by Stacy Reid
To destroy.
“No one move,” the soft whisper from Acheron had all in the king’s balcony freezing.
“What is it, Acheron?” Gavyn whispered as he flashed closer to him.
“Look at it!”
“You mean Tehdra?”
“Tehdra no longer exists.”
“What is happening?” Uriah asked.
The thing that was Tehdra stood in front of Ajali, looking down at him. She was macabre. Something had changed, and Acheron did not understand what. His nape prickled, and he felt like death stalked them.
Tehdra was motionless. He could not understand why. She had fought with a vicious beauty and protected Ajali with movements he could hardly map. What now positioned in front of his king was different. After so much rage and motion, the stillness scared him.
He searched her spirit and flinched. She was darkness without a hint of light.
She froze with hands hanging at her sides, head bowed, long torrents of black hair shadowing her face, her beautiful jewel studded caftan stained with blood. She killed the summoned beast and its master with such ease that a true awareness of what stood before their king vibrated in him.
It could be the chakra. It had roiled erratically around her before, but now it slowly contracted, caressing her. Darkness seemed to leak from her mouth, her ears, from under her caftan. It was the chakra—it had changed from something erratic to sinister.
The crack of her shoulder sounded loud in the Coliseum as the blade rotated at an odd angle. Noting else moved. The head still hung low with her hair shadowing her face, with the darkest of chakra churning around her. Acheron had never seen anything so unsettling and eerie.
“What the hell just happened?” Gavyn growled. "She broke her shoulder blade?"
“Not Tehdra,” Acheron murmured. “The thing before us is not Tehdra. It is what is housed inside of her.”
“What are you saying, Acheron?” Xian fretted. “Why is she just staring at Ajali? Get warriors inside with them, please!” She stuffed a fist in her mouth, trying to stifle her sobs.
Acheron made a quick signal with his hand that had several warriors flashing to his side.
“Get all the valnetium iron we have in storage and from the dungeon. Have messengers travel to Aria with speed. Call upon our alliance. We need earth wielders skilled in manipulating valnetium iron to bind her. Move now!”
The flashed away with purpose.
“What is she doing?” Xian’s harsh demand had all ten blades pausing. “She is covering him in blood.”
“Hold on,” Acheron said, and called forth his power, trying to connect with Tehdra mentally.
“What do you sense?” Cadmus asked.
"I cannot feel Tehdra. However, that thing seems to hold a desire for Ajali.”
“Explain?” Gavyn snapped.
Xian drew her sword, a determined frown on her face. “What is it doing? We cannot allow her to harm Ajali.”
“Rumor has it that Darkans heal at an accelerated speed. More so than the rest of us Amagarians. Look at the wounds on Ajali’s hips. The blood flow has checked. The blood that it pours from Tehdra’s wrist, into his wounds is healing him,” Quinn whispered.
“We cannot kill it,” Acheron said. “We will do everything in our power to contain it. Tehdra is somewhere inside. I cannot find her essence, but the thing wants out. It breaks her bones trying to get free. I do not know the beast she possesses. What I do know is that it is far stronger than the summoned wolyve it killed. Whatever is inside Tehdra cannot be allowed to be summoned to a corporeal form. Try and keep calm. Fight without rage or fear. It will only feed on those feelings.”
“Are we ready?” Quinn murmured.
“We are,” all voices echoed.
They flashed and landed into the arena, surrounding the beast and Ajali with swords drawn.
Awareness surged to life inside of Ajali. He flashed to his feet and looked at the carnage that lay before him. Dead littered the ground. Blood soaked the earth, and its acrid stench burned his nostrils. He pressed a palm to his torso. Blood only trickled from his stomach. What should have been death blows had somehow been healed. Had his blades managed to feed him the healing elixir?
Flames in the shape of tigers walked in the air, crackling and roaring. Quinn fought. That was his power. Ajali coated the chains coiled around his elbows in flames as he looked for what they fought. He remembered killing one of the beasts, but another roamed the Coliseum. Many of the civilians were absent, but those with chakra strength and taijiu skill remained, ready to lend their prowess to the battle if needed. Many contestants perched along the walls, waiting for an opportunity.
