Page 22 of The Shadow Fae Rhapsody
A heartbeat of silence passes, followed by a heavy sigh.
“Ah, yes,” the voice from the eyeball says at long last. I sense relief coming from the sorcerer. With that last word I said, it’s as if I have revealed the full extent of my knowledge of his identity.
“So, you remember me,” he muses with a light laughter. “Then you should remember what I’m capable of.”
I’ll never forget what he did to Loren, Oscar, and the twelfth regiment.
Perhaps I should be afraid of this killer from my past, but I’m too furious to be scared. All this time we were searching for a murderer in town, turns out it was the work this servant of black magic.
“Why would you do this?” I ask him, trying to make sense of all those mutilated bodies.
I expect him to state a proper purpose, be it revenge or hatred, but in a voice of high boredom, the sorcerer merely says, “Practice.”
Anger crawls up my chest and my heart aches thinking of all the people who died by his hand. I take a deep, slow breath to calm myself.
“Windhaven and its ancient tunnels have the perfect condition for my experiment. Of course you had to ruin it, stupid elven bitch—”
He doesn’t get to finish his words when Shade throws a dagger to the eye.
The sudden act surprises the sorcerer but the blade does nothing to him and falls flat to the ground.
It’s never a fair fight when it comes to sorcery. Mages have to be present in the field of battle to cast their spells, but a sorcerer can safely hide at a distant. This eyeball is only a lens for the sorcerer to see if his spell is working. He is probably thousands of miles away from here, and there is no way we can get to him.
Laughter rumbles from the eyeball at the failed attempt. “As I was saying, prepare to die, bi—”
The assassin summons and flings another dagger to the sorcerer’s lens. Once again it tumbles back harmlessly against the wall.
“It’s useless, Shade…” I touch his arm, shaking my head.
His head dips a little. “I know… but he deserves to be cast down for what he called you.”
My lips curl with a small smile at that remark.
A strange rhyme floats from the eyeball and the air in the tunnel trembles. I listen closely to the words he weaves, something ancient, evil, and long forgotten.
It’s an order to kill.
Oh no…
“What is that?” Shade raises his head as the air in the tunnel trembles. “Is he reciting a poem?”
Yes, one of death and suffering…
“There’s not going to be anything left of you once I’m done,” the sorcerer says with pure malice.
I hear snarls, snapping teeth, and screeches from creatures not of this world.
We need to be prepared for what’s coming. I tug on Shade’s black battle suit. “Give me your back.”
I pass on the blessings from Anastarros into him while there is still time.
“Save your energy. I’ll manage,” he grits through clenched teeth.
No, he will not.
Shade’s spleen is ruptured. I don’t even know how the assassin is still standing.
Deep, rumbling growls echo through the tunnels and the ground trembles from beneath my feet.
