Bo was looking a little worried as they gathered their supplies and performed some last-minute checks, which made Rory doubt whether it was good idea to bring him along. Maybe he should have left the dad with the kids. April was a lot surer of herself, but being a trained officer, that was only to be expected.

“You should drive, hon,” April said to her husband. She turned to Rory. “He can take the wheel, right?”

It took Rory just a second too long to reply. “Yes, of course. You don’t need my permission to drive.”

“Oh, just wondering if you’d have preferred to or something.”

“Considering how my last drive ended… I’m happy giving Bo a shot.”

April smiled, which she turned to Bo. “You heard him.”

Bo grunted, then got into the driver’s seat. April claimed shotgun. Viv’s face gave a hint of scepticism, but she said nothing, only taking the seat beside Rory.

As they drove, Bo grew calmer. The Wraith couldn’t guide both groups at the same time, so Rory’s group had decided to quiz the creature and get their directions to the monster’s lair as well as they could. Rory had determined something to the effect of needing to travel for thirteen minutes, with a few twists and turns in the road until they’d eventually reach their destination.

Which was, coincidentally, a grocery store.

Unfortunately, their journey wasn’t as smooth as they would have liked. As they were driving, Rory, April, and Viv keeping an eye out for any monsters that might attack them en route, a heavy screech rent the air. Rory’s heart started hammering, and he desperately looked around for the source of the noise.

He knew it. Even after everything that had happened, he recalled it well. The Hooktongue was around here, somewhere.

“Do you see where that came from?” he asked.

“There’s nothing,” Viv said. Her head was entirely out of the car’s window. “I can’t see anything on my side.”

That meant it had to be on Rory’s side somewhere. He twisted his head and looked everywhere. There was no sign of it. “I can’t see it either.”

The car jerked. Rory twisted to see that Bo had tensed on the steering wheel. This was bad. He’d been spooked before, and now he was beginning to freak out. They couldn’t afford to crash.

April quickly reached out to lay a calming hand on his forearm. “Hon, don’t worry. I’m here. So are Viv and Rory. Everything is going to be fine. Right?”

“Absolutely,” Rory said, bringing up some steel in his voice. “We just need to—”

“I see it,” April said. Her grip tightened harshly on Bo’s arm, and he grunted. That made her pull back. “It’s coming from the top corner.”

Top corner was a weird way to describe its direction, but it was probably the stress of the situation getting to her. Rory was able to make out the direction in time anyway. The monster was approaching from the front, at an angle from above that made it difficult to spot thanks to the car’s roof and a cursory glance outside. But now it was there for all to see.

The appendages on its back were firing their rocket thrusters with blistering flames shooting it towards them at incredible speed. They were on a deadly collision course.

“I’ve got this,” Viv said, throwing her arm out of the window.

“No,” April said. She took the same pose as Viv, but with her gun out in her hand where Viv had her Omnipresent Sabre. “I need live practice.”

“That’s right,” Rory agreed. “Let her try.”

Viv let her Omnipresent Sabre go. “Good luck. I’ll back you up.”

Rory smiled. He’d thought she would take over and kill the monster just to guarantee their safety, but it seemed she was willing to give the newbie the chance she needed.

April fired. There was a shriek from above, but the monster didn’t go away. Viv reached forward and grabbed onto April’s leg to keep her steady.

“Going to make another sharp turn soon,” Bo shouted.

“Got it,” April yelled back, voice muffled from outside.

The turn came mere seconds later. Rory held onto the grab handle for dear life as the jeep’s tires screeched and they made a hairpin turn, the world twisting wildly at the jerk in their motion.

April’s gunshot followed as soon as they had settled. The Hooktongue shrieked again, but it was still too close.

“The bullets aren’t exploding,” April shouted.

“Of course not,” Rory yelled back. “You don’t have the Sigil of Wielding yet.”

There was a split second’s pause as Bo screeched into a right turn. The Hooktongue had dived at them, but their swerve had caused it to miss and hit the road.

“Give me one of the exploding Sigils,” April said, holding out a hand inside the jeep.

Rory was tempted to ask her why she wanted one, but now wasn’t the time for questions. He quickly pulled out a Sigil of Distant Detonation and threw it at her.

As soon as she caught it, she absorbed the Sigil and pulled out an entire magazine from the pouch at her waist. Then she chucked it.

