The commander’s sword sliced the space in front of David. Heat oozed off it, essence raging through metal. Alesh twirled, carrying the sword along in a swift arc. David caught the blow with his sword, his arm trembling on impact. The force pushed him back a few steps. He flexed his arm quickly, his breath ragged. Alesh attacked again, covering the distance between them in a burst of speed.

  “Is this it, Huz?” Alesh growled as the great sword fell on David again.

  David took the strike. Every strike was a punishment, but he met it head-on.

  He sensed the coming blast of essence a little too late before it slammed into him like an invisible wall. David’s vision blurred for a moment. He blinked frantically, his fingers tightening around the hilt of his sword.

  “Is this the one you have placed all hope?”

  David ignored the taunt. Behind him, essence swirled, gathering around Huz. David charged at the commander again. This time, he stretched out his hand, his mind calm as his authority solidified. It was the one card he didn’t mind letting his enemy see.

  Ruler Skill: Sovereign’s Domain.

  The domain stretched past him and Alesh. The commander didn’t stop; perhaps he didn’t notice David’s hold on the space around him. With the domain established, David’s perception broadened. Alesh seemed to move a bit slower. David lowered himself, watching as Alesh’s blade sailed over his head in a slow strike.

  He whipped around with his sword, essence flooding him, washing away his exhaustion.

  Sword skill: Gale Slash

  The slash shot off the swing. Sharp wind almost cleaved into Alesh, but his upper pair of wings folded in front of him, taking the force of the blow. He flapped them outward, and feathers fell off the wings, blood staining the black.

  The ground around Alesh exploded suddenly, heralded by Huz’s yell. The ranker’s spell scattered sand and dust about, blinding the commander. A long link of black chains shot off the ground and wrapped themselves around Alesh, holding him down. David sprang forward, gaining proximity before he swung his sword again.

  Sword Skill: Sundered

  Essence spilled out of him so abruptly that David staggered, trembling. The slash went through the black chains, cutting through the essence coating them. David leaned on his sword, his heart rattling in his chest. The sound of battle on the platform meshed with the drumming of his heartbeat.

  Alesh’s armor splintered open, baring his blood-soaked tunic underneath. And even that had been cut through. Blood rushed out of him as he stumbled forward, sword still in his hand.

  “We have to go,” Huz called from behind the commander. But even as David stared at the commander, he knew something was wrong.

  The slash had gone through steel, cloth, and flesh, but Alesh wasn’t falling.

  David cursed when a silver light shone under the man’s skin, illuminating his veins and bones, and then it sealed the wound. Dread filled David, burning away the sliver of hope he had before. He stared with wide eyes, too stunned to speak.

  The cut was completely healed in moments. Gone.

  Alesh grinned with bloody teeth.

  “I told you,” The commander boomed. “You can’t best me.”

  His wings flapped once, flapped again, and on the third flap, David knew he was trying to destroy his domain. It held valiantly until Alesh slammed his sword down, and silvery light rushed through him. His wings expanded to twice the size they were before, and his hair fanned as if carried in a windstorm.

  The 812th Ranker has broken his seal!

  Alesh [The Tenth Blade of Vish’Lir] has invoked [Sanctuary]

  You stand in the hallowed ground of Vish’Lir!

  [Sovereign’s Domain] has been nullified!

  The air seemed to boil and pop. The heat rose several degrees, and David’s skin itched, his face too. Flames engulfed the edge of Alesh’s wings, and the band around his head reflected the glow. He seemed to have transfigured.

  A flap of his wings lifted him and fanned the flames of the sanctuary. David felt the urge to scratch himself raw. He almost did it.

  “You see?” Alesh called, his wings moving in steady beats that held him above ground. He seemed almost pained. As if their discomfort brought him pain. As the heat permeated David’s body and mind, he realized how much more potent the sanctuary was to his domain.

  Behind Alesh, Huz writhed on the floor, his many arms scratching his face as he screamed. The sound ruptured something within David. The cold of fear seized him and he felt hollowed out—worse than the wanderers of Tarthen.

  “I didn’t want to do this,” Alesh said, his voice dragged like a moan. Lazy. Euphoric. David felt soothed by it. As though he could climb into it and hide away from the unpleasantness. A deep yearning coursed through him. A need to be cradled, saved.

  “You are filthy,” The commander said, his voice a gentle caress. So close this time, David staggered forward to grasp it. “You need to be saved from yourself. Purified. That is the mission of our Lord. Do you want to be saved?”

