the short instant, Anithistor flicked his wrist and the platforms dropped beneath the feet of Lorcan, Kaden, and Inga.
“No!” Silas dropped to his knees, calling on the rest of his power to hold them in mid-air before the ropes could snap their necks.
But it wasn’t enough.
Anithistor sent a flash of electricity into Silas’ chest, throwing him into the wall. The blinding, hot light burned into his concentration. Smoke filled the air, and Silas was completely spent.
He was able to glance up at his friends one last time. Their necks were broken, and they dangled lifelessly in the air.
No! Silas thought. His eyes burned with tears at seeing them so easily killed. It was completely finished. They were through. The Dunarian mission was a failure. Anithistor stepped forward to finish the job.
Silas’ father was still in the corner, muttering to himself. In his last moments of life, he wondered why his father had come here. What was he doing now? Was he afraid? Why hadn’t he tried to help his son?
“You have lost, Silas Ainsley,” Anithistor said.
“I know.”
“I hate to kill the Gatekeeper and Watchman.”
“No you don’t.”
“You’re right.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Julian stumbled up the spiraling stairs toward Hroth’s chamber. He couldn’t count the number of Leapers he had just taken down. The Possessor obviously knew Julian was coming after him and must have called every Leaper in Mudavé to take out his would-be assassin.
A giant gash in Julian’s leg had bled freely until he had ripped a piece of his shirt to wrap around it. The wound had slowed him down. With each opponent he was forced to call on every bit of magic he knew and rely on all the fighting techniques that Robin had taught him when Julian was a young teenager. Never before had he fought so many Leapers.
It would not have been so bad with Stühoc regulars. Though they could think and make decisions in a fight, they were weak and poorly trained. Leapers needed no training. Their brute strength and agility made them a dangerous foe. That, and their sharp claws that nearly matched a sword.
Finally facing the wooden door at the top, he felt so close to his quarry, yet he knew there was more to be done. There would be no sneaking in. There was no secret key. Julian could no longer rely on stealth. He knew that Reckoning Soldiers were running out of time.
As much as he could with his injured leg, he forced his shoulder into the door in hopes of breaking it down. He groaned in agony. The door was solid, and the first collision felt like it might have dislocated his shoulder. He tried it one more time, but it nearly made him pass out from the pain. The door wouldn’t budge this way.
The sound of screeching made him freeze. He had just faced so many Leapers and now more were coming. Hroth was surely intending to kill Julian.
But he wasn’t going to give up easily. He was glad to at least have the door to his back, knowing he would not be attacked from behind, but he didn’t have a lot of faith in his strength. His body had reached its limits and his limbs were ready to give out. When the first Leaper came into view, Julian readied himself with his sword, taking a defensive position. It jumped at him with lightening-quick speed, but Julian maneuvered his sword to meet it in the throat. That had been his easiest kill of the bunch.
But three more followed quickly behind. He hated their gray lizard skin and sharp teeth. He loathed their demonic claws that went for the killing strike every time.
He blocked and parried. A set of claws swiped his other leg, grazing his skin with small tears that showed he had just escaped a much more severe injury. In such an enclosed space, Julian actually held the advantage. He smashed one of them with the hilt of his sword and sent a fiery ball into the mouth of another, killing it instantly. Another clawed hand swung for his head, but Julian caught its wrist with his sword and it howled in pain as its hand fell to the ground. Using the distraction to his advantage, Julian shoved his sword into its chest, quickly ripped it out and cut the neck of the last Leaper.
For a moment, all was still again, but he knew it wouldn’t last. The brief silence was interrupted by another distant screech indicating that more were on