Heartrender, page 27
“They’re frozen in time,” Silas said at last. “Remember, Regno is home to the timeweavers.” Lyle nodded, unable to tear his eyes away from the huddle of people. Silas marched past Lyle, gently pulling him away from the scene. “We have to keep going. We don’t know how long Ophidian has frozen these people in time. But we do need to stay focused on our mission of defeating him.”
Nodding again, Lyle rejoined Silas, and they continued their trek through the village.
More frozen people decorated the desolate village as Lyle and Silas wove through the buildings. Some were hiding behind walls; others were walking in the pathways. It was like a picture, frozen in time.
The homes and buildings of the village eventually opened into a vast plain. Addie’s heart trembled with fear as Silas recognized the image from the possible future. Placing his hand on his chest, he banished his fear. He wouldn’t allow himself to be afraid.
Lyle stood next to Silas, adjusting his spectacles before summoning his blade and axe to his hands. “Ready?”
Silas took a deep breath and sent a prayer to the Heavens before he pulled the wooden box from the bag on his belt. Holding it high, Silas yelled. “If you want to live, show yourself!”
Lyle and Silas waited, armed and ready for the monster that had cursed their lives. When nothing happened, Silas placed his hand on the box. Golden light spun around it before it clicked open. Gritting his teeth, Silas reached in and grasped Ophidian’s black heart in his hand. It was cold and hard, weighing as heavy as the boulders on the beach. Black tendrils wrapped around his wrist, but the heart hissed, and the shadows sprang away.
Silas sneered at the heart. He was no longer vulnerable to Ophidian’s darkness. Addie, Eman, and his parents were still protecting him.
Silas squeezed the heart, pouring his fury and pain into his fingertips. For once, he wished something would be easy and he could crush Ophidian’s heart with his hand. But it was so hardened and blackened by evil, it was indestructible.
“Well, well, well, look who we have here,” Schism purred, appearing in a swirl of smoke before Lyle. “Come to ask for more information? You know I can give you plenty.”
Lyle pointed his blades at Ophidian’s second in command, causing the grotesque monster to cackle.
“Where’s Ophidian?” Silas demanded.
“Ah, the little king.” Schism sauntered toward Silas, his red eyes assessing his armor. He clucked his tongue. “Dressing like a warrior doesn’t mean you are one.”
Silas squeezed the heart again, knowing it would never shatter by his hand. “Where is Ophidian?”
“It’s not very polite to ignore people, Silas.” A bolt of lightning zapped, and Dacenda appeared next to Schism. She flicked her blonde braid over her shoulder, showcasing her midnight armor. “They might get jealous.”
Lyle tensed in Silas’s periphery. Although this was the woman who slaughtered his mother, Silas knew Lyle wouldn’t attack. Not yet.
“Where is Ophidian?” Silas boomed once more.
A fresh haze of darkness veiled over the Land. Silas’s eyes darted all around. The Beast was here.
“Are you sure you want to see me so soon?” Ophidian’s smooth voice echoed across the plain.
Schism and Dacenda smirked at Silas as if they already knew how this fight would end.
“I’ll end this battle before it can begin,” Silas yelled back.
Ophidian cackled. “Oh, little king, you and I both know you can’t destroy my heart on your own.”
The Beast appeared in his human form in the center of the plain. He sat poised on his skull throne, one slender leg draped over the other. Black slacks and a matching shirt created his attire, but no armor adorned his limbs. A wicked smile slid across his lips, his yellow eyes beaming.
He placed his thin finger to his temple, causing the serpent tattoo to squirm up his forehead. “No, no, I strictly remember you need three people. But, alas, I killed one, so now you only have two.”
Silas stiffened but didn’t let the words pierce him. Despite Lyle’s earlier insistence that Eman was slain, Silas refused to believe it. After all, he had just spoken with Eman days ago. Still, he wavered on replying.
“Yes, little king.” Ophidian stood from his chair as a black mass in the distance descended on the plain. His army was coming. “And here is your second of the trio of almes.” Ophidian snapped his long fingers, and a black cloud spiraled at his feet.
