Resurrection (Book Three of the Soul Forge series)

Everything seemed to pause for a moment as Elda stared down at her mother. Still dressed in vibrant purple, her hair had escaped its tight bun to fan around her shoulders. She would have been beautiful even in death, had her neck not sat at such an angle. Hrothgar made a choked sound, all the colour draining from his face.

Elda staggered backwards, the shadows around her former husband erupting. His body never moved, but the darkness was a living, violent thing. It spread out in a wave, shattering stone, throwing soldiers off their feet, streaming towards the gates and the wards beyond.

Julian grabbed Brady and yanked her out of the way in the same moment Aetheria’s vines wrapped around Gira, the shadows bouncing off them. Irileth deflected the attack with a thick wall of ice that held long enough to sweep Elda away from the danger.

Those shadows tore through the gates and then the shield beyond, punching through like a flower opening to the sun. The undead shambled through the opening, eager to feast on the soldiers that had been scattered by the onslaught.

The king started issuing frantic orders to retreat, and the shadows answered with violence. A single shiver in the gloom was the only warning before they descended and snapped Hrothgar’s neck like a twig. The king crumpled right beside his wife.

One minute. It had taken one minute for Cynthia to destroy Eden’s monarchy.

Elda knew the grief was coming, could already feel it widening the yawning chasm in her chest, but pure rage rushed in to fill the empty space until it overflowed and streamed from her in rays of blinding light. Her power swelled in answer, becoming an extension of her, eager to exact her revenge.

The shadows snapped and recoiled like lashing tentacles, the rows of undead shambling through the hole withering away under her magic. Elda's power, the light Hephaestus had blessed her with, poured from her in waves, slamming into the Soul Forge and knocking him off his feet.

His body didn't wither. It didn't react at all, no grunt of pain escaping when it hit the ground and rolled. Elda heard a snap when one of his bones gave way, but the shadows still lifted him to his feet. His head lolled, eyes blind to the chaos around him.

Elda hesitated, looking between him and the creatures hobbling through the ruined gates. They were rotting, but seemed to have some sort of autonomy. As jerky and uncoordinated as they were, their rotten limbs still moved independently. The creatures walked unaided, their filmy eyes tracking the movements of their prey.

But the only part of the Soul Forge with any sign of agency was his shadows. Elda dodged another spear, unhooking her bow and releasing an arrow that shattered the darkness before it could decapitate Julian.

Brady and Gira had both shifted, their beasts tearing through the undead with ease. The dragons continued to pick off the horde from outside the shield, the gap too small to allow them entry to the city.

"Julian!" Elda yelled. "Dismantle the shield!" The vampire nodded, leaping into Syd's saddle to head straight up for the source of the shield's power.

A laugh froze Elda in place, vibrating through the darkness. She swallowed, turning to find its source. Cynthia.

The Corrupted sat high above on a pillow of darkness, looking down at her puppet with a gleeful smile. Crimson hair billowed around her shoulders, every inch of exposed skin marked with runes. Abraxos and Arden flanked her, the former grinning, the latter glassy-eyed and vacant, both with runes inked across their cheeks.

But there was a sheen of sweat on Cynthia's face, the tightness around her eyes betraying that easy smile. She was exerting herself.

Elda looked back between the horde and the corpse of her husband, and something vital finally clicked into place.

Cynthia couldn't reanimate the Soul Forge like she had with the rest because he was simply too powerful to control. She wasn't built for the magic he could wield. That much was obvious in the way the darkness strained against its bonds, its attacks wild and unfocussed. Even the horde seemed more listless than Elda remembered, their movements less determined as Cynthia struggled to handle them and her newest toy.

Reiner stepped up beside the princess, mace hefted in her hand and a unit of soldiers at her back. She said nothing, but the nod she gave Elda was enough to know she understood the situation, and would defend the elf with her life. Irileth appeared on her other side, bringing Gira and Aetheria with her.

"Three against two," Abraxos drawled. "I think our odds are good. You might want to reconsider your stance, princess."

"Two Keepers against two Corrupted," Elda replied, her words sharp enough to draw blood. "You seem to forget that one of you no longer has a Spirit."

"I don't need one to crush you," the witch replied, her smile twisting into something venomous.

"Enough talk," Reiner snapped, and Elda watched lilac symbols light up all over her body. She hadn't known the captain possessed a magical talent.

"Another witch," Cynthia purred. "Interesting. Let's see how quickly I crush you."

The black platform holding the Corrupted disintegrated, the three of them landing on their feet. Abraxos brandished Cain, arcs of lightning far more lethal than before charring the ground at Elda's feet.

She skipped back several steps, only to duck under a spear of shadow and around an arc of fire as all three Corrupted targeted her. Gira blocked another lightning strike and swung his great-sword, a rush of air sending Arden's next flaming blow right back at him.

Reiner moved with such speed that Elda was distracted just long enough for Abraxos to smash the handle of his mace into her side, electricity sizzling through her. She gritted her teeth and reached for Irileth's power, finding it waiting and eager.

