Page 116 of Touched

Pointing downward, I signal to Cyrus that we need to land. He nods, still swinging his ax, decapitating another FaeDorcha as we locate a safe place to land. I stab and gut one on the way down before cutting through the wing of yet another, causing it to plummet toward the carnage below.

“Hey,” I gasp at Cyrus, chest heaving from the exertion in the sky, trying to catch my breath. “Can any of you like… talk to each other through your minds?”

Cyrus’s brow creases as he sarcastically says. “We’re fairies, Callum. Only Kindred can communicate that way. Have you learned nothing?”

Yeah, I knew that.

I shrug, grimacing. “Well, we need to tell the rest that to take these fuckers down, we need to do it in groups. Like the Sylph and the Earth Fae are doing.” My eyes scan the battlefield, taking note that most of the casualties on our side are single Fae who were fighting on their own. “Those with like powers can combine them, working as a team. Making each other stronger. They’re easier to take down that way. No one goes at it alone…"

A haunting shriek fills my ears, stopping my words in my throat and sending ice through my veins. That sound…

In front of us, a FaeDorcha clings to what’s left of her face, her talon-like fingers clawing as her skin melts, peeling from her bones. She falls to her knees, wailing and burning from the inside out. Flames lick at the tattered cloak that once covered the spindly body. Then, the screaming stops, her hands go slack, and she falls face-first into the dirt, landing with a sickening thud.

Sucking in a breath, I glance at Cyrus.

He jerks his chin behind me and mutters, “I think they’ve already figured it out.”

The sounds of battle fill my ears as I conjure hurricane-force winds to catapult FaeDorcha after FaeDorcha around what looks like a scene from one of those human action movies Callum loves so much.

I’ve lost sight of Callum and Cyrus in the chaos. The last I saw of them, they were fighting in the sky above the castle. But I haven’t seen them since.

I don’t have time to locate them as I manipulate the air to help take down and push back the FaeDorcha. Their army seems to have far more casualties than ours, but the smoke, ash, debris, and pandemonium surrounding me makes it hard to accurately tell.

Inhuman screams and screeches fill the air along with everything else. It’s very disorienting.

Suddenly, through the smoke, a small figure huddled on the ground just ahead of me catches my attention. Narrowing my eyes, I realize it’s a fledgling with a Dark Fae hunched over it. It laughs as it sends stream after stream of water over the child’s face, filling its mouth and nose, drowning it. It’s a literal sheet of water. The child thrashes on the ground, frantically slapping at the water, trying desperately to free itself from the torture and get air. His eyes are wide and terrified.

That is a fledgling!

A mere child!

An innocent!

Rage fills my entire being. My skin pulses like the air before a lightning storm. A crazed scream escapes my throat as I focus on the Dark Fae. Its head whips toward me at the fury within the sound. Throwing my hands out before me, I send a lightning bolt straight at its face. Its eyes widen in alarm, but there is no time to deflect or move. The bolt connects and crackles as it makes impact and the body spasms before combusting, spraying the terrified fledgling with dark matter and coating the ground around it.

Its hold on the child is immediately gone and the young fledgling gasps and gurgles as his chest heaves. He coughs up water, and air once again fills his lungs.

Tears fill his eyes and run down his mottled cheeks as I race toward him, still sending out bursts of hurricane-force winds. I hurtle them at any Dark Fae still standing. Anyone it connects with is catapulted through the air before they slam into the ground, trees, debris, or what’s left of the dwellings of Laric. Never to rise and inflict torture again.

The fledgling shrinks back in fear as I reach him. My heart pangs within my chest at his terror… ofme.My face falls and my voice softens as I urgently say, “I’m sorry, little one. I’m not going to hurt you. I’m Aeris. I live here, too. Laric is my home. You’re safe. Come with me. You’ll be safe. We need to stash you until this is over. Come with me. Please. I won’t hurt you.”

He swallows and nods, carefully setting his small hand within mine. Glancing around quickly, I see a small alcove between two burned and caved-in buildings. Wooden beams and large boulders seem to have created the perfect hiding space. I point at it before screaming again and throwing out more savage winds at some charging FaeDorcha. “We must go. Now.”

His eyes widen and he jerkily nods. After swiftly climbing to his feet, we race through the groups of our friends and allies, as they continue to fight.

As we reach the small hole, I see a pair of ember eyes looking out at me. As more of the face becomes visible, I recognize her. “Kassis.” We were fledglings together. She nods at me. Reaching out, she takes the boy’s hand, and quickly pulls him through the opening, pushing him behind her. Her voice is soft, yet strong as she says, “I have him.” The shadows within the space move. Glancing behind her, I see many more children, elderly, and wounded Fae within the tight but sheltered space. She says, “I have all of them.” Her ember eyes flash, sparking as she holds her hand out, creating a small flame within her palm. “No FaeDorcha is getting through me. I promise you that.” The flame dances, growing. Its colors intensify as it reaches the top of the hidden space. Before it does, she closes her hand, extinguishing it instantly.

I grimly smile at her and say, “Thank you, Kassis. Keep them safe.”

She nods again, just a quick dip of her chin, and I turn, glancing around rapidly, making certain no FaeDorcha caught sight of me, giving away the location of the shelter. There doesn’t seem to be many left in the fight, and a great many who are able are taking to the sky in retreat.

A loud yell, and the clashing of metal, reaches my ears. Freezing in my tracks, my head jerks to the right. The scene before me has my blood stalling within my veins. It turns to solid ice.

Oh, hells…

Oh, my gods…

A swarm of FaeDorcha, led by Kalilith, surround Callum and Cyrus. They are fighting back-to-back against the furious evil beings. Cyrus swings his ax violently while Callum slices at them with blades in both hands. The FaeDorcha have modified scythes and long, curved-blade swords dripping with thick, blood in their hands. Kalilith’s freakishly long and jagged sword has an onyx blade with some type of dark green mineral, possibly moldavite, set into the helm. She swings it directly at Callum’s head.

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