Page 10

EILISH

Mortal Ruins

The Obiqui continue to bite and claw at me. My entire body is riddled with the stinging pain. I fight to protect myself against them but it’s no use. There are just too many of them.

As soon as the thought leaves my mind, the swarm is suddenly distracted. A putrid stench fills the air as the Obiqui begin to fall from the sky. Charred flesh and feathers litter the ground. I attempt to stand, but the pain in my body is fierce.

“Eilish.”

I turn to the sound of the voice and Baron grips my arms, helping me to my feet. My wings drag along the ground as he pulls me into the shadows. The Obiqui are hunting again.

“What happened?” I ask him.

“We set a barrier with the cloaking device. Someone outside the walls sent a flash fire into the sky and evened out the odds a little.”

“Dragan?”

“With the soldiers,” he replies. “He ordered the gargoyles to provide cover. The golems are helping too.” Baron tilts my head from one side to the other, searching me over for injuries.

He moves quickly, checking the depth and severity of each wound.

“They really got you good, Eilish. Let me heal you.”

“No. We don’t have time to heal me. Those things won’t be down for long and I need to protect my people. They’re counting on me.”

“Please, just let me take care of the worst. You’re strong, but you’re not fucking invincible.”

“Baron, I don’t have time…”

“Make time. I won’t let you get yourself killed by being stubborn.” Baron pauses with his hand hovering near a gash in my side. The two of us stare at each other, close enough to share the same breath. “I just need to know you’re alright. Please?”

I lean back against the wall and let his magic pour over me.

Warm, tingling power cascades across my skin as it heals me.

I trace the curve of his jaw with my finger and pull him towards me.

With a faint smile, I press a kiss to his lips that’s lighter than air and finished in the blink of an eye. “I love you too.”

He chuckles and smiles at me as I step out of my arms and flutter my wings to test them before retracting them once more.

There are a few painful twinges left over, but nothing too bad.

However, I can see how much healing me has drained Baron as he rests for a moment against the wall. “Baron?” I ask.

He shakes his head. “Don’t worry about me. I just need to feed and then I’ll be fine. Focus on ending this before anyone else gets hurt.”

I peer around the corner, watching as the Obiqui change course and head for Silvanus. He destroys most of them with a single spell, but there are too many for him to destroy all of them. I pass one last lingering glance to Baron before I rush to the center of the courtyard.

“Take cover!” I shout above the barrage of sound as a bright light surrounds me.

Pure, powerful grace amplifies within me.

The brightness of the light surrounding me suddenly presses outward, expanding in orbs that grow in diameter until they overcome the Obiqui and the hell birds vanish.

Nothing is left behind. Not a single drop of blood or bone.

I can’t get my power to recede. It builds within me until it threatens to blow, taking everyone with it. “Run!” I may level the entire city if I can’t get control.

Arms wrap around me and darkness neutralizes the light, dimming it until it’s forced to cower back in my body.

I look up and see Pyre’s beautiful, scarred face.

He holds me gently, lifting me from the ground in one swoop and carrying me inside.

Silvanus and Baron give chase, following us into the war room.

Baron digs into his bag and retrieves a potion of some sort.

“Drink this. It will take away the pain and make your head stop spinning.”

The bottle presses against my lips and I swallow down the bitter liquid. It tastes like ginger, ash, yarrow, valerian root, and a few more ingredients I can’t identify. My stomach burns intensely before a soothing warmth relaxes the cramping muscles.

“Is it over?” I ask. “Where are the others?”

“It seems to be over for now,” Silvanus says. “Cambion is tending to the people, Dragan and Myerdoth are busy with the soldiers still, and I’m not certain about Theren and Variant.”

“We have to find them. They could be hurt.”

I attempt to sit up, but Pyre keeps me on the table instead.

“I would sense if they are hurt and so would you, Eilish,” he says. “Leave them be for now. Your power is still unstable and you pose a threat to all of those lives you’re trying to save. Rest for a moment and let Baron’s potion help you.”

I nod and lay back down. “What happens now?” I breathe slowly and deliberately to ease the lingering nausea in my stomach.

“The Obiqui are gone momentarily, but they could come back,” Baron says, facing Pyre, who nods. At that moment, Silvanus enters the room. He looks at Pyre who simply nods back to him as if to say I’ll be alright.

“Elioth, the Knights of Umbria, and Abedon need to be taken care of,” Pyre says. “They’re building an army, one that will be fueled by the power of the Chasm.”

“Now that the realms have seen what the true darkness is, we may be able to bring the Seelie army over to our side,” Silvanus supposes as he sits in one of the chairs beside me.

“The Unseelie will follow Elioth to their deaths, but the Seelie will answer to Cambion if given the chance. Without Morrigan’s power influencing everything. .. it might be our only hope.”

“And we can ask the people to fight,” Baron suggests.

“The people are afraid,” I start.

Baron shakes his head. “If they know what’s at stake and you give them the chance to fight for their freedom, I think some of them might surprise you.”

I nod and take a deep breath. “The refugees can be sent to the Delendren Glade. Zir’s device can protect the keep from invasion while the rest of us march towards battle. We’ll need weapons and armor, but I think we can do this.”

