~Lucilia~
Nausea churned in my gut, crashing over me like the waves of the sea mindlessly battering the cliffs below. At some point during my less-than-ideal stay in the castle, I had succumb to my weariness and drifted off into nightmare-filled slumber... Then I awoke back into one far worse than what my subconscious had conjured up. And much to my discomfort, the little rest I did manage to steal away came with a nasty case of morning sickness. Since I was still gagged and strapped to the table, I'd already had to swallow my vomit twice, only making me grow all the sicker and filled with utter disgust. It truly was like some sort of cruel and unusual punishment.
So much for not torturing me while I'm here...
I sucked in a deep breath of the fetid air through my nose, miserably listening to the sounds of some sort of terrifying commotion reverberating from outside. The screeches of the lloigors were deafening, amalgamating with unsettling booms, clangs, crashes, fearsome shouts, and a cacophony of demonic roars in the distance. It was hard to tell, but judging by all the action movies I'd seen and the way the walls were shaking, I'd guess that a mighty battle had begun. I knew in my heart...but mostly through logic... that it was Valarendrik coming to save me. And thank goodness for that, because I wasn't sure how much longer of this torment I could handle.
The others likely thought that I was still asleep because they hadn't tried to speak to me since I'd awoken. Jayden would cry on and off, talking about Parker and how worried he was because he didn't know where Maribel or Jaxson were. I wanted to assuage his grief and tell him that they were presumably taken back to Hell, but the gag prevented me from doing so. Oliver also spoke about how he couldn't find Rosalie, with a tone of fear and anguish lacing his every word. I was grateful for the gag in his case, because I honestly had no idea if she was alright after seeing her strange state back at the ruins.
Despite all that was happening around me, my thoughts would relentlessly drift back to my mother. She must have been so worried. I had only just returned to Earth when we were forced to leave for Hell. Now she was likely being questioned by the police and thinking I'd gone off and disappeared again. She had looked so emaciated from the stress of losing me when I saw her last, causing poisonous guilt to gnaw at my spirit. Valarendrik had mentioned that Azathoth would take me to go visit her at some point, but I just really missed my mom.
The eerie scraping of The Elder Graith's nasty foot claws sliced through my string of thoughts like the haggard blade of an old rusted knife, making my stomach churn with more than just morning sickness. He slowly walked up to me and placed the tips of his pointer finger and thumb on my cheeks as if he was gently pinching my face. "The mad prince has just fulfilled a disastrous part of the old prophecy." Thick slimy drool dripped from his wide sneering mouth, splashing down onto my collarbone. "Perhaps it would be best to eradicate you after all, so that he may never have his queen of colors to rule by his side... Your death would surely destroy his rebellious spirit." He may not have had eyes, yet the suffocating amount of malice swimming within his blind stare was enough to make anyone recoil in fear. I had no idea what he was talking about, but that was the second time he'd referred to me as a queen of colors. "Hmm... But is it worth destroying the only possible heir?" His sickening voice hummed and ticked in thought while he slowly dragged his long bony fingers down my chin, over my breasts, then down to my stomach. The way he did it wasn't perverse at all, yet I still felt utterly violated.
I jolted in fright as a deep bestial snarl abruptly tore through the room, followed by several shouting guards just outside the door. My eyes darted to the doorway where I just barely glimpsed the terrifying sight of a massive black creature. It swiftly pounced on one of the vigils, effortlessly tearing their throat out with its harrowing jaws. Blackened blood splattered across the floor while the guard gurgled and collapsed with a heavy clanking thud. A few screams broke out within the crowd tied up on the floor. Then a mixture of brilliant white light and the glow of crackling flames began illuminating the hallway, growing in brightness as though carried by someone who was rushing toward us.
...Wait? What?
Twin golden eyes peered in through the doorway, looking directly at me like a malevolent demon here to harvest my soul. Fear saturated every inch of my being as a deep snarl fell from its menacing jaws. But then the light illuminated the beast's big furry body, and I realized that they were, in fact, demonic eyes that I was seeing...
