He raised his hands and summoned his brilliant wall of fire. Sara stood next to him, her shoulder touching his, and formed her wall of light. His fire stretched to each side until it was nearly fifty feet wide. She took a deep breath, willing her own to match it. Her chest started to burn, but she pushed harder. Sweat dripped down her face and into her eyes, but she refused to let go of the one thing that might save her new friends and the people trying to escape across the canal.
Now! Darian’s voice echoed in her mind, and she felt his fire racing away from her shield. She threw her hands to the ground, forcing the shield to follow. Darian’s blue flames consumed the back of the demon line and surged forward, collapsing into the swarm of monsters. Seraphina could feel her shield track the fire and crush the demons beneath it.
She laid her forehead on the rough gravel and struggled to catch her breath. Exhaustion washed over her, and she knew she would not be able to stand on her own. Darian’s arm wrapped around her waist and hauled her to her feet. She closed her eyes, and her body surged through the teleportation spell. Nausea quickly followed, but she was too tired to be surprised by it.
“Darian! That was amazing!” Adalina’s voice rang out over the sound of the battle raging around them.
“I’m afraid we’re down to doing it the hard way,” Darian replied.
Sara looked up from her kneeling position to find herself between Adalina’s small group and the water’s edge. A loud whistle drew her attention to the ferry floating away from the dock. Hundreds of people crowded together on the ship’s bow. Relief, fear, and sadness filled their eyes as they drifted to safety. They must have just witnessed the wall of fire consuming the back line of demons.
Sara turned back to the six warriors in front of her and rose to her feet. Darian had vanished, but the tug on what she knew was their bond pulled at her chest. He was still nearby.
Blood soaked the back of Adalina’s hair, oozing from a gash near her left ear. The two men on her right double-teamed one demon, but another quickly took its place. The warrior on her left fought alone against two of the monstrous creatures, each one hammering blows against his wide sword. Sara saw the fatigue in his ever-slowing movements. He fell to one knee, and Sara heard herself crying out.
“Enough!” She swept her hands out in front of her, and a dozen small blades of light shot from her fingertips. They flew over the heads of the nearest warriors and sank into the demons’ skulls. Eight of the creatures fell backwards, and the line of demons paused.
A surge of power bubbled up from the pit of her stomach, through her core, and into her mind. Darian grabbed her hand, and fire raced through her veins. She stared back at the sea of burning red eyes with her own burst of anger.
“This battle is done!”
She heard her voice echo across the battlefield, and it startled her. A chorus of angry roars blanketed the pier. In a sudden onslaught, their lust for violence and death converged on her. A red haze covered her vision, and she saw, no, she felt the demons’ hatred not only for her and humanity but hatred of everything. They had no love, no compassion, and no mercy, only death and destruction.
Time seemed to stand still as she reached out with her empty hand, her fingers extending towards the horde of death. She watched as tendrils of light uncoiled from her fingertips towards the demons like hungry swirling snakes. When the first one connected, the demon’s lust for violence died. A smile crept across her face as she pushed the light towards its targets, snuffing out the evil surrounding her.
When silence finally filled her mind, she collapsed.
Chapter 29
Darian
Darian kept an iron grip on Seraphina’s hand despite the pain ravaging his body. He responded to her mental call to him without hesitation, but now, concern replaced his confidence. She was pulling from his well of power, and there was nothing he could do to stop her.
Images of demons killing hundreds of humans as they fled overtook his mind. The monsters’ thrill from the carnage brought bile to his throat, and he shuddered. Seraphina’s voice echoed around him, and he watched one demon after another fall to the ground like dominoes. Within minutes, silence replaced the chaos, and his Sentinel’s weight pulled on his hand. He caught her and guided her to the ground, his arms wrapping around her bare shoulders. The tattered remains of her charred clothing hung loosely from her bronze skin. He looked at his own bare chest and shook his head. His was no better. Apparently, he’d lost another set of clothes to the fire that burned through him.
“What the hell just happened?” Adalina asked.
“I believe my Sentinel found something,” he replied.
“Did Sara just kill all of them?”
“I believe she did.” He rose to his feet with Seraphina’s unconscious body in his arms. “I’m taking her home.”
Darian teleported to the tower, making a quick retreat towards his house. Luckily, almost everyone had been at the battle. He reached the door and realized he would not be able to turn the handle without putting Seraphina down. She was not a small woman, and the entrance wasn’t wide enough to accommodate them both.
He looked down at the almost naked woman in his arms and sighed. The thin lines around her eyes were gone, leaving her smooth, dark complexion nearly perfect. Her black eyebrows furrowed, and she mumbled, twisting against his grip. He wouldn’t be able to stand there forever, so he made his way to the hospital instead.
He kicked the door with his boot several times before Magdelin opened it. Her eyes widened and a small cry escaped her lips.
“Is she okay?” she asked.
“Yes, I believe she over-exerted herself,” he replied. “I don’t suppose you can come open the door to the house for me before the rest of the warriors show up? Several of them will need your attention.”
“Of course,” she replied, glancing back towards the hospital ward before closing the door behind her. “I’m afraid I might not be able to save the ones who arrived earlier.”
