Sanctum Outskirts

The Greycloak party watching the ruins didn't know what hit them.

They'd been stationed there to patrol for reinforcements and signal to the Lightborn when they caught the first sign of the Archon flying over the windswept trees.

The surface was quiet, save for the continual tremors they felt beneath the grey earth of this cursed place that had once been Gyko's nesting ground. The six of them – three warriors, two rogues, and one magi, had manned their positions on the North, East, and Western walls for the past hour. And though each one of them admitted that they'd rather be seeing the slaughter firsthand, they didn't dare disobey the will of Argwyll's God.

Unfortunately for them, such loyalty would prove to be their undoing.

Before he could react to the odd fluctuations in mana he felt in the bushes nearby his lookout post, the Magi felt a tap on his shoulder.

He turned to see the fist of a Lycae crack his jaw before the creature's other arm came round his neck and finished him off with a sickening twist.

The kill had been quiet. And totally unobserved. The Lycae had come from the nearby woods like a shadowed stalker, imbued with an Invisibility Spell of Grade A from noneother than Fauna the Hopla.

Klax signaled to the rest of the team via Lamphrey's telepathic link. She'd placed one on each member of the team as they'd come upon the entrance to Sanctum and found it guarded by nothing but a token resistance force.

"That's what they think of us," Fauna had whispered to them from their cover. They think we no longer pose any real threat, so they're letting their peons stand guard. Probably, these are the weakest Greys of the bunch."

"Their head-honcho doesn't want the glory to be taken from him," Tara huffed.

"We still don't know if it's him, Tara," Klax reminded her. "For all we know, this could just be a survey force."

"No," Lamphrey said – her tone more piercing, and yet strangely more hesitant, than usual. "The Lightborn is here. Did you not feel it in the child Hopla's cry?"

The rest of the team didn't answer her. Only Fauna stiffened as the memory of Mara's desperate cry came back to her.

At that moment, all the Hybrids cared about was getting back home. They needed to add their strength to the fledgling defenses Sanctum had at its disposal.

And with Fauna's spell, the Greys literally wouldn't see them coming.

With the Magi down, Lamphrey and Fauna were free to sweep the area with their magic. Fauna created an [Infernal Storm] that was centered on the shield-bearing Greycloak of the group. He stumbled, tried to cry out, and found that when he opened his mouth nothing but living, sentient flame entered.

His roguish comrades saw him flailing and entered stealth. Both of them avoided the arcane bolts Fauna sent their way from the treeline, and they sprinted together through the ruins towards the direction of the magical attacks.

Instead, both of them met the poisoned blades of Tara, who's swiftness was enough to stop them in their tracks. They paused, confused, as the invisible daggers of the Minxit kept both their arms at bay.

"It's an illusion!" one of them spat. "No hybrid scum is strong enough to stop the blade of a Greycloak."

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

Behind the veil of Fauna's invisibility, Tara smirked.

"Boys, we ain't just any hybrids."

Her blades burning with the Infernal Enchantment Fauna had just sent her way, Tara spun, pirouetted, and slashed with her left dagger at one of the unbelieving rogues. His hands came off like wheat being sheared by a scythe, and the howl of pain he let out was music to the Minxit's ears.

"Krem!" he yelled. "She's open! Finish this feline bi-!"

His last command was never heard. Instead, pain flashed through his body, radiating up from his lower spine where his comrade had just impaled him with both his own blades.

"K-Kre…m"

The Greycloak coughed up his last words as life faded from his body. The blade of one of his own turned against him was enough to bring him down without much more fanfare.

Meanwhile, 'Krem' stared at his dying brother in arms with wide, unblinking eyes.

Eyes that were covered by a veil of sickening green energy – the same energy currently coming from Lamphrey's glowing staff.

The Greycloak withdrew his blades and then turned to face his Mistress, who gave him one final, curt command.

With a nod, he executed it. And when it was over, five Greycloaks lay dead at the feet of four Hybrids.

"So much for the prowess of the Greys," Tara scoffed.

"It seems the blood of Krea is more overrated than we thought," Klax agreed.

"Their power wanes," Lamphrey said. "With every Greycloak that is slain, the blood of Krea grows thinner. It becomes less potent."

Tara's eyes widened.

"You mean with every one that's dying to Ethan's attack, the rest of them are getting weaker?"

The Tialax nodded, prodding at one of the rogue's corpses with a scaled foot.

"It was just a theory," she said. "We never did have the proper opportunity to test it out. But this one's mind was far too weak for a Greycloak of his level. Yes, their light is dying."

"But their God isn't quite done yet."

Before them all came Fauna, her fingers still sparking with infernal energy.

"None of this matters," she said. "We need to get down there, now."

Her teammates knew she was right. And they were more than willing to follow her lead. But before they made their descent, leaving the bodies of their slain foes behind, Tara couldn't help but halt them momentarily.

"…can we really do it without him?"

Fauna stopped just before she descended the first runic steps to their home.

"If its really him," the Minxit went on. "If its really the Lightborn back in action – can we really stop him without Ethan?"

Klax grimaced, then stroked his fur with a bloody claw.

"Last time not even Ethan could slay him. Only imprison him. But we're stronger now, aren't we?"

"He's even stronger," Tara pointed out. "If he was here…"

Their faces both turned to Lamphrey, and the question pricking at both of their lips was obvious: is he coming? Do you see it in our future?

When the Tialax mage simply cast her gaze away from them, suddenly hesitant to even give a cryptic answer, Fauna slammed her staff on the stone ground.

"It doesn't matter," she said. "We're here. And our home's under attack. And I'm not about to stand here yapping when I could be down there kicking Greycloak butt."

Tara stifled a laugh, and Klax stepped forward to touch the Hopla's shoulder.

"Ethan-"

"Could be halfway to Umbral Island by now," Fauna responded without looking back. "Within the hour, he could be in control of Kaedmon and manage to change the Law and bring the Lightborn to heel without shedding any of his own blood. He's out there fighting for us, just like he always has been. Just like we've always been asking him to. Now, it's our turn."

The hybrids watched as the Hopla girl then turned abruptly, her eyes watery, even though no tears were falling.

"If the Lightborn's come for us, let's show him what we're made of."

Tara and Klax looked to each other, weighing up the words that had passed between them in the town hall of Triant. A small flicker of understanding came into their faces.

Then, they smiled back at Fauna.

"We have been a team since the start, even before Ethan was here, right?" Klax said.

"And we'll be a team to the end," Tara agreed. "Like that prophet Ethan used to talk about – Astley? – always said: 'never gonna give you up.'"

As one, they brought their hands together, and then turned towards the encroaching darkness, feeling the intensity of the tremors that was running through the underground.

"Lamphrey?" Fauna called back. "Are you with us?"

The Tialax had remained strangely quiet. As they'd journeyed here, she'd had none of her usual wisdom to impart. In fact, it had seemed that her feet dragged ever so slightly as they came upon the sight of Sanctum. When they finally saw the walls of their home again, Fauna could swear that the Tialax let out a small sigh - like a child realizing that a long, luxurious holiday was finally over.

But right now, she clutched her staff, raised her scaled head, and nodded as she gave her answer:

"To the death."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.