Page 128 of Legendary

We were all planning a fight with Lilith, not Dani, but maybe this was the end goal all along. Lilith played the long game and used everyone and anyone to do it. We all had Isabel as an enemy and I hadn’t made things easier getting on Dimitri’s bad side even if he was a dick, but none of it mattered. Maybe it was always going to end up this way with me holdingthis very big, very emotionally jarring decision in the palm of my hand. The passageway smelt wet and moldy as we trudged our way through it. Some of the dirt we walked through turned thick and muddy, while at other times dust would kick up and we would all collectively cough from it getting into our lungs. Reese used his light as a guide the whole way through while managing to stay next to me pretty consistently on our journey.

It felt like we had been walking forever when something in the air shifted. It felt like a lead weight had been pressed over top of us and I heard us all collectively catch our breaths. Everyone except Elise, who as usual, looked just as unbothered as she normally did. She eyed each of us, watching as we all took long inhales and exhales. “We’re definitely here,” she pointed out, walking ahead of us and towards the dead end. She leaned her body against the right wall, pressing her fingers into the dirt. She moved to the other wall, her neck tattoo pulsing with tension. “Aha!” She pushed her whole body into the wall and just like that, a section disintegrated and turned to dust on the ground. We all peeked into the open space in front of her and dirt stairs were staring back at us.

“If I wasn’t so fucking on edge right now, I would be thoroughly impressed.” Reese’s hazel eyes took in the newly open space.

“Let’s just openly admit you are thoroughly impressed by me daily.”

Reese rolled his eyes. “I would let Lilith eat me alive before I would ever admit that.”

“Do you guys ever stop?” Beetee asked, her lilac eyes bouncing between both of them.

“Unless one of us dies, no.” Elise said, starting to walk up the stairs. I saw Garrett shake his head, letting out a low chuckle as we all followed behind her. The air grew a bit thinner as we climbed. I could feel my light happily settling within my body, but there was dark scratching at my skin. It felt like tiny bugs nipping and biting at small pieces of my flesh wanting to get just a taste of me. I wasn’t the only one either.

Reese rubbed each of his arms and the back of his neck as if he had a rash. “The fuck is this?”

“It’s just the darkness that lives here. If you think this is bad, you’ve haven’t felt anything like being inherpresence,” Elise answered, continuing to climb the stairs.

I looked back and noticed that Beetee was fine, you could tell she felt something was off, but it wasn’t anything like what Reese and I felt. Garrett kept close to her, his golden eyes everywhere. “Is that it?” He nodded ahead, causing me to turn back around and see a square steel door. It looked like a trapped door of some kind, with its singular metal handle and bolted sidings.There was thick, brown mud along the edges, and it looked like no one had used it in years.

Elise took hold of the handle and yanked it down. There was a small creaking noise, but I didn’t really notice it when the overwhelming feeling of every single nightmare I’d ever had washed over me. It didn’t embed itself within my skin and veins like before, but it curled around me like it was testing me out, testing each of us out. I could taste it in my mouth, and it was like it clouded my eyesight for a moment. I nearly thought I heard it whisper my name but then it was gone. All I was left with was the eerie feeling again, like I was headed into something dangerous, but it was too late to turn back now.

“Ditch the light Blondie,” Elise said, pointing at the looming angelic light near us. Reese reached for it, removing it. Elise popped her head cautiously into the opening of the door and then tugged herself up. We each followed behind her as Garrett reached down, closing the steel door. Willa and Louise weren’t lying when they said it was a spider infested room. The bugs were crawling along the walls and floor. Cobwebs hung from the corners and pounds of dust were clumped in the corners. Stone lined the walls, the smell of brimstone settled around us and I could just ever so slightly feel the weight of power somewhere in this castle. I didn’t know whether that dark power was coming from Dani or Lilith but either way it wasn’t good.

“Where are we even?” Beetee asked.

“The lowest floor. They’re here though, I can feel them,” Elise replied, pressing her lips together into a hard line.

“Yeah, I can feel it too,” I agreed, looking around and seeing everyone else feeling the same way. Elise walked over to the door in the far corner and turned the rusted knob, slowly, poking her head around the door. She looked back at us, her bangs hitting right near her eyebrows. “All clear, let’s go.” She snuck out the door and each one of us followed, taking in our surroundings as we went. It was quiet in this castle, which was something I was surprised by but then again maybe not. I would have every right to assume shit went downhill once she manipulated the Enchanters here and then creatures started wanting out one by one. I knew The Skies was an entirely different way of life, but I was used to the hustle of what went on there, the constant chatter and incessant high energy that was always on display.

None of that was here. The stones we stepped on didn’t make too much noise. It just felt drab and like the only way to feel alive or to gain any happiness was to increase the pain in another person. I would think that if you always felt like that constantly then at some point another’s pain wouldsomehow mask your own. It made me understand why Dani and Elise left for Leviathan so often, maybe even why Dani sought out comfort and attention in Dimitri. That thought made me want to vomit so I banished it, hopefully forever, from my mind.

