Page 18

THEREN

Plains of Reckoning

“Ah anidakrivas!” Elioth thrusts his spell towards Cambion, but I push my brother out of the line of fire.

The magic grazes my arm, searing nearly to the bone.

I can’t use my power to heal myself if I want any chance of beating my father.

I don’t have the time. Elioth paces. He wipes blood from a cut on his cheek and snarls.

The words of the ancient elves heal him quickly and I breathe a curse to my ancestors quietly.

Cambion splits himself in two, using the illusion to distract the dark sorcerer while we come up with a plan. “The mages can’t help us for much longer. They’re needed elsewhere and I don’t want them to drain their power before they assist Eilish,” he says.

“I have an idea,” I answer.

My brother turns to me with a skeptical expression.

“Is this like that time you talked me into sneaking out of the temple and we nearly got set on fire by the wards protecting the mountain?” Cambion digs his fingers into the mucky ground and pries up an old sword.

Though there’s a considerable amount of dirt on the weapon, I can tell from the narrow blade and curved hilt that it’s elven in origin.

“No, this is far more likely to end in death rather than just a few burns,” I reply.

My hands work swiftly to remove layers of my armor until I wear nothing more than a thin tunic and trousers.

I unlace my boots and toss them aside, feeling the ground beneath my bare feet as Cambion watches closely.

“I need to get in close. When I’m in position, I’ll… ”

“You aren’t using blood magic on Elioth, Theren. He told me about the day you sent him to the Chasm.”

“What of it?”

Cambion breathes in deeply. “Killing him will kill you, as well. Maybe we can just find a way to send him back.”

I flinch, remembering the day I set in motion events that are still haunting me to this day.

“You heard what Eilish said, we have to destroy them. Elioth came back from the Chasm stronger than before and I’m to blame.

If we send him back, he’ll only return with even more power. Perhaps more than Abedon has now.”

“Then come up with a better idea.”

“We talked about this. Everyone knew fighting this war meant some of us may not return. I have to set this right, Cambion.”

Cambion grips the front of my tunic and pulls me closer, glaring into my eyes with a whirlwind of emotions in his eyes. “I know what we said, but I just got my brother back. I’m not ready to lose you, Theren. Not now. And not because of him.”

I swallow past the lump in my throat and step out of Cambion’s reach.

Elioth roars, sending a shockwave of blue energy hurling toward the mages.

They shield themselves, but I can see them growing weaker.

“The mirror,” I say suddenly. “Pyre said when the time comes that I must face our father, I’ll have to choose between the power of our bloodline and saving Eilish.

I use blood magic by choice, but the gift I inherited from Elioth is catoptromancy. ”

“It sounds like you’re onto something.”

“The world beyond the mirror isn’t a place of life or death, darkness nor light.

It’s an entity of its own and it consumes whoever lingers too long,” I explain.

“If we can get Elioth inside the shadow mirror and then break it, he won’t be able to get out.

Once consumed by that world, he will be no more. ”

“And you will no longer be bound by the spell you used to send him into the Chasm.” There’s hope in my brother’s eyes once again.

“Get close. I’ll distract him. When the mirror is ready, give me the signal and we can end this.

Be careful, Theren.” Cambion runs over to the mages.

He casts a shield of his own and blocks Elioth’s next attack.

I prop my gear against the cracked boulder and move quickly across the field.

My steps are soft on the soil, leaving behind no trace of my presence in the area.

The gear is nothing more than a diversion meant to make Elioth believe I’m hurt or cowering behind cover.

I adjust my vision as I creep through throngs of soldiers and hellish monsters.

I blink and the colors dim, washing the world in hues of gray.

Elioth’s aura stands out like an ink stain on parchment.

I call on the shadows, power not unlike the darkness that Dragan has mastered.

It flows through me as real and vital as blood.

The shadows swell, churning in a way that matches the clouds above our heads.

I move them, shaping them into illusions of reflective surfaces before summoning my mirror.

Elioth’s back is to me as I step into a small clearing.

Cambion meets my gaze from over our father’s shoulder.

The dark sorcerer catches Cambion watching and smiles as his eyes land on me.

The reflective illusions circle Elioth. His spells falter as his concentration is split between Cambion and the floating object around him.

