Chapter 5

Say Your Prayers

Guard shoot arrows at the hand rising from Ky's blood, but they do nothing against it.

Another hand reaches out and holds onto the grass on the opposite side of the rippling pool of Ky's blood.

I step back until I bump into Brook's hind legs. I hold my wings tight to my sides and tuck my tail between my legs.

Two horns emerge, arched in elongated curves and attached to the skull of a creature with a flattened nose and sharp teeth. Two teeth curve upwards to make a terrifying smile. Blood drips from its fangs and its red skin.

My heart pounds in my chest as the creature turns its head and pulls itself further out of the puddle of Ky's blood. Its talons claw at the Field and shred the grass so easily.

Is it gonna hurt me?

It has long ears that twist as it looks around through little purple eyes. Its neck widens into broad shoulders and arms that are bigger than me. Its hoofed hind legs make the ground tremble and shake when it gets its feet beneath it, and its furred tail whips behind it. Its feet look like Brook's hooves, just split into two in the middle.

"The Blood Demon," Brook whispers.

As the Blood Demon rises to its full height, it takes in the last of Ky's blood and the puddle vanishes, leaving Ky's fur clean. He looks even more like he's just sleeping with his eyes half open.

What happened to you, Ky? Where are you? Did you meet Lucius, I think, but I know Ky said he wouldn't be dead.

The Blood Demon is the tallest creature I've ever seen. It towers over even Brook. I peer around Brook's leg to look at the Blood Demon, who stares out at the Guard and Soldiers through its small eyes that cry red tears.

The Blood Demon breathes in a long inhale, and then it bellows, face twisting into deep wrinkles. Its jaws open so wide that it looks like it could swallow the world. A tongue that looks like a snake drops from the Blood Demon's mouth, and it drips blood that disappears before it reaches the ground.

Phoenix stands over Ky's body. He stares up at the Blood Demon. He looks like he's about to cry.

"Is it- is it gonna e-eat us?" I ask. My ears droop, and I tremble.

"I don't know," Brook answers. "I'm not going anywhere, though, so you just stay right with me unless I tell you otherwise, ok? We will work together."

"Ok," I agree.

The Blood Demon takes a step forward, and the ground trembles. I dig my claws into the grass to steady myself.

Guard shoot arrows, but they pass through the Blood Demon's body. Its skin ripples like a puddle, and the arrows don't do anything.

The Blood Demon walks down the hill of the Field. Its claws flash in the sun, and its horns cast dark shadows over its face. When it reaches the first Soldier, it crouches down to one knee. It takes the Soldier's sword and bends to look him in the eye. Its tongue curls around the Soldier's arm. The Soldier stares at the Blood Demon, until it snorts and stands back up, jerking its head back and pulling the Soldier into its mouth.

The Soldier disappears down the Blood Demon's throat.

I start, breath catching in my throat. I want to run, I want to bolt, I want to be away, but I can't. Brook is here, and I don't know where I'd go. The Blood Demon is in my home. The Guard and Soldiers are in my home. There's nowhere to go. I hide behind Brook's legs, half hidden by her tail, but it's not enough. I can feel my heart beat in my chest, I can hear it in my ears, and I can feel my vision start to close in.

I watch the Blood Demon eat another Soldier. Its purple eyes pass over me before locking onto another target, and I shrink to the ground, wishing the grass would just open up so I could hide until everything was safe again.

The Blood Demon eats a Guard this time.

"This is what Ky did. This is Ky's sacrifice," Phoenix growls.

He's far away, but I can still see the fire shining his eyes and hear it crackling on his fur.

"I would kill you," Phoenix snarls, "but that's for the Blood Demon to do. Say your prayers if you want Lucius to listen, but I doubt they'll pay much attention to those who kneel for the Amethyst Throne."

The Blood Demon closes its jaws on a Soldier and swallows him whole.

xxxx

Grey flies overhead in his dove form, circling low above Brook's head. Alex stands beside me, just to the side of Brook. I still hide beneath Brook's tail. I paw at one of the pink ribbons in her tail as I watch the Blood Demon stomp across the Field and chase after the Guard and Soldiers.

The Guard and Soldiers all try to fight back, but they can't hurt the Blood Demon. Arrows pass right through its body and swords do the same.

Where do its meals go if it's not solid? Won't it get full? People seem like a big meal.

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One by one, the Blood Demon swallows every Guard and Soldier. They try to escape, but the Blood Demon gets to them first.

The Blood Demon snaps its jaws shut on the last Guard, and his legs stick out from the Blood Demon's teeth. But the Blood Demon tips its head back, and the Guard disappears. The Blood Demon licks its mouth. The teeth curling upward look like a bloodstained smile. A creepy smile.

Phoenix meets the Blood Demon's gaze, and the two stare at each other for a long time.

I stay quiet, barely breathing. Alex crouches by my side and rests her hand on my shoulders, but the touch brings no comfort.

But then the Blood Demon narrows its purple eyes and snorts. It flicks an ear. It turns around and leaves the Field, stomping down the hill and stepping over the shattered pieces of the kaleidoscope barrier.

Phoenix watches the Blood Demon for a moment, and then turns to the rest of us when it disappears. When Alex tries to walk closer, Phoenix jumps in front of Ky's body as a wave of fire bursts to life between us.

"Don't you dare take one step closer," Phoenix sneers. His face twists. "You killed my brother."

"He... K-Ky said he wasn't dead, though," I say, moving out from behind Brook. I tilt my head to the side.

"Look at him," Phoenix snaps, flashing his teeth. He flicks his tail toward his brother. "Does that look alive to you?"

I frown. "But he said Arcane could-."