  “Yes!” Huz screamed, begging. David blinked. The heat was overwhelming now. A loud furnace roared in his chest, and yet, again, Alesh’s voice held him with a strange pleasure.

  Alesh flew closer, his wings flapping in a gorgeous curve. David gazed at him, transfixed. Feathers fell from his wings, and David reached up to catch one. He didn’t notice his sword hit the ground. The feather bounced off the air and settled in the flat of his palm.

  It was warm, alive. Essence vibrated around and within it. A power David had never seen before.

  Above him, Alesh looked like a god descended. He was graceful and celestial. Overwhelmingly mighty to David’s enhanced senses.

  You should end this, Ignis growled.

  David sighed and folded his fingers around the feather and squeezed. The sound of the night returned. Huz’s screams pushed through the illusion of bliss, the warmth of false godly love. It shattered so easily.

  And Alesh found out too late.

  He was right in front of David. So confident in the power of his sanctuary. So oblivious to his limits and weaknesses. David almost pitied him. His hesitation would have saved the commander if the man hadn’t stopped in disbelief.

  Summoning Skill: Left Hand of Chaos

  David’s fingers wrapped around the commander’s neck before he could pull away. His cry vanished when David squeezed. He tried to swing his sword, but David slammed him down, gritting against the invisible heat burning him from the inside.

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  Alesh yelled in pain, trying to roll away, but David stood on one of his wings, putting his whole weight on it until he felt something give, and Alesh wailed. This was not the cry of a commander. It was raw and pathetic.

  David grabbed a fistful of his hair and dragged him up. The wing hung strangely, dragging the commander one way.

  “You know,” David began. “I hate people playing with my head.”

  Chaos has been tamed!

  The flames at the tips of his wings fizzled away. The sanctuary was still in effect. The heat grew desperately, but now that he knew it was all in his head, it was easier to ignore.

  “Turn it off,” David growled. He could ignore the pain, but it was there, roaring in his blood. “Turn it off!”

  Chaos has been tamed!

  Chaos has been tamed!

  Chaos has been tamed!

  You have nullified [Sanctuary]!

  The pain vanished, and finally, David could hear the ranker choking whimpers. He hadn’t noticed his fingers tighten around the commander’s neck. He dropped the man in shock, then jumped on the top edge of another wing. The bone shattered immediately, and Alesh yelled a drawn-out cry.

  David stumbled away from him, staggering toward Huz. The many-armed ranker was alive, but his face was bloody. Fortunately, he hadn’t taken out his own eyes.

  The battle on the platform was done too. David was glad none of the others thought to help. He wasn’t sure they would have survived the mental torture of the sanctuary skill.

  “Did we…” Huz swallowed. His scepter was beside him, the crystal completely dull. “Did we win?”

  David looked toward the broken commander. He wasn’t sure if he could say they had won. This was only the first part after all. But he nodded.

  “We did.”

  Then he glanced at the platform, and a new fear gripped his racing heart. The gateway was gone. They had been so focused on the battle against Alesh that they had forgotten the gate.

  “Huz,” David called. He heard his voice like a distant thing. “The gateway is gone. We didn’t win after all.”

  “What?” Huz asked, dazed. “No, no, no no…There should still be t—”

  Huz tried to get up, but he couldn’t. David pulled him the rest of the way. His body ached from so many places. But he couldn’t focus on the pain yet. Huz stood facing the platform, his eyes wide. David noticed he’d torn three of the tendrils. The rest squirmed, wrapping around his neck as if in a plea not to be pulled next.

  “This is bad.”

  “Did you make a plan for this?” David asked, dreading the answer.

  “Yes.”

  Violent relief washed through him, making him sag slightly.

  “It is you,” Huz said, turning to face David.

  Elisha and the others seemed to have finished their fight. David glanced their way to make sure they were all alright. Chloe hadn’t participated in the battle, but she was out of Elisha’s shadow space now. Once he was sure they were safe, he returned his attention to the bloody ranker.

  “Me? What can I do?”

  “You are the only one who can force the gateway open,” Huz said. “And we have to do it quickly.”

  David pointed at Alesh. He wasn’t dead. “What about him?”

  Huz turned toward the commander, a frown masking his face. “He can’t. Whatever helped him heal his wound before isn’t doing that anymore. And I doubt he could gather that much essence. You are our only hope.”

