Anathema| Kaz Brekker |

Chapter 6: A Searing Burst of Light

Trigger Warning: There will be images of death, blood, and gore mentioned in this chapter (because Volcra). Read at your own discretion.

     The temperature dropped by a couple of degrees as soon as the skiff passed fully into the Fold. For a moment, all was quiet save for the creaking of the skiff and the ever-grumbling thunder far above their heads. The sounds of screeching Volcra suddenly echoed in the distance which unsettled many of the first army members who had never even been close to the Fold much less within it.

      Sanya was unfazed though she was keeping a diligent eye on the surrounding shadows prepared to fight if she saw any indication of the Volcra. Her hope was that the creatures would be as hesitant to approach the skiff as they had been to approach her a decade ago; she hoped her presence would deter them despite not having any evidence to back the thought. Perhaps it was just her wishful thinking.

     Alina spotted what looked like a destroyed shed to the left of the skiff. Sanya only noticed when she heard the Inferni woman say, "marker one." Sanya was about to ask but Alina beat her to it.

     "How many more are there?" Alina asked in a whisper.

     "Thirty-seven." The Inferni replied just as hushed.

     A Volcra screech was heard from within the shadows that hung above their heads. Sanya tensed as she eyed the sky trying to make out a shadowy figure to target. While she was prepared for a fight, she would have preferred to avoid one if possible. She was able to briefly spot a winged shadow brush across the sail, but she lost it just as soon as she spotted it.

     The entire crowd seemed immensely tense from how close the creatures seemed to be.

     To the right of the boat, the second marker could be spotted, and a moment later an emaciated blur, that somewhat resembled a dog, was seen sprinting behind the marker. The first army members readied their rifles as the Grisha Inferni gripped their flints.

     Mal briefly glanced at Alina who dropped herself to hide behind the railing of the skiff. Sanya crouched slightly but kept her head on a swivel to ensure she wouldn't be taken by surprise.

      She watched as the Inferni tip-toed back to the mast where the blue lantern hung. Not a moment sooner did the lantern faded out causing the Inferni woman to panic. Not even a moment later, Sanya watched as a first army member took out a lighter and went to light a lamp he was holding.

      "No," she whispered harshly, trying to get his attention. But he ignored her allowing his own fear to cloud his judgement.

     The Inferni woman noticed as well. "Blow it out! What are you doing?" She whisper-yelled.

     Sanya watched with grief as a shadowy figure with no face arose from behind him. The man barely had the chance to turn around before he was gruesomely snatched by the claws of the Volcra.

     His scream was cut off quickly, and the only comfort it brought Sanya was that he likely didn't suffer for long; it looked like the Volcra had snapped his neck upon takeoff. But regardless, Sanya's heart simultaneously dropped into her stomach and jumped into her throat as she realized the hopelessness of the situation. The man had dropped his lantern on the deck which caught fire, giving the rest of them away.

     Sanya watched as Alina began to panic as they all heard the nearby Volcra swarm over their heads. The Squallar on the top deck was snatched with a gut-wrenching scream.

      Sanya spotted Raisa on the other side of the skiff.

     Raisa looked panicked. "What do I do?"

     Sanya tried to tell her to get down, but a Volcra swooped in without giving her a chance. Sanya tried to grab her, missing her arm. Raisa dragged through the railing of the skiff headfirst at full speed. Sanya doubted she survived that as she choked back a sob, trying to get her bearings. She refused to lose anyone else.

      A Volcra snatched a soldier from the side of the skiff and Mal quickly shot it in the face, but it was too late for the man as he twitched; Sanya quickly assessed that a Volcra talon had gone through his head.

     Sanya stood, ready to fight for the lives of the people she cared about.

     She spotted the Inferni woman taunt the Volcra in anger hopping to get revenge for her fallen comrades. However, she was no match for a hungry Volcra; the woman didn't even get the chance to make a wound before she was thrown into the opposite railing, going limp as the Volcra adjusted its grip and flew off with her.

     Sanya put her hands up ready to kill the next Volcra she spotted. She didn't get the chance as she watched Alexei make a break for the hole in the railing that Raisa's body had made.

     "Alexei! No!" She screamed, reaching for him. He didn't even look back as he leaped off of the skiff. She hung over the railing trying to spot him amidst all of the chaos only to jump back before a Volcra landed heavily on the place she had just been. It stared her down as if contemplating if she would make a good meal. But it decided otherwise, tilting its head to seemingly look behind her (despite not having any visible eyes), and pounced over her head. At the same moment, she heard a scream that tore her heart in a way that the Volcras' claws never could. She whipped around only to find her best friend, whom she had come to call her brother, was being abducted by one of the overgrown shadow rats. And Sanya saw red.

     Mal started stabbing the feet of his attacker, hoping to loosen its grip so that he could get away. In the same moment, Sanya spotted Alina scrambling for a rifle out of the corner of her eye. But before Alina could take the shot, Sanya had raised her hands and focused on the water inside the Volcra's body; she concentrated the water into the monster's head and forced it outwards causing the creature's skull to explode. Something ached within her, but she refused to acknowledge it.

     The monster released Mal and its body crashed over the side of the skiff. Alina was the first to run toward Mal's fallen body, but not without giving Sanya a passing look of gratitude and of the promise of talking about what they had just witnessed at a later moment in time.

     Sanya ran to Mal's other side to hopefully treat his wounds with the supplies in her bag. She continued to glance at the sky in case one of the overgrown bats decided they wanted to snag a snack. Inferni fire lit up the area just enough to give her a proper view of both Mal's wounds and the sky.

     "Mal?" Alina begged in a silent prayer that he would be okay.

     He gazed into her eyes for an extended moment before he said, "I'll meet you at the meadow."

     Sanya gave him a silent glare at his implication that he would die here but didn't say anything, allowing the duo to have their moment. Alina sobbed with a nod.

     However, in a moment when Sanya was focusing more on Mal's wounds than the sky above them, a Volcra swooped down and snatched Alina by the shoulder, which splattered blood over Mal's wounds and Sanya's now upturned face. Sanya in passing identified the metallic taste of blood in her mouth, knowing for a fact that it wasn't hers, but she had no time to worry about it as her other best friend was being taken from her as well.

    Sanya screamed, reaching for her friend, and she felt something powerful singing within her. It was new, and it certainly wasn't her Tidemaker abilities rising to the surface. While calling on the water around her could be likened to sinking into a calm, warm bath, this feeling was hot and searing, like a sunburn on the inside, and nearly brought tears to her eyes at the intensity of the feeling. Somehow, she understood even in such dire moments that she could never allow that power to see the light of day, especially not in the presence of so many Grisha; so Sanya suppressed every cell in her body that was singing with the new power and forced them to sing instead with her familiar Tidemaker power at the same intensity.

       But Alina seemed to not need her help as the girl's skin burst into brilliant light which radiated outward. Sanya's eyes widened as her own Tidemaker power was forced to answer the call of Alina's power at the same intensity. The water vapor that was pulled from Sanya's own body caused Alina's light to refract and reflect even further than expected, the brilliance of the light nearly stretching to the other side of the Fold. In the distance, Sanya could just make out a figure running towards Novokribirsk.