"I know what Ky fucking said. I was there and fucking heard it. But that doesn't change the fact that Ky isn't breathing, and you all are. It was a fucking mistake to go along with you, Grey and Alex. It was a shitty decision, and it cost Ky his life. I don't care if he said Arcane can bring him back. Arcane better be alive, because he's bringing my brother back. I'll drag him back from Lucius if I have to. But Ky still died. He had to fucking die because none of you could fight."

"He did it to save you," Alex murmurs.

Phoenix glares at Alex, and I squirm at the intensity of his expression even though it's not directed at me. She holds his gaze.

"He still died. He still died because of what the cream puff did. My brother is fucking dead. And now I have to go find someone who hasn't existed for sixty years."

"We would have all died, Phoenix," Grey says. "There were too many Guard and Soldiers. Ky saved you. I cannot speak for Ky's desires, but I can imagine he wanted nothing more than to keep you safe. It's clear to me that you both care for the other endlessly."

Phoenix looks over his shoulder at Ky, and then he walks over to his brother. Phoenix nudges Ky with his nose, and his brother rolls limply.

"Why?" he asks. "We promised we'd never leave each other. We promised we'd be there forever. We promised we'd never be apart. We promised, Ky. We promised."

Phoenix sits beside Ky for a few minutes. Grey and Alex shift beside me, and Alex runs her hand through her hair to push it out of her face. She smiles when she catches me looking.

When Phoenix stands up abruptly, I tense at Brook's side. My stepmother doesn't move though. She just stays still. I look between Brook and Phoenix and mirror my stepmother's actions as best I can.

When Phoenix turns around, his head is low. He advances on Brook, murder in his eyes. He stalks toward my stepmother like how I hunt mice. But Brook isn't a mouse.

"What are you doing?" I ask, scampering between Phoenix and Brook. I raise my wings.

"Move it, Astra," Phoenix growls. "You ain't a part of this."

"D-don't hurt her. She hasn't done anything." I tremble but I stand my ground, digging my claws into the grass of the Field so I don't bolt.

Phoenix looks like the Guard and Soldiers, and my heart pounds in my chest. He looks like how the Guard and Soldiers looked at me— dangerous and monstrous.

Phoenix jerks his head to the side. "Move," he repeats. "You are not a part of this."

"Astra, it's ok," Brook says.

I turn around. "He's hunting you."

"No, he is not. He wishes to speak with me." Brook's voice is even.

Her mane falls over her face. Brook nods and inclines her head when I hesitate.

"It's ok, Astra. Please step aside. Why don't you go sit with Grey and Alex, ok?"

"C'mere, Astra. Come back here. You can sit with us." Alex waves a hand. Grey gestures to a patch of grass a ways off.

I take a step but then pause, looking between Brook and Phoenix. After Brook nods again, I make my way to Grey and Alex, who both make room for me to slither in between them. I watch Brook with wide eyes, ready to run to her defense.

"You knew the Guard and Soldiers would come here." Phoenix didn't ask a question. He made a statement.

"I told you the King would come looking when you came through the portal and made it so anyone could find us."

"We stayed, and this is how you repay us?" Phoenix spits.

I flinch, and Alex runs a hand down my back.

"I understand that you are angry, and you have every right to be, but I won't accept you lashing out at me. We can continue this conversation after some time to think things out if you'd like."

Phoenix bares his teeth and hisses.

"You knew they would come," Phoenix growls. "Ky died here, and all you have to say for yourself is that we should take a break and come back later?"

"I meant that I cannot tolerate someone insulting me, even if I can understand why they may be doing so. I am happy to discuss, and I only offered a break as an option."

"Care to explain why you were so certain the cream puff would send his little shitheads here? Please," he sneers.

Brook sighs, and she takes a breath. Her tail swishes against her hind legs.

"I was in the King's army. But before you kill me, Phoenix, it was against my wishes. Hear me out, please, ok? That's all I ask."

Phoenix narrows his eyes to slits. Fire burns across his fur.

"Thirty seconds."

"I was a horse in the King's army," Brook continues. "The Guard and Soldiers used me to carry equipment around and for anything that required heavy lifting, because I could move far more on my own than they could as a team."

Phoenix snorts. "Why do I care about that? Why is that relevant to my brother being dead? All I'm hearing is that you've sided with the cream puff."

"I left the King. I turned my back on him, and I brought Astra away. The second I made that decision, I left behind the King for good. I couldn't follow him and keep Astra safe, and I could no longer believe in him and say I follow my conscience as well."

The fire on Phoenix's body burns brighter, and I start to stand up and take a step forward.

"Stay here, Astra," Grey murmurs, gently wrapping a hand around my shoulder and bringing me back. "Brook can take care of herself, and she's trying to keep you safe. She knows what she's doing."

I look up at him. "Brook is-is strong. She's the strongest creature I know."

Grey smiles. "I think she's one of the strongest creatures I know, too."

I gasp. "Really?"

He nods. "Really."

"You've been here for ninety years," Phoenix says.

"We have."

"Stupid. Shoulda left. Shoulda just taken down the cream puff when you had the chance."

"I could not do that. I had to take care of Astra. The King is a very powerful man, who has the Amethyst Throne and the Guard and Soldiers on his side. I could not have taken down the King, and especially not with Astra under my care. She was barely a few months old when I built the Field. Even with the help of her parents, we could not have defeated the King. Astra came first, and so I built the Field to keep her safe."

Phoenix flinches but it's barely noticeable. He squints and then scowls at Brook, and he rolls his eyes.

"Whatever. I'll drop it for now. But you are all coming with me to find Arcane. Ky is dead, and you are doing your part to bring him back. We are leaving for Ragdon Volcano right now. Ky always said he believed Arcane was hiding out at the top after he killed Freedom."

Brook inhales sharply.

Arcane killed Freedom?