The Crescent Hour ✓

Chapter 41. In the Chaos

A blast of noise pierced the air, followed by the unmistakable sound of a body falling on the ground. Clara glanced at the fallen figure, at the bleeding hole on Enki's head and the eyes staring open.

The others stood in shock, heads darted around in search of the killer. Then one of the Shima stepped towards her, flashing a blade. Another shot resounded and the man dropped dead at Azmand's feet. They were here. Rai and Eryx. She remembered the green flash she'd seen in the trees. It had been their sign. Hope filled her heart. She stood up slowly, her heart speeding up with the need to run. Azmand held a hand, freezing her movement.

"If you move, I will kill you myself," he said.

His threat meant nothing compared to what happened next. The ground trembled, cracks tearing its surface. The giant mushrooms swayed precariously. A tree snapped in half, toppling down in a wretched groan. Dust blanketed the air, filling it with more poison. She felt her feet slipping as she lost balance. She splayed out her hands and bent her knees low. The others were disoriented, confusion dripping from their faces.

This was a distraction and Clara could only think of one person capable of it: Eryx. Casting her fear aside, she slipped from the group and ran fast, not once looking back. It pained her to leave Tamer behind but she had to go, she had to fulfil his wish. He'd died protecting his world and she had to stay alive to take his place.

She ran until she was deep in the forest of mould and mushrooms, until it hurt to breathe. She hid beneath a cluster of bushes, clutching her ribs. Without her power and her bag of potions, she could not fight Azmand and his men and with the barrier sealed, she could not leave Ashura Deadlands. She could not rely on Rai and Eryx either to save her. She had to do it herself. There was only one option for her. She had to take back her power.

For several minutes, she stayed in hiding, thinking of how to get her power, fearing the worst. She was afraid the ghosts would come back to haunt her or Azmand would find her first and kill her. There were echoes of gunshots and battle cries, no doubt Rai and Eryx fighting the enemies. She needed to think fast. Something rustled in the foliage. She turned her head in the direction of the noise but there was nothing suspicious.

Sighing, she tried to focus really deeply, grasping at the pull in her heart. She could not feel her power. It was truly gone. She called out to Naaji's entity, begging it for help. Again, nothing changed. She wished she could do something useful, anything to help Rai and Eryx. She wished she was as powerful as a Vanguard, a warrior who wouldn't be deceived by a little girl. And then as she wished that, an idea crossed her mind.

She remembered the Vanguard of Kaaf, the way he'd sent her a greeting by sending a surge of his power at her. What if—

With the thought playing in her mind, Clara contemplated shooting a swarm of energy at the Impeder girl. It would not be a greeting between mages but rather, a warning. She had no power of course but she had to try anyway. So she tried. At first there was nothing but as the minutes passed, she saw herself—in her mind—trapped in a glass box. Outside the box, stood the girl, her hands splayed on its surface and behind her was a floating circle, pulsing with white light. Was that...was that her power?

Closing her fists, Clara hit the glass with all of her strength. It did not crack. The girl watched her with an unreadable expression. She tried again, slamming her fists hard. She had to free herself.

"Stop it," the girl said. "I am the only one who can free you. If you force yourself out, you will go mad."

Clara flung her whole body against the glass prison, ignoring the girl. She would not fall for her tricks again. She kept trying, unstoppable in her quest. A tiny crack appeared on the glass box, right where Clara's arm had connected. She focused her attacks on the crack, widening it until it spread out.

The girl screamed and the sound was awful. It didn't just come from Clara's mind, it deafened her ears, echoing through the foliage, close to her hiding place. Her concentration shattered. She was back in the bushes. There was a crunch of leaves and as she opened her eyes, she felt a wave of energy slam into her. Her feet left the ground and her body flew through the air, helpless until her back hit a boulder.

Clara cried out in pain. Her back was on fire. Her whole body was on fire. Dizziness smudged her vision. Before she could recover, she was lifted once more and thrown past rows of overgrown ferns. Her head hit something hard and she felt her consciousness slipping away from her. She blinked through the pain, felt her body refuse to respond. Through her slanted vision, she saw Azmand walking to her.

"I cannot let you live," he said, his eyes aflame with a mad determination. "As long as you are alive, my people will continue to suffer. I would do anything to save them—anything—even if it means staining my hands with the blood of the innocent."

She wanted to tell him that saving his people would doom the rest of the population, destroy an entire world. She tried to speak but her mouth would not move.

"I see the fear in your face but you are mistaken. When the time comes, I can control him"—Azmand's voice dropped to a whisper—"I can control Afreet."

Clara's hope plummeted into despair. Azmand flicked her wrist and lifted her off the ground. She rose with jerky motions like a puppet, unable to control her own body. As he waved his wrist in a downward motion, she prayed for Rai and Eryx's safety and waited for death.

A guttural growl filled her ears and for the second time, the ground shook. From the trees, an eight-legged figure darted towards Azmand, pounced on him and threw him to the ground. Clara fell on the ground in a heap. In the moment it took her to blink, darkness blanketed the surroundings, coalescing into a strip of shadows that swam over the figure. It was Enki and he was protecting Azmand.

The shadows hissed and she could swear she saw teeth and claws. She heard a cry followed by Enki's voice as he yelled "GO!" There was blinding light and the snapping of teeth. The shadows vanished in tendrils of black smoke and in their wake, Clara saw Enki's body half-eaten and lifeless. This time, he was dead.

Azmand had disappeared.

The shadows emerged a few feet from her, an amalgamation of a twisted silhouette, that of a man. She struggled uselessly to crawl away until she saw a face. Shock froze her breaths. It was his face. Tamer's. Her fingers twitched with the need to reach him, to touch him. He was alive. Alive. But as her hope rekindled, the shadows swallowed him whole and then in a burst of speed, he was gone.

From a distance, there was a resounding crack. The barrier that had sealed Ashura Deadlands shattered, paper-thin shards disintegrating into thousands of pieces. She heard footsteps and saw Rai and Eryx rushing to her. They were bruised and battered but alive. She did not have it in her to rejoice. In the aftermath of the chaos, Clara's heart wept. Tamer had left her.

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Double update for you guys because why the hell not?

Just a minor announcement: Wattpad Short Story has featured my short story called Sweet Poison which is a historical Asian fantasy. If you're interested, head over to their 5 Minute Reads anthology and you'll find mine. Lots of amazing stories in there.