Chapter 455 (1/2)
Chapter 455
Chapter 453: Ast the Fallen II
My heart fluttered insideto beat as I reached for the mana necessary to cast a spell It didn’t have to be co A jet of water, condensed to burst like a firework—just enough to get the dragons’ attention If they fleay…
Even though I couldn’t feel his manifested intent, I knew the monster named Raest was barely a dozen feet away He’ll sense what I’ht hopelessly There was no way I could hide the spell from someone as powerful as hiharm and cracked skin, he could cross the distance and breakeven a blip of hisat it, I could feel Jarrod’s lifeless body next to ed to reach me Not if I could fire of the spell first—
I juht as the air crackled with power, and a voice like thunder boorona,” the voice said, resounding as if projected by every bare stone “We know you’re here, so-called Wraiths, and that you have the Sovereign, Oludari of the Vritra clan Guardian Charon Indrath is offering you this one opportunity to turn yourselves over to our authority and release your prisoner to us”
The black dragon swept low, flying past our caravan of wagons beside the road, its bright yellow eyes scouring us in search of the hidden Wraiths The wind of its passage e stoleto forertips
Awe and relief overwhel his arm with one hand, and wept silently
“Consider yourself fortunate, dragon,” the harsh, bittersweet voice of Perhata answered Her words were dise no clue of her physical location “We aren’t here for you, not today But that won’t stop us frorona if you interfere”
The black dragon wheeled high above, reconvening with the thite dragons, their wings beating slowly to keep their enormous bodies in the air “Don’t be absurd,” it said, its tone thick with disbelief “Your flight is over, your incursion into Dicathen failed You can no longer run, nor can you hide fro reality”
Soons’ presence Several people quickly joined thee of fear Be quiet, I pleaded, not wanting them to draw attention to thehter echoed across theout all other noise “You have yet to e, but a couple hundred, yes? I have been trained since birth to kill your kind, asura, but know that in the process of fighting this losing battle, you would be conde all these people—the very people you clairisly death You knoell as I that, if this mountain becomes a battlefield, you cannot save them, not even from your oers”
I sed hard, ons and carts, and the faces of those who rode in theon was silent for only a beat before answering “You are cowards Claim to be our equals all you wish, but the fact that you hide behindwe need to know” It twisted its long neck, giving the other two dragons ato a colea plate ar huons wore the for down their backs from beneath scaled helspear
“See how heartless your saviors are?” Perhata’s voice oozed fro the return of one of our own But these asuras, they think of you only as a flock of wogarts to be tended and htered for the good of the herd, though, they won’t hesitate You all should have bowed to High Sovereign Agrona when you had the chance” Read at readlnorg
The two asuran wo above the caravan They reons below, before one of theh the air and landing light as a feather near the end of the train, only a feagons down froh unlikely, if any of you e to survive this, tell your kin,” Perhata continued, her words an intrusion I couldn’t block out or escape “Share with everyone you encounter the cruelty of the Indrath clan and the kindness of the Vritra”
Lying, ht bitterly, but at the saness to sacrifice us Squeezing ainstand ees—most women and children—need ht be the only one here who does
My irl who vanished in an instant of spellfire, collateral dauards
I couldn’t save her And I kneouldn’t be able to save everyone noering in fear on this ers slid off his strangely still flesh, then curled into white-knuckled fists One Just help one person That’s all it takes
The asuran wo the inside of the carts as she searched the theures in the background of a painting Their eyes followed along with the asura’s progress, but they otherwise rely still
Raest was ever so slowly shi+fting around the cart as the asura approached Even though I kneas there and could see him with my own eyes, my attention wanted to slip off hiht as the Wraith and the asura maneuvered to opposite sides of the saon’s to hide even the whisper-quiet sound of his slow shi+fting Everything see so slowly Where are the other Wraiths? The second dragon? What are they waiting for—
Suddenly the longspear was carving doard, leaving a blurred silver crescent in its wake Read at readlnorg
The weapon shattered the heavy cart, sending shards of broken wood and personal belongings flying in every direction At the front of the cart, a man and woman were propelled off as if they’d been fired from a catapult, so sudden and violent they didn’t even have a chance to scream
On the other side of the cart, Raest threw himself to the side, so fast I could hardly see his spear sliced down the side of his leg with a spray of blood even as he breathed out a cloud of noxious green poison
Conjuring an orb of water, I caught the pair of far I could do as their two aurochsen were inundated by the cloud, which dissolved both the long shaggy fur and the flesh beneath, so that their pockmarked bones splashed into the ht radiated out of the dragon’s shi+eld, wrapping her in a , but the cloud was spreading quickly
“Run!” I screa mist
In a moment of hesitation, I reached for Jarrod’s ar I could save his body for a proper burial
That moment of hesitation nearly cost me my life
As I slowed andaroundht hand cracked and blistered in an instant, entire patches sloughing away like shed snake skin as itback a scream, I cradled the wounded li even the chance to honor Jarrod’s sacrifice by watching as the flesh-decaying fumes subsumed hion in line just as the large felineas they jumped off the road and tried to sprint down the mountain in panic And perhaps they could have, if not for the wagon connected to their harness, which crashed down on top of thee
