Chapter 80 The Gauntlet Begins pt2
“Stay close to me!” I scream, trying to tame the whipping winds around us to sting just a little less. Our alicorns pant in distress, their wings flapping wildly as they battle the elements and try to keep us safe.
“How are we supposed to see anything in this?” Sylvain cries, terror marring her face.
“We know what we’re looking for, when we see it there will be no deny—” Zaries’ voice cuts off abruptly as a bolt of lightning zips past him, a crackling lance of pure energy. It sears the edges of Soulace’s wings, leaving a trail of scorched feathers. The sudden assault pulls a scream from the beast unlike anything I’ve ever heard, a sound that reverberates through the air and chills my blood.
“Are you alright?” I shout over the storm. Warden seems to bellow to Soulace, asking the same question.
“Singed, but alive!” Zaries barks.
“Can we land?” Oberon calls. “Or should we try to get above the storm?”
“If we land, we risk not seeing the entrance.” Zaries growls, pulling Soulace around in the air to face Oberon with a grimace. “If we go above the storm, we’ll stand no chance at all. Might as well give up!”
My adrenaline is raging, my heart beating out of my chest. Irrational fear has me wanting to turn around and go home, but we haven’t even found the arch of volcanic rock signaling the beginning of the gauntlet. We can’t fail before we’ve even reached the challenge.
My tenuous grip on the whipping wind around us is only enough to keep Sylvain’s hair from blinding her. The rain slashes past us as if the clouds have learned to defy the laws of physics and now propel their needles horizontally.
“The alicorns can’t keep going like this!” I pray they can hear me as the wind rips the words from my mouth. “We have to relieve them!” Warden’s developing a lather on his flanks that defies the abominable weather. His mouth drips with froth, his silver eyes wide with fear.
“We can’t afford—” Zaries starts.
Lightning lashes out, a jagged spear of energy that strikes Sylvain square in the chest. The impact blasts her off Luna’s back, the air crackling with the smell of ozone and the sharp scent of burnt flesh. Luna screams, her high-pitched cry echoing through the storm, electricity crackling over every inch of her body. Sylvain falls from her back, her body a limp silhouette dropping into the blackness of the storm below.
Warden and I are already diving, plummeting through the chaos with desperate urgency. Luna's continued screams pierce the howling wind, her pain and fear palpable as she struggles to stay aloft. I reach out with my powers, my fingers trembling as I try to solidify the air around her, forming an invisible cushion to halt her descent.
The storm roars around us, rain lashing our faces and the wind buffeting us from all sides. My concentration wavers, but I push harder, focusing every ounce of my strength on saving Sylvain and Luna. The air thickens beneath Luna, slowing her fall just enough to give me hope. Yet, the storm's fury remains relentless, threatening to tear us all apart.
I can’t hear Sylvain.
I can’t sense her at all.
I feel more than see it as Zaries and Soulace get to Luna and support her as they slowly descend. My eyes are barely open as the torturous wind and rain seem to turn to daggers as we dive, looking desperately for any sign of Sylvain.
How high above the mountain were we?
Has she already struck the ground?
Is she dead before we even reached the start of the gauntlet?
I scream in frustration and horror, the sound stolen by the storm as soon as it leaves my mouth.
The rocky outcropping of Dragon Mount appears in the storm clouds, its sharp edges like the fangs of a beast waiting to devour us. Warden banks quickly, his powerful wings slicing through the turbulent air, but I can feel the strain in every beat. The wind roars in my ears, and the rain lashes at my face as we narrowly miss splattering ourselves on the jagged cliffs, the rocks so close I can almost feel their cold, unforgiving touch.
“Sylvain!” I scream, praying for any sign of her. Even just a flash of her brilliant red hair.
Higher up, I see Zaries and Luna land on a small flat area. Luna’s braying in pain, her eyes wide and desperate as she thrashes her head from side to side looking for her rider. I can almost feel her heart shattering from here, almost feel the weight of failure as it settles on the poor beast’s back.