Ajali nodded grimly, satisfied at the solidarity. He flashed with speed through the wildfire of flames to enter the middle of the Coliseum. His blades fought. Molten lava spewed from Cadmus to land in the air. A blow that Ajali could not see took him down. Blood flew from the perfect slice that opened his carotid.
Ajali flashed and caught him before he hit the ground, trusting his blades to keep them covered from the enemy.
“Fuck!” It was a death blow. Ajali pressed his hands to the wound as blood gurgled from his friend’s throat. Rage licked, stirring heat in his blood as his friend’s life leaked away in his hands. Cadmus gripped his hands tight trying to communicate. Ajali leaned in close to hear.
“What about Tehdra?” he demanded. Was she hurt? He’d not seen her when he scanned the balcony. Fear settled in his gut.
He turned as Uriah landed beside him.
“I have the elixir. Xian and I have been administering it to each blade that falls. They cannot contain it, Ajali.” A coldness settled inside of him at the fear in his brother’s voice. Before he could respond, a roar exploded in the air, trembling the earth under his feet. He felt the intent, the malevolence in the chakra that surged his way. The evil that pulsed from the chakra was dark and overpowering, more vicious and crueler than what had bled from the wolyve that he’d fought. He sensed it was directed at Uriah and his fallen comrade.
“Form the barrier!” he snapped
“Ajali…”
“Do it, Uriah, what is coming is far more dangerous than the wolyves. I want my people and kingdom protected from my flames. Go!” Ajali roared and swung chains of fiery sword in the direction of the Darkan. The shriek that came from it as his sword found flesh grated and called to the rage he had inside. Fire washed from Ajali, and it seemed as if he burst into flames as his power pulsed.
Chains of flames swung around the dark blur that came at him. Darkness unlike anything Ajali had ever known crashed into his senses, pulling him under. It sunk in his mind and owned him, trapping him in a pitiless void.
Acheron's breath labored. They fought with determined ruthlessness. Several walls of the Coliseum were shattered and lay in crumbled ruins. Their blood spattered the ground as they fought Tehdra's beast. He flinched as the memory of her claws piercing his heart swept through him. Xian had administered the elixir, revitalizing him in seconds, refueling his strength.
Never had he battled anything so dangerous. It had been his witchcraft ability that had saved him, not his flames that the darkness seemed to relish. He incanted for the darkness to retreat, and she wavered, fleeing from him when he tried to push the demon at bay and bring Tehdra to the forefront of the thing’s consciousness. Acheron had felt Tehdra briefly, and he tried to hold onto her essence.
He hesitated at Uriah’s signal to form the protective barrier to contain the flames of Ajali’s Phoenyx. It was Tehdra Ajali fought, and with his power unleashed he could turn her to ash in mere minutes.
“No!” The roar that came from Julius had Acheron rushing to intercept her and Ajali coming together.
“Form the barrier!” Acheron yelled.
Energy pulsed from them as they created the binding signal with their hands and erected created the barrier over the Coliseum. Acheron incanted, strengthening it, preventing all energy leakage. He flared out his sense
s and wrapped everyone inside in another protective coating. They were trapped inside with Ajali and Tehdra. She was a power that Acheron had never contended with before, and for Ajali to tame her, he would need to unleash his abilities. Something Acheron doubted any of them would survive, even with the protective barriers.
Darkness eclipsed all the lights briefly and when it cleared neither Ajali nor Tehdra was in the Coliseum. Acheron flared out his senses, and he could sense the malevolence from her, as well as the rage of Ajali’s Phoenyx.
What in the hell!
“They have disappeared!” Gavyn snapped.
“They are here. In the shadows cast by our flames. I feel them but cannot see them,” Acheron replied.
“Shadows!”
“Her kingdom is of darkness and shadows. Their elements to wield as we manipulate fire with our chakra,” Quinn said as they watched the shadows intently.
