A/N: Hello! The 2023 year is coming to an end and seeing as there's only one chapter left after this one, I'm aiming to get it finished by the end of the year!! Fingers crossed as I'd like to have it done. It will probably be a wait until a continue with the sequel for this as some other projects have my attention, but I hope to come back sometime and continue this story! So for now, enjoy this, and then the last chapter after that, and as always I love you guys!
Chapter 28
The voice inside of her whispered its warnings and battled its encouragements. There was something fighting from within her and any other time she may have wanted to pay more attention to it, try to figure it out. But that was not now. Now she could only imagine what it would be like if she had to watch two men who she'd grown to care for ripped apart by shadows that she would never escape.
It was barely a minute before Bonnie was down on her knees, hands digging through the bag of items Gremory had brought. Instinctively she knew which ones to take; the tin wire and the blue candle. She pulled out the spare stone she'd taken from the river as though she had known she was going to need it. Wracking her brain, she listed the ingredients that made a summoning. It would be easier said than done had she known what it was she was making, but it was as though a voice was guiding her through the steps, their gentle push leading her in the right direction.
Kimaris' grunts of effort threatened to pull her attention to him, but she couldn't spare the time, if she got distracted that shadow would consume them both before she had a chance to open her mouth.
She shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut — what was next damn it!
An old worn page flittered across her mind, the summoning words and ingredients familiar. She had read this book, she had seen that name. The purple flowers sprang from the writing, making her eyes pop open as realisation dawned. Her feet took off running towards the embankment, ignoring the warning chills that followed her out of her safety bubble and away from the fire. Relief poured when she saw the same flowers sticking up from the grass, illuminated in the smoke that made her eyes water.
As she plucked one from its stem, she almost wanted to freeze and check she wasn't imagining things.
How could it be that the exact flower she needed would grow here, in this spot? How on earth was it possible?
But perhaps that was exactly it—this wasn't of earth.
With a new rush of faith fuelled adrenaline got back to her spot, pooling all the items together and arranging them as she had with the other summonings. Her hand barely shook as she drew the sigil on the rock, the lines flowing from her mind onto the surface as if someone had asked her to print it. Perfectly.
It was only as she went to light the candle that she realised what she was still missing— the glass bowl.
She could just make it out from where she knelt. Deep in the shadows that swirled and screamed into the air it sat on the ground untouched, rooted in its spot. The clashes of light were sparking over to one side in amongst the darkness, signalling where the fight was taking place. It was hard to see exactly and there was no saying whether the reflections of light were real —afterall who knew if demon physics were the same as humans—but it had to be at least ten metres from the bowl.
That would be enough... wouldn't it?
Bonnie rose to her feet, her soles crunching into the ground as she steadied herself, almost laughing at her attempt to be athletic.
"I can do this," she whispered uneasily, looking up at the roaring fire whose heat was the only thing keeping her from shivering. "I'm almost certain I can do this."
The wood crackled and in it she swore she heard a voice whispering, urging her to go.
Now.
The hiss pushed her forward and immediately her lungs began to strain against the smothering smoke, one hand covering her eyes before she was blinded by tears in them. As she approached the swell of the storm the wind picked up and knocked her to one side. Stumbling, she let out a yell and pushed against it, imagining a wall that refused to let her through—she could see the bowl, she just needed to keep going.
The sound must have travelled because Gremory called her name through the darkness, the worry evident but too far away to know where she was.
"I'm okay!" She called back and then immediately remembered why she shouldn't have. The wind felt like it changed but really it was just moving with the huge creature that had spawned from its depths. When its attention diverted, so did the air.
Now Bonnie could see it wasn't just darkness in here, there were flashes of light that showed the size the monster had grown to, and with its eyes now set on her, she could see the evil that fuelled it. She felt its claws wrap around her stomach, twisted it into a bundle of nerves and panic, threatening to stop her. But with the change in atmosphere the wind was no longer rushing against Bonnie and she felt her legs grow stronger as she stepped towards the glass bowl, the creature's eyes following her as it hummed its dark tune. When she took off in a run, it quickly followed, and she could almost hear its heavy pants chasing her down.
The grass crunched underneath and she let out a cry of effort as she threw herself down onto the ground beside the object, grabbing it quickly and curling around it as she tried to see where the creature was coming from.
Its large head reared as it came towards her, the hunger in its flame filled eyes gnawing at her confidence as she sat helpless, unable to get away quick enough.
Why had she thought she could do it? Why did she think she would be safe?
It felt like that night in the cafe; the dread seeping into her skin with the realisation that she was powerless—no, useless against the creature before her.
