Resounding Echo

by Michelle Louring

forehead with such an impact that it went right through its skull and knocked it off its feet.

  “You’re crazy…” She said. They were everywhere. She couldn’t possibly leave him to deal with all of them.

  They were standing so close she could feel him shrug.

  “I can’t really argue with that.” He said. “Now go.”

  She looked at him uncertainly over her shoulder and realized that he was deadly serious.

  “If you die, I will never forgive you.” She said finally.

  He laughed as he took down another undead Demios. “Well, I would be dead and beyond caring, but I get your point.” He turned his head and looked at her, suddenly serious.

  “I won’t.” He said. She hesitated for a second before nodding.

  “I believe in you.” She said and ignored the surprised look he shot her.

  She raised her swords and began slashing at the seemingly endless crowd of animated bodies. Limbs flew around her, but not a single drop of blood was spilled. It had been too long since a beating heart had pumped blood through their veins.

  Hands grabbed at her, but she threw them off before they could get a hold of her. Something grabbed at her leg, and she almost fell through the door in front of her. She sent a kick at it, and she felt her foot hit its target. She heard something break, and the fingers released her.

  She stumbled through the door and shut it behind her. She prayed that Ardeth would be okay, but she didn’t have time to worry about that now.

  She started running through the basement rooms, searching every corner she could find. It didn’t take long before she heard the muted sound of footsteps from somewhere to her right.

  She turned sharply and followed the sound. There was no way she was going to let him get away.

  The basement seemed to consist of an endless amount of small rooms. She had a feeling that every time she entered a new room, he had just passed through it.

  She could no longer hear Ardeth fighting. She stopped, the sound of her own footsteps fading away. For a moment, the only thing she could hear was her own shallow breathing.

  The other set of footsteps had stopped. She stood very still, trying to hear anything over the sound of her rapid heartbeat.

  ‘Take the left door.’ Deciding to trust him, she turned towards the door. She approached it slowly and realized that she could feel the aura of dark magic coming from the adjoining room.

  ‘He is playing with you.´ She nodded. She knew it was Ilyan’s plan to separate her from Ardeth, so he could face her alone, but even while knowing that, she had no choice but to play into his hands.

  “You’re with me, right?” She asked quietly. Cadeyrn’s answer was the feeling of energy enveloping her like a cloak. She calmed down knowing she was not all alone.

  “Here goes nothing.” She muttered and opened the door.

  47

  It was deadly silent when she stepped into the room. It was so dark that she wouldn’t be able to see her hand even if she held it up before her face.

  She took a few tentative steps into the room, looking around blindly. She couldn’t see him, and she couldn’t hear him, but she could feel his presence filling the room. It was cold and warm at the same time, and it settled around her like it tried to drown her. She resisted the urge to shiver.

  She tried to locate the source, but it curled around everything in the room like mist, making it impossible to figure out where he was.

  She didn’t dare light up the room. She barely dared to breathe.

  He could come at her from anywhere. She didn’t know where he was, but she was pretty sure he knew exactly where she was. She stood completely still, waiting for him to make the first move.

  She heard a rustling sound and tensed. Her eyes moved rapidly, trying to find him, but she couldn’t see through the darkness surrounding them.

  She barely managed to react when the spell was hurled towards her. She turned and raised her swords just in time to block the incoming blast. What looked like black fire hit the blades and spread to both sides, narrowly missing her.

  She channeled her own energy into the swords, lighting up a circle around her. She saw something move at the edge of the light, quickly retreating into the dark corners.

  She swung one of the swords, sending a bolt of light towards where the figure had disappeared. The spell crashed through the room, lighting up a patch around it on its way. It collided with the wall, the light disappearing as it dissipated. It had revealed nothing but empty space.

  This time she was prepared when another spell flew through the air from the opposite side of the room. She met it with a spell of her own, and they collided in a burst of white and black fire.

  “Stop hiding.” She said into the darkness. “Or are you afraid to fight me face to face?”

