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131 - Journey to the Past
ARAH
“Leave my mind, sylph!” Marianne’s distorted voice echoed in Arah’s ear, and an intense tingling sensation shot from her feet upward, stealing her breath for a moment.
Her mind snapped back to the sight of the cell. A force slammed into her like a kick to the stomach, hurling her across the room. Her back collided with the wall, a groan tearing from her throat. Her muscles and bones ached, and a sharp ringing settled in her ears. Disoriented, it took her a few seconds to regain her senses. She cringed as something sticky clung to her hair—she was inches from the toilet, which reeked of piss and leftover excrement.
Gagging, her head throbbed with the sound of fists battering against the steel door, growls and curses filling the air. Her wind tattoo coiled around the slit in the door, keeping it shut.
Stringmaster stood across the stinking cell, fists trembling at her sides as if all her emotions had gathered there. Arah looked at the
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MAD END'S DECEPTION 132 - Built Differently
ARAHMore than anything, that was what intrigued her the most. “Why is a sylph helping witches on Earthland?” She still couldn’t make sense of it. Sylphs were supposed to be protectors of humanity... guardians against supernatural and interdimensional threats. That was their purpose, their life mission. Why would one be helping a human gain powers by accessing a hostile dimension that even higher mortals wouldn’t dare venture into?It reminded her of what Gildeon had once told her about a group of sylphs stationed on Earthland by the Shining Keeper. They were soldiers tasked with eliminating threats to lower mortals and maintaining the balance of power within Earthland.Hunters.They were built differently from the Shamibar sylphs.Was Zephyr one of them? But something else was off about him, something unnatural that she couldn’t quite put her finger on. And then there was that odd sense of familiarity. Had she heard of him back in
MAD END'S DECEPTION 133 - Night of Battle
ARAHShe helped Zylas prepare lunch for everyone in one of the prison kitchens. It felt strange doing something so mundane with a witch, and just hours before they were set to fight another coven. But she welcomed the downtime—a quiet moment before the chaos that was bound to unfold later.Besides, this was her chance to figure out Zylas’s weaknesses, even though Gildeon had already told her that he was the one she didn’t need to get close to. But with Lokius currently in some kind of hibernation and Vienna busy discussing strategies with Drusden, Arah didn’t have much of a choice. She might as well hang around with Zylas and make herself useful.She used to underestimate Zylas’s role in the coven. With his weird, carefree attitude at times, it was hard not to question why they seemed to value him so much. If it was his cooking, well, that was something she could easily agree with. He wasn’t as graceful as Tonio in the kitchen, chopping onions l
MAD END'S DECEPTION 134 - Monster Inside Him
Long Time Ago (Part 1)YOUNG GILDEONHis fist smashed into Baltae’s face with a sharp crack, sending him skidding across the rough ground. The air stank of sulfur and ash, smoke hissing from the cracks in the earth. Around them, a group of sparring younglings had dropped their blades and formed a circle, but their shouts were just a blur in Gildeon’s ears.His chest heaved, his heart pounding so hard it hurt. He jumped on Baltae, fists swinging again and again, each punch making his knuckles burn. Anger roared inside him, making his head throb and his arms shake, his breathing short and wild.‘Kill him!’ the monstrous voice echoed in his head. He yelled, trying to shut it up while still swinging his fists.Suddenly, arms wrapped around his neck from behind, squeezing tight. Paikon—smaller, but still strong enough to pull him back as Baltae scrambled to his feet.Baltae swung, but Gildeon twisted jus
MAD END'S DECEPTION 135 - Only Truth You Need
Long Time Ago (Part 2)YOUNG GILDEONLarge brown eyes, each as big as his head, stared directly at him. He pulled his knife from the sheath on his leg and sliced open the dead swamp beastling’s belly, its guts spilling out in a rush. The smell hit him—rotten fish and sour mud. He scrunched his nose, trying not to gag. He had killed and cleaned beastlings plenty of times by now, but the stench still made him sick.Wincing each time his back throbbed, he sliced through the slimy membranes. He had to be careful—one wrong cut and the coresac would burst, ruining the meat and possibly hurting him. He scooped out the intestines and organs, their weight squishing in his hands, and dumped them into the bucket under the table, blood dripping down his arms.He hated this. But it was better than being stuck underground with old salamander bones and going hungry. His other hand shifted into its beast form,
