Chapter 28: Cornered Wolves

LYDIA

This time, Lydia was fully prepared as the celestial wolves lunged toward her. She sidestepped the first of the two beasts with a flourish, flinging a small bolt of fire as she did so.

The projectile struck the wolf in the side, smashing it into the ground with a yelp.

The second wolf tried to pounce on her. The Slifer ducked under the creature as it leapt, shooting a stream of flames directly underneath it. The wolf rocketed upward, struggling to regain its footing as it crashed into the cavern floor.

Getting up, Lydia looked around, taking stock of the chaos that was unfolding around her.

The ample space that made up the underground hideout suddenly became close quarters as the Royals and Slifers engaged with the Wizard Hunters now flooding into the chamber.

At the center of it all was Dorian, calmly walking toward Lydia. The Slifer adopted the fighting stance that Decimus had taught her as flames began to swirl and dance to life around her clenched fists.

“If you had any sense left, you would have stayed away from this place,” said Dorian, his words dripping with venom. “I was hoping to get through this whole ordeal without having to harm you.”

“It’s a bit late for that,” replied Lydia. “Besides, I’ve never really been the passive type.”

Dorian raised a hand, and the celestial wolves rose to their feet. The massive beasts began slowly encircling Lydia, awaiting the order to strike.

“Out of charity, I will present you with one final offer,” he said. “Join me, Lydia, and we can wipe clean the slate of our so-called destinies and live a life according to our own wants and desires.”

“That may result in a conflict of interests,” said Lydia hotly. “At the moment, all of my current wants and desires seem to involve killing you.”

The Slifer’s cheeks burned red as she felt her anger rise.

Dorian smirked. “Disappointing,” he said, “but not surprising. Never let it be said that I refused to offer you one final chance.”

Dorian snapped his fingers, and the two wolves rushed forward again, this time targeting Lydia in a pincer formation.

Lydia launched herself into the air, propelling herself in a similar manner to her first fight against Dorian. This time, however, Lydia knew what she was doing.

Thrusting a hand behind her in mid-air, Lydia let loose another blast of fire, altering her trajectory as she veered downward on a sharp diagonal.

Instead of landing on top of Dorian, Lydia planted a flying kick squarely on the wizard’s chest, launching him backward.

Lydia watched as Dorian staggered back, and then a wooden spike erupted from his chest. The wizard had fallen backward into a tree root that Redmond had pulled from the ground, impaling him. Dorian looked down at the massive root emerging from his chest, and then back up at Lydia before his eyes clouded over completely.

For a moment, a fleeting feeling of pity rippled through Lydia’s mind. In spite of everything, she had known Dorian as a friend for longer than he had known her as an enemy, and there was something oddly pathetic about his life ending so quickly.

At the same time, though, the other part of her brain thought: ~Fuck that!~

The two celestial wolves both let out a mournful howl before flickering and vanishing from sight.

Uzier’s and Evine’s son, Dorian, was dead.

At the sight of Dorian impaled on the root, the surviving Wizard Hunters immediately fell into a retreat, rushing back out of the open doorway into the darkness beyond.

“Where do you think they’re going?” Ayana asked, watching the retreating hunters in confusion.

“No doubt to go tell their masters what just happened,” said Lucius. “It appears our cover has already been compromised.”

“What do we do now?” asked Lydia. “Should we stay and fight, or do we try to flee before the news reaches Uzier?”

Gabriel took a moment to take inventory of their options.

“They know of this place now,” he said. “If we flee, we’ll have permanently lost the element of surprise in reclaiming Ellesmere.”

He looked around at the others.

“In other words,” he said, “we have no choice but to stay and fight.”

Lucius nodded sagely. “If we must,” he said, “however, I must recommend that we don’t simply wait for them to come to us this time.”

He gestured to the hideout chamber around them. “This whole area is a dead end,” he said. “If enough Wizard Hunters are able to funnel themselves in here, we would surely be overwhelmed by sheer numbers in no time.”

“In that case,” said Lydia, “maybe it’s time we took this fight to Uzier directly.”

***

EVINE

“Lady Evine!” called one of the Wizard Hunters. Evine looked up from the podium as the group of hunters stormed into the congress hall.

“What is it now?” Evine asked, visibly annoyed.

“The Royals and their Slifers are underneath the castle!” the leader of the hunters stammered. “We attempted to ambush them, but they were able to fight off our assault.”

“Well, there goes the neighborhood,” said Evine.

“That’s not all, mistress,” said the lead hunter, suddenly looking nervous.

Evine’s eyes narrowed ominously. “What do you mean?”

“Your son, Dorian,” the hunter said. “The Slifers...they killed him, my lady.”

The temperature within the congress building seemed to drop by several degrees. Evine stood up to her full height. The Wizard Hunters shrank back with fear.

“Is that so?” she said. Her face was a mask of stoicism, but the hunters could feel the raw emotion in the air around her. Evine was grieving, though she wouldn’t allow herself to be seen doing so.

“It pains me to be the one to tell you this, my lady,” said the lead hunter, quivering.

Evine paused. “You have done well in delivering this information to me,” she said to the hunters. “Go now. Find the Royals and their Slifers. I will take care of the rest.”

The Wizard Hunters nodded and immediately turned tail and scattered out of the building. Once they had left, Evine raised a hand above her head, concentrating as the full potential of her blood magic began to take full effect.

“The time for mercy has long since passed,” she said to no one, her cold soul racked with pain. “Now none of them shall leave this place alive.”

***

LYDIA

Gabriel and Lydia had led the others from the underground corridors to the surface levels of the castle. As they reached the courtyard, Lucius came to a sudden stop, causing the others to turn and look at him in confusion.

“Something’s wrong,” Lucius explained. “Evine’s force field is surrounding the castle.”

“What are you talking about?” asked Gabriel incredulously.

“It’s like the barrier in Ulu,” said Lucius. “But much stronger. It’s engulfing the whole city, even overpowering the protective counterspells the Congress of Magic has had in place for centuries. It must be some trick of her blood magic.”

“That can’t be right,” said Lydia. “Evine told me she can only perform blood magic if she has the blood of the person who she’s performing the spell on.”

“Unless the catalyst for the spell is her own blood,” Gabriel ventured. “Maybe we’re thinking through this backward; instead of creating a barrier to us, she’s creating a barrier that only she can pass through.”

“It’s not entirely impossible,” said Lucius. “But the amount of magic that would be needed to perform such a ritual is...staggering. If Evine is the cause, she must be stronger than we thought.”

“Or she might just really want us dead,” said Redmond. “She’s likely already received the news concerning her son by now.”

“So, you’re saying she’s completely burning through her energy in a last-ditch effort to kill us?” asked Ayana.

“That sounds likely,” said Lucius. Looking up ahead, he added, “And it appears she isn’t the only one.”

Lydia turned her head. At the other side of the courtyard stood King Morrison, flanked on either side by a small collection of Wizard Hunters. The enthralled ruler regarded the group with cold, dispassionate eyes.

Lydia moved to step forward, but was unexpectedly stopped as an arm stuck out to block her.

“No, Lydia,” Ayana said, staring down at Morrison. “We all know which one of us will need to fight this battle.”

Lydia backed down begrudgingly. While she didn’t like it, she acknowledged the fact that Ayana knew Morrison better than anyone else. That meant she was also likely privy to his weaknesses. She was the only one who could fight her mate—and she had to do it alone.

Still, looking across the battlefield, Lydia couldn’t help but feel a pang of worry for what was going to happen next…