Mara winced at the impact. She chuckled and stepped back, eyes darting to Mallory and her staff.

  Ow ow ow ow ow ow. This demon stuff burns.

  She looked at the barriers—domes?— that Mallory had set forth. The creature before them paused, not expecting a second party. All the while, she held her best friend in her arms, unsure of what to do.

  “How long can your magic hold?” Mara whispered.

  “No idea…” Mallory coughed, her hand catching blood. “Did Yuri not come?”

  “Nope. She gladly went with me.” Mara’s eyes narrowed. “What’s got you coughing up blood like that?”

  “Mmph. It’s just from my magicules.”

  “You’re not bailing out on me, are you?”

  Mallory giggled. “I’d never.”

  “Good.”

  Mara’s wing twitched in pain—frustration maybe? Hard to say when she doesn’t let vulnerability on her face.

  She grabbed Mallory by the hand and pulled her—dodging that magicule beam barely feeling the heat that simmered on her back. Mallory’s breath hitched.

  She tightened her grip on her best friend’s waist—too tight. But it doesn’t matter right now. She matched her breathing with rise and fall of Mallory’s chest. The first priority was to stay alive, no matter what it took.

  Nothing barely registered. Her focus was on the warm weight in her arms. And maybe the fact that Mallory smelled like roses—Nope.

  Focus on the priority at hand.

  Time slowed in the silence. Nobody moved an inch.

  What the hell? Why isn’t doing those flashy moves from earlier—

  The serpent erupted in black goo and there emerged an angel’s body. Silvery white hair with a faint iridescent sheen, and pale blue eyes. How the hell did it shapeshift into Yuri?

  Haunting eyes embedded on its body. Its neck was filled with small eyes with the size of a baby’s thumb, closing out of sync, one by one. The chest had a whole vertical eye, looking right at you, unblinking—it wept blood. With Yuri’s image, it made Mara sick.

  Its hand put a hand on its cheek. Soft skin, soft features. Just like Yuri’s. How did it know Yuri. Bones cracked and wings burst out. It was bigger, the left wing bended further. Mara’s gaze went to the wall it hit with that beam.

  It didn’t—it melted. How come this creature got stronger? What was it feeding of on? Her grip on Mallory tightened.

  And it smiled. That smile stretched far beyond its cheeks, like it didn’t know how to stop. Its teeth were wrong.

  It knew that Mara was watching—knew whose face it wore with such grace—mockery. With every tremor her body made, the more unbearable this felt.

  “Mara.” Mallory rasped. “It feeds off fear, it seems.”

  “Where is Yuri?” She asked, eyes flicking to the creature—it didn’t seem to want to hurt them. Yet. “Mara.”

  Fear, huh?

  “Maybe you’re misunderstanding,” Mara managed to get out. “This thing’s radar is broken.”

  Its imitation of Yuri was beautiful. Were it not for its other defining features, it could pass as the real thing. It tilted its head, with the same rhythm the original had. Closer and closer, the creature approached her with familiar bouncing motion.

  Mara wasn’t fooled. Not with how the silence dragged on. Its imitation was realistic. Too realistic. The shapeshifter got faster. Its hand was right in front of her face. It had lunged—

  Wait what.

  She pushed Mallory back, as the creature put its finger on her cheek. Instinctively, she took a step back and slapped the hand away that reeked of burning flesh. Sulfur. Ash. A blistering pain spread out to her wings. She was starting to reek of burnt feathers.

  The whole sensation spread throughout her wings. It felt like she was being scorched by a flame that only gets stronger by the minute, to the point that it numbed. She rested a hand on her cheek. To her horror, a warm substance met her palm.

  She staggered, choking out a cry. Bile rose to her throat. Dark magic was as vile as its user. Grotesque and unnatural indeed.

  Mallory landed on one of the stands, staff in hand. Her voice called out to Mara, but it fell on deaf ears.

  “What’s wrong, Mara?” It said, leaning forward. “Aren’t you supposed to be fearless?”

  “What’s with you imitating angels you don’t even know?” Mara hissed. “She’s not tactless, y’know?”

  “Oh, I thought you’d appreciate the wake-up call… Sorry,” Yuri—she knew better. That isn’t her. She knows that full well.

  I know that already. So why the hell can’t I move?!

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  Mallory shouted something but everything narrowed to that imitation—that mockery. Everything was a blur. Fear slowly morphed into rage. There was no way this thing would try and be her friend’s doppelganger and get away with it.

  Her thoughts went to the angels nearby. She knew if she didn’t hurry, Mallory’s magicules would break down. The image of her companion coughing up blood made her agitated.

  “Listen here, you freakshow,” She growled, stepping into the center. “The way you think I’ll double down just because of your face is more pathetic than scary.”

  A gust of wind passed. Mara launched forward.

  “Yuri!”

  The monster’s expression twisted—half glee, half confusion—when her fist met its face.

  Everything was covered with black ichor with a splurt. A yellow sigil ripped open in the sky, with white feathers spilling out from it slowly like snow. Uselessly so.

