Page 35 of Moonlit Guardians

The blade pierced my heart deeply.

If I can defeat Variant, I may have the strength to call on a healer to fix the destruction he’s done to me. Anger, betrayal, and fear stir within me. Variant prowls like a predator in the wild as he watches me closely. He’s no doubt waiting for another of my tricks... but I have none. Variant has bested me. I can’t show him as much, though, for I hope to win this battle. And, though, I’m wounded, I’m not yet defeated.

A strong vibration radiates in my bones as I tap into the talisman’s power. Now that Silvanus has risen and the Raven Forest has been destroyed, there’s a chance I may still get my power back from the despicable god. But first, I must defeat Variant and take the castle and Earlann for myself. It will require all of the remaining forces to defeat Silvanus.

“Do you have any last words before I kill you?” I demand.

Variant tosses his head back and releases an obnoxious bout of laughter. Ever the arrogant king, he saunters around with a ball of roiling magic in the palm of his hands.

“You can’t imagine how good it feels not to feel your power inside me.” He shivers in repulsion. “It was like a million spiders crawling beneath my skin as your voice whispered in my mind each and every day since I took that fucking oath.”

“I regret not… placing my efforts… elsewhere. Clearly, I made… a mistake.”

“Yes, you did,” he sneers. “You made many. And today is the day of your reckoning.”

Variant attacks.

I counter with a spell of my own. It isn’t enough. He evades my attack easily and I take a hit to the arm, dropping to the floor. I scramble back on my hands and knees as I try to put some distance between us.

Variant leaps into another attack, but I manage to blast him off his feet with a well-placed spell. He shakes his head and stands as if the charm had no effect on him. I hurry to the other side of the throne room and grab a sword from the wall, facing Variant without hesitation. “We did great things together, Variant.”

“No, we did horrible things.Youdid horrible things and I was just your vessel. Vile things that make me wish for death,” he says softly. There’s a world of sadness and guilt in his icy blue gaze. “We slaughtered fae... we burned down cities and celebrated as the realms fell into disarray. The precincts toppled to ruin just like the Mercenary Stronghold. We allied with beasts and creatures I once scorned. Orcs, goblins, trolls, hounds, demons...” His voice fades but the anger in his eyes grows. “I am anangel, Morrigan. I have the wings, but my fall from grace happened the day I trusted you.”

It’s my turn to laugh as I recall the naive little pledge that once basked in my shadow. “You were so eager to please. So ready to change the realms for the better that it took absolutely no effort to convince you that darkness was rising again. Do you remember what I told you?”

Variant flies towards me, but misses as I dodge his attack. He grabs a spear from the wall and advances still. “You told me Baron and Dragan were working together to bring Abedon back,that Theren had convinced them to join Abedon’s dark priests to start the singularity once more.”

“Yes and you believed it. Pathetic, isn’t it? You still saw light and darkness as something simple, something black and white. A child’s naiveté, really. You should be embarrassed.” I encase the sword in enchanted flame and use it to block Variant’s attacks. Already I’m winded, but I don’t allow him to see just how weak he’s made me. “How does it feel to be a puppet, Variant?”

“Empty,” he snaps. “I went to you that day to find purpose. The realms were peaceful and yet they were barely surviving. Something never seemed quite right. We were warriors of our races, but not kings. You gave us crowns, knowing we’d weaken the realms so you could take advantage.”

“I gave youpurpose. Do you think the realms would have remembered Variant, King of Light? You were no more than a pretty face before I gave you power, true power. Now history will remember you as the Commander of Armies, The False King, and Conqueror of The Three Realms. And you havemeto thank for that.” I send a volley of spells hurling towards Variant. He bats them out of the air easily. My anger rises as he continues to toy with me. “Where will you go if you kill me? The realms will never accept you. Eilish will never accept you.”

“I know.”

I’m surprised by his admission. “And yet you still fight me?”

“Eilish’s blade broke me free from your spell,” he spits at me. “It’s an enchanted blade that uses necromancy to absorb souls of those it kills. The enchantment was strong enough to rid me of your wickedness,” he chuckles.

“Then it didn’t absorb your soul?”

He shakes his head. “No. It absorbed your influence over me.” He laughs then. “And your plan to force Pyre and Aima into a tantric ritual in the Cogost Mountains?”

“What of it?”

“It won’t work. Baron saw to that.”

I narrowly avoid getting my head severed as he throws the spear he’s been holding. My heart hammers in my chest, causing more blood to ooze from the wound in my back. “You lie.”

“No. Not anymore.”

“Explain.”

“I had a spy within the walls of the Mercenary Stronghold, one that told me of Baron’s plan tobondwith the necromancer. My informant saw everything. He watched as the vampire and Pyre thrust into Eilish as one. She used her magic to create an endless cycle of magic between the three of them.” Variant’s tone turns lecherous as though imagining them in the throes of passion. “At the height of their pleasure, Baron sunk his fangs into Pyre to complete the circuit.”

“It means nothing…”

Variant tsks, shaking his head. “Actually, the bond changed Pyre. He now shares guardianship of The Veil with Baron through their bond. They are now equals in power and carry the same burden.” He starts to laugh again. “So, you see, your plan with the ritual won’t work. Baron holds no connection to Aima, so the prophecies have been rendered... obsolete. You can’t tear open The Veil and use the wellspring of magic within the Echoing Spire to free Abedon and take his power for yourself. You can’t do anything, Morrigan.Youare the one who should be embarrassed.”

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