Soul Blade by Aaron Hodges

Author:Aaron Hodges [Hodges, Aaron]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Fantasy
Publisher: Unknown
Published: 2016-11-28T00:00:00+00:00

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Gabriel watched from a distant window as the defenders began to clean up in the aftermath of the battle. They started with the enemy, with defenders taking it in turns to lift the lifeless bodies between them and toss them back out into the wasteland. There were more than he could possibly count, though he knew in his heart it was still not enough. Archon had countless warriors at his disposal, along with whatever nightmarish creatures waited out in that vast wasteland.

When the defenders started with their own fallen, Gabriel could hardly watch. They brought them down one by one, carried solemnly on stretchers to be laid out on the ground below. There a great pit had been prepared, although men were already working to make it larger. The losses today had far exceeded anyone’s expectations.

Yet even that was not the worst of it.

Screams echoed up from below him, the cries of the injured and dying rising through the floorboards. They had been carrying them down throughout the battle, clearing the wall for fresh defenders. Some had even brought themselves, hobbling down on shattered legs or cradling broken limbs.

They had set up a makeshift hospital in the large hall beside the mess hall to treat the worst of the injured, to stabilise them before moving them to the main infirmary inside the keep. Gabriel had stumbled down earlier, desperate to make a difference, but the cacophony of sound and smell had driven him back.

Never before had he felt so powerless, so helpless to aid his friends.

And still the whispers would not stop.

You can help them, Gabriel, the voice came from the shadows. In the corner of his eye, Gabriel could glimpse the demon, the flickering of ghosts whirling around it. But he refused to face it, to acknowledge its presence. You could be more powerful than you ever dreamed.

Gabriel closed his eyes, struggling to ignore the words. They clawed at him, dragging hooks of guilt through his soul. Could he truly help them? Could he use that sword and use it to drive back the enemy?

“No,” he growled to himself. “It lies. You know what it is, what it wants!”

I want nothing, the demon’s voice came again. You are my child, Gabriel, do you not see? I only wish to free you.

“I am no child of yours, demon!” Gabriel finally swung to face the creature.

The demon emerged from the shadows, its slow, gliding movements revealing its insubstantial form. The strength fled Gabriel’s legs as he watched it approach. He sank to his knees and looked up into the pale face of the demon. Death hung around the thing like a cloak, drawing the life from him.

It seemed more solid now, more powerful. As though it had fed, had grown stronger.

I only wish to help you, Gabriel, to give you strength. Do you not wish to aid your comrades?

Gabriel shuddered as the creature reached down and grasped his shoulder. Its touch felt like ice, its chill spreading out to engulf him. Tears ran down his face and he felt the darkness inside him rising from where he had banished it.

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