“How do we pierce the shadows of darkness?” Triton mused. “Are you sure they are here, Acheron? I see no unusual darkness.
“They are here.”
Light pulsed, highlighting the Coliseum in a light as bright as days when the high chancellor turned on the crystals from Avindar.
“It will make no difference. Shadows will always exist once there is light. If we doused all light, the moon would still cast a shadow. If there is no moon, she will have the darkness,” Acheron said.
Why do you fight me?
The whisper in his mind was as hollow as an empty grave. Ajali held himself still as he analyzed the voice that scraped along the inside of his head. Sinuous and dark. His gut tightened as something about the voice caressed his skin. Evil, yet familiar. He opened his eyes only to be met with the same unrelenting darkness. He could see nothing. Not even the flames that coated his body and sword. The void was unusual and oppressing. It weighed on him as if sucking at his soul. An abyss that no light could pierce. Ajali knew he was still in the Coliseum; he flared out his chakra tracking the powers that were still present. The tension in his gut eased as he felt the chakra of Cadmus. He still lived.
Ajali walked forward, confident and battle ready. A presence stalked his footsteps. He felt it. The soft whisper of sound that moved with every step he made. The tingling at his nape. The void held him, trapped him. The trap was a beautiful one.
“Why do you have me here?” he commanded with a calm he ruthlessly held onto as the emptiness pressed in on him.
Why do you fight me, mate? I will free us both from our shackles. I am trying to understand this body that I am housed in. I stretch, and bones break.
A feathery caress slid across his cheek. He did not startle. The malevolence through the chakra had warned him of its approach. He felt the push at his thoughts. Ajali resisted. Power pressed in as the thing tried to rip through his mental barriers—barriers that he’d fortified as he had a Serangite working for him. His vision tunneled in as darkness pressed against his mind.
Ajali roared at the intrusion. Flames washed forth in mighty waves, searing in its intensity. He barely saw a flicker in the abyss. It ate and devoured his flames as if they were nothing. Rage pulsed from the thing that rushed at him. He fought blinded as chains uncoiled from his hands and whistled through the darkness, seeking it.
Why do you fight me? Power punched through his barriers, permeating his mind with cruelty.
Without much thought, he found the pathway the thing communicated on, unsure as to how it was possible.
You are the enemy! He lashed out, freeing his flames. Shock rooted Ajali to the spot as the soft glow of Tehdra’s chakra seeped into his mind.
Tehdra?
Is that what you call the body that houses me?” insidious evil growled. It matters not, I will free us, and we will begin our reign by burning this kingdom to the ground, my mate.
I am not your mate! He roared along the link.
You are ours! It screamed with such power Ajali dropped to one knee, holding himself up with his sword. Breaking bones reached his ears.
You threaten my kingdom with destruction.
I can feel the anguish in the air…I will devour them all.
Anger rode him, and he finally saw the thing in the dark as his Phoenyx pulsed flames of such intense beauty it started to eclipse the darkness slowly.
Ajali had never seen anything like Tehdra in his seven centi years of living. She was beautiful and absolutely evil. Black chakra churned around her in sinister movements. Her collar, shoulders, and her hips twisted at the oddest angle. Broken. Hair, matted with blood, hung in clumped strands. Obsidian eyes he had always thought beautiful held his gaze and filled him with dread. Only evil lurked there. With every breath it took the blackest of chakra escaped from its mouth in smoky tendrils, caressing her skin like a lover.
Tehdra was a Darkan. Betrayal burned through his blood. Then a hard smile slashed his lips. And he was her mate. He knew how Darkans felt about their mates. Possessive…she would not kill him. He hoped.
They observed each other in silence as evil intent simmered in the air around them.
What do you want?
Death.
He clenched his jaw until it ached.
Then it spoke again.
Burn with me… there are thousands of lives for our taking. I can taste their fear…so sweet.
No!
It laughed, and he shuddered.
Do you believe you can stop me? You are nothing before my power.
It slinked toward him, a monstrous nightmare, and Ajali gave her no quarter. Without hesitation, he called on his Phoenyx and eclipsed the darkness as he rushed at her.
