A Battle of Souls

by Bella Forrest

  “Oh, absolutely,” I replied. “We’re not done here.”

  We certainly weren’t.

  We regrouped and made our way down the main stairs toward the sixth level. Until the shield came down, we had no choice but to keep fighting. We’d lost valuable people along the way, but, in the end… I had known this would happen.

  Nevertheless, I could almost taste freedom on the tip of my tongue.

  As long as Lumi was kept out of Shaytan’s reach so she could complete her part of the mission, we were going to be okay. We had to be okay.

  We have to be.

  Harper

  Shaytan was a freaking beast, and I was about to fight him.

  He’d sent some of his daemons down to look for Lumi, but there were still plenty left surrounding us, along with the Correction Officers. However, the drums of war had already reached the mountain base. We could all hear the battle thundering below.

  Fiona left Zane to heal on the ground and got up. She brought her sword up, pointing it at the Correction Officers nearest to her. Avril joined her, wearing a confident smirk. They were both itching for a fight, even though they were outnumbered.

  A massive shadow passed over our heads. We all looked up and saw Blaze in dragon form as he flew down to greet Shaytan’s daemon armies. That only further aggravated the daemon king. He glanced at his soldiers, baring his fangs.

  “Go down there and bring me the blasted dragon!” He barked his order.

  “But, Your Grace, these—” One of his guards tried to speak, but Shaytan cut him off with a chilling snarl.

  “Get me the dragon!”

  They didn’t wait for him to say it again. Within seconds, we were only left with Shaytan and the Correction Officers, who were starting to get restless. I could see the concern on their faces. They were most likely wondering what good it did for them to stick around, when Shaytan had already sent some of his daemons down the mountain to look for the witch.

  “We have no use for these outsiders,” one of them muttered. Judging by the insignia on his lapel, I pegged him for a lieutenant, like Cadmus. “We need to find the witch before the daemons!” he added, raising his voice.

  They pulled back and followed the lieutenant down the stairs.

  Shaytan looked at me, wearing his murderous grin. “Ah, now I have more room to spread your entrails around.”

  “I would normally say that I’d love to see you try, but you’re a psychopath with too much power, so I’d rather not tempt fate,” I shot back dryly. “However, that doesn’t mean you’re walking out of here alive.”

  I didn’t give him a chance to reply. I couldn’t prolong this anymore, either.

  He brought his sword up and effortlessly blocked my first double hit. He then stepped back, smirked, and muttered something—a spell. I froze, unsure of what was going to happen next. He kissed his index and middle fingers, then pressed them against his blade. A nanosecond later, he attacked me.

  I brought my swords out in an X to block his hit. His weapon came down so hard, my blades screeched. He grunted and released a pulse from his core. That was the spell. It slapped me hard and threw me backward.

  My entire body hurt. I landed on my back.

  Fiona and Avril came at him next, as I tried to pick myself off the ground. It was as if every bone in my body had been cracked. Shaytan had certainly learned to make the most of the swamp witch magic he’d collected from Lumi. I’d never seen anything like this, and it worried me.

  I heard both girls whimper as they were thrown backward. They fell and rolled on the ground like broken ragdolls. My heart bled as I watched them, half-conscious and struggling to get back up.

  Shaytan’s booming laughter made my blood boil.

  “What did I tell you, Miss Hellswan?” he said. “You have no chance of winning this. I’ll get my witch back, and I’ll run these streets red with your blood, before I redecorate Azure Heights as my new summer home.”

  I managed to get up on my knees, looking for my blades.

  He guffawed, then dashed across the cobblestone, ready to take me out. Caspian cut him off with his sword.

  I held my breath, watching him and Shaytan. The daemon king rolled his eyes as he blocked his blade, then punched him hard enough to break his jaw again and throw his head to the side. He pushed Caspian away, keeping his focus on me.

  “I’ll deal with you in a second, Kifo,” he muttered. “I’m not done with this little bloodsucker yet.”

  “Too bad, because I’m not done with you yet, either,” Caspian managed, despite his facial injury, then came back around and tried to slash him again.

