Page 28 of Shadows of Air and Earth (Remnant Archives)

L acail. City of Stone—and not just any stone, firestone. The intricately carved gateway sparkled with flecks of yellows and oranges, almost beckoning to be ignited in an explosion of earth and fire. It would have been a welcoming contrast to the silent emptiness that greeted us now.

Something was not quite right.

Worriedly, I passed a look to Xi. It was rare when her eyes did not meet mine, but this time her focus was elsewhere, and I wasn’t sure if I should be worried or offended that her attention was stolen from me.

Studying her profile, Xi’s brow wrinkled slightly behind the hair that shielded her face, a sign of unease that was directed right at Remnant.

The shadow fae’s strong stride led us quietly through the still town, her cropped linen shirt billowing in the gentle breeze, her pale skin glittering against the sun beaming down on her more brightly than anything else around us.

An honorable spotlight and I half wondered if she was ever aware of Faerie’s attention on her or if she had grown so accustomed it was of little consequence.

Turning my gaze away, I frowned at the empty marble-flecked streets that should have been bustling with a new day’s morning agenda. Shops were closed with not a single living soul in sight, the air ominously charged as if the entire town held its breath.

"Am I going to be the first one to ask, where in the goddess is everyone?" I said, breaking the tension filled silence and then stilling as shadows slapped coldly across my mouth, cutting off any other comment they thought I would make.

Xi's hair blew out from her face in an aggravated sigh while Remnant spun on her heel, her emerald green eyes shooting through me like a mother scolding a child, a raised finger pressing against her mouth.

Earnestly, I nodded my agreement with more vigor than was perhaps necessary. Anything to get her terrifying shadows off me and a safe distance away, where we could mutually respect one another.

As if noting my wishes, the darkness slid off, pooling at my feet before snaking upwards like smoke from a fire back towards their master.

Remnant gave me one last narrowed look but her warning silence was all for naught.

I felt the air shift, sharp with something far more treacherous than stinky trolls or anthousai bitches.

A long hissing wail soon followed, snaking through the streets, dust billowing upon the marble in its wake, slamming into our still bodies.

Coughing, I slashed the air clean with my power and my stomach churned with unease, unable to register the sound, a sound that did not belong in Faerie, and also regretting the copious amount of food I had just consumed.

Shadows sprung forth, wrapping hurriedly around Xi and I before the entire world blurred. Stumbling they tossed us into a darkened shop, the sun barely providing any light, as Remnant raced through, silently closing the door behind her, eyes still trained on the street.

Reaching outward, I steadied Xi just as the shadows shoved her into me. I could not help but think it was their silent way of telling me to keep her safe. Squeezing her tightly just once, my nose inhaled her fresh scent of river rock and grass before I released her.

Remnant spun towards us, eyes glittering with both worry and adrenaline, speaking low in the darkened shop. "I need you both to listen to me very carefully." Thank the goddess for being an air elemental, shifting blades of grass were louder than her at the moment.

Xi’s gaze flickered, meeting mine briefly, before we both hedged closer to the general.

"What is it, Remnant?" Xi's voice a soft flutter of air.

My brows raised, I hadn’t realized she was capable. Knowingly, she jabbed her elbow into me, keeping her contemplative gaze on the general.

"The seal to Hell is here and the beasts of origin’s prison has officially weakened."

I frowned, glancing out at the empty street. "That sound…it was an original beast?" Quickly, I attempted to recall the stories my mother and father had once told me of the monsters that used to terrorize these lands during the times when the ancient fae were first created.

Remnant nodded.

"What are we talking here?" Xi tugged on her hair. "Slaugh, manticore, cyclops, leviathan—"

I frowned. Outside the air stirred again, this time a crow joining the hiss, and I felt my blood turn cold remembering one very specific story about a half rooster, half snake-like creature…"Basilisk," I breathed.

Remnant’s sharp gaze shot through me as she nodded. "Yes, a creature that hunts by sound and scent and is very much nocturnal ."

