Tinesi

  “It appears he sent every beast he could after the Rangers,” said Kindroth. His perch in the tree gave him a clear view of the surrounding forest. “Do you think they will be strong enough?”

  Tinesi looked toward the soft glow in the distance and thought of her friend, wondering if Lyra could kill someone who had been part of her family. She didn’t think Lyra had been very close to Nasir, though. Tinesi looked up from her spot in the tree and said, “They will suffer casualties. Between the magical beasts and the fresh, dark mage, it is inevitable.”

  Hidden within the tree, Kailu said, “If she dies, I will recover the artifact.”

  “Hush. The beasts will pass us soon. We are hunting the dark mage tonight. Wouldn’t want to alert him of our presence.”

  Her magical senses could feel the dark aura leaking from the horde of magical beasts traveling beneath her, heading toward and around the Ranger’s position. It didn’t take long for the beasts to encounter the outer perimeter. Cries of pain mixed with the roar of the larger animals signaled the start of the battle.

  In a whisper, Tinesi said, “Stay alive and I shall do the same.”

  The urge to abandon her position and come to Lyra’s aid swelled in her chest as time passed by. Her strict training and respect for her master held her hand. Tinesi paused, her senses picking up a dark spike of energy, but not enough to determine its location.

  “I have him. Follow me!”

  Kindroth jumped from tree to tree. Tinesi sprang into action, close behind. She didn’t bother looking for Kailu. He never failed to follow an order from Kindroth and with his ability to mask his presence, it would be nearly impossible, even for her.

  The hunt was on.

  Traveling away from where Timberland lay, parallel to the Rangers' position, Kindroth leaped from the tree, landing with a roll. Short sword pointing at the two dark mages before him, he said, “Find peace in death,” then whipped his sword back and forth, sending wind blade strikes shooting out at both elves.

  Beside a wounded Nasir stood an elf, face hidden under a cloak. His eyes pierced the night. Their hands moved deftly to control the shadows blocking the wind attacks. He picked up Nasir by the throat and tossed him to the ground, away from danger.

  “Leave before I regret it. Fail me again and I will use you for my next experiment.”

  Striking from the shadows, Kailu set his twin blades alight with fire and ice and aimed for Nasir’s neck in an outward crisscrossing pattern when he was getting back to his feet. The hooded dark mage forced Nasir into a shadow, teleporting him further away.

  Kailu turned to pursue when Kindroth said, “Focus on our target.” Quick as a rabbit, Kailu launched himself at the dark mage. Despite being assaulted on two sides, the elf had little trouble maneuvering his shadows to block them both.

  Powering her spell, Tinesi coated her blade with wind, and ignited the fire rune, setting the wind ablaze. Channeling the current of fiery wind into a ball, she positioned it above the dark mage’s head and drove it into the ground.

  Laughter laced with malice emerged from behind a tree untouched. “Surely you can do better than this. Shadow breakers who dare face me at night. How foolish can you be?”

  Firing off wind blade strikes defiantly, Kindroth declared, “If you know who we are, then you must know we will never stop till you all die, and we cleanse the land of you and your god.”

  Eyes glaring beneath his hood, the dark aura around the mage intensified. “You will regret those words.”

  Tinesi no longer thought they could defeat the shadow mage when he had the upper hand. Why does he not fight back? He is powerful enough to do so. What purpose does Nasir have that would push him to intervene and expose himself? Then again, if he had nothing to worry about, it wouldn’t matter. This had to be just a game to him. The dark mage’s obvious disregard toward them frustrated Tinesi.

  Kailu’s charge back into the fight lit a fire under her feet. Roaring in defiance, she rushed back in. Kindroth adjusted his wind blade strikes so they would curve in random directions before reaching their target without harming Kailu. Melee or ranged spells. Neither could puncture the dark mage's defense.

  Halting his attack, Kindroth backed away. With his attention drawn to the sky, the dark mage cackled with laughter. Confused, Tinesi asked, “What is it, master?”

  “The crows.”

  “But master, the Rangers defeated them already. How could he have found more so soon?”

  Backing up as he deflected every attack from Kailu, the dark mage shook his head. “Foolish shadow. You have no idea what I am capable of. If you survive this, come find me again.”

  When Tinesi first saw the crows descending rapidly, she recalled Lyra mentioning some crows had escaped. A wind blade strike from Kindroth intercepted the nearest crow, which exploded in a burst of dark energy.

  “There are too many of them. We need to retreat.” Tinesi said, her mind split between protecting her master and finding an escape route.

  “Don’t be a coward. He is right here. We can do this.”

  “She is right. Don’t let your pride cloud your judgment.”

  Kailu dodged the crows as they crashed into the ground all around him. More crows filled the night sky. He couldn’t dodge them all.

  “Kailu!”

  Gathering the wind in her hands, Tinesi hurled a giant gust over Kailu’s head, deflecting those closest to him. So focused on trying to protect him, Tinesi never saw it coming. Pushed out of the way by Kindroth, she then felt a wave of dark energy that knocked her to the ground.