  To his credit, Caspian was fast and beautifully agile. But Shaytan was a freaking monster with a dangerously sharp instinct. He didn’t even look at Caspian when he blocked his side hit with his wrist cuff.

  He quickly followed his defense up with his massive sword, but Caspian ducked. The broad blade missed him by inches, but it managed to snip off a bit of his hair at the top. Good grief.

  I had to get up. My body was healing already, just not fast enough. I reached for one sword, then the other, as I caught a glimpse of Caspian delivering yet another sword attack. Shaytan scoffed and swiped his arm out, knocking the blade out of Caspian’s hands.

  Half a second later, Shaytan grabbed Caspian by the throat, gripping him with enough strength to crush his windpipe. Caspian struggled against his hold but could do nothing as Shaytan lifted him a couple of inches in the air.

  “Caspian,” I whispered, finally finding the strength I needed to get up. “Let him go!” I shouted. “It’s me you want!”

  Shaytan gave me a sideways glance. The shadow of a smile passed over his face.

  “It’s true. It’s you I want. But I can hurt you in more than one way,” he muttered, then uttered another spell.

  His whole arm lit up red, and flames burst through his skin, then spread up to his hand, and… swallowed Caspian whole.

  Caspian was on fire.

  “Caspian!” I screamed, as loud as my lungs could manage.

  I heard him grunt and roar from the pain as the fire burned through him, consuming his skin.

  My heart gave out. Desperation broke my brain.

  I ran toward them as Caspian’s arms and legs flailed. Shaytan held him firmly above the ground, laughing as he watched the love of my life burn.

  Something snapped inside me.

  I mustered every ounce of energy I could gather and pushed out a barrier. I didn’t even realize I had any spark left, but the adrenaline managed to give me the push I urgently needed.

  The pulse was concentrated and targeted.

  It hit Shaytan in the solar plexus with such unexpected strength that it hurled him backward, throwing him up like he’d done with Fiona and Avril.

  Caspian dropped to the ground, still burning.

  Shaytan landed flat on his face fifty feet away. I came to a screeching halt in front of Caspian, shaking like a leaf. What could I do? He was literally burning up.

  The only thing I could do was cover him with my body and roll us both until we put the flames out. I moved to do just that when Rayna’s voice stopped me.

  “Stay back, Harper!” she shouted as she rushed toward me.

  I looked up and watched as she pulled out a water bladder she’d kept tied to her belt. She pulled the water out and sprayed it all over Caspian with her fae abilities. The flames died out, leaving Caspian severely burnt, his clothes charred, and his skin a painful combination of black and raw red that turned my stomach inside out.

  I dropped to my knees and burst into tears, crying from both sorrow and relief.

  Hansa, Jax, Patrik, Scarlett, and the rest of our crew came running down the alley just behind Rayna. Avril and Fiona were still struggling to get back on their feet. And I couldn’t even touch Caspian. I didn’t even know if he was still alive.

  Worst of all, I didn’t get the chance to check.

  Shaytan came up behind Rayna in a flash.
r />   I heard Hansa scream. “Rayna, watch out!”

  Too late. Shaytan smacked her away as if she were a little nuisance. An insect.

  He towered above me, panting and furious. His red eyes glowed with rage—and only then did I notice the tattoos gradually lighting up on his body. There were thousands of swamp symbols etched into his skin, and he’d just activated them.

  How could he even do that?

  There was still so much we didn’t know about swamp witch magic. But I had no time to worry about it. All I could do was fight him and keep Caspian alive.

  The others tried to come at Shaytan, but he let out a long, unsettling roar as a powerful golden light exploded from inside his body and spread outward like a glowing shockwave.

  It knocked everybody back with the same effect that had temporarily disabled Fiona and Avril, only on a much larger scale. He then scowled at me, a grin stretching his lips.

  “Now, where were we?” he asked.

  I was paralyzed by fear.

  For the first time in my life, I had no idea what I could do next that could help me even stand a chance in a fight. He’d clearly kept the best for last, and he was ready to dish it all out on me.

