But there would be time to celebrate later.
Joining my forces to hers, I alternated between lightning strikes, and kinetic pulses against our opponents. The closest ones would either sustain severe burns from the lightning, be temporarily paralyzed, or suffer instant organ failure, usually a burst heart or fried brain. Whatever the injury received, it would take them out of the fight either permanently or at least long enough to give us a bit of breathing room. The kinetic pulses would slam them backward, sending them crashing into one of their companions, or it would flat out shatter their bones, especially if they struck the wings, which were flimsiest parts of the Djarins.
For a brief instant, I began to think we stood a chance of defeating them unscathed. Despite their great numbers, ourcombined extremely powerful area spells allowed us to wipe out multiple targets at once as they approached. But they were just too fast. In the few seconds it took us to recast our spells, they gained far too much ground on us.
It quickly became a game of cat and mouse with us being chased through the skies as I used my kinetic blasts to try to keep them far enough away from us so that my mate could incinerate them. But even that didn’t suffice. Some of them would get within range, and I would ram into them, swiping a few with my tail, eviscerating others with my claws, and spitting acid in their faces.
To my despair, they were clearly focusing their attacks on Eleni. Any lingering doubt I might have had about this being a trap set by Elliot vanished in that instant. Even with her mowing through the horde at an impressive speed, my mate’s energy reserves were rapidly depleting. She was taking longer to cast another spell and increasingly struck on a shorter radius and with lower intensity.
Her attacks now only incinerated half of the Djarins, the others simply being set ablaze. Soon, I became overwhelmed by their insane numbers. Try as I might, I couldn’t knock them all out of the way as they rushed Eleni. As a battle mount, Pasha mastered the art of aerial evasion. She dodged and ducked, swooping out of the way as the creatures attempted to slay her mistress.
However, it also made my task harder to block the onslaught as I struggled to anticipate her next movement. With the Djarins now having gone into suicide mode, they kept smashing directly into me with their bone heads, knocking the wind out of me, and throwing me off course. It quickly became apparent that they weren’t trying to kill me, only isolate Eleni so that they could complete their gruesome mission. And despite her best efforts,Pasha couldn’t prevent my mate from sustaining a growing number of scratches.
My blood turned to ice when I watched as if in slow motion as a Djarin, even while being set ablaze, smashed directly into my woman, knocking her off her mount. She screamed as she plummeted from the sky. I mentally shouted her name and dove towards her to catch her. But countless fiendish beasts crashed into me from various directions, preventing me from getting back to her.
I fought helplessly as at least five of the creatures swept their speared limbs at my Eleni’s chest. At first, I thought they were stabbing her to death. But they suddenly turned and began to scatter. I rushed towards my mate only for Pasha to catch her mid-fall with her front paws. She didn’t challenge me when I reached forward and took Eleni from her. But the Galadia’s screech of despair reflected the horror that immediately engulfed me.
Violent spasms wracked Eleni’s body as she emitted choking sounds, her eyes rolling to the back of her head. The Amulet no longer hung around her neck.
No! No! No! No! No!
Using my enhanced vision, I looked around for any sign of the necklace despite knowing I wouldn’t be able to see it. Like many ancient artifacts, they had protections that made them nearly impossible to detect unless you knew exactly where they were.
I didn’t see it fall…
The Djarins hadn’t been trying to kill her but only to steal the necklace. They had taken off as soon as they had accomplished their mission. Terrified, I glanced around me to see them all fleeing in the distance. Even if I flew as hard as I could, I would never be able to catch up with them, especially as they were all dashing in opposite directions from each other.
A blind rage took over me as the nasty little voice mocked me for not listening when it said that there could never be happiness for me. But this went beyond any personal loss. They were killing my mate for some monster’s hunger for power and immortality. The same strange tingling and energy I had felt in the sanctuary as I battled against the shackles surged within me with unbridled fury.
I didn’t understand it or even care about what it was. I roared with all the pain, anger, despair, and hatred burning inside of me for the injustice and cruelty to my woman. It blasted outward in a powerful shockwave that blurred the air on a wide radius around me. It was like watching a luminous ripple at the surface of an ocean where a large boulder had been dropped. In the distance, all around us, the Djarins shattered like glass, their remains raining down from the sky.
I froze, my mind struggling to understand what had just occurred. But labored gasp from Eleni reminded me of her dire situation, snapping me out of my daze. I needed to find the Amulet before it was too late.
Without thinking, I dashed forward, swooping down towards the ground. My enhanced vision wouldn’t allow me to see it. Our only hope resided in the fact that as soon as we got within range, Eleni’s spasms would dim, indicating that I was getting closer.
Except the foul creatures had fallen all over the various regions of the forest. I flew around for what felt like an eternity, using my echolocation to find as many of the Djarins as possible. But I soon realized that I would never succeed. We had covered too extensive an area during the battle, and after their escape. I needed a way to pinpoint the Amulet’s exact location if I stood the slightest chance of saving my soulmate.
My heart shattered as she began to convulse in my arms, foam forming at the corner of her mouth. In a final desperate move, I created an illusion to make her mind believe that shewas still wearing the necklace, and that she was relaxing in a hot spring. Obviously, it wouldn’t fix the problem, but if it could slightly delay her death, I had to try it. To my shock, her convulsions stopped. I wasn’t so foolish as to think all damage had stopped. But if I could spare her any pain while I turned the world upside down to find a solution, I would welcome that small victory.
At a loss as to what to do next, I did the only thing I could think of. Flapping my wings, I raced to my mother’s house. Only she stood a chance of putting me on the right track. My wings burned from the effort, further compounded by the many wounds and lacerations inflicted to meet by the Djarins. If not for my accelerated regeneration, I might not have made it.
As I approached the gates, I braced for the guardians possibly getting in my path. Despite their phenomenal power, if they came at me, I would tear them to pieces. Thankfully, they didn’t so much as stir as I zipped past them overhead.
To my shock, as I began my descent towards the entrance of the mansion, I found my mother standing outside with the type of distressed expression I never thought she would even be capable of. Fear like I had never experienced before engulfed me. What could possibly have her in such a state? Was she unable to help me?
“Why did you come here?!” my mother asked before I even finished landing, her tone filled with sorrow and disbelief.
“I need help,” I pleaded halfway through shifting back to my normal form. “My mate is dying.”
“Why did you comehere?!” she insisted, pointing at the ground. “I cannot help you, Lyall. You should know this!”
“She’sdying, Mother! Please. I’m your son. I beg you!” I said, falling on my knees before her, Eleni held tightly in my arms.
“You know what the problem is, Lyall,” she said urgently, addressing me as if I was a child. “You know why she’s in this state.”
“She needs the Amulet,” I replied, understanding she was trying to lead me to the answer within the constraints of the Covenant.
But my brain was too frazzled to think properly.
