by Ben Alderson
In the sudden move, I missed what had caused such alarm. It took shuddering breaths to calm the pain of air being forced out of my lungs from Kell’s weight atop of me.
The serpent had fallen. Toppled over, its monstrous body lay dead across the ground. Limbs of unexpected shadowbeings and warriors had been pinned beneath it, legs and arms squirming then settling down into stillness. Kell rolled off me, blocking a dark sword as if tried to strike her from above. She’d lost one sword in the fall and raised the second instead. Her muscles shuddered as she tried to stop the shadowbeing from reaching her.
I threw my palms forward, sending a spout of wind directly at her attacker. The shadowbeing flew off into the busied distance. No longer surrounded by the Morthi warriors, half of whom were either squashed beneath the serpent or occupied in a new fight, it gave room for many to swarm us both. Face’s with black eyes and rivers of obsidian running through their veins flashed before my face. Too many to count.
I lost Kell in the overwhelming presence of the shadowbeings.
Blindly I threw out my magick in all directions, trying everything to rid the shadowbeings, but my attempts failed. They threw their vile, deathly bodies atop of me until I couldn’t see. The heavy bodies pressed down on my chest making it hard for me to breath. My arms were held down at my sides and my cold hands pressed down on my neck. I couldn’t fight back. I was a fly trapped in their web of aggression.
The ground seemed to rumble beneath me. I didn’t know if it was my imagination until I suddenly saw sky and no longer felt the pressure of hands at my neck. I looked up, my vision double from the lack of breath to see two faces of one man. His hand was offered up to me, his dark skin glowing bright as if the sun lingered beneath his very skin.
“Sorry we are late,” he said, my vision stilling. I blinked a few times, rubbing my eyes to see who it was. The figure moved his head, blocking out the sun and giving me my first look at his face. Paytric. “We met some trouble on the way, but soon took care of it.”
I clapped my hand in his and with great strength he pulled me to standing.
“You came!”
“Of course, we did. Never would I turn down the chance to fight alongside the blessed. I have always wanted my name to be in the history books, and this is my chance.”
As he pulled me up I saw the wave of his own warriors rushed forward to join our fight. Dressed in worn browns and faded coal grays, they joined out fight.
“Come.” Paytric let go of my hand and raised his palms before him. “Let’s end this, shall we? I have a debt that needs to be paid, and I will not stop until the Druid’s tongue is in my hand.”
He raced forward with conviction and vigor, throwing himself into the fight and unleashing his own strength against the unexpecting shadowbeings.
THE SCREAMS WERE overwhelming.
If I was not occupied with my wind in one hand and a sword in another, I would have wanted to pull out my own hair. These noises would never leave me. Not the final calls of life from the soldiers, or the unnatural noises the shadowbeings made before their heads were sliced from their necks.
I could feel my own energy disappearing, Sapped up by the constant use of my magick and muscles. How long would this go on for? Until not a single life remained?
Even with Paytric’s added forces, who swept into the battle field with conviction, we were still losing. More of the living fell, soon raised once again by Gordex’s horrific powers.
Emaline no longer stood within the sea. Nor did I see any water around her as she swiveled through the bustling crowds of dead. Illera was no longer in her shifter form but by Emaline’s side, swinging her own sword through lifeless flesh and leaving a trail of bodies behind her.
I had long lost the direction in which Hadrian had gone, and when I heard his roar above the loud noises of others, I knew something was wrong. My blood could have frozen in place as blue flame sprouted into the sky. A tidal wave of azure molten cascaded into the clear sky and fell back down across the battle field. Hadrian’s outline hovered in the air far in the distance, but I knew it was too late. His Heart Magick had taken over.
“Contain him,” I shouted to Emaline who was already looking at Hadrian. I could see her exhaustion as clear as I felt my own. She shook her head, knocked a shadowbeing over and ran for Hadrian’s direction. I was close behind. My gaze shot across the ground as I leaped over bodies and shadowbeings who still reached for me. Their heads still connected meant Gordex could still control them.
