The Ouiums Journey: Hell Broke Loose (book 1)

Chapter 29

Out of the fire walked a tall, thin silhouette. A woman, engulfed in red flames that didn't affect her in the least; she paced slowly towards us and behind her appeared six large men. While they appeared menacing in size next to her, anyone could tell who was the boss.

High heels and a short skirt, with an elegant white shirt and a black blazer revealing some cleavage. Blonde, black-streaked hair was neatly tied up to a high ponytail; she was the image of a power figure stepping out of her office. The men walking behind her were big, scary-looking, but well dressed.

"We need to get there and separate her from the covens," I said with authority, and instantly levitated with all haste to intercept them; everyone followed my lead. We passed the crowd. I heard Raguel shouting commands to his men, telling them to get everyone together and calm to storms. It didn't take long before we reached the hell pit, and we stood there watching the woman who was marching with her head held high.

Now, who are you? Another one of Thegon's puppets?

I descended not too far from them, close enough to the covens for protection yet close enough to the new threat for immediate action if needed. In unison, the others landed close to me, already in a battle formation; them backing me up gave me all the courage I needed to face the woman and her men. We were all ready to lay down our lives for one another.

To my right stood Skylar, to my left was Estelle; Kaspar was right beside her, and Abaddon stood behind Skylar and me.

The panicked shouting of the crowd turned into murmurs, and I could feel the unease shifting between weary and angry. Raguel, sensing the shift as well, took his place next to us and held his hand high in a 'stop' gesture at the woman.

"What do you want, why have you come here?" He shouted the words so everyone could hear, doing his best to calm the horde of angry witches behind us, but it only stirred them further.

I know exactly how they feel right now: broken and frightened, ready to kill anything they see as a threat to their lives. This could become a severe problem.

"We need to remain focused. We need them to calm down, now," I said softly, letting Skylar hear me, and he nodded to confirm. He turned around and amplified his voice the same way I had, calling out towards the restless crowd.

"Everyone. We need you to calm down and stay focused. Battles are lost by anger and emotion; we have to be calm and focused." An unsettling upsurge crossed through them, making me shift my stare away from the woman for a moment, but as quickly as I turned away, I returned my eyes to her. She looked unfazed by our presence, playing with her hair in an immature way like a kid would, looking all confident and grinning. She gave the impression that she could take all of us with no worries, and it pissed me off. The worst thing was, everyone was getting riled up, not just me. And it seemed as if this was what she was aiming for. Her exact strategy wasn't clear to me yet, but I was going to figure it out.

Trying not to let it affect me, I stepped closer to her and raised my voice. "What's your business here?"

Finally, she reacted. She stopped playing with her hair, looking straight at me as a devilish grin showed on her face. She also took a few steps forward and spoke in a robust yet condescending voice, belittling all of us with her chin held high. "My name is Dagon. I'm here for the one named Esa; where is he?" Murmurs sounded from the back as the crowd started moving in an unsettled manner. Skylar stopped laughing altogether after hearing that while the others tensed; I was the only one appearing unfazed as I kind of saw it coming.

What is up with her?

I gestured to the others for them to calm down, with my hand lowered so as not to make any drastic movements. I remained focused on the woman, trying to anticipate her next action. "I'm Esa. What business do you have with me?" The sight of the hell pit flashed in my memory, and I carried on questioning her, "are you the one to send the fireball?"