  Can’t these feathers fall a little faster!?

  Her heartbeat pounded. She couldn’t take her fist out.

  Its flesh clamped on her skin tightly. Blood gushed out, down to her wrist with the iron grip it fell victim on. It stung with every yank and twist—the force she exerted, it was futile.

  And it laughed at her.

  Disgusting.

  A single feather landed on the creature’s now deformed face.

  “Boop!” came a voice. “You may explode.”

  Mara cracked open a smile.

  BOOM

  Mara was knocked back wings first. Her left wing bended, and a painful sensation came after the realization.

  Her ears rang, blood coming out of it. Getting knocked back to the wall was an unpleasant feeling—especially if it was caused by an explosion.

  Blood and ink coated her white feathers. She feels like a wet kitten bathed in oil and water with lice all over her body.

  An arm eased under her, guiding her shaky feet beneath the cover of a stand. She saw Mallory and Yuri with that staff. She really needs to ask where the former got that.

  She blinked—blonde hair and baby blue eyes.

  “Eric. Hurry up and come here,” Mallory whispered. “The other angels already managed to escape.”

  “Mhm.” Yuri knelt down, arms reaching out. “Gimme Mara.”

  Eric sighed and gently lowered Mara down.

  Her left wing twitched as Yuri’s hand brushed against it.

  “Sorry.” Yuri mumbled.

  “It’s all good.” Mara’s voice was low. “Wasn’t your fault anyway.”

  Mallory frowned. “Fixing it is futile.”

  “Unless we have a better healer with us…” She added.

  A beat of silence

  Eric broke the silence. “So, what do we do now?”

  The trio stared at him. Yuri ascended on one knee, checking if the monster was still there. Quietly, she sat back down.

  “So, uh…” Mara rasped, leaning on the wall sighing. “Freakshow still out there?”

  Yuri nodded quickly. Too quickly. “But they haven’t recovered yet… The black goo was—”

  Mallory covered Yuri’s mouth, shaking her head. She gestured to Eric. Panicked. Breathing shallow. His sparkly aura gone.

  A weak laugh came out of Mara.

  “Where was Prince Charming anyway?”

  “He was hunched under this stand,” Yuri said, beaming. “And then I helped him up!”

  Mara blinked. “Of course you did.”

  “I’m fully convinced Yuri’s a better example than you.” Mallory commented. It was true, wasn’t it?

  “No way. I’d do the same thing in four heartbeats.”

  “Believe what you wish.”

  “As your beloved savior,” Mara started, eyes narrowed. “This wasn’t really the praise I was expecting.”

  “What a way to deflect,” Mallory rolled her eyes. “My sickening savior.”

  “Says the girl who reeks of roses.”

  “How sweet,” She added.

  “Now you’re just being desperate. At least I smell nice, unlike someone here.”

  “Why you—” Mara was about to pounce at Mallory but an unfamiliar voice cut them off.

  “Hate to interrupt this friendly banter,” He interjected, voice mild but eyes sharp. “But there are things we can’t afford to ignore at the moment.”

  His voice was low, and old. Eric jumped up at the presence beside him. Yuri, meanwhile, was enjoying every second of it.

  Suddenly, Mara remembered that the monster was still there at the center.

  That her wings were tattered like her pride and the heat she felt from all her blisters. A frown grew on her face when she turned to see whose voice it belonged to.

  It was an angel with white hair, and blue eyes. His beard was well maintained. He had a gray cross for a necklace, and held a small scroll in his hands. Ink stained his fingertips. Weird.

  “Wait, you’re the priest from earlier!” Eric whispered. “I will admit, you were quite spectacular earlier.”

  Why did this narcissist suddenly get brighter? How??

  Mara shook the thought off her head. She first needed to know what this sudden priest would want. Eric knew this oldie from the ritual earlier, she presumed. Probably Mallory too, considering… Now wasn’t the time to sulk.

  “I’m Mara. That’s Eric, then Mallory after that it’s—”

  “Yuri. Nice to meet ya unusual old person!” Yuri chirped.

  Eric glanced at Yuri. There was a grin but no sparkle. Probably traumatized from the monster thing.

  “We’ve given all our names,” Mallory said. “So I think it’s fair you say yours.”

  “Reasonable,” The priest replied.

  “And your name is?” Mara asked, carefully trying to fold her wings.

  “Don’t bother withdrawing it if it’s broken,” The priest said. “My name is Faust.”

  “Faust, huh?” Mara tilted her head. “So how exactly are we gonna beat the freakshow?”

  A beat of silence

  His gaze lingered on Mara’s wings. Then Eric’s hunched up posture. All the way to Mallory’s practical silence.

  “I see you’ve made it out the fight. Barely. But not without results,” Faust finally spoke, and unrolls his scroll.

  The ink on it was no stain. It was coming out of his fingers. He scribbled something on the scroll with his fingers. Four circles with a line connecting them together.

  “Why are you writing our names inside the circles?” Mallory leaned in closer.

  “Names? No. Just roles. We’ll see if it can hold.” Faust replied, never removing his gaze from the parchment. “Why lean in?”

