Elijah
The undead charged into the clearing with no intent other than to rip them all apart. Their eyes were like streaking lights, mouths gaping impossibly – some missing jaws completely. Others were missing limbs, eyes, ears, even parts of their skulls.
Elijah had never seen a more frightening sight, and he had seen his fair share of battles.
They moved with mindless vigour, scrambling over statues and trampling over graves like scurrying mice.
Years of training took over as Elijah lifted his sword.
“Strike to decapitate! Removing their heads will stop them,” he yelled.
The hoard was upon them within seconds.
Elijah’s sword swung through the air, severing the heads of two living corpses as they flew at him with a shriek. Black blood sprayed the air as he threw out a hand, punching a flash of magic at another – sending them flying.
He chanced a swift glance at the recruits flanking him.
Tikkani was firing arrows like a madwoman, and despite the fear he could plainly see, she fought with incredible bravery. Beside her, Emerson dipped and fired an arrow directly through the mouth of an oncoming undead – before the corpse was set upon by Luc – jaws slamming down upon the thing’s neck as he tore the head from its body.
A shriek got Elijah’s attention just as fingers grasped his cloak. The thing jerked violently at his clothing, spinning him out of the garment just as a mass of black streaked by, taking out his assailant. Krepth’s head lifted from the headless corpse, green eyes alight with feral rage, and Elijah nodded a swift thanks before the wolf took off again.
Jero and Thogan fought with magic, tearing corpses in two, setting spectral bears upon some and spearing shards of ice through the necks of others.
Everywhere Elijah glanced there was chaos.
They picked off the few undead that made it through their lines, narrowly preventing them from reaching Arii and Nem in the middle.
A thundering crash brought Elijah’s attention to a particularly large afflicted, one who could have been mistaken for a giant. He walked with a heavy gait, tossing a broken piece of tombstone like a mace as he approached with an enraged bellow.
“This just gets better and better,” Elijah muttered as he tossed his sword from one blood-soaked palm to the other, before sidestepping a blow from the man’s makeshift weapon. The thing was slow with the heavy armament, giving Elijah plenty of openings to slice his blade along the man’s arm, across his flank and then down his back as he danced out of the way.
Despite the maiming blows, the afflicted showed no sign of pain, nor any sign of stopping.
With a roar, the man flung his mace in Luc’s direction.
“Look out!” bellowed Elijah – but there was no need. Thogan was suddenly before the black panther, deflecting the attack with his own heavy mace of magic and ice. The undead man staggered briefly – and that was all Thogan needed as he tore a sharp-edged axe from his belt and hurled it at the giant. The weapon tore through the thing’s throat, almost completely taking off his head. It dangled to one side as the man toppled to the snow and leaves like a massive sack of bones.
Thogan met Elijah’s eyes then nodded gruffly before moving on to the next assailant.
Tikkani’s mouth hung open as she gasped, “Fuck my face hole, that thing was huge! Holy fucking knuckle fucks!”
“Oh my gods!” cried Emerson as he tore an arrow from the throat of an attacking woman, and nocked it in his bow before shooting the same woman through the eye, causing her to stagger. “Did you seriously just say that?”
“Do you really think I’ll mind my language while we fight a fucking battle against the fucking undead?!” cried the girl as she tore a knife from her belt to cut the throat of an oncoming man who was missing half his jaw. All the while muttering “Ew ew ew!” under her breath. The thing gurgled, hands grabbing at her as she swiftly kicked him in the gut.
“Do you really want your last words to be ‘holy fucking knuckle fucks’?!” cried Emerson.
Tikkani barked a mad laugh as she continued to fight off her attacker. “Wouldn’t that be something!”
Her brother rolled his eyes dramatically.
“There are far too many comebacks to that statement about your face, Tik – none of which I will voice because most importantly… I like my face hole where it is,” yelled Quinn, jerking his sword from the chest of a fallen corpse.
Tikkani grimaced as she tore her knife from the fallen man’s throat to glare at Quinn. “Has battle forced a filter between your brain and your mouth, Quinn? Now I’ve seen everything!”
