Immortali: The Rising

Chapter 25: Voices

Pyra had seen everything unfold before her with dull feelings of utter terror. Utter terror that had only broken when Raina had created this glowing... whatever it was... beneath them.

In an instant, she gazed across the clearing where that thing stalked still, glaring at them, but its power - the malaise that it cast on its victims - couldn't penetrate the glowing symbols. Pyra, without a second though, tried to summon fire in her hands, but found that only a sparks sputtered from her fingertips, and even that made her dizzy. It was as though she had been starved and dehydrated and creating the sparks had sapped the last of her strength. She cursed.

That thing had clearly sucked them dry, and she was none too happy about it either. Beside her, she heard Iris shuffle, as though she'd just been brought back to life. Pyra turned to her, but Iris wasn't looking at her, her eyes were locked on the creature outside Raina's glowy electric fence. Quickly, Pyra grabbed Iris's arm and pinched. Hard.

Iris quickly snapped her head and slapped Pyra across the cheek. "What the hell was that for?"

"Don't look at it," Pyra muttered, rubbing her cheek. "Just don't, ok? That's what it wants."

Iris trembled, but averted her gaze. "Fine." Pyra then noticed Iris's eyes glance at Raina.

Oh, yeah... Raina.

Raina was sprawled very unattractively on the dirt in front of them. Her eyes were closed and her body was still, but Pyra still sensed life in her. She was fine, but much like summoning some sparks had killed the last of Pyra's magic, the glowy thing must've taken the last of Raina's strength too.

And no wonder.

The glowy symbols pulsed with a power that made Pyra shudder. So... this was the last reserve of Raina's magic? Then, if so... her power was greater than Pyra had been led to believe. She didn't know what she should have expected, but she knew it wasn't as great as this.

"Is she... ok?" Iris asked finally, pointing at Raina's limp body.

Pyra shrugged and gestured to the glowy symbols. "I assume so. I think she's just tired from casting this thing."

"Ah... ok. And what is it exactly?"

Again, Pyra shrugged. "No clue, but it seems to be keeping the riff-raff out."

Iris nodded knowingly. "Can't argue with that."

***

As Pyra soon discovered, the magical electric fence was good at keeping both metaphysical and physical presences out, but it didn't stop them from erupting around them.

The creature had disappeared, but they could still hear it's shrill cries in the distance, amongst other things...

There were voices and screeches. They'd been there before when It had first attacked but now they rose in startling volume and power. There was the ever present feeling of being watched. Women screaming into the night. Pleas of innocence. Voices that sounded almost too familiar. Cries that reached deep into their souls, that touched the primal part of their being that felt the need to save those close to them. Distant sobbing that was both close and far away at the same time.

It was enough to drive anyone mad.

Pyra and Iris tried to hold it together, but the sounds grated at their sanity.

Somewhere around three in the morning, Pyra took to walking around the perimeter of the symbols, hoping some movement would clear her mind. Her powers still weren't working properly. She felt truly exhausted, and she knew she needed to rest, but how could she when all she could hear around her was pain and suffering?