Chapter 15 — No Mercy in the Flame
The scream echoed through the crypts like a cracked bell.
Seris snapped out of the trance. The mirror's fire went dark, and cold returned to her skin like a slap. She ran.
Torchlight flickered wildly as she raced through the catacombs. The scream had come from above—steel against steel, men shouting, Kael's voice cutting through the chaos.
The Blood Hounds were here.
---
Aboveground — Halbrecht's Crumbling Courtyard
Kael ducked behind a broken pillar as two Hounds closed in, blades dripping with fresh blood. He was outnumbered, bleeding from the ribs, and running low on fury.
But he wasn't dead yet.
He surged forward with a snarl, slashing one across the throat. The second lunged—
—and exploded in flames.
Seris stepped into the courtyard, palm raised, eyes blazing like twin suns.
The Hounds paused.
Kael turned, panting, wide-eyed. "Took you long enough."
"I was sightseeing," she said coldly, raising her other hand.
The Blood Hounds circled.
Their armor was scorched black, furs soaked in blood. There were at least twelve now—more in the shadows. They didn't fear her.
They should have.
The fire around Seris crackled—not orange, but blue, dancing unnaturally, whispering ancient syllables.
One of the Hounds hesitated.
Then he charged.
---
The Fire Takes Its First
Seris didn't move.
The flames coiled tighter, lashing outward like a whip. The man screamed once before disintegrating mid-stride, his sword turning to slag in the air.
The others attacked as one.
Kael dove into the fray beside her, but even he felt it—the change in her magic. It didn't just burn; it judged.
Stone cracked beneath her feet. Her hair lifted in the windless heat. Sigils lit across her skin like glowing veins, ancient and holy.
She whispered something—not a spell, but a name.
> "Vaeroth."
And the fire obeyed.
---
Aftermath
Only ashes remained.
Kael staggered back, clutching a wound in his side. His breath came ragged, but he couldn't look away from her. The flames died down slowly, almost regretfully.
Seris stood alone in the center of the courtyard, surrounded by scorched earth and bodies burned to bone.
She was shaking.
"I didn't mean to…" she murmured. "It got out of control."
Kael limped toward her. "You saved us."
"I killed them."
"They tried to kill you."
She didn't respond. Her eyes, still glowing faintly, were fixed on something else—a sigil branded into the stone beneath her feet. It hadn't been there before.
It pulsed once and vanished.
Kael followed her gaze. "What is it?"
Seris knelt slowly.
> "A gate," she said. "And it just opened."