First Light, page 24
The dagger had clearly found purchase in something, since a garbled yelp followed shortly after it vanished into the trees. Nearly four dozen people stepped into the clearing. Some had sneers and smiles, while a few were painted with unrestrained anger.
Rune continued to stand up. Every muscle in his body seemed to tremble from the effort. Despite that, his breathing changed from imperceptible to something that was surprisingly steady. Jeruul and Dannon stared at him, while Teryn was trying to pull him back down to the ground. Her efforts proved fruitless, regardless of his quaking form.
“Rune, stop! You can’t fight like this.”
Rune looked down at the girl, exposing unfocused and blurry eyes like that of an unconscious man. Stranger than that, they had developed a dull purple ring, glowing around the outside of his hazel irises.
Vincent muttered, “Shit,” after a faint purple mist cascaded from Rune’s body, evaporating the sweat covering him.
Anna stepped protectively in front of Vincent. She seemed unable to decide if she should point her sword at Rune or the bandits that had caught up to them. To make matters worse, she was in no position to accomplish either feat. “Sir, we need to leave. Now.”
Anna pushed Aura into her sword and it glowed in response. It was only in that moment that Jeruul saw a copper-colored vein running down the length of her sword. Like Rune’s? Altered with alderite. A second later, it flickered before the glow stopped. Vincent tried the same with his own weapon, the same happening to him. The few dozen bandits were also looking at each other. Though only a couple were Awakened, they seemed to notice something else strange.
Dannon
Dannon felt as if his entire world had turned inside out. Just yesterday evening, he was joking with his friends around a campfire. They were each excited to advance to D-Rank. Rune had constantly mentioned his leave for Jelmoore after achieving the new rank. At first, the party’s separation seemed so far away, but now that Rune’s D-Rank goal was so close… well it was a matter of time until he left.
The three of them had talked away from their powerful friend and came to an agreement that they would go to the academy as well. While Dannon and Jeruul had no desire to join the school itself, they could still do missions out of Jelmoore and, as a result, continue their band of friends. It was going to be a surprise for Rune, but then all of this had happened.
Right now, that friend stood, weakened, shaking from the effort. Despite that, he appeared stronger than Dannon had ever seen him. His shivering body stood resolute against their pursuers now that they had nowhere else to go. No one was in any condition to run. Everyone was injured, tired, and mentally broken. There was nothing left for them. Dannon was the same… at least, until he saw this.
Dammit, Rune… you just had to rile me up. Dannon smiled, pulling his trusty partner—Gerty—to arms. Just before he could fire a bolt, he was interrupted. Teryn stood from the log she was sitting on and slapped Rune across the face. The sound sent some bandits into an uproarious laughter.
“See! Even she understands, boy. Roll over and submit,” someone shouted.
Dannon’s mouth moved wordlessly, unable to believe that Teryn would choose now of all times to initiate a one-sided lover’s spat. Regardless of its intended purpose, the distraction allowed the other members of their party to stand at the ready without sending the bandits into a frenzy.
Rune’s gaze stayed locked onto the trees. Strangely, it was not the humans that had his undivided—albeit hazy—attention. Dannon slowly approached his friends, Jeruul following him slowly. Following the direction of Rune’s stare, they saw only darkness. Light scarcely permeated the thick canopy above, save for small clearings such as theirs.
By this point, his strange behavior had garnered looks of confusion from the bandits. They looked at each other briefly. Their leader had yet to call the attack. Some of the ones further back had frozen, their eyes wide. The source was unknown, but after a moment, Dannon felt it. There was a chill unlike any other gently settling down upon them. It was unnoticeable at first, but it progressively became more pronounced, until suddenly, it was omnipresent.
Dannon glanced over to Rune and noticed the strange glow subside. The odd mist pouring off his body trickled to a stop. He was still looking out into the darkness, but the blank look from before was now replaced with one of pure terror. Rune pointed towards whatever it was that he had seen or sensed. Following his finger, Dannon witnessed something that caused the chill in the air to reach into his chest and grip his heart.
