Shattered Souls (Guardians of the Maiden Book 3)

Part 3 – Souls

Rawn had the impression of fingertips on his cheek as a soft voice called his name. A warm summer breeze coasted over him, carrying the sweet scent of Dynalyas from the garden. He buried his face in her lap, refusing to rise. He would stay here a while longer. Only a little bit longer.

“Rawn,” Aerina called again and her lips brushed his forehead. “You must wake now, love. Please, Rawn. Wake up.”

Wake up!

He gasped and his frosted lashes snapped open. The remnants of his dream faded beneath the piercing ring in his ears, muffling the screams in the distance. The frozen lake he laid on burned his face and numbed his limbs. It vibrated beneath him with heavy, lumbering footsteps. Purple, green, and blue lights flashed around him. Something cracked and snapped. He sucked in a breath and his ribs constricted painfully where he’d been struck. Fair let out a shrill neigh, tugging at his cloak.

“Rawn!” Lucenna’s cry cleared the haze, and the roar of trolls rattled in his skull.

Rawn snatched his fallen bow off the ground, rolling to his knees. Hissing through the pain, he drew back the bowstring and lined his sight on his target. Wind and icy rain blew between him and the incoming troll. The massive creature had to be at least twelve feet tall, gray body covered in plated bone and fur. It chased after Dyna and Cassiel as they ran across the frozen lake. Rawn shot the arrow followed by two others. They whistled through the air and bounced off the creature’s chest.

“Aim for the eyes!” Dyna shouted.

Rawn whipped out another arrow, and his arm trembled with the pain ripping at his ribs. He exhaled a low breath, letting everything fade to the background of his awareness and released. The arrow skewered the troll’s third eye. Dark gray blood spurted from its unsightly face, the creature bellowing in pain. It toppled and hit the ice, only for more trolls to come lumbering after it. Their haggard breath left faint clouds in the chill. One opened its gaping mouth full of jagged teeth and roared. Rawn winced from the deafening sound echoing through the forest.

Beside him, Lucenna filled her hands with crackling purple magic. “These damn things keep coming.”

She cast bolts of lightning at beast after beast. Cassiel and yanked Dyna out of the way and threw a blue fireball, blasting the head off a troll’s shoulders. Her arms were alight with magic as she defended his back. Zev leaped onto another of the massive beasts and sank his teeth around its jugular.Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

It was the only soft spot on their bodies. And their eyes.

Rawn kept shooting, magic raging all around. But there were too many, taking all of their might to take only one down. He reached for another arrow and grabbed only air. His quiver was empty.

The small Horde would reach them soon. He heard a cracking sound again and glanced down at the frozen lake. The ice was fracturing. Too much weight.

Lucenna cursed and filled her hands with Essence, building it into a large sphere. “Essence blast,” she said. “I will blow a hole through them.”

“Hold,” Rawn said.

“You want me to stop?” she exclaimed incredulously.

“Yes. Get to land!” he bellowed at the others.

Cassiel snatched Dyna in his arms and flew the rest of the way, the black wolf sprinting after them. His wings couldn’t keep them airborne much longer, and they crash landed on the hard ground next to him.

“Now!” Rawn shouted. “Break the ice!”

Lucenna hurled the crackling sphere, and it struck the center of the lake with a boom. Cracks spread like webs through the ice beneath the trolls’ feet and they dropped through the dark depths with infuriated bellows. The beasts quickly sank into the depths, leaving all to fall still.

They all dropped on the bank from relief and exhaustion. None of their weapons worked on those massive creatures. Their plated skin was too thick. Fire helped, but it took all their power to burn through their thick hides, and they had been fighting all morning to survive the Bridge. They were spent.

“If we don’t find shelter by nightfall, I don’t know if we will make it,” Lucenna said, panting. A layer of sweat beaded her pale complexion.

Zev growled in agreement.

Cassiel helped Dyna stand. “I will fly ahead.”

“You can’t,” she said. “Your wings.”

Cassiel grimaced as he stretched them out, but even Rawn saw the stiffness. Like the Pegasai, he couldn’t fly in these frigid temperatures. It was so cold, not even Rawn’s enchanted cloak could completely keep it out. Withholding a shudder, he took Fair’s reins and nodded for them to keep going.

This was only day one, and they still had three more to go. He was beginning to worry they may not reach the other end.

But he shoved that thought aside. He had to make it. Aerina was waiting for him.

