Converging Destinies: Part 1

Chapter 14

       Ella was too stunned to move as the massive blast hit her with full force. Cedric was flung off his feet, hit the rock wall behind him, and fell to the ground unconscious. Ara' Sei was able to dive out of the way just in time. Ara' Sei and Ella were both standing, but just barely. The man was now revealed as his hand glowed red from the residual heat of the blast.

       "Crap! Aughh, that hurt!" Ella shouted

       Suddenly, a dagger flew from the darkness and lodged itself in the man's stomach. The man coughed out blood, and his eyes went wide. He raised his hand, and three shadows descended from the ceiling of the dark cave.

       "Protect... me." He said weakly.

       Ara' Sei placed her hands on Ella.

       "Look, go fight that man, stop him. I'll take care of Cedric, go." Ara' Sei muttered frantically as Ella began to glow. Some of Ella's wounds began to mend, and Ella breathed a sigh of relief.

       "Trust me, he's going down before he can hurt Cedric any more." Ella whispered to Ara' Sei. Then, Ella looked at her opponent. With a shout she began charging full force towards him, far faster than the shadows could come to his aid. She then brought her blade upwards in an arc. It instantly cut through the man, opening up his chest and causing guts to pour out.

       "Gotcha!" Ella shouted with glee. Then, two of the shadows approached her, and one of the shadows went after the vulnerable Ara' Sei and Cedric.

       As the shadow touched Ella, she felt the horrible feeling wash over her once more.

       "Damn it, this man's still annoying even after I cut him open." Ella muttered to herself.

       Another one lunged for Ella as well, but she was able to use her armor to shoulder the blow off.

       "Ha! I don't think so!" The last of the shadows lunged at Ara' Sei, but she instead flashed with light, and the shadow was forced to back off. Cedric was beginning to bleed out on the floor.

       "Oh no, please hang in there." Ara' Sei quietly begged. Eris ran past the body of the man, pulled his dagger from the corpse and ran as fast as they could towards Ara' Sei and Cedric. Ara' Sei placed her hands on Cedric, and began to glow with light. Cedric's very body became a beacon, and his wounds closed and his burns soothed. His eyes fluttered open, and he looked around.

       "Oh no did I go out again?" Cedric asked.

       "Yeah, but now we need you. The man's dead, there's three shadows, hurry, help." Ara' Sei begged. Cedric nodded, but he was too shaken to act immediately. Ella swung her blade into one of the shadows fighting her.

       "Come on! That all you got for me huh?!" Ella asked loudly. She swung her blade and while it did connect, it barely harmed the shadows, for they had no flesh. Ella steeled herself with a deep breath. Then, she swung her greatsword at the shadow once again, and hit once again despite how dark the cavern was. However, once again she could barely harm it with a sword alone.

       The two shadows then launched their counteroffensive. However, in her adrenaline, she was able to evade both of them.

       "Not this time, haha!" The other shadow once again lunged for Ara' Sei, but the light shining from her drove it back.

       "I think it's time I fought back." Cedric said with a smile. He raised his hand and muttered a few words. His hair began to flail wildly. Then, pale light shone from above the other shadows, whose source wasn't seen. The shadows writhed as the pale light hit them, and their ghost-like bodies were incinerated by pale blue flames. The only shadow left was the one near Ara' Sei.

       She stood up and took a few steps back. She extended her hand forward, and a beacon formed in her hand. The shadow shied away from the light in pain and fear. Her arm began to shake. And, with every bit of power she could muster at once, Ara' Sei released the beacon from her hands. With that, the final shadow was annihilated with radiance.

       "Good job Ara' Sei!" Ella cheered. Ara' Sei smiled in response. Eris retrieved their daggers from the body of the man. The group smiled at one another. They had done it, they had stopped the undead attacks on Cresselbrooke.