They thought they had foreseen everything.

The location, the thick stone walls, the wards. Calculations redone time and time again. Full evacuation to make sure no one else gets caught in the backlash.

It started promising enough. Molly watched as Kat took charge of the circle preparation along with Leo, meticulous and slow in their work. Somewhere to the side, others were idling about, waiting for the circle of runes to be complete.

There was no idle chatter, even from Lawrence or Odri. The quietude was eerie and solemn, fitting the occasion, but it also made Molly uneasy. Unable to relax, she kept watching Kat’s elegant fingers gripping the brush, painting the stone floor with blessed silver.

Minutes passed, until those same fingers found her chin and stroked it tenderly. “You okay there?” Kat asked with a small smile, and Molly’s heart soared, just as it did the first time Kat had asked, over a decade ago.

“Just bored,” she pulled Kat down to sit and hugged her shoulders, sharing warmth. “Are you all done with the circle?”

“Sort of,” Kat leaned into her. “We’re going to take a few minutes and then check again with fresher eyes.”

Molly snorted, “What kind of fresh eyes does he expect at four in the morning?” She hugged Kat tighter.

Kat giggled into her shoulder, but complained, “Ow, you’re going to break my ribs!”

“Nope,” Molly tightened her hold even further and Kat laughed harder, not actually resisting or minding it.

They stayed like that for a while longer until Kat’s giggles subsided and Molly pressed a soft kiss to the crown of her head. “Feeling better?” she asked, and Kat let out a softest laugh.

“Always,” she reassured, and jumped off the rock they were sitting on. “It’ll be over soon, and then we’ll sleep for a week and maybe go somewhere without the rest of the idiots.”

“Ha!” Molly grinned, “Am I an idiot, too?”

“My idiot.” Kat leaned down to press a quick kiss to the corner of Molly’s mouth. “And I’m yours. Only idiots would be here at this hour in the morning trying to save the world.”

And then she was gone, off to reassure a terribly stressed Leo that their circle was perfect.

After that, it was a flurry of finishing the preparations, getting the incense, the water and food they’d need over the next twelve hours, making sure the instructions for every step of the ritual were where they’d need them. They didn’t get to speak again, but as Molly gripped Kat’s hand to complete the circle, she was sure they would do fine.

They got halfway through the ninth seal when the wards shook. Eight hours of sweat and concentration, intense and draining, enough to start to hope that they’d get through it without any trouble.

The first daemon to enter the hall shattered that illusion.

“Don’t break the formation!” Leo shouted. “If we interrupt the ritual for too long, we’re toast!”

It must have been really bad for him to speak so colorfully.

Kira was their first line of defense, her arrows singing quick and true while the huge bear tore into the enemies, unconcerned with the ritual he wasn’t a part of. Odri’s fire was next, as was the brilliant, blinding magic of her mentor. Molly watched, her hands gripping the yet-useless greatsword and hoped she wouldn’t have to use it.

Even as bodies turned to ash, more turned up, each new one turning up faster than Kira could draw her bow. Sweat formed on Leo’s forehead as he tried to keep the seal from falling apart, and Molly made the decision.

They exchanged glances with Kat and moved in synchrony born of years of fighting together. Kat’s scimitar shone with the bluish light of electricity, and Molly eagerly lost herself to the rage of magic in her blood, knowing she wouldn’t have to fear for her life. Their blades sung, screaming for blood of the intruders, as they had countless times before.

She returned to her senses to the sight of piles of bodies slowly disintegrating at her feet. The usual tiredness settled in, but with it was a sense of accomplishment.

Then she turned around.

Leo was still standing in the center of the circle, but his usually stoic face was marred by fear. Kat’s hand gripped Molly’s bicep and in a moment, Molly understood what was happening.

The energy of the leyline that Leo had been commanding to power their ritual was in turmoil, about to break out of control. There was no chance to battle it into the seal now; it was collapsing on itself despite Leo’s best efforts.

As the excitement of battle dissipated, Molly realized with terrifying clarity that what Leo had warned them about had happened – the casting had been interrupted long enough, even if they managed to defeat all the attacker.

They had failed.

To be continued on day 31: The Last Goodbye

—–

Wow, I made myself sad while I was writing it and had to read over all the materials I had on the ritual and what went wrong. Anyway, here are the battle wives!