Then the noise hit me The screams were first and loudest, then the explosion of spellfire farther up the caravan All the h, terrified senseless and shrill enough in their panicked howling to cut through the rest
Still running, I looked over
Beyond the thick green cloud, I could justaway down the ons and carts
The asura’s shi+eld continued to repulse the spells as the Wraith launched attack after attack, pounding the silver spell with condensed spikes of foul, poisonous spear thrust outward, but at the sa motion pulled the asura off balance, and the thrust ide, then I saw noacross vanishi+ng fro forward onto onized breath as dirt and gravel was embedded into the ruined flesh ofheavy hadn’t landed one as he was crashed to the road beside us, bounced, and struck hi e of the road and vanished into the cloud of dust that now obscured everything in all directions
Unsure what had happened, I blearily stared around froe lupineat the leather straps connecting it to the wreckage in an atten of the driver
A woman’s shouts pulled my attention away It was the deada na in o close to the—”
A sudden burst of wind blasted away the dust for a hundred feet in every direction, revealing Raest pinned to the ground with a dragon longspear e the spear as he gaped up at the asura
The e of the road cru turned into a screaave way beneath her, and she was pulled into the dust-choked void beyond The scream cut out a second later as I heard the wet i down the steep slope
The ground tre Rocks were raining down fro over the path, and entire sections of the road were caving in and spilling down thefor the strength to do so You have to keep going…
Shaking violently, I used my injured hand to push myself totoward ainst the Wraith painted a dire portrait The hairs rose up on ht through me
“You’re supposed to protect us,” I said,“Help us!”
She barely took notice, her searching gaze skating overthe few survivors of the surrounding carts to fend for themselves
There weren’t many, only those whose mana beasts had stayed within their control or who had abandoned their vehicles I could still hear the sounds of battle froaze sure and confident
Another survivor grabbedeven as the road shook and threatened to give way beneath our feet Over on
Gritting nized faces, but na, but too much fear to force me or to stand and wait Because, even as the survivors sprinted headlong down the road and away from the battlefield, I turned and followed the asura Read at readlnorg
She lanced back “Go I won’t be responsible for you, and there is nothing one of your kind can do here”
I wiped blood fro after her “I’m responsible for these people I need to help whoever I can Not to fight, just…”
She shrugged “You are free to choose your own death”
Her steady strides carried her ahead of on that she passed by without a second glance Each jarring step was pure torture on auntlet of cold water to ease the flesh, I firmly put the pain out of my on, which had been cracked open like an egg when the road collapsed, an older woman lay with a s in her aged face, and for a moment I feared the old man was dead As I approached, his hand patted hers, and I realized he was speaking, but the words were too soft for me to hear
Behind the elders’ broken cart, another et his fae of the road and down the steep incline
“Hey,” I said loudly, waving et his attention “There are more people over here, they need—”
The brawnydown after his fa not to blame the man, I instead kneeled down beside the elders “Nevermind then Let me help you up, we need to move—”
“He can’t walk,” the old wo broke when the road jumped…”
I flinched as ain I was afraid the mountain would come down around us “Perhaps yourthebroken in its harness, having been struck by a large stone “Someone else’s then, there are soatco, and acceptance that I couldn’t continue
“We’re not getting out of this, child,” she said, her tears now dry “But you can And don’t go trying anything silly I’d rather not leave this life knowing there is blood on my hands, understand?”
I shookh to draw blood I didn’t want to ad I could do for theive me a fierce and detere it Instead, she looked away, leaned down, and kissed her husband on the forehead
You are free to choose your own death, the dragon’s words echoed in
Running footsteps were approaching, and so I stood, giving them a small bow as I prepared to address more survivors
The mountainside behind me shattered in a burst of mana A shard of stone cut the air so close that I felt ain, slaround
One of the adventurers, a quiet boy younger thanas fast as he could down the treacherous path, a few others behind hiround, a spray of stone shrapnel ripping them to tatters
I stared at the bodies,faster and faster What aurein pain I sprinted forward and scooped up a small boy into my arms His face was covered with dust and blood, and he pulled back froht ht be dislocated His eyes ether, but his expression was vacant
I could recognize the signs of shock well enough, but , I turned in a slow circle, searching for a way to help this poor child
Ahead of us, a wide, flat cart had overturned, blocking my view of the road When it exploded, I jumped so hard I nearly let the child slip out of istered the figure s by a few feet in front of round
The impact shook the mountain, and the road beneath , I half ran, half juround For a moment, every other sound was lost beneath tons of rock crashi+ng down the mountainside Unsure what else to do, I threw myself behind the elderly couple’s cart, which had miraculously reure rose from the sinkhole, a wicked blade of black ice held in each hand Varg, I reued with Perhata Gravel crunched behind me, and I spun: the asura She advanced with her shi+eld out in front of her, the longspear extended out over top