I pondered silently as I stood at the entrance of my prison cell. Getting past the bars was the easy part. Successfully navigating a city full of Demonkin was another matter entirely. The moment I stepped out into the blood mist each and every one of them would sense me. Flying was especially out of the question. The four young leviathans were still hanging in the sky above the city. Any one of them was as strong as a Demon and even with my newfound physical strength I doubted I could do more than maintain a short stalemate if I was discovered by one. Being locked down in a fight was the worst possible scenario for me because once I was discovered it would not be long before the entire city of Demonkin converged to kill me.

I twirled a loose strand of my hair as I considered the problem. If moved fast enough, I might be able to dash directly to the palace before any of the Demons could respond. The problem with that plan though was that it relied entirely on luck. I had no idea how the Demons and Demonkin had arranged themselves in the city beyond the view of my small window. If I ran into any strong Alpha or a Demonkin with a skill that could slow me down for even a few seconds, it would be deadly.

No, I needed an alternate solution.

As I thought of the different options available to me, my gaze fell on the white crystals that lined my cage. My eyes lit up. That was the answer.

The crystals could absorb all forms of energy including the radiant energy in the blood mist. so long as I carried a few of them with me, the Demonkin would not be able to sense me as I moved through the city. I would still have to be careful not to get directly spotted by any of the creatures but it was much less risky than trying to dash halfway across the city and hope for the best. I would not be able to use any ability other than my basic physical strength while holding the crystals but considering how strong I had become it was not much of a disadvantage.

My biggest problem was that I had no idea about the current layout of the city and I was going to have to make the trek on foot sticking to alleys and cutting through buildings if I wanted to avoid being noticed. Even before the Demonkin took over, it had been fifty years since I had spent any length of time in Ater-Albus. What little might still be the same after all those years was likely in ruins now that the Demonkin had moved in.

With a reluctant sigh, I knelt down next to the crippled remains of Irene. “Do you want out of here Irene or would you rather wait for the Demons to find you here, alone, after I escape?”

Irene’s empty eye sockets stared vacantly at the far side of the room. For a moment, I wondered if there was enough of the woman left to even understand what I was saying but just as I was considering what other options I might have, her one finger began to move. It took me a moment to realize she was drawing out her response in the dust on the floor.

“My help isn’t free.”

I grinned in disbelief. Even after all she had been through; Irene was still trying to negotiate with me. Any normal person would have gone mad after all she had experienced. I had to commend her stubborn willpower if nothing else.

“I am assuming you still have several small undead milling about the city, right? With your personality, there is little doubt at least a few dozen insects are kept hidden from the Demons to act as your eyes and ears.”

After a slight hesitation, Irene silently nodded. Her finger continued to draw in the dust, writing a single word, “Obviously.”

“Good, then here is the deal. Your undead will act as our eyes and ears, helping me find a safe passage through the city, and in exchange, I will bring you with me. Once we reach the palace, I will even let your body be reborn through my golden flames.” Irene’s hand paused as she considered my proposal and I shook my head with a sigh. “Don’t bother trying to negotiate. I can reach the palace without you. It will just take a bit more effort and risk if I am alone. This is the best deal you are going to get.”

Irene frowned but ultimately scribbled out her agreement. It was not like she had much choice in the matter. Andras was already planning to kill her ealier when the portal stabilized enough for reinforcements to pass through. If I really left Irene here there was no doubt she would be brutally executed by an irate Demon when he found out I escaped.

Irene continued to draw her finger across the floor. Her hand trembled as she wrote making it difficult to read the sloppy mess of sentences that quickly filled every empty spot she could reach. “I agree to terms but the palace is not safe. Alphas and Demons made it their home. At least six big ones guard the door at all times.”

I rolled my eyes at Irene’s response. “Obviously, we are not going through any door the Demons know of. This was my palace and I had my ways of coming and going undetected. Sebastion may have known about my secret entrances but there is no way Andras does. Just get me where I want to go and I will handle the rest.”

After some slight coaxing, and a threat for good measure, I was able to convince Irene to help me. I had no problem killing her and running away if she tried to betray me. It would be as easy as wringing a chicken's neck and i made sure she understood that with a demonstration on the iron bars of our cell. Circumstances may have forced us to put away our grudges temporarily but I had no doubt she would kill me if she thought she could get away with it.

