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My teeth burn hot at the soldier’s words. Sully twists inside my chest, desperately trying to break the casts placed on it to no avail. It pushes inside my skull. Its indistinguishable whispers are eerie. My arm hairs rise with goosebumps and I close my eyes, raising my deadly fingers into the air. It feels as though I’m about to play a song of death on the clouds themselves. When my eyes reopen, darkness swells in the space before me.
“I’m going to eradicate all of you,” I mutter, my lips twitching into a crooked smile.
Threads of my rage manifest from the black mist around me. Gasps spread through the enemy troops and power explodes from them as they try to hit me first. The cloud of black surrounding me disperses as I close my fists and pull them to my chest, absorbing their Shadows in the blink of an eye. The field clears and their horrified faces are all that remain.
Their efforts are in vain.
My heart fills with wrath, a hate so dreadful and deep that I can hardly grasp my emotions. A wicked smile stretches across my face as I refocus my attacks and blood begins to spray. A song of destruction that I’ve been desperately waiting to hear for far too long is finally thrumming through my ears.
A female soldier casts her Shadow out toward me. It shapes into a fierce wolf creature, its face is a shroud of black—unlike Arthur’s, which bears a skull—and it tears through the wheat field at an impressive speed. I’m quicker though.
I wave my hand over the wolf a mere inch from my face and the Shadow beast implodes into dust. Sully lashes out closer to the surface beneath my skin, cracking through a few of the power casts, and sends a surge of lethal smoke to surround the female soldier with black, shifting sand. Her screams are short-lived as her bones shatter inside the cocoon of my power. Her blood mixes with the rain that drums down from the sky. I extend my hand and let the liquid pool in my palm.
Vinnie and Rowan are in the thick of battle to my left. They let loose a display of impressive techniques, fending off a few soldiers but remaining tight in battle with them. I search for Alani and Tamaris. They are cutting down soldiers on their end as well. Triumph floods me. These Fernestians are weak. I expected much more from them.
I knew we were ready for this. This changes everything. Hope and adrenaline fill my chest. Sully tears at the casts savagely inside me, completely breaking two and leaving two in place. I roll my shoulders back and crack my neck with the surplus of dread and power that my Shadow feeds through my bones.
I obliterate a few more soldiers as I proceed toward the camp—their blood sprays across the wheat like burst paint cans.
I thought killing would be difficult, but I don’t feel anything.
Not a fucking thing.
A second wave of Fernestian soldiers spills from the tents farther back. These ones look different. Their tactical gear is gray, unlike the black of the ones we’ve just slaughtered. One of them in particular is especially menacing. His body is at least double the size of mine. His ebony helmet is spiked down the center. He holds a large crescent sword of fire with two hands. He’s like a mythical god of war.
I narrow my eyes on this soldier. He must be the commander. His flames grow hotter with each step he takes, transitioning from red to blue. He’s the image of brutality.
I can handle him. I can do this.
A smaller Darkfly steps from behind the ominous knight. He’s dressed in a simple dark brown leather coat and pants—clearly not suited for war. He stares at me briefly with the eyes of a goat. His appearance sends shivers up my spine. The small soldier looks away and speaks to the large one—no doubt giving him information that perhaps only his odd eyes can learn about me.
I flex my fingers. My only choice is to attack before they do. The commander lifts his head toward me as if newfound knowledge had been bestowed on him.
Clashing Shadows and weapons sound from behind me, gunfire and screams too. I’m keenly aware of everything around us. I raise my arm into the air and let it fall straight forward—aiming at the commander. Power licks at my fingertips as my black sand frenzies out with wicked speed. I dare lift the corner of my lips. No one can avoid such an attack.
The commander swings his blade and blocks my attack like it’s nothing more than an insect to be swatted. The black magic counters and lands just a few feet in front of Alani and Tamaris, exploding upon impact and throwing my female comrades back.
“No!” I shout.
I flash my eyes back at the commander and try to hit him with a close-range attack. His hand cuts straight through it and grabs hold of my jaw. He cackles as his fingers dig into my face and he throws me with irrefutable force, tearing the flesh clean off my jaw. My body tumbles and rolls. My forearms snap as I attempt to keep them up.
Tamaris and Alani scream once more as the commander trudges toward them.
I struggle to my feet, blood spilling down my throat. But before I can run over to them, the commander brings his blade down with a force I cannot escape. My eyes widen with horror as his dark helmet reflects the image of him slashing my feeble body. He’s so close that I can hear the hiss of his breath as he straightens and tries to pull his blade from my body. He tugs over and over, shaking my limp, broken body like a rag until the sharp hook of the crescent blade unlatches from my bones. Black fire burns my face, chest, and arm.
My chest is burning. I’m on fire.
My breaths shorten and I let out a sharp cry. Blood gushes from my chest and soaks my tactical gear. Cold spreads where the liquid cools on me. My throat itches something awful, like ants are eating me from the inside out. I try to lift my head to see where the commander is. How did he move so fast?
Dying… Am I dying? My mind races and fear is all know. I trace the commander with my eyes as he heads toward my comrades.
“No… No!” I cry out desperately, the gurgling of my blood drowning out the words.
“Edgar!” Vinnie shouts, his eyes flashing with horror. He and Rowan charge toward the commander, unaware of his power. They won’t be able to handle his strength. They need to run away. They have to get away.
“R-run,” I choke out, but it’s so quiet it doesn’t reach them.
This is my fault. I don’t want to watch. Please. I can’t force myself to look away no matter how much I try. Darkness creeps in the corners of my vision.
