So much pain. She’s dying. Just like Duncan.
Cassie became aware someone else was kneeling across from her. She looked up and met McKnight’s sorrowful eyes. He reached across Elizabeth and gripped Cassie’s arm. “Cassie, I’m sorry. But—”
“No!” Cassie wrenched his hand away and channeled, sending every bit of mana she still could into the other woman. But, as with Marcus, the damage was just too extensive. It was like trying to sop up an amputated hand with a Band-Aid.
Elizabeth had finally stopped screaming. Cassie felt dizzy, and she sat back, lifting her eyes to the domed roof, moaning in abject misery. Then she felt Elizabeth’s fingers grasp at her, desperate for a human touch before she died, someone to hold her hand at the end.
Cassie gripped her friend’s hand—the hand wearing the Brace. Undamaged by the flames, even the silver chains were still cool to the touch. Focus, the Great Elder Brother had described it—not a weapon, a focus.
She yanked the Brace free of Elizabeth’s hand, quickly pulling it over her own. As before, it fit perfectly.
Alex stared at her. “Cassie, what are you—”
“What I’m supposed to do?” She placed her Brace-enclosed palm over Elizabeth’s chest. “Heal!”
She channeled, this time focusing on healing energy, not lightning. Elizabeth’s body arched off the ground, throwing Alex away. Healing mana, magnified tenfold by the Brace, surged through Cassie into Elizabeth. Elizabeth gasped for air. Cassie redoubled her efforts, ramming even more mana into the other woman, weaving her burnt flesh whole again, willing it to regrow. And it did!
She couldn’t tell how long it took, but when she finally sat back, withdrawing the Brace from Elizabeth’s chest, Cassie was utterly exhausted, ready to fall over.
“Oh my God,” Clara said from behind her, wonder in her voice.
“No kidding,” said Alex.
Elizabeth watched Cassie with her own eyes, now completely regrown. Her skin was still black, but only with soot. Where before it had been charred and raw, now it was dirty but unblemished—mostly. There was still a discolored patch near her cheekbone, shining like plastic.
“What did you do?” Elizabeth whispered.
“Healed you, stupid. I don’t have that many friends. You think I’m gonna let you go?”
Elizabeth tried to sit up, but failed. “Who… how?”
Cassie looked over her shoulder, glaring at the tower.
McKnight knelt beside her, now holding a carbine. Clara stood next to him, blood running down the side of her head, looking very unsteady. “Sir. We need to motor, now! It’s going to take us some time to make our way back to the LZ with the wounded… with the dead.”
McKnight looked from Clara to Alex. “Call it, Captain.”
Alex turned to face the tower. “We can’t leave her behind us—she’s too dangerous. But we also need to get everyone ready, to gather the wounded and prepare to move.”
Cassie stood, gritting her teeth. She ran her fingers over the silver chains dangling from the Brace. “Let’s finish this, then.”
Alex turned to Clara. “Get who you can ready to move. If we’re not back in five, get the hell out of here. Warn somebody. Warn everybody.”
Alex and Cassie walked toward the tower.
Chapter 59
Cassie followed Alex as he climbed up the tower’s steps, almost breathing down his neck. Her thoughts were a turmoil of emotions. The basilisk had killed Alice, but this dark-elf woman had been controlling it. She had murdered Alice, intending to kill Cassie but slaughtering her sister instead. A part of Cassie screamed for vengeance, but another part of her was still sickened by the blood she had already spilled, the lives she had already taken. The Brace throbbed with power, with potential. To kill or to heal?
They climbed the stairs as silently as they could, watching the shadows. The dark-elf woman was a master at hiding herself. She could be anywhere. But now, Cassie was becoming adept at sensing her invisible presence. At each level on the twisting stairs, Alex paused and glanced at Cassie. Each time, she shook her head and pointed up. She could feel her up there—and invisible once more.
At the very top, the last level before coming out on the roof of the tower, a closed black door awaited them. Alex moved to the side of the door, paused, then whispered, “Is she—”
“She’s in there,” Cassie whispered. “Invisible, but channeling, filled with mana. She’ll attack the second we go through the door.”
Alex bit his lip, his eyes narrowing.
“I’ll go first,” Cassie said. “I might be able to do something with the Brace.”
She tensed, preparing to throw open the door and dash inside, but Alex stopped her, shaking his head. “She’s invisible, right?”
Cassie nodded.
“But not invulnerable?”
Cassie’s eyes narrowed. “No. I don’t think so.”
“Let’s say hello first.”
