Beyond Hollow Echoes (Book Three)

⋆˖☽ ​​​​​​Chapter 7 ☾˖⋆

Pandemonium swallowed the square. Terrified townsfolk began to sprint in every direction. Some trampled over those who had slipped and fallen to the sweeping cobblestones, while others stood frozen, their unblinking gazes locked onto the Cursed Moon. The wails of children and the frantic shouts of merchants drowned out the chaotic screaming of the rising monsters outside the walls.

I reached out, my fingers wrapping around Ondina’s rigid shoulder. "Ondina, we have to go!"

She didn’t move. She didn't even breathe.

A shattering cry broke through the deafening noise. It was a name that cut straight to the bone, heavy with a mother's agonizing hope and profound pain.

"Ondina!"

My eyes snapped across the chaotic square. Hot tears were streaming freely down the pale face of the green-eyed woman. She had seen her. Ondina took a single step forward. My hand slipped from her shoulder.

Before the woman could break into a run toward us, her husband wrapped his arms around her, yanking her backward just in time to avoid a panicked merchant who nearly trampled her into the stones.

"Ondina, please," her mother sobbed, reaching a shaking hand out toward the shadows where we stood. "She is here! Look at her!"

The father pulled her harder, burying his face in her hair. "She's gone! We have to get home, now!"

"No! No!" She thrashed in his grip, her eyes never leaving her lost daughter.

"Stop this!" he roared. "She is dead!"

I stepped in front of Ondina. I grabbed her arm, giving her a sharp shake. "If you are coming with us, we need to leave now!"

Ondina blinked. The unshed tears pooling in the corners of her eyes instantly froze. All the residual warmth bled from her face as her features hardened. Her trembling hands dropped to her sides, the smooth ring of steel cutting the air as she drew both of her daggers.

"Lead," she commanded, her voice flat and devoid of any emotion.

I turned toward the iron gates, plunging us headfirst into the frantic crowds. We moved in the opposite direction of the stampeding townsfolk, our shoulders colliding with fleeing bodies as we fought our way toward the open exit.

One half of the iron gates had been pushed shut with a clang. Guards scrambled outside the walls, dragging the last few screaming stragglers inside to safety, while dozens more armored soldiers lined the towering stone parapets above, their longbows drawn taut. We threw our combined weight against the pressing tide of bodies, diving through the narrowing gap and spilling out into the freezing winter wilderness just as the second gate slammed and sealed shut behind us.

"Where are you going?!" a guard snapped, grabbing at my flying cloak. "The gates are closed! You'll be slaughtered!"

I brushed past his grip, drawing an arrow from my quiver. "We don’t belong in there."

A rhythmic vibration shook the frozen earth. Bursting from the deep shadows of the treeline, three Crescent Moon Walkers charged straight for the town walls, their jaws snapping.

I aimed and released. My arrow hissed through the air, burying itself into the lead beast's glowing eye. A lethal volley of arrows rained down from the stone wall above us. Steel shafts pierced vital points while others sank into the deep snowdrifts. The beasts shrieked, their momentum carrying them forward for a few yards before their bodies toppled over, soaking the snow in fresh blood.

The haunting whispers from the lake swelled. A flash of crimson swept across my vision. Thick, black miasma was pouring out of the frozen surface of the lake, rising higher and higher into the bruised sky. Beneath the twisting dark fog, the ice began to glow with a deep, pulsing violet light.

A tectonic crack echoed across the vast valley, reverberating straight through the soles of my boots and rattling my bones.

The entire surface of Whisp Lake shattered upward, exploding into a hurricane of black frost and flying ice.

I took a step back. The dark miasma collected rapidly above the shattered lake, its pulsing heartbeat matching my own erratic pulse. As the fog swirled and condensed, it began to construct the shadowy figure of a beast with four great wings—its true form remained unclear. My eyes didn't focus on the monster. Right above the swirling darkness, hovering still in the chaos, was a single crimson butterfly.

The familiar pull washed over my mind. All that I saw was the crimson butterfly, my vision narrowing until nothing else existed. Just that single point of crimson light inviting me forward into the dark. I fought to stay rooted. I screamed at my legs to hold. But my body had already made its decision without me. My muscles went rigid and I lunged forward, charging toward the monster.

I only made it a few steps before two firm arms locked around my waist, yanking me backward.

"Alanah, snap out of it!"

Emeric's frantic voice broke through the haze. The crimson butterfly and the four-winged shadow vanished from my sight, leaving nothing but the iced-over lake and the falling snow. I blinked rapidly, gasping for breath in the freezing air.

I bit down on the inside of my cheek, forcing down the swelling panic trying to rise in my chest. "We need to get back to the dragons."

"Hold!" a guardsman screamed from the high stone walls behind us. "There are people out there!"

Emeric shifted his wide stance, bringing his greatsword up in a guard just as the shadowy, blurred figure of a Nyxraith charged us from the flank. Emeric sidestepped the monster's lunge and swung his blade in a horizontal arc, cleaving the shadow creature in half. Its shadowy form hit the snow just as another volley of arrows rained down from the parapets, finding their marks in the other incoming beasts.

I cast one final glance over my shoulder at the sealed gates of Scryer. The guards were nocking their next arrows. I snapped my focus forward toward the distant trees.

"Move!" Emeric ordered.

Ondina broke into a sprint. Instead of skirting the winding shoreline, she bolted straight for the surface of the frozen lake. "We can cross it faster than going around!" she yelled back over her shoulder, her twin daggers in her hands.

