This isn't edited and was written on an iPad.

Long ass A/N at the end. Read it. 

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Chapter 17 - Energy - Part 2

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While Rena trained with the djinn, Cayden made his way to Nazine's room.

With the daily trips, he no longer needed a guide to show him the way. Though the djinn had requested he still have an escort, the Unbounds weren't keen to spend more time with Cayden than absolutely necessary. It'd been almost too easy for him to convince them that he didn't need watching.

Still, with the Unbounds in the training grounds, the halls were eerily silent. Cayden's footsteps echoed down the hall as he moved, all too aware that despite the appearance, he was being watched.

His hand reached for the place his sword would have been in any other situation. Internally, he swore, trying to cover the movement like he was fixing his belt and looked for anything in his environment he could use as a weapon.

The torch bracket might come off, he thought. Though it might be easier to just--

The wall three metres before him shimmered.

Cayden stopped.

Through the stone, whitish-green rags appeared. Cayden shifted his weight back as the thing continued to surface from the wall like it was a vertical lake, drawing closer as a pale, bony hand emerged and lunged for Cayden.

Cayden was ready. He moved to the side, avoiding the attack with ease. Even with that distance, a chill swept through his bones, feeling like it was freezing the joints together and slowing him down.

Now behind his attacker, Cayden got a clear view of the spectre that had taken the lives of the other ley guards.

The rotting figure turned slower than Cayden would have expected, locking its glowing eyes to Cayden's steady gaze as it prepared to strike again.

Cayden knew that chill was only going to get worse. Time was against him. The Unbounds might not forgive him, but if he didn't do something, he was going to die here and now. At least if he defended himself, it'd give Rena a chance to defend him later.

So the next time the spectre attacked, Cayden shoved a hand towards its neck. He caught the spectre by the exposed collarbone and pulled it off balance, giving him precious seconds to find the chain of its crystal key.

Only, it wasn't there.

His fingers numb, Cayden was forced to retreat, shoving the spectre away to give his shivering self room.

The spectre laughed, a hollow, wheezing sound.

"Didn't find what you were looking for?" it hissed. "I'm afraid you won't. My weakness has long since been removed from my being."

"You'd be feral if you didn't have a key," said Cayden. "The fact that you can speak at all tells me you're lying."

Once more, the spectre wheezed. "Unlike other, lesser Mythics, we spectres retain some of our humanity. But trust me, guilt isn't a part of it."

"The djinn--"

"Was the one to give me permission to end you," hissed the spectre. "He is aware of my flaws and we have an agreement. Now, die!"

The spectre lunged. Cayden tried to lunge once more, but his reactions were much, much slower than they had been a minute before and the spectre's hand carved a line into his calf.

The frozen pain flashed white across Cayden's vision. If the spectre was feral, if it didn't have a key, Cayden had no way to stop it. His eyes slid over to the light flickering against the wall. Unless--

The spectre grinned. Its approach was slower, more deliberate this time, sensing Cayden was nearly done as he edged closer to his goal.

"It's always better when they figh--"

With everything he had, Cayden grabbed at the lit torch, twisting it from its bracket. He wasted no thought on mercy as he shoved it straight towards the spectre, aiming for the open cavity of its chest.

Some part of it made contact. The spectre screamed, but Cayden wasn't done. Ignoring the pain shooting up his leg with every step, he pushed the spectre back with the threat of the torch, unsure if he could actually kill it this way.

He didn't get to find out. Once its back was to the wall, the spectre disappeared back into the stone with a final screech.

Still, Cayden didn't drop the torch. He limped as fast as he could manage the rest of the way to Nazine's room, hoping that chill wasn't a permanent side effect. 

How the fae I'm going to avoid a spectre bent on my demise is another thing, thought Cayden. 

Entering Nazine's room seemed to cure it. As it had been for the last few days, the air was hot enough to make him sweat. It thawed the ice between his joints and set his movement free, though it unsurprisingly did nothing about the throbbing in his calf.

Cayden set torch in a spare bracket and moved to the side of Nazine's bed.

The phoenix Mythic hadn't changed. His newly ley-imbued sheets were still scorched despite being resistant to fire and his skin was still burning. Once when Cayden had visited, Nazine had been awake. He'd mumbled something about pathways before drifting into unconsciousness once more.

