Page 139 of Stormvein

They pour from him, a silent flood of darkness spilling over the rocks, moving fast and low, branching into the cracks and folds of the ravine. The air shifts as he extends his reach, not just a surge of power, but deeper and colder.

Sereven sees them coming. The crystal in his hand flares brighter, a sharp spike of light that warps the air around it. He raises it, scanning the rocks, trying to pinpoint where the strike will come from.

“Back!” he shouts, dragging Lisandra in front of him like a shield. “Call them off or she dies.”

Sacha doesn’t move. Shadows curl thick around his feet, more spilling down the rocks toward the clearing.

“Release her, Sereven.” His voice carries across the hollow, too clear to be natural.

“Sacha. You came after all.”

“Let her go. Your fight is with me.” He steps forward before I can stop him, revealing himself to the man standing below.

Sereven’s eyes lock on him, and for a moment, he doesn’t speak. Then he smiles.

“My fight is with anyone who defies the Authority’s will.” He twists the crystal in his hand, and its light intensifies. No longer just glowing but projecting outward in a focused beam that strikes the ground near our position. Where it touches, shadows wither and dissolve.

Sacha steps sideways, moving away from me, but carefully staying beyond the crystal’s reach. The shadows swirl around him, gathering density.

"You survived our last encounter," Sereven acknowledges. "Impressive, if inconvenient." The way he says it carries an undercurrent that makes me wonder. There’s no surprise in his tone. It sounds more like frustrated expectation.

“More than survived.” Sacha’s voice is low. “I evolved.”

The shadows expand, forming into weapons. Impossible shapes with serrated edges. One of the guards shifts back a step. Another tightens his grip on his sword.

Sereven doesn’t move. He watches the display with clinical detachment. “Interesting. Let’s see if these ones last longer than the others.”

He raises the crystal again.

Sacha’s shadows shift. This time, he doesn’t try to overpower the light. He outmaneuvers it.

The shadows split.

Twist.

Circle.

Andthenthey strike.

Guards cry out as shadow-forms strike them. Vicious, lethal attacks that sever throats and pierce hearts. They fall where they stand, those surviving scrambling backward in terror at the merciless assault. The precision with which Sacha’s shadows kill is terrifying to witness.

Sereven holds his ground. The blade stays at Lisandra’s throat. But his head twists from side to side, between her and the dark shapes tearing through his men.

“Now.” Varam snaps from behind me. “We move now.”

The fighters around us break from cover. Bows are raised, and arrows fly. Each one finds its mark. One drops a guard mid-turn, another hits a soldier through the eye before he can even react. This isn’t a warning volley. These are executions.

“Move!” Varam is already on his feet. “We need to get out of here before Sacha completes his move.”

“This was his plan?” I demand. “He always meant to face Sereven here?”

“Move, Ellie!” Varam catches my arm, and drags me along the path. I stumble along, but my attention doesn’t leave the scene going on below.

Sacha is closing in on Sereven at an alarming speed.

There are only a few guards left between them, and they don’t last long. His shadows move, cutting down the last of them. No hesitation. No mercy.

Sereven shoves Lisandra to one side, and lifts the crystal again. The glow surges, building … then it erupts.