Page 135 of The Shadow Fae Rhapsody
I inch closer to him for a better look.
I see you sneaking behind me, caterpillar.
My tongue feels sour in my mouth as I try to speak to the god.
Let me guess. You are here to borrow my power.
“No, I’m not,” I say, putting as much strength in my voice as I can. “I volunteer to become your instrument.”
He laughs, deep and dark.
Why in hell would I want a caterpillar as an instrument?
My cheeks flush at the question.
Lulu almost killed Svenn the last time I called forth a being from Astefar. It’s too risky for me to summon Helios into this realm in the middle of a battlefield full of people.
But I can let him channel his power through me.
I inch closer towards him, feeling the scorch from the metal-smithing process on my skin. This is the closest I have ever been to the sun god. He ignores me the same way he did when I was a child, like I am nothing but a worm in his path.
“Have you ever beheld twelve strings before?” I dare ask, inhaling a deep breath.
Twelve? Impossible for a mortal.
He has a vaguely amused expression on his face. My heart stutters when he shifts his attention to me.
No, I can’t back down now. I am made of fiercer and better things than this.
I show him my strings.
The god holds my gaze with interest.
Well, how can I refuse such a lovely offer?
Helios snatches the strings—snatches me from the confines of my mortal shell. The world tilts around me and I become his weapon, The Burning.
I return to the battlefield, my body bathes in his inferno. The Orkan mages are about to scorch half of our elven troops to ashes in the next breath. But a single breath is an eternity in the realm of the gods. Helios whistles and I sing to his tune as promised, becoming his bow and arrow.
Unbridled power flows through me as Helios harnesses the strings. I pass through the incoming orkan riders, leaving nothing but ashes and dust in my wake.
I take a small window of opportunity to touch Darstan’s back, cauterizing his bleeding vessels. I feel the burn around my neck when Hellios pulls his leash on me.
You are my weapon now, caterpillar,he bellows sharply.Obey or perish in my hand.
I abide by his ruling. My enemies—his enemies perish one by one as my fire separates them from skin to bones. I am nothing but an instrument to a wicked god, not to be seen, not to be heard.
Everything belongs to the fire, Hellioshums his wicked poetry with savage delight.
“Everything belongs to the fire,”I repeat after him, my voice is a thing of nightmares. The flame blazes through my body and I continue burning for him.
Long shall be their suffering. Let the flame ravage and purge them of their sins,the god commands. The rebel forces rend and fall to the blitz of his wrath. I lost myself in the midst of his boundless rage, as ceaseless and never ending as the sun.
“Please, don’t kill me.” An orc raises his hand in surrender in a moment before I strike.
I remember who I am once again.
“Enough,” I snap at the god. “Return me to my body.”
