The Reckoning - Book Two

Chapter Eighteen - Aeris

My breath comes out in short sharp gasps as I turn and black glass like shards fly past my head, sword out I turn, striking down an enemy soldier in front of me, my sword slicing through his centre as I search for the culprit of the dark magic.

More black shards rush towards me and I duck, feeling a stinging graze along my cheekbone as the shards slice me open.

I growl and focus in on the male responsible, his hands posed in front of him as he sends more shards towards my soldiers.

I breathe in deeply, sheathing my sword I build up the fire within, feeling my fingertips heat as I draw on my magic letting it fill every part of me and then I step forward and send a stream of fire towards the dark magic wielder.

A sheet of glass snaps up from the ground in front of him like a shield but my fire melts through it and a scream fills my ears as my fire melts the flesh from his bones and the cry is cut short.

I let go of my magic, pulling it back inside me to find the charred remains of the male in front of me, melted glass around his feet. I don't have time to stop and stare as I see more soldiers moving towards me to the left and take out my sword, sending a pulse of magic along its length it bursts into flames and I start moving, cutting down the men in my path. Our swords clash against each other as they move against me, faces drawn in anger and rage and then right before the end, fear.

Once they are dealt with I turn, searching for my group of soldiers. I take in a lungful of air, the taste of ash and blood on my tongue. Cries ring out around me as death litters the ground and hangs over our heads like a heavy cloud.

I don't have a moment of reprieve as a large group of enemies run towards us with vicious snarls on their faces and swords raised.

I sheathe my sword and take in a steadying breath, calling on my magic once again, feeling it reach out towards me. I had yet to feel its limit and at times I doubted there even was one.

I draw on the flame within, pushing it into my hands and then I stand and send two bursts of flames towards the group of men. I move the fire, wrapping it around the group until it meets and the men falter as the flame surrounds them.

I watch the men as I tighten my grip on the flames and they huddle closer together, backs pressed against one another as my fire wraps around them until they cannot move, and then I draw the fire up in a high arc before bringing it back down on top of them. Screams cry out as the men are devoured by the flames and I hold onto to it until the screams stop and I know there is nothing left.

My men run past me, we are making ground, we are winning this battle.

I look around once more. Everything is tinged with darkness and I don't pause or rest or allow myself to slip into the darkness, I start running to keep up with my men, not wanting to be left behind.

I stand breathing hard as I stare down at a group of enemy human soldiers on their knees, my own soldiers stripping them of their weapons.

"Aeris," I recognize my brother's voice and turn to find Alvaryn walking towards him, his face covered in dirt and ash.

"Are you alright?" Alvaryn asks studying me in return, eyes lingering on my cheek.

I nod in answer. "You?" I ask, turning back to the prisoners as they look to each other, eyes wary and uncertain as they wait to find out their futures.

"For the most part," He nods hand resting on his side and dark grey eyes trying to hide back pain, a sigh escapes his lips as he turns to the men. "They surrendered." He says looking down at the men.

"Yes, they just watched their fellow men have their flesh melt from their bones and immediately dropped their weapons and cried out for surrender." My own voice is removed and sounds foreign to my ears.

"Well that's good, we wanted the humans to surrender instead of being forced to kill them all." Alvaryn says with hope in his voice.

It seems ridiculous in the light of things, after all I had just witnessed and caused, after all the death and bloodshed that littered the ground around us that there could still be such a thing as hope.

"With a bit of luck we will be able to get some information from them as well." Alvaryn says clapping me on the shoulder.

I continue to watch the men, their terrified expressions, their bound hands. One of them looks up and his eyes find mine and go wide, he had seen what I did to the other soldiers. Being human meant he had probably never seen anything close to the magic I used on the battlefield. No wonder they were so quick to surrender. The human male starts shuffling back, trying to get away from me like I am a demon spawn from hell and I stand completely still. Is that what they saw when they looked at me? A fire wielding monster sent to burn everything in its path.

"Aeris," Alvaryn shakes my shoulder and I blink, turning towards him.

"Hmm?"

"I said we should head back and send a message to Demwyn before it's too late." He says with concern in his eyes.

"Right." I nod, turning to follow him as he leads the way.

"I'm sending one of our riders first thing tomorrow morning, do you have a letter for Dae?" Alvaryn asks, standing shirtless, his side sporting a series of lovely purple bruises as his three broken ribs slowly heal after the healers visit. He finishes his message to Demwyn, standing over his war table with pen in hand refusing to sit and rest for even a minute.

I shake my head in answer to his question, gripping the bottle in my hands loosely.

"Well you still have time to write one."

"No, it's okay, just send her yours." I say, staring at the fire in the centre of the tent, watching the red and orange flames flicker and glow.

"It might make her worried not to hear from you." He says quietly, walking closer to my chair.

"Just let her know I'm safe and I will write to her next time." I tell him, glancing up at him as he stands near the table.

I can feel him watching me as I stare at the fire. He wants to say something, ask something, but he doesn't. Instead he goes back to doing whatever it is he was doing before.

I take a swig from the bottle and let the warm liquor slide down my throat like a familiar embrace.

It wasn't like I hadn't tried writing to her. After her letter to me I had wanted to write back to her, I had wanted to tell her everything. But then, we had our first battle and something changed, in truth it felt like everything had changed.

Only I was sure it was only me who had changed.

Anytime I tried to write to her it was dark, depressing, terrified words. Questions I didn't want to voice out loud. Thoughts that were better left unsaid. I had burned the attempted letters and decided it was best not to write anything at all.

It was better for her to have questions then to know the truth.

"Aeris," Alvaryn says quietly after a long silence and I can feel him watching me as I continue staring into the flames seeing more than just the fire.

"Hmm?"

"You would tell me if something was wrong, wouldn't you?" He asks and I blink, looking up at him as he studies me in return.

I couldn't say the words out loud, he would hear the lie, so I simply nod in answer, giving him my most confident smile, he only nods in return and sets about finishing his messages.

I listen to the quiet scratching of his pen on paper as I return to staring at the flames.

I take another long pull from the bottle, enjoying the way it numbed everything swirling within. Yes, it was much better for them to have questions then to know the truth.