Wielder

Chapter 31 - Light in the Dark

Darrel had expected Alie to last all of two seconds. This was the emperor she was up against, after all. His opening attack had been strong enough to kill every living thing around for miles, if he had wanted it to stretch that far. If it weren't for Commander Sole's protective shield, Darrel would have been instantly incinerated.

Somehow, she endured a direct strike.

He couldn't see much through the commander's shield. Just spatters of gold flashing in the dark, like lightning behind heavy storm clouds. His heart quickened with each burst of light. They meant that Alie kept defying the odds stacked against her.

Michael soon slumped against the dark shield, too overcome with worry to be able to remain standing. He crumpled a hand into his hair, staring through the shield as if he were about to be sick. His unblinking gaze swept back and forth with each bright burst, tracking Alie's movements across the throne room floor.

Darrel nearly grabbed him by the back of his shirt to yank him back to his feet. Maybe Alie was the only one on the battlefield, so to speak, but that didn't mean they could let their guard down. Not when they shared a confined space with the second most dangerous man in all the realm.

Though, it didn't look like the commander even remembered they were there. He stood completely still, with his head bent and eyes closed. One hand pressed hard against his shield, holding it in place. The other rested on his sword, as if he prepared to leap into the fray the moment something went wrong, regardless of his promise not to.

Another flash, red and menacing, crackled in the dark. Not Alie's magic, then. Darrel feared the worst, until the red lightning flashed again, much more intensely than before. When that light faded, Alie's constant flickering continued on. A moment later, the red lightning ricocheted back, blasting holes in the walls.

A beam struck the commander's shield directly in front of his face. Darrel jumped back in alarm, heart racing. The commander didn't even flinch as the emperor's power crackled over the surface of his.

Alie was holding her own. But who knew how long that would last?

Instinct told him to flee. While everyone was distracted, he should run as fast and as far as possible. There was a hell of a lot of torture waiting for him if Alie lost. And even if she didn't, would the commander really protect them through the entire fight? Would he continue to ignore them if his emperor was slain? Everything he knew about the man told him it wasn't likely.

He was halfway through the wall behind him when guilt stabbed him in the gut.

Alie had trusted him to stand by her. She hadn't dragged him here against his will. She might have coerced him, sure; maybe she had even played him a bit. But she had still asked for his company, and he had agreed. To abandon her now would be the worst betrayal.

He hesitated.

The throne room exploded. The cloud of dark power filling the room cleared away as a disc of golden light erupted out from the center of Alie's shimmering form. She had plunged the Ultimate deep into the floor. She knelt over it, her head bent in concentration. Golden shimmers coated every inch of her, turning her into an angelic warrior.

Evil beasts lay flat on their backs all around her, the bright red of their eyes fading as her blast extinguished them of life. The floor-to-ceiling windows all shattered out. The commander's shield trembled and cracked. A blast of powerful magic punched into Darrel's chest.