Page 100 of King Elijah (The Zemiran Chronicles 2)

Elijah dropped his own power, gripping Janelle’s waist tightly before they all dove to the ground.

Lincoln looked up as the shadow moved over them, charging straight toward Kieran, honing in on the surging magic pouring out of him.

“Run!” Lincoln shouted, yanking on Elijah’s cloak.

Elijah jumped to his feet, pulling Janelle with them. The Zemiran army split apart as they ran toward the ship, hearing Kieran’s guttural screams. The shadow attacked him once again, completely consuming his flesh, blood, and darkness—the only one foolish enough to unleash his full power.

Lincoln looked up as Anaru flew overhead, following them through the marketplace between the mansion and the ship.

“Wait!” Janelle shouted. “We need to find Aiden!”

“He’s on the ship,” Lincoln called back, pointing his sword at the Sybil Curse. “Keep running.”

As they reached the docks, a bright yellow light shone on deck.

“Is that Tegan?!” Janelle asked as the men helped her climb up the Jacob’s ladder. She was still weak from the poison; Lincoln could tell by the trembling of her limbs.

“Get ready to hold on,” Elijah said as they climbed over the railing.

Lincoln looked around, spotting Mazie turning the helm at a sharp angle and moving the ship to the left. Bay flew from Mazie’s shoulder and sprinkled pixie dust over Tegan, who then floated slightly above the wooden deck, halfway up the mast.

Aiden stood at the stern of the ship with his father’s sword drawn. When he saw her floating, he tossed the sword her way. Tegan caught the hilt in one hand, pulling the Kroneon out with the other. Power grew around her, drawing the attention of the Shadow Creature, who was still on the grass fields near the mansion. It let out a buzzing shriek and made its way toward the shoreline, picking up speed as it spotted the ship.

Lincoln covered his ears as the buzzing sound grew louder before running to the cannon, pointing it at the creature coming their way in case their plan was to fail.

“Steady, mates!” Lincoln called out from the cannon. “Steady. Nola, use your call now! Try to subdue it!”

Nola stepped forward, attempting to use her siren call to weaken the creature, but it pressed on, unaffected by her power. Its hunger was fixed on the brightly lit hybrid aboard the ship, and it wouldn’t be deterred.

Tegan pushed down at the center of the Kroneon, magic still radiating around her as the portal opened above the sea at the bow of the ship.

Mazie turned the helm again, moving the ship to the center of the black, whirling portal.

The shadow sprang forward over the border of the grasses to the sandy banks close to the sea. Lincoln whistled toward the sky, alerting the great beast above to attack.

Anaru dove toward the land, extending her claws to seize the creature Lincoln had realized wasn’t yet solidified. Her claws slipped through its back, and she swooped back up to the skies, waiting for the next signal to strike again. The captain watched Anaru position herself to dive and let out another whistle, two short bursts. As they lined the sand, the hybrids lit up their power at once, drawing the shadow toward them. The creature fed upon their free-flowing energy and became drunk with power. It began to solidify as it gorged itself upon them. When the creature was almost within touching distance, they severed their bond, falling to the ground, one by one. As the last hybrid suppressed their magic, all were rendered invisible to the monster at once.

The monster’s black wings sprang out as it took a solid form, and its blood-red eyes burned with vicious, endless hunger. It turned away from the group of hybrids, re-focusing on the immense magic pouring from the ship. It jumped onto the docks and scrambled along the planks until it leapt up, flying over the railing of the ship. Before it crashed down onto Tegan, she cut out the pulsing light of her magic and channeled it into the form of long, smoke-like fingers. With a shout, she wrapped the magic around the creature’s throat and slammed it down onto the ship’s deck. It thrashed and shrieked, trying to absorb and break the magic’s hold before Tegan plunged Hagmar’s sword deep into its chest, piercing the core. Tegan held with all her strength to the hilt, feeling the monstrous beast fight against her magic and the magic within the blade.

The creature cried out again, and Lincoln signaled to the skies for Anaru. The dragon flew back down toward the ship, finally able to latch her claws into its neck, keeping it still.

Anaru unleashed her fire upon it, scorching off parts of its blazing dark flesh. An earsplitting roar shook the ship’s wood, and everyone nearly collapsed from the shock wave that followed.

Mazie gritted her teeth and held tight to the helm. The ship continued to move forward. The bow entered the portal with the shadow shrieking so loudly that the crew winced at the sound. The creature was trapped, finally unable to flee back to the forest.

“We’re going in!” Lincoln shouted, wrapping his arm around Nola and pulling her close. “Keep holding it! Steady, Tegan! Anaru!”

Lincoln observed Elijah running to Janelle, holding tightly to her wrists and helping her stand on her feet.

“This way! Grab on and don’t let go, no matter what!” Elijah shouted, taking her to the railing and helping her to keep from falling as she wrapped her arms tightly in place.

As Mazie steered forward, the portal dragged the massive ship inside, and everyone held onto the Sybil Curse. They braced for the pressure of the Kroneon’s power to rip them through time, ensuring that the creature couldn’t flee into their land again. It was the first time the crew had steered the ship into one of the Kroneon’s portals while moving. Every time before, they jumped through from dry land in fear the ship wouldn’t make it. To rid the Shadow Creature from their world, they had no choice but to risk their very lives.

The mast bent as the pressure of the portal pulled them through, shattering the wood and splitting the ship apart into two pieces.

There was a heavy thud as the broken vessel hit solid ground, followed by the chaos of broken wood and debris crashing all around them. There were screams and then silence.

Lincoln opened his eyes to a different world they had never entered during their time with the Kroneon.

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