Page 100 of Between Soul and Vessel
“Yeah?” I asked as I wiped my mouth with the back of my sleeve.
“I have . . . puke spray on me.” He gagged.
“Don’t you dare, Kaleb,” Artemesia warned.
“I’m okay, I’m okay,” he replied, although he sounded nothing of the sort.
My stomach eased, a sense of relief washing over me. “I feel better now,” I stated, smacking my lips. My energy seemed to be swiftly returning too.
“I’m so glad,” Artemesia replied sarcastically. “Now, if you are done chundering, can we get back to focusing on the priestess?”
“Um, girls?” Kaleb said.
“What?” we asked.
“You might want to look to your left.”
Artemesia and I did as he said.
My breath stilled in my chest. “Von,” I whispered.
“No,” Artemesia spoke softly. “That’s Nockrythiam, the Ender of Realms.”
Standing taller than the mountain giant, was a lethalfigure painted in shadows. Forged from darkness itself. His presence was commanding, terrifying. Powerful.
Onyx horns shot out from his head, sleekly twisting back, tipping up at the points. Sharp and menacing. The black of his pupils claimed the whites of his eyes, making him look . . .other. A species entirely of his own. And then there were the veins beneath his tanned, tattooed skin. They had doubled in size, feeding his muscles with immense strength.
“Retreat!” one of the riders screamed.
“No!” the priestess yelled, but no one seemed to care as the warriors began to flee. “Cowards!”
Von raised his sword, pointing it at the giant. Moonlight reflected off the wickedly sharp edge, highlighting its lethalness.
Then, he charged, and the world trembled.
Bits of shadow broke off behind him, unable to keep up.
Taking a defensive stance, the priestess dropped into a crouch and raised her fists beside her face. The giant did the same. They threw a punch at Von’s sword, but the giant’s slowness caused it to miss, and Von’s blade sailed through the air, narrowly missing the priestess and finding purchase in the giant’s neck, sweeping all the way to the other side and cleaving the giant’s head straight off.
The priestess floated up higher, eager not to make the same mistake again of being too close to the battle.
Von leapt back, lowering his sword to his side, watching as the giant’s head slid off its neck. When the headstruck the ground, the earth shook, and the sound cracked like thunder. So loud that we covered our ears.
Snarling, the priestess thrust her hands forward, and the headless giant began to move toward Von, its fist still raised. Von held firm, waiting for it to come to him.
The giant threw another slow punch at Von, which Von caught.
His grip turned crushing, and the giant’s hand disintegrated, as if it were made of sand, not stone. Von shoved the giant back, his movement agile and swift as he raised his leg. In one mighty move, he kicked the giant square in the chest, sending it careening backwards. When it fell to the ground, it crushed the trees behind it, causing a plume of dirt and debris to erupt into the air.
Again, we covered our ears.
The priestess raised her hands, and slowly, the giant started to get back up again.
“Can you get me another shot?” I asked Artemesia, eyes on the priestess.
“You bet I can,” she said. With a click of her tongue, we veered to the left, giving a wide berth around the ensuing battle.
As we closed in on the priestess, her back turned to us, I readied my bident.
