Then we step back out into the storm.
CHAPTERFORTY-ONE
Wind plucks at our bodies for the next two hours, as we shuffle through the tempest. The mesh over our faces allows us to breathe free of dust, but the pressure of the wind is nearly unbearable as it knocks us around and we constantly fight to stay on course.
Roman stops regularly to assess our environment, check on each of us, and adjust our path. I lose track of the number of times a new buzz of energy tugs on my body, pulling me to the left or the right, where the wind swirls even more fiercely around yet another glowing fissure. Unlike the warmth and energy of the fissures in the Scourge, these are angry, dark gaps filled with screaming air.
My greatest fear in these moments is that one of us will be pulled in to the cracks, and I fight against the poor visibility and the sensory overload to check that my father and Koda are still behind me.
Then, like a light switching on, the wind drops, the air clears, and I step out onto a glistening city avenue. I blink at the statues lining the empty street before hurriedly turning and pulling Jareth and Koda from the storm behind me.
“Fuck,” I whisper when they’re safe, as I take in the maelstrom that has consumed this part of the demon city. “That’s… beyond bad.”
The edge of the energy storm rises up like a dome, but of a haphazard shape, concealing many buildings along this edge of the city. It’s catastrophic, but it’s also clear that Roman chose our path through it strategically.
We’ve arrived a mere ten paces from one of the black stone walls that lines the path to the prison, and by traveling within the storm, our energy has been masked.
Not so now, though, and we’ll need to move quickly.
The prison building gleams behind the wall up ahead, its reflective silver panels rising high and moving around even as I watch. This building has a life of its own and its purpose is to contain its inhabitants, keeping them alive. Even if barely.
I take a quick step toward it, only to crouch over my knees, still catching my breath.
Koda and Jareth do the same. My father looks particularly worse for wear. As the mesh retracts from his face, his paleness stands out in the morning light. More than ever, it’s apparent to me that the absence of his soul has made him weaker, not only in power, but also now in physical strength.
“Hurry!” Roman says, taking my father’s arm and supporting him. “Follow me through the wall. To the prison.” And to my father, he says, “You need your soul, old friend. Before the welcoming party arrives.”
I stay on alert as I follow Roman through the opening he creates in the wall.
The other side is shadowed, darker than the street we left behind, and my skin prickles immediately.
Roman pulls up sharply ahead of me and, instinctively, I reach for Koda’s hand, finding him reaching for mine. Now that we’re out of the storm, I allow my power to rise, smoky swirls that are tinged with bright cobalt.
Forms move within the shadows on the other side of the walkway and demons become visible in the darkness. At least twenty of them. All dressed for battle and carrying spears—weapons that can blast enough energy to kill.
I brace, ready to defend my family. On my right, Koda’s power flares, bright blue. A step in front of me, and to my left, Roman’s hands flare with runes while he continues supporting my father, whose shoulders have slumped, his face turned away from the soldiers. Without his soul, and the power it contains, they won’t be able to identify him unless they see his face.
“Show yourselves,” Roman commands them in a rumble that promises violence if needed.
One of the guards strides forward with seven others close behind him. I recognize his hulking form and blond head. He’s Tyrus, the Captain of the King’s Guard. He swore allegiance to me, but anything could have happened while we were gone. Crone could have pulled all sorts of shit to force him to obey her.
Tyrus’s lips are set in a firm line, but his voice is quiet as he calls his men to halt.
His focus is on me and Koda. “Nova Madden and Koda LaGarde, we’ve been ordered to capture you on your arrival and bring you to Crone. If you resist, we’ve been told to kill you.”
My focus flickers across Tyrus and his seven men. They’re the same ones who tried to fight my sisters and me on the bridge when we arrived the first time. We kicked their butts, and I’ll do it again if I have to.
I glance at Koda, finding him braced and ready for a fight, before I say, “You can try.”
Tyrus breaks into a grin. “We would rather not.”
He drops to a knee, and I exhale a breath of relief.
“We’re fucking grateful you’ve returned with Lord Rune,” he says. “Our world is being torn apart. Half the city is engulfed in the energy storm, and the demon population has been imprisoned by Crone. The storm is spreading so fast, we think it will reach the royal Citadel tomorrow.” He raises his eyes to me. “But there must be a reason you’ve arrived to this spot, and I need to warn you that Esta specifically placed us here when she could have ordered us to defend other parts of the city. She must have expected you to come here.”
“I don’t doubt Crone has sensed our presence already,” I say.
“We can buy you time,” Tyrus responds. “Tell us what you need.”
