Soul Forge (Book One of the Soul Forge series)

Vel braced himself, rolling his neck and stretching his wings wide, beating them a few times to loosen an ache. He turned and glared at Lillian.

“This?” he said, gesturing over his shoulder at the approaching Corrupted. “This is your fault. I hope you remember that.” He blinked and his eyes shifted back to red.

“What are you doing?” Elda choked, pulse thundering as Sypher returned. “Vel said you were depleted. You should be resting!”

“I am, but Cynthia and Abraxos are here together. Look.” He nodded towards the approaching bird and sure enough, a second Behemoth was close behind. “They have a fascination with Vel that goes beyond curiosity. They want him for something. Right now, having him free is dangerous for him.”

“So how will you fight?”

“He’s agreed to work with me. If I truly can’t beat them without giving up control, then I’ll have to let him back out. If that happens, keep your eyes on me. I’ll be dangerous again.” Sypher sighed and placed a kiss on the top of her head. “Be careful, maite. Don’t forget to watch your back.”

Elda’s heart leapt into her throat at the thought of facing the Corrupted in an all-out fight with so little experience, but she drew her bow. She and Lillian moved to position themselves on either side of Sypher. He rose into the air, hovering a few feet above them.

“Can you even take them without your fanged friend?” Lillian asked him warily.

“You try doing half the shit I just did without help,” he snapped. “If I need him, then I need him. It’s that or you die.” Lillian pressed her lips together, scowling irritably.

“Interrupting a lover’s tiff, are we?” Cynthia drawled, her voice carrying on the wind as the Wraiths drew closer. Sypher growled under his breath, his teeth already beginning to sharpen as he fought to hold back Vel’s rage in his weakened state.

Be calm, Vel. Don’t force your way out. Save your strength in case we need you. Elda sent the thought down their bond, hoping it reached the demon.

“Where’s Arden?” the Soul Forge demanded. Despite his anger, he spoke clearly. Elda watched him school his expression into the practiced mask of a soldier, the fire flickering a little brighter in his eyes when he regained some control.

Cynthia smiled a slow, wicked smile and pursed her red lips, studying the Soul Forge like he was an interesting piece of art. Behind her, Abraxos and his own Wraith hovered in brooding silence. Elda saw the mace swinging from his left hand.

“Hi Sypher,” the Witch purred. “Have you missed me?”

“About as much as I miss being stabbed in the eyeballs.”

“Oh, I remember that! That was a fun day.” Elda and Lillian recoiled at the conversational way she discussed torturing him. Cynthia cocked her head at Sypher’s glare. “What? They grew back, didn’t they?”

“Give me Arden or I’ll tear out your throat, Witch.”

“Hmm.” Cynthia tapped her chin thoughtfully. “Nope,” she decided, popping the ‘p’. “He’s all ours. I didn’t think you’d come all this way just to see me. I’m touched.”

“I came all this way to behead you.”

“Oh, don’t tease me,” Cynthia beamed coyly. Her eyes flickered to Elda and her smile became a bored sigh. “Imagine choosing a pampered little Princess to be a Keeper,” she mused. “The Spirits must be losing their minds.”

“Better a Princess than a bitch,” Elda shrugged, unable to help herself. Sypher grinned, showing off his elongated incisors.

Cynthia scowled and launched herself from her Wraith, the shadowy black creature rising up towards the sky as she tried to impale Sypher. He moved to the side at the last second, his hand snaking out lightning fast to grab Cynthia’s collar. Elda’s eyebrows raised as he hurled her right back at Abraxos, the two colliding with a satisfying smack. When he landed beside Lillian, he was still smiling.

“I’ve wanted to do that to her for centuries,” he chuckled.

“Nice throw,” Elda commented, grinning when the Soul Forge winked at her.

The three of them moved in unison, sprinting towards the Corrupted where they were untangling themselves in the sand. Abraxos was on his feet first, swinging his mace with such venom that lightning began to arc from the dangerous spikes, streaking towards them and blackening the ground at their feet. Sypher’s hand raised, fingers flicking towards the mace, and in a second the weapon was coated in thick, gloopy shadows that nullified the electricity.

“Let’s see how Cain fares without his tricks,” Sypher challenged, watching Abraxos try and fail to flick the mess from his Soul Blade.

Cynthia responded by slashing Lazarus through the air, almost catching Lillian with a blaze of poisonous fire and forcing her to dive out of the way. Elda raised her bow, her arrow bursting against the sand with a concussive blast, flinging a wave of dust into the sky that Sypher sent careening towards the Corrupted with a wall of rushing air. They threw their arms up to protect their eyes. He dove, setting his sights on Abraxos and swinging his sword with purpose. His aim would have taken off Abraxos’ head, but Cynthia sliced Lazarus across his forearm and knocked him off course.

Unfazed by the poison, Sypher swapped the sword to his other hand and engaged with her, their weapons clashing in a deadly dance of fire and metal. He turned and caught her across the chin with his boot, snapping her head back but not knocking her down.

Lillian jumped into a portal and appeared behind Abraxos, intending to cleave him in half with her katana. He turned at the last second and kicked her legs out from under her, raising the mace to smash her skull. Elda fired an arrow that burst against his back and threw him off his feet. The Fae scrambled up to rush after him.

