Chapter 16: Step by Step
Like madmen, the three of them began tearing open the chests of those poor corpses, fingers slick with congealed blood, ripping through flesh and bone like apocalyptic butchers. The stench was unbearable — a sickening cocktail of iron, guts and ash. But sentiment had long since left the building. Each gem they pulled out gave a faint thrum in the hand, as if it were still breathing. Alive, almost.
They gathered around thirty of them, arranging them in a crude circle near the fire in the centre of the village. Stones laid out on old military rags formed a sort of makeshift altar. The whole thing looked more like a pagan ritual than any kind of spiritual training.
Dylan stood watching, jaw tight, clear discomfort on his face.
"Not sure this is the brightest idea. We've no clue what's actually inside those things."
"You want to stay weak?" Élisa shot back, not even glancing at him. "Wouldn't it be better to boost your odds of getting out alive?"
Maggie stayed silent, still as a statue. Then she stepped forward.
"I'll go first."
Dylan looked at her like she'd just volunteered for a firing squad. She merely raised an eyebrow.
"Unless you'd rather take the plunge first, Lieutenant Dylan?"
He shook his head, resigned.
"Fine. But we want to see how you do it first, elf. Not keen on dying clueless."