Page 114 of The Arcane God

Chapter Forty-One

Ena

Ena felt Ty grab her, pulling her behind him in an effort to shield her from the onslaught of daemons. He was armed with only a dagger, and the three of them were sorely outnumbered.

Daemons swung at them, trying to grab them, so she let her visanis have free rein, focusing on their attackers one by one.

{Sleep.}

{Stop fighting.}

{Release him.}

There were so many of them, it was hard to keep up, and they just kept coming. With every command, she could feel her magic weakening, her body tiring. The Change was still new to her, and the effort it had taken to force it so quickly was draining, and now using her visanis as much as she was, she wasn’t sure how much longer she’d be able to maintain her hold on it.

She reached out to another daemon—a harsh-looking woman whose face was screwed up in anger—grasping for the mind channel that connected her to Ena.

{Don’t move} she said, but the command fell flat, the mind channel slipping from her like sand through her fingers.

The woman didn’t even flinch—she lunged forward, grabbing Ena by the hair and wrenching her down towards her knee, striking her hard in the face. Ena felt blood well in her nose, and she twisted to the side, trying to release the woman’s hold on her.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ty struggling against two large daemons who were holding him down; meanwhile, Steig was wrestling furiously with a daemon one-handed as his other held on to Lara, who mindlessly thrashed and scratched at him—still bound by the magic of the collar to do as she’d been told by Zak.

Neither of them could help her, she realized, as she tried frantically to remember her all-too-brief training in the fighting ring.

She reached up, grabbing the arm that held her, and pulled the woman closer as she cocked her arm, preparing to punch the woman in the gut.

Just then, an arrow came soaring through the Great Antre, striking her attacker in the shoulder and forcing the woman to release her grip as she cried out in pain.

Ena looked up in relief. Stryx—clad in their telltale furs—streamed into the chamber, their bows and arrows cocked and ready as they let loose on the daemons attacking her, Ty, and Steig.

And behind them were more faces she recognized.

Greya, Perse, Mel, Syrelle, Cris, and his brother Colyn came running into the chamber, quickly forming a half ring at the entrance, followed at last by Turner—his two short swords in either hand as he rushed towards Ty and Steig.

Relief flooded her now that they had backup, and she moved to join the witches, to add her magic to their spell as they’d planned, but as she pushed through the crowd, an imperi reached out and grabbed her arms, pinning them to her side. She twisted around to look at him as she thrashed in his hold—it was the old man she’d saved from Cole’s mockery at the onata celebration. She didn’t want to hurt him—she knew he had no choice—but at the same time…he needed to get the fuck off of her.

Ena lifted her leg, kneeing the man in the groin—hard—and he collapsed. Just then, another daemon came at her—a bulky man who looked like he was going to be much harder to subdue—when one of Xena’s arrows soared through the chamber, striking him in the shoulder. Not a killing wound—the stryx had been instructed to spare life whenever possible—but enough to distract him. Ena looked up, making eye contact with Xena from across the vast chamber, and nodded in thanks. Xena returned it, then instantly turned her focus elsewhere as Ena ran to the witches.

The six of them were gathered at the entrance to the Great Antre, blocking anyone’s attempted entry. “You made it,” Ena said to Greya as her sister tossed her a simple shift to cover her naked body.

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Perse said from next to her, the corner of his mouth tipping up.

She quickly threw on the shift before joining hands with her sister, adding to the witches’ sacred arrangement.

Together, the seven of them formed a semi-circle, and as she reached down into her Knowing, she could feel their magic flowing together, syncing with the same purpose. She didn’t have much left to give, but she’d add what she could.

Taking a deep breath, she felt for the moisture in the air—the dankness of the cave—just as they’d planned. Then, once she Knew they were all ready, they spoke in unison.

{Nebula}

The force of their combined magic drew a fog from the air that was so dense, the entire chamber whited out instantly. Moisture filled her lungs as she looked to her left, finding that she was barely able to see Greya standing next to her. She felt her sister squeeze her hand, though, and she didn’t let go.

The sounds of fighting and shouting that had filled the chamber were quickly replaced with confusion.

“What in Iblis’s name is going on?!”

“Where did they go?”