'There must be another way!' Kara protested right away when Marcus shared what they discovered with the rest of their crew. They stood inside the narrow hall that was leading to the library. Arlo, Myr and Kara managed to find enough debris lying around to form the barricades blocking the only entrance leading here. Iris eyed the flimsy pile of rubble. It could hold off the Shadows for a while, but there was no other way out for them. All things considered, it was a relatively poor shield against a countless horde of creatures, and they all knew it. But they needed just enough time to stand their ground until they came up with a way out of this realm.

'I'm afraid there is none. And we don't have time to go through the whole library,' Marcus said. He looked ancient at that moment. Iris often wondered how old he was. His face was full of wrinkles, but his blue eyes were bright and alive. His stride always had spring in it as if he defied time by a sheer will to fight for another day.

Now, his face was pale and almost grey. The dark circles made the wrinkles around his eyes deeper. His shoulders were slumped, and he looked like his age was finally catching up to him.

'We don't have time for debates,' Sam said, his voice full of resolve. 'Alaife and I will break the barrier, so you can escape before those Shadows get through.'

'No!' Kara grabbed the front of his shirt in her fist. Her voice was full of rage, echoing through the long hallway. 'Don't you dare! I've just found you! You can't just throw your life away like that! I forbid you!'

'Nightingale, my love....' Sam put his hands on her shaking fist. 'I've been dead to the world anyway. All this time, I've been living on a borrowed time.'

'You can't!' Kara cried, her whole body shaking with a violent sob. 'I'm not leaving you behind again!'

'You are needed elsewhere, love.' He gently kissed her forehead.

'I hate to break your moment of heroism, Sam, but it can't be you,' Marcus said. His voice was quiet but loaded with meaning, making everyone turn towards him.

'What are you saying, old pal?' Sam asked, frowning.

'You are the reason we came here. You are our expert on the Shadow Magic. The only one who is immune to its effects and can counter the Grand Inquisitor. It can be the only advantage we have. We can't afford to lose it.'

'Alssso, Massster,' Alaife hissed. 'Your sssoul is already tainted by Ssshadow Magic. It might not be much, but it ssstil rendersss your internal power lessss potent than the pure Light ssspirit. It might not work even if you ussse it whole.'

Sam cursed wickedly, but Kara hugged him and held him tight with visible relief.

'I'll do it then.' Jayden straightened his back and raised his chin.

'You will do no such thing, boy,' Marcus said calmly.

'You can't be serious.' The young Mage scoffed. 'It's either you or me. And let's face it, you are our leader. You are the one who started this whole rebellion. Without you, there is no cause!'

'You are wrong.' The old man straightened his back and looked at his flustered apprentice with sympathy. 'I started it all, yes. But it was out of my hands soon after. Look around you, Jayden. You all have the same fire in your hearts. Each and every one of you will fight until the world is right again. I was merely the catalyst.'

'You can't sacrifice yourself, Master,' Jayden protested, his face turned even paler and knuckles of his clenched fists glowing white in the darkness surrounding them. 'We can't do this without you! I can't....'

Marcus put a hand on his arm and smiled warmly. 'You will do just fine. I've lived a long life already. I have no more room to grow, to achieve anything more than I already did. But you, Jayden, you and Iris are the future. After this mess is over, someone will have to rebuild the Order. There is not enough life in those old bones to do all that.'

'Stop it!' Jayden shrugged his hand away. The tears glistened on his cheeks. 'Don't say it as if it's a simple and inevitable thing. You can't expect me to be fine with it! I will not accept it! Do you hear me?!'

Iris covered her mouth to muffle the sob escaping her mouth when the truth hit her. Indeed, there was no other way. If they wanted to live and fight another day, someone would have to sacrifice their life. Marcus has already made the decision. It was clear from all his determined stance he was not backing down from it. And yet, his face was peaceful as he had no regrets, no doubts, no second thoughts. Iris knew it was inevitable, but her heart still throbbed painfully.

'I don't expect you to forgive me,' Marcus said quietly. 'As you said, I am the leader, even though I never wanted this responsibility. This decision is mine to make. You can't change it. I can only hope you will fight on.' He looked at them all in turn. 'You all have to escape to keep on fighting. You are the last ones of the Rebels. All the sacrifices that countless Mages made will be for nothing if you give up.'

'I will not rest until the Grand Inquisitor is dead and the Inquisition is a smoking ruin!' Arlo roared, beating his big fist to his chest and falling on one knee. His eyes were glistening with tears too. 'I swear it on my life. I will not fail you.'

'We will not forget what you did for us.' Myrica closed Marcus' hand in hers. 'We will not surrender, and we will never back down.'

