Page 80 of Storm of Shadows

Once more, their enchantment seeks to capture my mind. Panic wells in my chest. I fight them off, my limbs flailing at them with all my remaining strength. But my physical attacks do little to harm them. My arms and legs pass through them. In my struggle, I glimpse the cave’s entrance.

Natharius stands there, along with Taria and Caya. Zephyr perches on Caya’s shoulder. Darkness swirls from the Void Prince’s hands, holy magic in the priestess’s. Caya has drawn her sword, golden light shining across the runes engraved into her blade, and violet light glows in Zephyr’s mouth.

The demon and the priestess launch their magic on the wisps. Light and shadows erupt, slamming into the wisps. Blue sparks drift through the cave as the wisps caught by the attack are obliterated.

Shaken by the blow, they release me. I fall to the stone floor with a thud. The impact reverberates through the back of my shoulders and arms. The pain lasts mere heartbeats before it’s drowned out by horror.

Without me even realizing, the wisps lured me into their lair and started consuming my soul, warping me into one of them.

How much longer before I’d have been past saving? While I’m grateful the others arrived in time, I wish they’d arrived sooner.

I scramble upright. The wisps nearest me sense my movement and drift toward me, seeking to prevent my escape. My senses are muddled from their magic. My surroundings are blurred, and the wisps’ tinkling sounds hollow in my ears. It’ll be a miracle if I don’t topple over.

Not only did the wisps begin devouring my soul; they also fed on the magic flowing through my veins, leaving me fatigued. When I weave aether into flames and callignira, the spell is a fraction of its usual size and the attack barely reaches the wisps. At least it keeps those nearest me at bay while my companions continue their barrage of magical attacks against the wisps.

The undead swarm to the cave’s entrance. Though vastly outnumbered, the others seem to be slowly pushing through our enemy’s ranks. The wisps retaliate by spitting out balls of blue fire. Though each wisp’s attack is tiny, there are hundreds of them, and as their flames collide midair, they grow substantially in size. Even my own spells, when at usual strength, pale compared to the wisps’ attacks.

A volley of large blue flames hurls at my companions. Taria clasps her palms together and squeezes her eyes shut. Her golden robes billow out in the darkness as holy magic radiates from her hands. “Zire!” she cries. The golden energy bursts, sweeping over her and the others.

The wisps’ blue fire slams into the shield. The lines on Taria’s forehead deepen with concentration as she clenches her jaw, holding her defenses against their attacks.

The golden barrier stands fast. The blue fire dissipates, fading into the darkness.

With their attack nullified, Taria lowers the shield. Natharius spins shadows in his fingers and sends a bolt of darkness rushing at the wisps. Since he had plenty of time to conjure the counterattack while Taria held the shield, the spell he launches upon the wisps is devastating.

Darkness cleaves through the sea of blue light, wiping out a substantial number of wisps.

A few dart behind them, somehow bypassing both Taria’s and Natharius’s attention. Caya takes care of those, her sword sweeping out furiously, while Zephyr spits balls of aether at them. The wisps lurch away from them, dancing around their strikes.

With my allies plowing through the wisps, more rush forth to take the places of the fallen. Though there seems to be an endless number of wisps, fewer are left around me. I blast the surrounding wisps with aether and flames, freeing myself from their clutches.

“Reyna!” Caya calls over, having noticed my advantageous situation. “Is my brother with you?”

I spin, examining the cave behind. It stretches far through the darkness. I can’t see the blue light of any wisps. They must all be at the front of the cave now, battling the others.

Except for one.

A stray wisp drifts toward me, spitting tiny blue flames. “Telum!” Aether slams into the wisp, extinguishing it. I return my attention to the back of the cave.

“Iluminos.” An orb shines from my fingers, illuminating the darkness. With how much magic the wisps siphoned from me, the spell lacks its usual brightness. But it will suffice.

The cave reaches farther back than I expect, but the far wall isn’t more than a few dozen strides away. Bones lie heaped across the stone floor, both animal and humanoid remains.

Nausea washes over me, and I swallow. I can’t let the morbid sight distract me from the task at hand. I must find Juron.

I scan across the heaps of remains. No fresh corpses lie among them, only the ivory white of bones.

I kneel before the most recent looking pile of bones, examining them for any sign of Juron. Along with what looks like rabbit bones, I find human skulls. And what I also suspect are goblins’ skulls.

How I’ll identify Juron’s skull, I have no idea and can only hope none belongs to him.

As I lean over to inspect a skull, two wisps drift toward me. I notice their attacks in time to draw aether into my palms.“Ignir’muriz!”

A wall of roaring flames wraps around me. The wisps’ spells hurl into it, fizzling out the moment they touch my shield. I don’t hesitate to launch my counterattack.

“Ignir’quatir!”

The fiery shield explodes. Flames slam into the wisps, devouring them.

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