The Hooktongue had resumed hunting them, but an explosion followed a fraction later. Rory was just able to look back to see an enormous flare of smoke and fire overtaking their pursuer. The Hooktongue screamed outright again, but the sound dwindled as it burned.

A few more seconds of driving and they were free. The Hooktongue didn’t dare follow.

April climbed back into the jeep with a light groan. “Told you. I got it.”

Viv patted her shoulder, and Bo grinned fiercely, though he kept his hands on the steering wheel and his eyes fixed on the road ahead. They weren’t far from their destination.

“How far away are we going to park?” Bo asked.

Good question. For all his unease., Bo still had a good head on his shoulders.

“How far away is our destination?” Rory asked.

“I think that’s it.” Bo had pulled the jeep over onto one side of the road, pointing over the steering wheel to a store farther ahead to their right. “The grocery store, right?”

Rory nodded. Luck had brought them to where they needed to be. “I don’t know how I feel about this. We’ve got a solution to our food problem on one hand, but a monster on the other.”

“Are you sure that’s the right place?” Viv asked.

“You heard the Wraith,” April reminded them. “Green building with a wooden signboard, two trees on either side of its door, a large window displaying lots of food. That looks like it.”

Rory agreed. She was right. The building matched the Wraith’s description to a T.

“I think this is far enough,” he said. “We’ll need to approach with caution.”

They got out and made sure they were ready. April cocked her gun and held it in both hands, Bo standing a step behind her. Viv led the way with her Omnipresent Sabre bared, eyes fixed on the grocery store with Rory following close on her heels.

A strange humming filled the air as they neared the green-fronted building. Someone was rooting through things inside, the clash and clatter of discarded items punctuating the humming discordantly. The sound raised the hairs on the back of Rory’s neck. It sounded otherworldly, like the Wraith’s did, just much more strangely personable.

Viv made them sneak to and wait on the wall beside the window. Then she peeked over. “I don’t see anyone?”

“Whoever or whatever it is might be farther inside,” Rory whispered.

“Then we’ll just have to go in.”

They entered as silently as they could. Rory even made sure his breaths were slow and shallow, making no noise whatsoever. His eyes darted everywhere as they crept forward.

For all the mess they were hearing, the grocery store was mostly intact and still organized. The body of a large man—likely the storekeeper—lay slumped on the counter. A weird, greenish rot covered him, and they stayed clear of the corpse. Other than that, most of the shelves were still neatly arranged and the aisles were mostly free of fallen clutter.

“There’s something in the air.” Viv had paused, and now she was lightly sniffing with a frown. “I don’t like this.”

“We have some gas masks back in the car,” April said. “Let me go get them real quick.”

April rushed away and soon returned with the gas masks, which they put on. Rory was fearful it was already too late. At least they didn’t feel anything. The hummer was still oblivious to their presence, the humming still pervading the air in the same ethereal manner. A Djinn, the Wraith had said. Rory was still tentatively hopeful the outcome wouldn’t be anything too bad.

“Let’s go,” Viv said quietly, the humming still going strong. “We need to be careful and quiet, approach from different angles.”

Viv directed April to take the aisles on the right and Bo to take the ones on the left, while she claimed to the centre one. They separated, keeping their footsteps slow and silent. Viv went first to draw their target’s attention, Rory following along with his heart slowly starting to climb up his throat. The closer they got to the humming, the more he was certain it was nothing human.

There was a small clatter to their left, and Bo cursed softly. Viv looked thunderous at the noise but said nothing. Thankfully, the humming continued without cease. They hadn’t been noticed.

Chest pulling his thumping heart back to somewhere near its regular spot, Rory quickly struggled onward.

That’s when Bo shouted.

There was no time to wait. The alarm in his voice was deadly, and Viv carved a way to the aisle on the left with her red energy sword, cutting straight through the tall shelf separating them. They barged through, only to be confronted with a harrowing sight.

Bo was on the ground, clutching his right arm with his left hand. His face was twisted in terror and pain, his breaths gusting in and out as though he was preparing for another scream. Those eyes of his were far too wild. But it was the poisonous coating slowly spreading up his arm that had made Rory forget to breathe. His arm was rotting away right before their eyes.

“Bo!” April’s voice was panicky as she crashed through to them. “God, Bo!”

