Rogue Legacy by Jeffrey L. Kohanek (snow like ashes .txt) 📕

A loud buzz arose, sounding like a swarm of angry bees. A red aura flared from behind Lyra, the energy causing her hair to stand on end. She turned to find Cal emerge from the portal, his body materializing before her eyes. As the buzz and light faded, she shouted.

“Watch out, Cal! They plan to kill you!”

The giant soldiers began to advance. Garrett launched himself into the air, jumping inhumanly high to fly over the monsters. He twisted at the apex and sliced down as he descended. One soldier screamed as a third of his body was cleaved from the rest. The man fell to his knees and dropped his blade before falling into the dirt.

Cal drew a rock from his pocket and his eyes flared crimson. The symbol on the rock lit with a red glow. White light exploded from the rock, becoming a small sun in his palm. Howls and shouts filled the air as the surrounding soldiers held their hands up to block the bright light. Cal tossed the rock to the ground and grabbed Lyra’s pack. Digging inside, he removed a potato with a rune carved into its skin. Crimson sparks again crackled within his eyes. When the symbol on the potato flared and began to dim, he heaved it toward the attackers. Raging fire blossomed from the potato and it struck one giant, flaming pieces breaking off at impact and setting the soldier and two nearby companions ablaze. The men stumbled about, the three living torches screaming at the agony that only fire could bring.

Fear from their screams gripped Lyra such that she couldn’t breathe, the terror so powerful that she wished she were dead.

Garrett’s sword sliced through a soldier’s leg, its sweet song banishing her fear and clearing her mind. Garrett leapt over the burning giants and parried the enemy captain’s longsword in mid-descent. He rolled and slashed at the captain’s heel before the giant man could spin around. The soldier stumbled to a knee, and Lyra made a brave dash behind the man, into the confused crowd beyond.

Racing past men twice her height, she scurried under the legs of those who stood in her way. When she emerged from the thick crowd, she found the eight Arcanists standing in her path. Panic struck.

“Kill her,” Elias growled.

The eight men spread out in a half-circle with Lyra at the center. The man at the right end of the arc knelt and drew a rune in the dirt, standing to reveal red eyes crackling with energy. Lyra backed away from the rune as she stared at it in trepidation, in fear of what magic the man might conjure. Screams, shouts, and explosions sounded from the direction of the portal, along with the constant whirl of Garrett’s sword.

Just as the rune began to glow, an enemy soldier slammed into the ground right in front of her, rolled through the glowing rune, and bowled over the Arcanists at the end of the arc. The rune exploded, blasting Lyra onto her back and covering her with dirt.

With a groan, Lyra sat up, her ears ringing as she wiped debris from her face. Blinking to clear her head, she found a massive hole now lay before her, twenty feet wide. The Arcanist who had unleashed the magic, along with his two nearest companions, lay on the opposite side of the pit. Their bodies sizzled with red energy, smoke rising from the men as uncontained power fried them.

Lyra stumbled to her feet, the world twisting and tilting. Once her equilibrium began to stabilize, she blinked and tried to regain her bearings. The soldier who had crashed into the magic users lay unmoving, his massive body strewn across the five men. Beyond them, she spotted the white pavilion. Breaking into a run, she circled about the remaining Arcanists as they struggled to free themselves from beneath the man.

“Stop her!” Elias shouted.

A glance to the side revealed two giant men running to intercept her. She looked the other direction and found another soldier who was even closer – too close.

Diving, Lyra rolled beneath the soldier’s outstretched arms as he stumbled past. After clearing the man, she rose to her feet and darted into the pavilion.

Her gaze flicked about the dark confines, seeking out hope. The tent flap opened, and the soldier bent to squeeze inside. She scrambled across the tent, stumbled over something, and fell onto one of the bedrolls. Rolling over to face her pursuer, Lyra’s hand struck an object that made a familiar sound.

Hope stirred within as she fumbled for the lute, gathered it to her chest, and began to strum. The soldier stopped his advance, the man’s head tilting as his eyes glazed over. The hope inside Lyra bubbled over, causing a chuckle.

Rising to her feet, she continued to strum as another soldier stepped into the tent, the man appearing as enraptured by the music as the first soldier.

“Follow me,” she sang.

Lyra stepped outside, and the two giant men followed. A blast of fire erupted near the portal, sending a flash of orange light across the field. The clanging of swords, shouts, and cries carried over the sound of her lute. However, as she continued toward the portal, the crowd around her stopped and listened. Those in her way parted, a host welcoming an honored guest.

“Follow me,” she sang, repeating the lyrics as she crossed the field.

Lyra’s confidence waned when she reached the Arcanists, three of whom lay dead, their bodies now burnt husks, their eyes hollow sockets. The other five, including Elias, stared at her with those creepy glowing eyes. Lyra paused and sang to the men.

“What you seek is but steps away. Follow me and I’ll show you the way.”

There was no response, no words spoken – only vacant expressions as she continued toward the portal with the Arcanists joining her ever-growing herd of followers.

As the final wall of towering men parted to reveal the portal, the white light Cal had created emerged. Lyra squinted, careful not to look directly at the bright orb. Enraptured soldiers surrounded the area, towering over the blackened and mutilated corpses of their brethren. Garrett stood with a ready stance, his sword blood-soaked, his arms covered in crimson splatter, and the surrounding area scattered with body parts and viscera. The imagery