His eardrums shattered at the scream that tore from her as he buried his blades to the hilts in her chest. He held her pitiless, obsidian gaze. No heated laughter lurked there, no shyness, no soft invitation, no love, only cruelty looked back at him. He held her pinned on his swords with the shackles of his chain wrapped around her neck in a chokehold. His light ate at her darkness, burning it away.
You have betrayed me.
He frowned at the pain that radiated from the statement. Then he felt it, the knife-like agony. He had not escaped unscathed. Claws were buried in his sides, while another four pierced deep in his neck. Blood poured from him freely.
The darkness splintered, and he distantly saw his blades flashing to surround them.
“Bind her,” he rasped.
Chains of valnetium iron whooshed through the air as he flung her from him, the unbreakable shackles encasing her, binding her. They did not hold her for long. Great power washed from Tehdra and scales rippled over her, coating her like a second skin. The roar that erupted from her shook the earth as the manacles crumpled…as if they were made from silk instead of pure valnetium iron.
Clawed hands slammed into Quinn’s chest, splitting him open in a show of stunning brutality. In a blur of speed, all his blades littered the ground, blood pouring from them. She flung her hair back, and a battle cry punched into his frame. Ajali did not hesitate; he inhaled the icy fury dominating his mind as his Phoenyx power surged to life, frightening in its intensity.
The strength in which he slammed her into the earth created fissures and deep cracks. The laughter that raked from her taunted the tempest he had buried deep. Fire danced around him as his rage climbed higher, moving from heat to pure coldness, unbridled by rational thought.
Yes, feed me. Your rage is so delicious. I can never have enough…mate.
The scream that erupted from her did little to leash the light that rose inside of Ajali. Before his eyes, her skin melted, turned to ash as she struggled to free herself from the flames of his Phoenyx. She slammed into his chest, shattering his ribs, as she spun on her feet and faced him. They came together with such violence it conflagrated around them. She grew increasingly powerful, feeding off his furor, and his rage fueled what was buried inside of him.
Indomitable heat speared from Ajali—more than what the barrier could hold. Chains of flames whistled from his hands as he fought her. A
clawed hand swiped, cracking his clavicle. He staggered, but he forced himself to remain on his feet.
Do not fight me, mate! I wish not your death. Voices overlaid with menace screamed inside of his mind. Ajali fought for control as her skin started to melt. He felt and heard the pain in the snarls that echoed from her. More scales rippled over her skin trying to form a protective barrier against his flames. He gave her no quarter as he rushed in, slamming into her, and propelling her more than a hundred feet into the air. He swung his sword, impaling it in her shoulders before she landed on the ground. Ajali was distantly aware that she held back on fighting him, just as he restrained the pure power of his Phoenyx. He did not want all in the Coliseum to ash, yet he sensed somehow through their linked she reined in her demon out of not wanting to hurt him. A sentiment he returned. The idea of being forced to kill Tehdra was unendurable, but she was a power he struggled to comprehend, and she promised to raze his kingdom.
Knowing what it would cost him, he allowed more of his Phoenyx out. Power rushed through his veins and the earth beneath his feet scorched and blackened.
Aahhhh.
He flinched from the scream of torment that blasted inside of his head. She writhed on the ground as unrelenting flames ate at her, piercing through the hardened scales covering her entire body. She struggled against his hold.
His heart was a war drum in his chest. Ajali released her and flashed away. He was hurting Tehdra. Remember she is the enemy, he ruthlessly reminded himself, pushing aside all thoughts of the pleasure he’d found in her arms, the comfort in her smiles and the temptation in her eyes. Nothing must come before his people.
“Acheron,” he rasped.
“I am here.”
“I cannot approach her any closer. She will cease to exist under the flames of my Phoenyx. Is Tehdra still inside?”
“Yes.”
Relief almost felled Ajali to his knee, and he recalled some of his flames. “Can you incant her spirit to the forefront?”
“I will try.”
“How is your barrier holding up?”