It wasn’t enough.
From the moment that Ash’s body had been flung up into the air, we had stopped gaining the upper hand. The guards and ministers were shaken—badly. We were moving back, the army backing away from the steadily seeping shadow. The screams of the guards grew more constant, and though the deadly supernatural creatures who made up GASP fought with as much ferocity as I’d hoped, they couldn’t hold back the threat. No matter how many of the entity’s soldiers we killed, the shadow continued to grow, showing no sign of its mass ever retreating or shrinking.
“We need to retreat!” I called over to Ben as I took another aimless swipe into the black gloom.
“Agreed,” he yelled back, decapitating another of the creatures. “I’ll get the witches on it. Why the hell won’t these things stop coming?”
“We need to get more barriers up!” I called, hoping that there would be enough sentries and witches nearby to help. At the moment I was surrounded by a team of vampires, who had all gathered to the front, where the force of the shadow seemed the strongest – but I needed sentries now, and the witches, to maintain a barrier that might just keep the rest of us alive till they could get out of here.
Don’t go yet.
I lowered my sword for a moment, taken aback at hearing the entity’s voice again. I’d thought it had left its armies to finish us off.
That battle isn’t won. Would you let your people go on to suffer another day?
I tried to ignore it, continuing to battle the strange, ashen creatures that appeared out of the mist. But if the entity was trying to persuade us to stay, I knew it meant we were lost—we couldn’t keep losing our fighters at the rate we were going.
“BARRIERS!” I called again, and this time ministers, witches and jinn all broke through the ranks. Standing either side of me, they tried to form a barrier strong enough to hold off the shadow.
Each time the flickering, translucent wall began to form, the gloom would run up against it, dragging it back down. The ministers started to try to syphon whoever was nearest. Hazel stumbled forward, too worn out to be sucked dry of her energy.
“Rose! Caleb!” I called to her parents, not knowing where they were—I couldn’t take my eyes off the shadow still growing in front of me in case I faltered. “Take her back—she needs to get away from here.”
I stood in front of Hazel, making sure she came to no harm. Ben joined me, and we created a two-man barrier in front of her.
“I’m okay,” she objected weakly. “I can still fight!”
I took a step back, letting Ben handle the shadow for a few moments while I got her to safety.
“Hazel, you’re too weak, you need to get back!” I replied, my throat constricting as I saw how pale she was. It was an effort for her to remain standing up.
“Caleb! Rose!” I called again, and this time was relieved to see Caleb rushing toward us. He pulled Hazel up into his arms.
“Thank you, Tejus,” he replied. “I’ll get her to safety.”
I grabbed on to his arm before he carried her back to the end of the line.
“If things get worse, can you use a witch to get her back to the castle? You’ll need to take a minister with you as well.”
“We can, don’t worry.” He nodded his agreement, forcing his way through the crowd. I saw Rose join them, and together they made their way swiftly toward the back of the ranks.
I turned my direction back to the shadow. Ben was fighting on, standing next to Derek and Aiden. I joined them, relieved to know that Hazel was in safer hands than mine.
“We need more ministers!” I called out. “Get the barriers up!”
Brother, why so eager to shut me out?
“SILENCE!” I cried out, sick of the entity’s voice invading my mind.
“Tejus!” Derek called, pointing at something through the gloom. A few moments later, my brother reappeared. He was smiling, a slow, evil grin spreading across his face as I swung my blade furiously at the oncoming creatures.
“Hold the shadow back!” I called to the vampires, slashing my way toward the body of my brother.
You wish to face me alone, brave soldier of Hellswan?
“I wish to watch you die,” I spat.
So, vengeful Tejus, do you not see how your brother loved me so much he gave up his very soul to serve me?
At the mention of my brother, I raised the sword above my head, bringing it down with as much force as I could muster. Before it could come into contact with his skull, Jenus reached up and caught the blade in his grip. He held it still, his hand like a vice as I struggled to pull it away.
I gave him strength.
He released the sword and I yanked it back, my muscles trembling. I swiped again, this time aiming for his neck. Once again, he caught the sword in his hand—not an ounce of blood bleeding from his body, not a wince as the blade bit into his flesh.