A Spark In The Shadow

CHAPTER - TWENTY FIVE

He heard the alarm bells start ringing, a harsh, urgent sound that cut through the silence. Commander Valerius's shouts.

"Intruders! Elite forces! To arms!" the other hunters, their silver weapons gleaming, rushed toward the square. Kael, his face serious, was already running, his green eyes fixed on the fight.

"More of Rowen's dogs!" he mumbled, pulling out his dagger.

Duskiel fought wildly, ignoring the burning inside him, ignoring the sharp pain that shot through his head as he pulled more power from the Shadescore. He struck with brutal force, each hit filled with dark energy, pushing the assassin back, creating space.

"Stay away from them!" he hissed. He had to keep it away from innocent people. He had to keep it away from her.

The assassin, seeing the incoming hunters, changed its plan. It growled, a low, frustrated sound,

"The light-bearer first!" and suddenly, it lunged past Duskiel, a blur of motion, aiming straight for Brianna. She stood frozen at the edge of the square, her face pale, her eyes wide with fear, watching Duskiel's brutal fight.

"Brianna! Run!" Duskiel roared, his voice raw, tearing from his throat, a sound of desperate warning.

Brianna stumbled back, her hand flying to her throat, clutching the necklace Duskiel had given her. The assassin was on her in a flash, its clawed hand reaching, its eyes burning with cold, hungry intent.

"The King demands your essence!" it hissed, its breath cold on her face.

At that moment, a raw, pure burst of light came from Brianna. It wasn't a small shimmer. It was a blinding, bright flash, so bright it made the surrounding shadows pull back. It pulsed outwards, a wave of pure, living energy.

"Get back!" Brianna cried out, her voice surprisingly strong, filled with a sudden, fierce will.

The vampire assassin screamed, a high-pitched, inhuman shriek of pure pain.

"Impossible! Such purity!" tts body twitched, smoking as the pure light washed over it. It wasn't turning to dust yet, but it was being burned, pushed back, forced to retreat, twisting in terrible pain. It stumbled blindly, falling back away from Brianna, shrieking as it ran from the unbearable pure light.

"Get the vessel! The light is too strong here!"

Duskiel watched, stunned, even as his own body shook from the overwhelming pain. The pain he felt when near Brianna, already burning, became a thousand times worse. It was like his very soul was being torn apart by the pure, bright light from her. He cried out, a raw, silent scream, clutching his head, falling to his knees.

It's tearing me apart!

Brianna stood in the church doorway, shaking, her hands still outstretched, a faint, golden glow lingering around them. Her eyes, wide and disbelieving, looked from her own hands to the retreating, whimpering vampire assassin.

"I... I did that?" she whispered, her voice barely a breath.

"That was my power." the warmth in her chest, that familiar spark, had exploded into something terrifyingly real.

Kael arrived, skidding to a stop, his silver dagger raised. He had seen the blinding light. He stared from the fleeing vampire to Brianna, then to Duskiel, who was shaking on the ground, clutching his head. His face, usually grim, was now a look of complete shock and a dawning, terrible understanding.

"By the Ancestors," he mumbled, his voice rough.

"That was Ember's light! How is that possible?" he had seen dark power. But this was different. This was pure light. And it had come from Brianna. He looked at Duskiel, twisting in pain, clearly affected by it, and a terrible realization hit Kael.