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The swarm suddenly broke away and went higher up in the sky into a ball.
“What are they doing?” I asked Azalea.
She lowered her light beam, breathing heavily. “I don’t know.”
Just then that ball dove, but instead of trying to get over the wall of water, they tried to go through it. They slammed into the wall and Leon slid back on his feet across the ground, grunting. Those creatures that flew around us to get our back were met by Acaden and Lark who viciously sliced and stabbed at the darkthings around us. Using my light, I shot it out in the same pattern, but most of the monsters were now attacking Leon.
“Focus,” Azalea grunted beside me.
Sweat slid down Leon’s face as the darkthings sacrificed their kin as they each went in, barreling into the wall of water until they were forcing through like a drill, one after the other, creating a tunnel directly to him. Something scraped him and he screamed.
“Leon!” I yelled.
I tried to maneuver my light to the swarm around us, and I struggled as more of the darkthings burrowed through the wall of water trying to get to Leon, to stop the person protecting us. We weren’t getting anywhere. Leon screamed out in defiance as a darkthing broke through and crawled onto his chest. I slashed a bolt of light at its head before it bit into Leon’s neck. The creature fell but then more came.
“We have a problem,” Acaden said. “There’s a swarm approaching from behind us.”
“What?” I turned around and sure enough, a black mist rolled down the hill.
The shadows parted, and within their center stood Leon’s mother.
“What is she doing here? I thought she was ill?” I quickly glanced at Leon expecting to see an expression of anger or fear, but he sighed in relief.
Keeping my power ignited and focused, I didn’t look back to see what Nelia was doing or why she was here. Black blades sprung forth like arrows over my head and into the swarm.
Leon cried and dropped to one knee. His arms outstretched before him as if he pushed against a brick wall with all his might. His hands were inside the barrier of water and that burrowing hole of darkthings continued to try to break through. I looked around unsure of what to do.
The shadows coming from behind us created a giant, black barred cage that encircled the swarm. They frenzied as they fought against those bars that were suddenly tangible.
Azalea smiled and whooped beside me, and it awed me to see how powerful Leon’s mother was. I had never seen shadow magic in action. It was terrifying and magnificent at the same time.
“Keep them contained,” Azalea screamed. “I’m moving to the left. You move to the right and draw your beam toward the center.”
If those bars could keep the swarm confined, then we could destroy the monsters. My body shook from the strain, but I kept focusing my power forward and around the prison. One bar dissolved, and a darkthing flew free.
The darkthing tore for me, and Leon sent a stream of water to knock the monster off course, but as soon as he took his focus off the darkthings burrowing through the water, they went for him and pulled him inside.
“Leon!” I yelled as he disappeared.
“Don’t break,” Azalea grunted. “We’re almost through!”
Leon vanished within that wall of water and my heart panicked. Even though I knew he could breathe underwater that didn’t mean he was safe with those monsters attacking him. I couldn’t see through the wall. It was just a mass of shadows. A yell of defiance sounded from behind us, and the prison encasing the swarm shrank and compressed.
Whatever Leon’s mother was doing, it worked. We just had to concentrate on our power. Even though my body raged with adrenaline, my muscles spasmed and my breaths came too fast. I blinked back the utter exhaustion and dizziness overcoming me. I wobbled and someone wrapped their arm around my waist, holding me up.
“Focus,” Lark said.
I breathed heavily and looked over at Azalea, who had a similar golden fae keeping her steady. Her guards looked at each other with a determined nod. They had a sword in their free hand, ready to protect us to the bitter end.
Azalea grabbed my hand, and I held on to her sweaty palm. Tears streamed down my face as Leon’s mother wailed and made that prison compress. Leon hadn’t shown himself, and the swirling mass inside the water disappeared into the sea as the wall fell.
No.
You can’t be gone.
Please . . .
An ache blossomed in my heart and in my chest. I sobbed and anger, white and furious, blazed within that brokenness.