Alex pulled a flashbang from his webbing and held it up for her to see. “Little warning.”
Cassie turned away, closing her eyes and covering her ears.
* * *
Beads of sweat rolled down Maelhrandia’s face, stinging her eyes, but she didn’t dare move to wipe them. She needed to be ready, needed to release her spell the moment the manlings entered. She would survive this attack—she would! Then, armed with the Ancient One’s talisman, she’d take her revenge—against the other manlings, against her sister… against her cursed mother. Pain still throbbed in her side, and blood soaked the inside of her clothing. She could have tried to heal herself—even poor healing would be better than nothing—but there was no time, and she needed to conserve everything she had for one final fight.
Her eyes narrowed as she heard the sound of metal scraping metal.
They’re here, just outside the door, here to kill me. Be brave. She tensed, readying to release her spell.
Just as the door began to open, a thought occurred to her: I still have the Shatkur Orb. Its transdimensional charge had been used when she came back from the Old World with her prisoner, but it could still create local Rift-Rings. She could have used it to escape, but in her excitement she had forgotten it, and now there was no time. Her eyes darted to the doorway, which had only opened a crack.
What are they—
An object the size of a rock fell into the room. It clattered onto the stone floor and rolled to a stop near her feet. Cylindrical, with open holes along its length, it hissed in warning.
A weapon!
She cast Egis’s-Shield just as the device detonated, but the shield spell was designed to block fire and destruction spells, not sound and light, and she flew back, smashing her head against the wall, instantly dropping her spells. On all fours, she shook her head, trying to make sense of the chaos. A constant ringing throbbed in her ears. Everything is wrong! Despite how she moved, she only saw the same frozen scene: the partially open door, the manling weapon, the Seeing Stone.
Get up! Get up and fight, you fool!
Her body wouldn’t react.
* * *
Alex had been ready to move first, but when the flashbang detonated, Cassie pushed past him through the doorway. “Cassie, no!” he yelled, grabbing at her but missing.
He charged after her, his fear spiking, but she had paused on the other side of the doorway, staring at a massive black stone in the center of the room—and the dark-elf woman on her knees just behind it, shaking her head back and forth, her long white hair hanging over her face.
Cassie stared at her, her mouth open, letting the arm wearing the Brace fall to the side of her leg. The dark-elf woman was defenseless and would remain that way for seconds yet.
It was a hard thing to do, Alex knew. To take another’s life. It changes you—and not in a good way. Cassie Rogan is a good person, a decent human being, not a cold-blooded killer. Not like me.
Alex stepped in front of Cassie and opened fire from point-blank range. The woman’s body was shredd
ed by the withering burst of 5.56mm ammunition and fell against the stone wall. A black stone orb the size of his fist rolled away from her, stopping near his booted feet. He reached down and picked it up, shoving it into a pocket of his load-bearing vest. It had been important to the elf; maybe Helena Simmons would want to examine it.
Cassie turned and stared at Alex, her mouth open, horror in her eyes. He hated himself for the look she gave him, but he was what he was.
Grabbing her arm, he dragged her back out of the chamber, leaving their enemy’s corpse behind. “Time to go home, Cassie.”
“But…”
“We’re Oscar Mike.”
“What?”
“On the move, Cassie. We have to leave.”
* * *
Hours later, back at the clearing, Cassie watched as the soldiers activated the keying device. Moments later, the Gateway Machine opened a portal once more, and a glowing circle of light appeared—behind which awaited the Jump Tube and home. Relief surged through Cassie. They had just made it in time.
She had used the Brace to heal the wounded—at least, as well as she could in her exhausted state. Three of the soldiers had died assaulting the fort, but she had somehow managed to find the strength to heal five others, almost certainly saving their lives. Several had remained badly injured, despite Cassie’s best efforts, and had to be carried back through the jungle in makeshift stretchers—a monumental undertaking and one that had slowed them down so much that she had been afraid they’d miss their window for opening the Gateway. But this time, Alex insisted, no one was staying behind.
Alex bent over and, with a grunt, picked up the sleeping Clyde. Cradling the dog in his arms, he stepped forward and led the survivors through the Gateway. Looking over her shoulder one last time at the jungle, Cassie said farewell to Rubicon before following Alex. In a vertigo-inducing moment, she was back on Earth within the Jump Tube. The air smelled different—sharp and bitter.
At the foot of the metal stairs, a medical team met them. Dr. Simmons waved wildly, ecstatic to see them—until she saw the extent of their injuries and their dead. Elizabeth, whose burns had been the most severe—despite Cassie’s healing—was placed on a gurney and wheeled away, her fingers reaching out for Cassie’s.