“I’ve never doubted your talent, Magdelin,” Darian responded as they walked back down the street. “You brought me back from near death at least a dozen times.”
“While your injuries were severe, they weren’t life-threatening.” Her shoulders slumped, and Darian noticed the slight shuffle as she walked. “They lost a great deal of blood, most of it from internal injuries. They’re stable now but not out of danger.”
She arrived at his door and opened it for him, then followed him in. He took Seraphina to her room, and Magdelin arrived a moment later with one of his favorite silk shirts.
“I have others that aren’t so expensive,” he said. “And I believe she has several in her own closet.”
Magdelin pulled down the bedspread and sheets, and Darian gently set her down.
“It’s a subliminal message, my dear,” Magdelin replied. “Now, get out so I can get what’s left of her current clothes off of her.”
Darian changed into a clean pair of jeans and t-shirt and waited in the living room for Magdelin. He appreciated her efforts with his Sentinel. He had to remember he wasn’t the only one who loved her. The rest of the Council watched her grow up as well.
Ten minutes later, the healer emerged, her tired eyes lingering on the sofa. “She’ll be okay. She just needs to sleep.”
“I assumed as much,” Darian replied. “I’m sure the others are arriving as we speak.”
They left the house and met Mikel, Adalina, and several warriors in the courtyard.
“Did everyone make it back?” Darian asked.
“Yes, but too many were injured,” Adalina replied. “How’s Sara?”
Darian noticed she had also adopted Seraphina’s nickname, along with Raphael, Eva, and Magdelin. Was he the only one holding on to her true name?
“She’s sleeping,” he replied as he watched Magdelin shuffle back to the hospital. His heart went out to her, but he wasn’t good at making people feel better. Maybe he used to be, but too many years of hunting and k
illing Csökkent changed him.
“Is Magdelin okay?” Adalina asked, apparently noticing the healer’s weariness.
“She’s worried about the men who arrived earlier.”
Adalina’s eyes widened, and she darted towards the hospital. She didn’t need anyone to tell her what that meant.
“Is it that bad?” Mikel asked.
“I think so. Magdelin is concerned she won’t be able to save them.”
Mikel shook his head, and Darian knew they were thinking the same thing. Adalina had a very special connection to her warriors. It was her gift and her curse. The loss of even one was devastating for her.
“Do you know what happened with Sara?” Mikel asked, turning towards the tower.
“You, too?” Darian asked in return.
“What?”
“Am I the only one still calling her Seraphina?”
“After what just happened, I’ll call her Santa if it makes her happy.”
Mikel was right, as usual. The two men chuckled as the leader pushed opened the tower doors. They entered the meeting room and collapsed into the nearest chairs.
“So, what happened?” Mikel asked. “I have to assume your Sentinel killed them.”
Darian recounted the anger and violence he felt through his connection to Seraphina, as well as the way she pulled on his own well of power.
Mikel frowned and tapped his chin. “We’ll talk to Aneera and see what she thinks about the demons’ thoughts.” Mikel’s eyes met Darian’s, and he hesitated. “Did it feel the same as having the book’s master in your head?”
Mikel referred to Darian’s half-possession during his first encounter with Zar’Asur. The Overlord’s master tried to free himself from the book he was imprisoned in by possessing Darian. It was not something Darian would ever forget.
“No, I could feel their anger, hatred, and lust for violence, but it was disconnected. They weren’t trying to force Seraphina to do anything,” Darian replied. “But the emotions were overwhelming.”
“And you couldn’t stop her from drawing your power?”
“No, I’ll need to talk to Raphael about that.”
Adalina burst through the door to the meeting room, stomped to the chair next to Darian, and dropped into it. Darian remained silent, knowing she would vent in her own time and suspecting it was because of the men she feared she would lose.
Raphael, Stephen, and Eva arrived a few moments later, followed by Aneera.
“What’s our next move?” Stephen asked, sitting across from Darian.
Darian immediately noticed his missing beard and a narrow line of stitches running along his jaw. He refrained from commenting, but Stephen didn’t miss his observation.
“Eva’s been asking me to shave for years.” Stephen shrugged, and Eva stuck her tongue out at him as she pulled out the chair next him.
“It will take the ferries a couple of hours to cross the channel,” Mikel replied. “I’d like to meet the survivors on the other side. We need to ensure they aren’t sailing into another army of demons.”
“I suppose we could always turn the boats back to Calais if the British port isn’t safe,” Eva added.
“That was my thought as well,” Mikel agreed.
Their years of battle together made meetings like this so much easier. No one stepped away from their responsibilities, and they all seemed to know what was needed. Darian appreciated the well-oiled machine they had become. They would need it going forward; he suspected their hardest fight was yet to come.
“Have we heard back from the groups that went to North America?” Eva asked. “We’re well into our second day. Shouldn’t we have heard something by now?”
Darian watched Mikel look over at Raphael, who nodded and pulled a handful of gems from his pocket. He picked out the purple one and mumbled Claud’s name. The gem pulsed brightly for several seconds, then flickered out.
“I’d rather not take out the two teams who just returned home. They’ve had enough for one day,” Mikel said. “Go ahead and summon the others back as well.”
