Page 17

EILISH

Plains of Reckoning

I see Abedon.

He stands on a pile of bodies that appear to be elven.

Thorned wyverns and the Knights of Umbra surround him protectively.

A horde of undead skeletons, orcs, shadow demons, ghouls, and possessed Seelie stretches towards the horizon in the distance.

The forces of Abedon and Elioth outnumber us one to a thousand.

“He has Cambion,” I hear myself say. My gaze moves over to Theren. I can see the fear in his eyes.

“We can’t just let him kill my brother.”

“I’m not going to let Elioth kill Cambion.

” I lift my hand and signal Pyre. He shoots an arrow at Elioth, but it never reaches its target.

Abedon blasts it out of the air with a flare of magic.

A victorious smile appears on his face, but it’s short lived.

Though the arrow doesn’t hit Elioth, it provides a distraction.

Cambion uses the opportunity to kick his father back and dive for cover.

Elioth bellows in rage, launching spells at his son. Theren looks to me with a silent plea in his eyes.

“Go to him,” I order. “End Elioth. We’ll focus on Abedon.” And the war begins as swiftly as the wind blows. The Knights of Umbra charge on their winged steeds with a screech that fills the air. A volley of arrows soars across the battlefield.

I raise my blade and the soldiers move into formation.

“Steady,” I call, watching as the line of orcs pushes towards the ravine.

“Now!” The wraith warriors float to the front and barrel through the orcs.

Pyre signals the archers once more and arrows rain down on the opposition.

Baron shifts in the saddle, seeming eager to join the fight.

The gargoyles take to the sky. Knights of Umbra clash against the stone guardians.

Swords of shadow batter against enchanted armor.

Myerdoth covers Dragan as they attempt to even the odds.

Theren moves swiftly through the chaos, inching his way towards his brother.

Shadow demons swarm him. My heart sinks but I can’t worry for him.

I have to defend my people. “Mages, ready! Attack!”

A spectrum of color flashes like fireworks as spells break through the darkness.

Magic hovers all around, lingering for only the blink of an eye before exploding against our enemy.

“Baron!” I shout. The vampire releases a battle cry and shadow walks to the other side of the ravine.

Ghouls descend on him. I swallow thickly, eyes scanning the fight before me as I search for Cambion.

Lydia vaults over a troll and pulls herself onto the back of Cambion’s mount.

The Amazon leader rides toward me, leaving behind a trail of severed heads and a cloud of dust. She pulls to a stop beside me, sweat beading on her brow and upper lip.

“There’s a way around the ravine. We can send some of our forces to the other side to trap the horde, but if those demons find a way across… ”

Then our soldiers won’t stand a chance.

“Take Belroth and the golems with you. Aima and Kolvar will lead the next wave of attacks. Make sure you steer clear of Abedon.” I snap the reins and urge my horse forward.

“On my signal, we ride east.” The soldiers meet my gaze squarely as Lydia and her tribe move out of sight.

I hear the sounds of great wings flapping and the hairs on my arms stand on end.

Without another second of hesitation, I fling my dagger.

It whirls through the air and strikes one of the Knights of Umbra, stealing his soul and leaving him as nothing more than a pile of ash.

Soldiers rush towards the ravine to keep the demons at bay.

Variant spreads his wings and launches himself into the sky.

Wyverns roar. Fire spits from their powerful jaws, searing the ground and spreading flames across the barren lands.

Dark spellcasters form a bridge and orcs spill onto our side of the field.

I ride hard into the fight, crashing against iron shields. My mount tumbles.

I hit the ground with a painful grunt, bouncing once before I roll into a crouch.

A demon with pus yellow flesh and large horns lifts its hammer above its oddly small head.

I jump back, slamming my body into a ghoul waving around a wickedly curved sword.

It slashes towards my head, but I shove the ghoul at the demon.

The enormous war hammer smashes the ghoul’s skull in one fatal blow. I dive for the sword.

My hand brushes the hilt. The sharp hiss of a wyvern catches my attention.

I hold still, glancing to my left until my eyes land on the serpent-like creature with wings and a mane of thorns.

The narrow muzzle curves upward, showing off a set of sharp teeth that could rip me to pieces.

I grab the sword quickly and kick the wyvern away from me.

A growl escapes the demon as I use the blade to deflect its attacks.

My foot catches on a body and I fall to the ground once more.

Silvanus appears. He blasts the demon with magic and summons dual axes. The primordial god twirls his weapons and fights with a warrior’s grace. His broad shoulders flex each time he swings his axes.

I jump to my feet and spread my wings as the wyvern circles me.

With Silvanus occupying the demon, I’m left to deal with Abedon’s lapdog.

The wyvern’s taloned thumb swipes, its wings cutting through the air effortlessly.

I duck and slice through the webbing of its wing, causing the creature to shriek.

A second wyvern crawls towards me at a terrifying speed.

I grip my sword and run in the opposite direction.

My wings give me momentum.

I plunge my sword into the wyvern’s chest, but a thick layer of bone protects its heart.

Wounded but alive, the wyvern sulks away to return to its master’s side.