  She didn’t feel quite as brave as her words. He was just playing with her. She didn’t really want to know what would happen when he got serious.

  She heard him laugh. The sound ricocheted against the walls and made it sound like it was coming from everywhere at once. She had a feeling the room was much bigger than she first had thought.

  Suddenly she felt the smell of rot hit her nose. She cursed silently to herself. She had thought he had left the rest of the dead bodies with Ardeth. Clearly, she wasn’t that lucky.

  She felt something grab her leg. She immediately swung her sword and separated the rotten hand from the corpse that had grabbed her. With another swing she cut the corpse into two.

  All around her, she saw decayed bodies starting to crawl towards her. They scrambled at the edge of the light, skeletal hands reaching for her.

  She was having none of that. She forced larger amounts of magic into the sword blades and started swinging them around her in a circle.

  Fiery white flames erupted from the blades and formed a pillar around her as she spun the blades around. They enveloped the corpses and easily burned through them.

  Strangled, inhumane screams erupted from their throats, even as they desperately tried to reach her through the storm of flames. Burning hands reached through the whirlwind, only to disintegrate inches before her face.

  The flames died down, leaving nothing but ash at her feet. She lowered the swords, the blades still gleaming with magic.

  “Is that all you got?” She asked and kicked some of the dust into the air. It briefly formed a grey cloud in the air, before it waned to the ground uselessly. Dead… That was how it should be.

  He laughed again from somewhere in the dark, and something inside her snapped. She cried out frustrated and rushed forward blindly. She swung her swords furiously, slashing at the darkness. He was somewhere in the dark, like one of the monsters that would haunt her nightmares. But this time she wouldn’t wake up before the monster got her.

  Her blades hit nothing but air, but she kept slashing desperately. She was sick of his games, and she would find him, even if it meant taking his head off.

  She kept slashing and slashing, until she finally hit a wall. The blades carved themselves into the wall, and she leaned against them heavily. Her fury slowly ebbed away when she realized how ridiculously she was acting. She closed her eyes and tried to control her breathing.

  He was right behind her before she heard him move. She tried to turn around, but the knife connected with her skin and cut into her shoulder before she was able to. Unable to avoid the blow, she threw herself to the side to prevent her arm from being separated from her body.

  The knife jerked from her flesh, ripping a large, open wound. The pain shot through her arm, causing her to drop one of her swords. It fell to the floor with a clattering sound that echoed through the room. She lost her balance and tumbled to the ground next to it.

  Ilyan walked closer to her, while she lay on the ground holding her shoulder. She clenched her teeth as she watched her blood drip from the long blade in his hand. She recognized it as the sacrificial knife he had taken from the table bef
ore.

  Despite the searing pain in her shoulder, she didn’t waste any time. With the sword still clenched in her other hand, she lashed out at his legs. She didn’t hit him, but forced him to step back, giving her enough time to scramble to her feet.

  “Just step down. You can’t win.” Ilyan said calmly.

  “I’m not the one who has to hide in the dark.” She said. She clutched the sword she had left, her knuckles growing white. Her other arm was hanging limply by her side. She couldn’t move it without sharp pain shooting through her shoulder. She didn’t even try to get the sword she had dropped. It would be no help if she couldn’t move her arm freely.

  “Your friend Alassane gave up quickly. Too bad he was too weak to contain the power given to him.” Ilyan said as he stepped closer to her.

  Suddenly the room was lit up with sharp blue light. Ilyan froze and turned his head. Selissa followed his eyes.

  “Not anymore.” Alassane stepped closer, his body surrounded by blue fire.

  Ilyan’s and Alassane’s combined power created a crushing pressure of magic in the room, and Selissa had to take a deep breath to steady herself. She could feel magic crawling all over her skin, like water crashing down on top of her.

  She tried to ignore the sensation of drowning that washed over her. She shook the feeling off and focused on the two sorcerers in the room.

  “This has nothing to do with you, undead.” Ilyan told Alassane. Black magic was emitting from his skin, in response to the power Alassane let flow freely through the room.