Ice shot up Cain's handle and coated Abraxos' fingers, causing him to jump backwards and cutting off the sizzling lightning. Irileth stepped into him and twisted her hip, slamming the Corrupted to the ground and stomping on his frozen hand.

The darkness redirected itself, spearing towards Irileth before she could crush his skull. She cursed and stepped back into a portal of ice, reappearing several feet away. Aetheria shielded Irileth from Arden's fire, the pair of them leaping at him the moment the heat died down. Gira snarled, his claws tearing through Abraxos' jacket, but the shadows kept him from reaching Cynthia.

Elda saw the Soul Forge still unmoving, head bowed, shoulders slumped. Cynthia, however, was panting, her skin slicked with sweat as she fought to control his magic and keep her army of undead moving. Her attention was divided, and that made her weak.

An arrow of pure ice zipped towards Cynthia, close enough to leave an open wound on her cheek when she side-stepped at the last second. Another arrow followed, but the witch adapted. This time the darkness caught it and sent it streaking right towards Gira while he was distracted by Abraxos. Aetheria slapped it away with one of her vines and went right back to pounding her fist against Arden's face.

"You're not built for this are you?" Reiner taunted, taking up a place next to Elda again and levelling her mace at Cynthia. "All this power, it's too much for you."

"I'm more powerful than any of you," Cynthia sneered. "My lord made me so."

"Your lord is using you," Elda answered. "If you die here, he'll find someone else to take your place. Why burn yourself out for him, when he wouldn't do it for you?"

The witch bared her teeth. "You know nothing."

The Soul Forge moved. Elda barely had time to dive at Reiner before he stepped out of the shadows right beside them. His movements were disjointed, but his aim was lethal. The stones where Reiner had stood shattered.

The captain rolled, positioning herself above Elda just in time to absorb a flash of electricity from Abraxos. She grunted, her lilac markings flaring bright, and then she stood and rolled her neck.

"You," she growled at the male elf. "You're mine." Elda had never seen Abraxos falter. Even when losing, his arrogance was unshakeable, but there was genuine fear in his eyes when the captain challenged him.

Cynthia grunted and the shadows rose, swarming towards the princess in a deadly wave. She covered up and let her light explode, driven purely by the instinct to survive. It threw the Soul Forge back off his feet, but the witch remained standing.

"How does it feel?" she hissed. "How does it feel to see him dead?"

"Probably the same as it did to lose your Spirit link," Elda spat back, circling her warily. She pressed the blue gem to release her dagger, hooking the bow in place on her back and drawing her short sword with her free hand.

"He's mine now," Cynthia cackled, eyes alight with malice. "An empty toy for me to drag around. His magic is intoxicating."

"His magic is too much for you," Elda answered. Her eyes flickered to the horde, noticing that some of them simply stood and stared, the soldiers cutting them down like they were nothing more than training dummies.

"I am more capable of wielding his power than he was!" The witch took a deep breath and raised her hands, grinning at the ebony smoke that wrapped around them. "All this magic was wasted on him. I could change the shape of the world with a snap of my fingers!"

"So do it," Elda goaded, trying to ignore her husband standing silently amidst the chaos. "If you're so powerful, show me."

"And betray my lord? No," Cynthia chuckled. "I promised him I'd kill your Spirit and have your husband's corpse drag you back to Shade. I intend to deliver."

"That's why you're here? To capture me?"

"And to show the world we won't hide anymore. Eden is the crown jewel of Valerus, the capital city." Her smile broadened, and she gestured to the bodies of the king and queen. "Or, it was."

Elda's rage boiled over, light flaring around her. It turned every strand of her hair incandescent, streaming from her skin. She advanced a step, recalling the methods Cynthia used to fight, remembering everything Sypher and Vel had taught her.

"You took my parents. You invaded my home. You tortured me for months. You will not take my life." Elda pointed her blade towards Cynthia's eyes. "Now give me back my fucking husband.”

Elda's body moved like fluid, sprinting across the space and leaping to slam a boot across Cynthia's jaw when the shadows rose to defend her and missed, expecting the strike of a sword. When she staggered, Elda slammed an elbow into her sternum, then crunched a boot against her knee. The witch hit the ground, and Elda's fist found her nose once, twice, three times, until shadows constricted around her throat and tossed her backwards.

She collided with something cold and hard, something that fell with her. A brush of feathers against her bare cheek turned her blood to ice. The Soul Forge broke her fall, several of his ribs cracking under the impact, but no air rushed from his lungs. He barely flinched.

A gloved hand constricted around her throat, his body stumbling to its feet and lifting her until her boots dangled above the ground. Elda tried not to meet his gaze. She tried so hard not to.

But those pale white irises - no red remaining, no sign of life - sucked her in. So she hung there, limp and stunned. Tears poured down her cheeks, the dam she'd tried to build crumbling with a single look.

"I'm so sorry," she choked out around his grip. "You deserved so much better than this." No response. No movement. His fingers didn't even twitch around her windpipe.

Cynthia's laugh was vicious. "Hmm. Maybe I will let him kill you after all, princess."