Page 98 of Darkness Births the Stars #1

CHAPTER

Rada

N acin gave me wings.

The stallion needed no urging, sensing my agitation as I guided him out of Dalath and onto the winding road.

His powerful body surged beneath me and I buried my face in his mane as we raced away, the wind whipping against my cheeks.

We swiftly crossed the dense, shadowy forest separating the village from the farm, yet every second felt agonizingly slow.

My heart pounded in sync with the stallion’s hooves, each beat echoing my greatest fear coming true: those dearest to me were paying the price for my sins.

Varien… Briseis… The thought of them in the hands of the Chiasma sent icy dread through me. Blessed Light, protect them! I had not prayed in ages, but now I did, a desperate plea for mercy, though I knew fate was unlikely to grant it.

“Faster!” I urged Nacin. We burst into the farmhouse courtyard, and I leaped off him, barely taking the time to loop his reins around the post by the door with a curt “I’ll be back soon!”. I sprinted inside and hurried to the guest room .

Bane greeted me with a plaintive mewl, weaving around my ankles.

I only spared him an absentminded pat as I headed to the cupboard on the far wall.

He growled in annoyance, but followed me.

The Chaosdagger I had tucked into my belt hummed with energy as I heaved aside the chest of unhallowed lyr -stone splinters.

Behind it, I had stored a solid iron rod.

Shooing Bane away, I searched for a distinctive pattern on the wooden floor and inserted the rod’s tip between two floorboards.

Leaning on it with all my weight, I pried up the wood.

After several tries, the board finally loosened and creaked open.

I reached into the hollow beneath. At first, my fingers encountered nothing.

Then, a few tendrils of Air magic sizzled over my skin, recognizing my magical signature.

My hand found rough-spun cloth. The package I lifted out was nearly as long as I was tall, a simple rope securing the cloth around the weapon.

For a moment, I remained kneeling beside the hole in the floor, Starfire on my lap, my eyes closed.

“I had hoped I would never have to use this again,” I said, my gaze finding Bane.

The cat blinked his enormous amber eyes at me, then pressed his head against my hand in silent encouragement.

I chuckled weakly, scratching behind his ears.

“I guess my fight isn’t over yet, my friend,” I whispered.

Nacin’s shrill neigh shattered my melancholy. I sprang to my feet at once, the wrapped weapon in my hands. Unease coursed through me as a loud snarl mingled with the horse’s agitated sounds.

There were ten of them waiting for me in front of the house.

It was foolish, really. They had missed the chance to ambush me inside. But none of the Rakash, clad in dark leather armor and brandishing gleaming weapons, dared to confront the furious war horse by the door, his deadly hooves striking the air.

“Shh, Nacin, there’s nothing to worry about,” I soothed the stallion, stepping slowly onto the packed earth of the courtyard. Bane slinked out behind me, his fur bristling, a menacing growl rumbling from his throat. My eyes flicked from side to side, noting each Rakash’s position.

“It’s dangerous for a pretty little thing to live all alone.

” The words, spoken in roughly accented Common, came from the tallest of them—their leader, no doubt.

His fur gleamed like hammered iron, charcoal stripes darkening the longer strands that brushed his shoulders like a mane.

Etched into the armor across his chest was the sigil of Chaos—a raging flame of black, amethyst, and emerald.

Galator’s troops still marched beneath that emblem.

Noctis’s fear had been justified; these were no mere outlaws.

“If I were merely a pretty little thing, that might be true,” I replied, keeping Starfire loosely clasped in my hand.

A menacing smile revealed the Rakash’s sharp canines.

“The mistress told us who you are—the Lady of Light, the traitorous whore for whom the Fallen One lost the war.” A growling laugh escaped him as he pointed his spear at the surrounding farm buildings.

“Betraying him hasn’t gained you much, has it, my queen? ”

“Noctis is still your master.” I refused to be daunted by the mockery and the hoarse guffaws echoing around me. With a swift motion, I bent and grabbed the hem of my skirt, tucking it securely under my leather belt for better movement.