MAD END'S DECEPTION 136 - She's Not Like Us
Long Time Ago (Part 3)YOUNG GILDEONOld Haemos had left for an expedition to the east, taking a whole battalion with him. Gildeon saw his chance. He packed supplies—food, water, salve, and some materials to build a shelter. He didn’t know how long he’d be gone, so he had to be well-stocked.Gildeon slipped out through a tunnel most salamanders didn’t know about. The path led into the growing jungle, but something stopped him. Someone was following. He grabbed a stone and hurled it toward the thick bushes near the rock wall.“Ow!” a small voice squeaked.Gildeon frowned. “Nalini?”The girl appeared from the bushes, rubbing her head, her wheat-colored hair shining in the daylight. “Why’d you do that?” she whined.“Why are you following me?”“I saw you take a bunch of meat from the smokehouse,” she said, coming up to him and shaking the sack on his back. “I was gonna tell the cooks, but
MAD END'S DECEPTION 137 - The New Threat
Long Time Ago (Part 4)YOUNG GILDEONThe middling beast came sooner than expected. Its stench hit him first—a rotten, sour smell rising through the trees below the cliff. His heart pounded hard in his chest, and his breaths came fast. He hated how scared he felt, but at least it had come to them—saved them the trouble of tracking it in the wild.‘Let it come,’ the voice murmured in his head.Gildeon tightened his grip on his shortsword, his other hand already shifting to claws. Nalini changed too, her tail flicking nervously behind her. He stepped closer to the cliff’s edge, peering down into the dense tangle of trees below. Something rustled again, making the branches twitch, but then everything went still. Too still.He held his breath, eyes darting from side to side. No sound. No movement. He bent down and grabbed a palm-sized stone. With a glance at Nalini, he whispered, &
MAD END'S DECEPTION 138 - Voice In My Head
Long Time Ago (Part 5)YOUNG GILDEONChunks of beast flesh fell from the dragon’s mouth as it growled, spraying fat, guts, and spit in their direction, clinging to their skin. Gildeon trembled. A pure, beastly dragon stood right in front of them—a creature he’d only seen in the seers’ drawings.A creature that wasn’t supposed to exist anymore.‘Where are you?’ he asked the voice inside his head, but there was no answer. For the first time, the monster was quiet.The fear in his chest only worsened.“Are we going to die?” Nalini whispered, her hand shaking as she held his arm.Gildeon clenched his teeth. He had to protect her. He had to make the dragon chase him so she could get away.But how? He could barely move.The dragon growled again, and Gildeon nearly wet his trousers. The creature took two heavy steps, its wings swinging, sending a gust of wind crashing into them. Cracks
MAD END'S DECEPTION 139 - When the Chaos Started
ARAHHer hair was neatly tucked under a black cap to avoid attention, which seemed to be working since her friends hadn’t noticed her yet. Cora, Tonio, and Mabel sat off in the distance. Patricia was there too, along with Nick—just the sight of him brought back those strange flashes from when they’d shaken hands. They were pieces of her memories, but they had come too fast to make sense of. Nick’s reaction to that still bothered her, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on it.Part of her wanted to stay close to her friends, to be there when the chaos started. But she knew they’d be safer if she kept her distance. The farther away they were when Vergilius and his brides thought about snatching her, the better.At least Stringmaster had kept her word—puppet inmates surrounded her friends, acting as protectors. That, somehow, brought Arah a sense of relief.She glanced around, trying to spot any sign of the enemy, but saw nothing. Were they hid
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MAD END'S DECEPTION 143 - We're On Our Own Now
MAD END'S DECEPTION 142 - Until the Order's Done
MAD END'S DECEPTION 141 - Small, Cursed Chance
MAD END'S DECEPTION 140 - Began to Unfold
MAD END'S DECEPTION 139 - When the Chaos Started
MAD END'S DECEPTION 138 - Voice In My Head
MAD END'S DECEPTION 137 - The New Threat
MAD END'S DECEPTION 136 - She's Not Like Us
MAD END'S DECEPTION 135 - Only Truth You Need
