34. Rorin
Rorin
General Matthis and the third of Eveera’s army crest over the horizon. I breathe a sigh of relief when I can’t see any fuzziness or haziness while looking at them - confirming that they aren’t Illusioned. That relief doesn’t last long however as we hear more hooves coming towards us, this time from the opposite direction. More of Hadar’s Guards.
Her army enters the fight with ease. As I fight my way through, I see a few faces of the Illusioned Guards grow wide in shock when they notice the Oriks, Shifters, and Serpentes among her ranks.
BOOM!
Another heated stone lands and craters the ground, the people closest to the blast are scattered now across the hills. Vada matches the blast with an equally destructive stream of hot fire. Her large body tilting hard to the left, throwing Millie to the side. Her hands slip from their hold on the spines and she catches barely onto the dragon’s wing. Vada lurches from the touch, shaking Millie off who lands ungracefully in a heap on the ground .
I lunge for her but Orem is closer and faster. He falls to the ground in front of her, winking them into Oblivion. “ Is she dead? ” Eveera’s voice slips into my mind exhausted and breathless.
“ Take the nightmare away. ” I tell her.
“What?”
“Take it away, I need…I need help. My mind it refuses to cooperate with the Wield. Please.” She figures out quickly what I need and occupies my mind helping me to tear down my mental blocks so that I can let go of the control on my magic. Poisonous mist fills the area around me, suffocating and choking those within its radius, my heart rate rising from the adrenaline rush of the magic pulsing from me.
I walk through the gray mist hovering of the ground like a fog and kick the feet of a dead soldier next to me, his eyes are wide and bloodshot from the effects of my Wield.
Commanding it back into me is easier than normal while I run away from him, looking for Eveera. It’s a little difficult to find her until the mist clears. Straight ahead of me there is black magic covering about a third of the battlefield - Illusioned Guards and Wielders falling to their knees around her. The tiny queen stands at the center of all of the bodies, surveying her work until she gives a nod of her head, presumably content with the Wield’s results.
As I run to her from across the way, I see someone charging towards her. Fear spikes through me as I watch her stand with her back to the proposed assailant. I grab hold of a riderless horse nudging its side to make it gallop faster, but after a few feet it feels like I’m just moving in place. I’m not getting any closer to her or him. Frustrated, I look down, and see that the earth is keeping me from her and to my left an Illusioned Evendell Wielder is responsible .
He Wields the earth underneath my horses feet while one of his eyes is on Eveera and her assailant and the other on me and the steed I commandeered. “You’ve got to be kidding me!” I yell, while thrusting my Wield at him. His roots wrap around the ankles of my horse and yank the beast down. I roll away in barely enough time to not have the animal land on my leg.
Quickly I scramble up to my feet, and rush at him. I don’t bother with my sword, as I clench my fists tighter. My mist grows up in a column around the Wielder, the sound of him choking fills my ears. I step into the column of my magic that he’s shrouded in and press my palms against his gaping mouth and nostrils. His eyes bulge underneath my grip as he suffocates. “If she’s dead because I was dealing with you. I’ll find you in Helys and kill you a second time.” With a push I send his body backwards, crumpling in a pile, his veins are blown underneath his skin.
When the column of magic disappears, my hearts in my throat as I expect to see her with a sword through her stomach. Instead I watch as Axel’s body knocks her out of the way and the sword cleave directly through him instead.
The next few moments happen in slow motion. Eveera’s magic wraps around her would-be assailant, cutting through his body like butter, the pieces of it falling to the ground.
She crumples next to Axel, their foreheads are pressed together and their mouths are moving from what I can tell. Whatever their next few words were, were just for them to hear.
I take slow steps towards her at first, watching while she puts his head in her lap both arms curling around him. A guttural scream tears from her chest just before her magic blasts across the field blanketing everything in a wild loss of control. My legs eventually listen to me and I start to run towards her. The closer I get the more I can see black webbing crisscrossing her skin like dark veins. The strength of her Wield growing with each sob and scream. The force of her magic overwhelms me as I fall to my knees behind them sweeping hers and Axel’s limp body into me. I have to fight against the nightmares her magic forces onto me, so I can stay with her.
I’m shushing into her hair, rocking their conjoined bodies in an attempt to soothe her. The air grows frigid in an instant while a level of deep unnerving energy settles onto the battlefield. Motion stirs around us as her cries grow louder while her Wield wreaks havoc on her body. Cradling her head to me I see living soldiers, Guards, and Wielders on their knees trying to push against it too, their screams drowned out by the pitch of her sobs.
Unfortunately, they're not the only ones pushing and rising with her magic. Every intact body on the field that wasn’t left without a head or a torso halved begins to morph and rise. Slowly they look towards us, her Wield still consuming her too much to notice, the hundreds of red eyes staring at us. Including Axel’s looking up at us from where his head is still cradled in her hands and lap.
I shake her violently, pulling her from Axel’s warped form as it tries to gain footing, yanking the sword from it’s - his - torso.
“Come on, Nightmare.” I shake her again. “Give me those eyes, beloved. Please. We need you. I need you , Nightmare.” Too slowly do her eyes gain their gold back, her blinks long. She takes in her bloodied hands, her surroundings, and finally, him. I thought the wails before were haunting. But the sound that leaves her body when she realizes is so much worse.
The former Axel cocks his head at us, the new eyes burning into my own. I wrap my arm tightly around her waist and pull her behind me while my other grips the hilt of my sword. My stomach twists as I stare at my new friend’s demonized form. I’m reluctant but prepared to do what I have to. He lurches for us, his reanimated body acting with a quickness I wasn’t ready for. But thankfully, Eveera was. She rips the hilt out of my hand and slices clean through his neck, severing creature Axel’s head from his body. As it thumps to the ground her eyes widen and her shoulders slump. She drops the sword and reaches for me. I clasp her hand and we sink to our knees, my arms finding their place around her again. My lips press kisses onto her sweaty brow, still reeling from the revelation that came with all of the outer land creatures rising on the field.
Across the way I see an iridescent orb, I squint my eyes and see that Max and Millie are shielded inside of it. At first I am confused as I see her holding him back, but then the body a few inches from Max’s hands separated only by her shield comes into view.
No. I think. No…Orem. And I know immediately that Maxwell just did what Eveera had to. Black starts to bleed onto the ground again, matching the inky tears leaking from Eveera’s eyes her cries picking up again. Armond Voids in next to us as I stare hollowly at Axel’s head. It’s red eyes still open. “You have to knock her out.” His voice startles me as I look up at his grief ridden face.
“Wh-what?” The word comes out garbled and choked. He repeats himself and the words sink in. He means I have to stop her.
“Don’t make them…” he chokes on the words next, “don’t make them suffer this fate again.” Nodding, I clasp my hand around her mouth and nose, sending a small amount of my mist to her as she inhales until her body slumps against me, cutting off her Wield.
The field goes quiet. Briefly the problem of the remaining outer land creatures goes unnoticed until we feel waves of heat against our skin as Vada begins to burn them to ash. Armond grips my shoulder while I cling tightly to Eveera, cradling her to me while he Voids us off the battlefield.