Bolts of lightning sizzle out of my hands and I hurtle them towards the Shades overpowering Altair. Pure electricity strikes them, spidering across their skeletal bodies. They freeze, bodies stiff. The lightning is only enough to paralyze them, I need more power if I’m going to kill them—if that’s even possible. I scream, a sound of pure rage and desperate fear. I feel tears spill from my eyes and down my cheeks but I don’t care. I throw bolt after bolt of electricity at the Shades.
Altair’s black hair appears, and then his hazel eyes turn upwards, searching for me. He crawls out from beneath the frozen Shades, careful not to get too close to my sparks of magic. Once at a safe distance, he scrambles to his feet and retrieves his sword. Altair doesn’t stop before he sprints towards Thal to help him herd a group of Shades towards the prison. Altair’s hazel eyes meet mine for an instant as he passes, and I see my reflection in them; wild, ferocious, and roaring. I cling to the image even though I don’t feel as strong as I appear.
Suddenly, a Shade careens at me. It’s long, bony fingers wrap around my waist and tug me towards it. I cry out, trying to recoil from its disturbing touch. But the Shade holds me fast, drawing me towards it too-wide mouth. “We want to be like you—we want to be you,” the Shade murmurs. Its voice sounds like many Shades are speaking at once and I wonder if they have some sort of hive mind, like ants. “Let me in.”
I shudder at its words, begging for an invitation. Five Shades couldn’t force Altair to bend to their will, they needed permission. It leers at me, rotten breath wafting over me. I bare my teeth as it leans in closer. “Go to hell,” I hiss, pressing a hand against the papery skin of its face.
My magic rockets into him, but I hold on tight. Energy rushes through the Shade, burning him from the inside out. I grit my teeth and cling tighter, digging my nails into its skin as it screams. Black goo oozes over my fingertips like tar. The Shade's scream is painful, grating on my eardrums and threatening to burst them. It's body jolts and shudders as I attack him. He drops, hand loosening around me, and I collapse beside his charred body. Its eyes, once yellow like a harvest moon, are burnt and shriveled to husks. I pant, staring in shock at the dead Shade. The night is quiet and I turn to see my friends gaping at me. But it's the Shades I fear. They're watching me with keen, hungry eyes.
Moving in unison, the Shades lunge at me, leaping over my friends or darting around them. I scream, scrambling to my feet. “To the cage, Verity!” Altair shouts behind me. “Lead them to the cage!”
My feet slap against the baked earth as I careen towards the cage. Arms pumping, I hurtle over the dirt, listening to the thumping of the Shades. They're gaining on me, long limbs propelling them faster than my legs ever could. Tears prick at my eyes, and I don't waste any energy trying to force them back. I have eyes for one thing, and one thing only; my cobweb cage. Spindly fingers claw at my back as I reach it and I know they're right behind me. Tendrils of fear crawl up my spine as I enter the cage. I run through its broken walls but I don't stop.
I dare a glance over my shoulder, and my vision is filled with yellow eyes. A scream rips from my throat but I force myself to look past the Shade on my heels to the ones in the back. They pile over each other in their haste to reach me. I see the last one make it into the cage and I feel a wave of relief. Without stopping, I plunge deep for my magic and send it rushing through the rune on the ground to seal the wall. I beat my record from practice, sealing it in the span of a few seconds.
I am trapped in a cobweb cage with some of the evilest beings in existence.
I see Altair, Thal, and even Erzur running along beside me, just outside the bars of the prison. Thal shouts something to me, but I can’t hear it over the din of the Shades. Altair points to the end of the cage, just a few yards away. I run my tongue over my lips. If I’m to escape, I have to do this right. If I’m too slow in resealing the wall after breaking it a second time, it will have all been for nothing.
The end of the prison rears up before me and I lift a hand. A burst of magic tears open a small slit in the bars of the cage. Before I've even reached it, I'm already trying to repair it. The magic makes quick work of the breach until there's only a small sliver of open space. I clench my eyes closed and leap through it, hugging my body. The bars of the cage burn me as I slip through, and I hiss in pain. Eyes still closed, I send a final burst of magic into the cage, knitting the prison back together. I hear a scream of pain as I collide with the hard ground. My brain rattles in my skull, pounding at the sharp impact. My shoulder takes the brunt of the impact and pain shoots through it. I open my eyes, locking onto the cage. A thin, shadowy arm just out of the cage, trapped in my magic. Thick, black blood drips from the severed arm onto the earth.
Altair skids to a halt beside me as I stare at the Shades trapped in the magical prison. They howl, the very air vibrates
