Ajax was a titan.
Sebastian knew he was supposed to be taking Naidini back to the others so they could head for the portal gate, but he couldn't help but watch as Ajax waded into the sea of undead fighters with nothing but his vayrir and the lightning crawling up and down his body.
A pair of soldiers rushed at him with spears in hand. Within a few seconds, they both had been decapitated and shocked with enough lightning to kill three elephants. The tall ginger kept going and showed no intention of stopping.
Shades converged on him, their hands glowing with purple magic. Ropes of energy wrapped around his arms and legs, trying their best to pull him down.
Sebastian's chest tightened as he watched Ajax struggle under the pressure. "Come on, Ajax. Come on."
As the undead magicians advanced, Ajax clamped his hand over a bundle of the restraints weighing down his arm. He charged it with lightning, frying the bodies of those holding them. With one arm free, he called upon his vayrir once again and chucked it at another group of Shades. It spun in the air, slicing through heads and chests and torsos. Seconds later it returned to his hand.
All the ropes of light that had been wrapped around him were gone now. And so were the Shades.
Blinking rapidly, he marveled at the gory scene. "Woah."
He had never seen anything like it before. Such raw power and strength. He wasn't even sure if his father would be able to match up against it.
Ajax continued forward through the horde. Lightning poured from his axe, striking the chests of any being in his immediate vicinity. He barely looked at them as he crushed their skulls beneath his heels. The boy's eyes were focused on one man.
Thorian.
The dark lord stood on the other end of the battlefield with a horde of wolves and Shades surrounding him. His chin was tilted upward ever so slightly.
Sebastian knew that look. The man was surprised. But he wasn't frightened. Not in the slightest.
Roaring like a madman, Ajax charged at the wolves. They jumped at him and he shrugged them off like water down his back. He drove the hilt of his blade into the skull of one and kicked one across the battlefield with the other. Within minutes, he had reduced the obstacles standing between himself and Thorian to zero.
They stood across from each other quietly with the wind howling around them. The lightning around Ajax was beginning to die down now. Breathing heavily, he gripped his weapon and sneered at the man before him.
Sebastian gulped as he watched his father remove his mask. Four scratch marks ran along the side of his face, striking through his one solid black eye. His once silky, silver hair was now blackened with soot and had fallen out of its braid. The wild strands fell into his enraged face.
"Ajax Washington," Thorian drawled. "Son of Achilles. I killed your father."
"And now I'm going to kill you."
Ajax sprinted at him with his weapon raised high. Jumping, he prepared to drive the double-bladed axe into the dark lord's skull.
But he never got the chance.
Sebastian felt as if he had been punched in the gut, and he wasn't even the one fighting. Beside him, Naidini looked on in horror.
Thorian had plucked Ajax out of the air with his hand as if he were catching a stray dandelion floating in the wind. His bony fingers curled around the warrior's neck, slowly squeezing the life out of him.
Sebastian's mouth trembled as he noticed the blackened veins underneath the pale skin of his father's neck. The started at the eye his mauvue charm was in and ran down to the base of his neck.
Huh?
"I have truly lost my patience today," Thorian spat. With a flick of his wrist, Ajax went soaring across the clearing. He zipped past Sebastian and Naidini until he hit the ground. His body skidded through the dirt like a comet falling from the earth.
He didn't get up.
Naidini rushed over to him and placed her ear over his mouth. Sighing in relief, she nodded at Sebastian.
He nodded back and faced his father. The man was scowling now as he moved forward.
One day he would be able to face the man. But today was not that day.
Turning, and nearly tripping over himself in the process, he helped Naidini pick Ajax up and made a break for the forest. His friends had still been waiting on the hill for them to join them. As they labored toward them, Sebastian ordered them to run.
Remy ignored his commands and ran down the hill.
"I got him," he said as he draped one of Ajax's arms over his shoulders. Along with Naidini, the curly-haired boy lugged the warrior along.
"Thanks, kid." Sebastian glanced over his shoulder to see Thorian gaining on them. Cursing, he took off running for the forest.
#
Sebastian kept himself at the tail end of the group. If his father managed to catch up with them, there would be no one to stand up to him. Ajax was down for the count, and Naidini was too busy helping carry him. Siren's discipline of magic resided in healing, not fighting. That just left Imogen—the halfling Ordinaire with only a few hours of casting training.
She might have shown the promise of becoming a half-decent caster, but she was far from achieving her potential.
Sebastian was truly the only one who stood a chance against the Black Lotus.
He continued running, jumping over fallen logs and gnarled roots, hoping that it wouldn't come to that.
"Get back here!" Thorian bellowed.
Spells whizzed past Sebastian's head. They collided into the trees around him. He watched as an incendis spell sent an entire tree up in flames. Its flaming branches fell from the sky, nearly landing on top of him. Covering his mouth and nose, Sebastian powered through the smoky clouds beginning to fill up the forest.
I gotta keep moving.
He was the only thing standing in between his friends and the man who wished to destroy them.
Peering through the smoke, he searched for a sign of his father. Everything was so hazy. He could barely see a few feet ahead of him. The acrid taste of burning wood filled his mouth. Smoke began to fill his lungs, choking him from the inside. Stumbling around the forest floor, he searched for the way his friends went.
