felt now.
He heard Kaden mutter something to himself and then he yelled. “I found it!”
Silas was engrossed with thoughts of the coming horde, too focused to see what Kaden was doing. The war cries grew louder. Silas was certain their bloodthirsty shrieks would send chills into the devil himself.
Kaden placed the medallion in the slot he had found and Silas turned to watch as streaks of blue light began to slither across the blank wall. This was it. Garland had been truthful from the beginning. Perhaps they would not have to face the Stühocs.
Kaden threw the torch to the ground, fixed an arrow in his bow and stood next to Silas.
“It may take a few moments for the gate to open,” Kaden said.
“We might not have a few moments,” Silas said.
“I suppose your grandfather’s training is about to come in handy.”
“Let’s hope the gate opens before we have to find out.”
The wailing and squealing was louder and soon the Stühocs were only seconds away. Silas held the gun steady, finger on the trigger, as Kaden pulled back on his bowstring. They both stood, waiting. The wall behind them was getting brighter with blue light. The gate was almost open.
At the first sight of a Leaper, Kaden sent an arrow sailing, hitting the monster in the chest. Silas let off a shot, sending two of them to the ground at once.
The wall behind seemed to churn into a standing blue liquid, the light fading in and out.
Silas let off his final shot, taking down two more Leapers in a bloody crash. He instantly pulled out his sword taking a defensive position. Once Kaden had finished his quiver of arrows he did the same thing. They had no choice but to let the Stühocs come in close.
Silas stole a glance backward. “How do we know when it’s open?”
“We’ll know!” Kaden said.
In that instant a Leaper jumped toward Silas at full force. He ducked low causing the Leaper to overstep him. He turned and sliced the creature through the ribs sending ashy gray blood pouring to the stone floor.
The Stühocs then unexpectedly became quiet. Silas and Kaden stood ready for another round of attacks, but it didn’t come. From the darkness ahead, breaking the silence with a slow chuckle stood a tall, ominous figure.
“Maroke,” Kaden said through his teeth.
Maroke was nothing like Silas had expected. He was built like a man, but much taller with Human-like facial features. He might have been handsome were it not for all the battle scars streaming down his face and neck on his gray skin. His long, black hair was braided and fell over both of his massive shoulders. His body was clad in metal armor and his arms were larger than Silas’ head, leading down to giant fists holding a sword. Yet as he moved from the shadows, the most unnerving characteristic of Maroke was the Stühoc leader’s red eyes. They glowed in the darkness like fire. The Stühoc smiled, revealing a row of sharp, canine teeth. He held up his arm to the Leapers still pouring into the room, commanding them to move only when he gave the order. Silas scanned the army in front of him. They were outnumbered by at least a hundred.
A droplet of sweat rolled dangerously close to Silas' eyeball nearly causing him to blink and wipe by natural reaction. He feared any movement would trigger the Stühoc’s aggression.
Maroke held his sword ready, but as he entered the chamber, he slowly lowered it and began to chuckle. The laugh made Silas feel sick to his stomach. It was pure evil and it sounded too high for a creature of such great dominance.
“Your plan has failed,” Maroke said. “Garland Ainsley was a fool if he thought he could pull this off.”
“You’re wrong, Maroke,” said Kaden. “The gate is opening. You aren’t coming through with us.”
“You’re outnumbered,” he answered. He turned his head to look at Silas. “And you,” he said. “Don’t be fooled by those that claim to be helping you. Their selfish desire to rescue you is nothing but a ploy to make you a dictator bent on destroying a race. You don’t want to be a part of something like that, do you?”
Silas didn’t know what to say. He stood firm, sword in hand. The gate needed to open. They had no chance against this many enemies.
“The gate’s taking too long,” Kaden whispered.
“Kaden?” Silas said, unable to control the tremor in his voice.
Kaden tightened his grip on his sword and