  He lay on the ground, unmoving. Tinesi looked for the dark mage, but he was gone. Grinding her teeth in frustration, she turned to Kailu and said, “Help me lift him up. We need to leave. Now.”

  He didn’t argue this time. Together, they carried their master away from the crows and Lyra. Away from responsibility. They had failed. She had failed. Worse, her actions could have gotten Kindroth killed. That was unacceptable.

  “We will find him again, and when we do, I will kill him.”

  Lyra

  The taste of death clung to Lyra like a wet blanket. Smoke rose from the pyre, no longer ceremonial. Ordered to discuss her fight with Nasir with Kellam, she watched the others work around her.

  “There is little doubt left. Nasir has become one of them. He has learned to control the shadows, and his lightning attack reminded me of Siranya. An ability he must have stolen from her somehow when he killed her.”

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  “I see. That is unfortunate. We Rangers pride ourselves in the ability to face magical beasts, but there is little understanding to this day regarding those who become corrupt. Our organization has focused solely on protecting our people.”

  The battle-scarred leader never let his eyes linger as he surveyed the aftermath of the fight with the magical beasts and Nasir, the traitor. She doubted anyone still had doubts about his leadership capability after tonight. He reminded everyone why he was the only one who survived the attack that killed the rest of his companions so long ago.

  “My father taught me to take pride in protecting those weaker than yourselves. There is honor in what we Rangers do. I wouldn’t have joined if I didn’t believe in the cause. Have faith that there are those out there who are doing everything they can to rid the land of every traitor who has embraced the shadows.”

  “Like Tinesi and her companions?”

  “Did I ever tell you about the time I killed a magical beast that had been an elf before his transformation?”

  Eyeing her with a raised eyebrow, Kellam shook his head and shrugged. “I don’t believe you have. I haven’t run across one such as that myself during my years of service.”

  “When I delivered the fatal blow, it transformed back into the elf it had been, but all I could see was the monster. I hunted the abomination to protect my family. It was the last time I had the chance to do so successfully.”

  He gripped her shoulder and nodded toward Shaerwyn, who stood there alone, staring at the pyre. “She lost two friends to Nasir’s treachery. I’m sure Shaerwyn could use a friend right now.”

  With a resigned sigh, Lyra forced a smile and said, “Of course.”

  Approaching the lone Ranger, Lyra stared at the flames next to Shaerwyn. Her thoughts drifted to those she lost. She didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to. The silence spoke for itself.

  “He took everything from me, Lyra. I have nothing left. Is there any point in fighting?” Turning to Lyra, she asked, “How do you do it? Continue to fight back after all the death and betrayal without giving up?”

  Searching for the pain, regret, and helplessness she once had, Lyra found acceptance and inevitability in its place. She faced the distraught elf and said, “I had every intention of fighting the horrors that hid in the shadows with little regard for my survival. Don’t think of me as a hero. I’m just too much of a coward to end it myself.”

  On the verge of speaking out, Lyra shook her head to silence Shaerwyn. “At least that is how I used to think before I came to terms with my responsibilities.” Lyra knew Shaerwyn would assume she was referring to the Rangers and not the fact that she made an oath to another cause and was on borrowed time now. A path where death was the only escape, and even that wasn’t a given.

  Taking her by the hand, Lyra tugged till the elf followed and together they made their way back toward Timberland. The survivors had trickled back a few at a time, which created a long line. Gossip from the front spread down the line until it reached Lyra and Shaerwyn.

  “Did you hear? The guards protecting Timberland watched a murder of crows fly toward our location and vanish. I didn’t see any crows during the fight, did you?”

  Shaerwyn glanced at Lyra after hearing the news herself and said, “You look like you have an idea about the crows.”

  Tilting her head in thought, Lyra shrugged and said, “Nasir didn’t escape on his own. The dark mage who corrupted him is responsible. My friends were waiting in the forest to engage. If I had to guess, the crows were being used against them.”

  “Wait. Are you saying they could have helped defeat Nasir and protected countless others from the magical beasts, but waited for someone whose appearance was uncertain?”

  Shaerwyn's pace slowed down, her face scrunching up in frustration and anger. Tossing a cool icy breeze into her face, Lyra cracked a smile at the Ranger's discomfort.

  “Don’t be so na?ve. The entire point of putting everyone in danger was to draw out the true enemy behind most of the magical beasts that have appeared. Every Ranger took an oath to defeat the threats that endanger the lives of those we protect. My friends have their oaths to fulfill, including hunting down that dark mage.”

  Crouching down where she stood, Shaerwyn hugged her knees. Tears rolling down her cheeks. Lyra kneeled and patted her head like she would have with Airdan when he was still alive.

  “It’s fine to be upset when you grieve for those you cared for and lost. If you want to blame anyone, blame me. I convinced the others not to kill him yet so we could get a chance at a bigger prize.”

