Rune Mage [Fantasy/Adventure | Book 1 +2 | Complete]

Chapter 56: Hellfire on Demon, Garnished with Bullets

Seiren took out a paper and chalk from her pocket. Soldiers filled her spot; she stepped back, running over runes in her head. Rain began to fall. The distant fog crept in as rain added to the curtain of mystery that was the Hannan border.

The men fired their weapons over the edge, but from the sound of their panicked voices it had little effect. Hannan demons tended to have thick skin with few physical weaknesses, but they were not infallible.

She couldn't explode it off the side without damaging the wall and making them vulnerable. Fire seemed to do the trick but its power was limited to one creature at a time or it would be out of her control.

They're careful about control because an out of control mage is collateral damage. They'd rather you be underpowered. Maura Woodbead's words came out of nowhere.

Seiren only hesitated for a split second and drew another orange rune, making wide, confident strokes in the creation. She left two of the six locking circles empty and inserted one sigil to make the paper waterproof, one to prolong its effect, and two to increase its power. There was only one way to find out if it would work.

"Step back!" she said, slamming the rune on the battlement. The paper adhered to the wall, rain running off its slick surface. The demon reached the top of the wall within thirty seconds, wide mouth gaping, a thick blue tongue extended. Screams came from left and right as other demons breached again. The scent of cinnamon thickened, bringing bile to the back of her throat and the same nauseous adrenaline rush from the past. The creature moved fast; the end of its body had gotten over the edge by the time she snapped her fingers.

The orange rune exploded into blue flames, engulfing the creature. It screeched, its flesh blistering all around. Its tail thrashed out, taking out the soldiers to Seiren's right. The fire continued to eat up its flesh, unaffected by the rain. Seiren hopped back, red and orange runes at the ready. The creature's limbs were too short to lash out to do any major damage, but it didn't die. Its scales melted away, revealing exposed pink flesh with blisters that swelled and ruptured.

"Step back, Mage!" hollered someone from behind her. Seiren made to move, but her path to descend the wall was blocked by another creature that had gotten atop the battlements, sending men scattering left and right with its impressive tail. The nose-curling smell of burned flesh mixed with the cinnamon of their summoning powder was overwhelming, suffocating. She hesitated and twisted round, almost losing her balance from the increasingly slippery ground. She eyed the thrashing injured demon to her left. Her eyes watered. Bullets whizzed by, carefully aiming far from her vicinity, and pierced the soft flesh. It screamed, eyes rolling.

"Seiren!" came a familiar voice from behind. She followed the source of the voice to her left and below. Tylene waved at her from one of paths that jutted out of the wall one storey below. "This way!"

Seiren sprinted towards her, away from the blocked stone steps. Her boots squelched. Reinforced metal barriers prevented anyone from accidentally falling. She vaulted over and clutched the barrier as she pitched forward and her feet hit the ledge, her stomach leaping to her throat again. The air chilled. It was only one floor down, but beyond that was the fall back to the inner ground level again. Tylene was a skinny thing like Seiren. She couldn't possibly catch her.

Dent appeared, panting. He had his weapons drawn. He followed Tylene's line of sight and passed over the gun to his partner at once.

"I'll catch you, Mage!" he called, holding his arms out. Seiren leapt. Her head spun. For a moment, she was weightless amidst the screams and gunfire.

The next moment, she crashed into Dent, a soaking mess. Dent almost toppled over the barrier. She might have slapped him in the face by accident as she flailed, trying to right herself. Her feet found the ground but her knees buckled. She yanked on his collar; he yelped and choked.