“You both have no filters…” Emerson lamented.
Elijah huffed a laugh as he slammed his sword through the skull of a fallen afflicted, watching as it flailed before ceasing its struggle. Trust Tikkani and Quinn to stir laughter in the heat of battle.
He took stock of the situation and despite their group fighting with everything they had, more undead continued to flood from the blood trees. He threw spears of magic in every direction and severed countless heads, but they just kept coming.
No matter how hard he tried to tap into the bottomless pool of magic he’d found in the Permafrost Arena, he could not replicate it. His inexperience clawed at him, dousing him in self-doubt so sudden that he could taste bitterness.
He could have saved them all if he hadn’t been so stubborn about his magic.
With a sinking feeling of dread, Elijah quickly realised they were severely outnumbered, and as he took in the carnage the thought arose that they may not survive.
Bodies littered the graveyard floor, continuing to pile as red leaves fell from the canopy above in a slow, bloody rain. Screams rang out everywhere, the sounds of metal hitting bone rousing haunting memories of battles long past. Images shuttered behind his eyes, past blending with present as blood dotted his lashes. His heart thundered in his ears, the cadence resembling drums of war.
This – what he saw before them – was what the entire land would succumb to if he were to fail.
The knowledge had his shoulders buckling under the weight of the world.
“Eliverus!”
His attention snapped back to the present at Jero’s voice. The Prince’s clothes – like everyone’s – was covered in black blood and gore, as he yelled, “There are too many!”
“Bring forth the bears from the Arena!”
“I’m afraid that is impossible, our magic is suppressed in the graveyard. You too will be affected.”
Shit.
“You did not think to mention this earlier?” His blade tore through the chest of an attacking woman, her eye sockets empty, mouth agape.
“It should be common knowledge that magic is dampened in the presence of graveyards…” The man paused after smashing his mace upon a trodden corpse, splitting the skull like a ripe melon. “Ah, apologies my friend – of course you had no knowledge of this.”
“There may be a thing or two I missed while growing up – yes,” he muttered defensively.
“Remind us to give you a few lessons when this is over.”
“If we survive, that is,” chimed in Tikkani helpfully.
“Elijah!” came Emerson’s yell as he let loose his last arrow to take out an afflicted woman as she came dangerously close to where Arii knelt. The thing clawed along the floor, dragging its sundered body forward, jaws impossibly wide and snapping.
Krepth leaped the distance, slamming the thing into the snow. With a flash, he returned to human form as he tore head from torso, roaring with rage. The Shifter tossed the head away, teeth bared in a shadow of his lupine self, his eyes glimmering with unshed tears as he returned to Arii and Nem’s side. He drew a knife from his boot as he growled, “I hope you know what you’re doing, little Fury.”
The group backed up, tightening their circle as bodies continued to pour from the forest beyond.
“Quinn, I know this isn’t the time but… I have something to confess,” whispered Tikkani as the group pressed tighter, and Elijah could see tears tracking the gore on her cheeks. Beside her, Emerson joined hands with Luc, briefly back in human form.
Quinn’s fingers laced with Tikkani’s free hand as he whispered back, “Tell me when this is over.”
Elijah’s chest constricted as he glanced at Arii, her back arched protectively over her friend as thoughts tumbled through his mind. He had not the chance to tell her–
A howl pierced the sky.
“Finally,” cried Jero as he lifted his axe into the air.
From the forest came streaks of colour, teeth flashing and tongues lolling as a chorus of massive paws thundered the earth. They leaped through the air; jaws wide as they collided with the undead.
Wolves.
They were giant, far larger than the wolves they’d encountered on their journey here, and far larger than Krepth’s animal form. At least twenty tore their way into the crowd, drawing the attention of the undead around the perimeter. The wolves were vicious – tearing limbs and snapping necks, their long fur like silk in the moonlight, iridescent and shimmering.
Filled with new hope, the group began fighting once again and Elijah stole a glance back at Arii.
Her head was bowed, her body curled over Nem’s and her hands were pressed against the wound. He could see her lips moving – her eyes open yet unblinking. Their depths were aglow with magic, her skin lightly shimmering. Beads of sweat formed as her shoulders and body trembled with effort.
