by Aaron Hodges
The burning at Enala’s wrists faded away. She glanced down to see the red rings vanish, disappearing without so much as a scar. Sucking in a breath, air rushed into her lungs, sending strength flooding back to her muscles. The gurgling died to a tremor as the liquid fled before the magic. The pain from her chest came last, falling away until only a dull ache remained. Slowly, that too began to fade.
Reaching up, Enala wiped tears from her eyes. She looked across at Eric, witnessing the magic’s touch there too. The wound in his stomach healed before her eyes, the skin knotting itself together as though stitched by an invisible hand.
The magic was working. She could feel its power, thrumming through her blood.
Eric opened his eyes and looked at her, wonder on his face. She smiled back, then coughed in the acrid smoke. But it was nothing now, compared with the slow, creeping suffocation of a few moments ago.
“Antonia?” he asked.
Enala shook her head. “I don’t know.”
Then, deep inside, Enala felt something go horribly wrong.
*************
Eric could not bring himself to believe what he was feeling. Magic surged around him, powerful and healing, its touch so familiar he would have recognised it anywhere. The Goddess, Antonia, had returned.
Opening his eyes, he saw Enala staring at him. She wore a sad smile on her face, but he could see the worst of her wounds had already healed.
“Antonia?” he asked.
“I don’t know.”
Enala shook her head, and then her eyes widened. A tremor shook her, her body convulsing against the hard tiles. She stiffened, and he saw her fingers were wrapped tight about the Soul Blade. Energy crackled along the steel, flickering in sparks and bursts, shooting up into the dome surrounding them.
With a whoosh the magic went out, vanishing back into the Soul Blade, leaving them alone in the burning temple.
Eric pulled himself into a sitting position as Enala rose, Antonia’s Soul Blade still clutched in her hands. Her wounds had healed – not a scratch remained on her – but Eric could sense a wrongness about her, a difference. She stood stiff and straight, her movements disjoined, like a puppet on strings.
Putting his arms beneath him, Eric stumbled to his feet. Standing opposite Enala, his sister, he stared hard into her sapphire eyes. Except now he saw they were no longer blue, but a deep, emerald green.
“Enala?” he whispered.
A tremor went through her as he spoke her name. Her face twisted, as though in pain, and he saw a flash of blue rise from the depths of her eyes.
“Eri–” Enala croaked, cutting herself off.
The green returned stronger than ever, glowing with some internal power. The shivering ceased. She stood straight as a pin, staring at Eric as though he were the strangest of creatures.
“Enala?” he tried again.
There was no tremor this time. Enala tipped her head to the side, watching him with detached curiosity. She did not speak. The light in her eyes brightened, the green flickering across her pale skin and mixing with the flames.
“Enala, what’s happening?” he stepped towards her.
“Stop,” Enala spoke, the word coming out as a crackling, metallic shriek.
She raised her arm and pointed the Soul Blade at Eric’s chest. Green light flashed. Plants burst from the tiles between them. Saplings sprang from the earth, growing to great redwoods in the time it took Eric to retreat a step. Vines curled their way up the massive trunks and dense shrubbery spread across the temple floor, smothering the flames in a sea of green.
Enala laughed, a harsh, soulless shriek like the grinding of metal on stone. The sound rattled through the forest, sending a shiver to the depths of Eric’s soul.
“Enala, please! Somethings wrong, this is not you! It’s the Soul Blade, you have to fight it, to stop it before it destroys you!”
The Soul Blade crackled, blinding him with its light. The laughter came again, grating in his ears. The forest trembled and groaned as the tree trunks bent towards him.
Enala stood amidst it all, bathed in the power of the Goddess, a dark look of torment cast across her face.
She stared at Eric. “Don’t look for me.”
Then she vanished into the forest.
HERE ENDS BOOK TWO
OF
THE SWORD OF LIGHT
TRILOGY
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Author’s Note:
Thank you for reading Firestorm, I hope you have enjoyed the adventure so far. I certainly enjoyed writing it! As the second instalment of my trilogy, I’m enjoying upping the pace and the stakes for each character, especially as we draw nearer to the final confrontation. As things now stand, Eric and his companions have had a few victories, but without the Gods, the battle is on to stop Archon’s advance. Hopefully I’ll be able to wrap up the trilogy by Christmas!
As with my first novel, reader feedback is a huge part of the writing and publishing process, and all reviews on Amazon would be very much appreciated.
You can find a link to my Amazon page here.