Silas’s thoughts stopped. His breath stopped. And, for a moment, his heart stopped.
“No!” Lyle screamed.
The black cloud threw a body to the ground.
Silas’s lips parted; his mind and body paralyzed.
No.
This couldn’t be happening.
Addie’s motionless body rolled before Ophidian’s feet.
CHAPTER 37
ADDIE
Shadows constricted around me, slithering up my torso, latching around my neck. Everything was dark. My power, gone. I didn’t know if I’d be able to make it out of this alive. I didn’t want to die. Not yet. Not before I could see Lyle, Claire, and Silas one last time …
CHAPTER 38
SILAS
Dropping Ophidian’s heart, Silas sprinted toward Addie’s body, shoving Schism and Dacenda out of the way. He raced down the bowl-shaped plain, despite the fact it made him a huge target. But he didn’t care. He wouldn’t lose Addie. Not this time.
The shadowed mass of Ophidian’s army charged. Siti, phagos, a hybrid of both, giant locusts, and malum hurled themselves toward Silas. But he didn’t care. He had to save Addie.
Lyle screamed for him to stop, but Silas didn’t turn back. Ophidian’s monsters circled him, and Silas met them head-on. Wielding his sword, he plunged the tip into the first siti that attacked, spilling black blood across the barren ground.
Silas allowed his weapon to guide his attacks. With each swipe, he drew closer to Addie. Had she united the Magisters? If she had, how had Ophidian captured her?
Silas lunged for Addie, but a swirl of gray light speared him in the side. Grunting, he rolled to the ground and pounced back, ready to attack.
“So, you’re the Rexus?” a pale man with sunken golden eyes and greasy black hair drawled. He sat atop a large locust with soulless black eyes and buzzing wings. “I thought you would command a grand army.” The pale man glanced around, then gave a nonchalant shrug. “It seems no one believes in you.”
Silas clenched his jaw, tasting dirt on his tongue. The golden eyes of this man meant he was a timeweaver, but this man clearly sided with Ophidian. He must be one of the fallen timeweavers from the Beginning Battle.
No one believes in you, the timeweaver’s words echoed in Silas’s thoughts, but he forced them away, praying a miracle would happen. Only Addie was bonded to the Twelve Magisters. Only she could summon them, not Silas.
“Silas,” Lyle called through the screeches and grunts of terrifying creatures. He split his sword in two and slashed one blade through a locust and the other through a phagos. “Where’s your helmet?”
Silas focused on the timeweaver, anticipating his next move. He had been so caught up with planning to catch Ophidian off guard, Silas had forgotten his helmet in the linter. Tightening his grip around his sword, Silas tried to dodge the timeweaver’s next attack, but failed. His side screamed from the hit. Silas clenched his teeth. Where was his shield? Had he forgotten that in the linter, too?
His confidence wavered. How could he command an army and defeat Ophidian if he couldn’t even remember to arm himself?
“Your comrade is wise,” the timeweaver said as Lyle barely escaped the jaws of a siti-phagos. “Without your helmet and shield, your armor is incomplete, leaving you vulnerable to attacks like this.” Streams of gray smoke spurred from the timeweaver’s hands.
Silas wielded his sword to deflect the blow, but the smoke darted to the left and wrapped around his body. The smoke pinned Silas’s arms to his sides, pushing the hilt from his fingertips. Anger, frustration, but most of all, fear, thundered in his chest. How could he have lost already?
“My lord wants you to watch as he takes your throne. Seeing as you were too careless to complete your armor before battle, you’re not fit to be the Rexus anyway.” The fallen timeweaver pulled the smoke like a leash, thrusting Silas’s body forward.
Silas struggled against the thick smoke, the shame in Addie’s heart building. As the timeweaver yanked him closer, Addie’s limp body came into view. Ophidian loomed over her, his eyes hungry.
“Our guest of honor has arrived!” Ophidian bellowed, extending his arms. The dark creatures quieted their snarls. Lyle was soon propelled in the air, caught in a thick plume of smoke adjacent to Silas’s. Ophidian quirked a brow at Lyle. “You’re still alive?” The Beast flicked a hand in Lyle’s direction. “It doesn’t matter anyway. Your heart is useless to me.”