Raphael picked out two more gems and repeated the process, calling the name of the gem’s owner.
“I’ll go back to the British port,” Darian volunteered. “If we’re only going to verify a safe landing, I shouldn’t be gone for long.”
“Are you sure?” Mikel asked. “You might find it rather uncomfortable to be so far away.”
Darian smiled at his use of the term ‘uncomfortable’ and wondered if his Sentinel would approve.
“Yes, I’ll be fine,” Darian said. “You don’t seem to be bothered by the distance between you and Aneera when you have to leave.”
“Our connection is not the same,” Mikel replied, looking at Aneera. “But it’ll be good for you to test the waters.”
“I’ll go with him,” Eva stated. “Sara will kill me if something happens to him.”
“Be quick about it,” Mikel said. “Hopefully, the others will return in the meantime, and we can plan our next move.”
Chapter 30
Darian
Darian, Eva, and Stephen arrived at what remained of the docks in Dover. Stephen had refused to stay in Santuario, and Darian suspected the short blond woman next him was the reason.
Shattered wood and concrete littered the ground around them. The masts of several ships peaked through the waves where they’d sunk, but the area was clear of people, living or dead.
“The ferries will not be able to reach the docks,” Eva said. “The sunken ships will prevent them from getting close enough to unload.”
“I think you’re right,” Darian agreed. “We’ll need to teleport to the boats when they get in range and tell them to go back.”
“Any ideas why there are no people here?” Stephen asked. “I half expected to find a mass of death like we did everywhere else.”
“Hopefully they escaped further inland,” Darian replied, “or possibly took the ferries somewhere else.” He leaned against the remains of the warehouse behind him, the half wall moaning against his weight. Pain flared in his chest, and he rubbed his hand against it. Is that what Mikel had referred to?
“We’ll wait for them, Darian,” Eva offered. “You look like you’re going to pass out.”
“I believe you were just involved in the same battle that I was,” Darian replied, a little irritated she would point out his weariness.
“But I didn’t utilize the massive amount of magic that rolled off you and Sara in waves,” she responded. “The walls of fire should have knocked you out. Whatever happened at the end…” She waved her hand in the air as Seraphina had done. “Just thinking about it makes me tired.”
Maybe she was right. The longer he sat still, the more his exhaustion caught up to him.
“We got it, boss,” Stephen added. “Go home and get some food and sleep.”
Darian teleported back to Santuario, arriving in the tower once again. Silence greeted him. He poked his head in the door of the meeting room, but it was empty. He met Aneera and Mikel in the courtyard as he made his way towards his home.
“That was quick,” Mikel said.
“I left Stephen and Eva at the docks,” Darian replied. “The ferries won’t be able to disembark there. The other ships that were moored at the pier are now in a watery grave, blocking the entrance to the port. Eva offered to stay and let the people know they would have to go back to Calais.”
“And Dover?” Mikel asked.
“Was destroyed,” Darian replied. “But there were no people in Dover, at least that we could see.” He rubbed a hand across his face. “I probably should’ve stayed to be sure.”
“No, I think you need to find your bed,” Aneera interjected. “Mikel told me about Sara’s mental connection to those demons. I believe it’s a new ability surfacing that we’ll need to watch. She could easily be overwhelmed by the emotions of others if we don’t help her gain control of it now.”
Darian raised his eyebrows. “Do you mean she is a
Seer, like you?”
“No, I don’t think so,” Aneera replied. “I’ll need to talk with her when she wakes up, but I think it’s a little more like a telepath or empath. I’ll get with Raphael about protections for her mind.”
“Get some rest, Darian,” Mikel added. “We’ll come get you when the others return.”
He watched them walk towards the tower, Aneera slipping her fingers around Mikel’s. One day, he and his Sentinel would share that closeness. He shook his head and opened the door to the house that had been his for much longer than he ever believed it would. Silence filled the open space of the living and dining room. The ever-present breeze drifted through the windows, drying the sweat on Darian’s arms.
He dragged a hand over his clammy skin and decided he was not getting in bed before a shower. He crossed the space to the bathroom and stood in the door shaking his head.
“She and I are going to have to talk about picking up after herself,” he mumbled, moving her hair products, brush, and toothbrush to the opposite end of the small counter. She completely monopolized the space. “Maybe I should have another cabinet installed for her stuff.”
He looked in the mirror and frowned, trying to wrap his mind around what had happened. Did she know she drew power from him? He doubted it. She didn’t know any of them even existed until a couple of days ago. How did the world go from functioning normally to half the population being gone? Possibly more than half according to Eva. Their lives had been turned upside down with no warning and no way to stop it. An overwhelming sense of helplessness washed over him, drowning out his exhaustion.
“How do we fix this?” he muttered to himself.
He shed his clothes, showered, and crawled in bed, sleep taking him immediately.
~~~~~~~~~
“Darian!”
Claud’s voice pierced Darian’s sleep. He opened one eye and looked at the man standing just inside his door. Why was Claud in his room?
“What?” Darian mumbled.
Sentinel's Rise: Book 1 - The Watcher and the Sentinel Series Page 18