A shambling creature—humanoid in shape—stepped into the clearing. It was less like walking and more like the creature fell onto each foot, shaking its form. Black rags hung off its miniscule frame. It looked like someone who had died of starvation, with pale skin exposing the shape of nearly every bone beneath it, as if stretched to its limit.
As they observed the creature, Dannon noticed that the skin on its feet, hands, and nose was all but gone, the only thing keeping its skeletal digits attached being desiccated ligaments. In place of its missing eyes were two purple, glowing orbs. A dry, raspy laugh escaped the creature’s non-existent lips, sourced from rotten vocal cords.
Death.
“Wraith…” Vincent muttered.
“Wait? That’s a Wraith?” Dannon asked. His teeth chattered as he spoke. Such a terrifying monster actually stood before them? Wraiths were often believed to be legends told by campfires to scare new members of the Vanguard. However, what was before them was no myth and no legend.
“S-Rank monster,” Anna choked out. She was by far the strongest fighter in the group, but after everything, she had not had sufficient time to recover. Even if she had, it was obvious from her demeanor she could not fight off a creature like this.
The bandits also finally realized the danger. Some shook the fear that kept them rooted in place and fled. Others were still frozen, not even sparing the energy to exhale. It was a special ability of the Wraith. People with low mental fortitude would find themselves unable to move within a small distance of the creature. While Dannon came to grips with the reality of the situation, a field of purple light burst forward from the Wraith’s chest. A solid ring of light erupted around it. The trees within the ring withered at a rapid pace.
As the ring continued outward, it encompassed several bandits. One by one, they began to cough and spit up blood. Their faces grew gaunt while the skin on their bodies tightened around their frames, their muscle mass rapidly shrinking to oblivion. Dozens of victims fell to the ground as human husks. The Wraith clapped its boney hands together, dispersing the ring of death. The other bandits who had been held in place by the creature’s fear field suddenly found their will to run and left the clearing behind. Whatever payday they had been promised was not worth such a horrifying fate.
Dannon watched the scene before them with abject horror. He too had heard tales of Wraiths. He had also known they were real—despite many thinking them just story-time villains—but they were exceedingly rare creatures often found in the Forest of Ruin. Never in his life had he thought he would be confronted by one.
Dannon looked at his friends. Teryn’s hands and legs shook uncontrollably. She looked towards Rune, who was frozen in place, barely breathing, with his unblinking eyes locked on the Wraith. Dannon figured he was under the effect of the Wraith’s fear ability. Teryn took a deep breath, coming up with a plan to help everyone escape. Dannon stood and watched as the young woman steeled her resolve and initiated her Plant-Weaving abilities. The blades of grass beneath the creature began to grow and tangle themselves around its feet. There were no living trees nearby anymore, so she likely could not use any of those as a weapon. It surprised him that the ground remained untouched by the previous attack.
“Run! I have it pinned, even if for a second. So, run!” Teryn shouted.
Vincent, Anna, and the rest of their group quickly turned and rushed back towards the exit of the forest. Teryn stayed behind. Dannon was shocked to action and grabbed his brother by the arm. He and Jeruul moved to follow Vincent’s group, but noticed that Rune remained still. His eyes were locked on the corpses scattered around the Wraith. There’s something else in his eyes aside from fear… Realization, maybe? Why is that?
Teryn’s own thoughts were easier to read: If Rune would not move on his own, then she would just move him. So, she shoved Rune into a set of bushes. Dannon and Jeruul also retreated, trying to break the line of sight between the creature and them. She set her eyes back on the Wraith who stood with its feet tied to the ground by hundreds of thousands of blades of grass. It cocked its head at its captor before taking a step forward. A light appeared around its ankles and turned its plant-based bindings black before they disintegrated into a fine dust. The dark laughter continued as it stepped slowly towards the Volari woman. Every step turned the ground barren.
