“If he chooses it.”
Elora nodded and knelt before him, exposing her neck to his blade for the second and final time. The whispers of darkness, demanding to be heard, niggling at the edge of her hearing. Kill...Kill.
“Make it quick,” she said.
“Elora, no!” shouted Athena, once she realised what was happening. Elora closed her eyes and felt partly lucky for meeting her mother before she died; and partly unlucky for only meeting her before she died. Athena began to say something else but her words were lost amongst another violent explosion.
The entire hall flashed white and a wall of heat lifted Elora off her feet and flung her to the ground atop of Bray. Fresh screams erupted around the room as she shook the dizziness from her head and checked that Bray was still alive. Her shaking fingers found his pulse as she scanned the devastation for her mother.
Athena was on her back, Miathlin laying across her. Both breathing and choking on the smoke that filled the room.
Elora gazed at the rest of the hall and saw bodies everywhere, knocked flat by the explosion. Those that could stand did so, the rest lay injured, unconscious or dead. Daylight spread over the fallen and when Elora sought the source, she realised that the entire wall of the church had been blown out. She could see Aslania, with its lake and many steepled roofs below her.
The flames billowed out of the vast opening, curling and spiralling as they funnelled up into the clouds in a whirlwind of red heat. The red turned momentarily to bright yellow as something black stepped out of the flames and onto the stone floor. It was her father – Solarius.
As tall as Ragna, Solarius stepped towards them. The armour he wore was rusted through in places, decayed through the ages. The leather straps cracked or missing, buckles without pins, gauntlets missing fingers and any sigil that the breastplate once held was now scorched black and unrecognisable. Yet the man wearing it, her father, appeared fresh and healthy as if merely waking from a long sleep.
Glowing crimson eyes stared down over the fallen, a sharp nose and a coal black beard, protruded from a square handsome face. Raven black hair, much like her own, flowed down to his shoulders and shimmered in the reflection of the whirling vortex of fire. She felt more than saw the darkness rush to him, abandoning her to return to the God of Chaos.
A brave guard suddenly rushed forwards, with his spear levelled before him. Solarius watched his advance with a curious expression, not caring to move or defend himself as the guard drove his spear through the ancient armour, the flaking steel offering little resistance as the weapon impaled him.
Seeing that Solarius didn’t react to his injury, the guard took a cautious step back, signalling for his men to close ranks either side of him. Diagus joined the men, holding his blade out to the side with both hands.
Elora watched as flames licked from the back of her father, appearing at first like a flaming cloak. But as a grin spread across his face the cloak split and flared out in two huge fire walls in the shape of wings. The spear in his chest simply fell away front and back, clattering to the floor and the metal ran like water from the wound.
Surprise on the guard’s face turned to a grimace as the commander ordered them to attack. They ran at the God with spears and swords held before them.
The lead man lunged ahead, driving his spear forwards but Solarius smoothly took it from his grasp and dipped his shoulder, his flaming wings closing around the guard and setting him ablaze.
His screams echoed around the hall as the spear was first spun to the left to crack another guard, hard enough to snap his neck, then to the right and strike a man with enough force to knock him and two others out of the gaping hole, to fall to their deaths.
Diagus spun into the space they left and struck the God a slicing blow to his elbow. The armour parted and crumbled to the floor, yet did no actual damage to the deity. Diagus turned to parry the spear then roll away as huge wings came together where he had just been. They caught another guard instead, engulfing him in flames.
Elora tried to ignore the screams of the dying men as they writhed in agony only feet away. Instead applying her energies into dragging Bray’s body free from harm.
The stone basin of the font lay against a bench forming a makeshift shield. Elora dragged Bray’s body under it to protect him from the heat and falling masonry, then turned to the fight.
The Shadojak was dancing in and out of the swinging spear, wielded by her father. What was left of the guards didn’t intervene, they stood or crouched close by, with spears held ready to throw, yet didn’t make a move as the duelling pair moved too swiftly to make a clear target.
Solarius, flashed his spear about, spinning it over head before bringing it down above Diagus’s head. The Shadojak brought his blade up to meet it. The steel sparked and Diagus switched his position, chopping his sword across the God’s greaves, sending the knee guard spinning in the air. He followed it with a roll and brought his blade back up and knocked the spear from the Solarius’s grip. It spun out of the hole and out of sight.
He had done it. Elora thought as she watched her father now weapon less, open his arms out in surrender. The Shadojak gave no mercy and twisting his wrist, spun his sword under arm and drove it into Solarius’s chest.
The blade met only black smoke; remnants of the God’s flaming wings. Elora watched the confusion set into Diagus as he spun around, searching Solarius out. When his back was turned the God suddenly reappeared in front of him and shoved hard on his shoulder.
Diagus thudded against a stone pillar and crashed to the floor, barely able to lift his head up before Solarius disappeared again, then reappeared in front of the fallen Shadojak. His red eyes cast down on the sword in Diagus’s hand.
“Mine. I, believe,” said the God, his voice deep and ash dry.
As Solarius’s hand came towards the blade, Diagus sprang into action. Hacking an arc in the air, he aimed for the proffered arm, but again, he cut only through smoke.
When Diagus stood up Elora’s father appeared.
“Behind you,” she shouted.
He spun to her voice and dropped below the swinging fist of the God, cutting sideways with his blade but Solarius dodged the attack and the sword passed harmlessly through the flaming wings. Keeping the momentum going Diagus brought the blade about once more, aiming for the God’s head. Solarius saw it coming and simply stepped through the Shadojak.
Elora watched in disbelief as her father passed through Diagus, his body momentarily becoming black smoke, twisting and curling over and between Diagus to transform behind him, once again becoming solid.
How can the Shadojak defeat him when he became smoke at will? With nothing solid to strike, the sword Diagus wielded was useless.
The Shadojak continued fighting in vain, swiping at the God, yet hitting nothing; his target reducing to smoke then materialising to attack Diagus, knocking him onto his front then driving a foot down upon his thigh.
The few of the guards that remained didn’t escape the God’s wrath. Two were thrown out into the open air and a third was burned, having been enveloped by Solarius’s wings. The last fell where he was struck, his face made a ruin by a vicious punch - he didn’t get back up.
Elora felt the hatred for her father burning hotter than the fiery pillar of heat that funnelled up into the sky. She felt that other being stir inside her as she curled her fingers into fists, letting the anger surge through her blood.
“Elora?” She heard her mother whisper as she shuffled beside her. Then felt a cold hand press against her arm. Elora gently lifted the hand away and placed it upon Bray’s rising chest.
“Stay with him,” she said. “This is my fault, my mess. It’s time I cleared it up.” She rose and stalked towards her father; dancing shadows, created by the fire drifted towards her as she gathered her strength.
Elora...Elora...the inferno roared, as the darkness descended about her. Kill...Kill.
Diagus fell to his knees, his head hung low and his sword on the ground. He was heaving in broken breaths, his body failing him. Solarius stood behind, his flaming wings spread out either side ready to engulf the fallen Shadojak.
Elora quickened her pace, vaulting over a broken bench and launched herself at her father’s back. She struck his spine with her knees, whilst grasping both hands about his neck - digging her nails into hot flesh. She had him, her anger throttling like a volcano as she squeezed his throat. Kill...Kill.
It felt good, releasing the maelstrom of fury that she, the Princess of Darkness, had built up inside her. She would crush the life out of her father.
