The Great Fall

Chapter Two

The library was empty, but Julius had been given a key by the circle's head to continue his studies outside of usual instructions, so he had no trouble getting in. He and Haxa entered and began their laborious ascent. "Why did you bring your coin purse here," Julius asked. "Everything is free to circle members." Haxa remained silent, and appeared to be straining to hear something. Julius remained quiet until she began standing normally again. "What was it," he inquired. Haxa shrugged and replied, simply, "Nothing."

When they had reached the top of the stairs, Julius immediately noticed that the window upon which the raven had been pinned hung wide open, and the bird was gone. He would not have been surprised by the absence of the bird, for the library staff kept the library spotless, to the best of their abilities. However, they would have closed the window. Haxa shook him by the shoulder, for he had been staring at the window as if he were a man entranced. "What is it," she asked, and he replied, "Nothing."

They searched for the coin purse everywhere, but their efforts were fruitless. Julius was exhausted, and Haxa most likely was as well, though she would probably be up for two hours more, studying for tests he would never take. He called out for her, hoping to convince her to leave. "Haxa, we should just go home. I can replace however much money you lost, and if you find it later, all the better." There was no response. Haxa was off in search it seemed. Julius sighed and stretched out on the couch. If he fell asleep, Haxa would wake him before she left.

Before he could fall asleep, however, he heard a cawing. It was a raven. He jumped up and swung his head around, looking for the bird. He did not know why he was so bothered by it, but he knew he did not like that bird. He especially did not like it being in an enclosed space with him and a close friend. The cawing continued, but it seemed to be coming from all directions, and he could not find it. He began to cast a spell he had learned during his first year of being in the circle. It would track down one person, as long as you had something they had recently touched. He rubbed his shoulder as he chanted. He did not care about finding the bird, he just wanted to get Haxa and leave. He finished off the chant, and almost instantly, it seemed as if all of his senses became heightened, and focused on one point in space. He walked through the aisles of books, both willfully and under the control of his spell. Then, the spell stopped. Usually, this would indicate that the target had been reached, but when Julius looked around, he did not find Haxa. Instead, he found the raven, dead as it had been when he had first seen it.

It was just sat there, in the middle of the floor, like some kind of sick joke. Then, it began twitching, then flopping around. Soon, it was cawing and flapping its wings. It was still obviously dead, with its neck bent and eyes hanging out. "What in the empire's name is going on with you," he asked, for no real reason, as the bird could not have responded. At least he thought so, until it did. "Everything you once were, traitor!" The raven was convulsing now, growing in size and changing in form. It became humanoid, yet it was so far from human. Long, black horns protruded from its skull, and its eyes glowed with a dull red. It stood seven feet tall, and looking up at it, Julius could see its spiked body, its mouth filled with dagger-like teeth, and its complete lack of a nose. It raised its clawed hands, its barbed tail swinging back and forth rhythmically. It was a demon, just as terrifying as the stories made them out to be. "Everything you will never be again," it said, as it brought its claws towards his chest.

Fire. Bright blue flame. It wrapped itself around the demon. It screamed, and it was terrifying. Julius heard every nightmare he had ever had, every injury he had ever gone through, and every fear he had ever had in that scream. It was one thing that he never wanted to hear again. Yet, at the same time, it made him feel alive. He was almost more terrified of that thought than the scream itself. Julius opened up his eyes and looked towards whoever had cast the fire. It must have been circle teacher, to have cast a spell that powerful. Instead of a teacher, Julius saw Haxa lying on the floor. The spell had drained her, and judging by her pale skin, heavy breathing, and dripping sweat, done a good job at robbing her of any energy. Julius kneeled beside her and laid his hands on her. He began chanting a spell, attempting to funnel enough energy into her to get her moving. It only took three minutes, but they were long minutes. Nobody had ever reportedly killed a demon, and Julius had a sneaking suspicion that it would not stay dead for long. He did not know why he felt so, but he did, and it was enough for him to want out of the library. Once Haxa was up on her feet, Julius led her out of the library. "Where did you go? I tried everything, even tracking, and that just led to a demon." Haxa mumbled something about falling, and he hoped that it wasn't down the stairs. She was not a person who needed brain damage. He helped her down the stairs, and when they reached the bottom, something horrifying was there to greet them.

Julius opened the door, not bothering to lock it behind himself. He was too busy looking at the burning houses and corpses strung up, some headless, some children, some both. Dark forms, presumably demons, chased down the still screaming survivors. Julius was at a loss for words, or for anything, really. Haxa, however, seemed to be in a much better state. As Julius stared, mouth hanging open, at the carnage, she pulled him in the direction of the palace. This was a mistake.

When they arrived, they saw something that stopped them both in their tracks. Bror and Frater hung from the gates, suspended by their own intestines, and in between the two hung the body of Athair Drakaan. "D...dad?" Julius fell to his knees, tears streaming down his eyes. With his fists, he pounded the cobblestone ground repeatedly, until his fists bled. What came next, Julius would deny for a long time, and Haxa would be reluctant to admit as well. Julius let loose a scream, one shockingly similar to the scream that had escaped the demon. This scream was unearthly, detached. It was not the scream of a human, no matter how pained. This was the scream of pure, undeniable evil. The ground shook slightly, and then, all was quiet.