Belzar!... Never thought the day would come when I'd be happy to see a demon wolf growling at me...
A horrifyingly gurgled hiss was spewn from The Elder Graith's mouth while he angrily released his clammy fingers from my stomach. "Slay the beast!" His aged abyssal voice ordered the remaining guards in the room while firmly pointing at Belzar.
The others continued to freak out on the floor in utter terror. No doubt they'd seen an abyss wolf before, yet they didn't know that the one standing before them was just a big lovable mutt. A few guards began to charge, then they almost immediately started scraping at their eyes as if they were blinded. Their sharp claws frantically ripped away at their flesh, causing chunks of shredded and bloody skin to fall onto the floor. Pained screams and growls bellowed out of them as they writhed in the light... Then the flash of a radiant white glowing sword suddenly impaled one right between the eyes.
Holy shit!
I gazed up at the man who had speared the guard's ugly mug in awe. The sword lustrously illuminated the ghastly dungeon doorway around him, making the texture of the crumbling stones, the cobwebs, and all the blood splatterings visible. His tall slender frame was adorned in the type of elaborate hellish armor one might expect a demon warrior in some cheesy fantasy movie to wear, covered in menacing curved spikes and plates. A high ponytail of soft pale waves flowed down his back, while dramatically done dark eyes and glossed lips that could have rivaled the work of the most renowned makeup artists enhanced his sharp, almost feminine features. He looked downright badass.
...Oh wait a minute, that's William!
"Haha! Take that!" He cackled while skillfully slicing through the throat of another blinded and stumbling guard. "And that!" His sword pierced the same guard again for good measure.
I began desperately making muffled cries for help through the gag just as Gwendolyn appeared in the doorway, with Belzar following closely behind her... And then The Elder Graith did something so horrifying, not even the most heinous of nightmares could compare to such a sight. A blood-curdling screech abruptly poured from his wide, now completely rounded-out mouth. His wrinkled and rotted lips pulled back and inverted themselves, making the first row of his rancid needle-like teeth stick out like a barbed circle around his face. The other rows of teeth all pulsed inside his slimy mouth like an alien lamprey eager to devour poor unfortunate prey. A few sickening cracks were heard, then several black skeletal bones swiftly protruded from his back, ripping through his flowy clerical cloak. They were sharp as spears at the tips and jointed just like spider legs. He lifted his arms up and spread his gnarled fingers wide, his jagged claws extending out an extra several inches.
Holy fuck!
Using the bones on his back, he speedily crawled over the table with another horrifying screech and began charging at William. His harrowing movements were very arachnid-like, more of a scurry than a walk. "Oh fucking hell no!" William's face contorted with a dramatic mixture of fear and disgust.
Gwendolyn screamed with fury as her fiery sword forcefully embedded into one of the guard's stomachs. Meanwhile, Belzar attacked another one charging in through the door. The Elder Graith swiped at William with one of his long bone-things. He smacked it into William's chest but was unable to penetrate the hellish armor. William screamed while stumbling backward, then he forcefully stabbed The Graith in the side, earning a pained shriek from the thing. His bones twitched in distress like a dying scorpion. But then he leaned in and tried to swallow William's head whole with his frighteningly toothy face.
William swiftly blocked the attack with his forearm, using his free hand to repeatedly pull his blade out and plunge it back into the monster. Drool dribbled from The Elder Graith's nasty teeth and down William's bicep as he animalistically gnawed at the protective armor. Blood and drool splattered across William's screaming face, while a bright ball of light like a mini sun began to glow in his hand, attempting to blind him.
A decrepit cackle gurgled within The Elder Graith's palpitating throat, then his ghastly voice somehow spewed guttural, mucusy-sounding words. "You can not blind me, O' wretched human creature! For my sight comes not from the means of weak and fragile eyes, but from within the all-seeing chasm of the time-spun visions of the cosmos!" He superciliously taunted. Not that William could understand the abyssal language though.
"Die, motherfucker! Die!" William yelled while forcefully ripping his arm away and throwing the glowing ball of light straight into The Elder Graith's mouth.
