CHAPTER THREE #3
As the Mages worked their magic, Evylin channeled her own.
Able to sink into her Warrior urges, she moved as Hewitt taught her.
She cut through the Shades with precision and speed, returning them to vapor.
Her whole body came alive, jubilant in the fight.
Arrows sailed past her, their hiss through the air tingling acutely across her skin.
It felt so good to fight again.
For a moment, Evylin forgot anything but action. The world outside was gone, and their mission itself was forgotten. She was alive with the fight, and nothing else mattered.
Another wave of Shades joined the fray, the halls clouding with the shadows of their death knell.
It was almost impossible to see anything but the Shades before her and Auden ahead of her.
They continued forward, shifting into one of the narrower paths.
She knew she wouldn’t have the arm span to swing her sword in the passage, so she took her first opportunity to sheath it in exchange for two knives.
Twisting through the corridor, Evylin sliced down the Shades in her path. She could feel the sweat trickling down her back from the long exertion of their fight, but her Warrior magic compensated readily for whatever exhaustion she should have felt.
More Shades poured into the passage, and Evylin could hear the rest of the troop fighting as Deckard called from behind, “They’ve surrounded us.” On instinct, Evylin began to turn back to help.
“Evylin!” Auden cried just before she heard a crash and a groan. She whirled around again to find him grappling with half a dozen Shades.
Evylin’s body sprang into action before her mind caught up with what she was doing.
She sent a throwing dagger flying toward one Shade.
It connected, and a shadow burst out. She leaped around a pile of ragged rocks, kicking back another Shade.
She landed as Hewitt taught her, rolling to her feet on the other side of Auden before she struck out at another Shade.
However, she wasn’t fast enough to take them all down, and the horde pressed in.
As the other Night Shades struggled with Auden, one of them managed to grab the Night Relic. It wrested it over his neck even as Auden fought back desperately. The Shade yanked the necklace free and retreated toward the Chamber.
Auden cried out, but Evylin was already on the move. She jumped, kicking off the side of the passageway and flipping over the Shade to land in its path. Her feet hit the stone, and she thrust her knife up, straight into the Shade’s chest. It dissipated into shadow, and the Relic dropped.
Evylin reached out to catch the necklace. Cool metal hit her palm, a sharp spike of energy radiating across her skin: peace and terror.
In a flash of amethyst, the Relic beamed brighter in her hand.
A vibration worked through her fingers as, in a split second, the necklace transformed into an elegant, angular sword in her grip.
Violet light radiated off the dark purple blade, its grip and hilt formed of purple leather and metal.
Lighter than any blade she’d ever held, she knew without having to swing it that it was already perfectly balanced to her.
Despite the shock that thrummed through her chest, Evylin heard the fight raging around her.
She sprang back into action with her knife still in her dominant hand.
Readily, she took down the remaining Shades that harried Auden before falling back to aid the rest of their troop.
Somehow, she found that wielding this magical blade made everything easier, even using it with her nondominant hand.
No feint or attack failed her as she tore through the Shades.
Shadow curled through the air, tendrils spiraling into nothing as she brought down the last Shade.
Their team paused in the narrow passage, now freed from their attackers.
Another wave would come, but they had a moment to breathe.
And as Evylin drew in a full inhale, she noticed those who could see were staring straight at her.
“By Allore’s might,” Auden muttered, awe filling his tone. “It’s true.”
Ethenn gaped from the back as Ilain’s gaze twinkled merrily in the darkness. And Deckard—he stared at her with something between fascination and confusion in his expression.
“Is that—?” Ilain asked.
“The Night Relic,” Auden confirmed.
Ilain began to laugh ecstatically, and Deckard’s brow furrowed.
Before anyone could ask for clarification, Auden hurried down the path without giving them time to consider the transformation. “Come on,” he ordered. “We’re nearly there.”
Warrior senses thrumming, Evylin took off after him. In mid-stride, she slid her knife into her belt, switching the Night sword to her right hand. The Shades returned swiftly, another, larger horde attempting to block their path.
With her new weapon, the fight was even easier for Evylin.
Nothing could stop her. No opponent or maneuver was too difficult.
She spun and ducked, avoiding each Shade’s attack.
