The City Of Death

Chapter Twenty-Five- Macy

The walk back to the City was silent. The only sound was Atlas's occasional gasp of pain when Lucifer spurred his horse faster, pulling on Atlas's arms. My own wrists have been rubbed raw by the ropes, and one look over at Israel tells me that his have been, too. But my wrists are of no concern to me. What concerns me is Atlas. Already his face has taken on a sickly pallor, his steps unbalanced and sluggish. The back of his shirt is stained with blood, and I have a feeling that the front is, too. Blood on both sides. Entry and exit wounds. 

The walls of the City come into view as the sun begins to set. At this point, I'm running solely on autopilot, the weariness setting deep into my bones. Israel and Atlas feel it too by the way they're walking. We stayed up all night to celebrate the wedding, and now our bodies are crying for sleep. Are the Vultures going to make us continue to walk until we get to the City? Are they hoping the sheer exhaustion will break us into submission?

Lucifer looks back at us, his head tilting when he sees Atlas's state. He's breathing heavily, giving everything he's got into staying on his feet. Lucifer looks around and sees an outcropping of rocks about a hundred feet from the river. Soon enough, the river will start to taper off to the north, and once that happens, we'll be about a day's journey from the City, maybe less. He points to the outcropping of rocks, leading us and the rest of the Vultures to it. 

Once we reach it, Jezebel slides off of her horse and unties my wrists, Asmodeus doing the same with Israel. My first thought is to run, but that brings about a problem. Would I run to the City, or back to camp? And if I ran, what's to say they wouldn't hurt Atlas further or worse? Maybe Israel can run while I stay behind and help heal Atlas. But then I notice that the Vultures have arranged themselves in a circle, blocking off any chance of escape. 

Asmodeus unties Atlas as Lucifer sits on his horse and watches. Atlas takes a few steps toward the tallest rocks, nearly tripping over his own feet with his exhaustion, pain, and blood loss. Asmodeus scoffs and walks up to Atlas, and immediately, my own feet are moving, ready to step between Atlas and the wrathful Vulture. As soon as he's near the rock, Asmodeus puts his hand on Atlas's shoulder, but he pushes the Vulture away. 

"Do not touch me," he said through his teeth. I'm only a few steps away now. Asmodeus grips Atlas's shoulder, causing him to hiss in pain. Asmodeus harshly spins him so his back is facing the rock, pushing him down. He hits the ground roughly, the arrows in his shoulders hitting the rock and jerking upwards. Atlas screams in pain as fresh blood begins to pour down his chest. 

Asmodeus rears back to deliver another blow, and that's when I get there. I catch his hand, and even the mask can't hide the rage in the Vulture's eyes. He rips his hand out of my grip, and before I can react, he backhands me with all of his strength. My temple connects with the hard rock, and I drop to the ground, gasping in pain. I take a few deep breaths as stars flash behind my eyes and a buzzing sound fills my ears. 

Though the world around me spins, I manage to crawl between Asmodeus and Atlas. He whispers my name, telling me to stand down, but I stay where I am. Blood is trickling down my face, and I try to blink some of it out of my eyes. When Asmodeus rears back to deliver another blow, I close my eyes, steeling myself for what's about to come. But after a few seconds come and go without any hands landing on me, I open my eyes to see that Lucifer is the one holding him back. 

"Do not lay another hand on her. We need that head of hers to stay unrattled so she can heal him," he says, gesturing to Atlas. Asmodeus huffs but ultimately listens to Lucifer, leaving the two of us and heading out to set up their camp. I doubt we'll be lucky enough for them to give us any sort of shelter, but since it's still late summer. It should stay warm enough. As long as no adverse weather comes through, we should be safe. If only Gemma was here to tell us if a storm was coming.