Chapter 74 #2
I narrowed my eyes on the ghostly woman before closing them completely, following her urgent instructions. With a deep breath, I centered myself, pushing the edges of my understanding to feel for my magic pulsating within the soil.
It was easier than I expected; even through the exhaustion and muddled consciousness, searching for the remnants of my magic was like finding small pieces of my soul embedded within the very fabric of Elyria.
Little sparkling flecks attracted my attention, and I was amazed to find how vastly they stretched; how quickly my magic moved within the soil to innervate the souls of the deceased Keepers.
I could even feel pieces of my power in the mists that formed the ghosts and gently caressed my exposed skin.
I—or my magic—was everywhere. A sense of awe settled deep within my soul, bolstering my resolve and awakening an awareness and appreciation for the innate magics of Elyria that weren’t there before.
What else could I do?
The answer to that question hummed just out of reach.
I vaguely felt my hands lifting of their own accord, as if to touch my magic.
With gentle pulls, I guided the remnants back into my soul, gasping aloud each time a glimmer sparked and sped toward my waiting body, slotting itself perfectly back into my well of power.
Is this what it feels like when Vessels recharge their wells? Or is this unique to godlings?
It was definitely something I would have to describe to Faylinn, assuming I made it out of the Valley in one piece and Rohak found her in time.
“Faster, Goddess. You must pull it all at once, or she will be able to find you before you are ready,” the old woman whispered a gentle yet urgent caress into my very mind.
The raw fear in her voice spurned me into action and steeled my resolve. Squeezing my eyes shut so tight my nose scrunched, I hastily felt for the last remaining embers of my magic resting in the veins I’d pushed deep within the soil.
Their vastness shocked me.
There were thousands of small filaments left to extract. The process surely would wind me, leaving me open and vulnerable.
“Leave us for last. Pull from the soil only, we’ll fade in time,” the woman with the slashes in her face said, her voice confident and ringing with unpaid retribution.
Without knowing their names, without ever having met them, I trusted these women implicitly.
Something about the way they spoke—as if their words held the secrets of the universe—caused me to simply jerk my head once before inhaling, filling my lungs completely.
I held my breath as I cast my consciousness outward, the motion as easy as breathing.
Instantly, each speck of my lingering magic blazed to life, as if recognizing my life force.
“Come,” I whispered, and I withstood the shock as each one of those thousands of filaments refilled my well of Creation Magic until it was nearly overflowing, brimming to absolute capacity.
In the next breath, I heard the mists whisper to open my eyes.
I operated on pure instinct, my heart jumping in my chest with the anticipation of what I would find.
The fog still lingered, but it was less opaque than before.
We were no longer cordoned off into our own pocket of reality; instead, the dilapidated homes were visible through the smoky fibers.
My head whipped from side to side, desperately searching for the vengeful goddess who was certainly ready to smite me where I sat.
My body trembled with the anticipation of seeing her snarling, bone-white face, of the hate and death that would be writ in her expression.
“Now, Goddess! We cannot isolate her for much longer!” the wind whispered in my ear as a sudden breeze gusted through the ruins of the Valley. There was a bite to it, as if it were absorbing the emotions of the caster, and I shuddered as the cold sank into my bones.
Teeth chattering and hands shaking, I opened the fist that still clutched the crystal, wincing as my fingers spasmed from the elongated, tight hold.
My Destruction Magic leaped and danced within my soul, physically vibrating at the expectation of being unleashed.
The same molten heat that had nearly consumed me when I first absorbed Kaos’ power thundered through my veins once more, momentarily stilling my actions.
My magic roared in outrage at being contained, and I thought I would certainly succumb to the pressure that built within my veins.
My moment of hesitation cost me precious seconds of distraction, and I watched in horror as the mists receded nearly completely, revealing Solace in all her vengeful glory not five feet from me.
“You will die. Painfully. Slowly. With all the might and force I possess,” she whispered, her vehemence striking fear into the core of my being. I sat frozen as if she’d cast me in ice, unable to move, unable to act, no matter how loudly the voices in my head demanded.
Solace gnashed her teeth in a terrifying snarl that expanded across her entire face as she raised both bone-thin hands in my direction.
“Die, godling. May your remains lie here with my traitorous bloodline, and may your soul never find peace. I’ll be sure to inform your lover of your failings.” Her voice was cold and even despite the fury that sparked in her eyes.
It was the mention of Torin, the insinuation of violence and death that would rain upon him if I failed, that finally spurred me into action.
No matter what happened to me—if my magic consumed me or Solace ended me first—I would refuse to let my failings hurt another person I loved. Not again.
Solace and I simultaneously cried out—both laced with rage and pain, so similar in our emotions yet so different in our pursuits.
My Destruction Magic leaped into my palms with a whisper of a thought, a semi-formed idea that immediately called it into action.
Ashes and embers filled my vision as the diaphanous strands immediately began to disintegrate the clear crystal.
It pulsated with bright light and vibrated in my palm, immediately resisting my magic.
Solace’s first blast of Air pinned me against the wall, expelling all of the oxygen within my lungs. I gasped for breath, my muscles seizing and contracting around nothing, and I felt the hold on my magic flicker as my concentration wavered.
The crystal slipped from my palm and into the dirt by my feet. Ears ringing from the force of Solace’s blast, I couldn’t hear the words that slithered from her lying tongue, but I could see the triumph on her face, in the glittering of her eyes.
With one hand, Solace kept me pinned against the wall, unable to move my hands to pull on my magic and desperately trying to think of a solution.
With the other, she guided the crystal into the air, slowly pulling it toward her.
Each inch away from me and closer to its owner, the chipped crystal glowed brighter, anticipating being returned to its master once more.
Tears slipped unbidden from my eyes to run in rivulets down my face and neck.
I failed.
And Elyria would fall.
As the crystal touched Solace’s hand, I felt a tremor in the ground, as if the very rock we stood upon feared what would happen next.
Nothing else mattered in that moment. My focus zeroed in on the unassuming crystal resting delicately within her skeletal hand, and rage consumed me.
My mouth opened on a silent cry, the air still stolen from my lungs, as I simply let go of the dam that held back my Destruction Magic. It disintegrated immediately as a torrent of power left my body from every inch of exposed skin.
My pores oozed shadowy strands of magic as they shot from my body straight to the tether loosely gripped by a shocked Solace. When the first strands of my power touched her skin, she hissed at the contact, nearly dropping the crystal in pain.
But my magic never stopped, even as the attempts to consume the goddess failed. It attacked with reckless abandon, almost as if it were sentient and completely separate from my own wishes.
The crystal. Destroy the crystal, I thought weakly, feeling my life drain away with the blood that now flowed from my eyes and nose. A trickle ran from my ear as well to mix with the tears that now coalesced at the neckline of my tunic.
My magic listened to my instruction, diverting its devastating attack to the clear rock that now dangled helplessly from Solace’s fingers.
I felt it as my power consumed the ancient artifact, felt the piece of soul that was tethered there be exposed and subsequently consumed by the raw ferocity of the Destruction Magic.
I heard Solace’s cry of anguish and numbly registered that my body had slumped to the ground at some point.
Her suffocating presence left the Valley completely, the land seeming to sigh with her departure, and sent a quick prayer to Fate that Faylinn was safe with Rohak.
But I didn’t see any of that. My eyes were too clouded by pain and blood, my vision darkening completely as I lost consciousness, my magic still pouring from my skin and raging through the Valley.