But Hadrian. Gordex could control him unless I reached him.
I threw wind beneath my feet that sent me jumping through the air. I landed heavily, the bones in my legs and spine vibrating in discomfort. With each jump, I got closer to Hadrian.
Emaline popped the cork on her water skin and threw her arms wide the moment we burst into the circle of flame Hadrian had created. No shadowbeings dared get close to him. He was no longer a threat, not as he too was the Druid’s puppet.
Hadrian was kneeling in the middle of the blue flames. His head was in his hands, his skin glowed as blue as Emaline’s eyes. His shoulders heaved with each labored breath. He was fighting it. He was fighting Gordex and the Heart Magick.
“Hadrian,” I said, hands forward to reach for him. I just needed contact, skin on skin for Nyah to calm him. I could feel her now, tickling across my chest, readying herself to help Hadrian. “Hadr—”
With my next step, I saw something sprawled out behind him. Fadine was laid out on the sandy ground, her skin white and her lips blue. Her eyes were open, stuck to the smoke filled skies above. Her arms were positioned naturally beside her, and so were her legs. To anyone it would look like she was simply resting. But I knew that was not the case.
Death looked beautiful on her. Her horned helmet had tumbled off away from her, allowing her long, sheen midnight hair to flow around her. A trickle of deep ruby snaked its way out from her armor until it trickled down her chest to her neck. Against her shell-pale skin it stood out, like the sun against blue skies or the moon during the night. I followed the river and saw what caused it. The messy wound which bled her gore across her naval and down her trousers. Stabbed.
The murder weapon was next to her, still connected to the severed hand of the shadowbeing that had done it. Burn marks covered the neck of the shadowbeing who laid armless inches away from Hadrian. Smoke still slithered off its cold skin, the smell as pungent as freshly baked pastries. It was sickly sweet, enough to spill the contents of even the strongest of stomachs.
“I cannot hold it off,” Hadrian mumbled to himself, head still in his hands.
I took my eyes off Fadine for a moment, reaching forward to help him. “I can help you. Let me, my love, let me.”
“Gordex, he killed her. My sister is dead,” Hadrian wailed. Slowly, he lifted his chin, looking straight through me. His gaze reflected fire that devoured the sands around him. His large, bowl-like iris were dark and ominous, no longer the Hadrian I love. He was a shell. An empty body.
“He is weak,” Hadrian said, but it was not his voice. “He is mine.”
“No, Hadrian, listen to me. You are stronger than this. You don’t need to fight it, let me help you.”
“He does not need help.” His voice was darker now, deeper and hard.
Emaline bent her knees and raised her watery tentacles in preparation. “Hadrian, listen to Zacriah, or we will do what we need to do to subdue you.”
Hadrian laughed, but it was not the laugh I had come to love. It was shrill like a bird, yet deep like a beast. “You can try, but my you will fail. Your move.”
Gordex challenged me through Hadrian’s body.
Lightning fast, Hadrian threw his hands out towards us both. The flames behind him raised into pillars of striking light before shooting back down towards us. I couldn’t move, so Emaline did it for us. She willed her own counter act, blocking the flame with a wall of water which tripled in size. Steam exploded as flame and water touched, sending hot air
across us. I raised a hand to block it.
The water hummed as Emaline pushed it towards Hadrian. It cascaded over him, layering his skin in liquid to calm his flame. When it settled I expected to see his skin back to normal, but not a single fire was put out. Even the blue flames across the ground still spread hungrily towards us. Emaline reeled backwards as Hadrian moved towards her.
He kicked out a leg, sending a whip of flame towards her and another flash through the air.
She raised her hands, conjuring the water from the sand to return to protect her. But there was no way she could do it in time. Not with Hadrian’s added power. Before the flame could reach Emaline, I sent my own force of magick towards it. My wind ripped sand from the ground and doused the blue flames. Emaline tripped over Fadine’s body, scrambling on her hands and knees to get away. My move had given her enough time to move. But now Hadrian’s entire focus was on me.
