“We’ll find another way out,” he said, leading us away from the bloodbath.
My heart pounded in my chest as we ran through the streets. Sweat slicked my forehead as fires burned the buildings surrounding us. I searched for another gate, but clouds of billowing smoke obscured everything. I had the thought that we would be trapped inside the city. Either we would burn to death or be slaughtered by the Regaymor. But finally, another gate appeared. Through the looming arch, I looked outside and found our salvation, the forest where we would meet up with the others… if we were lucky enough to make it out.
Kull and I raced across the drawbridge, our footsteps echoing over the wooden planks. In the distance, the dark shape of the forest rose against the sky. We left the bridge and sprinted for the woods. Adrenaline fueled my movements as we ran, but as we reached the tree line, several shadowy shapes swooped down from the sky.
The Regaymor formed before us, blocking our path. Their magic came to me, an overwhelming taint. After using all my magic in the fight against Jeven, I had nothing left. Our only hope was to kill them with the sword of Dracon.
Kull held the blade aloft as one of the monsters rushed at him. He swung the sword and split the creature in two. With the power of the Madralorde weapon, the monster should have disintegrated into nothingness. Instead, the creature reformed, its cloak knitting back together, its eyes glowing once again, until it looked completely untouched.
I stared, shocked, at the unharmed creature.
It should’ve been dead. The sword should have severed it in half. Surviving an attack from a Madralorde weapon shouldn’t have been possible. Had it been a fluke?
The three Regaymor gathered around Kull. My skin prickled as their dark magic gained strength.
Kull didn’t give them a chance to attack. He struck out with a powerful attack, the blade passing through another monster, but just as before, the sword only sliced through the robes before the creature reformed.
What was going on? That sword should have destroyed them.
“Olive,” Kull called. “Isn’t the sword supposed to kill them?
“Yes!” I called back.
“Then why isn’t it working?”
“I don’t know.”
Kull slashed at another beast, but just as before, the sword failed to stop the attack. The Regaymor gained an inch on Kull, and then another. I knew I had to help him.
Flexing my fingers, I drew on what little magic I had left, even tried drawing magic from the world around me, but I had nothing, not even enough to call the magic surrounding me.
The Regaymor circled us. Tattered black cloth spun in my vision. One of the creatures reached for me, and Kull sliced the hand at the wrist. The monster hissed and drew back, only for the hand to reappear. As its limb reformed, the three Regaymor attacked us.
Sharp nails scraped my skin along my shoulder, ripping my clothes, slicing open a cut in my flesh. Blood spilled out, bright red, and I knew the wound was deep, but the pain barely registered with the adrenaline pumping through my blood. Another hand wrapped my neck. Red eyes and a skeleton’s face loomed over me, filling me with terror, as the monster unhinged its mouth, revealing its carnivorous fangs. I grabbed the creature’s wrists, willing any magic left inside me to come to the surface, but the only thing I found was Theht’s presence, dangerously close, watching me as one of her own would soon tear me limb from limb.
I screamed as the beast drew me to it, feeling the coldness of its presence overwhelm me with fear. Closing my eyes, I prayed death came quickly.
A burst of bright light came from the forest. I opened my eyes to see half a dozen forms emerging from the trees, and the person in front carrying the staff of Zaladin. The magic filled the air and drove the Regaymor back.
Their unnatural shrieks pierced the night as the staff’s magic made them burst into white flames and then consumed them completely. Nothing remained of the monsters by the time the others made it to us.
In the light of the staff, I saw Heidel and Maveryck, as well as Grace, Lucretian, Rolf, and Brodnik coming to our side. I laid on my back, breathing heavily, as Kull laid beside me. He got to his knees and crawled toward me. Lifting my arm, he inspected the gash that ran from my shoulder to forearm. Kull’s face paled.
“Olive,” he said, gasping.
“How bad is it?”
The others arrived. Lucretian stood over us as he held the staff.
“Her arm,” Kull managed as the druid knelt beside us.
Kull gently lifted my arm. Under the light of the staff, I finally got a good look at the wound. My stomach turned when I saw the flesh hanging from the bone. Muscle tissue and vessels were exposed to the open air. I could hardly believe I was still conscious.
My vision blurred as the dizziness disoriented me. I didn’t remember much after that. Some yelling, a blinding blue light, the sensation of my magic finally returning, and feeling as if I could breathe again. And Kull, true warrior that he was, cradling me in his arms and singing a calming tune that quieted the fear within me. I’d never heard him sing before. His voice was a rich baritone that conjured images of dragons and kings, of tales long forgotten, brought to life by the tenor of his voice.
As I lay listening to him, he sang another song, this one different. For some reason, it made me sad. It reminded me of things that were never meant to be,
