As soon as Asahi's taloned claws reached one of the spire's upper balconies, he began shifting back. Makaela and Amora were launched from his back. The former fell to her feet while the other managed to stay upright.
Makaela wheezed as she tried to get up. Her muscles wailed in distress. They begged her to stay down and take a long nap. But her nap would have to wait. Their mission wasn't complete yet.
Gritting her teeth, she used the wall to help pull herself up. Her knees buckled and her legs shook, but she managed to keep from falling again. At her side, Asahi struggled to breathe. His black hair stuck to his wet face. He could barely hold himself up.
"You alright?" she asked him between breaths.
He nodded even though his body was visibly shaking. "Yep...never better." Panting, he tried rising to his feet but his arms collapsed from beneath him. "Just...give me a minute." He sighed and took a few deep breaths, his chest rising and falling rapidly.
I need several minutes myself.
She had never tapped stayed in her Nightling form for that long. While the powers it granted her were amazing, it sapped her vitalae and energy faster than any spell could. If she didn't constantly consume blood or flesh while in that form, things would end badly for her.
Whenever she asked Emile why other Nightlings could stay in their demonic form longer than she could, he always told her it was because she was only half. While she possessed the powers of a Nightling, she didn't share all of their qualities. Those who were pureblooded could go days without feeding and be fine.
That was why she preferred to stay herself. It was too dangerous to shift. Not only did it put those around her in danger, but it also put herself in danger. She shook her head and muttered, ''I'm not doing that again."
Amora placed her hands on her hips and glared at her two tired companions. "Hurry up, you two. We don't have all day."
Asahi snorted. "You try being a dragon for half an hour, holding up two girls, and trying not to get killed by a massive sea serpent."
"Or becoming a blood-craving demon that drains your energy faster than the speed of light," Makaela added.
"Whatever," Amora grumbled. "Stop rubbing your cool abilities in my face and get up."
Asahi stood up and rolled his eyes. "Don't tell me what to do." He took a step forward and then stopped. His face tensed.
Makaela arched an eyebrow at him. "What? Are you alright?"
He gulped and shook his head before pointing a shaking finger behind her. "We've got company." She and Amora turned around.
Heavy footsteps clambered up the stairwell leading to their platform. Makaela made out the outline of a few shiny helmets and sharp weapons making their way to them.
"The guards." Amora cursed.
An explosion rocked the lower levels of the spire. Shouting and blasts of magic hitting the tower could be heard below. The Shades and Asahi's housemates must've been fighting the guards down there.
That left them alone to handle the ones coming.
"We need to get to the top," Amora instructed. "That's where the control room is."
Looking up, Makaela realized there were a few more platforms for them to clear. Her legs, which felt like gelatin at the moment, nearly cried at the thought of walking up some stairs.
"In the name of Aegi and Lord Sirus, head of House Aegeon, I command you to surrender!" a voice in front of them yelled. The guards emerged from the stairs, their vayrirs pointed at the trio of young magicians on the other end of the floor.
Kaen muttered something under his breath before pounding his fist into his palm. Smoke poured from his knuckles. He pulled his fist away, which was now alight with blazing hot fire. "I hate these guys already."
Amora snarled at the guards and summoned her vayrir, a black dagger identical to Sebastian's. Makaela had no intentions of fighting. Not only was she tired, but they were outnumbered. Asahi may have been able to conjure up a few spells, but the guards would eventually wear him down. And no matter how strong Amora said she was, she wouldn't be able to take the rest of them out herself.
They couldn't fight. They would lose.
Makaela backed away with her eyes wide. "We need to run."
"Run?" Asahi grumbled. "What do we look like? Cowards?"
The Aegeon guards stepped forward.
"Running sounds good," Asahi said. He turned and ran for the stairs behind them, leaving Makaela and Amora behind. The two girls shared an annoyed glance before sprinting after him.
After emerging onto the next balcony, Makaela peeked over her shoulder. Two of the magicians were ambling towards her. They were pulling up water from the ocean, channeling it into vertical streams like geysers, and throwing it at her in the form of icicles. They thudded and shattered into the crystalline tower beside her, narrowly missing her head and arms.
"Stop!" they barked.
Never.
Reaching back, she aimed her palm at the top of the stairs she just finished climbing. "Anéantis!" The weakened blasting spell collided into the stone in a plume of marigold light. Even though it wasn't at full strength, it crumbled the staircase like an undercooked pastry. Chunks of rock fell into the water below, splashing the underside of the spire.
The guards skidded to a stop and shouted at them from the bottom of the lower platform.
Amora laughed at them. "Better luck next time!"
Makaela couldn't help but smile.
Asahi snatched both of the girl's hands and tugged them along as he sped up another flight of worn stairs. After ascending up a few more platforms, they reached the top of the spire. The high sun gleamed off the blue crystal, creating a bright glare in front of them. Makaela could feel the magic radiating from the tower.
