Black Ice ✓ | Deathsworn #1

Chapter 42 ∞ Troubled

I looked ahead and found that, as the flames continued burning, Veils shrouded the sky as though they were just gathering around the bonfire. There really was no concrete way to describe them except that they were formless, nearly transparent shadows. Until now, I could not even begin to imagine where they came from. They didn't dare hover too near the flames, but whenever one would stray far too close, it would get singed and immediately flee.

They were averse to fire but wasn't as vulnerable as one would expect them to be. These things—just what were they after? Why had so many of them appeared all of a sudden?

"What is it, Evyionne?" Kora inquired.

As Kora coaxed an answer from me, a series of commotion erupted from inside the House. I looked over his shoulder to see, just in time, a huge hole being made on the wall.

Someone just came crashing through.

Kora picked me up in a hurry and backed away, watching with wide eyes as Mistress Veronika rolled so roughly on the ground she was practically bouncing.

"Koreva nul!" she cursed in Ovanol. She hurriedly picked herself up, brushing away the splinters that stuck on the thin fabric of her nightgown. A whip made of lightning appeared from her fingers, snapping at the ground as she lashed it across. It crackled sharply, hitting the grass and leaving it singed as it came singing with a clack of thunder.

She caught Kora and me looking at her in confusion. "Go and take the girl away, Kora. Someone's entered Oblivion," she said.

Her eyes lifted to the top of the roof. Several human shadows clad similarly in black appeared, crouched on top of the House like tigers eyeing their prey. There were several of them. Probably three.

One more guy came out from the hole Mistress Veronika made just now.

"Or some people," she corrected herself with a sneer.

"So, it wasn't only one guy?" I intoned softly. I saw the fleet of Veils hovering around each one of these men and grew more shocked the more I stared.

"Evy?" Kora looked down to meet my eyes. "What do you mean?"

I rediverted my gaze to the blown up shed and he immediately understood what I meant. He probably just couldn't imagine what happened just now. Even I still had a bit of trouble believing it myself.

"Come on," he said and placed an arm under my knees effortlessly.

"Mistress Veronika," I protested, gazing at the woman worriedly.

"Go," she said. "I'll handle this here. Wake up the others."

"Where are we going?" I asked, turning to Kora.

"Where it's safe," he told me. "The security around the House have most definitely been compromised."

"Why are they here?"

"For no good," he replied. I watched as Mistress Veronika engaged in battle with the ninja assassins. "Did you see the face of one of theirs, Evy?" he asked.

"Kind of. There was this one guy whose eyes looked very strange. Almost not human, really."

"Almost not human," he repeated.

There was only terse silence between us after that. I could feel Kora's heart beating wildly as he rushed through Oblivion's halls. Along the way, Maun had come out and was groggily making his way towards us. Seeing our haste, the silver-haired boy halted and gazed at us with confusion. Kora wordlessly grabbed him by the hand and dragged him with us in a rush. We then stopped by Erenol's door. Kora set me down and burst through without even bothering to knock.