But just like then, it didn't matter, because someone else had the ability.
Kimaris' arrow flew through the creature's nose, making it howl and stumble back as he jumped over its snout, his long legs catching him gracefully on the other side. It's fangs made a move to catch him but a golden rope swung around them and yanked his jaw to the ground, making the creature roll over its own limbs and struggle with the constraint.
"What are you doing!" Kimaris shouted as he ran, pulling her to her feet in confusion. "I told you to stay in the pyre's safety. This demon is from the Abyss, if it gets you there is nothing that could stop it from consuming you, Bonnie!"
"I know," she spluttered out, the glass jar locked in her sweaty fingers.
"I don't think you do! That thing is too strong, we might not stop it and if we don't I need you to—" His eyes found the object in her hands and he scowled. "What are you doing?"
A roar like sound shook the earth around them and Kimaris let go of her, spinning to see where the creature was heading. As predicted, it looked like it was right for them.
"You need to get out of here!" He ordered, throwing an arrow like a spear at the approaching shadow but it moved out of the way, already learning their tricks. "Now!"
"I'm going to help, I promise!" Bonnie told him before listening to his orders and taking off back the way she came. "He can help!"
The relief Kimaris felt at her running immediately changed into something else, his brows almost one as he heard her words.
"He? Who are you talking about?" He made a step to follow her but Gremory's cry rang out, making him spin back around and run at the creature again, his panic not as strong as his need to protect the blonde.
Bonnie huffed as she made it back to the circle, not daring to look back at the figures in fear of what she might see.
She quickly dug her hands into the earth and pulled up fistfuls of soil, filling the bottom of the glass until it resembled the beginnings of a terrarium.
"Thank god you have an earth element," she whispered to the angel as though he might hear her. Better to be hopeful than not. "Please hear me."
Her numb fingers grabbed the match and lit the candle before gripping the flowers that felt heavy in her palm. She tried not to squeeze them too hard but her heart was beating quickly and her bones shook with uncertainty.
No — she could do this.
Kimaris and Gremory pushed the demon away from them, wrapping it up in its own limbs as he struggled to break free from the knot the rope had curled itself into. It wouldn't hold forever, but it would give them a moment to think of a plan. Kimaris looked over to where Bonnie should be, seeing her not inside the safety ring but off to the side of it, knelt down with a glowing light below her and a purple flower in her hand.
No. It couldn't be.
He called out to her through the smoke, his arms reaching for her through the darkness as he watched her lips move over the words he knew from heart, but she couldn't hear him. It was too thick, too drowning. Even his strength was dwindled by the power inside this storm, but he had to try.
Bonnie recited the words from the back of her mind, ones she could have sworn she only read once but seemed engrained now.
"Sitri, O'Daemon of chaos and Prince of Jinnestan.
He who controls thy desires and truth,
Free this place from deception,
And help thee in thy time of need.
Through all six realms I beg your ears to hear,
And your power to grant thy wish.
For I have offered you,
Now offer me,
The chance to bask in your glory,
And learn from thee."
Her words rang out into the air, wrapped up in the wind that had choked before, but now it carried upwards, where the light still remained. As the last words left her lips and the purple petals were engulfed in flames, the darkness retreated. As though someone had pulled the plug from a drain it slunk back into the mound, the screams gurgles of the creature dragging its claws in the ground, refusing to leave. It thrashed again the power, but the wind pulled it in, along with all debris that it could find.
Kimaris and Gremory braced themselves against the rush, straining to not be sucked in with it. Kimaris watched as Bonnie came into view, her smile growing as more light seeped through and her eyes searched for them in the cracks.
"Bonnie!" Kimaris tried to shout again but his words were pulled behind him. Into the pit.
As the sky cleared and the last remaining howls of refusal were dragged below with the creature that had formed from the shadows, the wind cut off and Gremory and Kimaris fell forward at the sudden change, their bodies hitting the ground with a thud.
There was a silence, and in it Kimaris wondered if he had been wrong. But then he heard it, the faintest sound, a twinkling of laughter that felt as though it was in the air. The dread that sat itself on Kimaris' chest made him feel human. It carved its way up into his mouth, dropping it open in horror.
"Are you guys okay?" Bonnie's called, concerned why the two of them hadn't moved. Had they been that badly injured? She stepped towards them but the sounds of laughter made her stop. It was light, but it pulled at something in her which she didn't have a word for, a deep memory of some kind that hurt to think about. It was a happy sound, but why did it only chill her bones?
