Resounding Echo
Page 30
She ignored him. She couldn’t really give him anything better than that.
A low growl sounded behind them, and she turned to see the Devourer catching up to them. It ran to her side, and she stroked the scales on its head affectionately. She was becoming quite fond of it.
“What is that?” Alassane asked incredulously as he stared at the demon.
“It’s a demon. I call him Kurt.” She said without offering any further explanation. She ignored Alassane’s disbelieving expression and kept on walking.
They didn’t speak much after that, focusing solely on reaching the Demios’ nest. Any other attempt at conversation would probably not go over well anyway.
43
They reached the mansion the next evening. Twilight had already fallen, which only made the huge building even more unsettling.
The mansion was looming over them, the very building emitting the same dreadful aura Selissa associated with the Demios. Death and despair.
Large, naked oak trees were standing in the front garden like silent sentinels. The leafless branches cast long shadows across the mansion, making it look like fingers clawing at the walls and trying to get in.
Not a sound was heard around the house. Not even birds seemed to come near this place. A heavy ambience surrounded it, making all living things instinctively avoid it.
She swallowed heavily, but forced herself not to give in to the panic she felt. She wanted to run. To run and never look back, but she couldn’t go back now.
“Are you ready for this?” Ardeth asked her quietly. He was looking down at her with something resembling concern in his eyes. It was an odd emotion that did not belong in those normally cold eyes.
“As ready as I’ll ever be.” She said. She looked over her shoulder at Alassane, who nodded silently at her, indicating that he was ready. The Devourer let out a low whine and scratched the ground restlessly. It clearly didn’t want to go in there anymore than she did.
Ardeth motioned for them to follow him and led them around the mansion. The closer they got to the building itself, the heavier the choking atmosphere got. It crept under her skin and made shivers run down her spine. The feeling of dark magic surrounded the place like a heavy cloak, and she wasn’t able to shake it off.
They got to the back of the house, and Ardeth slowly made his way along the side of the building. She was just about to ask what he was looking for, when her eyes fell on a wooden hatch. It was almost covered by vines and overgrown plants, so she would have missed it if she hadn’t been looking for something out of place.
Ardeth grabbed a hold of the handles and pulled. It clearly hadn’t been used in a long time, and it only reluctantly opened. The wood creaked loudly, the sound cutting through the silent night like a roar.
“It leads to the basement…” Ardeth said. “It’s the only way to get in without anyone noticing us.”
Selissa nodded, despite the fact that she really didn’t have any wish to enter a necromancer’s basement. Visions of undead corpses grabbing at her ankles flashed through her mind, and she shuddered in disgust.
She thought about Calen and took a deep breath. They were holding him somewhere inside and he needed her help. This was not the time to be afraid of the dark.
She took the hand Ardeth held out to her and hesitantly followed him down the narrow staircase that led down to the dark cellar.
She jumped slightly when the old wood creaked underneath her feet. Her heart was hammering in her chest, and she tightened her grip on Ardeth’s hand. She had to calm down. She would be no help if she was jumping at shadows.
She felt her feet land on the concrete floor of the basement, and she looked around blindly. The room was so dark that she could only just make out Ardeth’s form in front of her.
She lifted the hand that wasn’t holding onto Ardeth’s and summoned a small amount of magic into her hand. The pure white light lit up the area around them and made her able to make out the contours of the room.
It was plain and only contained a few dusty bookcases and some boxes spread out across the floor. A few doorways led to the basement’s other rooms.
She heard Alassane make his way down the stairs, followed by the heavy steps of the Devourer. Alassane came to stand beside her and looked warily around the room.
“Have you any idea where they might be keeping him?” He asked tensely. Selissa shook her head.
“No… We will have to search for him.” She said. He nodded, but the frown on his face told her that he was not happy with the situation. She couldn’t blame him.
