Fall of the Spectrum

Chapter Twenty-Six

She hadn't gotten very far when another group of monsters intercepted her. Gwen backtracked to one of the walkways she'd passed, booking it toward the opposite platform. The slap of her shoes against quartz was muffled by her laboured breaths, each step sending a jolt of pain through her thighs.

At first she thought the vibrations in the soles of her feet were from running alone, but when she came to a stop, resting her hands on her knees and glancing at the monsters pursuing her, she realized the battle was still raging on far below.

There wasn't time to peer over the side and see who was winning. Two of the creatures were nearly upon her, both of them chimera; one with the graceful body of a cheetah, its leathery wings wide as though it intended to take flight, the other with the bulk of a bull, an odd contrast with its hawkish head and wickedly curved beak. A mixed horde followed in their wake, their incoherent shrieks sending a thrill of fear down her spine.

This isn't the time to be gawking, she scolded herself. Tightly gripping the blade in her left hand, she weighed her options. Though several walkways branched off from the one behind her, there was no way she'd get to the nearest one without the monsters intercepting her first. That left only the paths to her left and right, the former of which she saw with a quick glance went into the lower levels.

Not exactly where she wanted to be at the moment.

Guess I know which way I'm going, then.

The first of the monsters reached the platform just as she sprinted to the right, the tip of its wing brushing against her armour and causing it to recoil with a hiss of pain as a defensive spark lashed out. She didn't stop to see how much damage had been done. Even if her armour could leach the energy from her pursuers, how long before it did the same to her for its efforts? She couldn't take that chance. So she kept on running, swinging around a row of marbled columns and scrambling up a steep set of stairs, hand fumbling at the railing on the right side to keep herself from falling off the opposite end.

Who in their right mind designs stairs like this? She didn't have time to ponder on it. In the next instant, the staircase began swaying, Gwen biting back a scream when she felt the portion behind her break away, nearly taking her with it. In her panic, she lost the knife she'd been holding, the glowing blade clattering down the steps and disappearing into the lower levels.

She had only a second to hope it didn't hit any of the operatives on its way down when the steps started crumbling around her, forcing her into action. She vaulted up the remaining stairs, catching a shadowy glimpse of the thing ripping the staircase apart through the layers of quartz beneath her feet. When this section too began to give out, Gwen coiled her legs and sprang forward with all the strength she could muster, landing hard on her shoulder and tumbling across the platform where the steps had ended mere seconds ago.

"And just where do you think you're going?"

Whatever relief she might have felt upon reaching the platform was quickly extinguished, her heart leaping into her throat as she looked up to see Lucas standing over her. Behind her, she could hear the scrabbling of claws over crystal and the flapping of wings, her monstrous pursuers cutting off any hope of escape—not that it would've been possible, thanks to the chimera tearing the staircase apart.

All right Gwen, don't panic. She cast a furtive glance over her shoulder at the approaching demons, then returned her attention to Lucas, swallowing against the lump in her throat when she saw his malicious expression. You still have the armour, and as long as you have that, what can they really do to you?

Judging from the way he kept his distance, Lucas was no fool. He frowned, gaze following the segments of her armour as though looking for a weakness. Slowly, Gwen moved into a crouch, her attention never leaving Lucas as she sought out one of the spare blades strapped to the back of her thigh. The armoured gauntlet covering her knuckles passed right through the plating on her legs, allowing her to pull the blade free with Lucas none the wiser until it was in plain sight.