Shadow Beings

44. The Voice of Agony

The passage opened into a tall and broad circular room. The walls were lined with bright flames sitting in their wooden holders, their glow rather mellow but their strength powerfully hot. Circles of around a hundred dark, hooded figures stood on the firm Earth. Everything of theirs were cloaked by the black fabric excluding their eyes, which were covered by a translucent piece of that fabric. I heard short but quick intakes of air behind me.

It's definitely not going to be easy.

"Elek and Galen?" Aurelia's voice came softly and I inched closer to her, trying to keep the demons from noticing us and finding comfort in her mellow aura. Aurelia reached her hand out towards the two, holding a tiny bottle that contained the orange liquid she had given to Jack and Theo. "Here, take this. Take a drop when you land in the centre of the inner circle, it should revive the energy you've lost."

"Thank you, ma'am," Elek said with a humble bow, as Galen accepted the bottle. Aurelia frowned and turned towards me, and she smiled once I started laughing.

We had to sneak into where Ariana was being held captive, and Elek and Galen were our best shot for this. Galen could turn invisible and help Ariana rescue, while Elek would keep a watch on the two. He could attack at least ten demons at once, which is why he carried ten blades with him.

Elek would levitate Galen and himself, while Galen would spread his invisibility to Elek. They had practised doing this before, but it's not an easy thing to achieve. A lot of energy could be drained, not to mention the negative fire. Normally, shadow-lifting would've been a better option, but since we take on most of the demons, we need both Jack and Theo to be here with us.

Elek raised his right hand up, spreading his short fingers wide. He spread his left arm towards a now invisible Galen. Elek's figure turned translucent and his smile began to fade away, though his yellow aura remained as present as ever. He began to rise before he turned completely invisible.

"Let's start this, shall we?" Trina said, removing her thick and heavy blade from within her boot. She pulled the blade from both sides, revealing the fact that the blade was actually a foldable crossbow. Her hair bounced wildly in their rubber holder as she quickly walked up the wall with the crossbow in her hand. She shape-shifted the lower part of her leg to meet the features of a lizard physically, but outside her appearance was maintained. However, the aura around her twisted, slightly unsettling, even though she had done this a number of times before. Seeing such odd biology... it made me wonder how such a thing was even possible.

Huh, biology...

Evelyn unsheathed her long and light blade from the scabbard on her waist. It luminously reflected the light from the fire, showing that it was new, but Evelyn checked its edges to make sure that it was blunt. She stared into the reflection, a momentary look of sorrow appearing on her face. I felt a somewhat powerful presence... it was hidden but staggering, albeit it disappeared when she shook her head.

Conrad stood with a calm expression, although the tension in his muscles was evident. His thoughts seemed distant and his aura was pale as if he really was present elsewhere, but his body was alert to reality.

Jack and Theo simply stood straight, their legs slightly apart. They raised their hands up with their palms facing the ground, ready to raise the shadows when needed. Even Jack and Theo had been working on a trick where they'd be able to command the shadows to slowly suck in a bit of the demons' energy, enough to make them unconscious but not to kill them.

I walked over to Jay, giving him a short nod before taking a deep breath.

Let's do what you've always done, Audrey.