Rawn lifted a hand to his chest. The old letter he had yet to mail to her rested in his pocket like a weathered treasure. Worn on the edges from time but the most valuable thing he owned.

He had to let her know he was still alive.

He had to cross Troll Bridge.

The sooner he reached Mount Ida, the sooner he could return to his homeland. After twenty long years, he had enough. He couldn’t go another season without seeing his family again.

“Are you all right, Lord Norrlen?” Dyna asked him worriedly. “You took a heavy blow.”

Rawn pressed on his aching ribs where a troll’s fist had hit him. The blow had been so hard, it threw him across the lake. “Yes, my lady,” he heaved a breath, his lungs struggling to intake the bitter air. “Thank you.”

“I don’t like the way you’re breathing. I need to examine you once we—”

A distant roar echoed through the barren trees.

“Go!”

They sprinted through the forest. The icy rain and wind mercilessly beat against them, half blinding him. Rawn’s heart thudded in his chest as he ran, the ground shaking with the incoming Horde. They needed a plan.

The sound of trolls roaring, their running steps and heavy breaths, was all he heard, so when he noticed the sound of water, it was too late. They skid to stop at the bluff, where it dropped into a high cascade. Fair neighed wildly, backing away from the edge.

Cassiel cursed. “Do we jump?”

“To the Seven Gates with that,” Lucenna hissed. “I’m not jumping.”

Rawn shook his head. “We will not.”

The bluff wasn’t too high, but the edges of the river were already frozen. The water would numb them in minutes. They couldn’t risk that.

“Here, we fight.” He drew out his sword. “Attack in pairs as you strike and defend. Get them over the ledge if you have to. Whatever you do, hold our ground.”

Lucenna turned to face the forest, her body crackling with magic. Cassiel did the same, and Dyna’s hands lit with power. Zev crouched low, releasing a deep snarl.

The trees rattled and branches snapped. Rawn mounted Fair and they rode ahead, leading the attack. When the first troll stormed out of the forest, he let a knife fly and it impaled its throat. Galloping past, he swept his sword for the next beast.

Currents of magic and fire exploded around him. A black wolf dashed alongside him and sprang on the troll that nearly swiped at him. Cassiel flew through the air and slammed his flaming sword down through the thick skull of another.

Trolls swarmed out of the balding trees. His ears rang with the cries of his companions and raving roars. The Horde cut through them, separating them in different directions. His blade slashed and speared as he fought for his life.

They were everywhere.

It reminded him of the Grindylows, and he felt a shiver brush his spine. The sound of his heartbeat thudded in his head, his ears ringing. Death was there with him, but he ignored its presence. He had to survive. For Aerina and his son, he had to.

“Rawn!” Lucenna shouted.

A force yanked him off the saddle, and a troll yanked him towards its snapping teeth. A current of electricity hit the creature, and he dropped. He rolled out of the way of its enormous feet and slashed through its throat. The fight continued. The forest filled with the sounds of blasts, screams, and the snarls. The stench of burning hide made his nose burn.

At the sound of a neighing cry, Rawn whipped his head around.

Fair ran from a troll chasing him until he was cornered on the muddy edge of the waterfall. Rawn sprinted to him. He took out two long knives and slid on the muddy ground between a beast’s legs. He sliced through its heels, leaping up to keep running for his horse.

Rawn leaped onto the troll cornering Fair and shoved his knives through its throat. He yanked out a bloody knife and impaled it into the back of the troll’s skull. It went down and he with it. It fell forward, forcing his horse to the edge of the falls.

Rawn lunged and caught the reins. He tried to pull him back to safety, but Fair was too heavy. His boots slid through the mud. They were falling. Fair neighed wildly at him, hooves kicking against the rock.

“No,” Rawn grunted through his teeth as they slipped further. “Reac erajed eton!”

Fair neighed again, protesting.

“I will not let you fall!” He refused to let go of his friend.

Even if it meant falling with him.

He lost purchase of the ground, and they slid off into the open air. Purple light snatched them both. Lucenna held out a trembling hand to them, the other pointed at the trolls with a beam of blazing Essence. Her legs bent, and she cried out from the effort it took to simultaneously defend herself while keeping Rawn from falling. She looked at him with glowing eyes full of fear and apology.

He nodded to let her know it was all right. It wasn’t her fault. A troll knocked into Lucenna, and her magic winked out. Her scream followed his descent.

Rawn had only a moment to suck in a mouthful of air before he plunged into the ice.