Dannon and Jeruul finally got to a safe distance, where they felt the creature could no longer see them. Teryn did not notice that they still stayed within a short range. Neither twin was willing to truly leave their friends behind. Rune was still out of the Wraith’s sight. The creature had an amused look on its face—as much as a corpse could look amused, anyway—and was focused solely on her. Dannon, could see a resolute expression on Rune’s own face. Now that the corpses were out of his line of sight, he could clear his mind. He made a decision.
Within seconds, the Wraith had come within striking distance of Teryn, who lunged at it and continued holding it off, even if for only a moment. The Wraith’s skeletal hand shot forward faster than the girl could see or react. Just before it touched her, she was flung to the ground by Rune tackling her from the side. The skeletal hand grasped the space where she once stood.
Rune’s involvement was a call to action which sparked Jeruul and Dannon to join the fight. Damn these two! Dannon rushed back into the clearing with their friends to help hold the monster off. Dannon shot bolt after bolt from his crossbow, not fully willing to engage in close quarters. Jeruul charged straight towards the monster and struck it with his shield, forcing it to take several steps back. The Wraith deflected the next several strikes with mere flicks of its hand. Bolts from Dannon continued to pepper it, but it showed no signs of taking damage, simply letting itself become a pincushion.
Jeruul’s assault continued as Rune pulled Teryn to her feet. He shoved her behind him and readied his own sword, opting to use the enhanced one from his father. Rune then jumped into battle, activating the alderite core at the same time. His weapon hummed to life, brimming with power. With every strike, he slowly chipped away at the bones of the Wraith as it blocked hits, aiming for its vital spots. Both swordsmen were thrown back with a mighty roar followed by a quick shove. Before Jeruul was thrown too far, it lunged toward him and grabbed him by the throat.
“Jeruul!” Dannon screamed. “Let go of him!”
“Corruption…” the Wraith whispered.
The clearing instantly turned still. Despite the whispered voice, everyone heard the word clearly. A sizzling sound emanated from where the Wraith’s hand connected with Jeruul’s neck and a black mist erupted from his mouth. They watched in horror as Jeruul screamed and violently twitched. Dannon was frozen in place as his brother helplessly kicked, punched, bit, and bashed at the Wraith. Jeruul’s movements slowed until he finally went limp. Black ichor dripped from his mouth and nose. The whites of his eyes turned red. His skin became a pasty white like that of a sheet, while the veins in his body turned jet black.
“You fucking monster!” Dannon shouted as he threw the crossbow down and ran toward his brother with his two daggers drawn. You can’t have him! I won’t let you have him! Tears fell from his face as he rapidly closed the distance. “Pulse: Scattershot! Pulse: Overcharge! Pulse: Rapid fire!”
Dannon’s anger pushed his Aura skills well beyond his capabilities. He had never used power like this. His body protested the strain of forcing out so much energy, the wells within his being screaming in defiance. A scattering of small orbs of Aura the size of a human fist, followed by one massive orb the size of a head materialized at once. With a painful scream, Dannon willed them to attack the Wraith who still held his brother within its grasp. He roared once more and five medium-sized orbs stuck somewhere in between the others surged forward.
Jeruul’s unmoving body was placed between itself and him. Dannon knew. He knew Jeruul was gone. Nothing would bring him back. Despite that, his heart was torn to shreds to see his attacks eviscerate his brother’s corpse. The Wraith threw Jeruul’s body to the ground, now peppered with holes of various sizes. The Pulses that missed shattered the dead trees behind the Wraith.
Dannon used the gap created by the discarding of Jeruul to rush closer to the Wraith. Unfortunately, it caught both of Dannon’s hands, holding him in place. “You monster. I’ll kill you. I’ll kill you! If it’s the last thing I do, I will kill you! I will tear you apart. I’ll scatter your bones across the continent. Your time in this world will end, you disgusting sack of bones!” Dannon screamed. Rune joined the attack, rushing the creature as well, trying to keep what had happened to Jeruul from happening again.
“No! Rune! Get back!” Teryn shouted. Rune paused momentarily and leaped backwards. Just as he did, a white blur lunged in between them. Jeruul had jumped off the ground and landed on Dannon’s back. The Wraith tossed them to the side. Jeruul was thrown free from him as they tumbled through the dirt.
