Page 27 of Walking in Darkness

Laven had the power to bind Kruen in Faydor. To stretch out the energy inside themselves, striking the Kruen with it where they would be turned to ash.

Ruined.

Destroyed.

It was the purpose they’d been given. To hunt the Kruen in Faydor and end them as they fed all wickedness into human minds.

No, they couldn’t stop them all, but it kept the world from falling into complete destruction.

Uncertainty and determination rolled through Aria on a wave, and she squeezed his hand. “I will try.”

“I’ll try to help,” he mumbled, though he was sure his powers were a fraction of what Aria possessed.

They kept themselves hidden behind the boulder as they gathered their strength, something between a physical and a spiritual feat. Their focus was intent on the energy they could feel winding within themselves. It magnified the orb of light that gathered from the deepest places inside them, until it became almost impossible to contain it.

Pax was sure that within Aria, the power was even greater.

Aria gave him a glance, a dip of her chin, a silentgo.

They rushed around the boulder at the same moment and let the energy go, hoping the impact of it would be enough to bind the Ghorl.

With a screech, it amassed as it sensed their attack. In one instant, the beast transformed from vapor to a solid, vicious being.

Its flesh was charred ash, though it was somehow transparent, so Pax could see the wickedness streaking through its writhing red veins. Its mouth was deformed. Twisted and gnarled with hate. The monster opened it to reveal jagged teeth as it snarled.

It reared back against their attack, though, unlike the Kruen—who would flee, shift to shadow, and escape as mist along the pitted, desolate ground—it lashed out, the beast flying in their direction as it sent a thousand fiery tendrils whipping through the air.

“Aria!” Pax shouted, jerking her to the left. They dove behind the boulder, hitting the ground with a thud.

The second they landed, Pax scrambled to cover Aria.

To protect her.

To shield her.

He had no idea what a burn from a Ghorl would do while they were in Faydor, but he refused to take the chance to find out. He couldn’t allow her to be wounded when she was their only chance of survival.

Streaks of fire flashed over the top of them, sparking and crackling as the darts struck the ground, before they flickered out.

Aria pushed at his chest. “We have to stop it,” she urged.

Reluctance pounded through Pax, but he finally pulled back, taking Aria’s hand to help her up. They crouched low as they peered out around the boulder to the endless darkness laid out in front of them.

And the Ghorl.

It was gone.

Chapter Nine

Aria

“Do you know how to find him?” I gasped the second my eyes shot open to the morning that had taken hold of the motel room. Pax was already awake, flying off the bed and dragging on his jeans.

Both of us had clearly woken up with the exact same intentions.

“Fucking hope so,” he all but growled as he snagged his phone from the nightstand.

“Peter Conway,” he mumbled, typing his name into the search bar. “Thirty-three. Indiana—at least, I hope that’s where he still lives.”