Once again The Elder Graith shrieked, his entire body convulsing in agony. Little threads of light began bursting through the rips in his tattered flesh, creating a morbid display of crepuscular rays beaming all around him like a disco ball. His harrowing voice grew louder, then he dramatically imploded into a sickening pile of black sludge and bone, forming a putrid puddle on the floor.
"Ew!Ew!Ew! That was so fucking disgusting!" William quickly covered his nose in a futile attempt to block out the rotten smell.
Gwendolyn was suddenly beside me, using the hilt of her sword to smash the buckles holding my restraints in place. "Don't worry, Lucy, we're going to get you out of here. Valarendrik and Azathoth are outside right now attacking the kingdom with a whole army of demons and old tree people." Her pale hands gently lifted my head and began fidgeting to untie the gag. Belzar remained by the door, guarding us against any interruptions.
Old tree people?
William placed his glowing sword on his hip with the other one, letting them shine while he began to untie the hostages, swiftly moving down the line. The ropes binding them plopped to the floor in tangled heaps, allowing hands and feet to burst free from their confines. The people who were already freed began quickly helping him untie the others. Then my stomach filled with butterflies and my heart rate sped up. William was crouched down before Miguel, right next to Oliver.
Oh my goodness... This might be very romantic to watch... I thought while my big blue eyes impertinently peered over at them, hardly noticing Gwendolyn's curse words while she struggled to untie my gag.
My breath caught in my chest as William shuffled in front of Oliver. He paused as though seeing the image of a ghost, taking in Oliver's familiar yet changed features. Oliver's lips slightly parted as he peered back at him with awe and disbelief, both men seeming stunned and at a complete loss for words. William's violently trembling hand lifted to tenderly cup Oliver's cheek as if checking to make sure that he wasn't just a mere illusion.
"Have I died again and gone to heaven this time?" Oliver softly asked with confused furrowed brows. His words weren't spoken in a cheesy pick-up line kind of way. He was asking a legitimate question.
The faintest hint of a smile curled upon the corner of William's mouth, a soft single-breath chuckle coming from his closed lips. Tears welled in his sky-blue eyes as they shifted between Oliver's crimson orbs with deep love and yearning. "No, lovecake, you're still alive and I've come to take you to Hell."
What transpired next was what could only be described as an immensely passionate kiss between true soulmates. William yearnfully crashed his lips to Oliver's gaping mouth, desperately threading his fingers through the dark tangled locks of his hair. Meanwhile, Oliver furiously fought against his restraints, urgently trying to free himself so that he could embrace his long-lost lover in return. Tears fell from their eyes like rivers while their lips flowed together like the waves of the sea, feverish and harsh, desirous yet nostalgic. The shadow of death paled and withered in comparison to the vitality of their love, and not even his cruel skeletal hands could keep their destined souls apart.
William's armored legs moved to straddle Oliver's lap, further closing any despicable distance between the two while he reached down to untie his beloved. The very moment the restraints were loose enough, Oliver's arms burst free and swiftly wrapped around William's torso in a feverish embrace. He vehemently took charge of the kiss, leaning William back while aggressively kissing him as if he could disappear at any second. As if this was all some cruel trick and he'd soon have to face the bitter and crushing perils of reality once more. His claws scraped against the armor on William's back, tightening his hold until his grimy knuckles turned white. William's hand cradled the side of Oliver's head, his pale, perfectly manicured fingers curling around the point of his grey ear.
Reluctantly, the kiss tapered out, William panting and Oliver trembling. William tried to blink away his tears, remorse glistening in his watery eyes while he caressed Oliver's cheek. "I'm so, so sorry..." He brokenly whispered with tremulous breath.
Oliver shook his head, not even trying to control the black tears falling from his wide wistful eyes. "No, don't say that. Neither of us had any choice. I had no control over myself. You had to do it." His clawed hand cradled the side of William's head, while his adam's apple bobbed with deeply rooted pain. "God, I thought I killed you." His words became breathy as he swiftly wrapped his arms further around William, burying his face into the crook of his neck as he began to weep.
