Reiken slowly walked towards the small town. The entire time he could just see damage and destruction. It became less as he got closer to the town. The people in the city seemed to have fought back against the demons.
He was late.
They should have let him know earlier that they needed help. There's nothing he can do if the people are already dead. How was he supposed to protect them if they were already dead?
Taking a deep breath, Reiken kept on walking.
When he reached the town, he started looking around for anyone that might have survived. At the outer edges of the town, all he found were corpses.
He swallowed and made his way deeper into the town.
His hands fiddled with the bracelet around his wrist. All of this was making him very nervous.
He could smell smoke, fire and gas. It made his heart beat even faster with worry and panic. If he could smell all of this, even with the wind that's been blowing the last two days. This was really bad.
"Oh no...." he whispered, looking at the destruction.
The sound of movement caught his attention. A frown formed on his face as he made his way to where the sound was coming from. Maybe there was someone still alive.
"Hallo!" Reiken called, looking around.
It did not take him long before he reached the place where the sounds were coming from.
"Anyone there?" he called again.
This time only silence followed and he stopped moving. It did not sound good. There should have been other people around here, but he hasn't seen anyone around.
It worried him.
As he looked around, he couldn't find anything. Clenching his jaw, he stepped back. This was not good. Slowly he started making his way back to the centre of the town. When he reached the middle of the town he froze.
"No.... please...." he whispered.
The town hall was burned to the ground. Smoke rose from the burned wood. He could also smell the putrid smell of burning flesh. The demons burned the building with the people inside.
He wanted to scream.
His knees buckled and he sank to the ground. All he could do was to stare at the destruction in front of him.
They were too late.
The village was already destroyed.
Everyone was dead.
***
Reiken barely noticed that it was getting dark. He could just stare at the burned building in front of him.
He did not have the energy to move.
A howl sounded through the air, before followed by a growl and hissing.
Immediately Reiken's head snapped up. His eyes searched for where it may be coming from. Quickly he got to his feet, hands clenched into fists. The demons were still there.
He needed to take care of them, before they did this to any other city.
There had to be more than the usual amount. Most likely led by either an upper demon or a humanoid. He really hoped that it wasn't an upper demon. He would be in a lot of trouble if that was it.
Letting out a breath, Reiken started moving towards the sounds. Not that he needed to move fast. There wasn't a side the sounds did not come from.
He reached for his power.
A shiver ran through his body. He could feel the eyes on him. They were following him everywhere around.
Before he could take another step, demons started filtering into the streets. Immediately he took a step back, turning slightly. Even behind him, more and more demons started appearing.
He was surrounded now.
There was no other way out, but to fight them. The anger that rushed through him, gave him the energy that he needed to attack them.
Wind and water rushed forward, blocking some of the demon attacks.
The demons kept on streaming towards him. More and more. As soon as he killed one of them, three more took its place. The bloody sai daggers flashed through the air. They tore and ripped through people.
Elements tore through the ground.
Fires roared around him. With every step that he took, more could feel his power starting to weaken. He wouldn't be able to keep going for much longer. Not even the anger helped anymore..
Now he could only feel sadness.
Reiken let out a scream.
His elements rushed around him. It became more and more out of control. He did not care about the pain in his wrist anymore, nor the burning of the smoke in his throat. Cold rain soaked the ground.
The ground surged, throwing the demons away from him.
Pain tore through his arm as one of them managed to reach him. He dodged to the side.
One of the demons managed to get a hold on him, throwing him through a building. For a moment his vision blurred and he struggled to stay conscious.
"I'm sorry...." Reiken whispered before he unleashed his full fire. He let the fire burn hotter than before, until he had nothing else left in him. the demons scream and howl.
He increased his fire even more, making it even stronger.
When the screams, howls and snarls finally stopped, Reiken sank to his knees. He wrapped his arms around himself, as he started sobbing. Slowly the fires started to die down, leaving the air hot and dry.
***
Ash slowly drifted down from the sky. The buildings finally stopped burning.
Reiken still sat curled up in the middle of the building he was in. His red hair was grey with ash. The only thing that wasn't dead, was the blood that's been pooling next to him and the burn around his wrist.
He was rocking slightly back and forth. It was the only movement in the empty city.
The sun started setting, casting the city in a warm glow.
Two figures appeared at the edge of the city. They moved slowly through the ash-filled city, to where Reiken was. When they finally reached the place where Reiken was, they stopped.
"Reiken...." one of them said.
Reiken did not move.
The smaller figure of the two knelt next to Reiken. "You are bleeding" she said, as if stating facts "We need to leave this place"
"...leave me alone..." Reiken whispered, lifting his head slightly.
The two frowned at him.
"Reiken" the woman said "What are you doing?"
"I told you.... leave... me alone" Reiken said again, glaring at the two with a tear stained face "What... are you even... doing here?"
"We came to check up on you," the man said.
Reiken shot to his feet, hands balled into fists. Blood dripped down the side of his head, as well as from his fingers. He glared at the two in front of him. His body was trembling as a cold breeze went through the ash covered building.
"Leave...." he said.
"Did you kill the demons?" Sigurd asked, tilting his head slightly.
"Yes" Reiken snapped "They are dead.... all of them"
Kaelah looked at him. "You are injured," she said again.
"Of course!" Reiken snapped, biting back a sob "What did... why didn't you.... I was too late!"
"What do you mean?" Sigurd asked.
"It's not worth it... All of this.... Not worth anything..." Reiken whispered "If the people are dead..."
"Then you didn't come immediately," Kaelah said, flatly.
Reiken narrowed his eyes at her. "This is... all for nothing...." he said "Why do I...need to listen.... if you.... don't tell me in time...?"
"We did tell you in time" Sigurd said with a frown
"In time for what?" Reiken asked, as he looked at the brown haired man "In time to see the people burn to death… because the demons trapped them in a building? In time to smell their burning flesh"
"In time so that you wouldn't die" Kaelah said.
Reiken shook his head. "All of the fighting… is all for nothing… if I can't save the people" he said quietly.
"Reiken…" Sigurd started.
"Leave me alone" Reiken said quietly, before he slowly turned and started walking away. His shoulder sagged as he half shuffled away, unable to lift his feet, due to the exhaustion.
He could feel the other two's eyes on him. Only he did not care. He was exhausted and wanted to go home.
And thus concludes the live-blog commentary for ‘The Consort – Chapter 08: Heed thy soul’
Further status updates about ‘The Consort’ will be made within the next 24 hours - including either one or two podfic chapters being posted, depending on technical issues.
