Page 39 of Stone Sentinels

I race toward Pyre. He pulls back on his bowstring, allowing his knuckles to brush his cheek as he aims with eerie precision despite his lack of sight. His bow shimmers like a mirage in the desert. He releases the arrow and it whistles towards its target, striking the archer between the eyes and forcing him to fall from the tree.

“You still approach me with caution even after everything we’ve been through?” Pyre drawls sarcastically. “What is it, my friend?”

“The harpies are attacking and the spirits are sweeping through the lands. I need to help the others or else they’ll be overrun. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. I will seal the portals in the area and join the fight as well. If we die today, then we die together.”

I nod to him and dash back down the hill toward the skirmish, slicing through soldiers with poisonous blades. Kolvar bumps his chest into me by accident and I’m nearly knocked on my ass. “Watch it!” I shout.

But the big man just keeps fighting with a smile on his face. Eilish and Aima hold their own and work together. I move to stand next to them, flanking Eilish with Aima. “Anyone hurt?”

“Just some weird shit with Eilish and Theren, but no one got injured thanks to me,” Aima answers with a big smile.

“What the hell happened between the two of them, anyway?” I ask.

“She won’t talk about it. And I’m not asking. All she said was that Theren isn’t the real Theren. What that means, I don’t know. But I think we’ll find out soon enough.” Aima pulls an axe from the back of a fallen soldier and throws it. The weapon twirls through the air and embeds itself into the chest of another soldier.

Eilish runs to me and quickly kills the elf that attempted to catch me off-guard.

“Baron! I didn’t know where you were!” she says. “I thought you might have been dead.”

“Glad to hear you have so much confidence in my abilities,” I snort as I link my dual-ended daggers with a chain in the midst of the fight. Eilish wipes the sweat from her brow and jumps from Kolvar’s back onto a harpy. The move is bold and reckless, something Dragan most likely taught her. The gargoyle has no consideration for safety whatsoever.

Speaking of Dragan, my eyes flicker over to the cottage as a soldier gets tossed through the window. Shards of broken glass litter the ground and I peer through the darkness of Pyre’s home to see the big brute holding his own against the Unseelie. I’ll have to get Dragan a drink for defending our charge.

Kolvar lifts Aima and launches her at the roof of the cottage. She lands on her feet and tears through the Unseelie archers, covering herself in their blood. When the roof is clear, she returns to us. I give her a clap on the back in appreciation of her aid when something grabs my ankles.

“Fuck!” I snarl, kicking against my attacker. Rolling onto my back, I use all my weight to throw him off-balance before I bash my fist into his face. The Unseelie goes limp and I push him off me in order to stand. My eyes widen when the wave of spirits comes crashing into the Unseelie army within the forest.

“Run!” I yell.

Aima and Eilish look to me as the tortured screams come to a halt. We turn toward the clearing and watch as those still standing in itstop fighting. One by one, those not strong enough to resist the possession morph into hideous beings–monsters. . They attack everything without prejudice.

I suddenly feel myself getting lifted off my feet and I’m carried a few feet before I reach out with my blade and lash at the harpy’s legs. She releases me and I’m thrown towards the cottage. My back hits the wall, and the sound of crunching bones is almost drowned out by my rattling teeth. Eilish runs over and heals me with her power.

I can see how drained she is. “Come on, Baron. The fight is only just beginning.”

Her words cause me to groan as she helps me to my feet. “Yeah, I know. The fucking dragon hasn’t even shown up yet.”

Eilish leaves my side to help Kolvar. The possessed soldiers have inhuman strength, cutting down anyone who stands in their path. Meanwhile, the harpies begin to fight the possessed Unseelie. It’s a bloodbath. My boots squelch on the sodden grass as I run toward the cluster of bodies ramming into one another.

A clap of thunder follows a streak of lightning across the endlessly starry sky, but no clouds are in sight. The swirling galaxies shift above our heads until we’re bathed in darkness and the stars are no more. Rain begins to pour from a black abyss.

The Veil is unhappy.

Puddles cover the ground and I see Pyre moving swiftly through the battlefield, unseen by all except me. When the storm grows stronger, he rises above the fight, floating in the air. He watches carefully, lightning flashing to illuminate his severe expression. His deep chanting rumbles the ground, and I know what he’s preparing for.

The dragon approaches.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

CAMBION

The Veil

The dry winter air burns my lungs as I run through the forest, trying to put some distance between me and everything else. I can’t fight with bound arms.

I hear Theren behind me. The rain blurs my vision, but I sense my brother even through the dense storm.

---