Lyle thrashed and growled, an ancient tongue streaming from his lips before the smoke gagged him, muffling his words.
The army of creatures and fallen timeweavers and heartmenders surrounded Ophidian. Their groans and wails sounded almost giddy as they waited for the entertainment.
Ophidian snapped his fingers, and a suit of black, shining armor rippled over his lean body. He grinned and raised his arms again, his wide yellow eyes taking in the crowd. “For millennia, I have collected and nurtured hearts so that you”—he pointed to the malum—“could gain your hearts’ desires. Have I succeeded?” The grunts, roars, screeches, and buzzing from the various monsters filled the otherwise silent Land.
“And we were doing well,” Ophidian continued, sauntering toward Silas with a scowl. “Until an unwanted irritant forced his way into my realm.” The Beast unleashed his black claws and slapped Silas’s cheek.
Silas clenched his jaw, refusing to give the Beast the satisfaction of his cries. He had to think of something. Ophidian couldn’t take Addie. After fighting so hard to keep her safe and out of harm, Silas couldn’t let it end this way. He wouldn’t let it end this way.
Puncturing Silas’s skin with his claws, Ophidian grabbed Silas’s chin and sneered into his face. The terrible odor of death polluted the air.
“How far did your allegiance with Eman get you?” His grip tightened, threatening to break Silas’s jaw. “In your time of need, was he ever there? Where is he now? I don’t see him here with you.”
“Eman has always aided me, and he always will,” Silas replied, glowering at the Beast.
Ophidian released Silas’s jaw and slapped him again. Pained seared across Silas’s cheek from the fiery claws. This time, Silas couldn’t hold back the cries. He jerked away, hearing the sizzle of his flesh melting. Silas gagged from the stench of his skin rotting from his bones. Yet as he tried to tend to his wound, the smoke around his body tightened. After a few short minutes, Silas could barely breathe.
“Eman is not here!” Ophidian yelled to the crowd as he strode to Lyle, who was struggling against the smoke binding him. Ophidian extended his claws and sliced Lyle across the stomach. Bright blood spread beneath Lyle’s armor. “He is dead and gone. A fool.”
A muffled scream released from Lyle’s lips, but no one seemed to care.
Ophidian made his way back to where Addie lay. He cast a disgusted look at her. “This one was a fool, as well, believing she was actually worth something.” Ophidian snapped his fingers, and Dacenda appeared beside him.
“Get away from her,” Silas screamed.
“My dear.” Ophidian took Dacenda’s hand and gave it a kiss. “Are you ready to become the warrior and queen you always wanted to be?”
A malicious grin curled Dacenda’s lips before she cast a pitying look at Silas. “I tried to warn you.”
“Let us begin!” Ophidian roared before his body twisted and grew until he transformed into the beast he truly was.
Glowing yellow eyes the size of moons peered down at the army. Cracks snapped from the Beast’s bones as his body bulked into a giant animal with enormous arms and legs, all four limbs tipped with black claws. A long, sharp tail protruded from his back, adorned with shining black spikes.
Silas’s blood ran cold as Ophidian’s neck elongated until he had become a true nightmare.
The Beast extended one of his arms and scooped up Addie’s small body.
“No!” Silas cried.
He thrashed against the smoke, desperately trying to break free. Twisting his neck, Silas tried to find Lyle, praying he had escaped. But Lyle flew above him, tossed from one monster to another like a rag doll.
“Let us begin a new era, one in which darkness reigns.” The Beast’s forked, red tongue slithered between his obsidian lips as he spoke.
Silas commanded his legs to move as Ophidian’s black claw extended toward Addie’s chest, puncturing a hole where her radiant heart lay. But Silas’s legs stayed planted on the ground. He was helpless. Worthless. What was the use in succeeding through all of his other tests if he was doomed to fail the most important one of all?
Just then, a shining object jolted through the air, striking one of Ophidian’s large yellow eyes. The Beast roared, retracting his hand from Addie’s chest as he reared back.
“Unhand the Bellata or suffer our wrath!” a loud, feminine voice demanded.