“So eager to lift your skirts for us?” taunted a dark-furred Rakash on the left, followed by a renewed chorus of growls and yelps.

Their leader’s smile widened, a dark light gleaming in his slitted yellow eyes. “We do not serve fools and weaklings,” he said. “Galator is our lord now.”

“And the Chiasma.” I discreetly loosened the rope securing the cloth around Starfire .

“As long as our lord wills it.”

Bane hissed threateningly as the Rakash leader took a step toward me. The Rakash laughed. “Mistress Deira told us to bring you to her. But she also said you only need to be alive, not unharmed.”

“Let’s see if fucking you is really worth losing everything,” sneered a yellow-furred Rakash from the right, leering at me. The others quickly joined in with crude suggestions and threats in their own guttural language. I gave no sign I understood their words.

“Do yourself a favor, little queen,” the leader said, his cold eyes fixed on me, not yet joining the fray. “Don’t fight back. We won’t hurt you too much, then.”

How generous. I felt something awaken inside me—a deep, burning rage. They thought they could do whatever they wanted to anyone unable to stop them. They had probably done so many times before. Today would be the last time they threatened anyone, though. I would make sure of it.

“Only one man is allowed to call me that. And you’re very lucky he isn’t here,” I said, letting the rope slide through my fingers. My breathing was slow and measured as I shifted my stance, grounding myself.

“Think he could protect you?” the leader asked as the Rakash moved forward in unison, tightening the circle around me.

“Who says I need protection?” A slight smile lifted my lips as my awareness sharpened in anticipation. “He would just end you a lot more slowly and painfully than I will.”

It was time.

Starfire flew up, the cloth concealing it fluttering down like a discarded veil.

Its beautifully engraved steel caught the light, intricate patterns shimmering with a deadly elegance.

Curved blades with razor-sharp edges adorned each end of the staff.

Every gaze followed the arc of the weapon as it spun through the air.

My hands shot out, catching the handle with practiced ease, its weight settling into my grip as if it had always belonged there.

I moved the moment it was in my grasp. Blood spurted into the air in a vivid spray as one blade sliced through the throat of the closest Rakash.

I didn’t wait for his twitching body to hit the ground, stabbing the staff backward to drive the other blade into the chest of the next snarling attacker.

It cut through his leather armor like a knife through butter.

A grunt escaped me as I yanked my weapon out, moving back into my fighting stance.

Nacin reared up, his hind legs kicking out, sending a Rakash who had tried to sneak up on me flying.

The remaining attackers hesitated, small whines and growls escaping them. Their leader bared his teeth at me, all amusement gone now that I had proven I was no easy prey.

“A nice little stick,” he growled, lifting his clawed hand. “But it won’t be enough to get us all.”

They would attack all at once. It was the clever thing to do. Too bad I was prepared for it.

My grip on Starfire tightened as I reached out with my mind.

Glowing Aurean runes ignited on the staff, the lyr -stone at its center blazing with a bright, unrelenting light.

Three Rakash lunged at me from the right.

The first arc of sizzling Light magic hit them, incinerating them in a blaze so intense the afterimage flickered before my eyes.

I seamlessly slid into a crouch, a sword swishing over me from the left.

Starfire tore through the wielder’s stomach from below as I brought the weapon up, his screams a wild howl as his guts spilled onto the ground in a gush of dark blood.

Light rose around me in a radiant maelstrom as I sprang to my feet, disarming the next two attackers.

A thrust of the staff took out the first, while the second went up in flames as I hurled a crackling ball of pure Light at him.

Maker! I could understand Noctis now. The feeling of my power pulsing through my veins was intoxicating.

Every fiber of my being thrummed with raw energy.

I needed more. I needed to punish these creatures for their insolent belief that they could harm a goddess.

The lyr -stone answered my call, shining brighter and brighter.

Yes, that was it. I raised Starfire over my head, letting the magic rage through me.

A shrill yowl caught my attention. Bane was circling me, his fur standing up.

I lowered the staff, my gaze shifting to my hands, a gasp escaping me at the sight of the glowing veins beneath my skin.

Now I could feel the pain—the searing bite of using more power than this weak mortal vessel could contain.

