Footsteps rumbled up from the depths, slow and deliberate, a side grate creaked open far below, the sound grating through the stairwell as each heavy thud struck the stone like a hammer against iron. The lord was returning, his presence flooded upward, a suffocating weight that seeped into the chamber, an instinctual dread clawing at their senses, like the sharpened gaze of a predator honing in on its prey, casting long, twisting gloom across the slick, pulsing walls. Shilley stifled a gasp, her breath caught tight in her chest as an eerie vibration surged through her fae senses, sharp and cold, a familiar chill from the ruins that burrowed deep into her core. Luxana spun fast, her baton carved a wild arc through the darkness, its faint beam flickered and died against the thrumming pulse that chewed at the air, her helm framing eyes widened with dread. Xetran’s murmured spell wavered, his arcane hum flickered unevenly as the cloak’s shimmer thinned, not from exhaustion, but from an unseen resistance tugging at his spell, something he forced back with a flicker of irritation before the distortion snapped into place. His jaw tightened, a fleeting moment of irritation flashing in his eyes before he pushed harder, the distortion snapping back into place.

  “Out!” Rein’s voice tore free, raw with urgency, he gripped Devin’s arm and yanked him back, his boots scraped the stone as his heart pounded hard, the sour tang swelling in the air and stinging his lungs with every desperate breath. Shilley stumbled after them, her cloak snagged on a jagged shard of iron jutting from the wall, she cursed under her breath and tugged, ripping it free with a faint tear. In a surge of panic, her hand flicked outward, rusted pipes stacked against the stair’s edge toppled with a shattering roar, metal shards bouncing wildly down the spiral, their clatter echoing in a desperate shield of sound that drowned the lord’s nearing thuds.

  Luxana lunged for the seam, her baton’s beam slashed into the murk, illuminating a fleeting path as she shoved past, her helm glinted faintly in the dark, voice cutting through the chaos. “Move, now!” The door grated open, its iron slab shuddering as it parted, the cloak’s haze flickered under Xetran’s faltering hum, his fingers trembling as he poured focus into bending the light, his usual smirk replaced by a grim, determined line. Devin coughed hard then choked again, his frail frame shook from exhaustion, all he could do was lean heavily on Rein to keep from collapsing, his sunken green eyes darting back as he slapped a trembling hand against a magitech node sunk into the wall. An old guard’s trick sparked to life, the node screamed a shrill, erratic wail before cutting abrupt, false echoes shrieking up the stair, blending with the pipes’ din as shouts erupted and boots pounded from above, guards scattering in all directions.

  A guttural growl shook the stone, the lord’s voice, low and feral, iron screeched as he clawed at the seam, rust flaking in a bitter cloud that stung their eyes. His shadow loomed, tall and wrong, stretching up the stairwell, but he did not advance. Instead, his growl tapered off, shifting to a cold, calculated silence. A moment later, hurried footsteps echoed from above, guards scattering at his unseen command, their shouts blending with the chaos. Rein shoved Devin forward, his own breath burned as he lunged, muscles straining, Shilley’s cloak trailed tatters as she ran, Luxana’s beam slashed a jagged path ahead, Xetran’s cloak held, just, a fragile shroud as they burst into the corridor, alarms screaming, chaos roaring behind them like a tidal wave.

  “Side hall, left!” Devin’s rasp sliced through, his arm flung out, pointing as his legs wobbled beneath him, grit alone keeping him upright, his voice hoarse but steady with memory. Rein hauled him into the narrow passage, its steep drop blurred past, iron walls slick with rust gleamed faintly as they sprinted, guards’ shouts faded, swallowed by the clamor, alarms and crashes weaving a shield of confusion. The guards’ shouts surged, echoing down the halls, their boots hammered the stone, closing in fast, chaos swallowing their escape. The sour tang thickened, curling up from below, an unseen pressure lingering, like the remnants of a gaze still watching, waiting.

  The hall spilled out to the estate’s edge, ash pits loomed beyond, a black sprawl stretching under a cracked sky. A rusted grate barred their path, its jagged edges catching the faint gleam of distant light. Rein threw his weight against it, metal groaned as he pried it loose. Shilley slipped through first, her breath hitching as ash dust swirled into her lungs. Luxana followed, her baton clanging softly against the frame as she ducked. Xetran slid in, his cloak’s shimmer fading with a final flicker, his brow creased, magic taxed to its limit. Rein yanked Devin through, the grate slammed shut with a dull clang, rust crumbling in a gritty haze as they stumbled into a shack half-sunk in the ash pit. Its cracked stone walls loomed cold and crumbling, shadows thick with the stale reek of soot.

  Rein sank against the wall, his chest heaved as he steadied his grip, eyes locked on the grate, breath held tight as the distant thuds of boots echoed, slow and deliberate, orders barked beyond the barrier, guards searching, then fading, blind to their crouch in the fragile dark. Shilley pressed a hand to her chest, her breathing ragged, Luxana’s beam dimmed, steady now as she leaned against a splintered beam, Xetran’s hum fell silent, his expression taut, worn but alive. Devin slumped to the floor, his frail frame trembling, green eyes flickering with exhaustion, yet clinging to a spark of defiance. His breath steadied just enough for a rasping whisper, "Not like this... not yet."

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  The shack’s silence settled, ash drifted soft through a cracked seam, the estate’s chaos dulled to a distant roar, safe, for now, in the brittle gloom.

