Chapter 25 Blood and Ruin
The First tore through the palace like a natural disaster.
We heard it behind us. Breaking stone. Killing guards. Its laughter echoing through corridors like a death knell.
"The throne room!" Kael shouted. "Defensible position. We make our stand there!"
We ran. Aldric and his remaining guards with us. Lyra directing palace guards to evacuate civilians. Rowan appearing from somewhere with half-bloods armed and ready.
Everyone converging on the throne room because nowhere else was safe.
The First's scream shook the walls. Closer. Always closer.
We burst through the throne room doors. Started barricading them with furniture. With magic. With desperation.
"It will not hold," Aldric said. "That creature tore through Shadowborn seals like paper. Furniture will do nothing."
"Then we fight," Kael said. "We hold it here until Sera can figure out how to seal it again."
"I cannot." My voice was hollow. "Voss drained too much of my power. The seals require Shadowborn magic I do not have anymore."
"Then we die here." Rowan checked his weapons. "At least we die fighting."
"No one is dying." I turned to Aldric. "You said you researched breaking bonds. That means you studied Shadowborn magic. Blood magic. How much do you know?"
"Enough. Why?"
"Because I need to reverse what Voss did. Pull my magic back. But I do not know how."
"It would require a ritual. Blood. Sacrifice." Aldric's eyes narrowed. "And it would be agonizing.
The magic was torn from you. Pulling it back means tearing it from him."
"Voss is still in that chamber. We passed him on the way here." Kael's voice was ice. "We go back. Take what is ours. Kill him for his treason."
"The First is between us and him," Lyra said. "We would have to fight through it to reach Voss."
"Then we fight through it."
The doors exploded inward.
The First walked in. Leisurely. Like it had all the time in the world.
"There you are," it purred. "Running. Hiding. Like prey." Its too-many eyes fixed on me. "But you cannot hide from me, little Shadowborn. I can smell your blood. Taste your fear."
"You can taste this too." I threw shadows at it. Everything I had left.
The creature laughed. Batted them away like insects. "Weak. So weak now. That traitor did his work well."
It lunged.
Kael met it. Blade flashing. The steel passed through shadow-flesh and actually cut. Drew black blood.
The First screamed. Surprised. Hurt.
"Blessed silver," Kael said. "Dipped in Shadowborn blood before we left the vault. It can hurt you."
"Clever. But not enough." The First's claws raked across Kael's armor. Dented it. Drove him back.
Aldric attacked from the other side. His blade also blessed. Also deadly. The First had to defend. Had to actually try.
"It can be hurt!" Rowan shouted. "Everyone with blessed weapons, attack!"
A dozen guards charged. Not all made it. The First was fast. Vicious. It tore through three before the others could land blows.
But those blows hurt it. Made it bleed. Made it slow down.
"Sera!" Lyra threw me a dagger. "Cut yourself. Feed your blood to the throne. It is made of blood crystal. Shadowborn magic. It might amplify what you have left!"
I ran to the throne. Cut my palm deep. Let blood pour onto black stone.
The crystal lit up. Red light. Shadow light. Power that recognized me.
It was not enough to seal The First. But it was enough to hurt it.
I pushed power through the throne. Through the floor. Chains of shadow erupted. Wrapped around The First's legs. Arms. Held it.
"Now!" Kael shouted. "While it is bound!"
Everyone attacked at once. Blessed blades finding flesh. The First screamed. Thrashed. Started breaking free.
"I need more power!" I shouted. "It is not enough!"
"Take mine." Aldric appeared beside me. Cut his own palm. "Valcrest blood is old. Strong. Use it."
"That could kill you."
"Then I die helping. Better than dying uselessly." He pressed his bleeding hand to the throne beside mine. "Do it."
I pulled. His power flooded into me. Foreign. Cold. Different from Kael's warmth.
But power was power.
I combined it with mine. Pushed everything into the chains. The First screamed louder. Its flesh started burning where the chains touched.
"It is working!" Lyra shouted.
Then Voss appeared in the doorway.
"No!" He threw magic at me. Dark. Corrupted. "I will not let you stop this! The realm must be saved!"
His magic hit me. Knocked me away from the throne. Broke my connection.
The chains shattered. The First broke free.
Kael was on Voss instantly. "You betrayed us. Murdered my guards. Released an ancient evil." His blade was at Voss's throat. "Give me one reason not to kill you now."
"Because I was right." Voss looked at him. Sad. Resigned. "In fifty years, your bond will make you gods. Untouchable. Immortal. And when mortals become gods, they forget what it means to be anything else. You will rule with absolute power and absolute corruption. I have seen it. The future is clear."
"You saw one possible future. Not the only one." I walked toward them.
"You made a choice based on fear. And it cost lives."
"I made a choice based on certainty. I have lived long enough to know how these stories end." Voss closed his eyes. "Kill me. I accept my fate. But mark my words. You will prove me right in the end."
Kael's blade moved.
I stopped him. "Wait."
"Why? He deserves death."
"He does. But we need him alive." I looked at Voss. "You drained my power. You know how you did it. Tell me how to reverse it or I let The First tear you apart slowly."
Voss opened his eyes. "You would torture an old man?"
"I would do anything to save the people in this palace. Including torture. Including worse." My voice was cold. Empty. "Tell me. Now."
He studied me. Then smiled. Sad. Knowing. "There. That is what I feared. You are already becoming what I saw. Ruthless. Willing to do anything for power."
"Not for power. For survival." I grabbed his throat. Let shadows wrap around his neck. "Last chance."
"The ritual chamber. My notes are there. Everything you need." He coughed. "But you will have to kill me to complete it. My life force is binding the stolen magic. When I die, it releases."
"Then you die." Kael's voice was flat. "Today."
"Wait." Aldric appeared. "If he dies, the magic releases. But where does it go? Back to Sera? Or to The First?"
Silence. None of us had thought of that.
"To whoever claims it first," Voss said. "A race. Can you reach me before The First does? Can you kill me before it tears me apart and takes everything?"
The First roared from across the room. It had broken free from the remaining guards. And was coming toward us.
Toward Voss. Toward the magic.