Luna Queen's Fury

22 Sick

Sasha furrows her brows and touches the next closest line. It springs to life nearly identical to the one Mira has and is equally dimmed. "Hmm..."

"Like a good hmm or a bad hmm?" I ask. The tightening of my body tells me I already know the answer.

"Magic like this is alive in a way... over time or under attack it can break down, so it needs to be fixed or patched," Mira explains. She taps the lines on either side of the bright column and moves on to a third that barely glows at all.

"These are patches, I suspect there was another to mirror this one on the other side but it broke, this one isn't going to last long either... but why?"

Mira walks down the hallway, tapping random lines and starts to mutter to herself. She follows the spell line around the corner and down another hall like a bloodhound on a trail.

Seeing the concerned look on her face does nothing to erase the growing sense of unease in me. At the end of the hall, there's a bright glowing crescent moon surrounded by symbols.

"Mi, you should come look at this," Sasha calls from some distance behind us. I was so focused on Mira that I didn't realize our group had split in half, leaving Derek with us and Mack and Sasha somewhere behind.

I follow Mira as she easily retraces her steps back to the main corridor we started in and beyond. Hairs on the back of my neck stand on end leaving me unsure.

"You feel it too." Mira's statement wasn't a question, something's off. Derek palms a blade and stays close as she leads us through a maze that slowly darkens.

My heart is racing by the time we catch up to Sasha and Mack. They stand at the end of a small hallway in front of a moon centrepiece like the other hall.

A shiver runs down my spine as I take in the runes and symbols here. The moon is barely a sliver of a crescent but hangs low with identical surrounding symbols. Unlike the other hallway that was well lit with bright platinum light, the light here is contaminated with red, dimming it.

"It's sick," I breathe out, wide eyes locked on the swirling light in front of me. The tainted energy sets my teeth on edge as I shuffle, putting some distance between me and the magic.

"Something like that," Sasha mumbles, backing away from it. She watches it like a wary predator, expecting it to lash out at any moment.

"You good princess?" Derek asks, stepping closer.

"Yeah... it's just..." I struggle to form the sentence, tripping over the right words. "I don't understand it, but it's sick... All I can feel is the energy and this feels like it's sucking the life out of me."

"We're leaving," Mack announces, hooking her arm in mine to drag me off if need be.

Creepy laughter floats down the hallway, making me jump. Sasha squeaks, hiding behind her sister as both Guardians brandish blades at the unseen threat.

My heart hammers in my chest but I'm drawn towards the laughter, step by heavy step. Fear gives way to anger as I recognize the voice and pick up speed as I storm towards the source.

"There's my sugar-" Tony greets, his attention squarely on me. He doubles over from a swift punch that Shoen delivers to his gut.

"Fucking had enough of this one for the day," he growls, glaring at the gasping human. Shoen, much like Dex, is one of the more laid-back Guardians. To see him on edge like this does nothing to soothe my nerves.

"Get some fresh air, Sadie is on her way," Derek says, patting the frazzled Guardian on his back. Shoen doesn't even protest, he heads out without looking back.