Chapter 452 (2/2)

And the battle has only just begun

It was at that moment when I truly understood the reality of our situation

Oludari was powerful—a full-blooded asura—but he was no warrior Already, I could sense his strength flagging, his desperation building The sickly green tendrils that discolored his black scales radiated a disco mana that made my stomach churn, and I knew it must be some kind of poison, perhaps even made specifically for this purpose…

It was clear that the Wraiths would do what they were trained to do Even as Oludari attacked two or three at once, the fourth was always able to land a strike against the Sovereign, their offense and defense woven together in a e and death There was no way Oludari could win They would kill hi we could do to stop them

Then they would turn on us

A frantic thought to reach out to Arthur for help flailed in my head, but I knew that wasn’t possible He was far away in Etistin, and I had no way to—

“Seris!” Still holding Seth againstas a broken black spike careened through the air from above “The tempus warp, where—”

She pulled a brooch off her robes and tossed it toits contents Aear was the teround, releasing the breathless Seth Milview so I could focus on the artifact

It was a powerful one, capable of reaching fro me to the palace in Etistin, where I only had to find Arthur How long would it take? A minute? Two? Ten?

Will anyone here be alive by the time I—

Even as my mana activated and calibrated the te the artifact in a deeper darkness than the cover of smoke and void mist already provided

I had only one painful thud of my heart to consider the narrow, pale, axelike face in front of me before he lashed out with a forward kick at my chest

The air between us distorted, black lines of sonic vibration rippling visibly for an instant before his blow struck ho my defenses

The world pulled away from me—or I from it—and space seeround hard, tudoll

My core ached from the force of the iround and pulling it up and aroundbarricade to halt my wild roll Before I could even wrap my head around what had happened, I was back ontoward the te over it

He raised the index finger of his right hand, shaking it back and forth as if scolding a naughty child Then his black blades of conjured ice swept down, carving through the tempus warp as easily as soft butter

Only a couple feet away, Seth stood paralyzed—but no, he wasn’t frozen He was ht spilled out of the boy, creating a powerful ical barrier that extended a few feet in every direction froht…

The barrier hit the Wraith as it swelled, knocking him back half a step A cold sneer appeared on that axelike face, and then his blade inging

I threw upstone up from the barren ash outside of Seth’s own shi+eld and conjuring a field of absorbing static, but the blade was too fast, too strong It sliced through both my half-formed spells, then met the blue barrier

Seth’s spell shattered, the force of it sending hiround at my feet, the blur of ice-formed blades in the air where he had been

In the empty second I had to react, I considered whether I could protect hi up my life to delay his death by the blink of an eye? If I fled, perhaps the Wraith would follow nificant in the Wraith’s eyes

Once, perhaps, I’d have killed him myself, just to remove the distraction…

Goosebumps rose up all overupa spell yet I sed hard, soh I couldn’t hope to protect the boy, I couldn’t do nothing At least he will die knowing I tried…

The Wraith cocked his head, regarding me His blood-red eyes, dark and soulless, filled as it pity I saw reflected back at me? With another sneer, he shot into the air and sped back toward the battle with Oludari

Spinning onfor any signs of life but expecting the worst There was no breath, no pulse, no rising and falling of his chest—

The faint buertips, and I closed my eyes in relief He was alive, but unconscious, his core screa such a powerful spell through his ethe out of the air, cuts in the fabric of his wings flapping against the rushi+ng wind of his passage, blood weeping froer inti, his wounded basilisk form instead filledand round, it was as if a s vanished beneath his bulk before a cloud of dust and ash sed hi where the basilisk had fallen before drifting slowly to the ground

Seris and Cylrit did the sa the one nearly white, and a fine sheen of sweat clung to his brow He, like the Scythe he protected, had pushed himself to the limit

We were alone, or nearly so Everyone else had fled, at least those ere capable Many, far too lance, I found the corpses of Ector Ainsworth, both the Plainsrunner brothers, and Anvald Torpor There were others I couldn’t identify as easily And that was just in the space directly around me

How many died across the encampment? I wondered despite myself, then pushed the question away

I sensed the change in the mana as Oludari reverted back to his huh the ash as he stu, free of the rubble his fall had created The Wraiths aiting for hi utterly pathetic “I’ll go back, I will, just don’t…don’t…” He fell to his knees, coughing spas horribly He was still bleeding froreen tendrils discoloring his flesh “Don’t kill me,” he finished weakly

One of the Wraiths, a lithe, graceful woue She brushed jet black hair out of her face, tucking it behind one of the horns that swept back fron He flinched, and she chuckled darkly