Today was not that day. Nazine remained unresponsive with his laboured breathing and occasional spark flaring from various parts of his body as Cayden ran a general health check and inspected Nazine's crystal key carefully, holding it by its chain.

If it comes to it, I can force him awake, thought Cayden as the blues and reds of the key glittered in the light. But I'd rather leave that as a last resort, if we have no other options.

Cayden had replaced Nazine's key and was halfway through rinsing a cloth when the door burst open.

Immediately, he regretted leaving the torch so far away, though he hadn't expected the spectre to enter a room with a phoenix inside.

It wasn't the spectre. Instead, Allegra and Kiou stood in the doorway looking panicked.

"Did the djinn find out you weren't with me?" asked Cayden as they rushed inside.

"We're under attack," panted Allegra. The centaur hunched over, sucking in deep breaths. "We heard some screech on our way to the dining hall, so we came to investigate, but instead we ran into a chaotic."

"A chaotic?" asked Cayden, unsure if he understood. "Here? I thought they couldn't get in!"

Kiou picked up Nazine and slung him over a shoulder. Being a dragon, the fire didn't bother him as it licked his skin, though it charred his shirt. "It was definitely a chaotic. Some kind of energy mythic. A spirit, I think. Explains how it got in and how we didn't notice it. It was feeding off a group, had the dark aura that only chaotics can get."

"Someone said to get to the dining hall," said Allegra. "Let's go."

Allegra held the door open for Kiou. Outside, the halls were no longer quiet. Screams and terrified shouts echoed off the stones, begging for help like they were in some kind of torture chamber Cayden had only read about.

Still, he had a job to do. Cayden darted ahead, ensuring the coast was clear before waving the dragon forward. They continued like that, Cayden scouting the corners, Kiou in the middle with Nazine and Allegra bringing up the rear until the final corridor when an unfamiliar Unbound ran into Cayden's chest.

The Unbound bounced off and looked at the three of them like they were crazy. "It's out there! The dining hall isn't safe!"

Allegra ran forward. "Where's the chaotic? Where is safe?"

"Nowhere!" squealed the Unbound, once more running in a blind panic. "The chaotic is headed for the heart! No one is safe!"

The heart.

Cayden's own skipped a beat.

Rena was in the heart.

The chaotic was coming straight for her.

*+*+*+*

A/N - Anyone who cares about update speed or has been sending me messages about updates, read below. IF YOU DON'T READ THIS AND ASK A QUESTION ANSWERED HERE I'M GOING TO DEDUCT ONE SUBWAY COOKIE FROM YOUR STASH. 

Okay, so, for the people who don't get the messages that go out on my profile in their news feed for whatever reason, here's what's currently happening and why Mythic updates are so slow. 

At the moment, 90% of my free time is dedicated to editing one of my completed works, Indigo. It's in the works of getting published. Right now. It's terrifying. So as you can probably imagine, that's my priority, because it means I can start on the sequel and appease the turtle fans. I find it REALLY hard to swap between stories. Cayden starts cracking jokes and Rena takes on a more Athira-like vibe, and I don't want to ruin Mythic for you guys. 

BUT YOU MANAGED TO WRITE THIS! I hear you saying.

Well, yes. I did, and it's something I'm going to try. I have about an hour and a half most wednesdays where I'm stuck in a horse paddock. Editing is out of the question because my iPad can't handle everything I need, but I'm going to try and start writing Mythic during that time. 

For anyone that knows how much I love my keyboard, you know how much I HATE writing on the damned iPad, but I'll try. I don't promise a chapter every week. I might manage half a chapter each time, so depending on how I feel, I'll post a full chapter when it's done or a half chapter when they're done I don't know. We're rolling with it. Until Indigo is edited, Mythic is effectively on hold, but a bunch of you seem ready to murder me if I don't update so uh, here. 

I make no promises the chapters are going to be good. If the characters start reminding you of Indigo or a random turtle appears, you know why. I was going to try and cut down the chapters I had planned for Mythic and bring it to a close in ~5 or so more, but my favourite parts of the plot are just beginning, so I've decided to leave it. 

But I'm trying. Don't hate me. Please. I swear to god I'm not just sitting here lounging around laughing at your comments requesting updates while eating grapes or whatever some of you seem to think I'm doing. 

TL;DR: If you don't like waiting for updates, you should probably forget Mythic exists because it's not my priority at the moment. 

<3 Kelsey