Chapter 53 Light Through Darkness

Chapter 53 Light Through Darkness
Erick's POV

Erick caught her before she hit the ground.

Her body fell into his arms, and a shock went through him. It wasn't pain, but he knew this feeling. She had held him like this just minutes ago. 

His heart had stopped, he'd been in darkness, and she had held him, refusing to let him go. 

Now it was the other way around. He noticed this, even as panic rose in his throat.

"Deborah." He said her name, raw and desperate. Her head rested on his shoulder, her silver hair spread over his arm like real moonlight. She was breathing, light but steady. 

The strong connection they shared felt weaker, but it was still there, buzzing with her life. 

She had given everything to bring him back. All her power, all her strength, spent to pull him from death.

And now she couldn't defend herself.

He realized this and felt a cold resolve. Then Malachai's laugh cut through the air like broken glass.

"How sweet," the Void mage said slowly, shadows wrapping around his fingers. "The great healer, now just holding a body. Tell me, boy, will you die for her again? Or will you just watch her die this time?"

Erick held Deborah tighter, protecting her without thinking. His body still hurt from coming back to life. His muscles shook, remembering death. 

But something else burned inside him, hotter than the pain. It started the moment her silver flames pulled him from the deep darkness.

Love. Strong and complete.

She had saved him. Now he would keep her safe, no matter what it took.

Three Void Hunters appeared from the darkness next to Malachai. Their bodies twisted with dark shadows. The eclipse above made the battlefield dim and strange. 

The sun's bright ring glowed around the moon's dark circle, light and dark fighting a huge battle. The air felt tense, magic sparking where it couldn't be seen.

Erick's golden light around his hands was weak. He was still getting better, still putting himself back together. But he couldn't be weak. Not now.

Not when she needed him.

He moved fast, carrying Deborah to a broken wall about twenty feet away. The wall would hide them, keep them a bit safe. 

He put her down as gently as he could with his shaking arms, placing her behind the broken stones. Her face was pale and calm while she was unconscious. 

For a moment, he looked at it closely, the curve of her cheek, her silver eyelashes, her lips slightly open as she breathed.

Stay with me, he thought. He pressed his hand to her chest for a moment, feeling her steady heart through their connection. I'll keep you safe. I promise.

Then he stood up, putting himself between her and the coming enemies, and let his power grow.

Golden light burst from his hands, brighter than before. It was powered by something more than just magic. Every spell he made, every shield he put up, every attack he sent was all for her. 

The idea of anything touching her, any shadow getting to her while she was helpless, made him furiously angry, an anger he didn't know he had.

The first Void Hunter jumped forward, claws out, darkness coming off it like smoke. Erick hit it with a strong blast of light. It burned through the creature, making the darkness disappear. 

The creature screamed and vanished. But two more were already coming from different directions.

His body hurt when he turned. He was still weak, still healing. His ribs ached where his heart had stopped. His lungs burned with every breath. 

But he pushed through the pain, finding strength he didn't know he had.

Drawing on her.

Their connection hummed, like a golden thread joining his soul to hers. He could feel her life, steady and strong, even though she was so tired. She was there, right behind him. 

Knowing that gave him strength. She had given everything to save him. He would give everything to keep her safe.

Malachai attacked suddenly. A spear of dark power shot right at Erick's chest. He just managed to get a shield up in time. Golden light clashed with the dark power. 

The hit pushed him back a step, his feet scraping on the stone. But he didn't fall back. He couldn't let them push him back. Couldn't let them get closer to where Deborah was.

"You're already dead, boy," Malachai growled, attacking more. More dark spears appeared, a dozen dark points flying at Erick from all sides. "You just won't accept it."

Erick made his shield bigger, turning it into a dome. Golden light spread out, making a protective wall around himself and Deborah. The dark spears broke against it. 

The darkness hissed and disappeared when it hit his power.

"I died once today," Erick said. His voice was steady, even though his body shook. "She brought me back. I'm not leaving her."

Above them, the eclipse was at its highest point. The sun's bright ring burned with amazing light, a circle of fire around the moon's dark center. 

The light seemed to beat with Erick's heart. He realized this big event in the sky was changing the magic. 

His golden power got stronger when the sun's ring glowed brightest. The dark creatures pulled back when the light broke through.

He could use this.

Two more Void Hunters came out of the shadows, moving around like they were hunting prey. Erick's mind worked fast. 

He figured out how far away they were and how long it would take them to get to Deborah if he messed up. His body was giving out. 

His hands shook, and his sight was blurry. Dying had really hurt him, and even coming back to life hadn't fixed it.

But he was learning that love could keep him going when his strength was gone.

For her, he thought, and the connection grew stronger. Everything for her.

He dropped his shield and started attacking. Golden light formed into spears in his hands. Malachai's weapons were dark and evil. Erick's were bright light, each one filled with healing magic, but used like a weapon. 

They shot forward very accurately, going through two Void Hunters at the same time.

Malachai's eyes opened a little bit; maybe he was surprised, or impressed. Then his face got angry.

"You dare?"

Erick didn't let him finish. He was already moving, golden light leaving a trail from his hands as he made a complicated shape in the air. It wasn't an attack this time, but a shield. 

A protective magic mark on the broken pieces of stone where Deborah was. It would stop anything except Malachai himself, giving them a few extra moments if Erick went down.

When or if. The difference wasn't clear anymore.

His knees gave out. He grabbed a broken pillar to keep from falling, breathing hard. The light from the eclipse made everything look like bright white and total black, with nothing in between. 

His golden magic flickered, getting weaker as his strength faded.

Behind him, through their connection, he felt Deborah was there. Still out cold, but alive. Her heart beat along with his, a steady rhythm that kept him grounded. She had stopped him from dying. He would do the same for her.

Malachai walked forward slowly now, sure he would win. The other Void Hunters walked beside him, quiet like shadows. "Your loyalty is good," the Void mage said, almost calmly. 

"But it won't help. You're fighting on borrowed time, with strength that isn't really yours. When you go down and you will, I'll take her. The Lunar Bloodline will work for the Void, no matter what."

"No." The word came out as a low, deep sound, very strong. Erick pushed himself up, ignoring his blurry vision and wobbly legs. Golden light shone around him, brighter than before, powered by his strong will. "You'll never touch her."

He thought of her smile, which was rare and special. The way she looked at him when she thought he wasn't looking. 

The strong need to protect in her eyes when she brought him back from the dead. Every moment they had, every word, every look, it all came together into one clear, powerful truth.

He loved her. Completely, forever, with all of himself.

And love, he was finding out, was the strongest magic of all.

The eclipse was ending. The moon slowly started to move away from the sun. Light began to shine through around the edges, very bright and blinding. 

Erick felt the magic change. He felt the Void creatures pull back from the light, coming back.

He gathered all he had left, all his power, all his will, and put it into one last attack. 

Golden light burst from his hands in a wave of pure brightness, covering the area like a giant wave. 

Void Hunters screamed and disappeared. 

Malachai put up a shield of darkness, but even he was pushed back, his feet digging lines in the stone.

Erick fell to his knees, completely used up. His vision got dark at the sides. He had given everything, just like she had for him. If this was the end, at least he had kept her safe. At least...

Heat grew behind him. Not the warm feeling of his golden light, but something stronger, wilder. Silver fire.

Erick turned, his heart beating unevenly in his chest.

Deborah was standing up. Silver flames burst around her in a huge fire that made it look like day. Her eyes opened fast, burning with moonfire, and the power coming from her made the air shake.

She was awake.

And she was amazing.