Thom wiped the sweat from his brow. It seemed that Deckard had been right from the start. They should have allowed him to carry the Relic. They could have simply walked out of the Keep.
But then, Evylin gasped in frightful panic, and Thom whirled just as one desperate word burst from her lips. “No.”
Deckard’s knees buckled, and his eyes rolled back.
Thom’s heart lurched. “Jonn!”
He hit the ground, unconscious, and the Shades surged forward once again.
The troop, worn out and ragged, jumped back into action. Thom’s arms felt like lead, but he slashed, attempting to keep the charging Shades away from where the Relic lay beside his brother’s crumpled form.
Evylin dove over Deckard, protecting him from the attack of the Shades. Thom could see the creatures cutting into her flesh as they fought to pry the Relic from beneath the couple. He took a step closer to help, but a swell of golden light knocked them back.
“Evylin,” Auden called, “get up.”
Evylin scrambled to her feet, now gripping a glittering black sword. Its onyx-colored metal gleamed like the Relic, and vibrant colors illuminated its edges. The sword was long, sleek, and deadly, and it fit perfectly in her hand.
“Vayd, Raff,” Brea ordered. “Get Deckard.”
With the Night sword still in her other hand, Evylin spun. “Brea, catch.”
Though mid-attack, Brea lifted her hand and caught the Night Relic. It beamed a bright violet, then morphed into a sharp-ended staff, perfectly sized to the Warrior’s height. She stashed her old weapon across her back and spun into action.
Thom’s heart throbbed in his throat. While Rafferty and Vayden hoisted Deckard between them, the rest of the troop surrounded them like a guard. They still had a great expanse to cover. Now down to seven fighters, they were all running low on energy. But Thom wouldn’t let them fail.
Tightening his grip on his sword, Thom fought with all the vigor he could muster. “Keep going,” he called. “Whatever you do, keep moving forward.”
Beside him, Ilain panted, but her jaw was tight with determination as she burned through a line of the Shades. Islasent out a gale that knocked several creatures from their feet. Auden finished them with a burst of light. The three Warriors fought with their glowing swords, all of them slinking back to avoid the deathblows of the creatures.
And Thom fought, unaided by magic, as he struggled to defend his friends.
Beside him, a subtle glitter caught Thom’s attention. He glanced just long enough to find a swirling cloud of onyx shards materializing out of the Space sword and descending over Evylin’s arm. The magic rolled around her, covering her in a shield of protection that lashed out whenever a Shade got too near. The magic ignored Thom and Isla on her other side but defended Evylin effortlessly.
“How are you doing that?” Thom asked in awe, though he kept his attention on the fight.
“I don’t know,” Evylin admitted, casting a swift glance at him.
Thom grinned dryly. “Well, keep it up, eh? And if you’ve got some extra to spare, I wouldn’t complain.”
The magic moved like an extension of Evylin. It attacked the Shades with each thrust of her sword and protected her like armor. She was an unstoppable Bonded Warrior at the height of her power.
One step at a time, they worked their way back through the Keep.
Slowly.
Very slowly.
Defending Deckard, Rafferty, and Vayden made the fight even more difficult. The Shades were getting more furious and more numerous by the second. The seven fighters grew increasingly tired. Their breaths came out with ragged desperation, and Thom wondered if any of them felt the burn in their lungs like he did. Did magic help with that? Or were they all on the brink of collapse too?
Isla’s gust of wind knocked a large portion of Shades from the front, providing a path. Auden, Brea, and the men carrying Deckard hurried through the line. Thom abandoned his post beside Evylin, desperate to stick by his brother’s side. But then the Shades filled the gap he’d left behind, funneling through and cutting Evylin, Isla, Ethenn, and Ilain off from the rest of the party.
Thom’s gut clenched. With swift precision, the Shades created a wall between them, attacking now on all sides. Three fighters defended Deckard, Rafferty, and Vayden. But three of their most powerful members were left behind. He could see that the four other members of the troop were struggling to thin out the Shades, but they couldn’t work fast enough.
Thom muttered a curse but charged into the front, slashing and ducking, each kill bringing him perilously close to death. “Auden,” he shouted, “you got any tricks up your sleeve?”
“I’m running out of energy,” Auden called back.
“Would the Night Relic help?”