Irene needed time to gather her undead spies and organize them along our route. While she did, I pried several of the glowing crystals from the walls. I filled my pockets with as many as they would hold and placed one inside my mouth before handing another to Irene.

“These crystals will negate the corruptive energy of the blood mist but it will not get rid of it entirely. Take shallow breaths from this point out. If you turn into a Demonkin, I am not wasting the flames to revive you.”

Before Irene could respond, I hefted her body onto my shoulder. A moan of pain escaped from her mouth but without being able to write on the floor anymore, she was not able to complain about my rough treatment.

I hesitated before stepping out of the cell and listened closely for anything the Demons might have left behind to guard the prison. The grunts of Demonkin were faint. They were close but not close enough that they might be baited into action like the Demon Abigor had been.

Irene pointed down one of the hallways that lead deeper into the prison and I instantly understood where she wanted me to go. The only door leading out was undoubtedly guarded and most of the windows were barred. I could break past the bars but it would make a lot of noise and might draw the attention I desperately wanted to avoid. Instead, the best option was to make my way to what had once been the guard’s barracks or the warden’s office.

Taking my last deep deep breath of the untainted air of my prison cell, I sprinted out into the hallway. I needed to move fast from this point onward. Every second spent exposed to the blood mist increased the chance I might be tainted by it.

I was able to move quickly through the prison. Its layout hadn’t changed since the day it had been constructed more than a hundred years before and I knew it well enough that it did not take me long to find what I was looking for.

An already broken window, destroyed either in the Demon invasion or the people's desperate attempt to escape it, in what had once been the warden’s office. I moved quickly towards the window but as I did, Irene held up her hand for me to stop and frantically pointed to the corner of the room.

I followed her direction, huddling against the nearby wall. A few seconds later, the thud of heavy footsteps pounded outside the window. The sound of claws scraping against stone was as grating as nails on a chalkboard. I could hear the Demonkin’s heavy breathing as it slowly lumbered past the window.

I had to wait in the corner of the room for nearly an entire minute before Irene motioned for me to go. I couldn’t afford to hesitate from this point onwards so I leapt out of the window with barely a glance in the direction of the Demonkin that had nearly ruined everything. I ran into the ruins of a nearby crumbled building and took shelter before anything could spot me.

All around me, I could hear the wails and cries of Demonkin. I couldn’t see any of them past the dense blood mist but just the sound was enough to give me an idea of how difficult this journey would be. There had to be thousands of them out there, prowling the streets. A small seed of doubt formed in my mind. If Irene still wanted her revenge, this was her best opportunity. All she would have to do was lead me into a dense crowd of Alphas and I would be doomed. Even if I survived, the Demons would not give me a second chance to escape. I shook my head to scatter the dark thought but like a thorn, it was stuck in my mind.

Unfortunately, I had little choice now. When Irene motioned for me to move towards one of the nearby alleyways, I followed her direction. I kept my footsteps light, moving as quickly as I could without making too much sound. The energy-dampening crystals could block out a Demonkin’s ability to sense me in the blood mist but if they heard me, the end result would be no different.

I dashed down alleyway after alleyway, avoiding the major roads where the bigger Demonkin liked to lounge. Most of the buildings and houses in the area were completely destroyed. Often, only a wall or two remained of what had once been a bustling home or courtyard.

More than once I came incredibly close to being discovered by a Demonkin as they prowled the alleyways or flew overhead unexpectedly. These moments left a cold sweat on my back as I tiptoed from shelter to shelter, barely dodging the sight of countless creatures. As the minutes of tense hide and seek stretched on, I felt my skin and lung begin to burn. Without my domain to protect myself, even the slight exposure to the blood mist was starting to take its toll. It felt like worms were burrowing into my skin and tearing it apart bit by bit. All the while, the myriad of faces that drifted in and out of the mist leered at me, almost expectantly.

I had to reach the palace fast but the closer I got, the more Demonkin there were. Like an endless sea of creatures, they engulfed the royal courtyards and noble quarters of the city and before long Irene motioned for me to stop. There was no path through without getting noticed.