The Falling Kingdoms: The Hidden Coffins

Chapter Thirty: The Saved and The Lost

Together, Nick and I surrounded ourselves with a charm that helped us hide from the rest of the demons catching us. They halted in the air, looking around as none of the both of us were there. They searched the air, one of them shouting instructions to them to kill us right away as they find us. But none of them did.

It was working. The charm was working!

I received a nudge at my side from Nick and I winced at the pain it caused in my arm. Ignoring it, I looked into his eyes and receiving his eye nod, I knew what to do. Our grips tightened on our held hands as we both closed our eyes and whispered the spell. The screams, wails and noises of the flashes of lights seemed to fade and were muffled now. Our focus drew deeper and deeper into our minds - our own and each other's.

"Protegat nos defende nos. Protegat nos defende nos. Protegat nos defende nos..."

We both whispered in unison and within a few minutes, the screams could be heard by us again. It was working. We both opened our eyes, finding the demons who were trying to advance towards the angels thrown backwards to their side. All the angels seemed to gather backwards to their side too, including the King and Adrian who were near the Prime Minister a few seconds ago. Both the species were separated from each other and a invisible wall of protection built between them. A few demons tried to stand again and run towards the angels but the wall threw them into their positions again, repelling every spell thrown towards them. A few of the angels who were now successful in vanquishing the inferno were wailing at the burnt bodies. Goosebumps rose on my skin as I looked at all of them with grief and that stuttered my concentration in the spell.

"Aileen! Do not lose focus!" Nick yelled besides me and gulping, I closed my eyes again, continuing the soft mutter of the spell.

We had to keep doing it until the demons stopped fighting into the barrier. Very few were left now to send spells with the intention of breaking the veil and they weren't backing off. My wounds could be suddenly felt by me. They were so open and the warm blood dripping down my body made me realize I had pain all over me. My head felt dizzy and I didn't know how much longer I could take. I just wanted to close my eyes, stop fighting and collapse on the ground. But I needed to stay put...

"Nick...Nick.." my voice came out with gasps.

"I-" his sounded even more cracked. "I know. Let's just...proceed."

With a huge gulp forcing down my throat, I nodded to no one in particular and we stopped repeating the spell, proceeding to another one now.

"Invocamus dearum, et intensum. Invocamus dearum, et intensum. Invocamus dearum, et intensum. Invocamus dearum, et intensum...."

Both our voices were heavy and cracking, weakened by the intensity of the spell. We were holding back almost all the demons from breaking the veil before them. And now, we were sending them back to where they came from. They must be sent back before any more damage is done. We had previously decided we would only cast this spell if it was utterly needed because it was too dangerous. Though, with all the power I had consumed and Nick's extraordinary powers, it was worth a risk. But now, I could feel all of it leaving my body, getting invested in the spell so quickly and leaving me weak and fragile. I could feel the same happening with Nick. Our hands were sweaty but we weren't going to loosen the grip. Both our bodies were trembling like anything now.

I just wanted to let go...

I groaned, pain rising in all of my body parts as I felt weaker than ever before. My chest felt heavy and my head felt like it had been compressed from all the sides. I wanted to throw up, to dive into the sea for the cold as my body was boiling with all the ache.
I opened my eyes, all of a sudden. I wanted to distract myself from the pain, as I knew if I focused a little more on that, I'd let go and all of this would be for nothing. My vision was blurred but I could see the demons shrieking "STOP THIS!" "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" "THIS IS WAR!" to the angels though none of the angels understood what was happening. This had been only a plan of a very few, only those who could be trusted. The huge figures of demons began to disappear into thin air one by one. They were still shouting in rage but the angry yells were soon fading. The ground where hundreds of soulless people stood was now empty. The pain in my body was dominating again and I loosened the grip on Nick's hand with a wince. Immediately regretting my actions as now Nick was unconsciously falling down on ground, I gasped and flew towards him. But I was too weak. Too slow. I wouldn't be able to save him.