Page 35 of Midnight Reign
Silence.
What a surprise.
Zephyr’s shadows writhe around him like living things, Ignatius’s flames grow brighter and hotter, Zaiah’s form shimmers as he taps into his djinn powers. With nothing but my syphoning power, I reach out, feeling for the threads of their magick. The energy swirls around us, a fabric of power waiting.
As the guardians attack, chaos erupts in the chamber. Dragging me along with him, Corvus moves with blinding speed, his free fist passing through the spectral forms but somehow still causing them to recoil. Each impact sends ripples through the air, distorting the space around us. Zephyr’s shadows lash out, entangling the guardians and slowing their advance. The darkness seems alive, writhing and coiling with a will of its own.
Ignatius hurls fireballs that explode in brilliant flashes, temporarily dispersing our attackers. The heat is intense as sweat beads on my forehead. Zaiah phases in and out of reality, his form is blurring and shifting, confusing and disorienting the guardians. The air around him shimmers with distorted space, and I feel a momentary vertigo just watching him.
This is where I need to get my panic under control and stop. I yank my hand from Corvus’s. He growls, but I shake my headand close my eyes. I focus on the ability that I know is mine. That I know how to use—sort of. I become a conduit, channelling and amplifying the others’ powers. I feel Zephyr’s shadows coursing through me, growing darker and more potent. Ignatius’s flames burn hotter, turning from orange to blue to white-hot. Zaiah’s reality-warping abilities expand, creating pockets of distorted space around us that bend light and confuse our spectral attackers. Corvus’s fists connect with the spectres, flinging them back to the runes etched in the walls.
I feel powerful, invincible, the combined magick of my companions flows through me like a raging river. But there’s a nagging fear in the back of my mind, a whisper of doubt that grows louder with each passing moment. How much of this power is truly mine? And how much belongs to the ancient presence lurking in my consciousness?
“You there?”
Nothing.
I refocus as the battle rages on, neither side gaining a clear advantage. The chamber is a whirlwind of shadows, flame, and distorted reality. The guardians press their attack relentlessly, their spectral forms reforming each time we manage to disperse them.
Just as I feel my strength beginning to wane, my limbs growing heavy with exhaustion, Zephyr shouts, “The archways! We need to pick one!”
“But which one?” I yell back as Corvus dives in front of me to protect me from an incoming spectre.
“Trust your instincts,” Corvus yells, ducking under a spectral blade that passes through the space where his head had been a moment before. “Addy, it’s your choice!”
I scan the archways, my heart pounding so hard I can feel it in my throat. They all look the same at first glance, dark and foreboding, promising unknown dangers. But then I feel it- a pull, subtle but unmistakable, towards one on the far side of the chamber. The archway is calling to me, resonating with something deep inside.
Then I see her.
A ghostly form hovering under the arch, but it’s her. It’s… me.
“That one!” I point, already moving towards it with no fear, no doubt. “Hurry!”
We make a break for it, the guardians hot on our heels. Their unearthly wails fill the air, a chorus of otherworldly fury. As we pass through the archway, she disappears, but I feel a surge of magick wash over us, like stepping through a waterfall of pure energy. The tunnel beyond is pitch black, swallowing Ignatius’s flames and leaving us in complete darkness. But I can hear the guardians’ cries fading behind us, unable to follow.
“Keep moving,” Zephyr urges, his hand finding mine in the darkness. His touch is a welcome relief in the disorienting blackness. “They can’t follow us here.”
We stumble forward, relying on touch and instinct to guide us. The tunnel seems to go on forever, twisting and turning, sometimes sloping up, sometimes down. After what feels like an eternity, the tunnel begins to widen, and I feel the air change. It becomes fresher, tinged with the scent of old books and ancient magick. The oppressive darkness begins to lift, giving way to a soft light.
Ignatius summons another flame, illuminating our surroundings. We’ve emerged into a vast library, its shelves stretching up into shadows so deep they appear like an abyss before us. Dust motes dance in the air, glittering in the firelight like tiny stars. The sight takes my breath away, a hidden world of knowledge stretching out before us.
“Whoa,” Zaiah breathes, his white eyes wide with wonder. “What is this place?”
“Absolutely no idea. It’s not in the book,” Zephyr says.
As we take in the vast library before us, I feel a sense of awe and trepidation. The shelves seem to stretch endlessly in every direction, filled with ancient tomes and scrolls.
“This is incredible,” I whisper.
Corvus nods in agreement, his blue eyes scanning the shelves with keen interest. “There must be centuries of knowledge here. Maybe even millennia.”
Zephyr moves towards the nearest shelf, his fingers hovering over the spines of the books. “We need to be careful,” he warns. “In a place like this, knowledge can be as dangerous as it is valuable.”
I take a tentative step forward, drawn by an inexplicable pull towards a particular section of the library. As I move, the soft light in the room seems to pulse, growing brighter around me.
“Guys,” Zaiah says, his voice tight with concern. “Look at Addy.”
I glance down at myself and gasp. My skin is glowing faintly, pulsing in rhythm with the light in the room. It’s as if the library is responding to my presence.
