Her chant rose again, louder this time, more desperate. "Lumiere… tundas… luminas.Luminas!"
White fire erupted from her hands once more, but instead of wrapping around us, it pulsed outward, flowing under our shield in waves across the ground. Light raced through the cracks like lightning through a spider's web, flowing in brilliantstreams toward the shadow creature. The moment it touched the monster's base, the thing let out a shriek.
The shadow shuddered, its edges flickering like a dying flame. For the first time since the fight began, it couldn't reform when Bastian's blade carved through it. Smoke dissipated instead of flowing back together, and suddenly, the creature was solid,real, vulnerable.
"Now!" Alaric roared.
Three blades struck as one, and the monster shattered into ash that scattered in the winds.
Silence fell like a heavy blanket, broken only by our ragged breathing. The creature's remains drifted around us, indistinguishable from the endless ash that coated this realm. For a moment, the oppressive pressure that had been crushing my chest eased, like a giant fist had loosened its grip just enough to let me draw a full breath.
But the relief was short-lived.
Ahead of us, the darker smudges began to peel themselves from the gray, more shapes moving with that same deliberate, hungry purpose. There were dozens of them. They flowed toward us through the ash with predatory grace, their forms shifting and solidifying as they closed the distance.
"More are coming!" Garrick called out, wiping shadow residue from his blade.
Arielle straightened, helping me to my feet. The moment I stood, the protective shield faded.
"We fight with light," she called to the Bloodsworn, her voice carrying an authority that made them all snap to attention. "It's the only thing that can touch them properly."
She pointed toward the distant gray where I'd sensed Wolfe. "Elariya said Wolfe’s over there."
“I have an idea,” Bastian said.
He ran his hand over his sword, then light, like luminescent starlight, beamed from it. It shone around us in a protective sphere of energy.
The approaching Soulwraiths let out mind-numbing shrieks, and the pressure began to build once more, heavier than before.
“Stay behind me,” Bastian ordered, then he moved, sword raised, light sheathing us.
He unleashed his wings and soared up into the ashen sky.
Garrick grabbed Arielle, unfurling his wings, too. She secured her arms around him as he scooped her up, and into the air they went.
Alaric took me, slipping an arm around my waist. “Hold on to me and do not let go.”
I did as I was told, holding on to him for dear life.
Massive wings expanded from his back, and up we went to join the others.
We cut through the gray sky, Bastian's light blazing ahead of us, carving a path through the oppressive darkness. From this height, I could see the true scope of what was coming. Soulwraiths rose from every crevice in the earth below, flowing together like a dark tide. They moved with terrifying coordination, their forms stretching and reaching upward as if they could pull us from the sky through sheer will.
I forced myself to look ahead, scanning the endless gray as we flew.
Through the chaos, I searched for any sign of Wolfe.
Swirling ash and twisted spires of black shadows surrounded us. Below was nothing but darkness and chasms that seemed to breathe with malevolent life, and then...
The locator spell pulled at my chest like a fishhook, growing stronger with each beat of Alaric's wings.
My heart stopped.
There, in a clearing ahead of us, surrounded by jagged obsidian pillars, was a figure suspended motionless just above the ground.
Even from this distance, even through the haze of ash and shadow, I knew that silhouette, knew the way dark hair fell across the shoulders that it was Wolfe.
And, Gods, a huge sword protruded from his chest like an obscene monument, its blade gleaming with unnatural light against the gray.
