got up.

"M-millie?" I stuttered.

My hope was immediately dampened when I saw a pair of mud-colored eyes looking back at me. It was Millie's body, alright. But it wasn't Millie who was operating it.

I clutched Vincent's arm and shook my head in panic.

"It's her," I croaked. "Adrianna."

"You remembered," she said, using Millie's voice, even making an effort to tilt her head slightly like Millie usually did. "We're touched."

Sathariel advanced, his face strangely serene. With every step he took, the ground around his feet smoldered. His eyes were glowing fiercely. "You don't get to come here without an invitation, Miss. For that, I'm afraid you're going to have to burn."

"Oh, but we just got here."

All of a sudden, Millie skin began to smoke. Flames sputtered out of crack where she had emerged, setting what remained of her clothes on fire.

"No!" I cried.

I tried to run to her but Vincent was quick to grab me from behind.

"Ah, such a waste of a perfectly fine artificial body!" She looked down on her burning arms without care, even smiling a little as she did. "It isn't affected by ancient Binds and laws. That's how we smuggled some of us in here. Now it's ruined."