CHAPTER 54
LUNANTHA’S TENDRILS STRETCHED OUT INSTANTLY, slamming into the ground and destroying whatever remained. Edmund pulled Lenore out of the way, dodging the vicious attacks. She held onto Fia and Charie tightly in her arms as they retreated into the dense jungle of umbral thistles.
“AEGIS!” Pip transformed into a shield of light at Azelf’s command, blocking the tendrils from advancing. The tendrils didn’t follow—they were guarding Auden’s body.
Lunantha lowered toward the ground, claws reaching over to Auden.
“The vile blood of Ieric that runs through you will be no longer. Feast upon the weaker creatures that have foregone my blessing, and be my shadow eternal.”
Lunantha sliced her own flesh with a claw. Blood slicked the tip of her claw as she grabbed Auden’s chin. The claw pressed itself against his lips.
Auden’s eyes shot open.
“No…” The unheard whisper died on his lips.
He curled over. Horrible bone-crunching sounds followed as he transformed.
A guttural roar tore from his elongating throat.
Wild, thick fur snatched away his skin. A darkening gray seeped into his once nearly white locks.
Gnarled muscle and bone at his chest grew to match Lunantha’s.
Auden fell to the ground on all fours. Dark horns crowned his massive, beastly head. An otherworldly snarl tore from his throat.
“Feast on these foul creatures that carry the nectar of my blessing,” Lunantha declared.
“Then you shall be made complete. Be driven to devour all and give your new god the boons of their souls.” A shiver ran down Lenore’s spine—Lunantha’s echoing voice unsettled her in ways she couldn’t fully comprehend.
“Auden…” Charie had slipped out of Lenore’s grasp, trembling in utter shock at the twisted transformation Auden underwent. “He’s—he’s gone.”
“It’s not all doom and gloom yet,” Azelf said, but his face held little hope. “I can try lifting the curse—emphasis on try. Eddy, you’ll have to help me distract him… and deal with Lunantha at the same time.”
Edmund tensed up. His armored claws scraped at the marble below. Moonlight glowed vividly at the tips of his claws. Lenore’s ears lowered, unwilling to let him go back into danger.
A sharp command left him. “Lenore, stay back here with Charie and my grandmother. Keep out of sight from the Lucyn.”
She swallowed the urge to hold him back, heart sinking as she murmured, “Come back to me after.” Lenore reached out to nuzzle him, and he leaned back into her touch before they separated all too soon.
Pip chirped at Lenore before he flew out into the clearing, with Azelf running right underneath in his werewolf form. Azelf barked sharply, capturing Lunantha and Auden’s attention.
Edmund leapt onto a thorny stem, weaving through the giant spikes as he climbed upwards. His momentum picked up speed as he ran full force over the looping vegetation. His claws shone pure white.
Like an arrow blazing through the sky, he lunged forward.
His claws sank into Lunantha, dragging them both down as she screamed violently.
The moonlight tore out her flesh, searing it apart—wounds she could not heal.
The marble floor shattered beneath them, debris exploding outward in a violent burst. Her tendrils flailed wildly, forcing Edmund and Azelf to retreat as Auden lunged forward to defend his master.
Lenore’s claws scored the marble below her, watching from the shadows.
The wounds barely slowed Lunantha—she was already moving again, attacking without pause.
Lenore’s claws curled into fists. Ieric’s weapon isn’t enough.
Her mind flickered back to the white raven’s words. Ieric’s poem. Heaven’s Storm. Ieric wrote that he found his weapon at its peak. Is it a mountain? A place?
Amid the chaos, Lenore swung her head at Charie, breathing fast. “Charie—Heaven’s storm—what is that?”
“What?!” Charie screamed back. She barely looked at her, keeping her eyes ahead only on Auden.
“Ieric’s poem—he mentions finding something at Heaven’s storm? Is that a real place?”
“I don’t—” Charie pursed her lips. “I don’t know!”
A tight crease formed between Lenore’s brow ridges. Lowering Fia gently to the ground, Lenore asked, “Then where’s the highest point in this area?”
“The trees?! I don’t know!” Charie turned to look at her, only to see nothing. “Lenore?!” she shouted after her running figure.
“Take care of Astra Fia for me!”
Lenore left them and the sprawling jungle of umbral tendrils behind. The sounds of battle clashed around her as she sprinted through. Marble debris flew past the crevices in the thick umbral thistles.
Silently, she apologized to Edmund as cold air whipped past her muzzle.
She leapt down the steps, eventually making her way back to the plaza they had once teleported to.
The plaza was eerily quiet, the noise of battle muffled outside.
She stood near Ieric’s statue, and it was at that moment she looked down at the statue’s inscription, reading the words she had once read in the library.
Of the blessings of the Holiest,
Therein lay the grace to deliver us from the enemy,
A pure light, in pure form
To come forth with helplessness from one’s spirit
On the peaks of Heaven’s storm
I call upon true moonlight’s strand
Woven with Holy truth
A blessing to take down the lies at hand
Her eyes wandered up the statue until she followed the direction of his hand that extended towards the roof. Jutting out of the walls of the massive building were the umbral vines that had broken through the stone.
“Heaven’s storm,” Lenore murmured quietly. She could only hope the roof would do.
I can climb this. She hurried to the nearest wall, drew a quick breath, then leapt and caught hold of the first thorned tendril. It was cold under her claws—the longer she held on, the more it stung against her paw pads. She grunted as she pulled herself up, then did it again, and again.
Fast, clipped breaths escaped her. Lenore leaned her head against the cold stone, feeling the thrums of violence vibrate through the white walls. She looked up—almost halfway there. Her eyes flitted downward, then back, before she did a double-take and froze.
A werewolf sauntered toward her from below. Deep crimson camouflaged nearly the entirety of her white fur. But her small form was unmistakable.
“I knew it was you who ran out.” Winter’s voice was loud and clear against the night’s quiet. “I’m so glad you’re still alive.” A bloodthirsty hunger warped her tone.
Chills spiked through Lenore. She threw all that she had into scrambling up the wall. Panic surged as she heard claws scraping the stone below.
All she could do was keep climbing up.