The Forbidden Lands (Wattys 2015 Winner)

Chapter Twenty-Nine--Krialle

"It goes out."

Coten allowed his flame to get larger and larger, until it burned away a quarter of the demons. Then, his figure began to burn away.

"Coten, no!" I screamed. But it was too late. Coten had sacrificed himself, and had taken out a fourth of the demons in the process.

I tried to calm myself, but tears ran down my face. How many would die from this?

I felt fear run up my spine. I opened my eyes. Artair stood in front of me, a shadowy sword in his hands. Just as he was about to slash it through me, Liam jumped in front of me, and deflected the blow. The impact sent him backwards. He fell to the ground lifelessly.

"Liam!" I screamed. I turned back to Artair, clenching my fists with fury.

The blackness swirled around Artair. "Don't you see, Evelin? I've managed to harness the power of the demons! Their power is much, much more powerful than yours. I can use its power to disguise myself as anyone." The blackness swirled around him and his form changed. Suddenly, he was the king. Then he was Girec. Then Liam.

I gasped, blinking back tears. "You--you," my voice was shaky. "You killed them."

He smiled and tipped his head. "Yes, I suppose I did."

I clenched my fists even tighter. "I will end you."

He laughed tauntingly. "And how will you do that?"

"I have the power of all the Enchanters. You have the power of the demons. You--you cannot win," I said furiously.

"Watch me," he said.

The thing that made my blood boil was the fact that he said everything so casually, so nonchalantly. I felt something in my veins. Power. I felt something hot in my hands and looked down. An orb of raw energy and power lay in my palm. It was blindingly white, like the sun. I cupped it in my hands, and threw it at Artair.

It soared through the air, straight at his heart. He didn't seem phased. It made it halfway, then sank in the air and dropped to the ground, with a little plop. I stared at it.

Artair laughed. "Don't you know anything about magic, Evelin?" he said. "You cannot be angry. You must be perfectly calm." He swirled his finger in the air, and the darkness swirled around it. He points the finger causally at me, and the darkness twisted in the air towards me.

I jumped the side. The twisted blackness followed me in an arc, and flew straight into me. A familiar feeling of fear swarmed through me. I felt as if I had jumped into a lake of shockingly frigid water. I could hear Artair's voice in both my ears and my mind.

"I know what you are afraid of," he said. I plugged my ears, but his voice was still there. He began to chant something.

I took deep breaths, trying to block him out. But it did not work. He was inside my mind. What was I supposed to do?

I vaguely recalled Liam's words. "Sometimes, the heart is more powerful than the mind." And he'd kissed me.

I let that feeling in my heart take over. I remembered Jax and Nimue and Urora and Dianthe and Assana and Coten. I needed them to be safe. I thought of my sisters. My friends. Lucia. All the people counting on me.

I thought of Girec, and tears ran down my face.

And Liam. It was the worst. When I'd finally figured out who I was. When I'd finally figured out the beginnings of my feelings for him, he had died.