“How romantic.” Gordex’s voice seeped out of Hadrian’s mouth. “It would not be a true love story unless one killed the other during a fit of rage. Isn’t that what your stories depict? Morbid I thought, but now I can see the beauty in it.”
More angered flames careened towards me. I willed a storm to battle it back, but the blue fire was strong and unwavering. Water could not stop it, nor could air.
“Fight it,” I shouted at him, spinning a vortex of wind and sand and throwing it in his direction. I didn’t want to hurt him, I only wanted to throw him off balance or distract him enough to break past Gordex’s control. I could hear the battle raging on behind us, but none of the dead tried to help Hadrian. Gordex must have been controlling them to stay away. “It is me. It’s Petal.”
I ran forward, dodging a whip of fire which got close enough to warm my skin. I dropped to my knees before Hadrian and sent a palm of wind to the ground towards his feet. It was strong enough for his leg to be thrown out from under him. With the sudden loss of balance, he dropped to the ground.
“Emaline, hold him down!” I commanded, pushing wind towards Hadrian’s body to keep him down.
“Zac,” she said from behind me which made me look.
Fadine, in death, stood behind Emaline with a dagger of gold pressed to Emaline’s throat. Fadine’s eyes swirled with dark smoke.
The gold dagger was given to her as a way of stopping Hadrian. But now Emaline had it running across the skin of her neck. Enough for her golden blood to trickle gently. Her eyes began to roll into the back of her head, signaling that the gold was taking its price on her body and magick.
“Enough,” Hadrian commanded. “I need them in one piece.”
I looked between Hadrian and Emaline, confused on what to do. One simple move, and Fadine would pierce Emaline’s waiting flesh. And Hadrian, under my air, did not fight back. He knew what I was to do.
“Give up.”
“No,” I said, a tear rolling down my cheek. I could feel my muscles shaking with tiredness, but my mind and will were still strong. I couldn’t let Gordex win.
“Zacriah, look around you,” Gordex said through Hadrian. “Be witness to this moment of truce I show you and what is left of your soldiers.”
I raised my chin and looked across the battle ground. The shadowbeings moved away from the fight, all the dead running but stopping in a large circle which encased everyone who remained. With the separation I could see just how small our numbers were. Blood covered soldiers held the wounded up, faces still strong with intent. I could count the number that were left. The rest of their companions either dead on the ground or standing amongst the shadowbeings which they had now become.
We were all trapped in the circle of the dead.
“Give up.”
“Don’t do it—” Emaline snarled but was cut off as the golden dagger was pressed deeper into her neck. I could see her eyes rolling into the back of her head as the gold drained her of her power and strength. Within a couple of blinks Emaline sagged in Fadine’s hold, unconscious. Illera screamed from the group of survivors and was held back by a blood-covered Kell.
“I control two Dragori, the other is not in a state to help you. It is only you who is left to resist. This next decision is for you. Do you give in? If you do, I shall spare those who stand and watch. Or do you want this conflict to proceed? You know as well as I how it will end. The choice is yours to make. Do it wisely.”
Even as Gordex’s voice spilled from Hadrian’s mouth, I could feel my own magick receding. I turned to my friends, the many who had given their lives for this fight. How could I put them through more suffering when we all had lost so much?
“Show yourself!” I shouted into the sky. Maybe the Goddess would hear me and send help. Or maybe it was a wasted attempt. If she wanted us to win this war for her, she would have sent aid at the beginning. But she stayed silent and watched as we failed on the grounds she created.
I stumbled back from Hadrian and searched the skyline for Gordex. The true Gordex. Not one of his puppets or mouth pieces. I wanted to see him. “Come to me, and I will tell you my answer.”
I didn’t bother to wipe the tears of defeat from my face. It would’ve been pointless.
The desert rumbled behind me. I turned fast to see three figures walking over the dune towards the battle ground. I raised a hand to block out the sun and we all watched as they got closer.
“You call for me, and I have returned,” Gordex said as he walked forward. “To hear what it is you have to say to me. What shall it be? Will you decide the fate of your friends or will you save them? The choice is yours.”
