Blood in Dust
I slammed the door shut, not even sure if it would hold to keep them out. We were surrounded.
"Gods!" I snapped.
Kumbuye was on his feet in an instant, ready for a fight. "What do we do now?"
"We can't fight them," Corvessa said quickly. "They're our brothers and sisters. There has to be another way."
I rubbed my temple, trying to think through the noise building inside my head. "Just... give me your hands," I said. "I'll get us out of here."
I had never veil-walked with more than two people before and I did not have any particular destination in mind, I just knew we had to leave this place.
"Where?" Kumbuye asked.
"Anywhere but here," I said quietly.
I bent to grab the urn from the floor, clutching it close, then reached for them. Our hands locked together; Kumbuye and Corvessa held onto me, while Soren gripped Corvessa.
A heavy thud hit the door.
I shut my eyes and forced my thoughts to settle. I focused on the tavern from yesterday. The cellar, the smell of ale, the lined barrels, I clung to anything that felt solid and then I reached for the Veil, pulling at it with everything I had.
It dragged on me, my bones felt like they were being squeezed but I pushed harder.
Finally, everything gave way and we were thrown forward, landing hard against the tavern floor.
The air knocked out of my chest as my knees slammed against the wood. For a second, I couldn't move. I just stayed there, my palms flat on the floor, trying to remember how to breathe.
The people who had been here yesterday were still huddled together. They flinched when we appeared, panic flashing across their faces, but when they realized it was us, some of that fear eased.
Corvessa let go of me first, already straightening herself from the fall.
But Kumbuye didn't move right away. His grip on my hand tightened slightly before he let go. "Dana..."
"I'm fine," I said quickly, even though I hadn't tried to stand yet.
It took me some time before I pushed myself up, a little too fast. The room tilted, then steadied.
"Easy," Kumbuye said.
"I said I'm fine."
He didn't argue, but his eyes stayed on me. Then his expression shifted. "You're bleeding."
"What?"
He reached up, brushing his thumb just under my nose. When he pulled back, there was red on his skin.
I hadn't even felt it.
I wiped at it with the back of my hand. "It's nothing."
"It's not nothing," he said quietly.
Soren glanced over at me, "Are you alright?"
"Yes," I groaned. My head throbbed just thinking about it.
I turned away from them, pressing my fingers harder against my nose until the bleeding slowed. My hands were shaking, perhaps I pushed harder than my body could take.
I crouched and picked up the urn. It felt heavier, or maybe I was just weaker.
"Let's find him," I mumbled.
"I think you should rest a bit, Dana," Kumbuye muttered.
"I told you I'm fine." I lifted the urn slightly. "This will lead us to him."
Neither of them said a word.
We headed for the stairs in silence, climbing toward the cellar door. Just before we left, Corvessa paused and glanced back at the others inside the cellar.
"I'll come back," she said softly. "Stay here. Stay quiet."
We stepped out into the open air. The horse Kumbuye and I had left the day before was still tied where we'd left it, shifting slightly, its ears flicking at our approach.
"Thank the heavens it's still here. We won't have to walk," Kumbuye muttered.
"One horse," Corvessa mumbled as her eyes scanned the empty street. "We need another."
"I'll get one," Soren said, already moving.
"No," I barked. "Stay close. We don't split."
He stopped at once, then gave a short nod.
We moved together toward the stables in this district.
The walk felt longer than it should've, the streets were quieter the further we went.
By the time we reached the stables, we got three more horses, and we rode back the same way we came.
Kumbuye had shared a horse with me, so he dismounted fast from behind me, and climbed onto the horse we'd left tied earlier.
Then we moved on.
My eyes fell on the urn on my hands. Whenever we were on the right path, it pulsed, with a faint glow appearing under my fingers.
I tightened my grip and leaned forward slightly in the saddle.
"This way," I said.
We rode further into another district — one that had clearly been attacked by the Forsaken.
The horses slowed the moment we rode in.
I locked my fingers around the reins, looking ahead.
Whole sections of the district were torn open. Burnt timber. Cracked stone. Smoke that hadn't fully left the air yet, clinging to everything.
And the bodies.
Too many to count at first glance.
