A Champion Falls by D.K. Holmberg

Author:D.K. Holmberg [Holmberg, D.K.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ASH Publishing
Published: 2022-05-12T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

Gavin was covered with the creatures’ blood as they marched toward the pool. He was experiencing a different kind of fatigue than he’d been feeling lately. It had been a long time since he’d felt the level of bone-wearying exhaustion that worked through his body right now. The feeling almost overwhelmed him.

He needed access to his core reserves. If he had sh’rasn, maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. That powder would help replenish and restore him. When he’d fought the small creatures, Gavin had defaulted to his old fighting styles. There was a familiarity to them, but it had been a long time since he had fought unenhanced.

Perhaps this is necessary.

It was a strange thing to think about, but there was a certain freedom in fighting while using no magic, no core reserves, no enchantments. And he had found himself flowing forward, carving through the strange creatures.

Jayna had helped. She would wrap one in power, and Gavin would stab it, spin, and catch another as it leapt at them. Only a few had managed to get close to them.

Gaspar had been surprisingly effective as well. With his enchantments—and Gavin was convinced he was using his enchantments to the fullest—he’d managed to stay in front of them. The only time a creature had gotten through to Gaspar, he had flicked a dagger toward it, piercing it quickly, but not before it had snapped its jaw around his arm. Gavin had checked on him, but Gaspar must’ve been using stone skin because he wasn’t injured.

By the time they reached the water, everybody was ready to rest, but Gavin didn’t know if he could. He could see the undulating movement of the grasses behind them, and given what Jayna had said, the creatures would continue to try to press forward for the water.

“You’re going to have to give me a moment here,” she said. “I can purify it, but it’s going to take some time. And I don’t know how long it will last.”

“What do you have to do to purify it?” Gaspar asked.

“The water is probably fine, but I figure that it’s safer to be certain, given that I don’t know where we are and what kind of power is in this place.”

“What would happen if we drank it?”

Jayna shrugged. “Can’t say. I don’t really know, and I don’t really want to find out. All I’m looking for is to make it through this. I need to get to Eva and get her out of here.”

“How do you do that?”

“I have to find a key.”

“A key?” Gavin asked.

“Well, supposedly, they are scattered, but tied to each person trapped here. In this place, they can be impossible to find. At least easily. But…” She shrugged. “Once you find the key, you can use it to bring yourself back.”

“What if the Sul’toral don’t want us to go back?”

“They might be able to restrict it,” she acknowledged. “I’d be surprised if they had that much control over this place, especially seeing as how it’s a world in between.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.