  Now rocking back and forth, Shaerwyn didn’t notice the looks the other Rangers gave her as they walked around. Nothing egregious, though. If they had, Lyra would have shown them the error of their ways. Shaerwyn wasn’t the only one who lost someone that night.

  After helping Shaerwyn get to bed, Lyra joined Haera, Gorre, and Kellam, who were talking to Captain Raptor at Timberland's front gate. She heard the same report about the crows, and Gorre relayed what had occurred during the operation. When questioned about her friend's involvement, she said, “They did not try contacting me yet. We shall have to wait and see. I can report that I delivered a grievous wound to the traitor, forcing his master to extract him. Odds are, that was enough to give away his location to my friends.”

  Her lack of conclusive answers caused some to scrunch their faces, but what could they do? Her role in the operation revolved around engaging Nasir, and she did just that. Feeling someone’s eyes lingering on her, Lyra cast out her senses and felt Elora. Stepping around Raptor, she smiled at the guards and walked into Timberland. Lyra let her eyes ask the words she couldn’t voice.

  Elora shook her head. Hopes deflated, Lyra looked back toward the forest where Tinesi would have clashed with the dark mage. The uncertainty frustrated her. Could she continue fighting with the Rangers when Tinesi was out there somewhere, putting her life on the line against the true threat?

  Did it matter if she was the one who put the mage down? No, it wasn’t. Did that make her heartless for not wanting revenge against the elf who directed that magical beast to kill her family? Lyra didn’t care. It was never about pure revenge. Even when she was at her lowest, her only concern was removing any threat to her people she could before she died.

  “Lyra?”

  Remembering Elora was there, Lyra turned back and said, “Sorry. I have a lot on my mind.”

  “Why don’t you join me at Rolim’s, and you can tell me all about it?”

  The luxury of time the average elf had no longer applied to her anymore. Not as she was now. Placing her hand on the hilt of the dagger, she felt it react to her touch. Soon, time would be meaningless to an immortal sentient weapon. That didn’t mean she couldn’t pursue one last goal.

  “I’d like that.”

  Nasir

  Lost in the euphoria his new powers gave him during the battle, Nasir let his desires guide his hand. Losing his hand to Haera irritated him, but it was only a minor inconvenience to one as powerful as him. The plan had been perfect. What better time to kill the Rangers than now?

  He had given Lyra another chance to join his side now that he had proved his prowess through his shadow mastery. He could forgive her attempts to kill him. She didn’t know better. How could she? Yet still, she refused to see the truth. That’s when he attempted to remove those who poisoned her mind with lies.

  Killing Elemalu felt satisfying. One less distraction. His attempt at finishing Shaerwyn failed, so he turned his attention toward the root of Lyra’s problems. The Ranger’s leadership, meaning Kellam needed to die. He just had to kill Haera first. The pesky teleporter could hold her own against him, as much as he hated to admit it.

  Focused on his opponent, he never saw it coming. The pain was sudden and intense. Worse than anything he felt before, including the loss of his hand earlier. Why? Because it was Lyra who did it.

  Nasir gasped in pain, looked at Lyra, and asked, “Why?” Lyra twisted the dagger and yanked it to the side. Panicking, Nasir reached toward the wound to press against it.

  Master!

  Hush. I may have use for you still.

  Swallowed by a cocoon of shadows, Nasir felt himself fall into its embrace. He found himself by Kiressin's side, away from all the fighting. His master burned his side closed with pure dark energy with an annoyed look in his eyes.

  “You need to run. They will be here soon.”

  “Who?”

  Dizzy from the pain, Nasir struggled to focus.

  An elf jumped out of a tree, sword drawn, and said, “Find peace in death.”

  Nasir flinched at the sudden barrage of wind blade strikes covering his face. When nothing hit him, he looked up at his master. The dark mage blocked every attack with ease. He leaned in and grabbed Nasir by the throat and tossed him to the ground behind him and said, “Leave before I regret it. Fail me again and I will use you for my next experiment.”

  A second elf appeared out of nowhere, two elementally enhanced blades aimed at Nasir's neck. Falling into the shadow beneath him, Nasir escaped death for the second time that night. He had no desire to face whoever those elves were or ignore his master’s orders. Nasir ran.

  The wound was closed, and his makeshift shadow hand functioned, but the effort drained him of energy. What little he could spare was used to teleport himself as far as possible. Paranoid that the mystery elf would show up at any moment, Nasir lost track of his footing and fell several times, leaving his face covered in dirt and blood.

  He didn’t know how long he ran. It all became a blur. His hand kept reaching for the sword secured on his hip. Convinced he would find it missing when they found him, and he needed it most. The mental strain left him exhausted. No longer able to keep going, Nasir found a cave and entered.

  Stirred by his presence, a bear rose, heckles rising. With a roar, it charged. Acting on instinct, Nasir teleported behind the bear, jumped on its back, and thrust his blade through the back of its skull and out the mouth. When two bear cubs rushed him, he skewered them with spikes of earth and left them.

  Collapsing to the ground, his mind drifted to sleep to the tune of a bear cub slowly bleeding to death.