His vision started to wane. He could feel himself getting lightheaded.
Not good.
"Nowhere to run." Thorian's voice echoed around him.
Even while disoriented, Sebastian knew the use of a charm when he saw it. Silhouettes of his father's figure hid beyond the black smoke. He spun around wildly, desperately trying to figure out which one was really his father.
"Face me yourself, coward!"
"Coward? I'm not the one running away."
Sebastian huffed and rolled his eyes. He held his hands up in the traditional dueling stance that had been drilled into him since he was a boy. He could barely see or stand, but he had to be ready for whatever Thorian would throw his way.
"Come on!" he shouted into the void. "Show yourself."
One of the silhouettes chuckled.
"Careful what you wish for."
Thorian emerged from the smoke. Startled, Sebastian stumbled backward. A twisted group of roots grabbed his foot and pulled him to the ground. All the air left his chest once his back hit the ground. Groaning, he scooted backward in an effort to get away.
His father walked toward him, his expression deathly serious. He raised his hand and began twisting his fingers. Red tendrils of magic slithered down his digits like venomous snakes and wormed their way toward Sebastian.
He gulped.
The vexeris torture charm was one he knew all too well. After he was forced to torture animals during his Shade training, he vowed to never use it again. Obviously, Thorian had no such reservations.
The crimson arms scuttled after him like spiders. His chest rose and fell rapidly as he tried to flee. Once the first tendril wrapped around his ankle, he let out a scream that could be heard throughout the forest. Pain arced up his leg, frying the nerves on that side of his body. His vision melted into an array of colors and fractured shapes.
He could barely hear his father's laughs in the background.
"You are my greatest disappointment, Sebastian." The man knelt next to him. "You were supposed to be my heir. My protégé. Our family would've ruled over this world for the rest of eternity." He pressed a long nail into his son's chest, drawing out a long hiss from the boy. "But you decided you were better than...us. Better than your family. And for what? For that girl?"
Mustering all the strength he had, Sebastian snatched his father's hand.
"I'm...going to kill you."
"I've heard that a lot today. Interestingly enough, no one has fulfilled their promise yet."
Thorian lifted his hand.
Before he could strike, he was flung off his son by an unknown force. He disappeared into the ombre smoke with a wail.
Sebastian climbed up to his feet and turned around. He gawked at Imogen, who was standing there with her hands held out in front of her. The Ordinaire's eyes were wide with disbelief. Traces of magic rolled down from her palms.
"Did you just...?"
"I...I think so." She extended a hand toward him. "Come on. The portal gate is just up this hill."
Nodding, he took her hand and the two of them darted through the cluster of trees and shrubbery.
The forest began to fade into a clearing. Sebastian's eyes lit up as he recognized the building in the center. His friends were climbing up the hill. They were just a few steps away from the front steps.
Thorian was nowhere in sight.
This is it, he told himself. We're getting out of here.
As Sebastian and Imogen approached their group, Naidini turned around to face them. A look of relief exploded onto her face.
"Oh, thank Terrun." The amulet around her neck swung as she ran over to them. She was just a few steps away before the shadows appeared in front of her feet. The woman jolted to a stop.
Thorian rose from the dark rift in the ground. Without warning, he snatched the amulet from Naidini.
Sebastian could hear the clasp snap as the man wrenched it free from her neck.
The amber gem in the center of the amulet pulsed brightly, as did the black ring wrapped around Thorian's finger. The black veins running up and down the man's neck were even more visible now. His skin was paler than before.
Naidini reached for her house's prized Eldenarian artifact. Thorian batted her hand away and pushed her back with a spell.
Remy and Siren caught her before she could hit the floor.
"Darkness will reign up this world again," Thorian said. "And there is nothing any of you can do about it."
Sebastian lunged toward the man. But he was too late.
They were all too late.
Within the blink of an eye, Thorian melted into the shadows below his feet.
Just like that he was gone.
Sebastian's outstretched hand trembled as he stared at the place his father had just been standing. He slowly lifted his head and looked at his friends. They all looked around, confused and afraid. The wind howled around them, whispering their failures into their ears.
Nothing but static filled Sebastian's head. His vision went out of focus as he dropped his hand.
Siren glanced at him. Fear filled her blue eyes like an ocean of dread. "What just happened?"
Remy's hands flew to the top of his head, his fingers twisting into his brown curls. "Oh, man. Oh, man. This isn't good." He doubled over. "I think... Oh man, I'm gonna be sick."
Sebastian swallowed hard and turned to Imogen.
"Did we just lose?" she asked him, her voice just above a whisper.
He swallowed hard and faced her. He didn't give her an answer. He didn't need to.
They all knew what it was.
His entire body deflated as he dropped to the ground. Throwing his head back, he stared up at the darkening sky. The stars were starting to come out. They twinkled in the black expanse of the night, each one representing a soul of those lost that day.
The wind continued to howl, carrying leaves and twigs into the air around them.
Sucking in a deep, shuddering breath, Sebastian closed his eyes.
They lost.