Unknown Darkness (Dominions Book 2)

Chapter 30: Judah

The zombie grabbed the guard, and soon there was one behind every guard.

Judah focused all of his energy on holding up the force field. His eyes were getting weary, and he felt his body giving out from the pressure of using his magic. The blue screen around them disappeared again, this time longer than the last. Judah didn't know how much longer he had to hold this shield up.

"He's overexerted his magic!" Elora called out.

Elora knelt to the ground and placed the palm of her hand on Judah's forehead. He felt a rush of adrenaline fill his body. As if he were a battery being recharged he suddenly found the energy to hold the shield up. The agony in his head faded and he sat up and looked around at the group. "What did you just do?"

Elora slumped to the ground. Before her head hit the ground Jayden reached out and caught her. He gently lowered her to the ground. Her breathing was rasp and heavy. Her face looked drained and her eyes sunk into her face. The creases in her cheeks were more prominent than before. She looked over at Judah and smiled gently.

"I gave you my power," she said.

"You what?!" Judah said. He touched his palm to her forehead in an attempt to give it back, but she gently shook her head.

"I'll be fine," she said. "I just need to find somewhere to rest, and I'll be back to normal in a few days." The zombies had finished fighting off the purple trolls and formed a barrier around their force field. Elora looked at Jayden, "Tell one of them to come in," she said.

He looked at her skeptically but summoned one of them into the shield. Judah allowed it to pass through, and Elora extended her hand and touched the foot of the zombie. Slowly, it began to fall apart and sink back to the ground. Elora sat up on her elbows and propped herself into a sitting position. "I drained the magic from the zombie. It's just enough to get me to safety." She raised her arm and a tiny portal appeared in front of her. She slowly got up and wobbled to her feet as she took sinking steps forward. "You can do this. Save Selena. Stop Gedeon. Save the world."

She disappeared behind the force field and Judah felt tears well in his eyes. He looked at the others who were slack-jawed at what just happened. Elora was always sacrificing herself for them in some way or another. How were they supposed to fight this evil wizard, when they can't even hold their magic together? Tears drizzled down his cheeks and he looked at the others.

He didn't know what to do.

The zombies took on a defensive position and guards from Gedeon's side began to attack the force field again. Fairies and Minotaurs did their best to defend the shield, but out in the open, they were sitting ducks. Judah wiped his eyes. They didn't have time to self-destruct. They had a job to do.

"Let's move."

Jayden summoned more zombies, and they fought their way through the carnage and made a path for the guardians to follow as they inched toward the castle. As they got closer, Judah was able to see what they were dealing with up close.

The castle was a large black marble structure. It had four main towers that served as the foundation for the walls. Judah could make out guards standing on top of the walls and firing arrows from a distance.

"We're almost there," Judah called. "Keep pushing forward."

When the opportunity presented itself, Judah saw Elle making vines appear from the ground and tripping Gedeon's evil guards, and Asher used the water from the air to drown the occasional monster as they attacked one of their allies. The dragons kept pace with the force field and where Jayden's zombie warriors fell, they would swoop in and stop whatever was attacking them.