Page 76 of A Rising Hope (The Freckled Fate #3)

76

ZORA

T he large clock tower chimed a midday beat. The brass bells echoed through the city, matching the sounds of battle horns at the city walls.

Not even a few minutes later, a massive wave of hot and humid air swallowed the capital of Esnox, making it difficult to breathe as the sticky air burned our lungs. But that feeling was short-lived as thick and palpable darkness like a heavy, cold fog creeped over the streets of Svitar, consuming the light of the city inch by inch.

The Casteol smuggler was long gone, departed back to his quarters, as we reached the center of the city.

“Time to shine,” I uttered to the Ten as we dropped our skirts and dresses, unveiling the armor underneath. Our blades and axes were drawn, eager to taste fresh blood. Terror and horror etched on people’s faces as they ran in a panic for any cover from the darkness turning the white stone black, brick by brick, until the entire city of light was turned pitch-black.

“Thank you, Xentar,” I whispered under my breath, begging the gods to keep him safe. Soon the disheveled pedestrians would be replaced by soldiers and Destroyers, and in war there wouldn’t be a trial or a judge. Only split-second decisions—mercy or execution.

And the war we were fighting had no room for mercy.

Not anymore.

It’d be awhile before people realized the smoke that lingered on the streets wasn’t poisonous, that it was simply an imitation of the Black Shadows that plagued us before. But I hoped that the primal fear humans felt of the dark shadows would be enough to keep them away from the cobbled serpentine roads where the fighting would soon erupt. That it’d be enough to keep the streets free of innocent bloodshed.

Each of the Ten stood tall, shoulders squared, weapons waiting, carefully watching the streets leading to the city square.

It was nearly impossible to see in this dark fog. Our eyes strained and narrowed, attempting to decipher the moving figures. Our natural eyes were useless, but so were the eyes of every soldier in the city.

“Now,” I ordered at the first sound of approaching hooves. Each one of us pulled out a small strip of black fabric, blinding our eyes to avoid the distraction.

I wrapped my chain around my arm, holding to the metal handle of my blades. A sudden wave of terror rolled through me, and the air felt heavy in my lungs. The chain bit into my skin as I held it tighter. I let myself adjust. I let myself settle. I let myself remember.

Why I was here.

For whom I was fighting.

I took a slow, steady breath, calming my racing heart, blocking out all my flooding thoughts with one.

For Gia.

Yes, our eyes were useless in this dark, but just like we had practiced so many times during the poisonous darkness, we let our powers guide us. To feel the heat of the bodies coming towards us, to feel the moment around us, to let our minds see beyond darkness.

I turned back to face the Ten, and like a moving image, my powers shaped their bodies in temperature. All marked by the mask on their faces.

It didn’t take long, but soon the first few Destroyers appeared on our horizon. Lost and distraught.

“For Gia!” I loudly announced, jaw clenched, and then seven voices echoed me behind.

“For Gia!”

“A dead Destroyer a day keeps the gloom away,” Ioanna snarled, grabbing an arrow from the quiver on her back. The disoriented soldier swung his sword aimlessly before his body thudded against the stone.

More soldiers came flooding into the square. One by one we picked them off until their group was dead and then onto the next, hunting any Destroyer we came across, relying only on our powers. The bodies slowly piled through the streets as we held our ground, not allowing any more soldiers to reach the front lines.

Sweat rolled down my forehead and my nostrils flared as a group of more than twenty of them appeared, their blades drawn, their stances cautious as they stumbled over the dead bodies near them.

“Give them hell,” I uttered, wiping away a drip of sweat running down my chin.

Like a pack of predators, each one of the Ten lunged in unison, only paying attention to the colorful heat signatures of the bodies falling to the ground as the enemy collapsed.

My thoughts fell quiet, focusing only on the sound of my chain swinging again and again until their blood stained every street in Svitar.