ѕуԃηєу ηαтιση: вσσк тняєє

Chapter Twenty-Five

Glory put her elbow up to her mouth and coughed into it, releasing as much smoke from her system as she could. She looked around with watery eyes and saw rubble and chunks of broken wood everywhere on the ground. Books scattered everywhere, bits and pieces of paper and leather burning anywhere she looked. She saw movement everywhere, seeing platforms up above crashing down to the ground, and she saw the crystal chandelier from several yards up rattle against the melting chain above her. When she kept staring at it's shaking outlook, she heard a slight chink sound of breaking metal, and the crystal chandelier fell down from the ceiling, straight toward her. She raised her eyebrows and rolled out of the way as the glass shards broke into a million pieces and showered all over her.

She brushed herself off and stood up, looking around for Ember and Fawn with an entirely shocked expression. She held her elbow back up to her mouth and coughed into it again. Then, when she saw a small flicker of moving objects that didn't fall, but kept moving forward, she recognized it as Fawn helping Ember to the exit, his arm slung over her shoulders as she supported him.

Glory raced over to them and stood opposite from Fawn, next to Ember. She slung another one of his arms over her shoulders too, ignoring Fawn's burst of surprise at her being here in the middle of the fire. Glory yelled at them both to get moving, and Ember half walked-half dragged along with them. His face was exhausted and quite weak, and a large bandage was wrapped around his bare back, just like Glory's torso.

They all chugged along slowly, and the girls both grunted in effort while trying to support Ember's weight to the doorway. But when they reached the exit, and stepped over a pile of fallen debris, Glory saw that a decent pile of ash and rubble had fallen earlier and blocked her in, so she urged Fawn and Ember to the far side of the library, and found a dusty, stable window. She leaned back and kicked it with her boot, and nothing happened yet. Then, when she kicked again, harder this time, the glass shattered and fell down the the ground. A sharp jaw-like hole was left for them to walk through, sideways since the window was very tall and very thin.

Fawn went first, squeezing through the shattered doorway while leaving Glory to support Ember alone. He started to slouch away, and she held him up by his waist with clenched teeth.

"Just hold on, dummy." She whispered more to herself than him. "Just hold on, for me, okay?"

Fawn made it the rest of the way out, and she turned around and waved Ember forward. Glory let her grip on him loosen, and she gently pushed and maneuvered him through the sharp jaws of the window. He squeezed through, half asleep, and fell toward Fawn, who instantly held him up against her. She tugged another of his arms around her shoulders to support him, and then she looked back at Glory, motioning for her to follow.

But, as soon as Glory moved an inch forward, she looked up as a crack of rubble descended down toward her, and she rolled backward out of the way. The rubble fell down directly against the broken window, trapping her inside with the fire. She brought her elbow to her mouth and coughed again, and she looked outside through another stable glass window before her gaze was met by Fawn, who had an extremely shocked expression and heartbroken. Ember's face was sweaty and exhausted, but he looked up to see his love, and his eyes widened in terror when he saw her still trapped inside the burning building.

Glory looked around for another way out, turning in tight circles, searching for any other crevice or hole to squeeze through, but she found none. So then she looked back at Fawn, and saw the rest of her friends running toward the pair just outside the library. The intense heat was starting to sting and burn Glory's limbs. She saw Astro take Ember from Fawn and shuffle backward toward the rest of the safer part of the Nation. Glory then suddenly heard the faint sound of dripping liquid, and saw a puddle of some kind dripping down from the top balcony, making a layer of foul wetness at her feet. She had a sudden realization, and she waved for everyone to scatter, to get as far back as they could. Glory took off running into the farthest corner of the library as she could, and cuddled into a ball.

Just a few seconds later, she raised her head from her knees and looked toward a glowing figment of white energy hovering just a few feet to her left. She didn't need to squint to know that it was that same white timberwolf from just a week ago forming in front of her, like some kind of omen. It didn't do anything to her. It just stared, until it lowered it's head and bowed toward her like she was it's queen.

Glory stared at it until it started to dissipate away into particles floating away toward the ceiling, and then she saw a small spark ignite the puddle of shiny liquid, and then the rest was faded to black from there. The lights went blank, her hearing died out, and her body was thrown backward through the shattered wall that broke to pieces behind her. She flew right through the hole and rolled on flat grass.

When her body was met with land, she started rolling from the building, downhill, and now she fell several yards down into a trench where a small stream flowed. Her whole body was covered in chalked scorch marks and dirt, and her eyes were closed like she was in a peaceful sleep.

Running down toward her was Raven, who knelt next to her and checked for any pulse. But before he could get too far into investigation, he heard distinct chatter of the soldiers behind him, and his hands slipped under her body lifting her up into his arms. He stood up and had a slight limp as he ran away into the forest, toward the portal. Or portals. There seemed to be multiple portals scattered all around the Nation forest, which no longer burned all too much, and he just ran through whichever one was closest without looking back.

"I'm coming back for you, Astro." He whispered just before his body disappeared through the portal. "I promise."

Once the explosion went off, Ember and Astro were both launched backward, their unconscious bodies skidding on the grass towards the rest of the army. The clueless soldiers began to aim their weapons readily, but once their shoulders were touched by Melissa, they lowered their weapons, and they listened to what she had to say next.

"Tie them up and throw them in the ships." She ordered, and the soldiers nodded.

Most of them all left, which made only one remaining soldier pull out her ropes and lower them towards Ember and Astro's charred bodies.

Fawn, Peril, and Urchin were all hit by the huge blast of flame, and they flew backward like everyone else and fell to the ground. They rolled downhill like Glory had, all in different directions. And when they came to their senses, they gazed upon the small fragment of the portal sparkling in front of them. They got on their elbows and crawled toward the shining bit of magic, reaching out to touch it. Their fingertips only a couple inches away, and their teeth clenched, they all reached a little bit forward and their bodies were soon swallowed by the portal. They all disappeared into the abyss as soon as they'd come, and there was no sign of them anywhere.

Afterward, Melissa didn't busy herself with finding the remaining warriors of the Nation. She already had two useful captives, so she was prepared for what would come next. She ordered her captain to set course for Del Bar, but not before she and her army watched the remaining life of the Sydney Nation burn to ashes and cinders. Never to be heard of again.

All was quiet.