let go darling • shallura

chapter one

Creak.

Allura tenses, her feet freezing on the old floorboards. Her eyes survey the foreign area around her, searching every nook and cranny for any hints that she had startled anyone, anything. She had learned early on that demons had extremely good hearing; if she took one wrong step, they could swarm her. But then again, demons usually wouldn't take their time snatching up their prey—in this case, her. Once they found her, they would move in for the kill.

So no, her misstep hadn't cost her her quarry. Good.

She tests every floorboard now, gently pushing her toe against it before stepping on it. She's panicked, nervous, but she hides it within every tense muscle and moves forward. She can't turn back. Now is not the time for fear.

Creaaak.

She almost jumps this time, setting off another creak. She must've missed checking a floorboard. There isno one in the shadows, no one jumping out to claim her as their prize. Only her fear is there, seeping from within her pounding heart to the dark corners of the room. She forces herself to calm down, goes over the Sixteen Principles of Altean Alchemy in a last-ditch effort.

No one has found her yet. She is safe. She will find her quarry.

Creaaaak. Creaak. Creeaaak.

The sounds are closer now, faster. This isn't her. She hasn't moved an inch since the last sound. It can't be the blood pounding in her ears—fear doesn't creak. Floorboards do. She scans the area again, squinting into the darkness for any signs of movement, anything to tell her why the house is creaking—

A hand clamps around her mouth.

She nearly screams, but she bites instead, her sharp incisors digging into the soft skin of her assailant. He howls in pain, stumbling away from her. She seizes the opportunity, twisting away and reaching for the bayard clipped to her belt. She doesn't activate it yet; she needs to know who these people are before she reveals her identity.

Demons. A whole nest of them. They circle her, the sound of the creaking floorboards almost driving her insane. They know she's here to kill them. They know she's a hunter.

They don't know she's much, much more than that.

Her lips twist into a feral grin as she activates her bayard, the ancient Altean incantation to activate it easily falling from her mouth. She relishes the way her Altean broadsword sings as she swings it up and charges.

The first demon falls easily, shock still etched on their meatsuit's face as she knocks him against the walls. She leaps after him, her hand lighting up with the telltale rush of pure energy as she slams it against the demon's head. The meatsuit's jaw falls open in pain as the demon rushes out of the body, screaming as it falls back into the fires of hell.

A hand grips her hood and throws her back, sending her sailing through the air. Air rushes out of her lungs when she slams into the wall, leaving her gasping for air as the demons all charge her. She grips her bayard tighter, forces every muscle in her body to move, and jumps.

She sails over their heads easily, landing behind them on two feet. She thrusts her sword into the demon closest to her, the pure quintessence running through the blade forcing the demon out of its vessel. She doesn't waste any time on celebrating her small victory, instead exorcising another demon with her magic. Her heart thumps with every step she takes, every slash of the sword, high on adrenaline. Her blood thrums with the steady pulse of her magic, the Altean markings adorning her face and arms lighting up with blue energy.

But the demons are good. For every demon she exorcizes, they get a hit in. She is a single person against an army of demons.

She is powerful. She is smart. She has years of experience. But even she knows she is not a match for this many demons.