Cassie stood at the base of the stairs, watching the others, feeling separate from them somehow. The basilisk was dead, as was the dark-elf woman who had been controlling it, and they had rescued the colonel. But now, Cassie felt… empty. She lifted her hand and stared at the Brace. It felt so natural, like a second skin. Its silver chains glittered. She traced her fingers over the soft material.
What now? What do I do now?
A medic screamed for plasma. One of the soldiers she had only been able to partially heal was getting worse. Other medics rushed to help. Alex came up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Are you all right?”
“Are you?”
“What do you mean?” he asked her.
“What are they going to do to you now? About Buck?”
He opened his mouth, sighed, then shook his head. “I guess we’ll find out.”
The wounded soldier thrashed, moaning in agony. Cassie was so tired, so utterly exhausted. She wanted to help but just couldn’t. Instead, she leaned back against Alex, putting the back of her head on his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her up. “This is just the beginning, isn’t it?” she said so softly she might have been only talking to herself.
“I think so. I think maybe the worst is yet to come. But it’s over for you. You did your part—more than your part.”
“Did I?” Her gaze locked onto the medics and the wounded soldier.
“Yes, you did. You were amazing, Cassie Rogan. I’m so proud of you.”
She stepped away from him, moving to help the wounded soldier. “Call me Starlight.”
END OF BOOK ONE OF THE DARK ELF WAR.
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ALSO BY WILLIAM STACEY
Have you read them all?
Black Monastery
An outlaw Viking. A suspected witch. A demon that wears the skins of its victims.
Asgrim has one chance for redemption, but his quest for a princely blood debt will put him face-to-face with an unearthly evil. He'll team with a suspected Frankish witch to stop a demonic force before it's unleashed upon the world.
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The Vampire Queen Saga
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In darkness, a priceless weapon waits for a hero, and evil stirs.
Fifty years ago, a legendary hero used the kingdom's holiest relic -- the longsword Sight-Bringer -- to kill the terrifying Blood Queen Serina Greywynne and end her rebellion. Yet in the cataclysm that followed, Sight-Bringer was destroyed, and a noble family, blamed for its loss, fell into disfavor. Owen Toscovar is a young man seeking the freedom to see the world, but when he defends a loved one, he is unjustly sentenced to serve as a man-at-arms to dying Duke Dain. Danika, the duke's headstrong daughter, seeks to ensure her younger brother inherits her father's title, but for the family that lost Sight-Bringer, the line of succession is now far from certain. When a deathbed confession reveals a shocking secret, Owen is sent to accompany Danika and her brother to the ruins of an ancient fortress long whispered to be haunted by the vengeful ghost of the Blood Queen herself. But more than ghosts stir beneath the ruins, and Owen must find the courage to stand fast and protect the Dain bloodline against an unholy evil, because if he fails, the kingdom will once again be plunged into warfare.
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The Shield of Serl Raven-Eye (Book 2)
The race for the shield begins.
Following a half century trapped in a coma-like sleep, the immortal Vampire Queen Serina Greywynne has awoken, ravenous for blood, conquest, and revenge against the kingdom that betrayed her and her greatest enemy the noble Dain family. Young guardsman Owen Toscovar is now Lady Danika Dain's sole protector. Far from their northern home and hunted, they must escape Serina's island and warn the kingdom of her apocalyptic return. When a chance encounter at sea throws them together with stormy Fenyir pirate chieftain Fioni Ice-Bound, they learn the truth behind Serina's seemingly
indestructible nature and how a stolen Fenyir heirloom -- the legendary shield of Serl Raven-Eye -- may yet hold the secret to her destruction.
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About the Author
William Stacey is a former Canadian army intelligence officer who served his country for more than thirty years with operational tours in Bosnia and Afghanistan. He is a husband, father, and avid reader, with a love for the macabre. Black Monastery, an Amazon 2014 Breakthrough Novel Award Quarter-Finalist, is his first novel.
For those who want their dark fantasy laced with heroic adventure.
Visit him at http://williamstaceyauthor.com
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Acknowledgment
I’d like to thank my friend and teacher, Kyoshi Maqtewe’k Matto’law Collins of Canada Shindao Goju Karate for his invaluable assistance with a pivotal fight-scene. He is not only one of the most skilled, knowledgeable, and dangerous men in Canada, but also one of the noblest. Thank you for your help, your training, and most importantly, your patience.
Starlight (The Dark Elf War Book 1) Page 44