Ashen Reign

Chapter 7 - Revised

"Fucking hell." Hailey muttered, fists clenched at her side; her nails digging into the palm of her hand as she fought off the wave of disbelief that threatened to overtake her. Taking a shaky breath, she turned to Luke. "Get all the families to the Sanctuary." Luke didn't budge. "NOW." She barked. Luke pressed his lips together, his gaze frantically shifting between her and Grayson. Her heart sinking with each passing second he stood frozen in place.

"No can do Hailes." Grayson finally spoke up. Hailey shot him a steely glare before taking a step towards Luke. Grayson may only care about himself, but Luke had seemed different. He had to care at least a little bit. Right?

"Luke?" She tugged at his arm, looking up at him with pleading eyes. She couldn't do this alone. Luke met her gaze, his forehead creased and lips pursed as if he was fighting internally with himself. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, he had regained his composure and directed his attention to Grayson.

"Grayson, surely we can stay long enough to secure the sanctuary." His voice came out clear and strong, but Hailey could feel the slight tremor in Luke's arm. Clearly going against Grayson wasn't something he did often or took solace in doing.

"The runes protecting the border were all but diminished. Putting those back up is going to cost us time and energy that we don't have." Grayson ground out through clenched teeth. "Besides we can't intervene."

"Can't intervene? What bullshit!" Hailey spat, releasing her hold on Luke. "All you've done since arriving here is intervene. I'm supposed to leave town because of you! The least you can do is your damn job." Her body was shaking. She clenched her fists at her sides in order to keep herself from reaching out and punching the Guardian in front of her.

"We could at least secure the cathedral itself." Luke offered. "We can make sure no one else dies." Grayson scoffed.

"So what? They can rot in a fancy box as they starve to death? We'd be doing them a favor by leaving now." Grayson retorted, crossing his arms across his chest.

"And since when are you one to do any favors?" Hailey quipped, her eyes narrowed. Grayson rolled his eyes and shook his head.

"You know you can't fix this" It wasn't a question. His usual smugness had almost entirely been wiped from his voice. He was cold.

"I know I can't fix this." Hailey spat, spinning on her heel to face him. "But-" The ground underneath her gave way as the rain turned the ground to mush. Her arms flailed as she attempted to regain her balance. Luke quickly stepped forward, grabbing her good arm to help steady her. Hailey slapped his hand away before continuing "But unlike you self-centered, bastards who like to call yourselves Guardians. I'm at least going to try because I care. I'm not just going to stand by and watch everything around me fall apart."

Grayson peered down at her. She couldn't quite decipher the look in his eyes. His brow was furrowed, but unlike Luke, he didn't appear the least bit concerned for her wellbeing and for that she was actually glad. He may have just been indifferent about whether or not she lived or died, but it was nice to think that someone just maybe took her seriously. After a moment of silence, Grayson drew his sword from his belt; it's faint green glow barely visible through the heavy rain.

"They gave you an out. Why not take it?" He asked.

"They took me in." She stated. "I owe them my life." Grayson snorted and shook his head.

"Well, I think you're about to pay that debt in full." His eyes looked her over incredulously as he turned to walk away. "If that's a debt you're willing to pay, then you're a lot stupider than I thought."