'I will never forget it,' Kara said quietly, holding onto Sam's hand as if it was a lifeline.

'We will bring the bastard down. That's a promise,' Sam added.

Iris wanted to say something too, but the piercing pain erupted in her head once again. She screamed, but her voice was drowned in a terrible roar that shook the very ground they were standing on.

'He's here! I can feel him close now.' Iris gasped. 'Brath is here!'

'Our time is up already. We have to move now,' Marcus said.

***

The barrier surrounding the ruined palace was not a physical thing. When they first arrived at this place, they hadn't even noticed anything there. It was a magical wall created to keep away those with ill intentions and ones not invited. But once the Shadows started pushing at it, they all felt it.

It was as if they were surrounded by a transparent bubble muffling the sounds and sights from the outside. Now it was trembling, and the whole ruins were tottering with it. Tremors shook the ground, making dust and small debris fall off the walls. Ear-splitting howls and shrieks assaulted their ears in a constant cacophony of sounds.

They were standing in the fortified hallway, Kara and Arlo in front, their hands on their weapons. Myrica walked up and down the hallway, her bow ready to sing. At the back, Marcus, Sam, Jayden, and Iris were huddled together over the book studying the spell to make sure they got it right. There was no room for mistakes or several attempts. If it was going to work, it had to work immediately.

Alaife was standing in the doorway to the library, their red eyes wandering through the countless shelves. Iris looked up at them. There was not much for her to do now. Her only task was to take everyone back as soon as they pierced the barrier. She walked to the Shadow.

'Lady Realmfarer?' They bowed their head gently, turning their red eyes to her.

'What will happen to this place once those creatures break in?' she asked quietly.

'I'm afraid I cannot sssay. Usssually it isss not in our nature to dessstroy thingsss just from malice. If they find you gone, there sssould be nothing here to interessst them. Although...' they hesitated.

'They don't seem very normal to me.'

'Yesss, I think ssso too. I cannot fathom what isss going on in Brath's mind, but I fear once you flee, he will take out hisss frussstration on thisss place.

'I'm so sorry, Alaife. I can see what this place means to you.' She put her hand on their arm. Their flesh was cold and smooth, as if she touched polished stone of some kind.

The Shadow looked down at her hand and then back at her, bobbing their big head to the side. 'Why are you touching me, Lady Realmfarer?'

'Ehm, sorry.' She quickly withdrew her hand. 'It was supposed to be comforting. That's just something people do when someone is sad.'

'Oh, I sssee. I wisssh I could learn more from you. I wisssh we had more time.'

'I'd like that too,' she admitted, and she meant it. The things she learned here in this short time were mind-blowing. Shadows that were not monsters, countless other realms out there waiting to be discovered, and this enormous collection of knowledge gathered for centuries from all different worlds. Iris had a feeling she would never see this place again. 'Alaife, if you want, you can come with us. At least for a while, until those creatures are out of here.'

The Shadow were silent for a moment, and then their dark face changed, and Iris was almost sure the expression was a smile. 'You are truly generousss, Lady Realmfarer. But I could not possssibly abandon thisss place. I am the Keeper of Knowledge, and I'll make sssure to sssave what I can, ssso you can come back and revisit usss.' They hesitated for a moment and then raised their long arm and put their hand gently on her shoulder. It felt cold, but it was not unpleasant.

Then a terrible crash joined the constant cacophony of sounds as if thousands of glass windows were shattered simultaneously. Iris swayed on her feet at another jab of pain in her mind.

'They are through!' Myrica shouted, fishing an arrow out of her quiver. 'Times up! Cast the spell now! We won't be able to hold them for long!'

They quickly run to their places. Alaife joined Marcus, and they both started chanting the spell. The first Shadows reached the barricade and tried to get through, but Myrica's arrows held them back for a moment. But no matter how quick the huntress was shooting, there was always more creatures appearing.

Sam took a step forward and raised his hands, shadow tendrils swirling around his hands. Suddenly the darkness around the barricade came to life as if some was lurking there all this time. The long, clawed hands started to grip at shadows, leaving them thrashing around in panic. Sam had his hands raised. His black eyes focused on the fight at the entrance.

Iris found this spectacle fascinating and terrifying at the same time. All her nerves were tight as strings right now. Her muscles urged her to run, but she had to hold just a little bit longer. She forced herself to dart her eyes away from the fight and looked at Marcus and Alaife.

Their chant grew stronger, the strange words bouncing off the walls and echoing over howling Shadows. At that moment, the light started emanating from Marcus' chest. It was surreal in this dark and cold place. The light was so bright Iris had to shield her eyes, and still, she felt a sting of tears. The monsters must have seen the radiance too, as the clamour became deafening now. Iris heard a clank of steel, meaning some of the Shadows got through, but she could not look away from the magical spectacle before her.

