Vuroth's Tear: Even the Gods Cry

Chapter 56

Chapter 56

The wooden door of the castle was torn off its hinges and tossed aside by Velana and Kass entered first, firing three arrows at husks to clear the hall. Donovan followed behind him with Quicksilver in hand and Velana became human once again so she could fit through the doorway. The long hallway was eerily silent.

"So what's the plan, exactly?" Velana whispered as they walked.

Kass looked to Donovan, waiting for him to speak. Donovan finally understood what Aven had to deal with from him for years, being the leader was frightful, "All I really have is don't die," He looked at Kass, "You try to distract him with arrows while Vel and I attack from opposite sides?"

Velana looked at him, "Spend a while coming up with that, did you?"

"Sorry, I'm not Aven, leadership isn't one of my skills," He snapped at her.

They made their way to the door that led into the throne room and stopped, "This seems much too easy," Velana spoke. She could tell that Kass and Donovan agreed. With a shaking hand she reached for the door.

Kass pulled the string of his bow, readying himself to enter and then nodded that he was ready. Donovan took a deep breath before Velana pushed the door open and they charged through.

Tola sat in the throne with a wide grin, one of the creatures from the forest laid next to him while he petted it. The beast lifted its head and let out a low hiss but Tola shushed it, "Please, come in, join me. I've been expecting you."

The door slammed shut behind them and several more of the creatures stepped out of the darkness, dragging their long tails on the stone floor behind them.

"Okay, this is bad," Velana whispered to Donovan. She shifted and stood on her back legs towering between Donovan and Kass, baring her teeth at the creatures that closed in around them.

Tola stood, "Do you like my pets? I call them Syns," A devil's grin spread across his face, "they are truly beautiful, aren't they? I created them myself, pure magic made into stunning killing machines. Immune to magic and completely obedient."

The creatures' tails whipped behind them, smashing against the walls and pillars, cracking the stone from the force.

Kass wasted no time, he pulled an arrow from his quiver and fired it at a Syn before it could attack. The creature fell to the floor dead, an arrow stuck from its head where it's eyes would have been. The others started hissing and closed in on them.

Donovan sliced downward, barely missing the head of one of the creatures before dodging its tail as it slammed down where he had just been standing. He cut the tail off and dragged the edge of Quicksilver down the length of its body. Another jumped towards him and caught the sword in its chest as it tackled Donovan. When it fell to the marble, it rolled limp on the floor, tearing the sword from Donovan's hands. Instead of running to retrieve it, he simply pulled his daggers and continued fighting.

Velana grabbed a Syn in each hand and crushed one while tearing the head off the other with her teeth. She threw both corpses aside and clawed at the next one to come near. She dropped on all fours, her ears pointed straight back and she let out an earth shattering roar before grabbing another by its tail and swinging it in a wide arch, smashing its head against the wall.

Tola sat back down in his throne and watched, amused by the brutal displays that surrounded him. Velana caught a Syn in the air as it dove for Kass and crushed its head in her hand before hurling the creature at Tola. He held up his hand and the creature evaporated before hitting him and then he laughed. He was enjoying himself.