It was a wonder I hadn’t burned myself out completely.

I drew a shuddering breath and shifted the staff in my grasp.

Better to deal with my remaining foes without magic.

Two Rakash were left standing, their faces twisted in fear and hate as I advanced on them.

The one on the left charged with a wild scream, his axe raised high above his head.

An easy opening. I whirled to the side, Starfire cutting through the vulnerable flesh beneath his arm, then finishing him with a thrust to his back as he crumbled.

Only the leader remained, his yellow eyes wide with disbelief.

“You—you…” he gasped, stumbling backward and letting go of his spear.

When I followed, my own weapon raised threateningly, he suddenly pulled something sparkling out of his armor and smashed it onto the ground with a desperate scream.

The crystalline object broke into a thousand smaller splinters, a thin, ominous trail of smoke rising from it into the air.

For a moment, nothing else happened .

Then reality ripped apart in front of us.

Nacin neighed in panic behind me. I retreated with a disbelieving gasp, my hands tightening around Starfire’s handle at the sight of the chasm opening in the middle of my courtyard.

Something moved in the fathomless darkness pulsing within, something large and many-legged.

It burst into this world in a devastating wave of raging Chaos and writhing shadows, the force of its entrance tearing apart the henhouse behind it in a whirl of splintering wood and flying feathers.

Razor-sharp front legs struck at once, impaling the Rakash leader, who had been too shocked to move away, and hurling him aside, his shrill scream breaking off abruptly when he hit the ground. Then the monster swiveled around, its many eyes eerily focused on me.

Kritak. A foe I had thought defeated long ago, captured within a sphere of lyr -stone magic, kept separate from reality until the stone that contained it was broken.

Artifacts of dark magical power, my ass. I would strangle Noctis for creating something that dangerous.

With a roar, the monster charged. Only a desperate roll to the side saved me from sharing the fate of the Rakash and my poor chickens. I jumped to my feet at once, Starfire raised to deflect the next attack.

Curse it, the thing was fast. My bladed staff was nothing but a blur as I desperately defended myself against the blade-like legs stabbing at me again and again.

The Kritak had been dangerous even when I was a goddess.

Now that I was a mortal, I had no idea how to defeat the beast. Ignoring the sharp pain radiating through my entire body, I called on the Light magic in Starfire’s lyr -stone once more.

Power seared through the air, hitting the creature in the side, dark blood exploding outward.

It was not enough, though. With a furious shriek, it lunged at me again, one strike of those deadly legs knocking Starfire from my hands .

Out of options, I thrust my hand into the pocket of my skirt, my fingers closing around the Air stones within.

A blast of magic sent the Kritak flying, the ground shaking beneath me at its impact.

It only deterred the monster a little. It scrambled back to its feet, coming at me once more.

I could not kill it like this; Air was a more defensive power.

Before I could draw the Chaosdagger, the beast was upon me.

A scream tore from my lips as one of those sharp legs ripped down my calf, tearing my flesh.

I collapsed on the ground, the Kritak looming over me.

My fingers frantically closed around the hilt of the dagger.

With one last panicked pull, I managed to get it out of my belt and up between us, the lyr -stone blazing to life as its magic awakened.

There was no time to fear the unpredictable nature of its power. Tendrils of Chaos instinctively burst forth as I plunged the dagger into the side of the beast’s head with a strength born of sheer desperation.

Acidic spittle rained down on me, burning my skin, as the monster tried to sink its pincers into me.

I yanked the dagger out only to stab it in between its eyes again and again, a vicious growl falling from my lips, the Kritak’s dark blood slickening my fingers.

“You shouldn’t”—stab—“have killed”—stab—“my chickens”—stab.

Somehow, it was enough. The Kritak reeled backward with a shrill shriek.

My hand holding the dagger sank down, a ragged sob escaping me as I lay on the ground, staring up into the blue-gray sky, towering clouds chasing each other across it.

I barely registered how the monster collapsed as well, shadows drifting into my vision, my leg, my entire body pounding with pain. Then unconsciousness claimed me.