From The Ashes [#NaNoWriMo16]

Chapter Twenty Four - Hallee Raegnor

Hallee, Arlo and Issey walked swiftly and silently up the stairs and down the following corridor, making sure to listen for anyone coming the other way. It would've been more helpful if they had Ryia with them; Hallee knew that Ryia could sense the air like no one else could, and it would have aided them greatly. Unfortunately, she also knew that Kida needed Ryia more than Hallee did, and that was more important.

"Guys, someone's coming," Arlo whispered alarmingly, and Hallee's heart started thumping in her chest. Looking around quickly, she found an adjourning hallway and ushered Arlo and Issey into it, following them just as an immortal guard appeared around the corner. The three of them pressed tightly up against the wall as the guard stomped on, getting closer and closer to the hall. Just as he came up to the mouth of the passage, Hallee clenched her hands tightly around her axes and prepared to fight, but he walked right on past and kept going. Hallee glanced at her friends, letting out a heavy sigh of relief before they stepped out.

"That was too close," she muttered, running the back of her hand against her forehead to get rid of the sweat that had procured. "We need to be more careful."

Suddenly, another guard appeared from around the corner and stopped short in the centre of the hall, his black eyes wide and staring. Hallee, Arlo and Issey all stared back at him, and this continued for another few seconds before the guard's grey skin started to glow and catch on fire. Hallee, without hesitation, threw one of her axes and watched as it landed right in the middle of the guard's skull, making him flinch. He stood there for a second, registering what was happening, but Issey leapt forward and swung one of her blades out in a wide arch, taking the man's head cleanly off his shoulders. His skin stopped glowing, but his eyes were still open and moving, along with his mouth. Blood poured from his wounds into thick puddles on the floor, while he still tried to communicate.

"Ew, is he still alive?" Arlo said with a grimace, leaning over the head with a sick look on his face.
"He's immortal, remember?" Issey replied, glancing up as more footsteps could be heard coming this way. "There must be a guard change or something, so we must be going in the right direction; quickly, move that guy into the hallway. I'll take care of these ones."

So Hallee picked up one leg as Arlo picked up the other, and together they dragged the body out of the corridor to avoid any suspicions if it was found. Hallee stepped out to retrieve the head, chucking it with the body after it tried to bite her.

"So gross," she muttered, wiping her hands on her clothes before yanking her axe from the head she just threw when she realised it was still in there.

Moments later, Issey emerged with two bodies being dragged heavily behind her, from which Hallee jogged forward to help her with one of them. When the bodies were hidden and they were sure no more were coming, they kept walking and hoped for the best.

"What do you think we're going up against?" Arlo asked after a while of silence, and Issey hesitated, throwing a glance over her shoulder. She was walking at the front, her injured arm hanging loosely at her side as Hallee took the back behind Arlo.

"I don't really know, to be honest," she sighed, and Hallee frowned.

"We do not need to think about it," she announced. "We have the job of locating a weapon that is strong enough to defeat an entire army of immortal soldiers with supernatural powers; I believe we should concentrate on this task, rather than think about anything else."

"Yeah, you're right," Issey agreed, glancing up intersecting corridors to make sure they were safe and going the right way. "We need to think about what weapon we can use against them. Cutting their heads off separates them from their ties to their magic, but we can't cut all of their heads off. It's too many, and they'll overwhelm us. I like the sound of a paralysis bomb; I can work with that, for now."