Nem’s eyes were wide and unblinking, their depths losing light as they stared into the grey sky.
Arii had told him that magic was borrowed from the world around them. With the dampening of magic in the cemetery, could she draw enough to claw Nem back from death? He did not know much about magic, but he was sure that this task would bring Arii to breaking point – even close to death herself.
It seemed impossible on her own.
But perhaps she could borrow from someone else.
“What are you doing?” barked Krepth as Elijah spun, dropping to his knees at Arii’s side.
“I have no idea,” he growled in answer, tearing off a glove to place his hand atop Arii’s. Her skin was cool, almost deathly so.
Slowly her gaze lifted to his, and he saw tears in her eyes.
“I’m not… I’m not strong enough. She…” her voice was barely a whisper, “she is slipping away.”
“Borrow from me.” Elijah said, his fingers caging hers, gripping tight. “Take what you need.”
She did not argue. With naught another moment wasted, she nodded.
Their gazes remained locked as a feeling of pinching began in the middle of his chest.
It was gentle at first – a tugging as if he had sprinted too fast.
And then the feeling intensified.
His breath ripped from his lungs as weight fell upon his back, as if a deluge of snow had just fallen upon his head. It was a strange feeling, an acute and sudden drawing from his pool of magic, bringing sweat quickly to his own brow. He squeezed her hand as the slaughter around them dulled and faded.
And all that existed in that moment was the two of them.
All the while, he kept his eyes locked with hers.
And within their deep purple depths he saw stars.
Ariiaya
Power, she could feel it rippling just beneath the surface.
As she dived forward and drew from the depths, she knew this was only a shimmer on the lake which resided within him. The sacred land they knelt upon had brought down a barrier, only allowing a trickle.
She hoped it would be enough.
Clasping the borrowed magic, Arii returned to Nem, whose eyes were wide and swimming with tears.
She was still with them, but only just.
Upon her best friend’s lips, she saw a word – barely formed.
No.
Nem knew what they were about to attempt could destroy all three of them. Magic such as this was to tamper with fate – divert a destiny forming. It went against everything they had been taught. Many Furies would accept death, accept it with open arms like greeting a long-lost friend, passing into the hands of the gods to fulfil a higher purpose in the afterlife.
“The gods cannot have you yet,” Arii whispered in answer.
With that, Arii clutched Elijah’s hand and slammed it against Nem’s chest.
Magic erupted around them, a chaotic whirlwind of cosmic energy that tore at their clothes and threw the snow and leaves into a flurrying tornado around them.
Her skin was fire, her breath a rasp, her heart warring in her chest.
Thrum.
Something pulled from deep inside her chest.
Thrum.
Again, it tugged violently – causing her body to convulse.
Thrum.
Nem’s scream split the air as her back arched off the forest floor, her mouth agape as a golden cord of magic erupted from her chest.
Thrum.
Arii threw her head back as another violent beat bowed her and the magic overtook all she knew. Golden threads burst forth, spiralling around and around, weaving in every direction – hundreds, perhaps thousands – a labyrinth of strings. They caressed her hands, toyed with her hair and stroked her skin, as gold and bright as the sun.
Across her mind’s eye images flashed and the strings twirled.
Elijah as a child, his face round, his hair obscuring his eyes – those deep, complex, attentive eyes.
Nem’s bright, rare smile, eyes crinkled at the edges as they laughed together.
Her mother’s gentle touch as she dashed a brush through Arii’s hair.
Her father’s wise face as he pointed to something in a book, little Arii perched on his knee.
Her friends, the old and the new.
Then, the strings showed her faces unknown to her – perfect strangers. Fates entwined with her own. So many faces, a spiderweb of lives. Individually they flashed before her eyes.
And then she was there in a cloud of violent darkness.
The wraith.
Claws tore into the edges of her mind, murky and desperate as the unknown woman wrestled with the images, warping them into a calamity.
Before her eyes, her friends began to die.
One… by… one.