"Bonnie!" Gremory yelled, his eyes like saucers. "Bonnie— who did you summon?"
As the noise whipped around her she spun, trying to find it over and over again, just like in her dreams. Her feet stepped on one another as her head kept turning, looking for what was whispering to her, what had pushed her to say the words in the incantation. Gremory kept calling but it was like a daze, one that Kimaris was trapped in too.
The chuckles rose, the laughter spilling out of the mound louder and louder as though an audience calling for their star to come on stage. To make their appearance.
A shadowed figure grew from the mounds entrance, tiny at first but with every second it stretched towards her, just like the demon had before. This was no guardian angel.
"Sitri," she whispered, the words stabbing her lips. "I summoned Sitri."
The laughter stopped, the pyre blew out, and across the field nothing moved, not even the clouds in the sky.
"And here I am."
Bonnie whipped around at the voice from over her shoulder, her hands coming up in a defence that she knew was pointless. But nothing was there, just empty air and the sight of her summoning circle a few metres away.
Instantly, she tried to go towards it, remembering how quickly Amdusias disappeared after his was blown out. She had the power to stop it.
She didn't even make it a full step before her legs were knocked out from under her and something hot and sharp wrapped around her ankle. Fear turned into desperation as she saw the black tar glinting in the now shining sun.
No, please no.
Another laugh rang out and suddenly she was moving, being dragged across the field in the same way the demon had been, her screams not unlike its own.
"Bonnie!"
Gremory's cry of panic knocked Kimaris out of the memories he was drowning in. His eyes found Bonnie immediately, shaking the fog of pain that had smothered his sights.
Gremory was already on the move, his whip entangled in a dance with one shadowed tentacle that seeped from the doorway, the movements quick and deadly, almost striking him every time.
"Get moving!" he ordered, narrowly dodging another attack as he ducked under it. "Close the circle, I've got this!"
Kimaris took off towards the other side of the field, his chest heaving as he sprinted the fastest he could, wobbling over the uneven terrain. He couldn't let this shake him, not in this moment.
He could see the summoning bowl, in the distance, the light flickering but strong. He just needed to knock it over, just one shove and it would end, and he would be taken back to the depths—
"Kimaris!"
Bonnie's terrified scream stopped him. She was not far from the mouth of the mound, her fingers caked in mud and blood as she tried to grab onto the ground in any attempt to not be taken. Even across the distance her warm eyes found him, the shimmer in them even stronger with the tears that had pooled there.
Gremory was too far from her, he wouldn't be able to stop her from being dragged from this world, and if Kimaris kept going towards the circle... he wouldn't either.
He could hear the screams of his family; the promises he made to never let Sitri be free, the oaths he took to swear that humanity would be safe.
Bonnie's voice cracked over his name again.
But he'd promised Bonnie too.
His heel dug into the ground as he spun on it and propelled himself in her direction, his gritted jaw ignoring the screeches in his mind that called for him to go back, but he couldn't. He couldn't let her down.
Hope bloomed in Bonnie's chest as she saw him run towards her, his quick feet faster than the creature that held her. She reached out towards him, ignoring the way sharp rubble etched itself into her skin and she willed their hands to touch. She dared a glance back at the mound and almost lost faith when she saw how close it was and the shadows laughter grew at her fear.
"Join me, Miss Lawrence." The voice was one she had heard before, whispered in dreams as though they were veins running through her, but there was still no face. Just the outline of the figure casting a shadow over her the closer she got. As the sun disappeared from view and the top of the mound started to overtake her vision, Bonnie thought it was over. She sobbed out the fear that had bubbled inside her, and turned for a final time to try a grab onto any crack in the ground to stop it.
There was none.
But there was a hand.
In a burst of light, Kimaris' fingers wrapped around Bonnie's wrist and the shadow immediately dropped her from it's grip, it's howled cry of pain echoing across the space. She scrambled to move away from the noise and Kimaris quickly pulled her into his chest, their knees piling on one another as he wrapped his arms around her and shielded her body with his.
Like an inferno, the tentacles blazed, screeching and wilting in a frenzy that shot off embers in all directions. It spun until it resembled a Catherine Wheel - the wave of light surrounding one dark centre. And in that centre a white grin lit up, the teeth so bright she had to cover her eyes.
"Until we meet again, my brothers." The voice hissed, and Kimaris stiffened around her, his breath shaking.
The noise of the tentacles reached its pinnacle, creating what they could only describe as a white noise and then it cut off, and the opening closed, pulling it all back in to the mound. But before it was totally gone, the voice rang out once more.
"I'll be seeing you soon, Sofia Lawrence."