Page 45 of Unseen Eye
“Enough!” I shout, my voice cracking through the tension between us. “Garet, if you don’t walk away right now, I will impale you with this sword and not feel an ounce of regret.”
A smirk tugs at Callon’s lips as he approaches, his tone low and teasing. “I wouldn’t test her if I were you. She’s quite the evil little thing.”
I turn to face him, pointing my sword in his direction. “And you,” I begin, narrowing my eyes, “stop calling me that, or you’re next.”
Garet shoots me one last sad look before he turns and heads toward his father, now fully armored.
Callon shifts back into soldier mode, his expression hardening. “They’re coming from the south. I don’t know how many, but there are a lot.” He pulls a dagger from his boot, identical to the one I’ve seen before. “Take this,” he says, pressing it into my hand. “Focus on the hellhounds. You know how to handle them. The shadowfiends are trickier—magic only kills their shadows. And stay close to Izzy.”
“I don’t need a babysitter,” I snap, my grip tightening on the dagger.
“I know,” he says with a wink. “But maybe she needs one.” With that, he turns and heads toward the incoming horde, his form vanishing into the chaos.
Izzy yells after him. “Try to save some for the rest of us, jackass!”
The night explodes into chaos as shadows slither from the darkness beyond the castle walls, their forms shifting. Torches flicker wildly, casting eerie, dancing light on the battlefield as the first wave of hellhounds breach the perimeter, and the sharp clang of swords being drawn fills the air.
At the forefront, Baron’s voice cuts through the noise. “Hold the line! Shields up! Reinforce the southern wall! We cannot let them breach the inner courtyard!”
The gnomes, small but fierce, stand their ground. With a sweep of their hands, jagged walls of earth surge upward, blocking the creatures’ path. Fire burst from their palms, incinerating shadowy creatures in an instant.
Drystan moves through the fray like a phantom. His twin blades flashing as they slice through hellhounds. In the storm of chaos, his calm is unnerving—a predator stalking its prey.
The battlefield is a frenzy of shifting shadows and frantic fighting. The southern wall collapses in a deafening crash, dragging defenders down with it. Hellhounds pour through the breach, snarling and ravenous, their teeth flashing in the dim light. But they aren’t the only things emerging from the darkness. I glimpse other creatures—nightmares and darklings. The darklings, I vaguely recall from the library, are like twisted, insect-like swarms, only much larger, more lethal.
I search for Emmet’s red hair among the fighters, panic gripping my chest. He’s not there. Keep moving. No time to fall apart now.
A nightmare charges—its mane a flickering fire, claws like molten steel. I swing my blade, severing its head with a desperate strike. It hits the ground, but more are coming.
“Izzy!” I shout as I dodge another darkling’s attack. “Where are they all coming from?” My voice trembles with the realization that we’re fighting more than just a normal battle.
In the distance, Izzy unleashes a gust of wind, shredding a shadowfiend into ash. “They didn’t tell you?” she shouts, barely pausing as she cuts down another foe.
“The gate,” I gasp, realization hitting hard. “It’s open.”
“Yeah, welcome to the abyss!” Izzy spits, her irises glowing bright.
I barely register another hellhound lunging at me. My sword cuts through it mid-leap, but the adrenaline isn’t enough to quell the icy dread creeping through my veins.
The stench of smoke and blood thickens around me. The clash of steel, the snarls of beasts, and the screams of the wounded fill the air. But I can only think of one thing: how much worse can this get?
Callon tears through the battle like a force of nature. His sword crashes down on creatures with brutal efficiency, leaving a trail of destruction behind him. Aether sparks in the air, incinerating anything that dares to come near him. He’s a hurricane of power, his focus unbreakable.
Nearby, Garet and Leigh move in tandem. Garet’s sword flashes in the firelight, cutting down attackers with fierce determination. Leigh is a whirlwind, her twin daggers dancing through the shadows with deadly. Even Baron, whose usual stoic demeanor is replaced by a ferocity I rarely see, slashes through the enemy.
But no matter how many we kill, the shadows keep coming. Relentless, they slip past defenses and strike with extreme speed. Guards fall, and the weight of the enemy begins to crush us. Bodies litter the ground, blending into the darkness as the battle rages on.
I throw myself into the thick of it. The hem of my dress tangles around my legs, and without a second thought, I hack it off, freeing myself to move.
Callon’s voice cuts through the chaos. “What happened to staying back?”
“You looked like you were having too much fun,” I yell, ducking a swipe from a hellhound. “Izzy’s helping in the rear.”
I barely catch sight of a nightmare leaping toward me. Before I can react, the ground ripples and aetheric chains snap up, catching the creature mid-air.
“Woman, you’ll be the death of me,” Callon grumbles, already focused on another cluster of darklings
Baron’s voice cuts through the chaos, commanding and clear.“Reinforce the western flank! We need more elementals on the walls! Don’t let them regroup!”