Hope emerged in Silas’s chest as he spun around. Seated upon a large, white horse with wings was Asenav. Her light-blue Magister’s cloak had been replaced with shining blue armor as she wielded her mace. Dark cerulean swirls adorned her temples and forehead, accentuating her fierce scowl focused on the monster below.
To her right and left stood the other nine Magisters, each clothed in their Lands’ colors and armor as they held their almes, ready for battle. Behind them roared their armies. Silas’s confidence soared as he saw Lyle, now freed from the monsters, and the people of Barracks behind him, recognizing him as their new Magister.
The shining object that had pierced Ophidian’s eye returned to the hand of a boy not much older than Addie.
“Rexus!” Asenav bellowed, pointing her mace toward Silas. The tendrils of her golden hair whipped with the oncoming wind. “Save the Bellata!”
The power of her command invigorated Silas’s spirit. With a yell, he broke free of the smoke. He was a fool to have forgotten pieces of his armor, but he wouldn’t allow his mistake to hurt Addie.
Like a beacon in the dead of night, Silas’s sword returned to his hand and gleamed a crimson light. Without stopping, he clutched it in his palm and sprinted toward the Beast.
Ophidian’s army immediately blocked Silas’s path, but he didn’t care. The sword sent out a beam of death each time he swung it, annihilating its victims. Yet, the more Silas cut, the more enemies came. The timeweaver from before returned, his giant locust spurting red saliva that melted the earth beneath Silas’s feet.
Silas jumped out of the way and stabbed the locust in the eye before twisting around and decapitating it fully. Rolling from the monster’s body, the timeweaver extended his hands to attack. Silas swung his blade, when a spiked spear impaled the timeweaver in the chest.
Sirhc jogged to the timeweaver and dislodged his spear before facing Silas.
“You have done well, my king,” the Magister of Ratcha said with a bow.
His body was covered in the same thick metal from the linters. Ropes wrapped around his waist, tying off in diverse knots. Sirhc’s temples were adorned with the same blue swirls as Asenav and he grinned widely.
“Save the Bellata.”
Thankful for the help, Silas clapped Sirhc on the back and rushed toward the Beast once more.
As he fought through the creatures, Silas noticed how Ophidian had stopped extracting Addie’s heart. But why?
Propped in the air, upon a winged horse, a shadow of Asenav sat with her eyes closed, as if meditating. Silas stared, amazed, as Asenav’s actual body fought below, impaling malum with every swing of her mace. Remembering the Magister’s power to read emotions, he wondered if she was somehow stopping Ophidian from killing Addie.
Silas sliced off a siti’s legs before catching another view of Addie. Her arms and legs were flailing. She was still alive and fighting.
Tears misted his eyes as he watched the beautiful woman beat and claw at the black hand. Love poured from his heart as he raced forward, but then stopped. Where was her alme? For her to use her full power, Addie needed her alme.
Glancing down at his own alme, Silas knew there was only one thing to do.
“Addie!” Silas screamed, running toward the Beast’s leg. “Catch!” Rearing back, he flung his sword at the giant claw, praying he didn’t miss.
CHAPTER 39
ADDIE
My head throbbed and my lungs burned, hungry for clean air. Opening one eye, I found myself in the grasp of a giant monster. A cross between a snake and a dragon.
Ophidian.
He glowered at me with his menacing yellow eyes. I hated those eyes.
My heart switched to offense as power pumped through my veins. I didn’t know where my alme was, so I had to make do without it. Igniting my hands, I pounded into the clawed fist, smashing my bones together. It was strange how Ophidian didn’t react at all. It was as if he were frozen.
“Addie!”
The voice burned through my ears straight into my heart. Silas? He was here?
“Catch!”
I twisted my neck to see a red sword soaring through the air, spinning straight for me. The blade landed perfectly in my grasp. At least Silas had good aim.
The cries of the raging battle alerted my senses, and I focused on the monster before me. Reacting on instinct alone, I clutched the hilt as Silas’s power entwined with mine. With a cry, I stabbed the blade into Ophidian’s wrist. The Beast neither roared nor wailed, but opened his grip, freeing me from his grasp.
