The Fae Chronicles: The Hollow Forest

Chapter 5

  "It doesn't look like they're coming back on." Rowan's voice said. As if on instinct, I cracked my whips. Faint blue light illuminated the vault, just enough to see Aunt Tessa, Rowan, and Ryan's golden eyes.

  "Where are you?" I asked. I could only see his eyes, even though he was probably right beside me. Something brushed my shoulder. "Ryan, I don't think we have time for this!"

  "What?" He said. "I'm over here." I could barely see him as he waved his hand at us in the dark acrooss the vault.

  Slowly, we looked up at the towering shadow, which grinned at us before letting out a metallic screech similar to the sound nails on a chalkboard makes, causing the already-dark lights to pop, spraying unseen glass into the darkness and towards us. I doubled over, clutching the sides of my head and trying to keep my eyes open as Ryan pushed himself up and tried to open the vault

  "It's locked!" Ryan shouted in my head.

  "What is it?" I yelled back over the sound of the shadow.

  "It's a calling card! If we don't leave soon, they'll come find us and forcibly take us to the fae realm!"

   "Yeah? And how soon is soon!" Rowan's voice shrieked.

   "Soon as in, if we can get out of here, we have to leave immediately!"

    "How do we stop it?" Rowan cried.

   "I think I know a way." Ryan said, almost reluctantly. "Get on the floor." And I watched through blurred vision as he uncovered his ears and turned to face the shadow. He drew himself up to his full height, and I felt my ears begin to bleed. His wings almost stretched to either side of the vault and his eyes blazed.

    "Don't get your panties in a wad, father." He growled, his Scottish accent thick in his voice. "We'll be there soon." He glared at the shadow, and yellow spots danced in the corners of my vision. "I hope you're dead when we get there."

  The shadow stopped for a moment before disappearing in a poof of darkness which was frankly a lot less sinister than what we'd just heard. I collapsed against the wall, thin streams of blood trickling from my ears. Ryan fell to the ground with a thump and I heard him moan into the floor.

  Aunt Tessa groaned. "Is-is everyone okay?"

  "Y-yeah." I said, picking a small shard of glass out of my arm. "Are you?"

  "I'm fine, but you won't be if we don't get out of here soon." She pushed herself off the floor with what looked like a great deal of effort and went to the door. It swung open before she even touched it.

  She raised an eyebrow at Ryan, who rolled his eyes and got off of the floor. I helped Rowan up, but as soon as she put weight on her left foot, she gasped in pain.

  "What happened?" I asked, and then I realized that she had been slumped against one of the safes when I helped her up. "It threw you, didn't it?"

   "Piper, I'll be fine-"

   "That's not an answer, Rowan." Tessa said sternly.

   She groaned. "Yes, mother! The thing threw me, but I didn't want to tell you because-" she bit her lip. "Because I didn't want you two to go to wherever the hell you're going alone! You may be older than Julius Caesar, but I've know you for eight years-" she said to Ryan, who looked kind of surprised, but then again I guessed he'd never had anyone tell him that. "and you're still my best friend, you just have a plus-lightning powers thing going on and I want to be there to help and not sit around, useless, while Ryan's home is freaking anarchy and you have to kill a dark fairy warlord!" She finished, breathing hard.

    "Rowan, listen to me." Aunt Tessa said, taking her by the shoulders. "You take part in this prophecy, that's what Eden told me the day you were born. 'That girl is special.' Were her exact words. 'She is going to complete the prophecy, I know she is.' You are not useless. For all I know, you could be the most important person in this room."

     Rowan started to say, "Well-" but she was cut off by a deafening metallic thunk over our heads and for what we'd just been through, I was not read for more loud sounds.

    "I get the feeling that wasn't the AC..." I said.

   "That is our cue that we need to leave." Ryan said, pointing to the cieling. "The portal is in the park."

  I grabbed my whips and put my arm under Rowan's shoulders to support her. "Then let's go."

  We trudged out of the vault and surveyed the damage. The horn-rimmed glasses lady wasn't at the desk and every window had been blown out by the sound. We were beginning to hear sirens in the distance. Ryan's head snapped up. "Do you smell that?"

  "Smell what?" I asked.

  "It smells like-" Rowan was cut off by a high-pitched snarl and Ryan shouting "Infernum!" And running for the door.

  We looked towards the desk just in time to see what looked like an oversized black panther leap on top of it. While most panthers were the size of a motorcycle, this one was the size of a jeep, and I'm surprised it didn't break the desk.

  And then it set itself on fire.

  I looked hard at the mutant panther thing. Were those horn-rimmed glasses propped crookedly on the bridge of its nose?

  "I knew it." Tessa hissed. I guess she'd noticed the glasses too.

  Ryan had the door open and was waving wildly at us to come on. Rowan did her best to assist us in helping her limp-run to the huge door.

  "Duck!" Ryan yelled, barely audible over the roaring flames now engulfing the bank. We ducked just in time to see a huge fireball soar over our heads and take our the doors. All that was seen of Ryan was a yelp as he dove out of its reach; I couldn't blame him, it felt like someone had thrown a heated oven over my head.

  We finally managed to get to the door, where Ryan was beating out a smoldering patch of feathers on his wing.

  "What the Holy Hell is that thing?" Rowan yelled.

  "It's an Infernum! One of the oldest species of fae. It's nearly impossible to kill, and once it's been directed to its target-" Ryan

  "It is impossible to kill." Tessa finished, voicing the thought everyone else was too scared to.

  "Come on, Scotty!" I shouted over the fire and the sirens now getting rapidly closer.

  "Oh, that's gonna stick?" He said, raising an eyebrow and grabbing my hand.

  "Yes it is. Let's go!"

  "We're going right to the portal!" He said.

  We were silent for a moment, until the Infernum stuck its head out the gaping hole where the doors used to be, letting out a massive roar.

   Ryan spread his wings and the light enveloped us just as soon as the Infernum lunged, snapping its jaws where my midsection had been just moments before, and then we were in the park.

______________________________
HIIIII
SORRY FOR THE LONG-ASS WAIT I HAD SCHOOL STUFF
1. That was v long wait I'm sorry
2. HAVE I MENTIONED THAT I CAMED UP WITH THE INFERNUM IN LIKE FIVE SECONDS LIKE WOW NEW PERSONAL WRITER'S LOW
3. BYE SUNSHINES (and you know my few little emo babies too)
-AVA