Chapter 273

Bodies continued to fall, and Elain tried not to watch as blood slid across the shield and down the walls. There were pieces of limbs and wings everywhere, and it was truly a horrific mess. The images of this would haunt her for a long time, she knew. Some of the Illyrian females had buried their faces in shawls of their sleeves and knees, trying to keep themselves from watching as well. It was utter carnage, and Elain found herself thankful that she couldn't smell it. Somehow, the shield was keeping the metallic tang of blood from the air, although she suspected that once they got out there, she would find it different. Bowels too, she reminded herself, remembering the smell that came with bodies being ripped or slashed in half, rupturing bowels and releasing what was inside. She had found that surprising when she had noticed last time she had been surrounded by gore like this.

Realising then that it was likely going to fall to those huddled by the wall to clean everything up outside, Elain felt sorry for them. She had no idea how anyone would manage that. What would be done with all of the bodies? Would they have to burn them? It would take quite a bit of work to get them all piled up and ready for the fire. Who would have to scrub these walls to get the blood off? It didn't seem fair to her. They had been threatened and attacked, and then they would be the ones who would have to spend days cleaning this mess up. It also didn't escape Elain's notice that she was fixating on this in order to distract herself and avoid taking any more of the horror around her.

Lucien stopped then. It was sudden and drew the attention of everyone around them. He stopped walking, the light faded, and bodies stopped falling. Elain reached for him down the bond, wondering what had happened because there were still Illyrians outside who had not fled, and who were still sizing them up, trying to work out a way in. Through the bond, Elain could feel Lucien trying to reign himself in. He had stopped himself deliberately; it hadn't been a failure or expenditure of the power he was wielding.

"Run out of energy?" Called one of the Illyrians, and Elain recognised him as the one who had been taunting them before.

"No." Lucien's voice sounded rough, almost feral. "I'm giving you a chance to leave." He went on. "You can see what will happen if you stay…"

"Oh!" The Illyrian called, "You think you've won…"

"Perhaps you're not seeing what we are." Nesta spoke up and Elain's eyes flicked toward her elder sister. "You're dying… You're all dying…"

"Your mistake, Lady," The Illyrian sneered, "to think that this is all of us…"

Elain felt as if icy water had been dumped over her head. "What…?"

"We told others," he told them, his face twisting into a mask of rage, "They'll be arriving any time now…"

"And the same thing will happen to them!" Feyre threatened.

"Not likely!" came the reply, "This one cannot keep this up forever." He gestured down at Lucien who shook his head.

"I don't need to." Lucien said, sounding calm. "I only need to keep it up long enough to kill you all."

"And how likely is that?"

"Let's find out."

Elain looked at Cassian, wanting to know what he thought about what the Illyrian had said. Did he think they really had others coming to join them? Cassian was glaring upwards, his eyes following the Illyrian calling down to them. "Lucien…"

"Mmm…?"

"Kill the bastard."

Elain felt Lucien accept that request and then light flashed and arched toward the Illyrian, piercing him through the chest. Blood sprayed out and across the shield above them before the body fell, rolling off the side and out of sight. Elain knew that he would have fallen and landed on the pile of his fallen brethren outside the walls. Several more Illyrians took wing then, disappearing into the sky.

"Can we manage this?" She asked, glancing at Azriel who stood beside her. The Shadowsinger's eyes swept the shield above and then the shields by the doors.

"Yes…" he replied. "If this is all… we could dispatch them without too much trouble. However, if that one spoke truth and more arrive, we will wish we had not lost the shield." He looked down at her, "We could not leave them unprotected…" he nodded his head toward the females by the wall.

"What if we don't lose the shield…" Elain glanced at the doors. "What if we slip out, get rid of any of them who remain, and keep the shield just in case…"

"That would require Lucien holding the shield while fighting…" Azriel looked amused, "Do you think he would be capable of that?"

"Well, I do." She said, "But maybe you should ask him…"