Night arrived with the beating of drums. They rang through the city, a deafening cry of the violence to come. The city’s warning trumpets blared in tandem with them, spinning the melodic beat of a nightmare. My hand instinctively reached out and took Gale’s. Anxiety burned my stomach, and I could hear the clattering of window panes throughout the city around us, as if those who still had homes would be protected by an inch of oak. 

Gale squeezed my hand. “We’ll be ok.”

“I know.”

We walked towards the city gate. Mirabelle and Henry stood quietly, the latter wearing an uncharacteristically serious expression. They watched our approach, and Henry gave a soft snort when he looked down. I followed his eyes with mine and realized my hand was still clasped in Gale’s. I tried to let go, but his grip tightened in response. With another shake, he relented and my hand was released. Was he more nervous than he looked? I smiled gently when I realized I wasn’t the only one seeking comfort in the touch.

Mirabelle walked over and handed a bottle to each of us. “Invisibility potion. Use it when I give the mark; the duration is only an hour. If we’re caught behind enemy lines, we have little chance of survival.”

Gale looked at the bottle for a moment before glancing upwards. “Where is Atrax?”

“We don’t know exactly,” Henry said, “But I’ll be able to track him. It won’t be the first time I’ve hunted demons of his bloodline. They leave magical residues that are easy enough to trace.”

“What’s his bloodline?” I asked.

Henry clicked his tongue while Mirabelle’s face paled. She sighed. “His blood is tainted by a particularly foul breed. Their attributes are…disgusting.” She shuddered. Tʜe sourcᴇ of thɪs content ɪs novel~fire~net

“Watch for his stinger,” Henry said, “His venom causes hallucinations. I haven’t met a man who tasted that and came out the same on the other side.”

Venom? Some kind of bug? I shivered. I desperately wished I’d bought a flamethrower spell instead of a minor eyesight boost. 

“So,” I said, “Where are we going? Out the city gate?” 

Henry grinned. “Not exactly.” He walked off to the side and tapped his foot on something that sounded like metal. I walked over, and suddenly wished I’d never agreed to help. It was the sewer.

“Are you serious?” Gale asked.

“Deadly.”

Henry bent down and tried to lift the grate. He struggled before Gale joined him, and lifted it with ease. Henry climbed down first, followed by Mirabelle. Gale moved to go after her, but I tugged his sleeve. 

“Better let me go first.”

“Huh? Why?” 

“Skirt,” I said, climbing down. I didn’t miss his flustered face. I stuck my tongue out at him as my head disappeared down the hole. 

Henry’s nose wrinkled. “I don’t miss the smell.”

I had one hand clamped over my nostrils. “Do you come here often?” 

“Only on dates.”

Gale laughed, and I tried not to. I looked at Mirabelle, who maintained an air of nobility despite the stench permeating our surroundings. She was truly impressive.

“Hey, what are we doing down here? Surely the sewer doesn’t lead straight outside, right?” I asked.

“It doesn’t,” she confirmed, “But for a passage known only to the few I trust.” 

She soon stopped in front of a random patch of wall. It looked no different, no less grimy than the surround areas. Wait, secret wall? I grinned despite myself. I pinched Gale’s arm reflexively and tried to hide my bouncing excitement. His hand lightly patted the small of my back. 

Mirabelle raised a hand, and a glittering glyph of magic appeared in front of her. The wall shone bright gold, before impressing into the wall and sliding aside. A wave of air rushed out, whipping my hair and alleviating the stench surrounding us. I would take dust over Leyland plumbing any day of the week. 

The interior gradually became more dirt and less granite as we traveled. The floor changed from the roughly hewn stone into a natural trail, and we suddenly found ourselves in the forest outside the city. I looked back, only to see a large rock where we’d come from. An illusion? I reached out and felt the texture of cold rock. Strange.

Henry stepped forward. He pulled something from his pocket and took a moment to measure. I looked at him and scoffed.

I leaned over to Gale’s ear, whispering. “Think he uses that to pick up girls?” 

“I have excellent hearing,” He said, “But the answer is yes.”

He looked back with a wolfish grin. I rolled my eyes. I was really glad Gale wasn’t like that. I couldn’t imagine my misery if Gale was constantly picking up women around me. I was surprised he hadn’t tried since we arrived in this world. Had he done it behind my back? If he was parading around other girls when I was unconscious, I’d have to hit him later.

“This way,” Henry said. He began walking in a random direction. Did this guy really know his stuff? I almost wished he’d lead us the wrong direction, if only so I could criticize him later. My thoughts were shaken when I heard something whip in the distance towards where we were walking.

“What was-” 

My sentence was interrupted by the ear-splitting sound of crashing in the distance. I reflexively put my hands to my ears, and looked up in shock. What was that?!

Mirabelle’s face fell.“It begins.”

She and Henry walked on, silent. I lowered my hands and looked at Gale. He put a hand to my shoulder and gently led me towards the others. “We should move quickly.” 

The forest swallowed us in darkness, and it was only belatedly that I realized I had a spell for that. I put a hand to my cheek and cast Alter Sight. I felt a light pinch in my eyes, and the shadows lessened as the colors faded. The night was clear to me now - clear as daytime, were it a monochromatic grey. I blinked a few times to get used to the feeling. 

I could sense that although the effect lasted only a minute, I could feed it a small supply of magic to keep it running. I sighed in relief. I navigated the woods with surprising alacrity, helping Gale step over unseen roots and branches. I could have helped Henry, but the sight of him stumbling every so often made up for his behavior in the guild. Almost. 