The third figure was hidden behind Gordex before I could see who it was.
“How do I know you will keep to your word?” I asked.
“Here.” Gordex pulled the small child into view. Tiv, his white hair a mess and face red with stress. He was pushed forward, stumbling slightly over his small feet and tried to run for me. But Gordex raised a hand as the black smoke which raced out pulled him back. “If you need more motivation to finalize your decision, I would be happy to give it to you.”
“Tiv.” I almost choked on my own word.
“Go on, little youngling, tell the Dragori here what it is he needs to hear.”
Marthil laughed, the ground grumbling alongside her.
“Tiv’s scared,” Tiv said, crying hysterically in Gordex’s dark hold. “I want to go home.”
My knees gave way under the weight of Tiv’s small, sad voice. I hit the ground, arms sagging and head bowing to my chest.
This feeling, the heavy presence of emptiness in my chest, must have been failure. Heavy, dark, ominous failure.
Hadrian towered above me, his eyes entirely black.
“No more fighting,” I whispered. “It’s over.”
The crowd of remaining soldiers shouted at me, angered voices raising into the sky as I sealed their fate. I tried to block out their shouts with my own cursed thoughts.
The sunset light was choked out by something before me. Gordex had moved so close, kneeling inches away from me, a genuine smile creasing his rune-covered face. His dark eyes flickered across my face, searching and his brows creased.
“Wise choice,” Gordex said, looking behind me at something, then patted his hand on my shoulder twice. He treated me like a dog, praising me with his unwanted touch.
I conjure a gob of spit for him, but something hard connected with the back of my skull. My eyes rolled into my head, but not before my mouth filled with sand as I face planted the ground.
I WOKE TO a sharp pain in my arm. My initial reaction was to reach for the origin of discomfort, but my hands were bound. A feeling I was overly familiar with now.
Once the disillusion cleared, all reality came rushing back, a tidal wave of bad memories. My eyes shot open, but for a moment my vision was unclear and scratchy. Sand, I could see it in my lashes and taste it in my mouth. I longed for a drink, the thirst as agonizing as the slicing cold across my forearm.
My vision settled and cleared so I could see Marthil, who flash
ed her teeth as she hissed with pride. “Stay still, I don’t want to waste any.” She looked away from me back to what she was doing. I followed, slowly with a mind of cotton, and watched her drag a dark knife from my wrist and up to the crook of my elbow.
Crimson rivers snaked down my skin, dripping into an iridescent bowl beneath. The bowl was covered in marbled lines of white, until my blood stained them red. I dug my teeth into my bottom lip to still my scream, but it soon burst free. Marthil cringed, dropped my arm and stood with the bowl in hand.
“And we can’t kill them now?” Marthil asked over her shoulder.
“After everything they have put me through? No. I want them to watch me succeed. Then their lives are meaningless. I will have no need for any of them.”
“Put us through,” Marthil corrected him. She wasn’t looking at Gordex’s expression, but I was. I saw how his eyes creased and his nose turned down, as if he was fighting not to respond to her. All he needed to do was roll his eyes, and it would have been clear just what he thought of Marthil. “Who next?”
“The girl.” Gordex pointed to my side.
I tried to catch my bearings, but the dark sky and lack of light made it hard to see beyond my own body. Night had fallen upon Morgatis. No longer could I see the hordes of shadowbeings, but I could still sense them. Standing in the darkness, still in their circle around us all. But I could not hear the survivors. Not a scuffle of feet across the dry sand, or the sniffling of noses. It was pure silence beyond the glow of the fire before me.
Fire burned hungrily in a pit before me, casting a plethora of oranges and reds across the sand, which caused me to notice the two bodies lying in heaps at different points around the fire. I tried to stand, but my legs couldn’t find the strength to hold me.
“What are you doing?” I asked, voice husky and weak.
“What I have waited long enough for. And now, there is not a chance you can stop me.” Gordex shoulders shook as he laughed. “You tried and failed. So many lives, so much time wasted on your pathetic chance of stopping me.”