  “It’s nothing. The sigil pattern you’re making is just somewhat familiar.”

  Faust grunted.

  Mallory narrowed her eyes, she knew this from somewhere. From the royal archives, maybe. Or some type of ruin? A warning sign? No. It was much more ancient than that.

  Her eyes bore into the sigils. Something was luring her in. The familiarity she had with it was unusual. It wasn’t the red blotches that formed on their names.

  What was it?

  Her right hand made its way to the scroll. There was a small spark of magicules on the outline of ink. Nothing out of the ordinary though. Probably a spell that Faust was making.

  Then she was going to trace the outline but—

  Jolt

  Her hand jolted away. The spark was some kind of lightning? Her fingers stung with an electrifying sensation. A burn without blister.

  Eric took a closer look at the paper. “We didn’t learn that from Mrs. Eckart?”

  “That’s the thing. We didn’t.”

  “You’re probably just fuzzy from that glob thing.” Mara joined in. “And the two of you should probably put your blood on your name now.”

  “Huh?” The two shared a response.

  “I get Eric but seriously Mallory?” Mara tilted her head to the left. “Aren’t you supposed to be the one who’s good at listening?”

  She sighed and took the blade from Yuri, who had a concerned look on her face. There were explosions at the battlefield. It illuminated like the light from festivals.

  It wasn’t really welcoming despite the fact.

  “Faust said it was some kind of binding spell,” Mara explained while her blood poured down to her name on the parchment.

  “It can strengthen our powers. Powerful enough to work on the beast apparently.” She added.

  “It works because of the power of friendship!” Yuri beamed brightly.

  Mallory took the blade from Mara and slashed her palm. She brought her bloody hand above her written name.

  Spark

  It came from her staff. The fabric that tied around it flashed with electricity. It shined with more sparkle of a precious diamond.

  “Where is Faust?” Mallory passed the blade to Eric.

  “Can’t you see the explosions?” Mara pointed to the center. “He’s fighting against that thing with the power of some god or something.”

  “He was muttering like a weirdo so I couldn’t catch it.” She stood up slowly, as she focused on her wings for a bit.

  Eric still hadn’t cut his palm. He stared at the blade, then at his palm. Beautiful palm, by the way.

  “Are you serious, Eric?” Mallory spat. “Do it already so we can join the fight.”

  “But I can’t!” Eric protested. “It would leave a mark on my delicate skin!”

  Is he serious?

  Mallory took his palm and yanked it forward. She slashed a perfectly slant cut on Eric’s palm. Blood came pouring out soon enough. She forced his hand on top of his written name and let the blood drip.

  After that was done, sigils appeared below the group. Everyone had their own respective color and depiction.

  Beneath Mara’s feet, the sigil burned crimson, shaped like fractured wings.

  Mallory’s glowed a cold silver, with an eye rotating at the center.

  Eric’s shimmered with blue mirror light, the reflection depicted was too bright, too perfect.

  Yuri’s was pale gold, a star pulsing like a heartbeat—faint but steady.

  White chains sprawled out of the sigils. It wrapped around their wrists, binding them together. The chain dissolved on their skin. Strange, Mara was the only one who had a mark of a black chain.

  Something spun in Mara’s right eye, and formed a red diamond shaped pupil. The magicules crawled their way up from the sigil, from below, and gave her crimson red power.

  Pale gold made its way to Yuri’s ears, and entered right in. She squeaked at the sudden weight.

  “Woah this magic is trippy!” Yuri spun around. “Haha!”

  Eric was sealed shut when the magicules marked his mouth. There was a blue mark beside his lips on both sides. It sparkled, brighter than him.

  Mallory’s staff started brimming in electric sparks. In her eyes, a silver pentagon came forth, facing downward.

  “The plan is simple,” Mara spoke in a low voice. “Do whatever attack we want since everything we do works now!”

  “Oh! Oh!” Yuri raised her hand. “Can I do the feather thing again?”

  Mara nodded enthusiastically, her red pupil seemingly growing bigger.

  I can finally beat that ass.

  She smirked, putting a hand on her right shoulder. Her right arm spun.

  “Mara, you’re with Yuri.” Mallory’s pupils glowed. “Eric, you’re with me.”

  “Of course, princess.” Mara watched as the two royals flew off in a flash. She looked at the sparkling battlefield. Her grin grew wide.

  “Well then, let’s go Yuri.”

  The shorter girl flew off in a hitch. Mara was about to fly off too but a bended wing can’t really move. She stepped back, when a crushing sensation went through her body.

  Forgot about that part…

  She descended to a running stance. And ran in a flash. Energy coursed into her veins and a sigil appeared on her palm. Smoke smothered the whole battlefield.

  Heat followed her, the ground cracked with every step—red footsteps trailed in a straight line. The air thinned.

  That didn’t matter right now. She just needs to find that freakshow and blow him up.

  -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

  Chapter three: Feather-Fated Reunion

  COMPLETE

  Next Chapter: A Bound Fight of Ashes