Hell ● The Order Fanfic {𝐻𝒶𝓂𝒾𝓈𝒽 𝒟𝓊𝓀𝑒}

Chapter 14: ℱ𝒾𝓇𝑒 𝒶𝓃𝒹 𝒮𝓂𝑜𝓀𝑒

❖𝒩𝑜𝓇𝒶 𝒮𝓉𝑜𝓃𝑒❖

Fire and smoke and ash raged throughout my senses. I turned in a circle, finding I was in the den. The den was on fire. I had left--how did it catch fire? The sound of snarls and howls in pain floated into the living room from different parts of the house. "Nora!" Mavis screamed.

"Mavis!" I shouted back. "Where are you?" I went to make my way deeper into the house, but a wall of flames burst up before me, locking me into the living room. "Shit." I cursed. Mavis continued to call for me, but soon her voice melted into Choles, then Lilith's and Randall's. Something wasn't right. This didn't feel--real.

The sounds of snarls and screaming stopped. The crackle of the fire stopped, though it continued to rage on. The world went quiet--like I had lost my hearing. "Nora? What did you do?" I snapped around, finding Hamish standing there. Horror struck me as I took him in. He looked dead, blueing and pale. His throat had been ripped open and dried blood covered his chest.

"Hamish--" I went to reach for him but froze. My hands were covered in blood.

"Why?" He simply asked. I killed him--what--how--Hamish vanished. I shouted after him, but he was gone. My chest tightened. What was happening?

"Remember what I taught you." I jumped around and found Winona standing there decked out in all her Silent Sister glory. I shook my head. She was-- "Keep your head held high. Never let them see how scared you are--how weak you are."

"You're dead." She tilted her mask-covered face. "I killed you." Winona chuckled in my mind coming to a stop before me. She took my hands and placed them on each side of her mask. This was her silent way of telling me to remove her mask.

My eyes burned and I knew it wasn't from the fire. I slowly took her mask off, as I had done many, many times before. But instead of her beautiful, scarred face, I found it had been clawed off. I had done that. She vanished just as Hamish did.

I stood in the quiet, waiting. This wasn't right. Nothing was making sense. What had happened to Hamish? How had Winona, who had been dead for years, stood before me. "Did you find it, my dear?" No--No he said he would give me more time. I slowly turned to face the tall, menacing man. He wore his expensive suit and a wicked smirk. He looked me over with those dark eyes. "No? Hum." He pulled his slim fingered hand out of his pockets, a phone in one. "Times up." Panic shot through me.

"No! It was destroyed! I swear!" He shook his head, turning his phone on. The blurry silhouette of a girl appeared, but I didn't need to see her face to know who it was. "Please! Please! Don't hurt her! She had nothing to do with this!" I panicked but kept still. I knew one wrong move could make the situation worse.

"You disobeyed me, Nora. You lied to me." He mocked hurt. "I've grown tired of it."

"Don't! Where is she? Where is she?" Someone grabbed hold of my shoulders and shook me hard. My eyes snapped open and I let out a strangled yelp. Hamish stood over me, worry etched on his face. I looked about the room and found I wasn't in the den and said the den wasn't on fire. Winona and him weren't here. Hamish wasn't dead. No, he was very much alive. I let out a shaky breath and sat up. Hamish kept his firm grip on my shoulders. "Um...I think I was having a nightmare." He gave a curt nod.

"I saw." Confusion hit me, but before I could ask what he was talking about, he spoke. "You must have been unconsciously sending it to me." He said, his grip loosening a bit.

"Oh..." Was all I said. We sat in silence for a while before I worked up the nerve to speak. "How-How much did you see?"

"All of it." I gave a nervous sigh, running my hands over my face. Exhaustion weighed heavily on me. That's when Hamish pulled his hands away. I didn't want him to leave. "Who--" He shook his head. "Uh--the others will be here in a few." He went to get up, but I grabbed hold of his hand, stopping him. I don't know what possessed me to do it. I knew he didn't want to be around me. But--But I wanted him around. Hamish looked down at me. I must look like a mess.