“Your life is not ours to take this day, oh great Sovereign” Her hand snapped out and gripped one of his horns “Although we are not required to return you in one piece, should you think to challenge us further”

Black lightning crackled from her fist to dance down the horn and into Oludari’s skull He groaned, his eyes rolled back in his head, and he sluround unconscious

The Wraith scoffed and turned away, her deep red eyes, so dark they were al on Seris, Cylrit, andtoward us, her stride as casual as if she were strolling along Central Boulevard in Cargidan City

The axe-faced Wraith who had destroyed the tempus warphiot a good look at the an ar The other had tears of blood leaking from his eyes and a vacant expression on his otherwise stalwart face

At least Oludari didn’t go doithout a fight, I thought vaguely, ie it was to find

“Seris the Unblooded Retainers Cylrit and Lyra” She slanced around at the s”

Cylrit leveled his blade at the Wraith, his intent pressing outward to add weight to his words as he said, “Return to your shadows, ghost The fact that we’re still breathing tells me your master hasn’t commanded you to bite, only to show your teeth”

Her serous as she ran her tongue over one protruding canine “You’re right, although I wouldn’t trust n’s disappointment would be…mild at best if I returned with your heads n’s horns”

“Perhata, quit playing with your food,” the axe-faced Wraith shouted “We have e ca”

“It’s just an ar down at his ruined side “I could still mop up these three traitors if—”

The woman, Perhata, raised a hand, and the others went silent “Victory ripped from the jaws of defeat, as it were We hadn’t even heard of Oludari’s flight fro about in the Beast Glades Had your Dicathian friend, the Lance, not interrupted our previous work, we may not have made it here in tier slash across her face “Really, without this Lance—Arthur Leywin?—a couple dragons would be dead, but a lot more Alacryans would be alive”

I scoffed “If you don’t intend to kill us, then you better be on your way After all, you don’t want to risk facing off against Arthur, do you?”

Seris shottoo hot to feel chastised “I recognize your name, Wraith It was one even Cadell said with a note of fear Na the nameless and faceless…you must truly be a terror on the battlefield And yet, I notice there are only four of you—well, three and a half I always thought there were roup? Could even you not defend your battle group against the Godspell?”

Axe-face took a few aggressive steps forward “What you’ve always thought is worth less than the rag I clean estured for quiet She tilted her head slightly as she regarded Seris When a lock of dark hair fell out, she again placed it back behind her horns “You are granted a reprieve today These soldiers still belong to Agrona, and you are their generals Soon, they’ll be needed again The tirona gives the order, you and your forces will rona will burn the cores from every reat ocean”

She stepped forward until Cylrit’s blade pressed into her sternuh to make my knees quake

Her eyes settled on Seris’s “Personally, I hope you defy hiets to return here and rip the core from your chest, Unblooded, for you are a shadohat you once were But the reality is, we all know you won’t You can’t When Agrona gives the order, you will answer It is the only way” Casually, she reached up and wrapped her fist around Cylrit’s sword With a subtle twist, the blade shattered

Cylrit gasped and dropped the hilt onto the hard-packed ash, staring at his shaking hand in disbelief

“Soon,” Perhata said again, taking a few steps backwards before spinning around and signaling to the other Wraiths

The four of them flew into the air and sped north over the wasteland, vanishi+ng in seconds The pressure of their er, and when that had faded, there was the eed, and Cylrit hurried to let her down gently to the ground Her eyes were closed, her breathing labored

Cylrit’s eyes met mine “Go Tell Arthur what happened I will—”

Seris’s hand lifted, silencing Cylrit as he kneeled next to her She opened it, revealing a disc about an inch and a half in diameter It was yellohite in color, and a rune had been carved into it From the rusty reddish-brown coloration of the rune, it was inked in blood

“Give this…to Arthur,” Seris said, her voice hoarse with fatigue

I carefully took the disc fro Seris’s pained expression as Oludari crushed her hand in his Giving her this, I no

Standing, I turned away from Seris and Cylrit only to al to stir The airwaves vibrated between us as I sent out a pulse of sonic mana, and he jolted awake

I held up a hand, forestalling any atteht make to speak “Seth The people here need help Every able body Many have fled into the wastes or toward the neighboring encampments So thee”

His dilated eyes narrowed as he struggled to understand I responded with a second pulse of vibration, and he yelped and jumped to his feet

“This is i visibly, he nodded

I reached out and fixed his glasses, which were hanging half off his face “Good”

My feet left the ground asover the Beast Glades in a headlong rush toward the nearest teleportation gate, the Wraith’s words still ringing in ives the order, you will answer”