Till the End of Time

Chapter 7 - Demise & Hounds

Words drifted in and out of my ears, my head pounding with a deafening hum that had yet to be silenced. Zoya beside me had begun to pinch me awake yet I had only shook her off when I had enough, and she quickly relented. Then a shrilling screech that echoed the glass dome with bleary eyes sparking with shock and panic. As the tolling of the bell grew louder, it silenced itself as the grisha around us sat in silence for a second longer.

Zoya's kefta whipped around her as I drew myself from my seat as we raced to shut the doors that would seal the Nichevo'ya entering. Yet we had failed as they burst from the still partially opened doors, tongues hanging from agape mouths, with the barest trickle of blood already dripping onto the floor. Screams rung through the air as snarls unleashed themselves from deep within the hounds' throats.

Claws as bent as hooks with gashes following them as they tore through skin with carnelian left in puddles on the floor. Once pristine floors coated with stains that would never leave. Shadows fled from their claws, bleeding into their unfortune victims' veins. Obsidian clawed at bright ruby as it shot out of their bodies, Quick breaths and shrieks were yet to be silenced as I dashed around the room, slipping on all the blood as I held a hand coated with it to my face, trembling as Zoya attempted to drag me away from all of it.

In the thick of the panic, I had lost Leila who had been sitting at my side, panicked at the thought of seeing me or herself die again. Tears slipped out from my eyes as I wished for it all to be over as I tried to look for anything to escape, yet I could only hear the clambering of feet rushing above me, gunfire and explosions bursting from the rooftops. Right, the dishes and the roof, I sucked in a breath and searched briefly for Leila. However, I couldn't find her raven hair or golden bright eyes, I leapt to my feet as they dragged themselves quickly into the heart of all the shadows.

The Nichevo'ya desperately clawed my kefta as the once whole and beautifully coloured cloak was torn into shreds. One of the most precious gifts I had received from my sister, one of the only gifts compared to the hundreds I had given. I frantically weaved through the monsters that could have taken her from me. Lightning danced at my fingertips yet all that I found were lifeless bodies, none of which were Leila's as I led myself through a maze that constantly moved to seize me.

Fingers grazed my skin as black hair fell like water over my face. A black cloak nearly perfect still surrounded me as she held me tight. A breath escaped both of our lips as she began to run out of the mess I had dragged us into. Something I shouldn't have done just to be rescued by her.

"Aithera! Never do that again! Last time you did something like this you got killed, I don't want that happening again!" Leila cried, her face streaked with tears and dust. Her nails dug into my skin lightly as she continued to rush around the wispy shadow hounds. Her arms and legs scratched from their claws almost mirroring the ones I had. Rivulets of crimson slipped down their hooked claws and down her pale skin. Her own kefta torn and ragged from their claws, at least now I knew that Leila still remained among the living today.

The door that led to the stairwell had almost been sealed off with Zoya waiting with lightning at her fingertips. A slab of wood with splinters that had been sprinkled around the stone stairs. As soon as we both tumbled through the entrance, the plank was ruthlessly shoved into place as we were dragged up the stairs. Scrapes and bruises were sure to be present the next morning if we even managed to live till then.

Before long the Nichevo'ya slipped themselves from the windows, doors, and any cracks from the damage the palace had sustained from their violent spree. Without a moment's hesitation, I leapt into battle again, weaving streaks of light and white that struck wisps of shadowy black. They would slink back in terror before they regained their spirits to rise forward again.