  Rein exhaled sharply, rubbing a hand over his face before leveling his gaze at Devin. "Alright. We need answers. Who are you? Why were you locked up down there?" His voice carried an edge, tempered by exhaustion but still firm.

  Devin swallowed hard, his fingers twitching as he pulled his tattered cloak tighter around himself. "Name’s Devin. I was a guard, a damn loyal one too, until I saw what he was doing to the kids. At first, I thought it was just rumors, but then I caught a glimpse of the truth. I asked questions, too many questions. Someone told him, and instead of killing me outright, he threw me down there to rot."

  Shilley frowned, her arms wrapping around her knees. "They were using children? For what?"

  Devin’s expression darkened. "For power. The lord, he’s not just some noble playing ruler. He’s feeding on them."

  A tense silence followed, the weight of the revelation pressing into the small space. Shilley’s breath hitched, eyes flickering between the others, searching for something, anything, to ground her. "He’s eating them? How? Why?"

  Luxana’s hands curled into fists at her sides. "Not human. I said it before, but I should have sensed something sooner. Now that I think about it, I did feel something, subtle, but wrong. He was cloaking it, hiding it so well I barely noticed."

  She exhaled, her fingers flexing as if shaking off a lingering taint. "If he’s wearing a human disguise, there’s a reason. Demons don’t do that unless they have to. Either he’s avoiding detection from something stronger than himself, or he’s infiltrated human power structures so deeply that he needs to maintain the illusion. Whatever it is, he’s not just feeding on those kids, he’s maintaining something. Maybe even preparing for something bigger."

  Xetran exhaled sharply, rubbing his temple. "That explains the… wrongness. The air there was thick, like something was watching, pressing in. It wasn’t just the lord, it was the whole damn place, like it was feeding off his presence. He’s not just hiding, he’s growing stronger. If we don’t act, he’ll be beyond stopping.""

  Rein’s expression hardened. "We need to know how deep this goes. If he has allies in the city, if more guards are in on it. We’re not just dealing with a monster, we’re dealing with a system that lets him do this."

  Shilley groaned. "Lovely. So we’ve got ourselves a full-fledged parasite in disguise. Makes sense why he didn’t chase us himself. Too used to making others do his dirty work."

  Luxana’s jaw tightened. "Then we can’t leave things as they are. We need a plan. If we take him head-on, we lose. We need information, weak points."

  Rein nodded, looking between them. "Agreed. Before the lord realizes exactly who slipped through his fingers."." He gestured toward Devin. "He’s not in any shape to fight, but we can’t leave him here alone."

  Devin let out a dry chuckle, eyes weary but resolute. "I don’t plan on dying in a shack. If you’re going after him, I want in."

  A beat of silence followed before Shilley sighed. "Then we plan. Fast.

  The city square loomed ahead, shadowed beneath the towering estate walls. The marketplace had emptied for the night, save for the occasional patrol sweeping through, their torches flickering in the cold air. The group moved swiftly, keeping to the alleys as they prepared for the confrontation to come.

  Luxana knelt in the dim light, tracing intricate sigils into the cobblestone. The celestial markings glowed faintly before fading, the trap set. "This will only work if we can get him to step directly into the circle," she muttered.

  "Then we need to make sure he shows up," Rein said, glancing at Devin. "You know the guard’s routines. Can we force them into a standoff?"

  Devin exhaled, nodding. "If I step forward, they’ll hesitate. I outranked most of them. Even if they think I’m a traitor, they won’t act until he gives the order himself. That’s when we make our move."

  Xetran gave a lazy shrug, leaning against a crumbling pillar. "And what’s the plan if he decides to keep hiding behind his walls?"

  Rein’s gaze hardened. "Then we give him no choice. We expose him publicly, call for a trial. If he ignores it, he looks guilty. If he steps out, the sigil will do the rest. But what if he has a counter for this? What if he refuses to play by our rules?" Rein's gaze darkened. "We need to prepare for the worst. If he has an escape plan, we cut it off. If he has loyalists, we account for them. We assume he’s planned for this moment, because if he’s half as cunning as I think, he has.""

  Rein glanced around. "We need exits ready. If this goes south, we can’t afford to be cornered."

  Luxana nodded, already scanning the alleyways. "I’ll mark the quickest routes. If we get split up, follow my markers."

  Shilley reached into her cloak, pulling out a few daggers. "We should stash some weapons, hidden, but easy to grab if things turn ugly."

  Devin knelt near a stack of crates, prying open a loose board and slipping a small blade inside. "If the guards move in too fast, we’ll need something close by."

  Xetran smirked, flicking his wrist as a shimmer of magic settled over a bundle of supplies. "Consider them hidden. Let’s just hope we won’t need them, of course, I’ll be very disappointed if we don’t."

  Rein exhaled, gripping the hilt of his blade. This wasn’t just about exposing the lord, it was about justice. For the children. For their families. For everyone he had deceived. If they failed here, they wouldn’t get another chance.

  But every place they went, every city they passed through, had its own way of crushing his dream. A world where children didn’t have to suffer, he clung to that thought, yet time and time again, reality spat it back in his face. If this city let the lord walk free, would there ever be a place where his dream could survive?

  The group exchanged glances, tension settling between them. The night was quiet, but the city was watching. “The city held its breath. The trap was set. Now, all that remained, was to make the monster reveal himself.”