Fireborn

44 ¦ Demise of Darkness

Peter slammed his crossbow to the ground and rushed towards his fallen family. They lay side by side, their limbs splayed at an unnatural angle.

"Mother! Phina!"

He sank to his knees between them and brushed away a layer of frost crystals with a grimace. Grasping both of their hands, he began to chant in Diabolan. Wispy tendrils of dark magic flitted from his blue medallion and wrapped themselves around his mother and sister.

"Heal! Heal!"

The tendrils vanished without a trace.

Neither one of the women moved.

A growl tore through Peter's throat, and he began to chant in guttural Ancient Draconic. Dark fog descended from the heavens, swirling around his mother and sister.

I couldn't understand very much of the dead language. But I could make out three words.

"Heal, damn it!"

His hands trembled as he tried to revive his lost family. But no one could heal those nestled into Mother's eternal embrace. Not even a powerful Wizard.

Peter grasped his sister's face between his hands. "Phina, I told you to stay away!" he said in an angry croak. "Why? Why did you have to come?"

Laying her head back down, he closed her eyes. A firefly escaped from her mouth and floated before him for an instant before it rose to the heavens and vanished.

He bowed and squeezed his mother's hand one last time. "Mother, go to Father. His soul is waiting for you at the Tree of Life. I set him free."

Her body glowed like the brightest star and vanished. Peter rested on his haunches with his eyes closed, head bent for a moment.

In a series of awkward stumbles, I rose to my feet. Pins and needles coursed through my numb limbs.

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught a flicker of movement. "Peter, behind you!"

With lightning-fast reflexes, he leaped to his feet with his sword drawn and stabbed the charging Dragonborn. Withdrawing the blade, he kicked the offending corpse to the ground.

After checking to make sure no others were stalking him, Peter ran towards me and pulled me in close. "You're okay," he said with an exhausted sigh.

"We need to find Lord Hesse before the spell breaks," I said. "It's our one shot."

He gave me a curt nod, and we raced towards the firedrake. "If we take her down, we can focus on the remaining Shadow Riders."

She stood like a pillar of fire, frozen mid-roar from Lord Darius' spell. "I've got this," I said, reaching for my bow.

Before I could fire, Alicia let loose a diamond arrow and struck the drake in the heart. The wound broke Lord Darius' curse upon the beast. It roared in anguish and toppled to the ground with a heavy thud, raining mud upon the nearby Warriors.

The ground quaked and trembled upon inpact. On both sides, the Fighters jolted awake.

Chaff it all!

"Lena!" a Dragonborn yelled, rushing towards the drake. "Stay with me!"

"Axa, no!" the beast croaked, stretching a paw towards her. "Don't!"

Before the Dragonborn could reach the dying creature, Marcus tackled her to the ground. They pummeled each other in the mud with a series of groans and roars.

Alicia raced towards him to help. I followed close behind her. Before we could reach him, a swarm of enemy fighters intercepted us with a battle cry.