Requiem of Silence by J. D. L. Rosell

Author:J. D. L. Rosell [Rosell, J. D. L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fantasy
Publisher: Rune & Requiem Press
Published: 2022-04-08T16:00:00+00:00

18

AN OFFERING OF BLOOD

I must give to him what he seeks, but also the agent by which to bind him. Spirit, to placate his endless hunger; blood, to anchor him in our world; body, by which I gain power over him.

- The journal of Vusumuzi; date unknown

Radiance filled the sky.

I flinched as one of the nearby Yorandu warriors was blasted back, able to do nothing but watch as he fell to the ground, screaming and burning. Some of our enemies, at least, were wardens.

But this wasn't my fight. I had to live long enough to fulfill my purpose.

My companions shouted at me, but I ignored them and scampered along the ridge. I had to get closer, as close as I could to where Famine loomed, before I did what I had to do. I had to draw his attention. Or did I only have to say his name?

Do it! part of myself screamed. Why do you wait?

I ignored the voice and raced down the rise, tripping and only just keeping my feet under me. With kinesis at my toes, every step sprang me forward farther, and soon I neared the bottom.

Four figures emerged from around boulders before me; cultists, I saw at once. Their target was plain, for I'd left the Yorandu warriors behind. I barely had time to ready my sorcery before they struck.

I spun as flames scorched the air where I'd been. Gaining my feet, I threw up kinesis in a wave. I'd underestimated how much my strength had grown. The deluge crumbled the stone as it barreled forth and sent the cultists flying backwards a dozen paces. They screamed in the air, then fell abruptly silent as they landed with bone-crunching force on the hard ground.

I didn't wait to see if any would rise, but kept running, only glancing over my shoulder to ensure no one followed.

"Airene!"

Talan's cry cut through me. I staggered, then kept moving forward without looking back. My vision blurred as tears stung my eyes. I couldn't stop, couldn't hesitate, or I might never start again.

Fighting spread all around me. Wardens squared off against those attuned in Ayize's company. The cultists seemed to hold their own. There were more than Ayize had reported, many more — maybe fifty at a glance. But the Yorandu were well-armed and trained, and the cultists fell before their sorcery, spears, and arrows.

I weaved around the clashes where I could and buffeted back any who attempted to come after me. Twice, flying missiles nearly caught me, and I barely knocked them aside in time. I rounded the descent and came into the basin — and there it spread before me, sickening to behold.

The blood lake.

I gagged as I stumbled toward the bodies ringing its edge. Cultists swarmed here. They lunged at me as I neared, eyes wide and bloodshot. Something possessed them, be it daemon or drug, for they acted with no regard for their safety.

I screamed and blasted them back.

The cultists sailed away, blackened and smoking. It was as mighty an offensive as I'd ever put forth, yet I barely felt the strain.

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