Blood of the Skies and Shadows - Chapter Twenty Two

Hello everyone, like promised another chapter! I will try my hardest to post chapters asap but I have some important exams soon so I will be a bit busy studying! Anyway thanks for your support and keep reading! Enjoy, comment as usual on chapter twenty-two.

Yours, Caelia.

P.S. I really want to spread my story around so, like I was told by some readers they were told by their friends about it and I was super happy. So tell your friends who you think might have an interest, many thanks :D
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Lexi.
It was harder than we thought to bulldoze our way through the swarm of demons. We'd reached the small shelter where Kheelan was strategizing with other warriors just behind the battlefield, Alcaeus and a group of fae magic users joined us after trying his best to mend the damned ward. We'd decided on Kheelan, Kalen and some other warriors making a barrier around Lucian, Alcaeus and I as we pushed our way through. Right after the decision was made Kheelan and Kalen launched into loud shouts of commands.

I didn't understand why, but the battlefield was more gruesome than any other I'd seen including the one a few nights back. Maybe it was because I was seeing good rather than bad beings fall dead. All around us were the lifeless bodies of fae warriors, the injuries marred on their pale skin were proof that they had fought bravely unto their dying breaths. It became more gruesome as I saw one of the fae warriors protecting us being killed. Out of nowhere a demon leapt into the air above us, its hungry almost desperate eyes piercing into my gaze. My grip on the Angel's grimoire became tighter as I watched the thing near. Before it could land one of the warriors in the front pushed me on to the ground and blocked the demon's path. Without hesitation or remorse the demon ripped the warrior's throat out while other warriors jumped to kill it quickly. Lucian clasped my arm, pulled me and the angel's grimoire up and with his more grave than usual stone mask towed me forward.

"We cannot stop." He murmured as he jerked the book from my arms and shoved it at Alcaeus. I pulled free from his iron clutch and followed close next to him obediently. I guiltily glanced back over my shoulder at the dead fae warrior's body. My throat felt tight and tears threatened. The warrior guardian our backs turned to look at me, his eyes full of sadness and regret but he did something that surprised me. He shook his head.

"Guilt does not change the fact he is gone." He murmured and spun away to battle off another demon. I shifted my attention back to the front as swarms of demons lunged forward towards us. I took a deep breath and pulled out my guns from my belt. Lucian looked at me but continued to march forward. He raised his brows questioningly but a smile lingered on his face.

"We can't waste any more time waiting for them to attack." I told Lucian urgently. He smirked and lifted his hand palm forward. And materializing instantly was his sword. He swiped it into his hand and glanced back at me again. An eager smirk on his grave face.

"So?" He asked impatiently. Almost as if he was waiting for my signal. I nodded and smirked back.

"So it's kill or be killed." I said and leapt into the space in between Kalen and Kheelan. They both looked at me curiously from the corner of their eyes but before they kept fighting I thought I glimpsed a hint of a smile on their symmetrical faces.

By the time we reached the tall stone archway, all my guns had run out of bullets and I'd lost a pair of my knives. So I was down to my last pair. My arms were heavy and tingling from using so much power. My shoulder-blade was throbbing and felt like pain was piercing through every second. My wrist started going tense and numb. And I was covered in dirt, sweat and blood, half my own and half demons' blood. The grounds were covered in fae bodies, blood and pools of inky black that seeped into the ground.

"Go! I assume the demons will retreat after you are gone." Kheelan yelled as the barrier slowly turned into a semi-circle around the entrance of the archway. Alcaeus stayed close behind Lucian and me as we were pushed into the middle as well. I nodded at Kheelan and Kalen and spun away.

"We have to leave now." I shouted over the noise of roars and slashing swords. Lucian nodded and turned questioningly to Alcaeus.

"I cannot go brother. I must help the fae recover after this is all over." Alcaeus murmured. His expression was sad and his eyes were full of worry. It was because he cared about the fae. They would never die of old age but they could die other ways. Lucian seemed to understand this. He merely nodded.