"Lucy!" Gwendolyn's snapping fingers pulled me back to reality. "Come on, we have to move before Cerindier notices what we're doing!"
"Oh, right!" I quickly snapped up into a seated position and stretched my jaw, feeling the sweet freedom of mobility. My butt swiftly shimmied off the table then I rushed over to help untie anyone who still needed it.
I glanced over my shoulder while beginning to untie one of the frightened children. Jayden was crouched down and weeping next to Parker's remains, one hand over his eyes and the other lightly pressed to Parker's back. Grief lurched in my heart for him, knowing full well that we were going to have to leave the body behind. His son would forever rot in this place of death and horror. As I continued to untie more people, some of the others went to the far corner of the room and retrieved a bunch of weapons that had been taken from them. Others raided the dead guards, stealing their superior swords and other weaponry.
Many hands made swift work and soon everyone had been untied. There was a tense moment where everyone was just standing around, having no idea what to do next. The castle shook with the force of an explosion, while a mighty cascade of scorching flames lit up the room just outside the window. It was then followed by a cacophony of terrified screams. "Alright everyone, we have to move quick!" Gwendolyn took charge with a raised and authoritative voice. "Anyone who doesn't have a weapon should remain within the center of the group. Our light is blinding to the guards, but that doesn't mean we're completely safe. I don't think everyone will fit the way we came, so we'll have to find another way out."
"Gwendolyn?" Oliver suddenly moved to the front of the crowd, having been too distracted by William and lost in the chaos to have realized who she was earlier. His bow and arrows were now strapped onto his back, making him look like a fearsome huntsman. "Is that really you?"
"Oliver!" Her face lit up with a beaming smile and tears rimmed her eyes upon seeing him. She rushed over and threw her arms around him in an emotional hug. "I can't believe you're really here! We thought you were dead." Belzar woofed, demanding that they save the reunion for later. "But we've got to go! Belzar can lead the way!"
"Belzar?" Confusion crossed Oliver's face while he glanced at the massive wolf, tilting his head. "You mean Ashton's dog?"
"Yeah, we've got a lot to catch you up on." William chimed in as the group began to swiftly exit the room.
With Gwendolyn and Belzar in the front and William in the back, our path through the castle was fairly well-lit. Unspoken fear surrounded and suffocated each one of us while we tried to quietly navigate our way through the maze of hallways. Every now and then a guard was slaughtered, but luckily it wasn't too often. I had my arm around a frightened little boy, helping to usher him along with the others. A combination of dusty old bones and fresh remains littered our path, adding to the overall ruinous and dungeon-like aesthetics of the place. Cobwebs and scorpion-like creatures were nestled within the shadows of the stonework, chittering with curiosity as we scurried on by. I noticed several wall scones that looked as if they hadn't been lit in several thousand years, full of dust and other debris.
They definitely had lights here long, long ago...
The sounds of pitter-pattering feet and frightened murmurs filled the hall as we rushed through a tall yet narrow doorway, only fitting a few people at a time. I fearfully kept glancing over my shoulder while waiting for my turn. Then the moment I did finally pass through I paused, recognizing the large ramshackle room we were in. "Oh, shit! This is the throne room!" I gasped while gazing up at the huge hole Valarendrik left in the ceiling, seeing several flaming fireballs flying over like a meteor shower. I then glanced over at the mighty double doors, finding that the rubble had been moved just enough to pry them slightly open. I suddenly understood where Belzar was leading us. "If we go through those doors, it will lead us out to the main doors in front of the castle!" I exclaimed while pointing toward them.
"You don't have to tell me twice." Jayden rushed over and began climbing up the pile stones right behind Belzar, only stopping to look back at us once he got to the top. "Come on, everyone, let's get out of this hellhole."
I gently ushered a few of the children to go ahead of me while the entire group madly scrambled across the blood and rubble-encrusted floor. There weren't any bodies left from the wedding massacre, likely having already become fancy hors d'oeuvres for the queen. My feet fumbled over a few of the loose stones, while another thunderous boom was heard. It shook the entire castle with violent force. I didn't know what exactly was happening out there, but it was quite apparent that we had to get out of here and find shelter as fast as we could. The climb up the rubble was unceremonious and exhausting and only two people could fit through the doors at a time. William and Oliver were helping people climb up, while Gwendolyn and Jayden assisted them in going down on the other side.