“Anara! Duck!” Oberon screams.
I flatten myself against Warden's back as a gust of searing hot wind singes over my back. I hear the thundering of massive wings, feel heat like lava far up in the air before I see the black beast that narrowly missed me with his hooves.
I stare after the alicorn in shock, not believing what I’m seeing.
“What is that bastard doing here?” Oberon growls, flying up beside me and making sure I’m alright.
Malachi splits the clouds around him and his alicorn, the sheer heat that's coming off him turning the moisture in the air to steam. He banks left, his alicorn’s wings spread majestically as he turns toward Zaries to land beside him.
“Did you drop something?” he shouts over the storm.
Tears burst from my eyes when I register the shock of red hair nestled under his chin.
Sylvain clings to Malachi, trembling, eyes wide, but alive.
Oberon and I close the distance, landing precariously next to the other riders. We exchange looks with each other, but ultimately all eyes land on the man with the red leather eyepatch and the shit-eating grin as he passes Sylvain to her own mount.
“Did y’all think I’d let you become Slayers without me?” Malachi asks, his cockiness seemingly unfettered by the fact that he betrayed us all and killed Alric.
“You don’t deserve to become a slayer!” I snarl, ripping my ruby hilted daggers from their sheaths at my hips. “Saving Sylvain does not make up for your treachery! You tried to kill me, more than once. You killed Alric!”
“Sacrifice for servitude, our life for Amaranthine,” Malachi quotes, his shoulders lifting in a careless shrug.
My stomach clenches like a fist, the powers deep within me rising and making my veins glow as our combined fire powers stop the storm from touching us momentarily.
“We were told from the beginning it was kill or be killed,” Malachi hisses, spitting on the ground at my feet. “We were told we wouldn’t all make it. You never should have.”
“Watch yourself, Malachi,” Zaries warns, slowly pulling his swords out of their scabbard in warning.
“Has our lifelong friendship come to this? That you would choose a servant over me?”
“I’m not sure I ever knew you—”
“Stop! Stop this!” Sylvain cries. She steps forward, Luna keeping her steady on her feet. It’s clear the alicorn has already been healing her, but the webbing of electricity that blasted a hole in her armor and scarred her chest still vibrates with energy.
“You all heard what Thorne said,” she starts, trying to sound tougher than she’s ever been. “We need all of us, all the powers! With Alric—” She chokes back a sob, the loss still twisting her features. “Without him, we may never get past this gauntlet. Without Malachi? We definitely wouldn’t…”
“But, Sylvain, he—” I plead, just as Oberon’s hand clamps on my shoulder protectively.
“As much as I hate the bastard, she’s right. We need him. The captains and Thorne have never made light of the fact that without all our powers, all our knowledge, we could fail.”
“We can’t trust him,” I whisper, looking up at Oberon with concern.
“Do we have a choice?” he asks, taking my hand in his and slipping my dagger back in its sheath.
Malachi grins. “I solemnly swear I won’t try to kill you…today.”
“So fucking gracious,” I say with a grimace as Oberon and I move closer to the group.
Together, the five of us turn and survey our surroundings. Beside the tight circle of heat radiating off Malachi and me as we channel our powers, everything else is nothing but snow and rain and wind. There's barely any visibility except when the lighting flashes. The only sound we can hear over our thundering hearts is the crashing thunder that threatens to stop them.
“So…any of you have any ideas?” Malachi asks, leaning against his alicorn. “Reaper and I aren’t big fans of wet and cold…”
“Reaper? Really? How utterly fitting,” I bark, shuffling close to Warden for a bit of added warmth.
“Luna won't be able to fly, we need to find shelter,” Sylvain says as she supports herself on her mount.
“So we need a cave then,” Zaries says matter of factly, turning Soulace into the ripping wind. “There seems to be a path here. This mountain is littered with caves, we’re bound to find one eventually.”