Discordant Note | TBATE

Chapter 45: Success

Naereni

The battle being waged above made my teeth rattle. Despite my earlier insistence, I felt a shameful fear of approaching whatever was happening. The mana I could sense being thrown around... Could I survive that? Was I any use there?

I clamped down on those thoughts, banishing them into the back of my mind. I wouldn't be the woman who refused even to look.

The group of mages followed after me with a bit of hesitance in their steps. Vaelum and Aban were mostly unharmed, and the three shields were even better off.

Another explosion made me pick up my pace. After the last one, the fight seemed to be winding down. There were fewer and fewer attacks making the light fixtures shatter, which might be a good sign.

The first sign of the fight was a seared hole in the wall, one I recognized as caused by that red beam that interrupted my fight. It must have traveled all the way from two stories up to reach down that low.

Debris littered the hallway as I approached the door, hearing the fight begin to settle down. Everything not nailed down had been smashed to the floor, and fires were burning in small patches everywhere.

I looked at the door with trepidation, then remembered the look Karsien had given me earlier. He trusted me to see this through.

I pushed open the door, not aware if I was being followed.

And nearly fell back from the sight.

The entire back wall and ceiling of the room had been destroyed, revealing the courtyard below. Parts of the supporting walls creaked under the weight of what remained of the roof, bits and pieces falling from above.

Fires blazed in a dozen different points of the room, flickering with the starlight.

A man knelt in the center of the room, staring up with hollow eyes. His fat body was coated in blood and dust, and the clothes he wore were shredded to pieces. His corpse looked like it was kneeling in supplication, asking for a boon that would never come.

And standing over him was the source of the presence. I recognized Toren's strawberry-blonde hair, even from a distance. His chain tattoo glowed with red light, shining through the dust and blood that coated him. There was nothing left of his shirt, revealing a body marked by uncountable bruises and cuts. He stood over the body like a judge, deeming it unworthy.

My breath caught in my throat as Toren turned to me. His face, even partway down his cheeks, was covered in blood from a gash over his forehead. Orange runes that looked like feather stems shone under his eyes, fighting to be seen through the red as they glowed like simmering coals.

And then I met his eyes. His pupil burned like a star, and I felt like he could see right through me. He held my gaze for a long moment, keeping my breath from reentering my lungs. I wanted to turn away, close my eyes, and protect them from the glare. It was like staring into the sun, but there was a beauty there that was hard to relinquish. Then he finally spoke.

"You're a bit late."

And then the glowing markings on his body faded. The chains on his arm became ink once more, dulling to a normal sheen. The fire in his eyes winked out, accompanied by the burning feather stem runes. His legs gave out under him, letting him crash to the floor with a thump.

I should've caught him, I thought to myself. It was the least I could do.

The men behind me released a collective breath. We waited there like confused ants for a moment, wondering what the hell we were supposed to do. But then Aban approached Toren, laying a hand on his chest. Vaelum looked down at the body of the plump man. I couldn't see under his helmet, but I had a feeling he was frowning.