  “We should ask him,” David said. Huz shook his head, then leaned down to pick up his scepter. David knew what the ranker was thinking about. He could feel the hatred leak out of him.

  “What we should do, Lord Ruler, is kill the winged swine and get out of here,” Huz replied. “If we stay here long enough, another squad will find us. They will see the dead guards and search us out.

  Alesh groaned loudly. His two good wings flapped aimlessly, unable to lift him. Huz turned toward the man, his intent obvious.

  David thought to stop him, but there was truth in the ranker’s fears. Alesh’s death was necessary. More and more lives were swallowed and extinguished to sate Balek’s frivolous whims.

  “Will you mourn your enemies?” Vith asked, the lashing in her voice too evident to ignore.

  You can’t drag this weight with you, David, Ignis warned. You have to close yourself off to their loss. They chose their paths, just as you chose to go against them. Their lives are fated to end at your hands or those who fight with you.

  David followed Huz, determined to see it through. He had killed before, probably enjoyed the victory marked by the deaths of many. But this was different. Alesh looked helpless, broken.

  He cried quietly, trying to rouse those wings that he had always commanded with ease.

  Huz stood over him, a terrifying light in his eyes. Once again, David recognized the darkness in the man. Alesh stopped moving. Hair covered a part of his face; it had a glossy sheen, as if it were oiled.

  “Once again, you lose,” Huz mocked. “I think you made the wrong choice two hundred years ago, Alesh. Look, where is Vish’Lir when you need your god to save you?”

  “Where was your god…” the commander coughed. The stench of blood changed the air, made it livelier. “Where was he when you were thrown in Tarthen? You think gods are shields to cower behind?”

  Alesh chuckled.

  David respected him for the defiance. A moment ago, he wept from the pain. Now, he looked strong again, even as he faced death. Very few could be that brave. David knew he was not.

  “Mock all you want, worm. I am not the one dying.”

  “And I didn’t lose my life to y—”

  Huz plunged the scepter into Alesh’s chest, all his fingers wrapped against the shaft. The crystal broke through skin, half-buried in the man.

  The commander folded into the scepter. He didn’t scream. David thought he would smile to torture Huz even more, but perhaps the pain was too much.

  David waited a brief moment after Huz retrieved his scepter. The crystal was stained red, carrying a faint purple glow within.

  So, he can absorb essence, too, Ignis growled. That is a dangerous man.

  David pretended not to see the light. Instead, he crouched next to Alesh, dreading the possibility of the man healing himself again.

  “I don’t think he will heal,” Huz said. He didn’t sounded sure. “We should get going.”

  David nodded.

  They met Elisha on the way to the gate’s platform. Zoey walked beside him, with Dal perched on her shoulder. The Vjognir looked different again—more vibrant than the last time he saw it.

  “Was he really weak, or are you just too strong?” Zoey asked David when they converged.

  David gave her a questioning look.

  “When he transformed, we all thought we were dead. I almost killed myself. Chloe stopped Gis from putting an arrow to her eye. Whatever he did was really strong. I had this strong feeling that it was all for my own good.”

  “That was probably the effect of his sanctuary,” David said, trying not to grunt as they climbed the steps. The bodies of the soldiers had been pushed down the sides of the platform, but there was still blood on the stone.

  “And you just shrugged it off like it wa—”

  “That doesn’t matter right now,” Elisha muttered. Zoey frowned at him. “The gateway is gone, and Carlos said the runes on the pillars are some kind of nodal connection. He still can’t fully understand it.”

  “Can you?” David asked Zoey.

  “What? Me?”

  “You are a druid,” Dal said with shocking exasperation. David raised his brows at it. “She is not an archer. Her gifts have been abandoned. For what? To rain down arrows?”

  “The arrows work just fine!”

  Dal narrowed its large eyes, then leaped off her shoulder to perch on Elisha’s. Elisha missed a step, then pretended like it wasn’t there.

  David was amused by their quarrel, but even that soon faded as the reality of their situation settled on them.

  “How do I do this?” David asked Huz. “If Carlos is right, any error could be a problem.”

  “Your friend is right,” Huz said, leaning on one of the pillars. He was ragged. There was none of the superior poise he had before. Nima, however, seemed untouched by the chaos that rolled through them moments ago.

  “However, it doesn’t matter where you send us, Lord Ruler. This node is connected to all four major gateways in Orphus. So, we’d still arrive in the city.”

  “Oh!” David said. He took a deep breath to calm himself. “Tell me what to do.”