A shout from above drew their attention and Julian dropped from the sky with an excited holler, landing squarely on Abraxos’ shoulders and biting into his throat. The elf let out a strangled cry and wheeled away, slapping at the Vampire frantically. Cynthia narrowed her eyes and jumped backwards, keeping herself out of harms reach as her Wraith swooped down and caught her. Sypher gave chase immediately, driving his blade through the second enormous bird to leave Abraxos without his mount.

Julian grunted, electricity sizzling through him as soon as Cain was freed of the gloop. Abraxos had buried the spikes in Julian’s shoulder, knocking him from his perch but not leaving him out of action. Yani dropped to the ground from Syd’s back a second later, standing shoulder to shoulder with Lillian and Julian to face off against the male Corrupted.

Syd nickered at Elda and she understood. She jumped into the saddle, clamping her legs around Syd’s middle. The demon horse kicked off and took to the air, chasing eagerly after Sypher as he circled Cynthia’s giant mount, trading blows of magic with her and hacking chunks from her feathered companion. As Elda drew near, she saw both of them had sustained several deep slash marks. Sypher’s breathing was heavy, but he was determined.

Elda took aim and released an arrow of pure light right at the face of the giant bird demon, watching as fire ignited its shadowy feathers while it was focussed on the Soul Forge. It screeched and shook its head, blinded by flames. Syd dodged when it careened towards the ground, dipping into a steep dive and banking hard to the left. Elda was thrown to the side, but she managed to cling to the saddle with one hand until Syd righted herself. The crash of the impact below was loud and another spurt of dust shot into the air, showering those on the ground with sand.

Elda turned to see Sypher dangling Cynthia in the air by her throat, Lazarus stuck blade-down in the dunes below them. She was vaguely aware of the sound of hooves on sand approaching as she watched them, Syd hovering cautiously above the exchange.

“This is your last chance,” Sypher ground out between sharpened teeth. “Tell me where Arden is before I tear out your throat. You’re outnumbered and outmatched.”

“That’s what you think,” Cynthia coughed out, a grin on her face even though she was being strangled. Her hands gripped Sypher’s wrist to try and lift some of the pressure from her throat. She swung her legs up suddenly, snapping a boot into Sypher’s chest, her body twisting lithely out of his grip. She caught his ankle as she dropped, sticking two fingers in her mouth and letting out a shrill whistle that seemed to freeze the very air around them.

Sypher’s head whipped towards the rubble where the mountain once stood, his face going slack as soon as his eyes hit the horizon. Cynthia dropped the shorter distance to the ground and landed on her feet, the sand cushioning her fall. The Soul Forge looked up at Elda and her stomach flipped when Vel was given control right before her eyes. He shot up to meet her, flying close so she could hear him.

“Stay in the air,” he commanded, his voice half-hiss, half-worry. “If you touch the ground, you die.” And then he was streaking towards the pile of crumbled orange rock, his wings beating so hard she was certain it had to hurt him. Elda had no idea where he was finding the energy to continue, but she was certain it would only be a matter of time before his well ran dry.

Cynthia was cackling happily, helping Abraxos fend off his three attackers with vicious swipes and slashes of her poisonous Soul Blade. Gira and Clover were approaching on their horses only thirty metres away, kicking up plumes of sand in their wake, but still too far out to help their friends. Elda didn’t have time to wonder how they’d all reached the battlefield so quickly.

“Something is coming!” she yelled at them, straining to be heard over the wind. Syd swooped down to circle them so they could hear the warning. “Sypher said to stay off the ground! You have to get rid of the horses!”

“Vampires can shadow walk!” Julian called back, hands cupping his mouth to shout back between dodging strikes from Abraxos. “It’s hard work, but we’ll be fine!”

“I have my portals!” Lillian added. Elda nodded and the tulpar demon circled back with barely a nudge from her. She stuck an arm out and Gira leapt, catching hold of her forearm and swinging up onto the back of the tulpar demon just in time for Vel to let out the biggest display of magic Elda had ever seen.

He hovered above the enormous mound of rubble, arms outstretched, wings beating steadily to keep him in place as he combined his elemental skills of earth and air, manipulating shards of rock and a torrent of sand. It became a giant wall of hurtling debris and brutal gales, designed to keep away whatever was coming. Even from a distance, Elda could see the effort it took to maintain control of two elements to such a degree at the same time, but Vel didn’t falter.

Two more Wraith demons flew high enough to clear the top of his barricade despite his best efforts, one of them breaking off to swoop towards the small group like a storm cloud. Elda lifted her Soul Blade and took a deep breath, reaching out to Irileth to ask for her strength. The energy of the Spirit poured into her immediately and she pulled the string back on her next inhale, coalescing another arrow of pure light. She paused, waiting for the beast to pass directly overhead before she released her breath and the arrow with it, shattering the shadowy creature into a shower of ash.

Gira let out a triumphant holler that was echoed by the Vampires, but Elda wasn’t ready to celebrate. She saw Yani shoo the horses away to keep them safe while Clover, Julian and Lillian attacked the Corrupted. They moved with dogged determination for as long as they were able to keep their feet on the ground, but soon the second flying demon was attacking Vel.

Elda aimed and fired, but her arrow missed its mark and exploded harmlessly against the sand. The Wraith opened a deep slash across Vel’s chest, knocking him out of the sky. His tsunami of rock and sand crumbled, the huge chunks crashing back to the ground to bury dozens of writhing black things.