Page 146 of Vasmora

Allura’s screams echoed around them, and Dolion placed his palm over her mouth.

“Shhhhh.”

A monstrous figure stepped through the entrance, his tusks gleaming and sharp, skin a pale white—too pale for his species. His eyes, pink and menacing, landed on Allura, before the berserker let out a roar and lurched toward them, its heavy footfalls rattling Dolion’s teeth.

From his robe, King Sagaerin fished out a pale green, opalescent orb that reminded Dolion of an oversized pearl. He held it in the air, and the berserker skidded to a stop, his pink eyes locked on the object.

“You will protect your king at any cost,” he said, and the Orgoth nodded.

“Protect. King.”

Sagaerin smiled. “Yes. Protect. Come.” As the king turned toward the stairwell, Dolion reached out and grabbed his arm, quickly releasing him when the beast growled behind him.

“Your Majesty, you can stop this plague,” Dolion urged.

“The seal is broken. The god has awakened.”

“And he can be sent back.”

“Only through the blood of a firstborn prince! Akmyrios has informed me that Jeret’s castle is crawling with plague. His bloodline is tainted! It’s as I told you, firstborn sons will perish!”

Like a dying rose, whatever hope Dolion held withered with the king’s words.

“Give me the amulet. Let me try. I’ll study the tomes.” The mage’s eyes turned pleading. “I’ll find a way.”

“Give you the amulet?” Sagaerin rested his palm against his chest, where the amulet must’ve been tucked beneath his robe.

“You once trusted me above all others.”

The king’s brows lowered. “Perhaps the last time I truly trusted any of my mages.” As if lost in that thought, he stroked his fingers over his chest.

“Do not trust him, Your Majesty.”

The unfamiliar voice drew Dolion’s attention toward a figure at the foot of the stairwell. A guard, based on his uniform, but something about him wasn’t quite right. As if his skin was stretched over crooked bones. Rearranged wrong.

He shifted his attention toward Dolion. “The mad mage. You’ve not changed much at all.”

“Cadavros!” Dolion cried out, and a powerful blow to his chest knocked him backward. His spine slammed into the wall behind him, knocking the wind from his lungs.

“Berserker! Protect your king!” Sagaerin held up the pale orb, and the beastly creature stood mesmerized.

“Protect. King.” The massive Orgoth turned toward Cadavros and let out an ear-splitting roar. He charged toward the soldier, but as if he’d crashed into an invisible wall, his head kicked back, arms splayed to the side.

Cadavros chuckled.

The king held out his palm and rays of silver moonlight, his ancestral blood magic, shot toward Cadavros as a single beam. His power would’ve turned any normal mancer into a gray, glittering mass of stone.

It merely bounced off Cadavros, falling to the ground like stardust.

Cadavros opened his mouth wide, and a cluster of spiders poured out onto the floor, where they scampered toward the king.

“No! No!” The king hopped around them, stomping as they danced around his feet.

Dolion slowly rose to a stand, and as subtly as he could manage, held out his palm, but before he could so much as imagine a glyph, white silken threads shot toward him, pinning the mage to the wall at his rear. The threads crisscrossed back and forth, rapidly climbing his legs, stomach, chest and arms.

“Dolion!” Allura cried, darting toward him. As she dug her fingers into the sticky threads in futility, a force whisked her to the side, slamming her body against the wall beside him. Silken strands leapt across to her, weaving their way from her trapped arms down to her feet.

“Allura.” Dolion grunted, muscles burning as he pushed his arms against the bindings that wouldn’t budge. “Damn it all, release us!” He growled, wriggling and straining.