A Soul for Vengeance

Chapter 28



Arden peered into the fog that obscured the road to Trivinus, trying to make sense of the foreboding that dragged at her soul. Something was about to happen. The question was—what?

“Any ideas, Loku?”

“Chaos, my dear little Soulbearer. Lots of glorious chaos.”

His glee only added to her unease. She turned to Dev, whose tense shoulders told her she wasn’t the only one sensing danger on the other side of the fog. “Loku’s happy about this.”

“Which doesn’t bode well for us.” Dev looped his reins around his hand one more time, tightening the control over his horse. “Fane, what do you think?”

The knight who’d come from Gravaria with them had always been a calming voice of reason. “I say we keep moving forward with caution. Prince Kell is expecting us to join him at Trivinus on time, and any delays could have disastrous implications.”

“Are you a knight or a politician?” Dev said with a sardonic smile. “I’d feel better if I knew what I was walking into.”

“Why don’t we give Dev what he wants?” Loku asked. “It’s very simple to clear away the fog with magic. It’s even something you could do without my help.”

Arden took a deep breath, trying to figure out the best way to conjure up the spell she needed. Fog was a mix of air and water. If she applied heat and wind, she could burn it off and blow it away. She held out her hand, summoning fire from her inner source of magic. Flames surrounded her fingers. As she channeled her magic into them, they grew brighter, more intense, until she could no longer contain them. The spell pulsated through the fog like a drop of water in a still pond, clearing their view with each wave.

And revealing the Thallian army.

Arden’s breath caught. They’d almost ridden headfirst into the enemy, completely unaware and unprepared for the battle that would’ve erupted.

But the Thallians were ready. Less than a minute after the fog cleared, they launched dozens of fireballs from their catapults toward the Gravarian forces.

“Shields,” she screamed behind her to the mages who’d come with them. She concentrated on those around her, first Dev and then Fane. Once she knew they were safe behind her wall of magic, she stretched it out to cover the front line of the army. The impact of the fire balls against her shield drove the air from her lungs, but the spell held, and her soldiers were safe.

Dev cradled her elbow, keeping her from slipping out of the saddle. “Arden, what are you doing?”

“Trying to protect our people long enough to give them a chance.” Stars danced in front of her eyes from the next volley, but by then, the Gravarian forces had drawn their swords and were ready to charge.

“Let them fight this battle.” Dev took the reins from her hand. “You’ll only get hurt.”

“No, Dev, I’m as much a part of this as they are. More, actually, since I’m the only Ranellian here.” She yanked the reins back and followed the soldiers, keeping her shield in place for them. She may not be able to wield a sword like they could, but she could at least offer them protection with her magic.

“Arden, stop!”

Dev grabbed her by the hood of her cloak, breaking her concentration. The shield disintegrated. Fireballs rained down the Gravarian forces. Arden’s horse reared as one of them exploded in front of it. She fell back, taking Dev with her to the muddy ground. Iron shod hooves stomped within inches of her head, her arms, her legs. Panic choked her screams. This was battle like she’d never known before.

“Calm down, my little Soulbearer.” A protective blanket of magic wrapped around her, one that bore the chaos god’s signature rather than Dev’s.

“We have to make it stop.”

“You’ll have to stop their leader, then.” He showed her an image of a man on a hill, watching the battle play out with a self-satisfied grin.

“Gladly.” She gathered her magic as Dev dragged her to safety, far from the frightened horses and soldiers’ blades. The spell swirled inside, growing stronger and darker as it mixed with a spark of yellow-green magic.

“Now, Arden.”

At Loku’s command, she released the spell. A bolt of green lightning shot through the sky, striking within inches of the Thallian leader and throwing him from his horse. Blood trickled down the side of his face, but a dangerous snarl on his lips warned her he was far from done.

A pair of hands pressed her arms down by her sides and gave her a firm shake. The image of the Thallian leader vanished, leaving only Dev’s worried face. “Don’t give into him, Arden.”

“I know what I’m doing.” She shrugged him off and tried to focus on the leader so she knew where to direct her next spell.

“He’s trying to manipulate you again.”

“Don’t listen to Dev. Together, we can defeat the Thallians.”

She wavered between one voice and the next. Her hand instinctively reached for her mother’s necklace. Which one did she trust more?

“You can’t take out an entire army alone.” Dev pressed his palms into her cheeks so her attention remained fixed on him. “Let the soldiers do what they’re trained to do.”

“He’s wrong,” Loku hissed. “We’ve taken out armies before, you and I. Has he forgotten what we did to Sulaino’s undead?”

Arden squeezed her eyes and clutched her mother’s necklace. Dev had told her to ground herself. As long as she held onto her mother’s necklace, she could control Loku. She opened her eyes and pleaded, “Please, Dev, I know what I’m doing. I’m grounded.”

She jumped to her feet, pushing him aside just in time to see a cloud of arrows fill the sky. Her stomach dropped while her heart blocked her throat. She fumbled for her magic, praying she could raise a shield in time.

“Look out!” Dev collided with her, knocking her back into the muddy earth and covering her with his body. A cry of pain filled her ears as she managed to raise her shield. Her flesh stung from the dozens of sharp points that pricked the magic barrier that protected her and Dev. When they stopped, she rolled Dev off of her. He winced in pain, and the warmth fled from her blood.

“Are you hurt?” She searched his body for wounds. A small scream broke free when she came to the three arrows lodged in his back. “Don’t move, Dev. I can heal you.”

