Soul Render (Soul Stones Book 1)

by T. L. Branson

  Guards that were stationed around the grounds, in the gardens, and atop the palace steps, were starting to run for the barracks but turned to meet them instead. Robert drew his sword and met them head-on.

  He parried the first swing that came down from above then altered his angle to counter the man’s follow through from the left. Robert ducked under the third swing aimed for his chest and then plunged his own weapon into the man’s shoulder.

  He spun to face a second opponent. Robert attacked first, driving the man back with each blow. Robert swung hard, disarming him. He reversed the angle of his blade and sliced the man’s throat. He fell to his knees, clutching the wound to stanch the bleeding.

  “What’s this? They sent a child to fight for them?” someone said.

  Robert turned and saw Scout standing paralyzed in front of a guard nearly two feet taller than him. The man raised his sword.

  “Scout, watch out!” Robert called out, running to save him.

  Scout shook his head and ducked at the last second, lunging forward under the guard’s swing. He sliced at the man’s calf with his dagger and the guard howled in pain.

  Robert stopped running, caught off guard by Scout’s ferocity.

  The man swung blindly behind him. Scout was already gone, cutting clean through his Achilles tendon on the other leg. The guard fell to the ground, howling.

  Scout dropped to his knees and raised the dagger with both hands ready to plunge his blade into the man’s throat, but he hesitated.

  The guard growled through gritted teeth, reached up with his free hand, and grabbed Scout by the throat.

  “No!” Robert shouted and raced to Scout’s rescue.

  The man brought his sword up.

  Robert’s blade came down… right into the guard’s abdomen.

  The man howled again and fell back. Robert withdrew his blade and stabbed again, this time into his heart, finishing him off.

  Robert turned to Scout and was struck by horror. The guard’s blade impaled Scout. He lay there, blood dripping from his mouth.

  Robert dropped down beside him, cradling his head and holding one of his hands. “No, no, no, no. Hang in there, Scout.”

  “I guess… you were right,” Scout said, forcing a smile. “I couldn’t… I… I couldn’t do it. I’d never… never killed before.”

  “Shh… don’t speak,” Robert said.

  “You should go,” Scout said.

  “I won’t leave you,” Robert said.

  “I’m dead… and… you know it,” Scout said. “Fight for me.” His eyes closed and his head went limp.

  Robert gritted his teeth and shook with rage. He stood, grabbed his weapon, and ran at the nearest guard he could find.

  Ocken covered his eyes as the dust settled from the explosion. Shouting erupted from inside the palace grounds and men began to pour out of the barracks. He just had to hold them in place for a few minutes, then once all the guards were out of the barracks they’d blow the second wall on top of them.

  Ocken steadied his swordstaff—Melody, he called her—and ran atop the pile of stone from the fallen wall. He jumped down into the palace grounds, Riley and Strike following after him.

  The guards halted their advance at the sight of Ocken and Riley, their comrades of the last three months.

  The man in front said, “Ocken? What’s going—”

  He didn’t have a chance to finish as Ocken cut him down without remorse. There could be no remorse in war. It was a lesson he had learned in the harsh lands of his youth. Each day was a fight for survival. The wilds didn’t show partiality and neither would Ocken.

  The other guards didn’t need any further explanation and engaged them. Alexei’s thugs and their leader, a man named Tomas, whom Ocken remembered from that day in the Wandering Wood, spilled in around them to meet the guards head-on.

  Ocken swung his heavy staff. It collided with a guard, knocking him to the ground with ease. Ocken stepped on his chest and drove the tip of his blade through the man’s throat.

  “Behind you!” Riley called.

  Ocken spun and caught a soaring blade with the staff of his weapon. He jerked Melody upward, throwing the guard off balance, then sliced downward, driving his blade into the man’s thigh until it hit bone. Ocken could have sworn he heard a crack, but there was little time to think about it.

  He left the man to flounder on the ground and met his next opponent. He raised his swordstaff high.

  “Whoa!” the man said, raising both his hands.

