Where Ashes and Oaths Collide

Chapter 55: Ablaze

The rest of the people had gathered on the left side of the cathedral. A few men held candle sticks out to protect themselves, not that it would do much good against the prisoners who wanted revenge on their captors. Suddenly a warm rush of energy emanated from the man beside Amelia. She looked over at Supervivente and felt an immense amount of power and anger radiating off him. She stepped away from him, but his gaze was fixed on the people gathered on the left side of the cathedral and suddenly the wall behind them caught fire. “What are you doing?" Amelia asked in a panic. “If you do this, we are all going to die in here.” Supervivente remained quiet and the fire started spreading.

Roaring flames started climbing up the walls relentlessly. The fire spread in vertical streaks, longing along the stone pillars and tracing the architectural lines, as if the building itself has been set ablaze from within. The once cool grey stone now glows in shades of orange and red, reflecting the heat and fury of the inferno. Amelia started coughing and having trouble breathing, she looked up at the stained-glass windows, which previously cast soft, colourful lights but are now illuminated from behind by fire. The windows no shimmer through a haze of heat and some, their colour distorted by the flickering flames. Some areas appear dangerously close to shattering under the intensity.

An image of Luz, smiling softly appears in her mind and she looks toward Supervivente again. Suddenly she slaps him, his eyes widen dangerously as he looks over at her. “Open those doors right now and take down those bloody magical enchantment so the army can come in,” she says loudly and stubbornly. A flicker of recognition or respect crosses Supervivente face and the front doors swung open. Amelia run toward the door, the blue banners with gold emblems are on fire and fall to the floor as she runs past.

…

“Keep formation,” Luz ordered quietly, his amber eyes scanning every shadowed alleyway and rooftop. “Leo, Casandra– take point. Sol and Lua cover our flanks.” His armoured boots made almost no sound against the cobblestones as they navigated through what was once a bustling marketplace now reduced to silent ruins. “Darm,” he said without turning his head. “Start sensing for magical energy signatures around the entrance. Any wards should be concentrated there.” Darm stared speechless at the cathedral’s large doors as if in a trance and suddenly the doors burst open and Amelia came running out. She was wearing her midnight-coloured robe. The sight of her running with a look of urgency on her face was like a physical blow to Luz.

His entire being went rigid, the controlled façade of the Corrompido commander cracked visibly. The amber in his left eye flickered violently, betraying the chaos erupting within him. “Stop,” he commanded sharply, but his voice cracked midway through the word. “Do not move.” His armoured body moved on its own accord toward Amelia, ignoring the confused shouts from his team members. The distance between them closed rapidly as he covered strode towards her. “Amelia,” he breathed her name like a prayer. The black veins along his jawline pulsed erratically as he struggled to maintain control against the overwhelming emotional shock.

“I am sorry,” Amelia said quickly and slightly out of breath from the smoke and the running. She ran into his arms. “The prisoners…” she tried to explain. Luz’s armoured arms instinctively wrapped around Amelia, crushing her against his black steel chest. The world seemed to tilt on its axis as the scent of hr hair– lavender and something uniquely hers– flooded his senses. “Prisoners?” his voice was raw, stripped of its commanding authority and replaced with something desperate. “In the cathedral? How many?” his gaze darted past her to the cathedral entrance where Leo and Cassandra were already moving to secure the position the tactical part of his mind screamed that this was a critical vulnerability, but the man holding Amelia could not care less about tactical considerations.

“You should not be here; the watch tower was supposed to be secure. Who authorized this?” Luz said sharply, though his grip on Amelia did not loosen. “Lady Escuridade,” she muttered and looked over at the cathedral. “She said only I could enter and free them…” Luz’s entire body went rigid, the black veins along his jawline flares brightly as he processed the implications. Lady Escuridade, Mestre Escuro’s consort– Luz’s direct superior– had deliberately placed Amelia in danger. “Escuridade,” he repeated through clenched teeth, his amber eyes blazing with dangerous light. “Of course she would use you as a pawn in her games.” Luz’s grip on Amelia tightened possessively as he scanned the cathedral entrance with renewed fury.

“How many prisoners? What kind of conditions are they in?” behind them, Leo called out impatiently. “Commander, we need to move! The cathedral’s wards are still active.” Luz ignored him completely, his focus entirely consumed by the woman in his arms and the treachery of his own side. “You are coming with us,” he said quickly. “I… I don’t know,” Amelia muttered, the fire from inside the cathedral started to spread outward. “We freed them,” she continued. “One of them… he said he could take down the wards keeping the army out… but– but her started the fire…” the sudden roar of flames erupting from the cathedral’s windows sent a jolt through Luz’s team.

Firelight cast dancing shadows across their faces as they watched smoke billow into the sky. The cathedrals original appearance is consumed by sheets of blazing orange fire within seconds. The flames climbed across rooftops and spill from windows like molten light pouring out of cracks in the structure. The fire appears to have spread throughout nearly every section of the complex. Above the city an enormous mass of dark smoke develops and dominate the sky. The heavens have become a turbulent ceiling of smoke and ask. The orange glow from the fire reflects off the smoke, tinting portions of it with deep reds and burnt amber tones.