Dusk and Ash (In Progress)

Chapter 6

Jeroth's face was contorted with rage as he watched the gods flare above him, his long blond hair and black cape flying wildly as winds buffeted him. "Give me the demon!" he demanded as he stalked toward Durmhain.

The pressure in the room continued to increase as Durmhain backed away. Then, the light of the gods receded upon itself, collapsing into a single point. After a moment, the bubble of light burst, sending a shockwave through the chamber that sent Durmhain sprawling. Some of the braziers lining the bridge blew out. A few guards slipped and tumbled off the bridge, but most dug their weapons into the floor to brace themselves. Durmhain slid across the platform, but Husks grabbed him, while other Husks held on to them, using the sarcophaguses as anchors. When the tremors stopped, Durmhain looked up to find only darkness above him before looking back at the Nithians. Jeroth's eyes boggled in disbelief before he regained control. Hatred smoldered in his eyes. He approached, and the soldiers behind him followed in close ranks.

Durmhain tried to run toward the edge of the platform to throw himself off, but the Husks held on to him.

"Kill me," Durmhain said to the Husks as he tried to pull himself free. "You can't let him have me! He will own you again!"

The Husks looked at him with wide, terrified eyes. Though their expressions were becoming vacant once again, Durmhain knew some part of them understood. A Kolukun woman next to him made a soft grunting sound, her umber skin a stunning complement to her rich green eyes that were still flecked with embers of Akreus' Fire. She gaped at him dumbly and grabbed onto him, and others did too. The power of their grips shocked Durmhain, but he was grateful for the swift death as Jeroth quickened his pace.

With unnerving power, the woman and those beside her picked Durmhain up and threw him into the back of the crowd. The Husks there caught him and set him down with reverence.

"Stop!" Durmhain cried as the Husks in front charged the Nithians. Hot tears ran down Durmhain's face as he watched the green-eyed woman be cut down and trampled on, the soldiers marching forward with steady momentum over the Husks they killed.

"Stop!" Durmhain yelled again, trying to push through the crowd, but the Husks around him held him tight, clinging to him as if he were a precious treasure.

"Please!" Durmhain begged.

A flare of golden light suddenly flashed in front of Durmhain, blinding him. When his eyes finally adjusted, a woman with short graying black hair stood between the husks and the soldiers, her skin glowing like the sun beneath the rags of her tattered uniform.

"Lord Akreus himself is humbled by the honor you all have brought to this world," Captain Virrin said, her calm voice resonating throughout the chamber.

"Captain," Durmhain whispered, his voice shaking. "I forsook my oath to Lord Akreus. I abused his power-"

"You sacrificed your oath to honor those who would fight beside you, for their freedom," Virrin said as she turned to face Durmhain. "That is why they now honor you with their deaths."

The Nithian guards closest to Virrin lunged forward, stabbing their halberds forward. Virrin pirouetted between their thrusts and spun. Light flashed at her fingertips and the guards fell away, their armor and bodies sheared through by the sword made of golden light that had formed in Virrin's right hand.

"Honor begets honor," Virrin continued as she straightened, her posture poised and unassuming. "And it is a light that shines into depths of the Abyss to guide us."

Golden light began to emanate from her, swirling around the cowering Husks behind her. It swept through the crowd and as it did so, the Husks' straightened, despair fell from their faces, and tears of joy fell from their eyes.