  I’m screwed.

  Harper

  “How… How did you get this level of swamp witch magic?” I managed, my knees quaking. “The Lords—”

  “The Lords never thought outside the box,” Shaytan replied with a smirk. “They just took whatever little spells the witch dished out at face value. Not one of them thought to experiment, to combine, to edit the incantations where possible.”

  I took a couple of steps back, crossing my swords in front of me and keeping several feet of distance from Shaytan. He’d been holding back. Only now was I witnessing the true extent of his power. And based on his account, he’d successfully modified, combined, and upgraded swamp witch spells to bring himself to this horrifying level of strength.

  It was bad enough that he was freakin’ massive, three times my size. His swamp witch game was infinitely superior to everything I’d witnessed so far—with the exception of Lumi, of course. I couldn’t help but thank the stars that Lumi had kept the heavier stuff to herself, despite the torture. That creature was truly the epitome of resilience.

  “So, what? You started toying with the spells, mixing them around to better fit your purposes and to boost your combat abilities?” I asked, trying to stall while I figured out a way to either keep him busy or actually kill him, though the latter was starting to sound like an impossible feat.

  I glanced around us. Caspian was down and horrifically burned. I couldn’t even afford the luxury of crying at this point, as it would’ve affected my visibility. The last thing I needed was a hazy view of my mortal enemy, who was stalking toward me and grinning like the sum of all my fears crammed into a pile of muscles and cruelty.

  Fiona, Zane, Avril, Caia, Hansa, Jax, Scarlett, Patrik… our Druid delegation allies… our rebel Imen and Maras… even the dozen Adlets… They were all down. I didn’t see Hundurr or Rover anywhere… Arrah… Colton… I had to put them aside in my head, hoping they’d stayed behind to keep an eye on the Mara Lords—assuming they’d captured at least one or two of them alive, like we’d discussed.

  I could hear the battle unfolding on the lower levels of the city. The screams. The bloody scuffles. The mayhem.

  “Pretty much,” Shaytan said, waving his massive bejeweled sword around, as if to get accustomed to its weight and swing. As if warming up for what came next. “You see, the regular spells are okay, but they’re just little pulses, much like your weird ability, in fact,” he added, smirking. “But the way I put them together? Miss Hellswan, I am the undefeated champion of the daemon kingdom. Thousands have challenged me, and thousands have died by my blade. I’m unbeatable.”

  “I don’t know, man. I do like a good challenge once in a while. Mediocrity is deadlier than any horned megalomaniac out there,” I shot back.

  He chuckled. I darted around him and moved in to deliver multiple hits. He turned in a flash and blocked both my swords with his. The clang and the ensuing screeching of our blades pressing against each other almost made my ears bleed. Strange glimmers of light caught my eye—symbols engraved into his blade, lighting up brighter the longer our swords made contact.

  For some reason, it snagged my breath.

  Shaytan grinned. I kicked him in the gut, then jumped back.

  My shoulders and arms felt weak. My swords were slightly heavier than they had been a few seconds earlier.

  I swerved to his right and tried another attack. He brought his sword down in a counterattack. Sparks flew from our blades, the symbols on his lighting up again. It knocked the air out of my lungs this time. The impact of his hit pushed me back, as well, and my boots slid across the cobblestone.

  He laughed with visible delight, further making my blood boil.

  How am I already tired?

  I must’ve drained myself with those barriers. I wasn’t even sure I could get another one out. I couldn’t get close enough to syphon any energy from him, to replenish what I’d lost. He wouldn’t have allowed it, anyway. Mind control didn’t work on daemons, either. It was just me, my swords, and this nightmare of a creature whose sole purpose was to give me misery prior to a slow and painful death. He definitely looked like he was enjoying it.

  Hansa and Jax were the first to come to. They were still weakened and dazed, unable to get up. They watched, pale, helpless, and trembling with despair, as I squared off with the daemon king. At least they had the sense not to get up again. I would’ve hated to be on the receiving end of that golden pulse.