"You can ask--If you want." Hamish stood there for a few seconds before sitting back down on the bed.

"Was that guy--is he who's after you?" I nodded my head. Was I really about to tell him--but that edger look in his eyes had me spilling.

"He calls himself Emperor." The look Hamish gave me meant that wasn't enough. "He--I used to know him. We were close. But then he got dangerous--power-hungry. He calls himself Emperor because that's his hide. As soon as he switched hides--the man I had known was gone. He died."

"And this Emperor--he has someone? Is she part of your pack?" My heart sank a little and I slowly pulled my hand away from him.

"Not exactly." The sound of the others making their way into Hamish's apartment stopped me from going any further. I went to get up, but Hamish took my hand.

"Tell me more." He said, his gray-blue eyes begging me to stay. He had gotten a glimpse into the truth and he wanted more. But for now, that's all I was ready to give up.

"We shouldn't keep your demon waiting for too long." I squeezed his hand tight before slipping out of bed. I rustled through the bag of clothes I had packed from the den and found a decent outfit to wear.

"Nora--" I paused, looking back to Hamish who stood like he had meant to rush and grab me. "I want to trust you." It felt like I had been slapped. I knew he wouldn't ever fully trust me. Not after I continue to lie to him. I gave a nod because it was all I could do and made my way to the bathroom.

Randall, Mavis, and Chole hadn't shown up for the second summoning of Zecchia, which I didn't blame them for; so it was just Hamish, Lilith, Jack, and I. The summoning itself had gone smoothly. Zecchia had delivered the Knight's desire and now we had an apartment full of magical contraband and items that should have never left The Orders vault. But Hamish was happy so I would be happy for him.

I made my way around the stacks of magical items, picking things up, and examining them. "Isn't this sweet?" Lilith said, pulling my attention away from a money claw I had been examining. Lilith wore a silver and gold knight helmet that looks a good few decades old. I gave her a smile, but before I could speak, something behind Lilith caught my eye.

To an outsider, they would have just seen a musty old box that held little significance, but I knew what it was--what it held. I all but dropped the money claw and grabbed for the box. With a deep breath, I opened the box. Lilith looked over my shoulder at the red, glowing stone that lay swaddled in silk. "Fuck. Is that Malech?" She asked, looking over my shoulder. I nodded, looking to find she still wore that hamlet.

"That's gonna crush your head if you don't take it off soon." Lilith's eyes widened and she quickly took it off. I slammed Malech's cage shut, locking it back up tightly. If Malech was here, that means The Mind's Eye is here somewhere and I needed to find it.

I could spot Jack and Hamish trying to pull a sword from a stone through an opening in one of the shelves. Lilith, losing interest in Malech and the hamlet, walked off towards them. Perfect. Where would Vera put a mind-controlling stone? Maybe in a box? Or near Malech.

When I didn't find it on the shelf Malech was on, I made my way around the room. Soon, I found what looked to be a hide locker. Curiosity took hold of me and I opened the large box. Low and behold, it was a hide locker with a dark-furred hide inside. This must be Midnight or Cannon Fodder as Randall nicknamed. I ran a hand over the scared up hide. My hand hit something hard that lay under Midnight. I moved Midnight to the side and relief flooded me. Laying there was The Mind's Eye. Vera must have thought she was being funny putting it in here.

"Nora! You have to try this!" Lilith called from across the room. I quickly stanched up the stone, shoved it in my hide, and composed myself.

"Coming!" 

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Quick author's note: 

Hey guy! Sorry for not updating sooner, I've just gone back to school and things have been crazy. I wanted to thank everyone who has read this fic! I love seeing everyone's comments and hope you all continue to do so! 

Thank you again for reading! I hope to have another chapter up soon!