‘You cannot alter their fate. They… will… die.’
No.
No.
No no no.
Who are you? What do you want with me? Arii threw the thought into the darkness desperately as she fought a battle of wills.
‘I am what they made me. You and I are the same, split from different steel yet moulded within the same forge.’
What did that even mean?
She cried out as pain tore through her skull – violent and unbearable. Who the hell was this wraith? What did she want?
Arii did not have time to figure it out.
She tasted sweetness. She tasted blood. She tasted… life.
She tasted him.
Elijah.
He was solid beside her, bringing back her focus, their laced fingers a tether that kept her from fracturing completely. As her head inched up to look at him through the haze, she saw his eyes were squeezed shut, mouth pulled to a line, brow beaded with sweat as his hair danced in slow motion. The strings whirled around him as well, silver and gold. She recalled his fevered kisses by the fireplace, his hands upon her skin – the way he touched her like she was something precious to him. The way he looked at her, the harsh silver of his eyes softening. How that strange, invisible cord in her chest always brought her to him – even in the beginning. Despite her attempts to distance herself, she was quickly realising that distance between them was not possible. The golden threads spiralled and twined between them – brighter than the others – connecting them.
Distance between them was not possible. Never possible – for their fates were eternally entwined.
The cord from Nem’s chest wavered, its end flickering and fraying, as if it were trying to find its way.
She turned her attention to it, gritting her teeth in a grimace of defiance.
‘No!’ screeched the voice. Arii slammed up her defences, blocking the wraith from her mind as she grabbed hold of the wayward cord, snapping a bond into place.
Elijah
Elijah knew the moment Arii had successfully saved her best friend.
Up until that moment he felt a steady tugging at his magic as she drew from him. An unseen force began pooling in his chest, steadily blooming through his arm, warming where their fingers twined. It was a peculiar feeling – siphoning magic. It felt as if something from deep within him was being drawn out through his fingertips, draining his energy, causing cold to seep from the top of his head to his toes.
He had stared at her beautiful face until the cold numbed his fingers and the feeling became so intense that he had to squeeze his eyes shut, fighting overwhelming vertigo. He knew he could not allow their link to break, no matter what.
The feeling seemed to only last for a few minutes, but suddenly a snap of magic stole his breath with a violent crack that tore their hands apart. White light encased both Nem and Arii as Elijah lifted a hand to shield his eyes.
As the illumination faded, he sighed in relief as he saw the two women in a fierce embrace.
Then Nem pulled back before cocking her arm and punching Arii square in the stomach, doubling her over as Nem screamed, “Are you fucking MAD?!”
“I love you too, Nem,” croaked Arii breathlessly, coughing out a laboured laugh.
The silver-haired fury clasped her throat, now completely healed save for a faint scar. Her canines flashed as she continued to shriek, “I’ve always known you were crazy, Ariiaya – but now I know you are irrevocably insane!”
Krepth paused by Nem’s side, touching blood-stained fingers to her bicep, as he eyed Arii. “You… you performed a life bond? I have to agree, little Fury – you are indeed insane. You could have died.” He paused, nodding at Elijah before adding, “All of you.”
“I couldn’t let you go, Nem.” Arii’s voice was gentle as she took her friend’s hand in an uncharacteristic display of affection. “Not yet – I need you.”
Nem’s exasperated expression eased slowly, “You’ve just made things a whole lot more complicated, Arii. I’m still angry at you.”
“I know, I can feel it–”
“–but I’m thankful,” Nem finished, standing with help from Krepth.
Elijah moved to his feet also, his eyes swiftly tracking the war zone around them.
He breathed yet another sigh of relief.
Around them were countless bodies of the undead, the wolves finishing off any which still moved. But the fight was over.
They had survived, this time.
Soon after the wolves appeared, a backup contingency of guards had followed, and the last of the small army of reanimated bodies were quickly finished off.
Elijah winced, now noticing some scratches and grazes that he had sustained during the fight.
“No sign of Klotho,” said Krepth, wiping a split lip as he stepped over a body. “I’ve always had my suspicions with that one, and I’m not sure if I’m happy to be proven right.”
