Page 92 of Hallowed Games

People feared the dark because you never knew what monsters lurked in its depths. But when you were the monsters—of fire, death, and blood—the shadows made a good home.

Sion released my hand. “Stand back,” he whispered. “Wait for my signal to move forward. When it’s time, I’ll lead you through the darkness, out the front gate.”

Then, nearby, Sion was whispering to Percival, giving him directions. Soon after, from somewhere in front of me, I heard the roar of flames, the crackling of fire. Heat started to thaw the frigid air. In the distance, screams rang out…

I swallowed hard. I’d heard the screams of the burning people, a dreadful sound that still haunted my nightmares.

The scent of burning oak billowed into the air, and even though I couldn’t see it, my eyes stung. I coughed in the cinders and smoke, blinking as the heat intensified before us. Then came the faintest glow of light—flames licking at shadows. A dance of dark and light.

My stomach tightened. With the bright blaze, Maelor and Sion were losing their control of the shadow magic. Fiery sparks leapt until the darkness swallowed them again.

“Hotter,” said Sion.

The flames roared. I lifted my hands, shielding my face from the heat that scorched the air. Even from here, it heated and dried my skin. I inhaled heavy smoke, woody and tinged with an acrid scent that stung my throat.

Percival’s power was astounding. No wonder he hadn’t wanted to waste it. Imagine this destructive force on a battlefield, incinerating his enemy…

“That’s enough,” Sion’s voice rang out.

As the heat faded, a burst of shadows and cold washed over me. Sion and Maelor must be freezing the door, trying to put out the fire so we could actually walk through it without igniting ourselves.

The shadows were once again a great beast, consuming everything. Freezing the world around us.

A frost seemed to spread over my skin, and my teeth chattered. The cold air stung my cheeks, my throat. Panicked shouts pierced the air, screaming all over Ruefield.

“We move out, now.” Maelor’s voice this time. Where had he come from? “Touch the back of the person in front of you and walk straight. Move quickly. Now! I can’t keep it dark much longer.”

Frigid wind whipped at us, tossing my cowl from my head. Sion took my hand in his—no! Maelor, smooth and uncalloused. He pulled me toward a wall of heat and smoke until he was practically dragging me at a run. I staggered to keep up with him.

The smoky air stung my eyes and throat, sliding into my lungs, making me cough as I hurried after him. I wanted to ask him if we were leaving everyone behind, but I could hardly breathe. As the shadows receded, orange light glowed before us. Embers blazed in what was left of the wooden doorframe, and my gaze flicked to the smoldering wood that rose up high on either side, towering columns of red cracking black, and the black smoke swooping past it all.

But we were almost free, crossing the blazing threshold—

Maelor cursed.

Something whistled through the night air, and Maelor fell to his knees. An arrow jutted from his throat. Light slid through the shadows as he lost his grip on his magic. The earth felt unsteady beneath my feet as I turned to see the forms emerging from the dark—light glinting off metal armor. A phalanx of Luminari blocking us in, some of them armed with arrows, others with swords.

Maelor ripped the arrow from his throat and staggered forward, but another landed in his chest, just missing his heart. I couldn’t breathe.

Sion was a whirlwind of shadows, and he raced for the phalanx. He began ripping apart the Luminari on the right side until an arrow slammed into him. He fell to the ground, pierced in the chest.

Fear slid through my bones as I saw the Pater standing behind the soldiers, mounted on a horse, the smoky wind whipping at his white cloak and hair. He chanted in Tyrenian, words full of fury.

And even if I couldn’t translate the meaning, I knew well enough what this meant. He was calling for bloody, holy vengeance against his enemies. It meant Leo would burn. We’d all burn.

But I’d do anything to stop it, even if it meant offering up my soul to the Serpent. Serving it up to him on a platter.

I am the starving ravages of time, devouring everything before me.

My gaze flicked over the phalanx, searching for weaknesses. They weren’t focused on me, but rather on the staggering, injured soldiers that Sion had attacked. One of those soldiers stumbled forward, screaming. His arm hung by tendons. Start with him. The Serpent’s voice rang in my thoughts. Then spread my death like a plague.

I rushed forward. An arrow pierced my shoulder, but I ignored it. The injured Luminarus staggered, and I brushed my hand over his cheek.

Decay spilled into him, seeping into his veins. His body shuddered, and I shoved him back into the phalanx. He slammed against the cluster of soldiers, and I gripped his face. I thrummed with power in the cindered air.

I will devour all.

Death bloomed from my fingertips like roots spreading beneath the soil, from one Luminari to another. Tendrils of rot coiled and wrapped around the soldiers like a lover’s caress, gently luring them down, laying them to rest in the welcoming earth.

---