The Ouiums Journey: Hell Broke Loose (book 1)

Chapter 28

My heart burned in my chest as I watched the scene before my eyes. I watched the vast crater, still scorched from the hellfire that descended on it only a moment ago.

I stood next to Estelle on the edge of the building, hearing muffled shouting and screaming, seeing dead bodies of witches lying around. I firmly grabbed her hand, and we shared a glance before looking at the destruction.

We couldn't stop it. I couldn't stop it. It was my fault because I'm too weak and did not prepare enough. I have to believe we're strong enough. This can't be the end. It can't.

Blood and adrenaline coursed in me like liquid fire. My head throbbed, and my chest ached. I used to mistake this pain for anxiety, but now that I knew better, I knew that my power was awakening with extreme emotion. The magic was rushing through me, trying to flood out like an ocean from behind a dam, and I knew that sooner rather than later, I would have to do the same thing I just witnessed.

You need to control this, Esa. Come on. Try. Don't lose control. People are already at risk. History repeats itself once again. This was what Akin wanted; it's a divide and conquer strategy, sowing chaos in the flock, so it's easier to deal with.

"Skylar!" I shouted with every bit of air I could gather in my lungs, but it amounted to nothing. Everyone was screaming around us, and my voice drowned in the sea of incoherent noise. I looked around, hearing the buzzing hum in my ears, swiftly scanning everything as I tried to keep a straight line of thought. Looking at the fires below chilled me beyond anything else when I sensed the dark energy rising out of it.

The dark magic was so strong and intense; no witch could cast such malice. I turned to Estelle who was in a worse state than I was; she looked back at me, and I saw something rare—tears welling in her eyes while she braved them and bit her lips bloody. She gripped my hand tighter. "It's hellfire. I feel the taint of dark magic all over it; corrupted flames." She curled her fist tightly, looking back at the flames and cursing aloud. "Akin threw the first punch, and it fucking hit harder than I thought he would." Her pain was evident as her voice cracked. She tried to hold back the frustration and suffering. We had been confident in the fact that we were going to hold up against Akin, but this attack had shattered that confidence.

I can't blame her. I am not in a better state. If I wasn't in charge, I would have been shaking myself.

"We need to go, Esa. We need to get down there." I agreed with her, and we jumped off the roof, levitating downwards with haste.

We could see Raguel running towards us with his usual followers, covered in dirt and looking stern while he shouted commands to other witches, trying to contain the situation. "Esa," he yelled at me from only a few feet away, doing his best to overcome the ruckus, "we need to contain the fires and move the witches into formations from the plan."

"Where's Skylar?" I shouted back at him as if I hadn't heard a word he said; the only thing on my mind is Skylar. "Did you see where he went?"

I hope you're safe, Skylar. I can't imagine a world without you.

I heard a familiar voice shouting to me, and with a swift turn, I saw Skylar, Kaspar, and Abaddon running towards us from the other side of the main hall. "Skylar. Are you alright?" I asked as relief washed away my concern.

I know you can always handle yourself. Why do I worry about you so much?

"Yes, I'm okay," he replied while Kaspar gave me a sarcastic grin and said, "Yes, we're fine too, thanks for asking." His words completely broke the tense mood; we all chuckled and greeted each other, thanking God that everyone was alive and well.