"Hurry." He said to me and turned away while Alcaeus walked over to me. He held out the angel's grimoire. Hesitantly I sheathed away one of my knives and took the thick book from him. His dark eyes which seemed genuinely kind yet always aloof softened. His eyes were sad but an invisible wall seemed to be temporarily down.

"Alexia, I can see something in your eyes, something strong. It makes me believe your fate will be different from that of a vessel's. I have a hint you might find useful though even I myself do not fathom the turmoil inside your mind." He said, a smile appearing on his lips. He looked half his age even with the silver at his temples and the laugh lines on his face. It made me want to smile but his words kept resonating through my mind that I couldn't do anything but freeze up and listen. He leaned in close to my ear and whispered words I couldn't even begin to apprehend.

"The hint is: the two are one but they can also separate if one chooses so." With a kind smile he nudged me towards Lucian and flung his hands up. Like a burst of wind hit a pair of invisible double doors in the archway outside Alcaeus' home faded into view. With a confusing grin from Alcaeus Lucian pulled me towards the archway and the instant after we stumbled through, a demon followed.

Lexi.
Lucian grabbed me and pulled me close but I shoved against him.
"We can't transport just yet! We have to lure all the demons out of the eternal lands first." I told him urgently. His cold disapproving gaze went straight through me but I wasn't backing down.

"I have to protect you. You're the only hope either world has of ridding it of the demons." Lucian said grabbing my wrist.

"Lucian. We have to help them." I said desperately, pleading him with my eyes. Remembering the warrior who was killed right before my eyes to protect me. It was as if something that had saddened and haunted him, flew right by his eyes. He sighed and lifted his sword.

"We'll have to run out of Alcaeus' grounds. The ward should be repaired by the time we get all the demons out into the shadow world." He said as he gestured for me to run.

"But.." I started but as if he could read my mind he cut me off.

"Dawn is approaching rapidly and there are no human bodies around for them to use to chase us. Shadow bodies will not work either, they will have to retreat once we get out of the grounds!" He shouted as we ran. I could practically feel their hungry glares on my back as we ran. From the corner of my eye I noticed something large and white slithering besides Lucian. I slipped behind Lucian and jumped to land on top of the thing. I gripped its head and slit its throat.

"Damn it!" I cursed as the demons gained on us. We were barely six feet from the gate when another demon appeared and blocked our way. Lucian grabbed me and pulled me close again. Before I could protest he shot me a grave look. It was as if he was saying 'believe me'. I felt that nauseous dizzy feeling roll over me again. But it quickly passed and we were a few feet outside the gates.

"We were close enough that they would still follow." I nodded and turned to run but he jerked me back with my wrist and glared at me.

"Wait." He cautioned. I didn't dare to speak even as uneasy as I was but I had to trust him and trust that he wouldn't let me get killed. The swarms of demons charged faster and faster towards us. Their hissing and roaring soon becoming unbearably loud. Like it was their war cry or something.

"You're the vessel!" One of the demons in the front spat hatefully. The roars and hisses grew louder at that instant. Their hungry eyes weren't merely hungry anymore. They had thirsted for every drop of my blood and they had wanted to devour me. But they didn't want to do, they were just ordered to. It would be fun but they didn't care if I died or lived. But after that realization it was there. In their cold pitch black eyes was eagerness and glee. They would enjoy ripping me to shreds and tasting my blood. Fear actually kicked in since Helios. These things were pure evil. My whole body felt tense and stiff. The knife in my hand didn't feel like an extension of myself like my weapons usually did in my hands, it felt cold and useless. Even so my fingers gripped it like my life depended on it, okay it did. Fear engulfed me so strongly that I didn't even notice the last line of demons pass through the gate until Lucian yelled something at me and pulled me into another embrace. The last thought in my head as we transported and the view I had of the demons blurred rapidly was: 'Not again'.