soon as the thought crossed her mind, the room began to spin. The next thing she knew the cold stone floor was pressing against her cheek as the howls of fighting began slowly fading away. As everything turned dark, Enelya held onto one thought.
“Argus had come.”
Chapter Twelve
Location Irlendria / Startüm Ironwolf:
“Aaaiiieee!”
I screamed as my eyes boiled in their sockets from the searing heat as the flesh melted from my face. I screamed until my lungs were turned into two blackened husks in the center of my chest as I was picked up and hurled against the side of the mountain from the force of the explosion. As the flames scorched everything in its path, Ukko’s healing light fought to keep me alive.
The agony felt like an eternity, but in actuality, it only lasted for a matter of a few seconds as the holy power flowing through my veins healed my scorched body. Drawing in a ragged breath as my lungs began functioning once more, I rose to my hands and knees as my eyes grew back in their blackened sockets.
Normally, I would have healed in the blink of an eye, but I was at the end of my energy reserves. With an iron will I ignored the agony coursing through my body, conserving my energy reserves to only focus on healing what was truly necessary to continue functioning.
Forcing my battered body to its feet, I sheathed my Katanas as I stepped over the blackened remains of the Scourge piled up around me. Staggering with each step, I made it to the edge of the cliff to where Starfire and Frostbrand lay unmoving on the bare stone as water streamed around them, flowing off the cliff in a small torrent. The thick ice sheet covering the entire plateau had been completely melted away from the fiery blast. Kneeling next to the girls, I could feel the spark of life inside of them as I gently gathered Starfire into my arm. They had simply pushed themselves too far.
Moaning softly, Starfire’s slender arms weakly tightened around my neck as her eyes fluttered painfully open. Her dilated pupils were almost solid back from the effects of the Fring. As soon as her eyes focused on me, I heard her gasp in shock as she saw my pain filled yellow eyes and ruined face.
Stroking her silver matted hair, I gave her a lipless grin.
“Don’t be, you saved us all.”
Suddenly, I saw the mental image of how I looked through her eyes as the tears silently ran down her cheeks. If it didn’t hurt so much, I would have laughed. While some of my skin had regenerated, most of my face was still burnt to a blackened crisp from the intense heat, except for the places where the flesh had been completely seared away to the white bone underneath. I really did look horrendous, more dead than alive. As I watched, I saw the skin was already regenerating from the faint yellow glow surrounding me.
A large tremor beneath our feet broke the connection as I was once again looking through my own eyes. As the entire mountain began to shake, I felt Starfire lay her feverish head against my neck.
Scooping Frostbrand up into my other arm, I froze hearing the warbling howls of Worgs call out nearby.
CRACK
Turning around at the loud noise, I watched unbelievably as the stone of the archway began cracking with deep fissures running down its length. As another massive tremor shook the entire peak, a massive chunk of the archway suddenly sheared away from the mountain. With a loud roar the crumbling pieces plummeted into the Otso River far below.
Hearing the sounds of claws on the stone behind us, I turned around to see the Worg hunters from earlier spreading out onto the wide plateau. Nervously they stepped over the blacked remains of the Scourge until their large hairy shapes filled the rocky expanse. Standing shoulder to shoulder, the creatures faced us growling ferociously.
Shifting the girls to one arm, I drew a katana facing the Worgs head-on. My energy reserves were near empty. Still, concentrating on the runes engraved
“Argus had come.”
Chapter Twelve
Location Irlendria / Startüm Ironwolf:
“Aaaiiieee!”
I screamed as my eyes boiled in their sockets from the searing heat as the flesh melted from my face. I screamed until my lungs were turned into two blackened husks in the center of my chest as I was picked up and hurled against the side of the mountain from the force of the explosion. As the flames scorched everything in its path, Ukko’s healing light fought to keep me alive.
The agony felt like an eternity, but in actuality, it only lasted for a matter of a few seconds as the holy power flowing through my veins healed my scorched body. Drawing in a ragged breath as my lungs began functioning once more, I rose to my hands and knees as my eyes grew back in their blackened sockets.
Normally, I would have healed in the blink of an eye, but I was at the end of my energy reserves. With an iron will I ignored the agony coursing through my body, conserving my energy reserves to only focus on healing what was truly necessary to continue functioning.
Forcing my battered body to its feet, I sheathed my Katanas as I stepped over the blackened remains of the Scourge piled up around me. Staggering with each step, I made it to the edge of the cliff to where Starfire and Frostbrand lay unmoving on the bare stone as water streamed around them, flowing off the cliff in a small torrent. The thick ice sheet covering the entire plateau had been completely melted away from the fiery blast. Kneeling next to the girls, I could feel the spark of life inside of them as I gently gathered Starfire into my arm. They had simply pushed themselves too far.
Moaning softly, Starfire’s slender arms weakly tightened around my neck as her eyes fluttered painfully open. Her dilated pupils were almost solid back from the effects of the Fring. As soon as her eyes focused on me, I heard her gasp in shock as she saw my pain filled yellow eyes and ruined face.
Stroking her silver matted hair, I gave her a lipless grin.
“Don’t be, you saved us all.”
Suddenly, I saw the mental image of how I looked through her eyes as the tears silently ran down her cheeks. If it didn’t hurt so much, I would have laughed. While some of my skin had regenerated, most of my face was still burnt to a blackened crisp from the intense heat, except for the places where the flesh had been completely seared away to the white bone underneath. I really did look horrendous, more dead than alive. As I watched, I saw the skin was already regenerating from the faint yellow glow surrounding me.
A large tremor beneath our feet broke the connection as I was once again looking through my own eyes. As the entire mountain began to shake, I felt Starfire lay her feverish head against my neck.
Scooping Frostbrand up into my other arm, I froze hearing the warbling howls of Worgs call out nearby.
CRACK
Turning around at the loud noise, I watched unbelievably as the stone of the archway began cracking with deep fissures running down its length. As another massive tremor shook the entire peak, a massive chunk of the archway suddenly sheared away from the mountain. With a loud roar the crumbling pieces plummeted into the Otso River far below.
Hearing the sounds of claws on the stone behind us, I turned around to see the Worg hunters from earlier spreading out onto the wide plateau. Nervously they stepped over the blacked remains of the Scourge until their large hairy shapes filled the rocky expanse. Standing shoulder to shoulder, the creatures faced us growling ferociously.
Shifting the girls to one arm, I drew a katana facing the Worgs head-on. My energy reserves were near empty. Still, concentrating on the runes engraved
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