59 Galicia 3 (2/2)
”Good riddance. They should have levelled the city after the war.” Alexis clapped Elya on the shoulder and helped her up. ”There are only two dozen Knights still upright. We barely made it through the spell.”
”We'll make do.” Elya led the way to the remaining buildings in the distance while the injured retreated to the outskirts.
They made slow progress, sliding over unstable ground which was constantly on the verge of collapsing. The damage seemed to reach deep into the earth, creating enormous caverns. The Yesaul had almost lost his life to a yawning chasm that opened up beneath him, only his reflexes and Seven's strange magical net keeping him from toppling over. The ground crumbled around them at every step and Chen was forced to wait until they could find stable ground with enough size and strength to withstand the weight of his armour before he could hop across the debris in prodigious leaps.
Remnants of the horrific spell lingered in the air, flashes of light and mind-bending swirls of smoke rising from the last few upright structures.
[Moralesss is clossse.] The Black Raven had been appearing erratically since she agreed to the Savant's covenant. Mostly when Elya didn't need it. The agent was surprisingly flippant, acting based on its whims as much as the Savant's orders.
[Is he alright?] Elya still struggled with forming the words in just the right way within her mind. Unfortunately she didn't seem to have the knack, but her silent, fragmented sentences were better than having everyone stare at her when she ended up talking to the air instead. She'd caught sympathetic looks and hushed whispers every single time, yet the Black Raven's mercurial nature meant Elya never had time to find privacy before responding.
[Moralesss musssst continue to live.] The creatures presence flickered and Elya felt as if it was distracted by something. [I cannot remain.]
Elya suppressed the fury in her heart as the Raven slipped away, calming herself with the knowledge that Nikolai lived.
”What happened?”
”Nothing.” Draconic Aura roared in time with her rage, and she brushed away Alexis' concern. ”We're close. Ready your weapons.”
”Isn't it strange that we haven't seen anyone? Or anything?” Alexis' fingers drummed against the hilt of her blade, a nervous tic from her youth she had yet to overcome.
”Doesn't matter.” Elya shrugged, pupils narrowing as Aura flooded her veins. The deadly rasp of Razor's Edge being unsheathed led the way, the hiss of drawn weapons echoing through the last few streets of Galicia.