Split

It was bad humor, and perfectly inappropriate in such a grim situation, but we couldn't help but wish to lighten the mood, if only a little. While helping him find a safe place to rest without having to worry about the devourers, he explained to me the effects of their protective spell. A foul force that has the ability to create perfect illusions to confuse the enemy's mind, while sucking the vitality out of his body. It was a deadly spell. We managed to find a narrow cavity that was large enough for two people. We settled in as best we could and thought we could rest there for at least a few minutes. But it was too much to ask. Soon we heard alert footsteps in the corridors. Voices were raised and the tone was alarming.

- What's going on?

- I think I can guess," Seiran sighed slightly in concern.

And he was right again. The devourers detected my presence the moment I was briefly separated from the emperor in a spasm. And now they were frantically searching for me. It would not be long before they discovered our hiding place, while the ruler still needed more time to recover. So my decision was made. In fact, it was the only plausible thing to do. Although, being a total ignoramus of magic myself, I guessed that because of their barrier, the devourers must also be aware of the futility or non-existence of my magic, which was the sad truth. But what mattered most in all of this was that they still had no idea that the emperor was in their lair. And I felt somewhere that it was my duty to make sure that remained the case.

By the movement of my body and the expression on my face, he immediately understood what I was about to do. And obviously, being what he was, he wanted to dissuade me.

- Dania, don't be stupid. You won't have a chance.

- But it's better than staying here and letting us both get caught. They don't know you're here yet. I will lure them away from here, and you will continue to dig up the secrets of this place of perdition.

- Dania, no!

But I was already rushing down the corridor. A cold and morbid breath welcomed me there. But refusing to be bothered, I decided to move away from the shelter as fast and as far as possible to give them no chance to discover it, and especially not the being who had remained there. Moving more silently than ever in the corridors, I did not see the enormous hole in the ground situated in front of me and in which, unfortunately, I disappeared the next second, pushing by reflex a shrill cry. A scream that immediately stirred the guards and made them run to the place where I was standing a second before. Meanwhile, I slid again and again without being able to stop myself in galleries that were just as dark but fortunately very smooth and that only caused me pain at the end when I had to land on corpses piled up in one of the enormous mortuary carts. I was not noticed, and in fact, I quickly disappeared under the cold bodies piled coldly on top of each other. Then the cart left the city and took me back to the city.

The envelope of Seiran's magic that protected me from the curse was fading at an alarming rate, and the gradual distance accelerated the fading.

All my senses burned and cried out for mercy when the cart finally stopped in front of another dwelling to burn those lost bodies. I thought I would take advantage of the moment when they carried the bodies into the house to sneak out from underneath the mass of remains, because they would not think of keeping the bodies since they were certain to be the only people, at least alive, to be in this lost environment, so by good fortune, managed to do so. But while discreetly moving away from his tormentors, I noticed that all the residences bordering this long alley were engulfed in fire, and whose cold flames were tearing the webs of the cursed night. But that was not the worst of it. As I moved surreptitiously, reducing my presence as much as possible, to flee and find some semblance of shelter, voices rose, astonished, enraged, echoing in the endless night and tearing my ears to the bone. I did not immediately understand the reason for this sudden and incomprehensible uproar, when I realized that the devourers were rushing out of the house in search of someone, and that someone happened to be me. I would have given anything to erase that moment, but such wishes were impossible.