Page 149 of Lord of the Lone Wolf
“Is that what you call hiding behind my half brother’s protection? Letting him fight your battles while you cower in his shadow?”
Auslin ignored the taunt. “I’m done for real this time, Kio.”
Kio charged again, abandoning all pretense of strategy in favor of pure rage. Auslin met the attack with another barrier, but Kio ducked under the barrier. He came up inside Auslin’s guard with his dagger raised.
Auslin twisted away, but the blade sliced through the sleeve of his robes to draw a thin line of blood along his forearm.
“Not so confident now, are you?” Kio advanced with the dagger held low and ready. “All your pretty words about strength and love, and here you are, bleeding and afraid. Just like you always were.”
Auslin glanced at Maseo, still pinned to the wall, his face gray with pain and blood loss. The sight of him so wounded but fighting to stay alive filled Auslin with renewed determination.
But Kio was right that Auslin couldn’t keep creating barriers forever. His magic, while powerful, had its limits. When fighting an armed opponent like Kio, driven by madness and rage, it could prove fatal. But engaging in close combat to get his hands on Kio was far too risky.
He needed a weapon to channel his power.
As Kio circled him like a predator, Auslin’s gaze fell on the sword embedded in Maseo’s shoulder, pinning him to the wall. The very instrument of his torture could become the means of his salvation. But using it would mean inflicting more pain and trauma on Maseo.
As if reading his thoughts, Maseo gave a small nod, his jaw tightening to brace for what was to come.
“What’s the matter, Auslin?” Kio taunted, stalking closer. “Running out of tricks? Or have you realized all your talk of strength and love doesn’t mean shit when you’re facing somebody who isn’t afraid to do what needs to be done?”
“You’re right. I’m done talking when you’ll never listen.” Before Kio could react, Auslin moved toward Maseo and wrapped his hands around the hilt of the sword. “Please forgive me.”
Then he pulled.
The sword came free with a sickening slide against tearing flesh and scraping bone. Maseo’s scream echoed through the corridor, the agony shaking Auslin’s resolve. But there was no time for regret or comfort. As Maseo slid down the wall, leaving a smearof blood in his wake, Auslin spun to face Kio, the bloody sword held before him.
“Wow, look at the healer becoming the warrior,” Kio taunted, his eyes glittering with malicious delight. “How poetic. But do you think you know how to use that thing? You’ve spent your life putting people back together, not tearing them apart.”
“You’ve never known what I’m capable of, Kio.” Auslin poured his magic into the blade, purple fire racing along the steel until it burned with Divine light.
Kio’s eyes narrowed. “Cute magic trick.”
“No, this is justice. You’ve hurt us for the last time.” With that, he attacked.
All the time he had spent training with Kitsuki and Jaega in the past came rushing back. Kio parried the first strike with his dagger, but he scrambled away.
“You think a decent fighting stance is going to save you? I’ve used swords longer than you’ve been alive. You’re nothing but a healer pretending to be a warrior.” Kio feinted to the right before striking at Auslin’s left side.
Auslin countered the blow, the purple fire intensifying as their blades glanced off each other. He pressed forward, forcing Kio to retreat a step, then another, until he backed Kio against the far wall.
“Who are you?” Kio demanded.
“The only person who can stop you for good.” Auslin thrust forward in a decisive strike.
Kio attempted to dodge, but Auslin knocked the dagger from his hand with such force that it spun down the corridor. Before Kio could recover, Auslin drove the glowing sword through his gut.
Time seemed to slow as the blade sank home. Kio’s eyes widened in shock and disbelief, his mouth opening in a strangled scream as he vomited blood. “It’s not possible!”
“You’ve had so many chances, Kio. You chose cruelty and violence every time. But it’s over. I won’t let you hurt anyone else. This ends now.”
With his resolve strengthened, Auslin unleashed his full power. As the purifying flame flared, his flesh blackened and cracked, crumbling away in flakes of darkness. His screams grew more desperate until he collapsed with a wail. There was a rush of wind and a brief flare of blinding light, then nothing.
Where Kio had stood moments before, there was only a pile of fine, dark ash that scattered across the stone floor in the gentle draft from the window. The sword in Auslin’s hand was clean, as if it had never been used, the purple fire receding into his skin like the tide returning to the sea.
Auslin stood frozen for a moment, staring at the ash with a mixture of disbelief and grim satisfaction. After so many years of abuse, his fear of Kio burned away with his body.
As the reality of what he had done sank in, he turned to Maseo.
