Page 48 of Marked

Returning to their camp, they quickly changed and gathered the essentials.

Blair’s fingers worked fast, but without precision.

She grabbed at extra throwing knives and placed them in the scabbards lining her leather.

Her mind wouldn’t stay still long enough to remember what else was needed.

Her heartbeat unevenly. Not from rushing. From something else.

“When shadows rise and all is lost.”

The fortune teller’s voice echoed in her memory, gravelly and sure. Blair had brushed it off then, like she always did with cryptic omens. But now... now something inside her twisted. Could this be it? she wondered, pausing to look at the men around her.

She clenched her jaw and bent down, shoving her bags against the large rock meant to hide their belongings.

“You’re moving like you’re angry,” came a voice from behind her.

Blair jerked her head up. Damien stood behind her, arms crossed with his brow raised in concern. His shadow stretched long across the floor, reaching out for her.

“Just double checking I have everything,” she said quickly, too quickly .

“You sure?” he asked, taking a step closer to her. “Something tells me that’s not it.”

Blair didn’t answer him. Her hand laid frozen over her satchel. Damien’s boots thudded softly as he knelt beside her. Grabbing her chin and guiding her gaze to him, he didn’t need her to speak; he could see it in her eyes. The way her shoulders were too tight, too still.

“You’re shaking,” he said gently.

Blair looked down. So, she was.

“I’m scared,” she admitted, voice low. “I just feel… like we’re walking into something bigger than we thought.”

Damien was quiet for a moment. Then, with careful movements, he reached out and took her hand.

“We got this,” he said softly.

Her eyes flicked up to meet him. “And if we don’t?”

Damien didn’t laugh. Didn’t dismiss her with logic or comfort disguised as reason. Instead, he simply nodded, grounding her.

“You said before you trusted me,” he said. “I need you to do it one more time. Follow and listen and we’ll get through whatever comes our way.”

Blair’s breath slowed. The tightness in her chest didn’t vanish, but it eased. Just enough.

“Whatever’s coming,” Damien continued, his thumb brushing her knuckles, “we’ll face it together. I’m not going anywhere.”

She nodded slowly.

Together.

With that, they stood and grabbed the last remaining weapons.

Their movements were fast, knowing every second wasted was a second more they could be in danger.

The forest around them seemed too still, any sound or movement putting them on edge.

Within a few minutes, armor was on, weapons were hidden, and their gear was strapped on.

Damien turned, pulling the shadows from the trees around them and using them to conceal their belongings, which were all now hidden in a small crevice in the rocky terrain.

They silently began walking the short hike to the fort alongside the river.

Much like the one they had just fought at, it would be at a riverbank farther down the river.

They traveled on their toes, calling no attention to themselves as they walked in silence.

They dodged in between trees, and as they drew nearer, they looked at each other and nodded.

Arriving, they paused at the top before the land sloped toward the riverbank. Blake crouched low in the grass, eyes scanning the broken towers. "Charming place," he muttered. "Smells like a tomb. Looks like something clawed its way out."

It wasn't a strong, towering structure of stone and banners.

Being the exact opposite, it was sunk into the ground.

Partially devoured by time and water, what remained above ground was a crumbling stone.

An archway marked the opening, half of it covered in the earth.

Vines clung to every inch, dripping with dew as if the land below it was trying to swallow it whole.

Blair slid her dagger out, pointing at the decayed structure. "That doesn't look like a fortified base."

"It's not," Damien said. "Not anymore, at least. "

They descended slowly down the hill, their boots sinking into the soft riverbank. The ground became stone as they reached the mouth of the sunken building. Blake stepped forward, peering inside.

"If we make it out of here, I better be the best man at your wedding."

Blair let out a nervous laugh, and Damien showed no emotional response as they took a step inside. The building immediately split into a variety of tunnels, sloping down beneath the surface. The air was dense and muggy, smelling of salt water and mold.

Blake motioned to one, his hand signals barely visible in the darkness. He moved first, the other two walking behind him down the long, narrow, uneven corridors. The deeper they walked, the darker it grew. The little light that filtered from vents and old grates barely reached the lower levels.

Every few minutes, the trio would pause then Blake would sense for any shadows.

Blair took a deep breath during these moments, trying to focus on her surroundings.

At their feet, the floor was uneven with broken flagstones and mud.

The walls were carved, with some sections featuring specific designs.

"We're close to them," Blake murmured, touching the wall. "There's definitely going to be a few friends joining the party, I sense multiple shadows."

"Of course you do." Blair muttered, breathing in to steady her nerves.

They continued to move cautiously, weaving through low halls and collapsed arches.

Blake still led, pausing with any inkling of others around them.

Blair was in the middle of them, gripping her dagger tightly.

Damien was the last, his arms free and his shadows at the ready.

The more they walked, the more Damien's presence seemed to ripple with tension.

His shadows coiled tighter and tighter around his arms like bracing ropes.

They paused next to a tall, dome-like chamber with fractured columns and a sunken floor. This time, when Blake focused, he brought both his hands up, turning his head.

Blair spun, but too late. Two men dropped from above. One slammed into her, driving her to the ground. Her dagger fell from her hands. A knife caught her across the side, tearing through her jacket and into her flesh.

Damien flung a dagger into one of their throats, then grabbed Blair by the arm and yanked her behind a column.

"Breathe. Stay low. Don't die."

He then moved back to the battle, his shadows wrapping around his arms like living armor. He struck fast and hard, blades of blackened energy slicing through the narrow space between him and the hunter.

Blake tried to help, but an enforcer arose before him, forming himself out of the shadows.

Before his body was complete, he was already swinging towards him, forcing Blake to duck and vanish into the shadows.

Three more attackers emerged from the dark, all masked in defensive dark shadows.

Damien growled in response as his shadows exploded outward, driving two of them back.

He moved with an aggressive precision, pushing into the enemy, blades of darkness slicing through anything and everything around him .

But just as they started to gain an advantage, another form stepped into the corridor from the long hallway.

He was massive, armored in deep obsidian, a burned symbol showcased on his shoulder.

His weapon was a long, blade-shaped scythe covered in flowing shadows.

It whistled as he circled it around him, through the air.

Blair barely had time to register what was happening before the gleaming edge of the scythe sliced the air toward Damien.

She screamed, gaining the attention of the Phantom.

Just as he moved toward her, a burst of black light exploded beside her, and suddenly, she wasn't standing behind the column anymore.

She hit the damp ground of a side passage, heart hammering in her throat.

She could just make out a blurry profile of Blake as she felt a dagger being placed in her hand, and then movement flashed in her peripheral vision.

He was gone before she fully turned her head.

She looked back toward the fight as Blake reappeared behind a hunter and quickly impaled him before vanishing again.

Blair watched wordlessly as she held onto the wall, her head spinning.

Through the tunnel's broken stone arches, Blair watched as her vision cleared.

Blake and Damien moved together as they danced around the enemies surrounding them.

The opening and closing of Blake's shadowstepping created a field of black circles on the ground as he materialized in and out of them, striking hunters and enforcers alike.

Awestruck, she noticed how the two men fought alongside each other, their skills having been enhanced by their training.

Damien's focus was on the Phantom. His shadow sword clanged hard against the scythe, sparks cascading in the dark. Shadow tendrils shot from the Phantom's body, slicing across Damien's arm. He winced but didn't slow.

Blake was across the room, intent on taking down the Enforcer, and appeared behind him in a blink.

The sword in his hands broke into twin blades that slashed upward, catching the creature in its side.

For a moment, Blair thought it was over until the shadows reformed, knitting the Enforcers's body back together as if nothing had touched it.

Then, the tunnel darkened further.