Page 3 of Rage of the Fallen

The cave continued to disintegrate. The air was thick with dust, making every breath a struggle. I coughed and sputtered. The sounds of splitting rock, human panic, demonic rage, and draconic fury blended into a nightmarish symphony.

Please-please-please-please don’t let anyone else be hurt.

I didn’t want to lose anyone again like I had Brody.

As I raced toward what I hoped was safety, I had the feeling we were running from one danger into another. Were Maci’s other demons waiting for us? I clutched the mirror, ready to send every one of them back to hell.

That was if the mirror worked. Rage may have drained its power.

The tunnel mouth loomed ahead, a dark promise of potential escape. As I dove toward it, I silently prayed we’d all make it through and whatever awaited us on the other side wouldn’t be even worse than what we were leaving behind.

Adrenaline coursed through my veins, sharpening my senses and propelling me forward. I found myself moving ahead of my team.

“Sawyer, wait,” Justice called from behind me.

But I had the mirror, and I wasn’t going to stop.

My heart raced, but my grip was steady. If the demons were there, I was ready to send the bastards back to the fiery abyss they’d crawled out of.

CHAPTER TWO

We burst from the cave’s mouth like desperate animals fleeing a wildfire, the sounds of collapsing rock and Maci’s furious roars fading behind us. The sudden transition from the cave’s oppressive darkness to the open air was jarring, leaving me disoriented.

Outside, the sun was high in the sky, painting the world in its light. I spun wildly, the mirror clutched in my white-knuckled grip, my gaze darting from shadow to shadow in search of demonic threats.

The world around us was awash in vibrant greens and golds, the summer foliage in full display. Long shadows stretched from the trees, creating pockets of darkness that seemed to shift and move in my peripheral vision. But for some reason, the demons weren’t there. At least not visibly.

The eerie quiet of the forest felt almost as unsettling as the chaos we’d escaped. The normal sounds of nature—birdsong, rustling leaves, the buzz of insects—were conspicuously absent, as if the wildlife sensed the otherworldly danger that had emerged from the earth.

The mirror in my hands felt warm, almost alive, as if reacting to the sudden exposure to sunlight.

“Anyone else think this is too easy?” I muttered, unable to shake the feeling we were being watched.

The contrast between the peaceful afternoon setting and the supernatural horror we’d faced was stark and disorienting. It felt wrong, as if we’d stepped out of one reality and into another. But the dirt on our clothes, the scrapes on our skin, and the racing of our hearts were vivid reminders that the danger was all too real.

“Stay alert,” I warned the others, my voice barely above a whisper. “Just because we can’t see them doesn’t mean they’re not here. The sun might slow them down, but it won’t stop them entirely.”

As we regrouped under the canopy of leaves, dappled sunlight playing across our dirt-streaked faces, I suspected our escape from the cave was only the beginning of a much longer and more dangerous journey.

The thick trees surrounding us loomed ominously, their branches reaching out like gnarled fingers. Perfect hiding spots for anything that might want to ambush us. Were the demons lurking there, biding their time? Or were they afraid of the mirror, keeping their distance from its mystic power?

I glanced at my team, taking in our bedraggled appearance, and released a grinding cough. The taste of grit and cave dust coated my tongue, making me grimace. I looked down at my arms, barely recognizing them under the thick layer of dust clinging to my skin like a second sleeve.

Lisa stood nearby, her usually pristine blonde hair a shocking mess. The dust had transformed her golden locks into a dull, ashen gray, aging her by decades in mere minutes. She ran her fingers through it, wincing as they caught on tangled knots.

Her gaze fixed on me. “When are we going to rescue my phoenix?”

Her accusatory tone made me tense. The recent memory of her betrayal flashed through my mind, a painful reminder ofhow fragile our team’s trust had become. I couldn’t help but wonder if she would betray us again, given the chance.

I wiped the sweat and cave dust off my brow, buying myself a moment to gather my thoughts.

“We will,” I assured her, trying to inject confidence into my voice despite our precarious situation. “I promise, but we’ve got to form a plan first.”

Lisa’s eyes narrowed, searching my face for any sign of deception. The irony wasn’t lost on me, her questioning my truthfulness after her own betrayal. But I understood her desperation. The bond between a magical creature and its guardian was profound, and I could only imagine how the separation must be tearing her apart.

I turned away and looked at the rest of the team, not wanting to get into a debate with her.

Zara’s fiery red hair was barely visible beneath clumps of dirt and small rock fragments. Grime smeared her cheeks like macabre war paint across her freckled skin. She swiped at her face with the back of her hand, only managing to smear the dirt further.

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