Chilling laughter cut through their panic. A monster was approaching from the far end of the grocery store, a horrid creature that nearly made Rory take a step back. Even Bo had been distracted from his ruined arm.

It looked like an upright vulture. A long, skinny white neck protruded out of a glossy, feathered body, with a curved beak perfect for tearing away meat. Similarly shaped, claw-tipped arms held what looked like a twisted tree branch before it, massive wings tucked and folded close to its back. A long skirt made of brown leather hid its legs, but talons scratched the floor as it walked closer.

“Ah, more victims,” the monster said in a voice too ethereal to be mortal, but too Otherworldly to be human. “I cordially invite you to my humble abode.”

Rory’s Sigil of Knowledge had burst to life within him. This creature was a Djinn, but not a normal one. It seemed Djinns could become corrupted into Ifrit. This was one of those. Stronger, more evil, existing only to seed chaos and destruction. Rory swallowed. They were in dire straits now.

“Who are you?” Viv asked. She jerked her head at Bo without taking her eyes off the monster, her sword flaring brighter. “This is you’re doing, isn’t it? Fix it.”

“You want me to let go of my prey?” the Ifrit mused.

She flashed her sabre at him, though the monster acted unimpressed. “Yes, unless you want to die right now.”

“What is the point of killing me when all of you are already dead?”

Rory stared at the monster. “What do you mean?”

“Do you not sense it, mortal. It floats in the air, wafts over the breeze, and infiltrates your very bodies. Even now, you stand in its midst, slowly being filled up.”

Rory’s eyes widened. “The smell.”

The Ifrit’s beak gleamed with malice. “Correct. Your meagre protection will not suffice. The merest whiff of my flames’ smoke will begin tearing your bodies apart. Soon, you will rot from within. Killing me will not stop it. Nothing will. You are already dead.”

Rory wasn’t the only one who stood still, shock rooting them in place. Viv hadn’t lowered her sword, but she hadn’t moved either, while April knelt beside her husband and tried to calm him down, though she clearly struggled to focus. No. The Ifrit’s words couldn’t be true. At least, it was only true as far as the corrupted Djinn knew it.

There had to be a way for Rory to take care of this.

As Viv stepped up to confront the Ifrit, Rory knelt beside April, hoping his idea would work. He used his Weaving on Bo’s rotting limb, focusing on the greenish film of decay growing up his arm. The lines of light sank into the limb, turning it pulsing white.

“What are you doing?” April hissed.

“Fixing him,” Rory said. Evelyn might have helped more here, but ah well. “Trying to. It’s the only thing I know that can help.”

Even Viv and the Ifrit had stopped whatever conversation they were having to watch Rory in action. It didn’t take long. The Weaving completed and a sickly green Sigil materialized in Rory’s hand.

New Sigil!

You’ve obtained a Sigil of Burning Rot. Set fire to your enemy’s flesh, fire that only burns on the meat of living organisms.

[Cerulean IV] allows burning-rot manipulation and control in a 12-meter radius.

Stats

Type: Concept

Rarity: Remarkable

Tier: Cerulean IV [0%]

Efficiency: Medium [46%]

Rory sighed in relief. The green tinge on Bo’s arm was gone, though he looked as though it was still there. But when Rory asked, he quickly confirmed the pain had disappeared and the arm was beginning to feel like its normal self.

“A Weaver!” the Ifrit said. “How intriguing. Where are you from, mortal?”

“I’m from right here,” Rory said, standing up to face the monster. “Born and bred in this very town, the same one you and your kind have been trying to subjugate.”

“You speak as though you will not only survive this encounter, but live too.”

Rory stood in defiance of that notion. He and his group were survivors, and they would get through this as they had dealt with everything else so far. But the Ifrit was right. They were doomed if they couldn’t stop the poison they had inhaled. What they needed was some sort of antidote but wanting something wasn’t the same as Weaving something that existed into a Sigil.

“I see the onset of your despair,” the Ifrit said. The edges of its beak gleamed like blades. “You can do no—”

Viv’s crimson sword slashed a ravaging arc through the air. The monster squawked, then fell back. “Think you can figure something out, Rory?”

Rory took a deep, harsh, but still quick breath. Wouldn’t do to get any more poison in than necessary. “I’ll try.”

“Good. Then I’ll keep birdbrain busy for a while.”

As Viv charged, Rory brought up his staff. Ice… Maybe there was something he could do with that.