Page 125 of In Between Death and the Devil

Conjuring a rope, I wrapped it around them and pulled, sending them flying through the air as Marcus plunged his sword into the swarm of birds. With a shriek, the Wraith burst out of the cloud of angry wings and raced towards us. A split second after Bea and the trainee landed next to me, I summoned a wall of light in front of me, stopping the Wraith in its tracks. It hissed at me for a second and then started to blur away.

I summoned a second wall behind Marcus, hemming the two of them in. Thwarted in its escape, it flew at Marcus who received the blow on his shield and immediately parried, dropping into a steady rhythm without missing a beat.

“Let me in,” Bea said, as the trainee raced across the bridge towards Death’s castle.

“I don’t think⁠—”

“Marcus needs help. Let me in and you go check on the Devil.” The use of Fen’s title startled me. I’d ceased to think of him that way. She was right. I could see Titus and Daphne battling their Wraith, but I didn’t know where Fen was.

“Fine.” Grabbing her arm, I light-stepped us past the barrier. “Be careful.”

She didn’t answer, already running towards Marcus and his Wraith.

I collapsed the two light walls, hemming them into a dome of light, cast a similar one around Titus, Daphne, and their Wraith, and then used my bond with Fen to light-step to him.

He was two thirds of the way up the stairs, fighting the last Wraith. I’d never seen him fight before, and it took my breath away. His movements were precise and measured, moving smoothly from strike to shield in a rhythm that seemed as natural as breathing. He worked to get above it, so he could drive it towards the others, but it refused to be turned. Instead, it moved backwards, pulling Fen up the stairs rather than down.

I could feel his well of power draining the more I used it and the longer things dragged on. It was already a third gone. Looking down at Titus and Daphne, I watched them dance around their opponent. They held their ground, but they hadn’t made any progress in getting past its defenses. It held them off with ease. We needed something to turn the tide. If we could contain all of them, force them into smaller quarters where they didn’t have as much room to maneuver, we might be able to gain an advantage.

Turning back to the stairs, I conjured a brick wall at the top, cutting off the Wraith as it danced backwards.

Fen seized the opportunity to thrust his sword into the chest of the Wraith who blurred around him, striking him from behind. I winced as claws shredded leather, but Fen didn’t seem fazed. He swung around, knocking the Wraith’s arm with his shield and swinging his sword around to strike at it again.

I watched them exchange blows for a few moments, looking for an opening to step in and help. They moved so quickly, by the time I identified one it had already closed. With no fight training, I was afraid of getting in the way. I needed to find a different way to help drive the Wraiths together.

Looking down at the steps beneath my feet, I realized I didn’t need to drive them anywhere. I sent an image to Fen through our bond, pushing it with an insistence I hoped he’d feel.

His eyes flicked to me as he fought, giving me the smallest nod. Then he leapt into the air, shadows streaming from him.

The Wraith shrieked, reaching for them, eager to gobble them up, but instead of reaching down for his opponent, Fen wrapped them around himself and then attached them to the ceiling where he hung upside down, like a bat. The Wraith cocked its head in confusion, so busy focusing on Fen it didn’t notice me transform the stairs into a slippery incline. They jolted as their feet went out from under them, and they slid all the way to the bottom.

Fen used his shadows to propel himself across the ceiling, dropping down to the floor and raising his shield to defend against the Wraith who was already on its feet and swinging.

Conjuring another light dome around the two of them, I light-stepped into the center of it. My heart pounded in my throat and sweat gathered at my hairline. Fen’s well of power was half gone, and I’d barely contained all of the Wraiths. If we didn’t make progress soon, I wasn’t sure I’d be able to draw enough power to destroy all of them.

Reaching out with both hands, I focused on the floor beneath the two groups on either side of me. Imagining them as free-standing patches, I pulled them towards me, sliding them until the three separate domes of light became one large one and we were all standing within throwing distance. Enough room to fight, but close enough to help one another.

Except enclosing us all in a small area made the Wraiths fight more fiercely. It was as if they’d gotten a fresh burst of energy while the rest of us were starting to flag.

Marcus and Bea stood back to back, shields held tight in front, while their Wraith circled them, hissing and swiping at any exposed limbs.

Titus and Daphne nearly ran into each other, giving their Wraith a chance to get in a couple of good swipes. Each of them let out a hiss of pain. Sparkling red appeared in a slash on Titus’s cheek while the same color stained a line from elbow to wrist on Daphne’s shirt on her sword arm.

Fen and I were also back to back. He struck out with his sword, and I with my hands, but our Wraith ran literal circles around us, moving too fast to catch. I felt ridiculous, and helpless.

“This isn’t working.” I shouted to Fen. “What do we do?”

“Blast them with your power,” he said, panting through his words. His strikes never faltered, but he was tiring.

“I don’t want to hurt anyone.” It was why I hadn’t thrown any bolts or ribbons of light around or simply exploded in one giant burst. The close quarters and speed of the Wraiths made the former too risky and, after nearly immolating myself weeks ago when we assessed what I could do, I wasn’t sure I could manage the latter. Not without destroying everyone around me.

“Listen to your instincts.” He blocked a swipe from the Wraith and parried, landing a rare hit and sending it staggering back a step. “Trust what is.”

“Easier said than done.” My instincts were telling me we were doomed.

A feminine scream startled me from my spiraling.

Marcus lay on the ground, clutching his shield in one hand and reaching for Bea with the other. A mass of sparkling red bloomed on his calf. His sword lay on the floor, forgotten, because the Wraith had Bea in its arms, its mouth almost at her throat.