Just as half of the group had managed to slide through the narrow opening, a deep predatory purr vibrated above us, followed by an all too familiar-sounding deathly chirp. Every hair on my body stood straight up and my blood felt frozen in my veins. I warily peered back up at the giant hole in the ceiling, already knowing what sickening horrors I would find. The decaying black reptilian head of a lloigor stared directly down at us, hatefully shifting its gaze over each person as though it was sizing up its next kill. Foul-smelling drool dripped from its formidable maw, while it stiffly tilted its head back and forth, predatorily flicking its long spiked tail as it did so.
"Run!" I full-on panicked, pushing people toward the door in desperation. It began to slowly use its four arms and hind legs to crawl down the wall. Its talons effortlessly pierced through the crumbling stone like a panther prowling down a tree trunk. "Everyone run right fucking now!"
Terror began to spread throughout the group like a blinding web of hysteria, making everyone hurry and crawl over one another in a mass fit of screams and sheer panic. I tripped and landed against a large stone during all the chaos, causing my palms to sting and breath to flee from my lungs. The lloigor lowly growled, compelling my wide frightened eyes to glance back at it. It continued to slowly descend, black drool ominously dripping to the floor in front of it. Its black soulless eyes covetously stared directly at me as if it could see into my very spirit. I knew that those things could move at unnaturally fast speeds and teleport, yet it was taking its sweet time, intentionally terrorizing us with a slow yet menacing pace. That wasn't just some dumb carnivorous space lizard, that thing was a highly intelligent and sadistic being who greatly enjoyed the taste of fear.
"Go!Go!Go!Go!Go!" I shrieked at Oliver while he tried to help me back up, just as the last few people scrambled through the door.
"Come on, Lucy!" He swiftly yanked me up and threw me over his shoulder, rushing to leap through the narrow gap in the door with me screaming on his back.
The lloigor roared and swiftly lunged right as we stumbled through, swiping its massive claws through the crack at me. Its huge hand hooked around the door, talons scraping into the stonework. Then it began violently tugging to open it up further. "Thou can not hide, O' pitiful vessel of the heir." Its deep malignant voice tauntingly echoed in my mind, filling me with an unnatural and sickening sense of dread. "Repugnant daughter of mankind, thou art unworthy of the ontogenesis of power within thy weak womb. Escaping mine claws is but a futile endeavor and all others whom cowardly flee these halls shall die for thy foolishness."
Its telepathic words were like an injection of a deadly truth within my mind. I glanced around at everyone, taking extra notice of the many children. I realized that it wouldn't hurt me because I carried the heir within my womb, yet it fully intended to slaughter everyone else. The salt of my tears began to sting my eyes as I sucked in a deep breath, knowing that I would surely be the death of them if I tried to escape along with the group.
If I go, it will certainly chase me... I will be bringing death to them all...
"Lucilia! What are you waiting for!?" Gwendolyn frantically called to me from the front of the group as they ran towards the main doors.
I peered over at her, then my gaze shifted to Oliver and William. "You all have to go on without me."
"What? No fucking way!" Oliver protested while storming back over. "We will not just leave you here!" He roughly grabbed my arm and began dragging me toward the others.
"No, listen to me! That lloigor won't kill me if it catches me, but it will ruthlessly slaughter the rest of you!" I tried to dig my heels into the cracked stone floor. "If you want everyone to live, then you'll have to leave without me!" I furiously fought to get out of his firm grip.
"And what on earth would ever make you think that!?" He demanded, still pulling me along.
"Because I'm pregnant with Valarendrik's child and he is the prince of this kingdom! It wants the heir!"
He stilled, once again looking confused as fuck. "Wait, what?"