He stopped suddenly, holding his device aloft. His head raised to an angle, looking up. “That’s not good.”

I glanced upwards. My stomach dropped. In the trees, wrapping around the branches, were thick strands of webs tangling between the canopy. My eyes followed movement as something skittered across them. 

“What the fuck was that?” 

“A trap,” Mirabelle said, “Draw your weapons.” 

The four of us drew our arms. I nervously looked around, but didn’t see the small figure darting around in my line of sight. 

“I knew it would end like this,” Henry muttered, “Dying in a forest smelling of shit.” 

Mirabelle shushed him, her eyes straining as she looked around. I inched over to her, reaching out. My fingers touched her arm, and I cast Alter Vision on her. She blinked a few times, but smiled gratefully at me. Her pupils had widened like a cat’s, reflecting the small amount of light like a lens. Did mine look like that? 

I caught something move to the side. Something zipped towards Gale. I pushed my weight into him, barely knocking him out of the way. We landed on the ground, me on top. I took the opportunity to cast Alter Sight on him, and hunkered low looking around us. 

“Shit,” I hissed. I felt a sting in my arm. I looked down. Something was sticking out of my arm, like a barb. I quickly pulled it out, throwing it to the side. Gale grabbed my arm and looked at it worriedly. 

I pulled myself to my feet, keeping my balance low in a crouch. 

Gale followed suit, holding his sword low. 

I put a hand to my arm and healed myself. The glow of healing was like a beacon in the dead of night. The forest around us lit in a flash of gold. The light reflected from something in the corner of my vision. I looked to my right, and briefly saw four legs of something thin and fuzzy retract behind a tree in an unnatural motion. No. Fuck no. I opened my mouth to say something when my head whirled. 

My vision swam, and I had the gut feeling of falling from a thousand feet above ground without moving. I stumbled, fell to my butt, and the impact jarred vast embers of multicolored sparks in my vision. The textures of the trees around me twisted and crawled. I looked at Gale, and his nosewas his mouth and his eyes were his ears and his tongue was his nose and—

I shook my head, and the vision faded, but the distortions stayed. I blinked rapidly, and I could hear the others saying something, but a great rushing sound was spinning in my ears. I felt a jolt of electricity in my brain, and suddenly it was like I could hear Gale’s thoughts. I could feel his concern, his fear bit into my heart like a parasite, refusing to leave. I looked at him, but his body was wrong. He had eight arms, his mouth sprouted sickly pincers, viscera dripped from his face, his jaw sloughed down, molting like a—

I pinched my arm. Just an illusion. Gale was normal again. What was happening? Had I been bit? He looked at me, and I looked at myself. I saw my form sitting in front of me, dazed, before the world started to twist. I saw my beautiful eyes and I felt like my breath had been stolen by the sight. I stepped forwards and Gale walked towards me, stumbling a bit as we looked at each other. I couldn’t move. Was that Gale’s mind? Had I seen what she had seen? Was that me from her perspective?

Mirabelle stooped next to me, shaking my shoulder, but her form shattered into pieces and I was back home, the same protein bar as always in front of me. I rose from my seat and walked to the back hallway. I heard the cries of help from my sister but the hallway stretched to eternity. I walked forward and the cries grew louder. 

I flinched, looking at the forest floor. My eyes lifted, and saw Mirabelle shouting in my face. Henry was off to the side, screaming something and Gale was knelt in the dirt, tears streaming down his face. 

Mirabelle opened her mouth to say,“Nightmare—”

I opened the door and saw her tipped over, bleeding, crying in pain. I approached but she wouldn’t listen. I couldn’t calm her down, I cried and yelled, I didn’t mean to hit her. She broke as I did. 

“Spell—”

I opened the door and saw her laying limp in her wheelchair. Her face was blue and the last whimpering, choking gasps of her meal sent spittle flying from her mouth. I wiped her chin and kissed her forehead and smiled, she was finally quiet. She was finally quiet. She was finally quiet. sHe waS fiNAllY quIeT.

"ARIA!"

I came back to myself, sweating and breathing heaving breaths. I couldn’t think. My brain tore itself in two, one part sane, the other sinking into the ever-deepening madness. What did I need? What could I do? Tears flowed from my eyes, I sobbed and felt snot run down my nose. 

[Extreme emotional disturbance detected. Purchasing ‘Basic cleansing magic’ for Host. -300 points.]

My mind cleared, the turbulent emotions halting. I shakily looked around me. The visions and hallucinations were gone. Mirabelle clasped my cheek with her hand. “Are you back?” Her eyes looked at me with concern. 

I nodded. My legs buckled under my weight as I stood, and I turned towards Gale. His eyes were red, overflowing with tears. I reached a hand to his cheek and cast cleansing magic on him. The dull look faded from his eyes, and he doubled over. 

I looked towards Mirabelle. “Is he still here?” 

“No,” She said, “He hit the three of you before I could drive him off.” 

“Where’s Henry?”

“Gone. Ran into the woods when I clashed with Atrax.”

“Were…were those visions real?” I asked.

She shook her head. “Fears made manifest. Atrax is especially deadly. He can force a person to experience the emotions of another as they face their greatest fears.”

I thought to the images I’d seen. Gale... 

I walked to him and pulled his head into a hug. He sobbed lightly into my chest as I gently stroked his hair. He controlled the shaking of his chest, quietly gasping. Tears misted my eyes before I blinked them away. 

I said nothing, only offering him the comfort I could.