Before she could remove the first arrow, though, an explosion rumbled over the sounds of battle and shook the ground beneath them. Arden fell back in the mud once again, her concentration shattered. The Gravarians were retreating under the charge of the Thallians.

“Sweet Lady Moon, we can’t lose.”

“Stop praying to Ivis when you have me,” Loku snapped. “Let’s show them why it’s foolish to mess with a god and his Soulbearer.”

Dev’s breaths came sharp and fast, but his color hadn’t crossed into the realm of deathly pale yet. “Don’t do it, Arden,” he said, his voice raw with pain.

“I have to.” She directed a jolt of magic to his wounds. The spell dislodged the arrows from his back, closing the gaps left in their wake.

Once she knew he was safe, she kissed his forehead and stood in the face of the retreating Gravarians, her hand still holding on to her mother’s necklace. One by one, she dropped the layers of confinement she’d built around the chaotic soul inside her. “I’m all yours, Loku.”

“I’ve been dying to hear you say that.”

Her knees buckled from the tidal wave of magic that slammed into her. The world faded around her. All she was aware of was the cold metal pressing into her palm and the power of the chaos god that filled her body. It shot out her arm, into the ground beneath her, rolling and twisting the very earth. The soldiers in front of her fell like autumn leaves caught in a gale.

Off in the distance, she heard Dev calling her name, but it was too late to turn back. Loku commanded her body now and would help her destroy the Thallians. It was the price she was willing to pay for vengeance. They’d destroyed her homeland. They’d injured Dev. And they would wish they were never born by the time she and Loku were finished with them.

“Yes, my little Soulbearer, give into the beauty of chaos.”

He ordered her movements now, raising her feet and lifting her into the air where she had an unobstructed view of the enemy. The earthquake had halted their charge, but they regrouped quickly under the command of their leader.

Loku chuckled. “The silly mortal thinks he can defeat me. Shall we show him how wrong he is?”

He didn’t wait for her consent, although she would’ve gladly given it. Green lightning bolts shot out from her hand, striking the Thallian soldiers. Their frightened screams intoxicated Loku like the strongest whiskey. His spells came faster, more erratic, more terrifying. He delighted in the way they scattered in every direction, no longer following orders. He had created what he loved.

“Let’s end this now,” she said, but her inner voice seemed to be hardly more than a whisper.

“Why end it when I’m having so much fun?” He reined in his magic, holding it together in an invisible net before releasing it in one concentrated blow in the center of the Thallian forces. The ground cracked and fissured. The Thallians’ screams rose an octave higher, forming a melody of pain and terror. A plume of dirt and smoke rose up into the air, billowing out like a blanket over them. And when it cleared, there was little left of the army save one lone man.

Their leader.

“That’s enough, Loku. We’ve won.”

“I’m just getting started.” His laughter froze the very core of her being with horror. “Come now, Arden, don’t you want to make him pay?”

Loku unleashed his magic on the Thallian leader. The man’s body jerked in pain, his eyes bulging. Rivulets of blood ran down his face, followed by squealed pleas to make it stop. The skin on his face peeled back, revealing the grotesque layers of muscle and bone. She’d wanted to make the Thallians pay, but not like this.

“I said that’s enough, Loku.” She started laying down her barriers, muscling her way back into control. “We’ve made our point.”

“I’m not finished.” He shoved her back, squeezing at her consciousness until the blackness started to close in on her.

She struggled for air, for freedom from his wrath, but nothing worked. Dev had told her to remain grounded in who she was if she wanted to keep from surrendering to Loku completely, but the necklace didn’t offer the comfort it usually possessed. She was sinking into the black pit of madness, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.

A pair of hands grabbed her ankles, jerking her back to the ground, followed by a pair of strong arms around her waist. The familiar smell of spices and evergreens surrounded her.

Dev.

“Find the thing that grounds you, Arden,” he murmured in her ear. “Fight back.”

“It’s too late, Dev.” Loku’s voice came from her mouth, full of triumph. “She’s already given into me.”

“No,” she screamed, but no one heard her. “Let me go, Loku.”

“Please, come back to me, Arden.” An uncharacteristic surge of emotion choked Dev as he added, “I need you.”

Loku’s magic welled up inside her, this time aimed for Dev. Her heart thundered through her chest, fueled by her fury. The son-of-a-bitch would destroy the man she loved next, and it would all be her fault. She replayed Dev’s plea. Tears streamed down her face when she came to the part about him needing her. And then she knew what she’d been doing wrong.

Her necklace didn’t ground her. All it did was remind her about her and about the bitterness of her past. Dev was her future.

She hung on to the desperation of his words. Her fingers flexed under her command, clinging to his jerkin, drawing strength from his presence. She let his love feed her own magic until it dwarfed Loku’s. Her inner voice became strong, confident. “I won’t let you hurt him.”

She unleashed her magic on the chaos god inside her, shoving him back as he’d done to her.

“What are you doing, you horrible, ungrateful bitch?”

A slew of curses followed from Loku, each of them growing more and more distant as she erected layers of confining spells around him. At last, she reached the point of silence.

Her body melted into Dev as though she’d lost her bones during the battle. “I won’t ever let him hurt you, Dev. You’re what grounds me.”

“And I will never leave your side.” He stroked her hair, the vibrations of his voice comforting her. “Remember, you’re stuck with me until one of us draws our last breath.”

A laugh mixed with a sob of relief. Dev was never the type to come out and say he loved her. Instead, he had his own way of showing it, going all the way back to their first few days together. She lifted her face and smiled at the man she desired above all else. “I love you, too.”