Book 2: Chapter 33

Book 2: Chapter 33

In the center of the room, Grant was struggling to keep the tangled hair at bay, his sword hacking and slashing in wide arcs as his soul spark spewed out energy, forming a hazy armor that kept him safe for the moment. Behind him, Marta continued to blast cold air from her palms, covering the area in thick frost that slowed the nightmares down. Unfortunately, it also impaired everyone elses ability to move, causing the fight to turn sluggish as both nightmare and awakened alike fought back and forth.

Eben and Henri were on each side, trying to ward off the Pale Fiends that continued to drift forward, while Garrett sat in the very back, completely forgotten in the wild scramble. Henris spirits fought for him, hacking, stabbing, and shooting the Pale Fiends as he kept pouring his energy into them. Though none of his ghosts were as strong as a Pale Fiend on their own, they were able to handle two of the nightmares between them. Eben was a different story, and though his ability was ripping through the Pale Fiends that got too close, he was forced to dance back and forth, trying to avoid being hit by the attacks they threw his direction.

On both sides, the Pale Fiends were particularly vicious, and seemed to not even care if they harmed each other, occasionally even landing attacks on their companions that caused them to wail and fall to the ground, where they transformed into piles of glowing ichor that swiftly faded. Though it struck fear into the exorcists hearts to see how vicious the nightmares were, they couldnt help but be relieved by each Pale Fiends death. Doing their best to maintain their defenses, the team continued to be pressed back, soon reaching the back wall of the room. As Garrett bumped into it, one of Grants legs was caught in a rope-like strand of hair and he was pulled to one leg, forcing him to slash off the hair to avoid being dragged forward.

Henri! We have to get out of this room! Marta yelled as Grant staggered to his feet.

There is no way unless we can clear a path, came Henris reply, the grim truth settling like a rock in everyones chests.

Warding off a grasping strand with a circular slash, Grant spoke through gritted teeth, his breath coming in gasps.

Ill open the way, all of you run!

Thats suicide.

Then make it count! Henri, grab Garrett! Marta, give me five seconds.

Practically screaming, Marta opened her mouth as she summoned every ounce of power she could squeeze out, throwing it all into the cold air she was releasing. Instantly, everything turned white as crackling frost covered the approaching nightmares and froze the waving hair, even reaching all the way to the Long-Haired Ghost. At the same time, Henri turned and grabbed Garretts wheelchair with one hand, even as his other hand caught Marta, who was crumbling to the ground. Grant lifted his sword above his head and let out a shout, causing his armor to glow bright, before hacking down, unleashing a powerful attack that ripped through the ghosts hair. Stomping forward, he hacked down again, forcing the ice-bound ghost to defend by pulling her hair up in front of her as best as she could.

Another long strand fell to the ground, transforming into glowing ash. A scream of rage burst from her lips, causing the frost that was covering her to start cracking faster.

Leave! Grant bellowed, his sword rising for a third time.

There was no time to hesitate, and as much as Henri was loath to leave a companion, he knew better than to waste Grants sacrifice. The veteran exorcist sprinted for the door, carrying Marta in one hand, and Garrett in the other. The Long-Haired Ghost was furious and when she saw them trying to escape, she grew even angrier, letting out a scream that nearly shattered Grants armor as it staggered him. He just pressed forward once more, galvanizing his courage even as he let out a roar and lunged forward, counting on his armor to buy the time his companions needed.

[You have planted your second Guardian Seed and bloomed a Guardian Flower.]

Though he could clearly feel his connection to the ghost, seeing the window pop up brought relief to Garretts heart and he stepped back, shrouding himself in Dream Cloak, vanishing from sight. He was almost completely spent but had just enough energy for what he still needed to do. He closed his eyes and when they opened, he was controlling the Long-Haired Ghost, just like he could control Viper. No longer fighting against the flowers, who all recognized the ghost as an ally, Garrett raised his hand and controlled the hair that wrapped Grant to relax slightly. Though he didnt free the exorcist, he wasnt in danger of being eviscerated anymore.

Eben wasnt so lucky, as more and more of the flowers crawled over and attached themselves to the struggling man, burrowing into him and sucking up his mental energy. Grant could only watch in horror as Eben was completely devoured by the flowers. First his skin sagged, as if he was aging exceptionally quickly, and then his straining muscles relaxed, as if he couldnt even retain control over his body. Little by little, his vitality was stripped away until he was little more than just a bag of brittle bones. Finally, even that collapsed and he was gone, forever transformed into ash floating in the dream.

Afraid he was about to suffer the same fate, Grant wanted to struggle but feared that he would be torn apart by the ghost who had captured him. His soul spark would allow him to resist for a time, but it wouldnt last forever, and all the ghost had to do was hold him still while the terrifying flowers crawled up onto his body and sucked his life away. Just as visions of this horrifying future were dancing through his head on little root feet, he was lifted into the air and brought face to face with Garrett.

Hello, Grant. Youre a smart man, so I assume you know what sort of position you are in right now.

Grant, already disoriented, felt like a load of bricks had been dropped on his head as Garrett spoke. The natural suppressive pressure of a shaping level awakened covered Grant, immobilizing him even further.

You you are Garrett! Youre awakened!

Thats correct.

Panting as the weight of the realization struck him, Grant felt like he was going to black out. He had never imagined that the weak looking crippled noble they had brought into this mission would not only be an exceedingly powerful awakened, but could also control nightmares. It was obvious that the Long-Haired Ghost who had a symbol of a six petaled dream flower on her forehead, and at least some of the Pale Fiends were under Garretts direction, and that was to say nothing of the pretty but deadly flowers who were hiding teeth. Even more than before, the danger of his situation began to press in on Grant.

Unfortunately, I dont really like advertising that fact, Garrett said with a half shrug. So your options are limited. You can join me or you can die.

Opening his mouth to speak, Grant saw Garrett hold up a finger to shush him.

Im not done. Im not in the mood to negotiate, and I only accept one of two answers. Anything that is not the word join will be counted as a rejection, and believe me, I have no issue with you following in our silver-haired friends footsteps. In fact, Im offering you a chance against my better judgment. Id much rather tie up loose ends neatly, and it would be much less messy for you to simply vanish from the world all together, but you earned yourself this chance with your actions. I legitimately thought that you would leave me behind or use me as bait, so the fact that you told Henri to take me with him, despite knowing that it would slow him down, gives you a single chance in my book. What will it be? Join or die?

The room fell silent as Grants face went through a dozen different emotions. It didnt take a genius to know that if he said join, he would lose something significant, as Garrett wouldnt dare let him loose without a foolproof way to control him. Still, he had seen the brutal ruthlessness with the way that Garrett operated and he knew that the masked man was not bluffing. If he didnt accept the offer, Garrett would kill him without blinking, and there was no doubt in his mind that Garrett could make good on his promise. Staring straight into Garretts eyes, Grant firmed up his heart and paused before he spoke a single word.