Page 15 of Elven Throne

With all the violence and agony of wrapping her arms around a star.

An enormous, blistering crack split through the air. The earth bucked beneath them, throwing them aside.

The next deafening, world-shattering explosion ripped through Rebecca’s awareness and drowned out everything else as fire and agony and nothing but pure white light seared through her entire being all at once.

And still, she didn’t let go.

Even if it burned her up to nothing, she would not let go.

5

Theutterchaosconsumingeverything around Shade Headquarters seemed unending.

This was worse than anything the task force had faced to date, and while every team of operatives had their own objectives, none of them had any idea who or what existed at the very center of the blinding-white storm at the building’s entrance.

But they kept fighting anyway. With everything they had.

They still had a job to do.

Within the deafening melee of shrieking, yammering griybreki swarms, augmented weapons fire, explosions from every direction, and the worsening bolts of white-hot light erupting from the massive column of magic at the center of it all, it was a miracle any of the operatives could still hear each other through the comms as they screamed over the noise.

“Eastern jump point neutralized!”

“Almost got two more down to the west! Just a little longer…”

“We need more boots inside to get everyone else out!”

“Where the hell is Knox?”

“Holy shit, people.Lookat that thing!”

As if they all shared one mind, every operative paused long enough to turn toward the horrible, fiery storm in the center. Bolts of light shot from it now every half second, searing across the sky in jagged arcs, obliterating everything they touched.

The blinding light intensified before the entire swirling column shuddered and swelled. A low hum cut through the sound of battle, rising violently in pitch, growing louder by the second.

“Oh fuck…”

“Take cover! It’s gonna blow!”

The storming column erupted, all its contained power unleashed at once.

Blinding white light sprayed and rippled across the battlefield. A cracking boom ripped across the parking lot, splitting asphalt and stone beneath.

The earth groaned deep in its core, as if in pain logic-defying agony beneath the horrors of such an assault.

Despite the shouted warning, no one had time to search for cover, let alone get to it.

The blistering light and searing heat burst away from the vortex to sweep across the entire property in nearly simultaneous waves of glorious destruction.

The griybreki swarm streaming toward that vortex from whatever jump points around the perimeter still remained were swallowed up by the first explosive wave. It pummeled them to dust where they stood and left nothing of them behind.

Then it swept across the operatives too, unable to change course now that such power had finally detonated.

But when it reached them, the concussive force of bursting power did not consume them like the griybreki horde. Instead, it swept every operative off their feet, blasting them away in a howling gale of unnatural heat to send them all flying.

It didn’t stop there.

Trees snapped and groaned beneath the rippling waves. Thick trunks splintered in half, branches and leaves stripped away in an instant. The larger trees of the surrounding forest were ripped up by the roots and tossed away from the compound to crash into those that remained.

---