Page 45 of Tales of a Deadly Devotion
‘Fuckers,’ Gideon coughed, the blue glow of his aether weaker than before.
Focus.I wasn’t trapped. I wasn’t a pet to be contained. I turned, scanning the remains of the hallway as Emrys untangled himself from me, rising to assist whatever destructive plan Gideon was concocting.
Then, through the smoke, I saw the shape of the narrow stone stairwell. Once hidden behind the tapestry now aflame on the stone floor.
The annex stairwell. One that lead to the fey quarters. I lunged towards it, fingers digging into Emrys sleeve as I dragged him with me through the narrow stone arch.
‘Gideon!’ he barked. Then the three of us were pressed tight in the narrow stone passage.
‘Tell me again about my dramatics, brother,’ Emrys snapped at Gideon, who pushed his filthy blonde hair back from his brow. Both casually ignoring the roaring darkness just beyond us.
‘It got rid of the bastards, didn’t it?’ Gideon fired back, those eyes burning bright with witch light.
‘Up,’ I panted, listening to the hollow roar from the hallway. ‘We need … up.’
The grit of stone and dust caught on my tongue. That ringing in my head as the shaking stopped, only for the distant rumbling of dark things.
‘Up!’ I commanded again. Pushing at Emrys’s broad chest with my trembling hands. He didn’t seem pleased but took my hand, sticky with blood, and moved up the stairs.
The ground shook beneath my feet, threatening to send us both tumbling. A horrid screeching howl from behind, sharp claws on stone.
Emrys pushed me in front of him, a steady hand at my back forcing me up the twisting stairs as I slammed my toes into the steps. Blue flashes of Gideon’s aether caught my eye but I kept moving despite the spots dancing in my vision, despite how my hands slipped on the stone in my own blood, until the doorway appeared into the fey quarters.
I staggered into the passage, not stopping before I barrelled straight into my old door, the sheer weight of my body breaking the flimsy lock. I staggered across the stone floor, managing to catch myself on the stone chimney breast.
‘Kat.’ Emrys’s hands were at my waist, turning me towards him as I fought to catch my breath. Still trying to cough that horrid acrid smoke from my lips.
‘Yes, let’s hide in a cupboard,’ Gideon hissed scathingly, rubbing his head from where he’d caught it on the low beams.
‘This was my room,’ I panted, pressing my hand against my ribs to stop the terrible ache in my side.
Gideon’s angry expression became appalled for the barest moment before he hid anything else behind another curse. I didn’t dare look at Emrys. Not with the cool simmering power still radiating off him. There wasn’t time. I moved out of his hold and towards the bed. Sad and narrow, where I’d huddled with Alma for any warmth. I pushed it to the side as I dropped to my knees. Fingers running over the worn wooden floor, finding the loose floorboard. Pulling the plank away and letting it clatter to the side.
I rifled through the pathetic collection of contraband. Alma’s rust-speckled sweet tins, storybooks and teacups – Alma was like a magpie, collecting treasures. Her favourite blue cup sat abandoned in the dust.
‘Here.’ I pulled the string of the waxed bag from the hole. Tipping it so the items inside tumbled free. Salvaged from the ruins beneath and collected over the years. Amongst it all a vial of black travelling salt. My palms braced on the rough wooden floorboards as dark spots danced across my vision. Emrys’s hands came about my waist to help me to my feet, not letting me go.
Gideon looked to the small empty hearth.
‘Let’s hope William’s left the receiving grate open,’ he huffed, just as another boom echoed down the corridor.
Demons on the hunt.
Alma was going to kill me.
Chapter Fourteen
Kat
Mortals swore their souls to the creatures beneath under a King’s command. Desperate to be imbued with the power of the Old Gods they gave worship to. Only the moment their hearts stopped , darkness poured forth into their veins – becoming as the Old Gods always intended. Nothing but a plaything to devour this world.
Relics of Elysior – fey Compendium Records
Despite the quiet of the study, the distant ringing of the warning bells wouldn’t leave my ears. My hair hung free around my shoulders, ends knotted. The ache of my magic unbearable where it bit into my bones, making my limbs tremble.
A horrid taste lined my mouth. Reminding me cruelly that I’d been sick. Blood still sticky as it dried between my trembling fingers.
The barest crackle of the fire seemed too loud. My heart pounding too painfully against my ribs.