Emeric and I scrambled to follow her lead. Above us the continuous whistling of the guards' arrows cut through the sky.

The frigid air burned like fire in my lungs with every ragged breath. My boots hit the ice. I braced myself, expecting the surface to crack beneath my weight. It held firm, our boots slipping and sliding over the slick frost as we ran.

A heavy vibration rumbled through the ice. A Crescent Moon Walker was barreling straight toward us, its eyes glowing with malice. I yanked another arrow from my quiver, raising my bow.

Ondina broke ahead of us with lethal speed. At the very last second, she launched herself high into the air, vaulting over the lunging beast. As she passed over it, she drove her dagger deep down into its spine. The monster let out a pained yelp, its legs giving out as it skidded across the ice before digging its claws in to slide to a halt. It turned to face her, letting out a low growl as it took a predatory step forward.

Ondina didn’t give it a single second to strike. She charged the beast head-on, dropping low to the slick ice. Using her momentum, she slid underneath the monster, dragging her upward-facing dagger in a straight line right through its exposed underbelly.

The beast collapsed behind her. Ondina rose back to her feet, fresh blood staining her clothes. We didn't stop to catch our breath. We maneuvered around the steaming carcass and sprinted across the remainder of the icy lake.

A roar splintered the air above us. Two massive dragon figures burst through the bruised clouds.

"Thallioxia!" Emeric roared over the howling wind.

The emerald dragon's head snapped toward us. Both beasts flared their enormous wings, their bodies slowing as they came to a hover just above the treeline.

A frantic shout drew my attention back toward Scryer. The heavy iron gates had opened a fraction, and a dozen city guards had spilled out. They were charging across the ice in our direction.

"Dragons!" a soldier screamed. Steel flashed in the gloom as they raised their weapons, preparing to fire.

The ground rumbled beneath my boots, pulling my focus back to survival. Ondina was scaling Aurenoxious's scaled side. I sprinted toward them, hauling myself up right behind her. Emeric vaulted onto Thallioxia's back. The dragon bent her powerful legs and pushed into the air, the force of her downdraft bent the ancient trees backward and kicked up a blizzard of snow.

I wrapped my arms tight around Ondina's waist just as Aurenoxious let out a deep grunt and launched us up into the cursed sky. Below us, the desperate soldiers were only halfway across the frozen lake. One archer skidded to a halt on the ice, drawing his bowstring taut and releasing a final arrow. It hissed through the air, coming up just short of Aurenoxious's belly before falling back to earth.

It was too late for them to reach us. The guards were fading into the distance, shrinking into the snow with every passing heartbeat as the dragons carried us away into the changing world.

My stomach plummeted as I looked down, a wave of nausea washing through me. In front of me, Ondina's muscles were locked, though a tremble betrayed her posture. My arms tightened around her waist.

The ancient trees of the mainland bent and swayed from the monsters passing beneath the canopy. Flocks of chitterwings dispersed into the sky every so often, fleeing the slaughter below. Another wave of nausea passed through me. I squeezed my eyes shut as the distant cries of the awakened beasts echoed all the way up to us in the clouds.

Gradually, the shrieks of the mainland faded, replaced by the roar of the dark ocean. The high-altitude wind bit into my exposed skin until I was numb.

I opened my eyes. The Cursed Moon still hung high in the center of the sky. The red and silver moons had both risen to join it.

Hours have passed. Why hasn’t the moon moved?

The glowing blue crystals of the Luminethra island paths came into view through the gloom. The streets were desolate; the townsfolk had all hid themselves inside their homes.

Aurenoxious banked toward the courtyard. He descended, his claws crashing into the ground. Thallioxia slammed down right beside us a second later, her emerald scales catching the moonlight.

Standing a short distance away were Mikaeus and Zarina.

Seeing us crash into the courtyard, he froze. He immediately started walking towards us, his expression tight and unreadable, stopping just a few yards away.

I released my tight grip on Ondina's waist. She didn't move. She just sat still in the leather saddle, her blank eyes staring into the night.

"Ondina," I said, my voice soft.

She blinked slowly. Her grasp on the leather reins tightened for a second before she let go. "I am turning in. Let me know what happened."

She stood up rigidly and slid down the dragon's scaled side. She didn't spare a glance at us or the sky as she marched straight for the doors of the estate.

Aurenoxious let out a sorrowful groan, twisting his head to watch her retreat.

I reached out, resting my hand against his warm scales. "She will be alright," I whispered to him, though I wasn't entirely sure I believed it. "I will check on her soon."

The dragon huffed a breath of hot air through his nostrils, thick white smoke filling the freezing air in front of him.

Mikaeus stood waiting below, his golden eyes fixed on me. I hoisted my exhausted body over the saddle, sliding down the dragon's side until my boots hit the snow. He took an urgent step closer. "You're back." His eyes scanned me from head to toe. "Are you unharmed?"

"I am fine. And—"

"And so are the rest of us," Emeric cut in.

He vaulted down from Thallioxia and stepped beside Mikaeus, planting his armored frame into the space between us. His jaw was clenched tight.

"You are more tense than usual, Emeric. What happened out there?"

Emeric’s green eyes drifted over to me for a split second—before he snapped his gaze back to Mikaeus. "Nothing of note."

Aurenoxious groaned again, pulling my focus.

"I'm heading in," I murmured, wrapping my cloak tighter. "Can we talk about what happened tomorrow?"

"Yes... go get some rest."

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