They were standing in front of a locked, wooden door with the symbol of the Eldenarian Council engraved into the center.
"I got this," Asahi boasted. He pressed his hands to the wood. "Incendis!" A stream of maroon fire poured from his palm and engulfed the door. Within seconds, the wood had been reduced to a heap of ash and cinder. It burned brightly, a pile of ash covering the ground by the time it was finished.
Amora pushed past him. "We could've just unlocked it."
"Where's the fun in that?"
Makaela followed the two of them inside.
The portal control room was empty. There were no decorations or furniture apart from the four lanterns placed in each corner. A stone podium rose from the center of the floor. Seven circles, each with a separate color and letter corresponding to one of the original seven houses of magic, could be seen on the rock's smooth surface. Behind it a large, swirling rift in the air.
A single guard cowered behind the podium. "You're not supposed to be in—"
He was cut off by the killing spell that hit his chest. He fell to the ground, a shocked expression stuck on his lifeless face. Makaela recoiled at the sight.
Death. She'd never get to used to it.
Amora scoffed at the girl. "Don't tell me you feel bad for him. He was an enemy."
"He was afraid."
"And that's why he died."
She clenched her jaw and glared at the girl.
"Oh, don't act all high and might now, Nightling," Amora spat. "You've got blood on your hands too."
Makaela's gaze intensified. "Watch it."
"Or what? You'll rip me to shreds like you did to Ulrich and those other Shades you killed?"
"They deserved it." She wanted to add something else but opted to hold her tongue.
Amora scoffed. "Everyone deserves death."
"Some more than others."
The two of them stood there staring at each other for a few seconds. Neither of them looked like they wanted to break eye contact.
Asahi snickered at them. "You guys are unbelievable." He faced to Makaela. "You can feel bad about all the bad shit you've done after we're done here, alright?"
She nodded. Pursing her lips together, she walked over to the stone podium. "I'm guessing this is how you control the portals. How does it work?"
The dragon boy shrugged. "Hell, if I know.'' He looked to Amora. "Any ideas?"
Amora examined the control panel. She reached for it and a bolt of blue energy zapped her finger. She cursed and held her affected hand.
Makaela didn't even try to hide her grin.
"Well," Asahi said, folding his arms across his chest. "That's not going to work."
"No kidding."
The ground shook and dust fell from the ceiling. Makaela staggered over to the doorway and looked outside.
Shades and the spire's guards battled each other across the various levels of the tower. Flashes of light lit up the air, charging the atmosphere with energy.
Though, the battle seemed to be tipping in their favor. Most of the guards had either fallen into the water or were knocked unconscious. Or they were dead. For their sake, Makaela hoped any of them fell into that category. While they were her enemies, they didn't deserve death. Not like this. They were only doing their jobs, after all.
"We need to figure out how this thing works," Makaela said as she walked back inside.
She racked her brain, trying to pick through her limited knowledge of magical devices to see if she had learned anything about how portals worked. Unfortunately, she never paid attention enough during her lessons.
Remy would've been extremely useful at the moment.
Sometimes it seemed like the boy knew everything there was to know about everything. He was genius, walking encyclopedia and she was just the dumb fighter. At times, she envied his intelligence.
She missed him and her uncle. A frown tugged at her lips. They would probably never be on good terms again.
I'm doing this for them. She had been telling herself that so much that she was starting to believe it.
She took a deep breath and pushed the thoughts out of her mind. There was a more important task for her to deal with. They still needed to figure out how to access their realm's portal control system without getting electrocuted.
As she turned around, her finger tapping her chin, she caught sight of the fallen guard's mark. His palm was pointing upward, revealing the blue tattoo. Lifting her brows, she faced the stone podium in the center of the floor. Underneath the control panels was a hand-shaped print.
She had an idea.
"I know how we can access the portals."
Amora and Asahi shot her speculative glances.
"Well?"
She resisted the urge to shudder at the thought of it. "The podium is charmed, and none of us are skilled charm breakers." Amora huffed. Makaela simply rolled her eyes and continued. "Anyways, I think only those who guard this spire can access the portals."
Asahi nodded and averted his brown eyes to the dead man near his feet. "So, we use this guy's hand?"
Makaela swallowed hard and nodded. It was bad enough that they killed him, but now they had to touch him.
Amora walked over to the guard, grabbed him by the arm, and dragged his lifeless body to the podium. The girl then placed the man's hand onto imprint in the stone. A burst of light flared from the rock.
"That actually worked," Asahi said.
With her lips pursed, she squinted at him. "You thought it wouldn't?"
He shrugged. "You can never be too sure."
Amora stood with her back facing them. Makaela stepped up next to her. The girl was grinning, her gaze fixed upon the portal in front of them. They did it; they officially had control over all of the world's portals.
"The spire has fallen."