Return of the Demon Sovereign (Book 1) [MxM]

22. Prism Mist

Their ride was hard-pressed, and they only took a few breaks. Frustration was brewing because of their inability to catch up with the main group. Additionally, an annoying fog became thicker each day, impeding their vision. When Erebus was alone, he almost caught up with them but had to pause to rescue Nash and the others. Still, with constant traveling, they should have been closing the gap, so it was odd that they had not come closer to their quarry after traveling for over a week.

They seemed to be a day or two out of reach, slowly moving further away. Erebus felt distressed, realizing that Leo's group was moving without stopping. Since they started their pursuit, they had not seen any indication that Leo had stopped to set up camp or rest. The tracks showed signs of struggle and consistent movement. Sometimes, they would slow down but then pick up their pace again as if they were not allowed to rest.

Erebus would push his Shadow Domain to spread in front of him and catch them at the edge of his field, but he could not reach them. Erebus suddenly held out his hand to stop his small group.

"Something isn't right," he said.

Nash groaned. "Tell me about it. There's a stench of magic in the air. It's making me queasy."

Erebus gave a sidelong glance toward the northern horizon. "Based on my calculations, we should have caught up now."

Erebus concealed his annoyance in an attempt to avoid discord in his group. He had spread his Shadow Domain several times, sensing Leo's group from afar, but could never get a solid lead on them. Something was distorting his senses.

He paused... distortion. He turned quickly to Nash. "Wait. You said magic?" Erebus asked hastily. Nash had the blood of a High Elf, making him more sensitive to magic.

Nash shrugged. "I always have sense magic. It's just been much more consistent lately."

Erebus jumped off Skadi. "Shit. I missed something." He placed his hand on the ground and released his mana. Instead of lingering on the ground, he brought his massive domain upwards. The shadows on the ground radiate like heat waves into the air.

Erebus muttered a few words in the Spirit Realm language and pushed his mana to the limit. Suddenly, he felt his domain fracture and crumble as if it ran into an immovable force. He winced from the pain from his mana's flow becoming disrupted. 

"Fuck. Djinn bastards." He punched the ground roughly. 

He would have never missed this, but now he was so weak that he couldn't sense the Djinn magic polluting the air. Djinn creatures were not part of the Spirit Realm. They were cast out eons ago because of their allegiance to the Titans. Now, they travel like vagabonds until they find a master they want to serve.

This one found the Devils.

Nash cursed as well, fully aware of the evil nature of a Djinn. "The fog. How long have we been in it?"

Comet moved closer to the group. "About four days now."

They all moved closer and stood back to back. "We're in the Djinn Prism Mist formation," Erebus said quietly.

Erebus' mind was trying to understand how they had entered this space. He should have noticed the magic change when it started... unless it was with them all along.

Erebus' eyes darted around, trying to pierce through the fog. There was no way this domain was so large it would cover hundreds of kilometers. Skadi would not be tricked by space distortion, so they had to be still moving. He knew he was awake, not unconscious or dreaming an elaborate illusion. That only meant that the fog was traveling with them. Something was watching them.