Alaife raised his hand, and the tendrils of darkness reached out and started to weave themselves together with Marcus' light. Shadows and light joining together, creating some complicated pattern in the air. It was a bizarre and yet beautiful sight.

Marcus was swaying on his feet, but Alaife reached their long dark arm to steady him, not breaking their chant. The light seemed to flow straight from Marucs' chest with an even stream, making a swirling pattern in the air more extensive with every second. Iris felt the air crackling with static as an accumulated power expanded with every second.

'How much longer?!' Kara shouted and then pushed another Shadow away with a grunt.

'They're almost there!' Sam responded.

The Shadow Kara just shoved used the opportunity to move behind her, but Sam flicked his wrist and vines of darkness swiftly bunded the creature, and the Mage yanked it back as if he were holding a leash.

Marcus cried in pain and sunk to his knees. The stream of light from his chest reduced to a mere trickle. Iris could no longer look directly at evolving patterns. They were far too bright. What she did notice was the exact moment when Marcus' Light ran out. She knew it was coming, and yet she cried out in shock and despair. The chant died on his lips, his pale face turned grey, and his eyes rolled to the back of his head as he fell lifelessly on the floor.

But her scream was muffled by an increasing rumble. The swirling mass of light and darkness shot up, disappearing through the ceiling, leaving them in cold grey dimness once more, but after a second, a sound of thousand crashing stones shook the whole world. Iris fell on her knees as small debris rained on her from up above. She curled up, covering her head in her arms. She was sure the whole ceiling was coming crashing down on them. But after a few seconds, the clamour and tremors died down, leaving only silence with a few muffled howls to follow. Iris raised her head, momentarily stunned, and looked around.

Most of her companions were crouching or lying on the floor. The Shadows also seemed to be shocked by the earthquake as they ceased their assault for a moment.

'It isss done,' Alaife hissed, standing up and nodding when his red glowing eyes found hers. 'Move, quickly! Before the horde recovers!'

'Move, everyone! Quick!' Sam shouted.

Iris staggered back to her feet and rushed to Marcus's lifeless body. Jayden was already kneeling there, holding the unmoving, cold hand in his. His pale face was stained with tears. Iris knew they had no time for mourning now, and even if her heart was breaking and tears were falling from her eyes, she did not waver. She grabbed Jayden's free hand and outstretched the other. Myr's smooth and strong palm instantly grabbed it. Kara and Arlo ran towards them, but the Shadows were already charging at them.

The monsters rushed at the barricade, which was crushed by sheer force and fell into pieces, leaving the mouth of the hallway wide open. It filled instantly by shrieking creatures baring their sharp teeth and darting towards humans.

'We have to go! Now!' Iris cried desperately. But there was no way Kara and Arlo would make it in time. The Shadows were too fast.

Arlo tripped on the fallen debris and failed to regain balance, crashing on the floor just a few paces away from his companions. The dark clawed paws were almost at him when the wall of darkness rose from the ground blocking the way.

'Move! I can't hold it forever!' hissed Sam, slowly backing away, his whole body trembling with effort. Kara helped Arlo up, and they finally reached Myr's outstretched hand.

The wall of darkness separating them from shrieking monsters were falling apart.

'Sam! Grab my hand, quick!' cried Kara trying to reach her husband, but he was still a few feet away, trying desperately to keep the monsters at bay. 'Sam! Now!'

Sam groaned and fell on one knee. He was exhausted, and the monsters were already squeezing through the holes in his wall.

'Let me do it, Massster.' Alaife appeared at his side, raising their hands, and the wall was reinforced once again. 'You have to leave. Right now, Massster.'

'Alaife,' Sam mumbled. The Shadow helped him to his feet with their free hand and pushed him toward Kara. When their hands finally joined, they waved their clawed hand. 'Go back, Lady Realmfarer. May the fortune alwaysss be in your favour.'

Iris caught her breath and willed herself to go back to their world. In a split second, the surrounding started to change. Everything grew brighter, and the towering trees and bushes replaced the stone walls. The air filled with the smell of the forest, and the chirping of birds replaced monstrous howls. She nodded one last time toward the disappearing form of Alaife, and then they were gone as if they never existed. When everything became focused again, and she was sure they were fully back, she fell on her knees, exhausted.

We're finally back! We've made it! But the joy did not come. When she turned her head, she could still see Marcus' body, just as lifeless as it was in the other realm.

Picture by 21967857 from Pixabay