Page 3 of The Immortal Covenant

A pair of those hound-like voidspawn took advantage of the confusion to overpower Arem on Sarilian’s left, who let out a cry as he collapsed. Cursing, Sarilian bashed the two voidspawn aside with his shield before hurling his spear to skewer another mid-lunge. Holding his hand out to his side, he reformed a fresh spear from his dawnflame, sweeping its shaft around him to clear a space and give the fallen soldier time to recover.

Hope bolstered him when he saw Arem and his other comrades rallying. Their lines might be in shambles, but the battle wasn’t lost yet. No voidspawn incursion had ever breached beyond the Dawnlands’ outskirts, and he intended to ensure today would be no different.

Sarilian impaled the nearest voidspawn with a clean thrust to the chest before spinning to catch another in the throat while fending off a counterattack from his flank with his shield. He didn’t waste time with unnecessary flourishes, keeping each strike quick and efficient as he flowed from foe to foe like the complex steps of a well-choreographed dance.

A fierce calm settled over him, instinct and training guiding his hand as surely as the Light burning bright in his breast. Only when he went to strike and found no foes left within range did he realize that the flood of voidspawn from the gate had slowed to a trickle. Somehow, they had weathered the storm.

But even though his immediate vicinity was secured, hundreds more abominations still littered the battlefield—including the void lord that had almost broken their line. Sarilian tightened his grip on his spear, recalling Darius’ warnings.

Yet the Aspect of Justice still hadn’t returned from his clash with the drake, and the other soldiers nearby were busy reforming their ranks while holding back the tide of lesser voidspawn. Besides, the void lord already bore countless wounds across its flesh, leaving it weakened.

Someone has to defeat that thing.

Shoving down his nerves, Sarilian roared a challenge and charged the abomination. If it noticed him, it didn’t bother to react as it clenched its fist around a struggling Celestial and lifted him up. There was an awfulcrunchas the fanged maw in the monster’s palm bit through the soldier’s armor to the flesh beneath, eliciting a shriek.

Sarilian didn’t hesitate, leaping at the beast and driving his spear blade through the void lord’s wrist while channeling dawnflame to bolster the blow. An eruption of golden fire severed violet flesh, and the void lord’s dismembered limb dissolved in a purple haze. The wounded Celestial that had been in its grip tumbled free, slumping to the ground.

NowSarilian had the monster’s undivided attention. He danced around a sweeping strike from the creature’s remaining arm and lunged to stab it in the back, but something slammed into his breastplate. A sharp pain lanced through him as air whistled past.I’m flying, he thought dazedly just before he hit the ground, rolling hard. The Light-blinded voidspawn hadkickedhim with one of those segmented legs.

Groaning, he picked himself up and took his bearings. The blow had dented his breastplate and flung him free of the main Celestial force. Open silver plains stretched around him, the violet wall of the Void less than a hundred paces to his right.

A deafening roar reverberated from nearby. It didn’t take Sarilian long to spy its source. His eyes widened as the void lord broke free of the regrouping Celestials and charged toward him, propelling itself across the battlefield on all fours with its remaining arm and the stump of its sliced limb.

Swallowing his fear, Sarilian went to resummon the weapons he’d lost in his fall. Faint wisps of dawnflame flickered over his hands, and his stomach clenched. His reserve was nearly depleted. What little dawnflame he had left wouldn’t be enoughto survive a prolonged encounter. The best he could hope for was a single, decisive blow.

With a deep breath, he focused the last of his magic into a spear, filling it with dawnflame until it shone nearly as brightly as Darius’ had. The void lord was almost upon him, its many eyes narrowed on its prey, when Sarilian gave a silent prayer and hurled his weapon.

The blazing spear streaked through the air like a lightning bolt. It caught the beast in the head, erupting in a greatclapof golden light. The monster released a sanity-grating screech, and Sarilian clutched his ears as he fell to his knees. The voidspawn raised its remaining hand, bloody saliva dripping from the maw in its palm, and Sarilian tensed for the blow. Before it could land, the void lord abruptly collapsed.

Relief flooded Sarilian when his eyes settled on the torn stump where the creature’s neck had been. Merciful Light, he had done it! Shakily, he rose to his feet, surveying the area. Scattered pockets of fighting remained, but the Celestial lines had begun to recover, healers from the reserves moving among the fallen to tend to their wounds.

The gate itself had vanished. Where the unnatural hole had been, only the smooth, unbroken violet of the Void remained. It would take hours yet to hunt down any voidspawn survivors that had fled the battle, and a few always managed to slip away into the outskirts, but the Celestial forces had contained the worst of the invasion.

Victory was theirs.

Nearby movement drew his eye, and Sarilian turned to find a pack of voidspawn stalking away from the fighting.No, not away from the fighting, he realized, his heart sinking. Towardhim. They must have sensed easier prey, isolated as he was from the rest of his brethren.

“Hey!” he shouted, waving his hands. “Over here!” But he had no dawnflame to enhance his voice as Darius had done, and his closest comrades were focused on finishing their own battles. No one seemed to notice the lone Celestial other than the voidspawn creeping ever closer.

So much for celebrating.Struggling to tamp down his growing alarm, he considered his options. He could try to bolt past the voidspawn to regroup with his people, likely getting drawn into a fight he wasn’t sure he’d win. He could stand his ground against the approaching voidspawn anddefinitelyget drawn into a fight he wasn’t sure he’d win. Or…

Or I can live to fight another day.

With that thought racing through his head, Sarilian turned and ran.

two

Malorg

Malorg wanted to die.

That bitter truth threatened to crush him beneath its monumental burden. It was all he could think of as he slid yet another dagger past the spiky tendrils hanging from the voidspawn’s body like rotting fronds and lodged it into the beast’s bulbous, mushroom-shaped back.

The voidspawn tried to retaliate with a meaty fist coated with rounded suckers, but Malorg had already released his grip on the blade and stepped back. With an effortlessness born of centuries of practice, he slipped into the shadows, dissolving into a pool of darkness that skittered across the gray dirt of the Dusklands. Rematerializing twenty paces distant, he watched dully as the abomination let out a pained cry and clawed at this latest wound.

Malorg had already left over a dozen littered across its mottled flesh. The voidspawn was strong for its kind—not powerful enough to be considered a void lord or to wield its ownvoidflame, yet hardier than he’d expected. Hence his toying with it.

Don’t lie—you’re toying with it because you want it to land a lucky blow. To defeat you once and for all.

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