Renji looked at the mace. The iron was ugly. It had pits and dark spots. Old sap and dried bits of things that used to be alive crusted the edges. He tried to spit. Nothing came out. His mouth was too dry, so he just coughed a thick, copper-tasting glob of phlegm onto his chin. He looked pathetic. He knew it.
The Executioner didn't swing yet. It just stood there. It looked like a big piece of sick-green meat. Its breath made a heavy, mechanical sound behind a rusted visor.
"You killed the scout," the giant said. The voice was deep. It sounded like stones grinding together in a well. "An outsider in the Hollow. With a Vermilion's chill on his blade."
Renji gripped the knife Liora gave him. His fingers shook. The bone handle rattled against his wedding ring. It was the only thing he had left from the old world. He thought about Liora's kiss. He thought about the five hundred years he lost while the Abyss Lord played god.
The rage gave him a little energy. Just enough to sit up.
"I'm not... an outsider," Renji said. He forced himself to look at the giant. "I'm the one who's going to finish this."
The Executioner tilted its head. It was slow. It raised the mace higher. The spikes caught a little violet light from the trees. The air got cold. It wasn't the clean cold of the knife. It was a damp, bad chill. It made Renji's lungs feel full of wet sand.
"Finishing is easy," the giant said. "Staying whole is the hard part."
The mace started to come down. It wasn't fast. It was just heavy. It was the kind of weight you can't run from. Renji closed his eyes. He reached for the book in his bag. His fingers hit the rough leather. He didn't have a plan. He just didn't want to die in the dirt.
Then the forest went dead silent.
The mace stopped an inch from Renji's head. The wind died. The violet leaves stopped moving.
"That's enough, Silas."
The new voice was soft. It sounded like silk on a jagged rock.
Renji opened one eye. A woman stood on a branch above them. She wasn't Jade. She wasn't Vermilion. Her skin was white and clear. Her hair flowed behind her like she was underwater. She was an Azure Vein. A high-ranking one.
Silas lowered the mace. He didn't look happy, but he did it. "He has the scroll, Myra. The one from the Vault."
Myra came down from the branch. She didn't land. She just moved to the ground. She looked at Renji. Her eyes were two big pools of blue light.
"He has more than the scroll," she whispered. She touched the air near Renji's chest. "He has the scent of the Mortal King."
Renji felt a jolt. It wasn't a hit. It was a recognition. The book in his bag started to hum. It matched the beat of his own heart.
"Who are you?" Renji asked. His voice felt stronger.
Myra smiled. It wasn't a nice smile. It was the look of someone who had been waiting for trouble.
"I'm the one who's going to teach you how to survive the next ten minutes," she said. "Because the demons aren't coming, Renji. They're already here."
She pointed behind him.
Renji turned his head. His neck popped. Things were coming out of the violet fog. They weren't Aetherians. They were shadows. Thin, flickering things. They looked like rips in the world. They didn't have faces. They just had hunger.
The first one lunged.
Renji didn't have time to think. He rolled. The shadow hit the ground where he had been. It made a sound like dry paper tearing. Silas stepped forward. He swung the big mace. The iron smashed into the shadow, but it went right through. The shadow didn't have a body to break.
"Physical hits don't work well," Myra said. She didn't sound scared. She sounded bored. She raised her hand. A blue spark jumped from her fingers. It hit the shadow. The thing hissed and backed away.
Renji scrambled to his feet. His ribs hurt. Every breath was a struggle. He held the icy blade out. It was glowing now. The blue light from the knife was the only thing the shadows seemed to hate.
"Use the knife," Liora's voice echoed in his head. "Don't just swing it. Feel the cold."
Renji felt the chill move from the handle into his arm. His skin turned gray and white. The shadow lunged again. Renji didn't move away this time. He stepped into the strike. He drove the blade into the middle of the dark shape.
The shadow froze. The ice from the blade moved fast. It turned the shadow into a block of black frost. Then it shattered.
"Not bad for a human," Silas grunted. He swung his mace again, this time hitting a tree to stay balanced.
But more shadows were coming. Tens of them. Hundreds. The violet fog was full of them. They moved like smoke. They were surrounding the three of them.
"We can't stay here," Myra said. She looked at the book in Renji's bag. "The book is calling them. It's a beacon."
Renji gripped the bag tighter. "I'm not giving it up."
"I didn't ask you to give it up," Myra said. She grabbed his arm. Her grip was like ice. "I asked you to run."
They bolted. Silas led the way. He was a wall of green muscle. He smashed through the brush. Renji ran behind him. Every step felt like a needle in his knee. Myra moved beside them. She threw blue sparks into the fog to keep the shadows back.
The forest was a blur of violet and gray. The shadows were faster. They hopped from tree to tree. They were closing in.
Suddenly, Silas stopped.
In front of them was a big gap in the ground. A cliff. It went down into total darkness. There was no bridge. No way across.
"The way is shut," Silas growled. He turned around. He raised his mace. The shadows were right behind them.
Renji looked at the book. It was glowing bright gold now. The light was coming through the leather.
"Open it," Liora's voice whispered. "Now."
Renji pulled the book out. He hit the heavy clasp. The pages flipped fast. They stopped on a drawing of a bridge made of light.
"I don't know how to do this!" Renji yelled.
"Think about a bridge," Myra said. She was fighting three shadows at once. "Think about the bridge in Itosai. The one you crossed every day."
"Wait, were this lady in Itosai?" He asked himself with disbelief.
Renji closed his eyes. He thought about the wood. He thought about the smell of the river. He thought about the sound of his boots on the planks. He poured that memory into the book.
A bridge of white light shot across the cliff. It looked solid.
"Go!" Renji shouted.
Silas didn't ask questions. He ran across. The light groaned under his weight. Myra followed. Renji was the last one. He stepped onto the light. it felt like walking on glass.
He was halfway across when the shadows reached the edge. They didn't stop. They started to crawl onto the light bridge.
Renji reached the other side. He turned around. He saw the shadows coming. He slammed the book shut.
The bridge vanished.
The shadows fell into the dark. Their hisses faded away.
Renji slumped to the ground. He was shaking. He looked at Silas and Myra. They were looking at him like he was a ghost.
"You're the Mortal King," Silas said. He sounded almost respectful.
Renji didn't care about the title. He just wanted to sleep. But he knew he couldn't.
"Where do we go now?" Renji asked.
Myra looked at the dark forest ahead. "To the Wisdom Division. To find the second element. Before the rest of the demons find us."
"Then let's move," he said.