Chapter 43 – The Burning Horizon
They didn't stop.
The red glow ahead of them grew brighter with every mile.
It wasn't sunrise.
The sun was behind them.
Whatever was lighting the northern horizon was coming from the direction of Blackhaven.
Brook walked at the front with Henry.
Sera stayed close behind.
Elias kept looking back.
Crowley was unusually quiet.
Brook eventually turned toward him.
"You said we were too late."
Crowley nodded.
"What happened to Blackhaven?"
"I don't know."
"Then how do you know we're too late?"
Crowley looked toward the horizon.
"Because Blackhaven doesn't burn like that."
Henry frowned.
"What does it mean?"
Crowley didn't answer.
Elias did.
"Someone wants us to see it."
Brook looked at him.
"Who?"
Elias shook his head.
"That's the problem."
They continued.
The forest gradually disappeared.
Trees became sparse.
The ground became dry.
Smoke began drifting through the air.
Brook could smell something burning.
They reached the top of a hill.
Everyone stopped.
Blackhaven was visible in the distance.
Or what remained of it.
The settlement was surrounded by fire.
Buildings were burning.
Smoke covered the streets.
People were running through the chaos.
Brook stared.
"How many people live there?"
"Thousands," Elias said.
Henry's expression hardened.
"We have to help them."
Crowley grabbed his arm.
"Wait."
Henry pulled away.
"People are dying."
"I know."
"Then move."
Crowley looked at him.
"Look at the sky."
Henry did.
Dark shapes moved through the smoke.
Not birds.
Not Abominations.
Creatures.
Hundreds of them.
Some flew.
Some moved between the buildings.
Others stood completely still.
Watching.
Sera's face tightened.
"What are they?"
Crowley answered quietly.
"Different."
Brook looked at him.
"That's not helpful."
"It wasn't meant to be."
Elias pointed toward the eastern edge of the settlement.
"There's another entrance."
Brook looked.
"Can we reach it?"
"Maybe."
Henry immediately started down the hill.
Brook followed.
Sera and Elias came behind them.
Crowley stayed at the top.
Brook looked back.
"You coming?"
Crowley stared at Blackhaven.
"Yes."
But his voice carried something Brook hadn't heard before.
Uncertainty.
They reached the eastern edge of Blackhaven after nearly an hour.
The closer they got, the worse it became.
Bodies lay in the streets.
Buildings had collapsed.
Some had been burned from the inside.
Brook stopped when he saw a child sitting beside a dead woman.
Sera immediately approached.
"Are you hurt?"
The child shook her head.
"Where's your father?"
She pointed toward a burning building.
Sera looked at Brook.
Brook nodded.
"Get her out."
Sera picked the child up.
Henry helped another wounded man away from the street.
Brook drew his sword.
Something moved behind him.
He turned.
Nothing.
Then a voice spoke.
"Brook."
He froze.
Not again.
He looked toward the burning buildings.
"Who's there?"
A figure stepped from the smoke.
A man.
Tall.
Dark hair.
Wearing a long black coat.
He looked completely human.
Brook lowered his sword slightly.
"Who are you?"
The man smiled.
"Someone who knows your parents."
Brook immediately raised his sword.
"Where are they?"
The man laughed.
"You really don't waste time."
"Answer me."
"Your father came through Blackhaven five years ago."
Brook's breathing stopped.
"Where did he go?"
"North."
"How far?"
"Far enough."
Brook stepped forward.
"What does that mean?"
The man looked at the symbol beneath Brook's sleeve.
"I was wondering when you would arrive."
Brook frowned.
"Why?"
"Because they told me you were coming."
"Who?"
The man's smile disappeared.
"The ones who watch."
Crowley appeared behind Brook.
The moment the man saw him, his expression changed.
"You."
Crowley drew his sword.
The man stepped backward.
"I didn't expect you."
Crowley stared at him.
"Who sent you?"
The man laughed.
"Still asking questions."
"Answer."
"Why?"
Crowley's eyes darkened.
"Because if you don't…"
The man smiled.
"…you'll kill me?"
Crowley didn't respond.
The man looked at Brook.
"Ask your king."
Brook looked at Crowley.
"King?"
Crowley said nothing.
The man disappeared into the smoke.
Brook started after him.
Crowley grabbed him.
"Don't."
"Why?"
"Because he wanted you to follow."
Brook turned.
"Then why was he here?"
Crowley looked toward the burning city.
"To distract us."
A distant explosion shook the ground.
Everyone looked toward the center of Blackhaven.
A massive tower collapsed.
Elias stared.
"The archive."
Henry looked at him.
"What?"
"The Blackhaven archive."
"What about it?"
"That's where your parents went."
Brook froze.
"You're sure?"
Elias nodded.
"Thomas spent three days there."
Brook immediately started running.
The center of Blackhaven was chaos.
Fire blocked most roads.
Brook and Henry moved through the streets while Sera used magic to clear paths.
Crowley stayed behind them.
Elias shouted directions.
"Left!"
They turned.
"Right!"
Another turn.
Finally, they reached a large stone building.
The Blackhaven archive.
Or what remained of it.