“What would one of the Sisters of Fate hope to gain by allying with Valdis Kruel?” said Jero nearby, surveying the carnage as he stroked the muzzle of a particularly large, silver-coated wolf. “It could not be just to gain more assassins. There must be more to this story.”
Arii straightened, dusting her pants and pulling her sweat drenched hair back into a swift braid. “Now we know who was helping Valdis power the Nexus Crystals.”
“That deceitful, conniving bitch.” Quinn sighed as he let a nearby wolf smell his hand, before scratching the beast behind its ear. The wolf’s tongue lolled from its massive jaws as it seemingly leaned into the scratch. Quinn grinned, oblivious to Tikkani’s sorrowful glance behind him. The look was fleeting as the girl moved to check her brother and Luc for any injuries.
From what Elijah could see, none were life threatening.
Thank the gods for that small mercy.
“We have much to discuss – come, let’s get back to the castle,” sighed Thogan.
Ariiaya
As the group began to move, Elijah came up beside Arii, surveying her closely. “Are you alright?”
She had the audacity to try a smirk. “All in a day’s work,” she said, but felt her heart was not truly in it.
“Arii…”
“I’m fine – truly.”
“What you did for Nem…”
“Was insane – that part is true. By all rights we should really be dead. To tamper with fate like that… I have not heard of anyone surviving the attempt. But we aren’t dead and that is because of you.”
Elijah moved to block her path, and she halted nimbly, looking up at him. A strange feeling had been manifesting in her chest ever since their fingers broke apart. Perhaps it was the newly made bond with Nem, or perhaps a side effect of their momentarily-shared link. She remembered the dazzling gold and silver cords linking them together earlier.
“You cannot do that again,” he said.
“You can’t ask that of me, Elijah.”
He frowned, arms crossing his chest and she was reminded of the stoic bodyguard he once was. Gods, her time in the castle felt so long ago.
“I can, and I will.”
“Ohh, finally playing the King card?” She grinned wickedly.
His brows drew as he growled one word, “Arii.”
“You don’t need to worry, Elijah. It is not possible to have more than one life bond, anyway.” She patted his arm as she slipped past him. “The only way to sever it now is to transfer it using magic… or death.”
Elijah mulled over her words for a time, before speaking again. “You thought it was Lorch.”
Arii froze, twisting back to him as the group continued on behind her. “What?”
Elijah’s voice was gruff, but his gaze did not waver. “In the cemetery. You thought he was going to be there.”
Argh, had he seen something before, during their connection? Had he found out about the letter she sent, somehow?
“I…” She swallowed audibly, figuring it best not to bother denying it. “Yes… yes, I had hoped it was him.”
Elijah sighed, letting his arms fall, “As did I.”
For a moment they stood in heavy silence – no sound but that of blood red leaves scattering on a gentle breeze around their feet.
His hand gently grasped hers as he whispered, “He’s alive, I… I can feel it.”
“I hope that’s true…” Shivers danced up her arm as his thumb stroked her wrist. In that moment though, those shivers were different – cool and timid. “Gods, to the depths of my heart – I do,” she added, not disguising the anguish in her words.
Her words dropped away as the last remnants of adrenaline seeped from her body, and she stepped into his arms. There was the briefest breath of hesitation, before she felt his arms curl around her, holding her close as she rested her cheek against his chest.
Normally, when she was this close to him, there would be flames and sparks, and everything would be thrumming with sexual tension. Now though, in this moment, she felt naught but a warm, familiar flicker in her chest as she brought her arms up to circle his waist, sighing long and hard as she whispered, “Things are revealing themselves to be truly fucked up, far greater than I ever imagined.”
His chest rumbled as he spoke, the feeling blooming warmth in her stomach. His laugh was tired, too. “Something tells me this is but the tip of the dagger, and there is a whole lot more we have left to discover.”
“Yippee…” Arii drawled, before swallowing. “Thank you, Elijah. If not for your magic – I would not have been able to save Nem.”
He smiled, resting his chin on the top of her head as he simply replied, “Don’t mention it.”