Killian opened his mouth to call to her, pointing at the sky, when he felt hands go around his neck.
Eyes wide with shock, Killian saw that the revenant's teeth were bared and his nose was twisted in a snarl. The visible runes on his neck and hands had shifted hue, and were now bright red. The strength in the revenant's arms was incredible.
Aidan pushed harder and a growl came from his throat. Killian gasped and choked.
He heard Ella chanting behind him and a whoosh was followed by the screech of a wraith in pain. Even against the pain of the revenant's grip Killian's mind jumped from thought to thought. Could he destroy his own father? Could Ella survive against so many?
Killian wheeled his arms, smashing them down on the revenant's wrists with the iron strength of his enhanced body behind the blow. The runes on the dead man's wrists and hands flared crimson and purple, but his terrible grip held fast.
Killian panicked. His chest heaved as his body tried to suck air from his closed throat. He'd never encountered strength like this before. Unless he fought back with all his power, the revenant would kill him.
He saw Ella retreating in the direction of the stone archway. Wraiths swooped at her head, deflected by the raised hood of her dress, but Killian could see she was struggling. The prism-tipped wand she held in her hand was fainter than Killian remembered. The bolts shooting from it in quick succession were smaller and hurt the wraiths less when they hit.
Ella stopped when her back was at the archway. Dozens of wraiths came at her all at once. Teeth grazed her head while claws scraped at her back. Lightning scattered across the dress, sending three wraiths cowering in pain. Killian wondered how long she could last.
All the while he smashed his arms down on the revenant's wrists again and again. Was there anything of Killian's father left in there?
"Please…" Killian gasped. "Let… go…"
Lord Aidan released a hand from Killian's neck, but the other kept up the incessant squeezing. He drew back a fist and slammed it into Killian's chest, three times in quick succession.
Killian felt ribs snap, waves of pain spreading across his chest. Nothing should have been able to do that to him, not even the strength of a revenant. What was happening?
Lord Aidan was his father. They'd spent the last hours haltingly talking about the man he had been, as much as the revenant could drag forth from his confused memories. Killian couldn't destroy him.
A black wing knocked Ella's arm and she dropped her wand. As she bent to pick it up two wraiths clawed her back, fluttering and scratching like carrion birds on a carcass. She tilted her head back and screamed.
The dress should have stopped them. Ella needed him.
Killian closed his eyes, and a tear trickled down his cheek. He had to do this.
He put his palm to Lord Aidan's chest and gasped an activation sequence.
The revenant's grip on Killian's throat released as he flew backwards through the air, falling against the ground, his head cracking against the stone. Growling, the revenant climbed back to his feet and again glared at Killian with blood-red eyes. He came forward slowly, remorselessly, taking jerky strides like a Halrana construct.
A fist came towards Killian's head. Killian blocked the revenant's arm with his left arm, ducking underneath and putting all his strength into his right arm. The blow smashed into the revenant's sternum with the force of a mountain. Again Lord Aidan flew backwards, and this time when he stood his chest was caved in, the ancient ribs broken and splintered, poking from the dead flesh. But still he came on.
Killian glanced quickly at Ella. She was on her feet again but the wraiths had sensed her weakness, and now pecked and scratched at her, fighting each other to bite at her head and upper body.
The revenant lashed out with hands curled like claws, aiming for Killian's eyes. Killian ducked and rolled, returning to his feet a few paces away. The wraiths twisted through the sky, flying over and around the stone archway. Suddenly the air under the arch solidified and a shimmering curtain appeared.
The beacon sounded, filling the air with its wailing call, the pendulum under the arch swinging left and right with every peal.
"Ella," a woman's voice called. "Are you there? Can you hear me? This is the last time we will be able to open the portal. If you're there, you have to come through!"
Ella screamed as a curved pair of teeth bit down into her shoulder. Killian pointed both hands at the revenant, and finally accepted what he must do.
He shouted an activation sequence and twin bolts of lightning shot from his fingers, bathing the revenant in deadly radiance. The creature came on, oblivious to the pain, but Killian retreated, walking backwards, continuing the stream of deadly fire.