  Ocken’s blade cracked the man’s skull like an egg.

  “By the gods!” shouted the guard beside him.

  Ocken prepared to swing.

  “Do you have any idea how much that hurt?” the man said.

  Ocken hesitated, cocking his head.

  “It’s me, big guy,” the man said. “It’s Will.”

  Ocken’s eyes went wide. He glanced between the guard claiming to be Will and the dead man at his feet.

  “Sweet mother of Lotess,” Ocken said.

  “She forgives you,” Will said. “I’m going after Drygo, where’s Maya?”

  “Not here. I thought she was with you,” Ocken said. “I haven’t seen her.”

  Will cursed. “She’s gone in to face her father alone. She thinks she can talk him down. Reason with him.” He growled in frustration. “Riley! With me.”

  “A little busy,” she called back as she dodged the swing of a halberd.

  Ocken stepped in and caught the guard’s attack, staff on staff, the blades of their weapons interlocking. He gave a great twist.

  The guard wouldn’t relinquish his weapon and got tossed to the ground by the bigger man. The man tried to stand, but as he got up on one knee Ocken separated his head from his shoulders.

  Ocken turned back to address Will, but he and Riley were already gone, entering through the doors of the palace at that moment. Ocken surveyed the situation. A few of Alexei’s thugs had fallen and, at the sight of their lost comrades, were beginning to turn tail and flee.

  Ocken raised his swordstaff and advanced on his next opponent. The man fell with one swift blow. Ocken sidled up alongside Tomas.

  “Your men are fleeing. We won’t be able to hold them much longer,” Ocken said.

  “My men didn’t sign on to die,” Tomas said. “You said the battle would be swift.”

  A blade came down and Ocken deflected it.

  It was odd and a bit disconcerting. Trout should have given the signal to fall back by now. The guards would follow and the second wagon of pyridis would be detonated, bringing the rest of the wall down on them.

  Ocken danced out of reach of another swing.

  “Just keep your men in line long enough for me to find out what’s going on,” Ocken told him.

  Ocken quit toying with his opponent and bowled him over, crushing the guard’s larynx with his boot. Ocken ran back atop the rubble and through the rent.

  Ocken saw the problem immediately. Guards had engaged the Revenant from outside the palace walls. The man in charge of igniting the pyridis lay dead beside the wagon.

  Trout did his best to hold the line, but he was no warrior. He dodged and evaded more than he swung and stabbed. Ocken ran to assist him.

  The two men stood side by side, defending against attacks.

  “We’re getting overrun, we need to blow that wall,” Ocken said.

  “Been trying,” Trout said tersely. “Huxley’s dead, Peters is dead, Crosby’s dead, and I don’t have much left in me.”

  “We have to hold them,” Ocken said. “We need to give Will and Maya time.”

  “For the queen,” Trout said, nodding and steeling himself.

  “For the queen,” Ocken echoed.

  He hardly knew the young princess, yet he remembered the day she was born. He was there, nineteen years ago. But he left the royal guard shortly after and only recently came back to the palace. He had few occasions to be around her as the real Luka loathed her and avoided her at e
very cost. But Ocken realized that just in the last few hours, Maya had displayed more character and integrity than Drygo had since his wife died giving birth to Maya.

  Ocken and Trout held their own, but it did little to stem the tide. More of Alexei’s thugs deserted and Drygo’s men were starting to come through the breach. In a matter of moments, The Revenant were surrounded on both sides. Ocken, Trout, and eight others formed a small half circle protecting the wagon of pyridis.

  “We have to blow the wall!” Ocken shouted.

  “We need to throw one of the pyridis stones from a distance to cause a chain reaction,” Trout said. “But we’ll need to get one from the wagon.”

  “We don’t have time, if you break the line we’ll be overrun,” Ocken said. “Couldn’t we just throw a weapon at it?”

  Trout shook his head. “Too imprecise. If it doesn’t hit with enough force, it won’t break the stone.” He hesitated for a moment. “I’m going for it. We’ll be overrun anyway if we don’t try.”

