13 #2
Erick groaned, shaking his head before joining Raiden, fighting with his sword. Every shadow he sliced through, two more replaced it, a never-ending web of tainted, unnatural magic.
It was impossible.
“Watch out!” Kordelia’s warning filled his mind, but Raiden pivoted too late as a sweep of dark magic flung him back, and he landed in the opposite wall, stone cracking around his back as pain reverberated down his bones.
Barron’s laugh swarmed him as Raiden slid down the wall, wheezing from the impact.
His vision tilted as he attempted to stand back up.
Time stilled, as everyone continued covering their ears, their faces scrunched tight in agony.
Raiden’s ears pricked, chasing the unfamiliar vibrations on the wind currents, but its source confused him as it continuously bounced back and forth from the domed ceiling to him.
“Careful, child.” A weathered female appeared before him, her aged, swollen hands helping him to his feet. Despite her white eyes, indicating her blindness, her gaze pierced his, and she wasn’t affected by the mysterious vibrations he had no control of.
Raiden swayed, shaking his head. Her knobbly hands tightened on his, drawing Raiden’s attention.
Her smile curved, and she barely reached his chest in height.
Yet she dominated the space, the fight drowning out behind her as Blake and Aerion rushed into the web centred around Barron, a tangled mess of weapons, magic and blood.
“I’ve waited so long to see you, Raiden.” She brushed his cheek lightly, and he flinched.
“Who are you?” Her caress tingled his skin, and she reached up to unbind her braided hair, long grey lengths tumbling around her waist with sparkling silver threads.
“I’ve been many things.” She patted his shoulders, her aged hands gently exploring his arms. “I’ve had many names, many lives. But you,” she drew a shuddering breath, “have been by far my greatest gift.”
“I don’t know you,” Raiden retorted. “I’m not a present for someone.”
The female laughed, her husky tones smothering the chaos of battle like a soothing blanket. Raiden shivered, feeling oddly comfortable in her presence. The urgency that’d been choking him loosened, and for a moment, he forgot his purpose.
“You’ll come to understand who I am.”
Her curled fingers brushed the metal collar around her throat, tracing an unfamiliar rune.
It flashed fiery orange and unclasped, falling to her booted feet.
Raiden memorised the pattern, sensing that vibration nearing in the air.
A storm on the horizon. It increased until the point where his own hearing shrilled, his mind rattling with a frequency of power.
Gods, it must be agony for the humans.
“What are you?” He changed his question and she cackled.
“To many, I am a potion swindler. An old hag.” She stepped back, shaking her arms out.
The glass ceiling cracked. “They’re not wrong, I am very old.
” As she spoke, vitality imbued her, her hair strengthening, regaining a steel vibrancy.
Her fingers straightened, and her light brown skin tightened.
“Others may call me a witch, but alas, that’s not completely true. ”
That vibration increased to the point Raiden stumbled and his siblings fell to their knees.
Even Barron collapsed, his web disintegrating like paint in water.
Blake choked beside his father as the chamber shook, the stone walls crumbling, the ceiling splintering into a mosaic.
Raiden gasped as his power reached out without his control, toying with the female’s hair, lifting it around her.
She laughed in return as she manipulated his winds, playing with them between her youthful hands.
“Protect him,” she spoke to his power, and he frowned. “Protect the prince of the sky.”
“Tell me who you are.” He internally winced at the title, at how undeserving of it he was. Aerion was the prince now, not him. Raiden approached but she whipped a hand up, stopping him. “Please.” Something about her caused his chest to tighten, and a new desperation filled him.
“The fates are unravelling. Barron has tainted the purity of magic, of the essence left behind by the gods. You will know where you’re destined to be, so long as you are by her side. For he is coming, and he will enter this world into an age so dark, no life will bloom again.”
“Who is coming? Please, come with us. We can help each other. Let me get you out of here.” Raiden reached for the female again but she stepped back, throwing her arms wide with a smile.
“I’m so glad I finally got to see you again.” With an exhale, her eyes changed colour, the whites fading, revealing striking colours that changed every time she blinked. Her steely hair captivated him, along with the faintest mark on her forehead.
Kordelia thrashed in her chair, unaffected by the vibrations weighing down on the room; Aryn by her feet.
Leto’s pirates and guards had passed out, blood leaking from their ears, and Theron and Ivar had collapsed halfway to a servant’s door.
The female cast her stare around the room, inhaling the stench of moss and blood.
“I can interfere no longer. I’m ready now. My time is ending. I’ve lived long enough. Tell Kora I’m sorry, but I can’t follow her path.” She glanced back at Kordelia, who watched them with rapt attention. “Do not worry, Raiden. You’ll find me again. You only need to look.”
As she finished, a sword burst through her chest.
Raiden staggered back as her blood sprayed over his face, coating him. A sour, acrid stench filled the air as fresh guards poured in from all entrances, covered head to toe in that armour, and the vibrating power evaporated, leaving the ring of death, and the cry of sorrow.
“No!” Raiden reached for her, his fingers missing her arm as the female’s body collapsed to the ground, her lips still upturned in a smile.
The thundering of boots approached and Raiden dropped to his knees, unsure of what to do.
There was nowhere to hide her, nowhere to keep her safe to bury later.
He’d witnessed death too many times, and a numb blanket embraced him as he turned her body away from the violence before them.
As if that small notion protected her from Barron’s corruption.
A violent shake overcame Raiden’s body, and Kordelia’s blood-curdling scream echoed throughout the room. It broke through his trance, dragging him back to the present. Raiden wasted no time as he fought his way to save Kordelia, coated in blood that sparkled in the sombre light of death.