***

THEREN

Mortal Ruins

I find them in the war room just as Variant enters from the other door.

His chest is bare and his trousers are smudged with soot and burned in places.

Eilish gasps at the sight of him and it’s clear that Variant was the one who produced the flash fire that lessened the Obiqui’s numbers.

I hurry into the room and prop my mirror against the wall.

“There is something I must do,” I call out to the others.

“It may be the only thing that can buy us some time before the next wave of attacks.”

“What is it?” Eilish moves to my side, placing a hand on my arm. “What are you trying to do, Theren? I think we should discuss it.”

“We don’t have much time. I need to use the mirror to track my father’s movements. If we know where Elioth is and what he’s doing, we can be better prepared for what’s coming next.”

“How dangerous is it?” she asks. I can see the concern in her beautiful eyes. My hand reaches out to her as though I’m helpless to stop it. I pull Eilish against my chest and kiss her softly. She sighs and curls her fingers over my shoulders. Baron separates us.

“Don’t start that shit right now. I’m hard as a rock and I need to feed, so let’s get this over with as quickly as possible.” He pauses and glares at me. “Answer her questions, asshole.”

I nod and look back at Eilish. “It’s… dangerous. I may need Variant’s help to make sure I don’t become ensnared by the mirror.”

Eilish tries to move around Baron, but Variant blocks her path. “Wait,” she says. “Theren, you don’t have to do this. We can find another way without taking such a risk.”

Eilish knows my greatest fear is to be lost to the glass, trapped inside the endless darkness between worlds. But, I love her and nothing less than love would inspire me to attempt this.

“I have to…”

“And how will you come back? How do you make sure you don’t get ensnared inside the mirror?” she demands. Then she turns to face Pyre. “Could you make sure Theren comes back?”

“It’s very complicated, Eilish,” Pyre points to the mirror.

“The world beyond that glass isn’t physical nor spiritual.

It isn’t my realm and so my power is useless against it.

While Theren trusts Variant to try and pull him back before becoming ensnared, if Theren is lost in that other world, then there isn’t a thing any of us can do to help him.

Only an equally skilled catoptromancer would be able to bring Theren back. ”

“And your father would like nothing more than to trap you,” Eilish says.

I nod. “If he catches me, then I’m better off dead anyway.”

I move over to the mirror and flinch as Variant draws near. It isn’t often that I have someone at my back who isn’t Cambion, but I need to do this without my brother. “Are you ready, Variant?” I ask.

He nods.

I continue. “It would be wise to watch my eyes. They will be black as marbles while I’m gone, but if they become as reflective as the mirror, you must break the connection immediately. I may attempt to fight you…”

“I’m ready,” Variant interrupts. “Just be quick.”

I stand before the mirror and see only myself staring back.

Variant and the others don’t reflect on its surface, for the glass obeys no one.

I feel the pull and, once again, I find myself wading through darkness.

Whispers glide across my skin. I’m alone with my past, my present, and my future as the air around me breathes.

I use my magic to probe the darkness, searching for my father.

A window appears. Drops of water slide down the glass as I reach to open it.

The smell of Earlann’s market reaches my nose and I climb through the opening.

People run through the streets, screaming as they beg for mercy. The Knights of Umbria soar through the clouds on their wyverns. Fire explodes on the rooftops of buildings. Through the thick smoke and debris, I see Elioth.

Cambion? Can you hear me, brother? I call out in thought.

By the gods, Theren. Where are you?

I have found Elioth. Earlann is burning. I’m tracking him now.

Don’t! He will sense your presence.

We don’t have any other choice, I argue. This is the only way .

I move closer, listening as Elioth shouts to his minions. Shadow demons ravage the shops and homes nearby. “Move faster, you wretched vermin! When sunrise comes, I want all of you in Oronrel. The Unseelie will either bow to me or perish!” Elioth yells.

And with the Unseelie Army, Abedon’s darkness will spread and Elioth will march through the Mortal Realm until we’re all captured.

I turn back towards the opening of the window.

Rain weighs down my robes, making it difficult to slide through.

I close the window and see my father pause.

He turns towards me, not seeing but sensing me near.

“Come out, Theren! Or must I remind you what happens when children play with dark magic?”

Pain… excruciating pain lances through my body and I stumble back.

I crawl through the shadows, keeping my eyes trained on the window until it shatters.

But the pain still lingers. And it’s stemming from my hands.

I look down, watching in terror as silver climbs up my hands and then my arms like vines.

The mirror is taking me. “Variant! Break the connection!”

I hear a loud scream in the distance before everything goes dark and I feel myself falling to the ground.

I open my eyes and lights and shapes accost my view as Variant cushions my landing, but only just so.

Something drips from my eyes and when I touch the liquid, my fingers are covered in red. Blood.

Eilish rushes over. “We couldn’t get you out!”

“What does that mean?” I ask as I look up at her.

“Variant had to cut you to break the connection. You almost killed him!”

Cambion explodes through the door and catches my eye. “Did he see you?”

“No, but he knew I was watching. He knew I was there. They’ve attacked Earlann and they plan to move to Oronrel next.”

“Were the Knights of Umbria there?” Silvanus asks.

“I counted four with Elioth along with an army of shadow demons.”