“Let’s split up and search the basement first.” Ardeth said and let go of her hand. She desperately wished to grip it again, just to have something to hold onto, but instead she clenched her now free hand at her side.
“I’m not sure it’s a good idea to split up…” Alassane said. “If any of us runs into problems they will be alone.”
Selissa had a feeling that when he said “they” he was referring to her. Ardeth scoffed at him.
“Everyone here is able to hold their own until the others can reach them.” He said.
Alassane frowned and looked like he wanted to protest, but reluctantly agreed.
She and Ardeth went through one of the doorways, while Alassane took the other. The demon stalked after her like a watchful dog, a low growl coming from its throat.
The next room they stepped into was bigger and looked like it was used as a storage room. Old furniture was stocked up along the walls, and piles of dusty items were scattered around the floor.
Two doors led away from the room, one on each side. She cast an uneasy look at Ardeth when she realized they would have to separate.
“You go left, I go right?” He asked her. She nodded, but suddenly realized that he had no way to see in the dark without her.
She took his hand, letting the magic pool into his palm. It formed a shining white sphere in his hand and sent a soft light into the room.
He watched her carefully, but she just smiled and made her way to the left door. Her hand shook slightly as she placed it on the doorknob, and she took a moment to collect herself.
She heard Ardeth open the other door, and out of the corner of her eye she could see the light from her magic fade away as he went through it. She turned the doorknob and slowly opened her own door.
The next room was smaller and completely empty. She walked through it slowly, quickly locating yet another door. She grabbed the doorknob, only to find it locked.
She shook it roughly to see if the lock would give in. The metal lock held, but the old wooden door creaked loudly under the force.
She backed away a bit, before ramming her shoulder into the door. She winced at the loud, banging sound when she hit it, but she felt the wood give under the pressure.
She repeated the motion again and the wood splintered. The third time the door flew up, causing her to nearly fall into the room.
The magic vanished, when she stumbled through the broken door, and she was suddenly shrouded in complete darkness. She blinked her eyes furiously, trying to adjust to the missing light.
Suddenly she felt a wave of something dark and menacing brush over her skin. The feeling of dark magic washed over her and wrapped itself around her. The dark presence in the room was so intense it almost choked her.
‘Get out. Now.’ Cadeyrn’s voice was clear and urgent. She would have been more than happy to listen to him, but she had to know what was in there.
She raised her hand above her head, letting white flames shoot from her palm. They lit up the room, casting long, flickering shadows into the corners.
Her eyes took in the room, a feeling of dread spreading through her chest and seeping into every inch of her body. Behind her, the Devourer was whining uneasily.
Along the walls and scattered across the floor were countless unlit candles. The only piece of furniture was a table placed at the far end of the room. It was covered in a black cloth and several items she
couldn’t identify from where she stood were placed on it. But it wasn’t the table that caught her eyes.
She felt herself start to shake when she looked at the floor. Bile rose in her throat and she covered her mouth with her hand as she took a step back.
The blood was old and faded, but she could still make out the mark drawn on the floor.
Azarial’s mark, drawn in blood. Exactly the same as at the temple. The same as in her nightmare.
Memories of cloaked figures and chanting voices flashed before her eyes, and the shaking got worse as she realized that this was the exact same room as in the nightmare that had plagued her for years.
Another thing she realized was that this was the place the ritual for freeing the banished demon lord was going to take place. And had taken place before.
She slowly sank to her knees, when long repressed memories suddenly came rushing back. She had been there before…
She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t hear someone else enter the room.
“I see you have found me.”
44
She looked up to find Ilyan standing on the other side of the room. The ghostly white light danced across his disfigured face and made the scars look even more grotesque than in daylight.
“Do you remember the last time you were here?” He asked as if recalling fond memories. She watched him warily, but didn’t answer. He didn’t seem to mind.
“Unfortunately, the archangel’s powers went wild and ruined the ceremony before it was complete.” With a flick of his hand, all the candles went