Page 119 of The Last Syphon

She threw another shield up. The man stabbed at her shield, and just like before, the blade pierced through her magic. Luckily, not enough to hit her or Prince Walder, but then the man curved the blade upwards, slicing through her shield like a knife through butter.

Inara switched tactics. Whatever those blades were, they were capable of cutting into her magic, so barriers were not the way to go.

Prince Walder turned, a thunderstorm of anger rolling from him. A pulse of pure magic exploded out from the centre of his chest, knocking everyone around him off their feet. Everyone except her, his magic completely passing through her.

The music cut off and was quickly replaced with screams of terror from over a dozen different people, running in every direction. Stampede was the only word Inara could think of to describe it. She’d seen chaos before. Mayhem.

But nothing like this.

Every time Inara tried to move, she was almost bulldozed over, people rushing past her to try to get to safety. The ones lucky enough to have a Shielder were instantly protected, golden barriers popping up all over the place. Some disappeared in an instant. Transporters. Inara glimpsed Kronan clasp Princess Phaedra’s hand and run, shoving people out of his way. Larissa hesitated, her gaze whipping from her designated Charge to Prince Walder. Her Charge was Lord Villani. He barked something at her. With pursed lips, she wrapped her shield around them, and they took off.

There were more men attacking, running straight for Prince Walder. His sword was drawn, already coated in blood. His Elite Guard were trying to get to him, but the flood of people between them was making it nearly impossible.

Inara called on her axes and joined the battle. Whoever these men were, they were strong and well prepared. She wasn’t sure how many of them there were. They were dressed as partygoers. People who must have attended the ball. There wasn’t time to think about anything except attacking and defending.

She ran up to Prince Walder’s side and raised her axe to block a knife strike. Like before, the blade cut through her magic in an instant. Cursing, she let the axes fade and sent out a strong concussive burst. Her shield slammed into the assailant, sending him flying.

With a wave of his hand, Prince Walder sent out shards of ice from his palm. They smashed into another attacker, slicing into his body like arrowheads. The man fell, and another took his place. A torrent of fire came shooting towards them. Inara summoned her shield to protect them, a bright, golden force field encircling them. The fire clashed against her shield. Pressure built in her head, but she ignored it, keeping the shield in place.

The man was in front of them, both hands up, raging hot fire pouring from his palms. More pressure hit her from behind. She glanced over her shoulder, seeing two men hacking at her shield with those fucking knives.

They had to be enchanted with something. She was sure of it.

Prince Walder jumped, leaving the safe confines of her shield and appearing behind the men in an instant. He swung his sword, decapitating them both in one swing. He jumped again, this time materialising behind the Firestarter. He rammed his sword straight through his chest, teeth bared in rage.

The fire instantly dissipated. She dropped her shield.

“Inara!”

She whipped around, seeing Felix trying to get to her, but the overwhelming crowd of people trying to escape kept pushing him back and back.

“Go! Get out of here! Just go!”

Her syphon magic beat at her skin, desperate to be released. Desperate to take power from the people daring to hurt her. She kept a tight grip on it, not allowing it to gain traction within her.

A terrible feeling ran down her spine. She spun back around. Time slowed. She saw the blade too late. Sharp and glittering, it was a heartbeat away from piercing her chest.

Suddenly, the man was plucked right off the ground by huge, terrifying talons. Fraener roared, flying upwards, his back legs holding the man by his shoulders. He was larger this time, double the size of an ox, his red scales darker, as if a symbol of his enraged mood. He threw the man high into the air. The man screamed, his hands clutching at nothing but air as he torpedoed down towards the ground. Her Guardian thought a death like that was far too good for him. Instead, he swooped down and clamped his sharp teeth into his torso. With barely a movement, he ripped the man in half. His body, now split in two, rained down around them, blood spraying.

Thank you.

Fraener’s mind brushed against hers in support.

More hysterical screams hit the air.

All around her, men were plucked off their feet by Fraener and Tydus. They were launched into the air by one dragon, only to land in the jaws of the other, their bodies being shredded underneath the powerful onslaught of their impenetrable teeth. They worked perfectly in sync with one another, flying around the room with an expertise that only came from centuries of experience. Their wings curved and sliced through the air. Their bodies disappeared and reappeared at will. One by one, they ripped the attackers off the ground and hurled them to their deaths. It was utterly entrancing to watch.

Inara glimpsed a figure appear behind the prince out of thin air. He raised his knife.

“Move!”

Prince Walder jumped.

Inara didn’t see where he went. She didn’t have the time to look. Her magic hummed to life in her veins. She commanded her shield to take shape into the form of a disc, and she threw it without hesitation. It sliced through the air. The man only had a second to widen his eyes in shock before the disc sliced right through his neck. His headless body fell to his knees first before toppling over. Blood poured out all around him, forming a giant puddle.

Prince Walder appeared in front of her. She sucked in a breath, momentarily shocked. If she didn’t know any better, Inara could have sworn death itself had taken form inside him. His violet eyes burnt with so much rage, they were glowing. Blood stained his skin, dripping down his face.

He thrust his sword, stabbing a man who had been standing behind her, then he was gone again, jumping away.