Soren's jaw tightened beside me, his eyes widened at the scene before us. "Gods..." he muttered.
Corvessa had gone very still. Her gaze was fixed ahead, but there was a hurt look on her face that she didn't try to hide.
We kept moving.
The urn in my hand gave a faint pulse at first. Then its faint light glowed stronger.
I sat up straighter without thinking. "We're close," I muttered.
We continued forward, the horses picking up speed as we drew closer to another district.
"Dana," Corvessa whispered, her voice barely carrying over the sound of hooves. "Look at that smoke."
I looked. The haze ahead wasn't drifting like smoke from a previous attack. It moved in slow, heavy waves, like something was still burning at the exact moment we moved closer.
"Someone is here," I said quietly, pulling my horse to a stop.
The others stopped beside me.
For a moment, no one moved. Our gazes were locked on the smoke.
Then I got down. My boots hit the ash-covered ground with a soft thud. I led my horse to a broken stall and tied it quickly to a half-standing stall. The others did the same with their horses.
We moved on foot after that.
We turned a corner and stayed close to the walls, trying not to make noise. The urn in my hand glowed brighter with each step, pulsing steadily now, and guiding us forward.
Ahead of us, there was a ruined structure that rose out of the smoke. Its stairs were cracked and half-collapsed, but still standing. The roof above it had fallen in, leaving gaps where light and smoke slipped through.
We stopped at the base, then began to climb, hoping to reach the top to see what lay beyond the smoke.
At first, I didn't understand what I was looking at.
There were too many people on the ground — forced down on their knees, tied up, blindfolded. They were spread out deliberately. Like someone had arranged them.
And one by one, they were being taken.
These were the people from this district. I didn't even realise when my hand moved to my mouth. I just knew I couldn't breathe properly anymore.
The Forsaken were slaughtering them like it was nothing. Like it was something done without thought or anger... just for the fun of it.
I couldn't hear everything clearly from where we stood, but I saw enough.
Then my eyes caught something in the far end of the ruins.
And my body went still.
Doya was there.
Blindfolded like the rest, tied and kneeling, but set apart. An iron collar locked around his neck.
"Doya," I whispered. My voice barely came out.
Beside him was Giselle, also tied up and blindfolded, a collar locked around her neck too. And behind them—
Jephas.
The moment I saw him, something in my chest went cold. It was not fear. It was anger. A familiar spark of revenge that made everything else fall away for a second.
Kumbuye noticed the change in me instantly. His hand came to my shoulder, steadying me before I even realised I was shaking.
"Dana..."
I didn't answer.
I couldn't look away.
The man who took everything from me was just a few steps away.
And for the first time since this started... it felt like the world had finally put him in front of me on purpose.
Kumbuye's grip tightened on my shoulders.
"You can't go after him this way," he hissed. "If you go now, you lose Doya."
Hearing his name pulled something in me. There was a crack in the rage. But I was still looking straight at Jephas. Still locked on him. All I wanted at that moment was his head.
My body moved before I fully decided it would.
"Dana, don't," Kumbuye held me tighter.
"He took everything from me," I growled.
"And you will get him," he said firmly, "but not this way."
"Listen to him, Dana..." Corvessa's voice cut in. "We're outnumbered."
"Um…" Soren started, but didn't finish.
I only turned slightly before he added, "I think we're exposed."
Then the world broke.
A blast tore through the ruined structure, so sudden it didn't feel real at first. All I saw was stone, smoke, and dust as it erupted outward like something had punched straight through the place. The floor dropped beneath us, and we fell. There was no air, no control. It felt like being thrown out of the sky.
Stone bit into my back and shoulder as we hit the ground hard. Pain shot through me. My ears rang so loud I couldn't tell if anyone was shouting or if it was just inside my head.
I tried to push myself up, but my body didn't fully listen. My arms shook. My vision blurred at the edges. My whole body was covered in dust.
Somewhere nearby, I could feel them — Kumbuye, Corvessa, Soren — but I couldn't see them clearly yet.
The moment I was about to say his name, I coughed out dust.
Sound felt distant, except this loud ringing in my ears. Through the dust, I saw Kumbuye push himself up from broken stone, slow and unsteady. There were cuts on him across his arms and face, but he didn't seem to notice them. He looked straight at me and reached out.
