A Monster in the Stairwell

Kade sat on the edge of the staircase, struggling to stay still as he’d been ordered.

“What’s happening?” he whispered, turning toward Galir. Galir usually had answers, and lately, he’d even started sharing them. Sometimes.

Galir tightened his grip on the hilt of one of his swords, eyes narrowing as he scanned the corridors where Hanel had disappeared.

He shook his head slowly. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen the alarm go off before tonight.” His voice carried a low edge, the kind that made Kade sit up straighter.

Ayen, whom Kade had only seen teasing or grinning at everything so far, was unusually quiet, her mischievous green eyes serious. “It’s… bad,” she said somberly. The weight in her voice made Kade blink. Something ominous was here, and he could almost feel it himself.

Kade’s heart pounded in excitement rather than fear. He jumped to his feet. “Then we’ll fight it! We’ll defend the house!” he blurted, chest swelling with pride.

Galir groaned, running a hand through his hair. “Kade, sit still. This isn’t a game.” But he didn’t yell. Bilia was watching them with fearful eyes after all. His posture was tense though, like a coiled spring.

The sudden slam of the door startled them all. Two guards burst in, faces pale, armor clinking, their footsteps echoing sharply against the polished stone.

“We are under attack,” one of them barked. “Hanel’s orders are for you to get to safety, now!”

Galir sprang into action. He signaled the guards with a hand, his voice commanding. “Raise the house and lead anyone who can’t fight to the safe wing, Move quickly! We’ll get there by ourselves.”

The guards obeyed, their boots thundering as they shepherded terrified servants into the corridors. Kade watched, wide-eyed, taking in the swift efficiency.

Ayen lingered, her usual grin returning only slightly, her eyes scanning the hall. “I’ll help my father,” she said, then turned toward the exit.

“Stay safe, Sunshine, and you too, Gloomy boy, you better take care of my small Badania sweet.” She looked back and winked at Bilia. Her voice had regained its usual teasing lilt, but there was steel in it. They watched her go with equal parts exasperation and fondness.

Kade’s hands clenched in excitement. “I want to help too. I'll fight off all the bad guys! I can do it!” He said, barely able to contain himself.

Galir crouched beside Bilia, whose eyes followed Kade with trepidation. His arm wrapped around her in reassurance. “I’ll stay with you,” Galir said, voice firm. “Someone has to stay inside to protect the others.” His grey eyes flicked toward Kade. “Use your brain out there, not just your magic.”

Kade grinned wider, bouncing a little. “I’ll use your clone! Then it’s like you’re there too!”

Galir snorted, the hint of a smile tugging at his lips despite the tension. Bilia’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. “I think… he likes you now,” she said to Kade with a small, pleased grin.

Galir’s head snapped toward her, “I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said dryly, but there was a faint twitch of amusement at the corner of his mouth.

Kade and Bilia exchanged an unmistakable look, amused and knowing. Galir caught it in his peripheral vision, narrowing his eyes at them but choosing to ignore it. “Let’s go, Bilia.”

*****

Kade was running across the Badania house’s wide corridor toward the outside door. The marble tiles rang under his boots, each step echoing between the high walls hung with tapestries. Then the ground shuddered, hard, as though a piece of the house itself had been torn apart. The vibration rolled through his legs, forcing him to stumble sideways, hand shooting out to steady himself against the wall. For an instant, the silence after was worse than the quake, as though the house were holding its breath.

He swallowed hard and pushed forward again, heart hammering against his ribs. He had never known real danger. Not in this life, not in the dim fragments of the old one either. Every scrape and scuffle he’d survived before seemed like a child’s game compared to this. This was different. This meant Hanel, Bilia, Galir, Ayen, Juni… everyone… were in real danger.

That thought cut through the panic like a knife. His lungs burned, but he forced his legs faster, carrying him down the long corridor. He didn’t know who would be waiting for him. He only knew he had to reach them and make them stop.

