Round 65

The bathroom walls cracked audibly, plaster dust falling like snow onto their shoulders as Abby pressed herself against the tile. The building groaned overhead—a sound that made her stomach drop—and she could feel each pulse of energy from the wardstone in her teeth. Hera crouched beside her, her face pale and eyes wide with terror. She reached out a trembling hand and gripped Abby's tightly.

"I'm scared," Hera whispered, her voice barely audible over the creaking timbers. "What is that thing?"

Abby could only shake her head, unable to answer as she stared at the pulsing stone on the floor between them. The water from the broken shower stall flowed toward it now, pooling around its edges and seeming to feed its energy with each passing second.

Silra knelt beside the wardstone, her fingers tracing its edges with careful precision while her teal eyes remained fixed on the arcane symbols etched into its surface. She muttered under her breath—some kind of elvish analysis that Abby couldn't understand—and her expression grew graver with each passing moment.

"This stone isn't just old," Silra said finally, glancing up at Jeane and then back to the wardstone. "It has teeth and intent. The bathroom walls here are already compromised—they won't hold much longer under this kind of stress." She stood abruptly, her movements sharp with urgency. "Get Hera and Abby into the hallway bathroom. Now. And keep them calm—the fear is feeding this thing."

Jeane stared at Silra for a long moment, her crimson eyes flashing with barely contained anger. The winged succubus was already moving toward the door, however, her voluptuous form tense with purpose as she grabbed Hera's arm and pulled her away from the pooling water.

"Move," Jeane snapped, her voice sharp enough to make Abby flinch. "Now."

Hera stumbled after her, still gripping Abby's hand tightly, and the two women were soon shoved into the hallway bathroom across from the main suite. The sounds of creaking wood and groaning metal seemed even louder here—closer somehow—and Abby could feel each pulse of the wardstone through the floorboards beneath her feet.

Jeane turned back to Silra, her wings spreading slightly as she braced herself between the door and the rest of the suite. "What now?" she demanded, her voice tight with barely controlled panic. "Because that thing is going to bring this whole building down around our ears if we don't do something fast."