"Come on," his voice was rough. "Up."
I struggled a little before taking his hand.
It wasn't steady. Neither of us was, but he pulled me up anyway.
I turned, trying to find the others through the haze.
Corvessa was a few steps away, coughing hard, one arm pressed to her side. Blood ran down her sleeve, but she stayed upright.
"Soren?" she called, but her voice barely carried before she broke into another cough.
We heard a low, strained sound from behind a slab of fallen stone. It had pinned him underneath.
"Help me," he choked out.
"Soren," I muttered, already moving with the others.
We reached the stone together. It was heavy, half-buried in rubble. We pushed, but it didn't move at first.
Soren let out a tight sound of pain.
I didn't have much strength in me, so I couldn't channel properly but I forced out a small wave of force, just enough to loosen the stone. Kumbuye reacted immediately, bracing his hands against it. Corvessa joined him and together, we shoved. Then the stone shifted.
Soren pulled himself out with a sharp breath, collapsing onto the ground beside us. One of his legs had a deep wound, but there was no time to check him properly.
The Forsaken were coming.
Kumbuye noticed it first. His head snapped toward the dust-covered opening.
"They're coming," he said.
Through the thinning dust, I searched the ground blindly until my hand hit something solid. The urn.
I grabbed it without thinking and pulled it close to my chest.
"Follow me," Kumbuye muttered, already moving, guiding us away from the ruin.
Corvessa and I held Soren up between us. He was limping badly, every step uneven, but he forced himself forward with us.
We all struggled behind Kumbuye, moving fast despite the pain and exhaustion.
Ahead of us stood another structure that was half-hidden and half-standing, swallowed by shadow.
"In here," Kumbuye barked low, gesturing us inside.
We didn't hesitate, we all went in quickly, going deeper in to make sure we weren't visible from the entrance. We began to move slower now. Soren was barely holding himself up between Corvessa and me.
When we finally stopped, it was in a tight corner of broken wall and shadow.
Soren gave out first.
He sank against the stone with a sharp breath. Corvessa was already down beside him, tearing a strip from her sleeve. Her arm was still bleeding, but she ignored it, and focused on his wound instead.
"Don't move," she said quietly, pressing the cloth around his leg.
Soren let out a strained laugh, more of pain than humour. "Not planning to."
I stayed standing for a moment longer, just trying to catch my breath. My hands wouldn't stop shaking. The urn was still in my grip.
Kumbuye crouched against a broken stone wall, listening for any sound from the Forsaken.
"We stay quiet," he said after a moment. His voice was lower now. "No movement unless we have to."
No one argued. We all just stayed quiet.
Corvessa tightened the cloth around Soren's leg. He flinched but didn't stop her. She glanced up at me for a second, then away again.
We were all hurt. All of us.
I finally lowered myself to the ground, my back against the stone, and let out a slow breath I didn't realize I was holding.
I was still trembling, but I forced myself to stay still. Only then did I notice my arms.
There were multiple slashes across my skin — cuts from broken stone, shallow in some places, deeper in others. I hadn't even felt them properly before now. My sleeves were torn, stained with dust and blood.
My back still hurt too. A deep, constant pain that flared every time I shifted even slightly.
I exhaled slowly through my teeth and leaned my head back against the stone.
"We should use the healing spell on ourselves after we gather some strength," I whispered.
Corvessa paused for a moment while she tried to tie up the injury on her arm. She pulled the cloth tight, biting down on one end to hold it in place as she wrapped it around her arm with her other hand. Her jaw stayed clenched as she finished the knot, wincing slightly but ignoring the sting.
"We'll need a few minutes at least," she said quietly.
Soren gave a small, strained sound like agreement, though it was hard to tell if he was even fully focused on us.
There were two different pulls tearing at the same place inside me. One was anger. The other was responsibility. And I couldn't tell which one was stronger anymore.
I wanted revenge, but something in me kept dragging me back, like I was responsible for what happened to them. Guilt sat heavy in my chest. I couldn't even be a real guardian for once.
I felt clueless. Weak. Lost.
Why was I doomed to a life like this?