The second wyvern grips my shoulders with its claws and drags me across the ground.

My fingers slip and the sword drops back to the dirt.

I kick my legs and shove up to knock the creature off balance. The wyvern releases me.

Baron shadow walks over to a large orc, but I grab a dagger from his belt as he passes.

The wyvern leaps onto my back. I spin at the last second before I hit the ground and bury the dagger to the hilt within its belly.

A sputter of smoke belches from its mouth.

And then it freezes into a petrified statue of scales and teeth.

I kick it over and it shatters like delicate porcelain.

Pyre reaches my side and hands me my dagger. “Keep this with you,” he demands in a scolding voice. “If you want to throw knives, I suggest you take Aima’s daggers.”

“I had to protect Dragan!”

Pyre grips my chin, forcing me to meet his sightless gaze. “Whether you want to believe it or not, the future of the realms depends on your survival.” His thumb caresses my bottom lip. “I gave you the dagger for a reason. Please... be more careful.”

I press a kiss to his thumb and step away from him. “I promise.”

***

CAMBION

Plains of Reckoning

The screeches and caws of the demonic black birds are nothing compared to the dark souls of the Knights of Umbra.

I block one sword, only to narrowly miss being gutted by another.

Elioth is busy fending off the barrage of spells the mages bombard him with.

One of the knights knocks me off of my feet and I land on my back beside a large stone.

A hand grips the front of my shirt, yanking me behind the rock.

Theren.

My brother shoves my back against the boulder and dabs away the blood dripping from my nose with his sleeve. “How did he get you, Cambion? Elioth was supposed to be far from the plains until the rest of us arrived,” Theren asks. I bat away his hands and peek around the boulder.

“He was already here when I arrived.”

“Did he ambush you?”

“No, the soldiers weren’t harmed. Elioth took only me.”

“Why?”

“He tried to convince me to submit to the darkness and threatened...”

“Easy, Brother,” Theren says soothingly. He brushes my hair back and searches my eyes for something. “We aren’t frightened children anymore. He threatened you because he’s afraid. Stay strong, Cambion. We can beat him.”

“He’s so much stronger than I remember.”

Theren steps away from me and uses his blood magic to summon the Staff of Scorn.

I press a hand to the shallow gouge in my side and mutter a healing spell beneath my breath.

My head spins. Nausea rips through my core and I double over.

Theren is there to catch me. A streak of crimson against his cheek seems so out of place on his perfect features.

“Elioth showed me what happened the day you sent him to the Chasm.”

My brother flinches, keeping his eyes trained on our father as he speaks. “It was Morrigan who told me to use the book. If I’d known it was a trap, that she only wanted Elioth out of the way so she could get her hands on his book... I wouldn’t have done it.”

“Liar. You would have done it or something equally reckless. And you would have done it just to save me.” I reach out and grip Theren’s shoulder, bringing his gaze back to mine.

“I can never truly repay you for all you’ve done to protect me.

Perhaps if I hadn’t been so blind to your suffering, we wouldn’t be fighting in this war. ”

“Dwelling on what could have been is useless. You’re my brother, Cambion. I need no other reason to do what I’ve always done and that is to keep you safe.” Theren claps me on the arm and charges Elioth when the mages are overwhelmed by the dark sorcerer’s power.

My legs are weak for a moment as the healing spell takes longer to seal my wounds.

I grit my teeth and shuffle over to a pile of bodies, in search of a weapon.

I need to provide Theren with backup. He’ll need it.

A sea of demons parts as Variant drops from the sky.

He uses a ray of light to send the shadow demons running and turns to face me.

“Glad to see you’re still alive, Cambion. But it appears just barely so.”

“I’m fine,” I snarl.

The angel snorts and shakes his head. A warm glow emits from his hand as he presses it over my slowly healing wound. The skin heats up until the pain leeches from my body. I shove him away, before catching myself. “I’m grateful for your aid, but Eilish needs you by her side more than I do.”

He nods. “Don’t forget to use the communication rings. It would be nice to know the two of you are still breathing.

Variant leaps into the air once more as the clouds begin to swirl. The magic charging the atmosphere roils, mingling with the lightning and thunder that shakes the ground from time to time. Each flash of light illuminates the battle beyond the clouds.

Gargoyles tear into the dark riders and the Knights of Umbra unleash the wrath of darkness on the stone guardians. Hunks of rock fall from the sky, scattering the obscene number of orcs and ghouls still standing.

I pull myself from behind the boulder. My boots crunch lightly on the small pebbles that pepper the ground.

Pain nags at my back as I sneak closer to Elioth and Theren, crouched down like a thief in the night.

My father lifts a dark curse in the palm of his hand.

And that’s when I make my move. I run as fast as I can, as fast as my wounded body will carry me, and I tackle him to the ground.

Elioth shakes me off easily and sends me flying into a large boulder. It breaks with a loud crack.

Theren races over to me, but I raise my hand to keep him from getting too close. I stumble to my feet and stand tall against Elioth with defiance written on my face. “Let’s see who walks away from this fight, Father.”