Page 81 of A Spark Of Revenge

“I’ll take care of him, don't worry,” I mutter as the Hunter behind Razar falls to the ground, my blade lodged in his chest.

Creed smiles, then nods at Jordan.

“You're with me, Ranger Jennings,” he commands, making Jordan's mouth open in shock before he looks back at me. I nod at him to follow, wanting to make sure he stays safe. Hopefully, this battle will be a short one, and over soon. After a moment of hesitation, Jordan follows Creed as they run toward Nox, as he rips through the line of rogue Hunters, taking down multiple men at a time with a swing of his stupidly big ax. “You can't shift back?” I ask Razar as he takes the sword Creed had given him and shakes his head.

“I have to finish healing. My energy levels are too low,” he admits, jaw tight as he twists and swings his sword, slicing through the belly of a Beastia trying to sneak up behind him. I blink in shock because I hadn’t even seen the monster until Razar killed it.

Okay, well, Razar is no less deadly when he’s on two legs rather than four, and I nod, frowning at the dead Hunter and grabbing my blade protruding from his still chest. I try not to look at the man's unmoving chest and cold, dead eyes. I don't want to deal with the new weird feelings inside me.

“Something is not right here,” Razar snarls as he kills another Hunter, moving further away from me. My eye catches on some movement in the trees to the north, and I watch as shadowed figures race between the trees.

“How so?” I ask, gaping at the men hiding but not attacking.

“There is magic being used, yet no Demon to be found. And they have numbers of Hunters still waiting to attack. They’ve sent in the lower class Hunters and Beastia, but are holding the others back…” Razar growls, his black void eyes the only thing left of his shift as his head whips to the side, and he growls at three Beastia closing in on him. “This is a distraction,” he calls out, and I frown, looking behind me and seeing the men I had seen earlier moving in on the north side where Valen stands, killing the monsters and Hunters with the Drakos bloodline.

He stands near Theo, keeping him in his sight as they fight, and my heart lodges in my chest as the new wave of Hunters attacks. I run forward, wanting to help them, but stop when I realize I need to stay with Razar. He’s fighting alone, and I don’t want him to get hurt, especially after he just saved me and Jordan from a Beastia.

I turn back in time to watch Razar kill the first Beastia and turn on the two circling him. Four more Hunters run up the slope, their weapons raised, and my reaction is immediate as I take aim and throw my knives. One after the other, my blades hit their targets with an ease I normally don't have, until there is only one Hunter left. I curse when I realize I’m out of throwing blades and for the first time tonight, draw the sword Lennox gifted me, holding it with steady hands as the remaining Hunter charges me, her teeth bared like a wounded animal. I step back and block the blow of her sword as she brings it down toward my neck.

My arms tremble as I shove her back, then spin, trying to remember some of Creed's training. I move up the slope, seeking higher ground since the female rogue Hunter has me at a height advantage. She roars in anger, the sound animalistic as she attacks with uncoordinated movements. I stumble back and barely manage to bring up my sword in time to block her brutal blow, gasping in surprise when my eyes meet her dark, glassy ones. She snarls like a beast, unblinking, and shoves me back, making me trip and stumble, then fall to the snow as she advances on me.

Her eyes are still glassy, and she doesn't look down at me as she moves. Realization dawns on me, and I curse, rolling out of the way as she lunges at me with her weapons.

“They're being controlled,” I whisper to myself, shoving to my feet and keeping my sword pointed down. “Stop!” I gasp, twisting to the side to miss another attack. “Please!” I shout at her, bringing my sword out, our blades clashing as she growls, spit flying through the air and landing on my cheeks as she tries to shove me to the ground again. “Fuck!” I scream in frustration, and my feet slide on the snow. “Please! Don't make me do this,” I beg, already knowing she won't respond.

I may not have a problem with death, but I do with murder, and that's what this would be. This girl isn't attacking me because she wants to, she’s being forced into it.

