and again until there was no more twitching. Though this may have gained them a few moments of safety, it didn’t stop the others who had been hit. Within moments, victims of the Sphere stood, waiting for the command of their new master.
Like Alric, many of the soldiers began hacking away at their new enemies, but their efforts failed to gain them any ground.
If Nalani thought Human Soldiers of the Dead were bad, Anwyns and Erellens were far worse. The Anwyn’s brute strength with the mix of uncaring ferocity, made them extremely deadly, and not so easy to kill. Nalani watched as just one of them tore through a group of Erellen soldiers. It took more than ten arrows to take him down, and even then he was still thrashing.
Another burst of light; another group of felled soldiers.
“We’ve got to get to the sarians!” Alric said to her.
He was right. If they didn’t stop Marcus and the Sphere, there would be none of them left. It wouldn’t even matter if Silas killed Anithistor.
Chapter Twenty-Four
All was quiet outside the city of Mudavé, though the group of four could still hear the raging battle in the distance. Silas was surprised and relieved that no Stühoc had attacked them even though Inga had dropped their invisibility some time ago. He knew he had the ability to take on just about any enemy, but he had used too much of his power in the battle earlier. The others could see his fatigue too, but none of them expressed their concern.
They followed a path with large rock walls on either side of them. It wound around so much that none of them could see further than twenty feet ahead. The path looked exactly like the one from his dreams, making him wonder if his father truly was alive.
His father.
It was a long shot, but Silas wished it were true. If William Ainsley were alive, then that would mean he wasn’t truly alone in this world. His father would be there to help guide him toward the Red Gate, and Silas would feel unstoppable. Silas’ father had told him that destroying the Red Gate would mean his death, but the thought did not necessarily bother him. He had accepted it as part of his responsibility as the Meshulan. He didn’t fear it.
Kaden had quickly dismissed the possibility of Silas’ father being alive. Silas assumed this was because of Kaden’s relationship with Will – Kaden probably just hoped he wasn’t alive.
The memory Silas saw in Kaden’s mind had been unexpected to say the least. To know that Kaden had been in love with Silas’ mother and a rival to his father was unreal.
But here he was, at the end of it all, and Kaden had no idea that Silas knew of this. Though Silas did not fear the end, he felt that so much had been left unsaid. His friendship with Kaden felt like it had only started. His relationship with Inga felt like it could have gone somewhere. But this was the end.
Now Silas was ready to close the doors behind him.
“I want to be honest with all of you before we part ways,” Silas said as they walked forward.
He took a deep breath. “Kaden, I guess it doesn’t matter now, but I want you to know that there’s a very real possibility that I could die without having defeated Anithistor.”
Kaden said nothing to this.
Silas continued hesitantly, unable to read the man. “Silandrin told me that the prophecy only pointed to me as the possible Deliverer. There are no guarantees.”
“I know,” Kaden said. “I’ve known for a few days now.”
Silas stepped closer to Kaden. “How?”
“Jiaros told me. Silandrin broke the news to him before you came to Elysium the first time.”
Silas looked at the dirt, eyebrows furrowed, and then looked up at Kaden. “Sorry I didn’t tell you.”
Kaden shrugged. “There’s no point in apologizing for it. There’s nothing we can do about it.”
“I didn’t want you to feel like you needed to be overprotective of me.”
“Well, I suppose I might not have let you fight with us at Jekyll Rock the other day had I known then. We’re here now. You are alive and where you are supposed to be.”
“And my father is here too. Somewhere.”
Kaden sighed deeply and cocked his head at Silas. “You really think that’s real, don’t you?”
“I hope it is,” Silas said. “But I understand that you wouldn’t be completely thrilled.”
“Why do you say that?”
Silas didn’t know if telling Kaden that he