Half the roof had collapsed.
The entrance was buried.
Brook stared.
"How do we get inside?"
Henry looked around.
"There's another entrance."
They moved around the side.
A narrow doorway remained open.
Brook entered.
The interior was dark.
Books and documents were scattered everywhere.
Some were burning.
Others had been torn apart.
Brook picked up a damaged page.
A symbol.
Six circles.
He folded it and placed it inside his coat.
Sera looked at him.
"Find anything?"
"No."
Elias pointed toward the back.
"There."
A section of the wall had been broken open.
Brook approached.
Behind it was a hidden room.
Inside were dozens of shelves.
Henry picked up a document.
"This is older than the Wall."
Brook looked at it.
"What does it say?"
Henry read.
"The Sources were separated after the First War."
Brook frowned.
"First War?"
Elias nodded.
"Nobody talks about it."
"Why?"
"Because the people who survived it didn't want anyone remembering."
Brook looked around.
"Who fought?"
Elias didn't answer.
Crowley did.
"Everyone."
Brook turned.
"Everyone who?"
"Humans."
"Angels."
"Demons."
"Witches."
"Things from other realms."
Brook stared at him.
"Why?"
Crowley looked at the documents.
"Control."
"Control of the Sources?"
"Yes."
Brook looked at the six symbols.
"And who won?"
Crowley stared at him.
"Nobody."
Brook looked at him.
"Then why were the Sources separated?"
"Because everyone realized what would happen if one person controlled all six."
Brook's expression hardened.
"What?"
Crowley didn't answer.
Brook slammed the document onto the table.
"What happens?"
Crowley looked directly at him.
"The vessel becomes capable of breaking the boundaries between realms."
Henry's eyes widened.
"Meaning?"
Crowley answered quietly.
"Meaning Heaven, Hell, Earth, Death, Magic, and the Soul Realm could become connected."
Sera looked at Brook.
"And what happens then?"
Crowley looked toward the burning city.
"Nobody knows."
Brook searched through the room.
His father's name appeared on several documents.
Thomas Smith.
Brook grabbed one.
The page contained a handwritten note.
The Sources are not the problem.
Brook read the next line.
The problem is whoever controls the vessel.
Another line.
If the vessel possesses free will, the entire system becomes unstable.
Brook stared.
"Free will."
Henry stepped beside him.
"What?"
Brook handed him the page.
Henry read it.
"The entire system."
Brook looked toward Crowley.
"What system?"
Crowley remained silent.
Brook stepped closer.
"Answer me."
Crowley sighed.
"Fate."
Brook frowned.
"What about fate?"
Crowley looked at him.
"Everyone believes fate is something that happens to them."
He pointed toward the six symbols.
"But there are forces that maintain it."
Brook's expression changed.
"The Maker."
Crowley nodded.
"The Maker."
A loud crash came from outside.
The entire building shook.
Sera looked toward the entrance.
"Someone's coming."
Brook drew his sword.
Henry did the same.
Elias moved toward the back of the room.
Crowley stood completely still.
Then a voice echoed through the archive.
"Brook Smith."
Brook looked toward the doorway.
The same dark-haired man stood there.
Except now…
he wasn't alone.
Behind him stood a dozen figures.
Some human.
Some not.
One had black wings.
Another had glowing eyes.
A third had horns.
Brook's grip tightened.
The man smiled.
"You found what your parents left behind."
Brook raised his sword.
"Where are they?"
The man looked at him.
"Closer than you think."
Brook charged.
The man raised his hand.
A force slammed Brook into the wall.
Henry attacked.
The man threw him across the room.
Sera released a spell.
Another figure blocked it.
Crowley finally moved.
His sword flashed.
The dark-haired man barely avoided the strike.
Crowley attacked again.
This time the man disappeared.
Crowley stopped.
"Interesting."
Brook pushed himself upright.
"What?"
Crowley looked around.
"They're not here for the archive."
The dark-haired man appeared behind Brook.
"Correct."
Brook turned.
Too late.
The man placed a hand against Brook's chest.
The two Sources erupted.
Blue energy exploded through the archive.
Brook screamed.
Sera shouted his name.
Henry charged.
Crowley moved faster.
His sword struck the man's arm.
The man stumbled backward.
Brook fell to his knees.
The two symbols beneath his skin burned violently.
Then something else happened.
A third symbol appeared.
Not completely.
Only a faint outline.
Brook stared at it.
Crowley's expression changed.
"No."
The dark-haired man smiled.
"Yes."
Brook looked at his hand.
The third Source was awakening.
The man laughed.
"Death has heard you."
Brook's eyes widened.
"What?"
The man stepped backward.
"You have three now."
Crowley stared at Brook.
For once, he looked genuinely afraid.
The dark-haired man raised his hand.
The remaining figures disappeared into the smoke.
His final words echoed through the burning archive.
"Three down."
"Three to go."
Then he vanished.
Brook looked at Crowley.
"What does that mean?"
Crowley didn't answer.
Outside, the fires continued spreading through Blackhaven.
And beneath Brook's skin…
the third Source opened its eyes.
End of Chapter 43