  “You’re enjoying this a little too much,” I muttered, then charged him again.

  He slashed his sword forward, catching my swing in midair. The symbols lit up. Bright amber sparks flew once more. And my arms got heavier. This time, however, he didn’t give me a moment. He came at me and rammed his foot into my chest before I could even react.

  I flew backward and landed with a heavy thud. Pain burned through my ribcage, more than half of it fractured. Judging by my sudden difficulty in breathing, one of my ribs had punctured a lung. Everything hurt.

  Was he really that fast? Or was I slowing down?

  I rolled to the side, coughed, and spat some blood. That didn’t feel right.

  Nevertheless, I managed to pull myself back up, raising my swords and resuming an attack position. I dashed forward and ducked as soon as his blade came out to greet me. My left sword managed to slash a thin line across his abdomen, cutting through the leather vest. My right sword came up as I twisted and backed away. His blade nearly crushed it, but I managed to pull back before he could try again.

  I was panting. The symbols on his sword kept glowing.

  It was becoming harder for me to move. Despite my ribs already healing, I was still having trouble breathing, as if my lungs were close to giving out.

  Something was horribly wrong here, and if I didn’t figure out what, I was definitely going to die outside the Palisade. I frowned at his sword.

  “That thing is doing something, isn’t it?” I asked, my voice barely audible.

  Shaytan whispered something against his finger, then licked it and swabbed it across his abdomen wound. I could see the bleeding stop and the cut close up. He then sneered at me.

  “It took you a while to figure that one out, huh?” he replied. “I guess your brain is starting to slow down now. You’re on the same level as an Iman at this point, Miss Hellswan. That’s how weak you’ve become.”

  “Just because the Imen aren’t as strong or as vicious as you are, it doesn’t mean they’re weak,” I retorted. “They’re a million times more resilient and more educated than you or anyone else in your species. With the exception of Zane and all the pacifists, of course. They had the common sense to understand and oppose your insanity!”

  Shaytan didn’t like my response. He ran toward me, roaring.

  I shuffled to my left and s
wung my right sword out. He hit it with his as he rushed past me. The impact broke my blade—and my arm. My bones cracked, and I cried out in pain. Whatever I did, things only got worse.

  I tried to move away, but he came around and cut me across the chest.

  Heat spread through every inch of my skin. I fell and hit the back of my head against the cobblestone. I wheezed and coughed, struggling to breathe. I could hear him laugh, but I couldn’t see him. He was close, though.

  “Harper!” Hansa cried out.

  The others moaned as they started to come to.

  I managed to look down and saw the gaping wound he’d inflicted. It stretched from my left hip to my right shoulder in a soft arch. It was wide open. Blood trickled out and pooled beneath me. I felt my back warm up.

  “My blade eats souls, Miss Hellswan,” Shaytan said. From the sound of his voice, I estimated ten feet between us. “With every hit, I drain the life out of you. Bit by bit, whenever our swords meet. But if I cut you, directly… Oh, darling, it’s a motherlode!”

  It all made sense. The weakness in my arms. The difficulty in breathing. The fact that I’d been slowed down to the point where he was able to cut me like this.

  He’d been nipping at my soul from the moment our swords had first clashed.

  I only had one blade left, but I refused to let go of it. I tried to take a deep breath, but a sharp pain choked me up and burned through my throat. My vision wasn’t clear, either.

  Wheezing, I glanced to my left.

  The looks on my friends’ faces broke my heart. Hansa was horrified, struggling to get back up, desperate to get to Shaytan before he could do something worse to me. We all knew, by now, that it was only a matter of time before his charmed sword separated my head from my body.

  Am I dying? Is this it?

  I would’ve liked a little more time in this world. I would’ve loved to see Neraka free. Caspian smiling. My mom, my dad… Serena…

  “I have to say, this isn’t as much fun as I’d thought it would be,” Shaytan muttered.

  He’d gotten closer. His shadow enveloped me in cool darkness. Either that or I was already hallucinating.