Whispers (Book 3 of Wielder series)

Chapter 34 - Spirit

A cold numbness overtook Darrel, starting in his chest and seeping outward through the rest of his body. He couldn't feel the heat of the air. He didn't notice the rumbling of the ground, and he couldn't calculate what it meant for his safety. His fingers trailed across Alie's lifeless face, trembling with a horror he didn't know he could endure.

Alie was dead. He'd come for her, but he'd been seconds too late.

The man who'd come to help her bowed his head. "I'm sorry," he whispered, squeezing a blood-streaked hand over her shoulder. "Find peace, my friend."

"She can't."

Darrel lifted his impossibly heavy head and stared in shock up at Willy, who stood solemnly beside him. "How can you say that?"

Willy looked sick. "Because she can't. Not yet."

The man squeezed Alie's shoulder a little tighter. "What do you mean?"

"Wielders endure a trial before they move on to the afterlife." He shifted uncomfortably, eyeing the blade still protruding from Alie's gut. "It's a test of their character, to see if they've lived up to their oath to the Ultimate."

"How do you know this?" the man asked in wonder.

"Because," Willy said, his face turning ashen. "I failed mine."

Fear, piercing and paralyzing, seized at Darrel's heart. Willy had failed his trial. He'd been sentenced by the Realm to roam forever as a butterfly. He'd lost his sanity. He'd lost his humanity. And now Alie had to face that same trial?

What horrible punishment would she suffer if she failed?

Willy, knowing better than them all what was at stake, swallowed hard. "I can try to bring her back," he offered. "If I can heal her wounds and get her heart pumping again, there's a chance we can revive her before she goes through the trial."

His eyes wide, the man beside Alie frantically started digging through his bag. "I can do that," he said, retrieving a short wand-like object and smacking it against his palm until its tip began to glow a soft gold. "I'm a healer. Of sorts."

Willy blew out a relieved breath. "Good. I'll take all the help I can get."

But as Willy knelt down, Darrel spotted something out of the corner of his eye. His stomach sank to the floor. "Look out!"

Instinctively, Willy unleashed a wave of magic, shielding them. An Evil as large as the cavern itself reeled back, shaking the air with a thunderous roar.

He didn't know where it had come from. The Evil was terrifying. It was at least three stories tall, with giant tusk-like teeth and horns like a demon. It had the face of a man, but the torso and arms of a gorilla. Its lower half turned into mist, which spread out wide throughout the cavern, rippling like a river's current. Its eyes, circular, pupil-less balls of red hate, blazed hot.

The healer tilted his head back to take in the size of the beast. His face paled considerably. "Stars above."

Scrambling for the Ultimate, which lay just out of reach of Alie's lifeless fingers, Willy faced the giant monster. "Revive her," he demanded frantically.

The healer nodded firmly.

Darrel watched in horror as Willy threw himself at the Evil, swinging the Ultimate wild with a burst of magic that caused the blade to shimmer. "Back off!" the Wielder cried, catching the Evil's attention. "You want a fight? You come after me!"

As Willy pushed the monster back, the healer rose unsteadily to his feet. "Right," he murmured, the color draining from his face. "We'll have to work quickly, then." He reached for the commander's sword, grasping it firmly with both hands. "Hold her tight."