  Trout pulled out of the circle. A guard slipped through before Ocken could close the hole. When his opponent swung at him, another slipped by.

  Both guards bore down on Trout, who turned and raised his weapon to block, his back slamming against the wagon. He deflected the first blade, but the other sunk into his left shoulder. He howled.

  Ocken disengaged to assist him.

  “No,” Trout shouted above the din of weapons. “Run. Everyone run!”

  Ocken disregarded him.

  Trout pushed the guards off of him and turned.

  Ocken’s eyes went wide and he ground to a halt.

  Trout’s weapon raised into the air.

  Ocken turned and ran with all his might.

  The blade came down, colliding with the pyridis, breaking it apart.

  The wagon exploded.

  34

  Will and Riley raced through the double doors of the throne room.

  “It’s over, Father,” Maya said. “But it doesn’t have to end badly.”

  Drygo stood near his throne, six of his royal guard standing around him and Maya, weapons drawn, but not advancing on the princess.

  “You’re with the Revenant?” Drygo asked, pain on his face. His eyes were black, filled with magic. “My own daughter has allied against me?”

  Will delved into his magic and switched his vision over to the soul realm. Thin black tethers attached each of the guards to Drygo. He was in control. They would not attack unless he wanted them to, but neither would they defend the princess if it came to blows. Will slipped back into the normal spectrum.

  “Give up this power and come back to me,” she said, pleading with him. “Don’t you see what it’s done to you?”

  “My power is the only thing keeping the evil at bay,” the king said, swinging his finger to point out the window.

  “The only evil these people see is you,” Maya told him.

  “But not you?” Drygo asked, shaking his head.

  “No. Not me,” she said. “I know the good that is in you.”

  “And what about him?” Drygo said, pointing at Will. “I killed both of his brothers and his father. Does he seek my redemption as you do?”

  Will grounded his teeth and gripped his sword tighter. Drygo didn’t know Robert wasn’t dead, but that didn’t make him any less wrong. He had killed John, and though he hadn’t killed his father directly, he was responsible for ordering his death.

  “Give up your power, Father,” Maya said.

  “Never!” He lunged at her but she backed away.

  “As I said, it’s already over,” Maya said, pulling a black diamond from her pocket. “You’ve lost your stone.”

  “No,” he said in disbelief. “How did you get that?”

  He dropped his weapon and reached for a brown leather pouch at his waist. His fingers dug around inside and produced an identical black diamond.

  “What?” Drygo asked, confused.

  Maya lunged at her father, grabbing his wrists, trying to pry the Soul Siphon from his hands. They struggled and then fell to the ground, both stones skittering across the floor.

  Will dropped his weapon, dived for the stones, and scooped them both up in his hands.

  Which was the real one?

  “No!” Drygo yelled. The guards reacted, all six advancing on Will.

  Maya’s illusion dropped and one of the stones turned a deep lava red. The pyridis. Will pocketed the Soul Siphon, but held on to the pyridis.

  He regained his feet just as the guards reached him. Will slammed the pyridis down at their feet and it gave a small crack, causing four of them to jump back in surprise.

  The other two raised their weapons. Will held up his hands as if to protect himself. Riley intercepted them, her own sword ready to meet their attacks.

  Will stood weaponless before the other four as they advanced on him yet again.

  You don’t need a sword. Remember what I taught you? Lotess asked.

  Will smiled, brought his fists together, and focused his power to form a beam of energy as he separated his hands.

  Two guards ran at him together. Will flung the power out, extending it farther, turning it into a staff. He brought the staff up just in time to catch both weapons.

  Will twirled the energy staff in his hands. The guards backed away in hesitation. One came at him. Will dodged and smacked the staff against the man’s legs. He had expected it to tear the man’s soul, but as he was infused with Drygo’s power, the staff bounced harmlessly away.

  The other three guards, seeing this, advanced on him all at once.

