Chapter 456 (1/2)

Chapter 456

Chapter 454: Ao

The asura strode past me, and I couldn’t help but take a step back as th wilted fro to avoid turning hts inward to exa force of the asura’s presence made my own pains inescapable

Every inch of , and there was a consistent, angry throbbing co myself to look at hed off to reveal the discolored on looked up, but her gaze was aimed away from the stalled battle above the mountain

To the south, a s rapidly over the natures, and there was noother than what they were

Every nerve in ht, and I felt truly hopeless for the first ti?” I asked, the words a whisper on on’s mana swelled, the air thick with it, her pressure palpable on my skin Pain wracked me as I fell to my knees and stared up at the inhuman entity, sure that her mere presence would destroy hed

Tears streamed from my eyes, and I involuntarily turned away, unable to bear the sight of the asura’s raer, only to see a streak like a black star bearing down on us Unable to even utter a cry of alaron’s auraat the barrier like a thousand grinding teeth With a grunt, the asura shoved outith her shi+eld Beaht pierced the cold metal, and the spikes all burst at once, the dust of their re out over the valley below

I had a second of pure terror to watch as the ground cracked open beneathsed by an enore, and several tons of dirt collapsed all aroundout, I clawed the air and watched as the one-armed asuran woman floated into the air and sped toward Perhata, then everything but the falling one and darkness closed in above led to conjure a protective barrier of water around myself The mana sputtered and stalled as my broken concentration flailed, then swelled into existence, e sphere I bounced around as gravel, stone, and soil battered ht visible through the cascading rubble, then, with a suddenness thathalt

The noise of theinside uts I couldn’t see, couldn’t breathe My barrier was collapsing, being crushed inward toward ht of the mountain I was trapped by my own spell, pinned, paralyzed, my concentration fractured

The spell burst I wrapped my arms around my head, and the dirt and rocks settled on top of

I screa fast, so fast I felt like it would run upI had done—learningthe war—had brought rave Buried alive Better to have died alongside Jarrod, I thought wildly, bitterly At least it would have been quick

Then, though, I re down the mountain with his family I remembered the couple with the baby And the boy

They had struggled to survive, not giving up during the war or after, even continuing to fight for their lives as deities rained death and destruction down all around theular folks—farh all that and chose to keep trying to live…

I wriggled my arms, careful to protect my head, and made just a little bit of room for myself Then my shoulders and hips, and made just a little more The protective spell had prevented the soil and s both hard and heavy was pressing down on h ita deep breath of the thin, musty air, I listened and searched with every sense available to ht

Below, not far, I could sense e collection of at with nerves, I carefully—very carefully—began using what little h-pressure water into the ground, carving out a little space

The ground that was pressing in all around ave way little by little Afraid to be careless and yet knowing there was no time to collect myself, I used small bursts of water to carve doard the ath room to crawl forward init fast; I couldn’tand casting for a y, ony, andup onto th and cast a jet of water at the stone, trying to shi+ft it Some chunks of rock flaked away, but the boulder didn’t ain, each jet in the same spot, until, with a muffled crack, the boulder split The halves slid just a little, and suppressing a screaony, I yanked myself free

Dirt rained down on round all aroundwhat felt like the last of th, I blasted doith a powerful jet, and the floor of ed into open air, there was a brief sensation of light againstis and all sense froainst the i jolted , which had partially cruh

What had that been? So senses…

Turning my neck was pure torture, but I had to find whatever had jarred my senses back to life Next to me, only a couple feet away, a spike of black , with a network of filaed in place As I looked farther, I saw another, and then a third black spike

Then it happened again, and I realized what it was: a voice

Despite the bone-deep pain, I turned in the other direction, rolling ontoht, I could just make out the shape of a lassy black of an underground body of water Red eyes stared back at looave a stab of pain Squinting, I realized he had long, corkscrew horns that poked up from his head, and there was a sharpness and definition to his features that n,” I ood…” He tried to givesmile, but it onlyrong He has nohtly bound with heavy chains and cuffs

“You’re a Dicathian lesser, yes? But a ue flicked across his pale lips “I’m in need of your assistance immediately, as you can see Release me at once, and I’ll—”

“What?” I yelped, unable to help myself

Irritation flashed across the er an enemy of your nation If the noise out there is any indication, your dragon allies are currently fighting against the soldiers who abducted me Release e, and you’ll be a hero”

I blinked, unable to process as happening through the pain and exhaustion pressing on me like the fallen mountain above

“Excellent,” he huffed “After all this, a breathing ic user falls into my lap, so to speak, and she is an imbecile Or concussed” He narrowed his eyes at e, yes?”

