“It seems they’re welcoming us,” Kaelith said dryly, nodding toward a mass of undead on their left.
The horde had begun to shift, moving together in eerie unison, and the sea of bodies shuffled apart, creating a wide, open space in the center, just large enough for the Great Phoenix to land.
“So much for the element of surprise.” Taren clenched his teeth.
“It always knew we were coming,” the Phoenix seemed to whisper. “This confrontation was always meant to happen.”
Great. Another cryptic reference.What is she trying to tell me?
“Bran, Taren, and Elara,” Fenn spoke, taking command. “You three stay together. Wolf Formation. Get to the barrier. Find out how to break it.”
The three nodded, their hands already moving to their weapons with the practiced ease of years spent fighting together. Wolf Formation was one of their most powerful battle strategies, reserved for three-person teams facing overwhelming enemies. It allowed them to fight as one, utilizing their individual strengths to compensate for each other’s weaknesses.
“Bran, Taren, come here,” Elara instructed, pulling out a small pot of black material from a small linen pouch at her waist. “This will link the three of us,” she explained, wiping the black substance in the shape of a simple fish symbol onto each of theirforeheads. “I’ll be able to heal you both from a distance and balance your use of Source or elemental energy, enhancing it across all of us.”
“Whoa.” Bran raised his hand to his forehead, feeling for the mark, but Elara swatted it down before he could touch it.
“It’s what I do within my own body,” she continued. “I’ve been developing this binding technique for the past four years with my Healer unit to improve efficiency, but it should work just as well with you two.”
“Good,” Fenn said as the Phoenix descended.
The closer they got, the more the earth itself seemed to twist like something alive.
“Kaelith, Rynna, you’re with me. We keep the dead off the other three.” He glanced over his shoulder. “I’ll take point.”
“Of course you will, wolf.” Kaelith rolled his eyes.
“I may not be the strongest in this group anymore.” Fenn gave Kaelith a hard look. “But I am still Unit Leader, and in the field, I will be the voice of command. Our only chance of succeeding here is if we work together.” He paused, his eyes scanning each of them. “Back to back. Side to side. You fight for the Hollow-born standing with you. Is that clear?”
“Yes, Commander,” Bran, Elara, and Taren responded in unison, their fists raised to their chests in respect as they bowed low.
“Always,” Rynna echoed, her palm pressed to her heart.
Fenn’s gaze shifted to Kaelith, one eyebrow raised in question. “Kaelith? Do you fight with us?”
For a moment, something unreadable passed across Kaelith’s face, but then… “Yes, Commander,” he replied, raising his fist and dipping his head. “This day, I do. I will guard your life with my own.”
United, they stood together as the Phoenix slowed, flames casting a crimson glow over the wasteland below. Muscles coiled and eyes fixed on the small opening in the sea of the dead where they would make their stand.
“Good luck.” Hika lowered them to the ground. “But do not waste time on these ones. Find a way to break the barrier.”
She let out a final, resonant hum before her fiery form began to shift. And around Bran, flames thrashed into a cycle that engulfed him completely. Then, as the power settled, fire danced along his skin before dissipating, leaving him standing unharmed, eyes glowing like embers.
“Woah.” Rynna stared with the rest of the group.
Around them, the dead stood eerily still, as if frozen in place, perhaps waiting.
“Do we just—” Taren began, but the words caught in his throat.
The dead stirred, parting in a smooth, synchronized ripple through the rotting masses as bodies twisted and pulled back, clearing a path in eerie silence.
Kaelith went still as tension hummed through his frame, fingers twitching at his side.
Through the parted sea of corpses, Skarn stepped into view, his dark robe fluttering in the stagnant air, untouched by the decay that surrounded him.
“Skarn.” Kaelith’s hiss scraped out from deep in his throat. His fangs pushed lower, splitting his bottom lip as blood welled and trickled down his chin.
“Guide Fenn?” Taren’s head whipped toward them.