“Stop these childish games and face me, Theren! Trickery won’t save you from the darkness you fear so much,” he slurs.

“I can sense it. You pretend to be a master of your craft, but deep inside you’re still just a frightened boy playing with power beyond his understanding. ”

“You’re wrong. I’ve been shown the way, Father. Cambion and I both have. Eilish has already taught us what it means to be a true leader.”

“She is an abomination!”

Unbridled rage rises within me. I clench my jaw and pour my energy into opening the mirror.

Elioth’s eyes widen. He glances around, searching for the mirror among the illusions twirling around him.

The ground begins to tremble and the ghouls nearby scatter.

Wind kicks up dust, blowing it around like a desert storm.

I call out to Cambion in my mind. Now!

Cambion forces his power into my spell as I weave a cocoon of destructive magic around Elioth.

My eyes blacken like the mirror’s surface and blood drips from Cambion’s nose.

The energy builds to a crescendo. Elioth drops to his knees with a roar that causes my ears to ring.

The shadow mirror widens, opening a gateway into the other world.

I use the vortex of magic and thrust Elioth through the surface.

An explosion of great force knocks me down.

My body aches and bile crawls up my throat, causing me to gag, but I hold back.

I press my hands to the ground and push to my knees.

Cambion stands in a patch of scorched stone with the mirror in his arms. Elioth pounds against the unseen barrier with eyes burning with a promise of retribution.

Though Cambion can’t see the silver vines crawling up Elioth’s arms or the cracks like fractured glass forming on his skin, I know he senses the evil of our father fading.

Already, my ability to see into the mirror dwindles.

“How do we destroy the mirror?” Cambion asks weakly.

“What has been forged of shadow, must be undone by light. Use your power, Cambion.”

I stumble back, splashing into a shallow pool of blood. It soaks through my tunic, staining it black, green, and crimson. Cambion sends a tendril of light into the mirror and the darkness recoils. Cracks begin to form along the frame until the mirror shatters with a high-pitched squeal.

***

DRAGAN

Plains of Reckoning

“Fuck yeah! Did you see that?!” Baron’s voice blares through the communication ring as the dust settles around Cambion and Theren.

It’s unlike Baron to cheer anyone on, let alone the Sons of Elioth.

But even I can’t turn a blind eye to their impressive show of magic.

Elioth, last of the dark sorcerers that draw from the Chasm, is no more.

His heirs stand victorious where he met his end.

“Yes, I fucking did,” I reply curtly. “But if you haven’t noticed, I have the Knights of Umbria on my tail!”

“I’m sorry, Dragan. If I could fly, I would help.

” The line on our communication rings goes silent.

I curse under my breath and catch sight of Silvanus obliterating a cluster of shadow demons.

He throws one of his mystical axes and it boomerangs back to him, after cutting down another slew of enemies.

But as ten fall, twenty more take their place.

Abedon’s army is beyond anything we prepared for.

My companions and I spent ages fighting against Variant when the real threat had been building a monstrous army—the likes this universe has never seen.

I call out to Pyre over my communication device, even as I see him in the distance.

The necromancer flips onto the shoulders of a stone golem and fires a stream of arrows into a line of orcs.

He leaps from the golem and onto a horse, barreling across the battlefield as if the mount itself is possessed by the power of The Veil.

“Pyre!” I yell again.

“A little busy at the moment!”

“Do these things have a weakness? Our weapons are useless against the dark riders.”

I hear the sound of clashing shields and the sickening suction of a sword being pulled out of a ghoul. “The Knights of Umbra have not risen since the Singularity. They may be conditioned to the…”

“I need a simple answer, Necromancer! If there’s a way to kill them, I need to know.”

“The only being to ever successfully kill a Knight of Umbra without Eilish’s dagger was Variant’s father.

You need the Sword of Eternal Flame.” Pyre drops the line and my ears fill with static.

I search the scuffle below for any sign of Variant just as he soars toward a cluster of wyverns.

He spins mid-air and slices the belly of one of the beasts, causing thick blood to rain down on the soldiers and orcs below.

“Variant!”

The angel turns, changing course until he reaches my side. I can barely hear his voice over the roar of the wind. “What do you need?”

“Your sword!”