“What else can we do?” Ashley asked.
“I think we’re too late,” I replied slowly. I’d stopped dead in the street, watching a dark formation creep up on the skyline, suddenly darkening the statue of the chariot rider perched atop the iconic gate.
The hopeless feeling that always accompanied the shadow started to crawl up my spine. I heard children crying—they were probably most susceptible to the feelings that the shadow projected, perhaps thinking that their parents had abandoned them, or suddenly consumed with the most basic instinct of fear.
We ran up to the columns. The shadow was growing in size, blocking out the sun completely. The screaming started, men and women running from the tourist spot in fear, not knowing what they were afraid of, just that they were.
“Corrine?” I asked.
“On it,” she replied.
Our core group started to float upward, moving through the air, gaining on the shadow. She dropped us down on top of the columns of the gate, four of us either side of the chariot. Corrine remained below with the rest of the sentries. She must have been putting a spell on the tourists—they kept running, but their screaming and horrific cries of fear were starting to fade.
“What are you waiting for?” Caleb growled, his arms open and ready to receive the shadow. It worked. The form stopped spreading out toward the gardens, and focused on us.
“Hold your weapons,” I called, waiting for the shadow to get close enough that we could do some damage. The black mist approached, its cloying wisps like tentacles as it reached out toward us.
“NOW!”
Tejus’s sword sliced through the mass, the first soldier roaring with rage as it burst into a million ash-like pieces. After that, the shadow didn’t let up. We fought furiously—each of us tearing the mists with our teeth, claws ripping at its shapeless form.
Each time the mists tried to creep around the sides and surround us from behind, furious gusts of wind, created by Corrine, pushed them back, ensuring that we were only facing the enemy head-on. It meant that the ministers and guards were useless for now—they waited below, ready to pick up the slack should one of us be wounded.
I fought with two immortal water-infused swords for better reach, and it was only Caleb who refused any man-made weapons, destroying only with his natural abilities. I noticed with pride how expertly Sofia wielded a razor-sharp whip that she’d brought with us from The Shade, slashing the shadow with perfect aim, taking out three or four of the entity’s soldiers with each flick of her wrist.
Finally, I felt that we were battling our enemy with some degree of success. I knew that the shadow would keep coming until we found and destroyed the entity, but we would have to remain defending the city until it was located. I just hoped it was sooner rather than later. As I fought, I kept my eye out for Jenus and I could see Tejus doing the same thing, but he was nowhere to be seen.
“Derek!” Corrine shouted at me from down below.
I dodged the outstretched arm of a soldier, narrowly avoiding getting my face ripped to shreds.
The witch belatedly realized that her shout had been a mistake, a distraction, and appeared next to me, her own sword unsheathed and moving swiftly as she joined me in battle.
“Ibrahim just appeared. Jenus has been spotted in the In-Between. We need to go there—now. He’s moving off to tell the others.”
“Good,” I replied, slashing through the mist with renewed vigor. “But some of us are going to need to stay here and keep the shadow at bay. Ashley, Landis!” I called. “We’ve found Jenus in the In-Between. I need you to stay with the sentries and keep fighting. Whatever you do, don’t let the shadow leave the immediate area. If we’re successful, you’ll know—I’m hoping the shadow will vanish completely or weaken enough that it stops expanding.”
“Got it,” Landis yelled back. “Give him hell!”
I grimaced darkly. We will, I vowed. The entity would be sent back from whence it came.
“Are you ready?” Corrine asked.
“We’re ready,” I confirmed. We all linked ourselves to one another.
A split second later we were standing in the snowy peaks of Mount Logan, some of us still swinging our weapons in the direction of the vanished enemy.
“What in Nevertide?” Tejus burst out, looking around, stunned at the abrupt change in surroundings.
“Welcome to GASP.” Sofia smiled at him. “Don’t worry—you’ll get used to it.”
Grace
Shayla looked around the Champ de Mars, squinting her large eyes in the bright sunlight.
“We need shade,” Vivienne reminded the witch as she and Xavier moved beneath the natural shade of a nearby tree.