The world seemed to slow around her as though she were moving at twice her normal speed, or like the Shades were moving through water.
In the midst of the fight, she realized almost absentmindedly that with her newfound weapon and the Calders’ magic, neither Deckard nor Ethenn had to do much more than guide Thom and Rafferty onward.
They entered a vaulted cavern, a giant rock spire spurting from the center of the room. Amethyst gemstones glittered overhead, lighting the space. Seven other passages branched off the circular cavern.
Auden called while they worked to bring down the remaining Shades, “We have to stop here. I can’t sense the way forward.”
As their party came to a halt, Deckard jumped into the fray. He ranged to the left, defending Ilain’s side as Evylin worked with Auden. Ethenn picked off Shades from the back as Thom and Rafferty stood still, irritated that they were useless in the dark.
“Do we need to clear this wave?” Deckard asked.
“That’d be preferable,” Auden confirmed.
It took them several minutes, but they managed it. Thick clouds of shadow hung around the room as Auden finally reached for his sister. “I’ll need help,” he said. “Night and I . . .”
Ilain took his hand without any more explanation. They stood together in the center of the room, their heads bowed and eyes closed as they concentrated.
The desire for action beat in Evylin’s rib cage. She met Deckard’s gaze across the cavern.
“We should watch for the next wave,” he suggested.
Thankful for something to keep her moving, she turned to check the passages on her side while Deckard examined the others. Ethenn stood watchfully by Thom and Rafferty while they grumbled together about the disagreeable nature of being blind while battle raged around them.
Used to the darkness of Night, Evylin scanned each rocky corridor. A faint breeze drifted from them all, raising gooseflesh on her skin. She heard droplets of water down one path. The air smelled of dampness and metal.
Her ears strained for the telltale hum of the Shades as she stepped up to the next opening. It looked like the rest, with formations of rocks, curved walls, and dark shadows.
Evylin did a double take, blinking into the darkness. One of those shadows had moved.
She was about to call out a warning when she froze. Her palm tingled around the Night sword’s grip. Her breath caught in her throat, and without thinking, she took a step forward, her chest straining with hope.
“I have it,” Auden said, causing Evylin to whirl around in shock. The Calders were already leading Ethenn toward Deckard, who stood nearby at the head of the cavern.
Panic bound Evylin to the spot, and she spun back to peer down the passage again. But the shadow was gone.
“Evylin,” Deckard called.
Blinking away what she was sure must have been a hallucination, Evylin forced herself to step away. She turned to the troop and hurried to follow. Deckard waited until she reached his side to join them down the path.
“Did you see something?” he asked.
Had she?
“No,” she said, tightening her grip on the Night sword. “It was the shadow of a rock.”
Forcing the vision from her mind, Evylin pushed to the front again. The Shades returned. She fought without hesitancy or thought. Every action came from impulse, allowing her mind to drift elsewhere.
Evylin could have sworn—for a moment, she would have staked her own life that she’d seen him. Burly shoulders, towering height, scraggly beard. Hewitt.
He couldn’t be there. It was impossible. But I saw him.
The Night sword pulsed in her grip. Evylin knew it couldn’t really be her uncle.
No matter how deeply she wanted to believe it.
She knew that she’d imagined his form, hidden in the rocks.
What she didn’t know was why. Why now? After ten days without him, why had she imagined him now?
And why here, of all places? Could she blame the heat of the fight?
Or was it the intensity of her Warrior magic drumming up strange visions? Could it do that?
The ground rumbled under Evylin’s feet as Ilain used Terrae magic to summon a stone pillar to crush a whole section of Shades. Without missing a beat and swinging the Night sword with barely conscious effort, Evylin took down three more. Auden rushed past her, barreling straight for an iron door.
So focused on the fight and caught up in her thoughts, Evylin hadn’t even realized they’d made it to the exit.
The troop chased after Auden. Given her speed, Evylin made it to him just as he set his hand on the metal, guarding his flank.
The thunk of the lock caused the Shades to attack with renewed aggression.
Ethenn sent arrow after arrow into them, losing precious weaponry to their defense.
Deckard held the line with his blade, and Ilain reached through Thom and Rafferty to send a slice of wind through the horde.