Born of Flames

Chapter 41 ~ Battle of Mind and Sword

Arlon raced alongside Morana through the swelling throng of corpse and skeleton puppets that guarded their path. He couldn't see Astaroth and Rhidian yet, but as the thrall thickened, he knew they were closing in. "How close do you have to be?" Morana hollered over the corpses' gasping shrieks.

"I just need to see them," Arlon replied. His blade sliced through dried flesh and sinew and Morana's flames disintegrated the body before it could strike again. "And I have to be able to focus."

Seizing control of one mind was challenging enough, but this would require him taking control of two, and there was no guarantee he'd be able to do what Morana was asking. Their best hope would be for him to hold onto Astaroth and Rhidian long enough for someone to kill Rhidian.

"There!" Morana exclaimed, pointing Orilight to a shadow shrouded figure up ahead.

Rhidian's crimson gaze was already fixed on them. Arlon's blood ran cold as the male's lips peeled into a smirk, showing Astaroth's jagged teeth. He shook his dread away as Morana veered towards a portion of a collapsed wall.

He chased her up the crumbling slope and crouched in the shadow of half of a large statue. Its feet remained rooted to the ground, but the statue's torso and head had broken off long ago and provided a small barrier between them and Rhidian.

With no small amount of gratitude, Arlon noticed the statue's long sculpted braid and the remaining details that had once formed a great suit of armor. An effigy of Durga. He whipped a dagger from his belt and slashed the blade across his palm without hesitation.

"What in Hadeon's Hel..." Morana began, then trailed off as he squeezed his fist over Durga's face. Drops of blood pattered onto her stone lips and pooled in the indentions of her nostrils. Arlon's lips moved in a quiet prayer, one he'd uttered many times before, and one that desperately needed to be heard now.

"Let the goddess of warriors receive my offering and remember the blood of her servant." Even before the last word left his mouth, his palm began to tingle. Arlon stared at it in surprise as his wound closed without even the remnants of a scar. He met Morana's equally wide gaze. "Let's hope that means she heard me."

Morana blinked her shock away and peered back towards Astaroth and Rhidian. They remained in the same spot, but Rhidian's gaze was fixed on their vantage point. "Once I have a hold on them, I won't be able to do much else," Arlon warned.

"Good thing Neeri and Rehema are covering us then." Morana jerked her chin towards the pair of Shifters who were only a short distance away, ripping through every corpse that crossed their path. Lonan and Gaelen were closing in on them as well, and Tarion had just split away from the group.

The Prince sprinted over to them and ducked behind the statue, gulping down a few deep breaths. "What's your plan?" Tarion panted.

"Once Arlon has their minds in his grasp, we have to kill Rhidian," Morana replied. "I think that will at least stop Astaroth from summoning any more corpses."

Tarion gave a sharp nod. "I'll follow your lead."

Both of them faced Arlon. He drew a slow breath and bowed his head. "I'm ready."

"Just do what you can," Morana said. Then she and Tarion slid back down the wall and took off towards Astaroth and Rhidian, magic swirling around them and weapons at the ready.

Arlon thrust himself to his feet and locked his gaze on Rhidian. He pushed his hands outright, feeding his power towards the dark Lord and his vessel. Their minds weren't hard to locate. They were wrapped around each other, convulsing and barbed in shadows, just like last time. But in the mountains, there had been a sense of unity in their minds. Something was different now.