Gwendolyn frantically ran over to us, her wide green eyes warily watching the lloigor as the door was yanked open inch by sickening inch. "Hold on! She's got a point! That lloigor will come for us all, but it wouldn't dare touch her." She pointed her sword at me. "If you run around the castle while we get out and flag down either Azathoth or Val, then we might make it out okay and can send one of them in after you."
Thank goodness she has some common sense...
"Yes, let's do that!"
Oliver shifted his gaze between us in frustration, torn about this decision but running out of time. "I fucking hate this idea." He growled while yanking the bow off his back. "Take my bow and arrows, and try not to let that thing catch you!" The arrows softly rattled as he handed them to me and then gave me a quick hug.
"Wait, let me do something real quick!" William grabbed the arrows and closed his eyes in concentration. Each tip of the weapons began to glow with the same lustrous white light as his swords, spreading down the sticks with swirling brilliance like a lucent spell. "Now you'll be able to see where you're going." His perfectly winged eye winked at me.
"Be careful, and we'll send someone back in as soon as we can." Gwendolyn nodded while they began to run back toward the group.
"Good luck!" I hollered before swiftly sprinting in the opposite direction, not wanting to give them any time to change their minds about letting me do this.
Rancid air burned at my lungs while I aimlessly raced deeper into the ghastly bowels of the castle. A loud crack and crash shook the walls behind me, followed by the eerie vibrations of the lloigor's mighty thumping footsteps. A deep throaty purr vibrated within its chest while it malevolently peered down the hallway at me, affirming my suspicion that it had only been taunting us. No doubt that thing could have easily teleported through the door already.
Oh shit! Maybe it wanted to separate me from the group!?
That thought came seconds too late. It roared behind me, just as I took a sharp turn down another spooky hallway. Its hind legs began to propel its giant gaunt body at a jarring speed, moving like a rabid tyrannosaurus rex chasing its prey... Shit!Shit!Shit!... My muscles burned from how fast I was forcing myself to run. Adrenaline rapidly coursed through my veins and my heart violently hammered against my ribs. Its claws scraped along the corner as it followed me down the side hall, ripping loose stones from the wall as it did so. Deep lizardy laughter echoed from its jaws, thoroughly enjoying this harrowing game of cat and mouse.
I madly dashed past a few huge frightening-looking guards who stumbled backwards, screaming and tearing at their eyes. The lloigor snapped its jaws around one of them, seeming to antagonistically grin while practically swallowing the man whole like a sinister crocodile. His bones loudly snapped and crunched, blood splattering across the walls and floor like a macabre sprinkler. My feet fumbled over a stupid skeleton, causing me to slightly lose my balance as I scrambled to race onward.
"Fuck!Fuck!Fuck!Fuck!Fuck!"
My eyes landed on a tall unguarded door off to the side, too small for the lloigor to fit through. With panic electrifying every single nerve in my body, I raced over and yanked the creaky thing open, finding that it led to a long dark winding staircase. No doubt leading up to the top of one of the main towers. Two deep, ominous thumps suddenly reverberated behind me, causing my spine to straighten as I warily shifted my wide gaze to the predator pursuing my soul. It lowered its head while standing several yards away, slowly swooshing its tail with malice gleaming in its sullen black eyes.
"Idiot girl. Foolish thou hast been to leave thy accomplices and their weapons of luminosity." It darkly cackled in triumph with twitching talons.
Shit, I knew it!
Without wasting another measly second, I raced through the splintered doorway and began frantically sprinting up the stairs. Old crumbling skulls were knocked down the steps in my haste, creating loud echoing clanks each time they fell. My face ripped through several dusty spider webs while gravel crunched beneath my feet. Then to my utter horror, the lloigor teleported into the tower right behind me, snapping its sickly jaws at my backside. Its body was too large to fit inside the winding staircase, causing the stone walls to loudly crack. Little pebbles and dust spewed out around it and a spine-chillingly deep purr vibrated from its throat.