He glanced at his brother’s twitching form. They stood together. Where he would once see his brother’s calm, brown eyes, Dannon saw only enraged, red orbs. Jeruul’s healthy skin tone replaced by a near transparent white. “Brother.”
Jeruul’s head twitched to the side, noticing Dannon’s position. The shambling form of his brother slowly approached with a calm expression.
“Brother, are you in there? Please, Jeruul. I need you to answer me. Please.” Dannon’s tears returned, blinding his peripheral vision. “Jeruul. Come on, answer me.”
Hoping that his pleas reached Jeruul, Dannon reached his hand out, grasping the side of his cheek. Faster than he could blink, one of Jeruul’s hands dug into Dannon’s side. Pain consumed him as what was left of his brother sank his teeth into Dannon’s neck. Jeruul’s fingers had morphed into claws, slowly sinking into his flesh. Dannon felt pain as Jeruul’s hands ripped into his body. An uncomfortable warmth covered his chest. The world faded slowly. Darkness consumed him. “Brother. Please.” Dannon gurgled. “Stop.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
Teryn
“Ghoul! Kill it! Kill it now!” Teryn’s legs had long since lost their strength.
She fell to the ground, surrounded by a warm puddle. Rune had already vomited from the horror they witnessed. Dannon hung limply in Jeruul’s clawed hands. His entrails dangled from two gaping wounds in his side. A veritable fountain of blood escaped from the bite wound in his neck, quickly fizzling out as the young man’s body stopped functioning.
Jeruul, now apparently a Ghoul, wheeled around and tossed Dannon’s body to the side. It clicked its jaw a few times, releasing an odd, garbled noise that was a mix between a shout and groan. Rune readied his weapon and buckler for its impending strike. The Wraith seemed content to stand and watch its new thrall attack its former friends, making no moves to attack the remaining party members directly. It exhibited a cruelty and intelligence that one would not normally expect from a monster.
Jeruul’s strength seemed to have multiplied two times over from his transformation. After having regular sparring sessions with him, Teryn could tell that this was not the same person anymore. From how Rune struggled to respond to its attacks, she could tell it moved faster and hit harder. Multiple holes littered its body, but none of them inhibited his movement.
“Teryn, how do I kill it? I don’t know what it means for Jeruul to turn into a ghoul. Tell me! Quick!”
“The head! Take out the h-head!” Teryn shouted back, sobbing.
She knew her words were almost unintelligible. Thankfully, Rune nodded in understanding and shifted his positioning slightly to make counterattacks to the head easier. Claw and sword clashed, but despite his attempts, none of Rune’s attacks could make it through Jeruul’s defenses, even with the altered sword. She didn’t know when it was that Rune had activated his father’s weapon, but thankfully, he had. If not, he might not have lasted this long.
Teryn flashed her eyes and raised her hand. She influenced a patch of grass to catch Jeruul’s foot off guard. She lacked stamina or time to truly bind him, but it was just enough to trip him up, creating a small opportunity for Rune to bash Jeruul in the face with his shield. Jeruul reeled backward with his jaw pointed toward the sky. Before he could recover, Rune slashed his sword towards his neck, severing it cleanly.
The Wraith jumped forward and tore through Jeruul’s headless corpse, having used it as a distraction to keep Rune from seeing its attack. The mist around Rune returned, but with it came increased strength. Rune’s reaction time improved, his strange constitution took effect once more. Where his strikes against the Wraith had barely garnered a reaction before, now with each swing, the creature shook from the impact. Even though it had a face that previously seemed capable only of creepy smirks and sneers, the Wraith now had one that resembled a hint of frustration.
Rune was supposed to have fallen by this point, yet his stubborn desire to live and to protect kept him alive. One of Rune’s strikes was parried, and he was forced to step further away from Teryn in order to dodge a reactionary slash to his abdomen. The Wraith rushed her with an outstretched hand.
