She nods her head and looks over at me. “I do.”
We walk back to the clearing. I point to the places on the ground where the ever-falling leaves never land. “Those are rifts. Places in the underworld where residual magic pools. Some of them are harmless. Others can trap you in a time loop until someone pulls you out. Others can kill you instantly if your body can’t withstand raw power.”
She stands next to one, staring down. “How do you know which is which?”
“You don’t. It’s best to avoid them whenever possible.” I can feel her intrigue and curiosity as she walks beside me. “Pushing an enemy into a rift can buy you time or be the lifeline that drags you back from the brink of death.”
Briar pulls her hand to her lips, tapping her fingers against her soft supple skin. “So, if I’m dying and I crawl towards a rift, it can keep me in a loop to prolong my death? Can the raw power rifts reinforce healing spells or other types of magic?”
I stop to consider her words. “If you can endure it, I guess it’s possible. But there have been many scholars who have mastered areas of the arcane arts who are still baffled by rifts. It’s a good reminder that, no matter how much we may want answers, we should keep in mind that there’s a possibility that there are no answers to our questions.”
A low growl emits from the trees. Willem runs back toward us and slides across the ground. Briar cries out as the reaper steps into a rift. My second goes completely still. More growling fills the air.
I grab Briar and cover her mouth, my eyes darting as I whisper in her ear. “We’re surrounded.”
We move to stand in front of Willem, my eyes glowing black. I tap her dagger. “Now is the time.”
The Navarre attack as the words barely have time to reach her ears. Their jagged swords slash towards us in deadly arches. Briar ducks out of the way and kicks her attacker back. I call upon my darkness and a sword of pure shadow appears in my clawed hands.
I throw my head back in a blood curdling battle cry and drive my blade through the chest of a Navarre. I vault over his body toward the demon who pursues my bride. Briar sidesteps another advance before rushing over to Willem. She shoves him out of the rift, screaming as red hot power burns her palm where she touches him. Willem snaps out of his trance, sweat pouring down his face. Briar pulls out her dagger and buries it to the hilt in the underside of a Navarre’s chin. Green, sticky blood flows over her hands and she recoils.
There isn’t time to watch her the way I want, so I move swiftly with the shadows, ravaging anything I come across. The Navarre are treacherous but I am faster, even with my powers waning. I slaughter eight demons and my sword evaporates with a snap of my fingers. The clan leader barrels into me, but I drag my claws across his face before tearing out his heart. I feel the last throb of his pulse before he crumbles at my feet.
I throw the heart into the dirt with a sneer and turn quickly to find my queen. Briar pulls her blade from the third Navarre to die by her hand, the bodies lying at her feet in bloody pools. My eyes shift to Willem who has just fully come to from being stuck in the time warp of the rift. Willem stares at Briar with surprise evident on his face. He should be thankful, though she may not have done it on purpose, she kept him alive during those few quick moments of battle. But I know Willem, he will only think of it as one of millions of debts paid by the humans for their centuries of treachery.
My chest clenches as her fear returns along with a new wave of guilt. I return to her side and pry the dagger from her bloodied hand. She stiffens when I reach behind her back and sheath the blade in its holder. I want to use my powers to calm her, but she needs to be alert. The journey is not over, nor is the danger that lies ahead.
“Come, we must leave. There are far too many dangers lurking around us to sit still.” I help Briar onto her horse, stopping and looking up into her foggy stare. “I know this has been hard, but you are not out of danger. I need you to push past this fear you feel and stay alert. Can you do that?”
Briar swallows, her eyes fixating on the blood spattered hair of her horse. After a few brief moments they shift toward mine and she silently nods. I pat her hand and jump on my horse, riding up next to Willem. He says nothing, just hands me the map. I run my finger along the line he has marked, and hand it back, pulling off.
We reach the edge of Yolnheim as the moon rises over Zculth. “We should set camp. Willem, you’ll take watch?”
I can sense he needs time on his own. He gives me a tight-lipped smile and I know he’s grateful for the privacy.
Briar and I set camp, but forgo the fire in favor of safety. If more Navarre are nearby, they might smell the flames or see the smoke. A yellow moon hangs high above our heads in an ocean of navy, surrounded by twinkling stars. I lay back against the trunk of a tree.
Briar sits nearby, flipping her dagger around with skilled fingers. She seems less tense. Maybe it’s the reality settling in, the knowing she has to be strong. Maybe its shock.
I point at the dagger as it spirals through her fingers. “Do