A shadow detached itself from the far corner. A man stepped into his path, tall and lean. His beard was rough, his curly hair was navy blue. He smiled when he saw Kade, slow and deliberate. The kind of smile meant to unsettle, and it worked.

But what truly caught Kade’s breath was the mark. A black tattoo wound around the man’s eyes, curling down his cheeks and chin in harsh strokes like barbed wire made ink.

Kade stared. He had never seen anyone like him. “Who… who are you?”

The man tilted his head as he approached, movements loose and animal-like, his lean body never quite still. When he grinned again, his teeth caught the moonlight through a tall window.

“Names matter, don’t they?” His voice rasped, low and amused. “Mine is Lantar.”

As he spoke, he began to glow, a light blooming from within his flesh. Dark crimson flared across his hands and forearms, so deep a shade it was nearly black. Not the vibrant red of the Flame of Will Kade had seen before, but something corrupted.

Kade’s throat tightened. He remembered what Hanel had taught him: each Flame bore a resonance, its shade an echo of the sorcerer’s spirit. This one looked disturbing.

Lantar raised his hands, flexing his fingers as though savoring the ache of magic coursing through him. “I’ll enjoy this. Pain makes the game sweeter. Don’t you think?”

Kade’s skin prickled. The man’s words twisted in his ears, half taunt, half promise.

Still, his own magic was waiting, had been waiting since the first tremor shook the house. It stirred inside him now, quick and eager, his blue flame answering the call before he even thought to summon it. The air brightened with a shimmer, and then the familiar figure took form beside him: a clone shaped in Galir’s likeness, blades already in each hand, posture coiled with confidence.

Kade allowed himself a small smile, even as his heart pounded. “Let’s see if you still think it’s fun when it hurts you.”

Lantar didn’t falter. He didn’t even blink at the sight of the clone, where most others had reeled in shock. He only tilted his head again, eyes gleaming. Then he moved.

He was fast… faster than Kade expected. His crimson-wrapped fists cut the air, not toward the clone but straight at Kade’s face.

“Move!” Kade shouted, though he didn’t need to.

The clone sprang forward in perfect mimicry of Galir’s swordsmanship, intercepting the blow with a downward slash. Blade flashed. Lantar’s eyes widened in disbelief as the blade carved across his torso. He hadn’t dodged. He hadn’t believed it was real.

The sound of tearing cloth and the wet spatter of blood filled the corridor. Lantar staggered back, gasping, the manic smile twisting into something feral. He collapsed to the ground, clutching his abdomen as red seeped quickly between his fingers.

Kade froze where he stood, lungs locked. His clone lingered for a breath, sword raised for the next strike, then faded into sparks at Kade’s dismissal.

The boy’s hands trembled as he crouched beside the fallen man. He could barely look at the wound. His face was drained of color. “Did I… did I kill you?” he whispered, voice cracking.

Lantar’s chest rose and fell shallowly, his gaze unfocused, lips slick with blood. Whether he heard or not, Kade couldn’t tell.

A shudder rolled through the house again, a second shockwave rattling the walls and raining dust from the rafters. Kade’s heart jolted. He turned toward the distant door at the end of the corridor, light spilling faintly through its cracks.

He wanted to stay, to be sure. He wanted to believe he hadn’t crossed the line. But another thought hammered louder: If he hesitated, the people waiting beyond that door might die.

Hanel’s voice echoed in his memory. Real battles aren’t like stories. Don’t waste time on guilt. Fight, or you’ll lose everything.

Galir’s voice followed, sharp and merciless: Hesitation kills faster than an enemy’s knife.

Kade rose to his feet, fists clenched, the phantom weight of their words pressing on him. He looked once more at Lantar, the man’s blood pooling dark on the tiles beneath the pale moonlight streaming through the window.

“I don’t have time,” Kade whispered, more to himself than anyone else.

Then he turned and ran.

Every step away from the body twisted his stomach tighter, but he didn’t stop. He couldn’t. Ahead, beyond the door, danger waited, and he would protect the people he loved.