Chapter 68 Last Hope Left
The plain shook under the Nightbringer's roar.
Derek held the line only long enough for the nearest thralls to scatter, but the victory lasted seconds. The shadows regrouped. Surging again with a hunger that felt endless. Wolves screamed. Metal clanged. The air thinned from too much magic and too much fear.
Amanda's hands burned as she pushed golden light into another torn chest. The wound closed, but the man didn't stand. He only breathed. Barely.
Her vision wavered.
She wiped sweat from her brow, breathing hard. The shocking truth settled like a stone in her ribs. She was running dry. Too fast. Every pulse of healing stole something from her.
And still, wolves fell faster than she could touch them.
Cassius sprinted through the chaos. Blood running down his cheek. "Amanda!" he shouted, grabbing her arm before a thrall lunged for her throat. Derek tore the creature away, but Cassius didn't flinch. "We need to begin the ritual NOW! Do you hear me? We're running out of time. Out of fighters!"
Amanda's heart jolted. The ritual. The one thing they had left.
Behind them, the Nightbringer rumbled. Each step bending the world like wet clay.
Derek shifted back. Chest heaving. Silver fur retreating into skin. His eyes glowed, bright as moonfire. "He's right," he said. Voice raw. "If we wait any longer, none of us will be alive to finish it."
Amanda swallowed, feeling the truth in her bones. "Then we move."
They didn't waste another breath.
Together, they fought their way toward the Sacred Grove. A ring of ancient stones standing like old, tired guardians at the edge of the battlefield. Moonlight clung to the pillars. Dim but steady. The ground hummed faintly, sensing what was coming.
Every step was a battle.
Thralls lunged from the smoke. Derek shifted again mid-leap, ripping them down before they touched Amanda. She blasted others with searing light. Her hands leaving trails of gold in the air.
Owen and Riley appeared from the left flank. Bloodied but alive.
"Alpha!" Owen barked. "We'll clear the path!"
"Move!" Riley shouted. Blades flashing.
They carved an opening, and Derek and Amanda sprinted through.
Behind them, the battlefield howled. Wolves broke. Shadows swarmed. The Nightbringer's laughter slid over the plain like oil.
But the Sacred Grove stood untouched. Quiet and waiting.
When they reached the first stone, Amanda nearly collapsed. Derek caught her by the waist.
"You good?" he asked. Voice low.
"No," she breathed. "But I'll get there."
Silas stood under the largest stone, chains biting into his wrists. He looked up as they neared. The familiar arrogance had vanished, leaving only exhaustion in its wake… and a trace of shame he could no longer hide.
Moira stood beside him. Her robes torn. Hair loose around her shoulders. She pressed a palm against the stone surface. Ancient symbols glowing faintly beneath her touch.
"You're late," she said. Voice sharp but trembling at the edges.
Derek growled. "We had company."
"With worse company coming," Silas added hoarsely.
Moira lifted her hands. "Unchain him."
Owen didn't hesitate. He stepped up, unlocked the cuffs, and pulled the chains away. Silas rubbed his wrists, flinching at the bruises.
"You run," Derek warned, "and I'll finish what I should have years ago."
Silas didn't argue. "You won't need to. I'm here to fix what I broke."
Moira turned to them all. "Positions. Now."
The air thickened. The grove itself seemed to inhale.
Silas moved to the northern stone. Amanda to the eastern. Derek to the west. The three formed a triangle. The center point marked with old runes burned into the earth.
Moira stood at the center. Raising both palms.
"This ritual requires absolute focus," she said. "If even one of you breaks, the backlash will tear the grove apart. And all of us with it."
Amanda nodded, though her hands shook. Derek met her eyes across the circle. His chest rising and falling fast. Silas closed his eyes.
Moira began the incantation.
The air trembled. The ground pulsed under their feet. Light crawled along the stones. Slow at first, then spreading like veins waking up.
Around them, wolves gathered. Forming a tightening ring. Riley planted her feet at the northern edge.
"Nothing gets through," she called. "Protect the ritual!"
Hale took the opposite side. Spear raised. Owen stood closest to Derek. Steady as a wall.
More fighters joined. Zara. Elias. Mikhail. Agatha. Each battered, bleeding, but unyielding. A ragged circle of hope.
