AllFreeNovel
Share Us
REHEMA
Ruby, Axel, and I teleported to my mother's castle in the City of Souls, and right away, the sounds of the mayhem beyond the walls filled our ears. I ran through the castle—Ruby, and Axel hot on my heels—until we reached a balcony that gave us a clear view of the city.
Like in the Kruard territory, the sky was red, and hundreds—no, thousands of infected souls, gods, and animals were plowing through the streets. It was like nothing I'd ever seen.
“Goddess,” Ruby whispered beside me. “It’s worse than the Vampire War.”
I felt more panicked after hearing her say that. After all, she’d experienced this madness before. Below us, I caught sight of a goddess pinned in a corner, shielding a wounded god behind her. She was fighting an infected animal alone, a creature that stood high above her with talons the length of knives.
I called on my power—the power Mom had gifted me before she left—and a bow formed in my hand. Somehow, this felt different than the other times I'd used my energy to create a weapon. I already knew that my aim would be true. It was as if my mom was standing behind me, offering me her support.
I drew my hand back, as if I was already holding an arrow, and three formed in my hand, bright green and vibrating with power.
I let them loose, one after the other, and each found a target in the native animal.
Its howl of pain was lost in the chorus of war, blending with all the other cries, screams, and battle howls. The goddess looked around, unsure of where the arrows had come from, but she didn't waste much time and tended to the god lying on the ground behind her.
Even with the gods giving their all, there were too many infected souls to handle.
“We're being slaughtered," I said through gritted teeth. Suddenly, Axel grabbed Ruby and me and pushed us back into the castle.
Something fell on the balcony in a flutter of red feathers, shattering it, and Ruby screamed as Axel fell with the beast. Roots exploded from the ground below at my command, wrapping around Axel while impaling the beast. The second Axel was on his feet, I released him. But then we were attacked again, this time by a serpent.
The creature came rushing towards us from down the hall, its tail, scaled and colorful, shattering the walls as it moved. Its front legs had talons that dug into the tiles, and fangs the length of my arm.
Roots burst through the walls, sending debris everywhere, some slowing down the creature as we ran, but not stopping it.
"What the hell is that?" Ruby shouted. I glanced behind us to see the snake tear through the wall I’d created of roots and thorns.
Copper-sand snakes were usually docile creatures, but this one, infected and raging, was terrifying. Everything its talons touched turned to copper, which was their defense reaction. Only I wasn't interested in becoming a copper statue.
“Just run!" I shouted back, and while she and Axel did so, I stopped.
I took a deep breath, held it, and my hair turned white. I channeled my power down my arm like I'd seen Natalie do several times, turning her chaos into a blade. I did the same, and a sword appeared in my right hand while a small crossbow materialized in my left.
I fired an arrow at the snake, taking out one of its eyes, which only pissed it off. I winced at its high-pitched screeching but charged at it nonetheless. I bobbed left and right, firing bows while advancing on the beast until I was close enough.
Then, I dropped to the ground, sliding under its body, and pierced under its head with my sword, cutting the creature open. Its underbelly was its softest area, and I rolled from under it before it fell.
Blood, guts, and chaos oozed from the poor animal, and I got to my feet.
Axel and Ruby stood a few feet away, with Axel ready to defend his mate to the death. But Ruby was ready, too. This was what she’d been training for.
Explosions echoed outside the castle, and as I moved to join them, a god suddenly appeared in front of me.
He blinked into the hall, his eyes a burning furnace with a glowing silver whip in hand.
“Behind you!” I shouted, and Axel spun around and stepped before Ruby.
I ran forward, knowing that neither of them could take on a god. But there was a balcony to our right, and when they led the god into the courtyard, an onslaught of lightning bolts entered the hall from outside. The infected god was electrocuted and thrown so hard, he went through the wall on the opposite side.
Zeus stepped in from outside, followed by Heldon, the fae creator.
All the Imperium, except for Hekate and the Goddess, had entered their alternate reality. It was, however, clear that Cedric was going all out now. This was the beginning of the end, and his forces had us pinned down. So perhaps the Imperium was finally taking a stand to defend the realm.
“You’re Rehema, aren’t you?” Heldon asked, eyeing me up and down. “Eir’s daughter?”
“Yes,” I answered. “I am.”