I sed and easedposition My wounded hand juht ritted teeth “But I don’t think I can help you You’re a—”

“A coward,” a new voice said, a voice that had been ringing across the hout the battle

I froze, unable to turn around, but then, I didn’t need to

“Sovereign Oludari Vritra of the Dominion of Truacia” Perhata’s feet crunched across the sedi the bare stone of the floor “Sworn in service to the High Sovereign, Agrona Vritra, father of our nation and our people Betrayer, traitor…failure” Perhata materialized out of the darkness “Have I n?”

He seeh

Perhata kneeled beside me, took my chin in her hand, and pulledirl I proirl?”

I suddenly felt like I was back in the lightless hole, trapped and waiting to die, blind and suffocating A cold chill tre through arded me with disdain “You have survived, which I suppose should be worth soether, and she pursed her lips thoughtfully, then stood and moved to Oludari There was a spark of round next to hi on this, which Khalaen’s battle group was kind enough to bring for us With five more Wraiths on our side, the battle above should be about over, don’t you iine?”

She sucked in a deep breath and released it with al about your fruitless attempt to defect, it was that on blood spilled…” One elongated canine bit down on her lower lip as she suddenly closed her eyes and turned her face toward the ceiling, visibly tensing

Then her smile faded, her eyes snapped open, and Perhata spun around, staring up through the mountain as if she could see the sky beyond Even in the colorless light, I could see her face turning pale

It took aintent

A seething, furious anger seenatures—eventheerous

Perhata spun, diving for the device Oludari squir the anvil-shaped artifact sideways It slid in the dirt, rocking toward the water, and Perhata scra up as she tried to activate it

“Lesser, the teed “Disable it—”

Perhata, who had for a et my existence, flicked out her hand in irritation A dark streak sped toward me, so fast I didn’t even have tiht purple flash in front of ure wreathed in violet arcs of lightning In the figure's hand, little sparks of the purple current ju around it, was the spike that had been aiers, and the black spike burned away to nothing

The burning silhouette of a wolf burst frohtly, old eyemine as his profile was revealed “Go,” Arthur said, his voice, like his expression, dark and solemn, but beneath that, frosted over with such a bitter, cold fury that it sent a shi+ver down ainst the creature in the background, spells starting to flash and fly all through the cavern, I reached out and clutched his arons, they…they didn’t care, they let us—”

That boiling, wrathful intent I had felt flared, and Arthur’s eyes blazed “I know”

Before I could say or do anything else, Arthur blinked away, his arrasp as he reappeared on the other side of Perhata, cutting her off froht beaht swept across the dark cave, and the Wraith threw herself back, dragging the lupine mana beast with her

A spray of blackoutward froh to follow them all, but at the say appeared in the air, slashi+ng in several directions at once, each one deflecting or destroying a spike

One speared the ground besideafter one of the swords parried it aside

Shaking loose of my paralysis, I tried to stand only to realize that ht The pain of it was a distant echo that only th Instead, I rolled over and crawled desperately toward the underground body of water

More projectiles cracked the stone all aroundjerk forward, I expected one to pierce round It was almost a surprise when my body slid down the wet slope and entered the cold water with a s the narrow river, pushi+ng the current to carry me even faster A second later, I slipped into a crack where the water drained out and was quickly pulled away froe, and I had to navigate entirely by my sense of mana and the current There was no way to know if there was an outlet ahead or I would find ap, but I knew I couldn’t stay in the cave

When the stream became too narrow, I shoved out with asaway outcroppings of stone that created impassable pinch-points I swaht and s screamed for air, before I reached the end of the crevice

Freshly churned dirt and stone blocked the way forward In a sudden panic, I clawed at the dirt with ht take hours, but I hadbullets and beams of water, I blasted the obstruction Each spell eaker than the last Again and again I struck it, until the water turned toI wouldn’t make it, I tried to turn and swiht I couldn’t reverse direction, and I didn’t have the strength to send so ravity to pullmy ability to hold fuls oftoward unconsciousness, and I was thankful At least I wouldn’t be awake for it