The shadows knew.
The thralls turned from the battlefield almost as one. Their heads snapped toward the Grove. Bodies twisting unnaturally as they sensed the shift in magic.
"They're coming!" Zara shouted.
Thralls surged across the field. Sprinting on all fours. Crawling on their bellies. Flinging themselves through the brush like broken puppets.
"Hold the line!" Owen roared.
The first wave hit.
The sound was a shattering crash. Bodies. Claws. Teeth slamming into the defenders. Riley stabbed one through the eye. Hale broke another's spine. Mikhail took three down before a fourth knocked him to his knees. Agatha burned two with a spell that cost her breath.
The line held. But barely.
Inside the circle, Amanda drew in a ragged breath as warmth and heat pushed from her palms. Connecting her to the runes. Her light intertwined with Derek's and Silas's. Forming streams of white, gold, and silver.
It felt like her bones were turning into wires.
She gritted her teeth. Forcing the magic outward.
Derek mirrored her strain. His wolf pushed against the edges of his skin. Not with rage, but with purpose. Feeding strength into the triangle.
Silas struggled hardest. His magic flickered with every surge of pain from his corrupted past. Dark wisps clung to him like old vines. Resisting the cleansing.
Moira's voice rose. Ancient words shaking the air.
And then everything darkened.
The Nightbringer turned.
The ground groaned under its weight as it pivoted toward the Grove. Jaws widening. Shadows streaming from its body like smoke caught in wind.
Amanda felt the temperature drop, as if the creature drew all warmth toward itself.
Its voice slithered across the plain.
"Rituals. Light. Hope. All pointless."
A wave of shadow slammed into the defenders.
Half the circle staggered. Agatha fell to her knees, coughing blood. Elias was thrown backward, crashing into a stone. Riley slipped but forced herself up again. Eyes blazing.
Another wave hit.
This time, three wolves were dragged screaming into the mass of thralls before anyone could stop it.
Moira nearly lost her place in the chant. She grit her teeth and kept going. Sweat rolling down her temples.
"Keep them off us!" she screamed.
The defenders rallied, but their strength was crumbling.
Amanda felt the ritual quiver. Her knees buckled as the ground rippled like liquid. Derek snarled, forcing his light back into place.
Across the triangle, Silas gasped. His body twisting unnaturally. The corruption fighting to reclaim him. He forced a scream through clenched teeth. Pushing the darkness out in jagged bursts.
"Stay with us!" Amanda shouted.
Silas didn't answer, but his magic steadied.
The runes blazed brighter. The triangle of power thickened. Forming beams of pure light connecting them.
Derek’s eyes widened. His wolf surged, roaring in approval, in purpose. Amid the chaos of the battle, something like hope flickered to life.
The Nightbringer noticed.
It raised one massive arm. Shadows gathering like a storm around its claws. The air screamed. The ground tore open.
Then it threw the darkness.
A massive blast surged across the plain. Wide enough to swallow a hill. Fast enough to leave the defenders no time to dodge.
Riley shouted, "Brace!"
Owen grabbed Hale, dragging him down. Agatha lifted a barrier that shattered instantly. Wolves were hurled aside like leaves in a gale.
But the blast wasn't aimed at them.
It aimed straight for the ritual.
Amanda's throat tightened. She couldn't move. None of them could. The ritual bound their bodies as tightly as chains.
The blast thundered toward them.
Derek sucked in a breath. "Amanda..."
She closed her eyes.
And then...
A figure burst from the defender line.
Victor.
His body moved with a speed none of them had seen in years. His arms flung open. Catching the shadow blast square in the chest.
The sound was like a mountain cracking.
Magic exploded around him. His body arched back violently. The blast punching clean through his armor and into his ribs.
He hit the ground hard.
Amanda screamed.
Moira's voice wavered. Silas staggered. Derek's light flickered violently.
Derek's head snapped toward the fallen figure. Eyes going wide.
"FATHER!"
The triangle trembled. Cracks of darkness spidering through the light.
The ritual shuddered.
Wavered.
Threatened to collapse.
And the Nightbringer smiled.
Because it knew the ritual was breaking.