The Opelux and Other Monsters || Book One

CHAPTER 46 - TRITTEON

I lowered Angquin to the floor of the cell. She would have to be dealt with later. I could hear the strange, disjointed thoughts of the Carnac outside and time was not in our favor.

I stumbled as I stepped out, reaching for the wall of the trench to stay upright, the smoke now high enough above us to no longer be a threat. Burning pains pinched through my chest and spots fuzzed the edges of my vision for a moment. I'd left the shower too soon. Water still flowed through my veins and would only multiply until the Asoiri removed it completely. But I would just have to push through until this was over.

"Are you alright?" Pharro said from his spot on the stairs, breathing heavily. "You're leaving a trail of blood wherever you walk."

I closed off the cell. Ignoring every bit of damage I'd already sustained was the only option right now. "Have you sent the alert for everyone to make their way to—"

"Yes. All doors have been sealed. "

Pharro picked himself up with effort and I followed him from the holding cell to the hallway.

The old man pressed his blistered hand to the control screen and sealed the door. "Have you positioned the Kovei?"

"They are posted at every entrance, but I doubt doors will be their preferred method of entry."

"You doubt we will be able to hold them."

"So long as the Carnac have not been tampered with, we should be fine. And if they breach, we know their objectives and can regroup accordingly."

"With the Security Team out of play, we need a vantage point that will allow us to fully assess the situation."

"The Korbell Room," I suggested.

Pharro nodded and, without argument, took the portal door handle and stepped through into the hallway outside the Korbell Room. All lights had been dimmed and the double doors stood wide. We hurried inside to the balcony doors where four Kovei guarded and I was finally able to witness for myself exactly what we were up against.

Relief settled in. I counted forty-five Carnac along the misty beach and another twenty or so in the water. We had over a hundred Kovei left. What had I been worried about?

Five more Carnac entered the lake and the third remaining took off toward the building and disappeared around the corner. The ones in the water gathered into small groups and converged on the wall, stopping mere feet away, somehow managing to tread in one place despite the water swirling violently around them.

Pharro's blistered brow furrowed. "What are they doing?"

Uneasiness prickled along my spine. "We should get back to the Infirmary. The Kovei can handle this section."

Pharro grunted his agreement, but hesitated, his gaze narrowing on the group of Carnac closest to our position, forming a perfect line in the water alongside the building.

I grabbed my com. But Orion didn't answer. I tried again. We were too far from the Infirmary to attempt to think a warning to her or hear if she and Desraeon had succeeded. Perhaps they were still working. I hoped not. In the event the wards were broken, that wing was too vulnerable.

"She isn't answering."

"Alright. Let's go."

The creatures' heads twitched this way and that as they stared at the wall like it might disappear if they watched it long enough. And then the one on the end raised its taloned hand and the shield surrounding the entire building shimmered and rippled.

Pharro grabbed his com. "The Carnac have been tampered with. I repeat, the Carnac have been tampered with. Proceed quickly and mercilessly."

The Kovei's staffs blazed with gold light and Pharro's hands filled with red Destere.