I glanced out the window towards the clear cobalt sky, beams of light glittering down on the marbled streets. "It's full daylight outside," I said, pointing out the obvious.

Xi frowned, tilting her head in thought at the general. "You think there is something wrong with it, like the trolls in the cave," she breathed. "And like those trolls, you're going out there to… help it."

Wrinkled lines formed between Remnant's dark brows, her pale beauty still prominent even as her lips pressed into a thin line.

A slow breath, like an exasperated sigh I did not know I was holding, escaped me. "Fuck, this isn't exactly troll bowling, Rem. They were not monsters of origin. You know just as much as we do why they are locked away by two goddess damn seals.”

Being this close to her, there was no missing the flickering glow of excitement in Remnant Dark's eyes.

"Fuck," Xi reiterated my last words, seeing it just as I had. "This is a bad idea Rem, we don't know how to fight that kind of monster, they are legends only, let alone knowing what its goddess damn problem is."

Her shadows brushed against us and I felt them anchor both our feet to the floor. Looking down at them I growled before narrowing my eyes on my new friend. “This better not mean what I think it does, Remnant Dark.”

She gave me a small sad smile and my chest tightened. “There will be no we, just me. You two have a much bigger task, you must find the seal to Hell, it is within this town."

"I'm sorry, what?" Xi gasped.

“I concur, terrella.” Narrowing my eyes on the shadow fae, I folded my arms across my chest, “There is no way you think a seal to Hell is more important than you facing down a fucking basilisk, Rem.”

Remnant grinned, looking from Xi to me, amusement twinkling in her eyes.

It was the same look she held within the Saltu, when the feral gnomes chased us, and when fighting off those psychotic anthousai cunts.

Did no peril ever affect her? And how in the Sheol had she survived this long without someone watching her back?

She practically searched for danger…a hazard that made it even more miraculous that she was still alive.

"Fine," I murmured slowly to her, "but the moment something goes wrong we are coming out there to help."

Xi’s white silky hair swung forward agreeing with me, her hand falling on Remnant’s shoulder. "Be careful, Rem," she whispered.

Her brows rose at the worry in Xi's voice and I smiled inwardly—Remnant Dark had won over Xi Lanora Chin. The most stubborn of us all and like the earth that coveted the most precious stone deep in its core, Xi coveted friendships the same way. Fiercely protected for the rarity that we were to her.

A pale hand reached up and covered Xi’s, squeezing it gently.

"Find the seal," Remnant whispered to us both and then winced when another loud screech mixed with an enormous hiss shook the walls and sent chills of instinctual warning through us all. Swiftly rising away from Xi’s affection, the shadow fae made for the door with confident steps, only to turn back with a wink.

"Duty calls, oh and by the way," she whispered, "don't look the basilisk in the eyes if it comes for you. "

"I don't like that tone," Xi hissed back.

"Shit, please tell me you are not indicating the legends are true?" I whistled quietly.

The glow in her eyes dimmed and she tilted her head behind us.

"Unfortunately for this town, the legends are very true, Riley Dragoon.

" Shadows swarmed around her, releasing their anchors on our person and then she was gone.

Only air swirled where she had once stood, just like the first time she left us to fight a battle on her own.

In unison, Xi and I slowly turned towards the direction Remnant had pointed.

"Fuck the goddess to Sheol and back," I swore in sadness and a bit of fear. I was fae enough to admit that at least, since not even a few paces behind us twenty fae stood, petrified in stone with terror etched on every single one of their faces.

"And fuck the death god himself. Sweet goddess Ri, we can’t leave her to fight that thing alone,” Xi whispered, striding for the door with determination, ignoring the blast of another angry screech that rattled the entombed fae behind us.

I lunged after her. “I agree, terrella, we look for the seal and make sure our General lives to see another day.”

Xi nodded, her lips pressing grimly together. “Our General. Yes that sounds about right. She is ours now.” A storming, single grey eye shot over her strong shoulder, her tone mimicking the same one Remnant had parted us with. “Time to have some shadow fae version of fun.”