Round 209

The building groaned around them like a beast waking from long sleep, each creak and shift sending fresh waves of terror through the group. The wardstone's pulse had grown stronger now—a heavy beat that seemed to throb in time with Halie's own racing heart. She could feel the corruption seeping through the door frame like cold oil spreading across water, and it tasted wrong on her tongue.

"No—fuck no—I can't hold this much longer!" Her voice came out higher than she intended as the mirror slipped again in her hands, fresh pain flaring from her burned palms. The makeshift barricade was already straining against the weight pressing from the other side—the wardstone's energy made the very air feel heavy and wrong.

"Jeane—how long?" She didn't dare turn to look at what the succubus woman was doing behind her, not when she could hear that obscene buzzing sound growing louder with each passing second. The last thing Halie needed right now was another glimpse of whatever dark magic ritual Jeane had improvised using one of their discarded toys as a focus.

The floor beneath them tilted slightly—just enough to make Halie stumble forward against the door before catching herself. This building was coming down, and it was coming down fast. She could feel the structural integrity failing around them like rot spreading through wood. The wardstone's pulse came again, stronger than ever, and something in the darkness beyond the door answered with a sound like... breathing.

"Jeane—whatever you're doing back there, hurry up!" Halie hissed over her shoulder while readjusting her grip on the mirror. "I think something's moving out there now."