“Please,” I rasp as she spins, bringing her blade up to deliver another brutal blow. My step falters, and I stumble as she steps forward. I growl, tears stinging my eyes as I bring my blade around and feel it strike, sinking into her flesh. “I’m sorry!” I whisper, tears running down my face as the girl's glassy eyes flutter shut, then she slowly falls off my blade, crumpling into a bloody mess on the ground.

“Dammit!” I scream, looking at her and shaking my head in horror. I just killed an innocent girl… Looking around, I see the other Hunters I’ve killed laying nearby and feel sick as I realize how many I’ve killed while ignoring the sense of dread in my stomach. Bile rushes up my throat as I look around me. The battlefield is a chaotic symphony of clashing swords, thunderous roars, and the cries of the wounded and dying.

In the midst of the chaos, Razar stands firm, swinging his sword with determined ferocity, though he’s still in his form of man, his energy too depleted to shift into his beast. In the back of my mind, I know I need to get to Nox and tell him my discovery if he hasn't figured it out for himself yet. But worry over Razar's well-being stops me. His arms are shaking, and I’m starting to worry about him.

I move toward him as he fights his way through the melee; out of the corner of my eye, I see movement on the wall above us. A stab of fear lances through me when I see long light brown hair and a familiar face, his features softer than I’m used to seeing as he stands tall, his hood falling away from his stunningly beautiful face.

My mouth drops open in surprise as I look at the Demon I saw in Nox’s dream, but something is different… His eyes are dark with anger, and his lips are pulled down in a sneer of hatred as he casts a knowing look over all the death and destruction below him. My fingers twitch for a blade, but they’re long gone, used on the Hunters and Beastia attacking. And unfortunately, the sword in my hand is far too heavy for me to use on a target so far away.

My feet start moving without thought as the Demon creeps up behind the Hunter stationed on the wall and slices his neck from side to side, making a rush of dark blood slip down the Hunter's chest before the Demon shoves him off the wall.

I watch as he pulls up a bow, notching an arrow and taking aim at a target I’m now sprinting toward. The glow of the fires along the Castle walls reflect off the polished black arrowhead and my breath hitches, Lennox’s words of warning about onyx and Demons rush through my mind.

This can’t be happening!

“Razar! Razar, watch out!” I shout, trying desperately to warn him, but he’s too consumed with his destruction of the rebel Hunters to heed my cries. I let out a frantic sob and move with a speed I didn’t know that I possessed. Spinning and ducking around a Hunter who sees me and tries to attack, I evade him easier than I thought I could as the Demon above takes a deep breath, a wicked smile lighting his lips. Almost there! Keep running! My mind screams at me to move faster, and I shake my head. I’m not going to make it!

The Demon on the wall takes aim with deadly precision and then releases the tension on his bowstring as I release a scream.

“Razar!” This time, the man in front of me pauses his fight and turns, slicing the throat of a rebel Hunter as he bares sharp fangs at him, his eyes wild with rage. My hand is outstretched as I sense my increased momentum more than feel the burning impact of the arrow deep into my back as I careen into Razar’s side.

Air whooshes from my lungs as Razer snarls and turns, blood dripping from his face as the world around me freezes. The sounds of death are finally silent as I stare up into dark void eyes.

“What the hell are you trying to…” Razar bellows, then stops as I try to inhale, to regain the breath that was just stolen from me. Instead, heat fills my lungs, and I release a strange-sounding gasp as I try to say his name. I need to warn him!

“Razar,” I manage to whisper as warm liquid crawls up my throat and fills my mouth. The bitter metallic taste makes me cough, sending red droplets onto Razar’s pale face. Suddenly, my legs shake, my weight too much to bear as they give out. Razar catches me, jarring me enough that pain the likes I’ve never felt before races down my spine. The world around me spins as we fall to the ground. I try to ask him what's wrong, but no sound comes from my parted lips.

A feral howl of anguish cuts through the air behind us while panic slowly creeps into Razar’s void eyes as they lighten to the dark green I’m used to seeing before my head lolls to the side, my vision darkening, closing in fast, and then finally… blissfully, everything goes black.

RAZAR

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