"Does thou truly believe that there is an opportunity to escape the grasp of mine claws?" Its long talons scraped at the side of the wall, then it teleported again, returning to its place mere inches behind my sprinting ass, further weakening the tower. "I shall return you to Hsarohpem mineself and partake in the delicacy of thy flesh once thy spawn is sundered." It laughed, relishing in my terror. "For the clouds of the great one veil this world in his power, and in darkness, we remain indomitable!"
My thighs burned from my rapid ascension, while I feared for my very life. I didn't know if Valarendrik could save me if it remained true to its word and took me to Hsarohpem. The thought filled my very soul with suffocating despair, causing me to choke on a sudden sob. Then the glow of the arrows finally revealed a square opening at the top of the tower. The sight of it renewed my stamina and filled me with enough strength to hasten my pace. It opened easily with a whining creak, revealing the swirling fire-laced skies.
Warm abyssal winds whipped through my golden hair as I burst out of the hole like a madwoman. It didn't take long to realize that I was on top of the tallest tower. The whole kingdom below me was set eerily aglow by the fiery wings of warring demons and their blazing fireballs. A creepy blood-red moon hovered above the land like an omen of bloodshed, with the belly of the clouds swirling unusually low in the atmosphere. Loud crashes and thunderous booms resounded all around, while I very briefly glanced at the nearly unfathomable bedlem below.
A giant serpent was raging through the kingdom, spewing black webs of lightning from its colossal jaws. Its glossy ebon scales glistened in the amber glow while it ruthlessly flattened buildings and effortlessly swallowed lloigors and tenverians alike. Cascades of flames poured down in mighty infernal torrents upon the streets and over the cremation grounds, which was now the sight of a violent and bloody battle. There was an army of living-looking tenverians fighting against the rotting forces of the queen, while fearsome demons fought the lloigors with ariel attacks.
A flash of bright white lightning pulled my gaze over to some far-off seaside cliffs, where the most sinister and massive lloigor I'd seen yet swiped at a floating shadowy figure... Valarendrik!... Time seemed to stand still as I briefly watched in utter horror. The mighty lloigor slashed at him with its blood-soaked talons, making Val fly backward and violently smash against a large sharp stone. He flopped to the ground and stumbled down over a large outcropping of rock reaching over the raging sea, the lloigor seemingly having him cornered.
Another jarring boom below quickly drew my attention back to the perilous situation at hand. Then more fiendish laughter thundered below. "Weak and feeble the odious prince has become against the power of Hsarohpem!"
Weak against the power of Hsarohpem... Whose power comes from the darkness...
The tower shook as the lloigor further damaged the walls from within, causing me to almost lose my footing. I glanced up at the raging clouds, their whorling winds reflected in the tears of my blue otherworldly eyes. I impulsively reached up and pulled one of the glowing arrows from my back, while what was likely an insane and desperate idea flashed into my mind. My hands violently trembled as I took the bow and lined up the arrow. My arms felt weak while pulling the string back, aiming straight up to the obsidian sky. My lower lip quivered with the fear of losing Valarendrik, of losing our child, and of the fact that I was now standing on top of a crumbling tower with no way down and a lloigor chasing after me.
...I am terrified, but I have to be brave.
The stones beneath my feet ruptured and gave way with a plume of dust as the lloigor suddenly burst through the floor, its mighty claws sinisterly swiping at me as it did so. I screamed while letting loose the arrow right as the floor fully crumbled. The arrow flew through the air like a brilliant beam of shining white light, piercing straight through the veil of the dark clouds. The lloigor and I then began to fall through the air as the tower collapsed, completely giving way with rocks and debris loudly imploding all around us.
Tears fell from my eyes and another scream ripped from my throat. I swiftly reached back and grabbed another arrow while turning around midair to face downward. Desperately, I lined it up with the bow and pulled on the string, the wind whipping wildly through my hair as I did so. The lloigor opened its massive jaws just as I released the arrow, snapping them shut around my entire free-falling frame and swallowing me whole as we both plummeted to the ground below with the remains of the tower.
And as everything fell into darkness all around me, a glimmering shaft of light began to stream down through the abyssal clouds...
Hey everyone! Just so you know, this book is now complete on my patreon page. You can also read this chapter in William's point of view there as well. <3