Kingdom of Crimson: Crown of Faeries Prequel

5 | Forsaken

    Twenty or so figures dropped from the treetops, caging Cade and me in a tight circle. Our horses bumped into each other as they tried to shuffle away from the forsaken creatures.

Out of habit, I twirled my sword in my palm. The blade sang as it cut through the chilling air. The surrounding trees seemed to grow darker. The limbs reached further towards the sky as the forsaken ebbed closer.

    Cade's horse backed into mine again, causing Lycra to jump a bit. I pulled on her reigns as her screeching neigh rustled the forest.

    One of the forsaken stepped forward. Its flesh oozing down its slime encrusted bones. I forced back a gag and raised my sword. Lycra was hesitant at first as I dug my heels into her side, but soon we charged forward into the mass of forsaken.

As Lycra broke through the first line of forsaken, I swung my sword and lopped off the first head of the gangly creatures that hissed and howled at me. A war cry erupted through my chest, and I could feel my magic singing itself to life through my veins.

I rarely used my magic as I relied on my sword and my wits, but fighting off the forsaken called to my true nature.

One by one, I slashed the forsaken down. My magic hummed just below the surface of my skin and I held it back for just a moment longer. I wanted to do this by myself. I wanted to slay every forsaken by my hand—or sword. Using magic was like cheating to me, and I did not want to cheat myself of the opportunity of blood lust.

Lycra stormed through the crowd of forsaken, even as the dark mists grew heavier and the forest trees bent to cover the light of the moon. But as I turned Lycra through the mass of forsaken, I felt my control on my magic dissipate.

In a solid swing from the saddle, I jumped from Lycra's back and into the air. I splayed my arms to my sides with my palms facing downwards as I let my magic course through me.

Within a single flash of brilliant white light, the ground crumbled beneath the forsaken, rattling most of them towards the forest floor. Cade's wicked, adrenaline-filled laughter rang throughout as he continued his assault on the forsaken. His sword was nothing more than a blur of light as he and his horse charged forward. Forsaken crumbled beneath his sword, their skin boiling and catching fire as his magic turned them to ash.

I landed gracefully back on the ground and instantly began helping Cade cut down the few forsaken that remained standing.

     Within another few minutes, the forsaken laid beneath our horses' hooves in severed chucks. Satisfaction tingled through me. I lifted my chin in pride as the trees pulled their shadows back, accepting defeat.

     Cade's sword became dim, and his chest heaved up and down in a ragged pattern. "Are you alright? The forsaken weren't too—Cade!" I shouted his name, unable to finish my sentence as I watched his body go limp in the saddle. Cade slipped from the back of his horse, tumbling into the corpses of the forsaken.

     Without hesitation, I ran towards Cade.

     My hands fumbled around Cade. Lycra came to my side as a means to protect me as I examined Cade. I patted his shoulders, ran my fingers down his arms, and when I lifted his shirt, I gasped.

     "You bastard," I cursed. A welting, bright red slash had torn through Cade's side. I poked the wound gingerly and felt that the flesh had become tender. Quickly, I scrambled to my feet and whistled for Lycra to come closer. Digging into my pack, I pulled out a vial. I was clumsy with the stopper, but as I knelt, I managed to remove the cork.

As I poured the contents of the vial over Cade's wound, I watched his face to see that his brows had knitted together. His flesh hissed as the potion began to clean the wound.