Elise stopped and seemed to listen for a moment, waiting to see what our next move should be. There were sconces lined along the wall, small firelight in them, casting an ambiance that I wasn’t interested in embracing. The whispering voice caressed my ear and touched my cheek like a kiss. I nearly slapped myself, but it was gone before I got the chance.

“I honestly don’t miss this place,” Garrett muttered, more to himself than to us.

Elise looked up, completely ignoring us. She immediately turned down a hallway that we hadn’t even known was there and headed for another door.

“Do you actually know where you’re going?” I asked, catching her arm. She snatched it back, practically growling at me. “Yes, Nicholas. I’ve spent the majority of my prime demon years here. I think I have an idea.” She swung open the door and started up the stone steps that greeted us. The air on this floor was even worse, but it felt like we were closer than before. It felt like something was here, right in front of us, but we couldn’t see it.

“Do you guys feel that too?” Beetee asked, nervously biting her lip.

“Does anyone else feel hot?” Reese said right after her, swiping his hand across his forehead, moving his long hair out of the way. Once I paid attention, the temperature had risen, but I had a bad feeling that was strictly for our benefit.

A high-pitched scream flooded my ears, and I had no idea where it was coming from. Whoever it was sounded like they were in pure agony. The screams kept coming and coming and it was like they were pounded against my skull. I pressed my hand to the side of my head to release some of the tension, but it wasn’t helping. The screams were coming from the walls and floor, they were vibrating off other screams and becoming louder and making my chest tighten.

I saw something run past me, but it was like a shadow. The remnants of its mist were left behind and then it disappeared. I felt something behind me as well as I turned and saw Reese reach for his bow. I did the same motion, taking hold of the hilt of my sword. Garrett’s fingertips illuminated with colorful magic while Beetee’s eyes flashed back and forth between their regular color and her diamond yellow pupils. Elise was the only one who seemed to not have the screams affecting her in any way, like she was used to this. Reese shot an arrow out when a shadow figure ran full force towards him and then was gone, the arrow moving right through them.

Another shadow figure barreled between Beetee and Garrett causing both of them to stumble to opposite sides. Then another one came, and another, moving past us as if they were there to taunt us, collect us, or even prepare us for what was to come. I got my sword out and started slashing left and right, missing them as they moved past me. They were the same kinds of shadows that Dani had summoned during the fight outside of the hostel. I had been pretty out of my mind during that, but I had been aware enough to notice what she had done. It was something I didn’t even know she could do, but she was angry then. She didn’t like seeing me in pain, so she channeled all that rage and frustration into manifestations that fucked people up.

The shadows hit Reese in the shoulder making him shuffle to one side and then another came, making him move to the other side this time. He was getting turned around while one of them ran right into Beetee, sending her flying against the wall. Garrett and Elise started to rush over to her, but one of the shadows knocked Garrett clear in the face and sent him backwards. Elise dodged another and whipped her tail out, seeming to catch one with it and fling it across the room, running over to help Beetee off the ground. I felt a hit to my face, and I was getting more and more agitated with this. I saw one of them out of the corner of my eye and pushed my angelic magic into my hand and watched as my hand glowed before I caught the shadow by the throat. It halted immediately, thrashing in my grip. I squeezed hard and the light filtered through its wispy dark form and sparks of black and white with gold flecks splattered around.

Reese nodded over to me, and he started to use his own magic to take the shadows out. I continued my efforts over and over again, one after the other. It was working and what was left over, Garrett electrified with his own magic while Beetee and Elise took down another side of the room. The shadows started coming less and less, which should have put me at ease, but it only made my stomach drop thinking that this was just the beginning. I had impaled a shadow demon with my sword on the ground, infusing light magic into it as it writhed when I felt a touch against the back of my neck.

A maniacal laugh came from the walls and then it was almost like the voice was right against my ear. I pulled back, doing a full turn around and nobody was there. The laugh was feminine, but familiar. “Valiant effort, Nicholas. All of you really.”Isabel.

I felt something swing along my legs and I was tossed backwards, hitting the floor. It wasn’t Enchanter magic this time though, this was power that I had felt before when it started clawing into my head. I tried to focus, keep it out. I heard a body hit a wall and then Isabel chuckled. “Long time no see Garrett. She’ll be so delighted that you came back, though, it’s such a shameit’s under these circumstances.”

Reese was thrown forward, digging his nails into his head. “What the hell is this?” The words were pushed out through his gritted teeth. Elise lunged at Isabel, wrapping her whole body around her as they tumbled to the ground. Through my fumbled vision I could see Elise on top of her, her tail curling out and nearly wrapping around her throat, until the shadow demons came back and pulled her hair and yanked on her exposed tail, distracting her enough for Isabel to gain the power back and kick Elise off of her. She slapped her in the face, hard enough to make her head turn and send her to the ground.

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