  Will took the staff in his left hand and spun it behind him. Focusing his magic into the palm of his right hand, he pushed forward, creating a power blast that tore through the guard farthest to his left. The man’s body dropped.

  Will spun the staff around, deflected the first blow, and backed away from the second. In a moment of reprieve, Will glanced over at Riley. She held her own against two opponents, staying out of reach and making small strikes.

  Will’s three guards rushed again. Will plunged the tip of his staff into the gut of the first man. As it collided with his soul, it held fast, putting up resistance. Will channeled more energy into the attack and it broke through.

  The guard’s weapon clattered to the floor. Half of his staff still embedded in the first man, Will raised the weapon to block a blow from the second.

  The first guard’s body tumbled to the ground, soulless, taking the staff with it. In came the third guard’s blade. Will let go of the staff and fell backward, right under the swinging sword. The staff dissipated without Will’s touch to fuel it.

  Will leapt from his body into the fallen man. The two guards advanced on Will’s previous host and plunged their blades into his already lifeless form. Will grabbed the fallen blade. Approaching the guard on the left, Will raised the blade high with both hands, and drove it through the back of his neck, severing his spinal cord and nearly decapitating him. Will turned.

  One of the guards fighting Riley lay dead on the ground. The other swung low. Riley blocked it, then punched him in the face. He recoiled and she took the opening, stabbing for his collarbone.

  Beyond Riley, Maya and Drygo faced each other, neither willing to harm the other, but neither backing down as they stalked each other in circles.

  Will’s last remaining guard rammed into him, knocking him to the ground. He straddled Will and raised his weapon. The blade came down. Will gathered energy in his palm once more and thrust out.

  Riley dived into the guard, knocking him off Will. The energy blast missed the guard and slammed into Riley.

  Ocken surveyed the carnage. The pyridis did its job, blowing apart the wall. The blast had destabilized the south gatehouse. It teetered, broke away from the wall, and fell on top of the guards outside the city. Having lost its southern support, the iron gate came crashing down, pinning the men beneath it to the ground.

  Ocken looked for Trout, but he knew they wouldn’t
so much as find a finger left to bury. Three other Revenants were caught in the blast and lay dead, severely burned. The ones farthest away survived, but sustained major injuries. Only Ocken had escaped relatively unscathed.

  He wanted to stay and check on the injured, but the clang of steel on steel still echoed through the night. Ocken knew his rightful place, and it wasn’t coddling or providing comfort.

  Hoisting his swordstaff once more, Ocken climbed the rubble and jumped back down onto the palace grounds. The wall had collapsed on most of Shadowhold’s guards, leveling the barracks as well.

  A short distance away, Strike and another Revenant woman fought against five men. Ocken raced at them. Strike parried high and countered low, but his opponent completed a parry of his own. A second man ran at him from the right, Strike sidestepped and caught a glancing blow on the man’s leg and he fell to the ground.

  Strike turned his attention back to the first man. But the fallen guard wasn’t out of the fight. Ocken watched helplessly from too far away as that guard grabbed the foot of the other Revenant, causing her to misstep and flail off balance. A third guard took the opening, driving his halberd into the woman’s chest.

  The first man parried another swing from Strike, but his grip faltered and Strike’s blade slid down, cutting off the guard’s hand. Strike followed through, driving his sword into the man’s heart.

  From the other side of the courtyard, Robert and Khal ascended the steps to the palace and entered in through the front doors. Jade turned and ran to assist Strike. She and Ocken were both still so far away and Strike was now facing four men on his own.

  The guard with the halberd came in, swinging his axe blade. Strike danced back, dodging each swing. Strike came in high, but the man blocked it with the staff of his weapon. He pushed back and swung the butt of the staff into Strike’s head, knocking him to the ground.

  Raising his halberd, the guard bore down on him. Jade reached them, ducked under, and dodged attacks by the other guards and drove her own blade into the back of Strike’s attacker. Ocken arrived a moment later.

  The fallen guard was climbing to his feet, nursing his leg. Ocken came in hard and fast, embedding the length of his blade into the man’s chest.