The Defiance of Vim (Catalyst Book 4) by C.J. Aaron (graded readers txt) 📕

Surprisingly absent from the pain that covered his body was his left arm. Only a lingering hint of the extraordinary discomfort remained. As the crust from the woodskin subsided, the answer became apparent.

The tattoo on his left arm had again inverted. The center of the burning sun had filled with the darkness of an endless void. The black tendrils twitched outward at the extremities of the circle, though they remained close to the host. Ryl raised his gaze upward, inhaling a deep breath. Steadying himself for what was to come. He flicked his wrists out to the side. The Leaves exploded into flame.

The massive Horde awaited him on the opposite side of the square. Less than twenty meters separated the two. The damage done to its left leg was appalling. The lower extremity was useless. Jagged pieces of bone protruded from the side, punching through its blackened flesh. A pool of thick, dark, putrid blood pooled around the useless stump. It had shifted the club to its left hand, now using the deadly cudgel as a crutch.

Cocking its head slightly to the side, it eyed Ryl with a look more humanlike than he’d witnessed from the bloodthirsty beasts. There was genuine confusion in its great black orbs. The massing wall of bane at its rear held firm, seemingly judging the outcome of the standoff.

Shouting rose from behind Ryl. The whistle of arrows was unmistakable. One after another, the projectiles bounced harmlessly off the beast’s thick skin. The bolts, though nothing more than a nuisance, served to enrage the giant. The once questioning gaze it offered at Ryl vanished, replaced with the bloodthirsty lust for violence. It leaned forward, roaring a deafening note at the humans, promising them death for their pestilence.

Ryl watched as the beast shifted its weight, centering its mass over its one remaining leg. As it reared its left arm and the club behind its back, its intention became painfully clear. The weapon would be the battering ram that would seal the doom for Fay, his troops, and likely all inside The Stocks. If that gate fell, they were all doomed.

He dipped into the speed as he lurched forward. His legs were unsteady, yet he experienced the comforting balm of the alexen as it fired through his veins. The burning heat from inside washed away the pain that covered his body. The demon paid him no mind as he streaked forward toward its remaining sturdy leg. With a roar of his own, Ryl chopped with the Leaves, striking the leg just below the knee. He dragged the blades around to the side, splitting open the rank skin and bone.

Ryl dodged to the left as its leg buckled. The scream that billowed from its mouth was more agony than angst this time. With its body twisted and its arm moving forward, the beast crashed backward, releasing the club over its head. The weapon sparked as it skipped off the stone courtyard, cutting deep gouges into the rock. With a crushing of bone and a wet splatter of blood, it hewed through the left edge of the waiting Horde before leveling the corner of the next unlucky building down the avenue.

He leapt over the giant’s right arm as it flailed wildly on the stone. Ryl’s next step found him on the creature’s stomach. The sensation of running atop the beast was discomforting. He was surprised at the solidity of its frame. Its skin was textured and rough. With time slowed, he easily slipped past the right arm as it slapped against its own chest. With its head lifted from the ground, it gnashed its massive jagged teeth at Ryl as he approached.

Ryl slid off the torso, angling his body away from the vicious mouth that snapped open and closed within a meter from his body. He brought both Leaves down on the Horde’s neck. It uttered not a sound as the life vanished from its eyes as the flaming blades reached the stone below. He wrenched them free, leaping to the left before letting the speed again fade.

A set of solid thumps echoed as the two lifeless arms crashed to the stone. The stench of the charred black blood of the demon was nauseating. Its aroma, so potent he could taste its odor in his mouth. He felt the splatters of the hot, sticky fluid seep down his face. Covered to his shoulders, the blood dripped from his arms, hissing as it burned off in the heat of the Leaves. The beast’s head rolled free, flopping to its side. The mouth hung open; the jagged teeth separated from each other. A flood of blood spurted from the severed neck, forming a sickening stream as it caught the gentle slope of the avenue. The lifeless orbs stared at him in shock.

The demon had given him free rein to attack. Why had it ignored him?

The banes held their line though they writhed in agitation. Why did none press the attack? His body felt beaten, tired, yet the alexen inside still rolled with energy. Unaided by the power that flowed in his veins, his vision swam again with greater ferocity. The splotches of color still spread throughout his sight.

The high-pitched whistle of arrows this time was a welcome sound. The cheers of soldiers of House Eligar traveled in the wake of the bolts. The cloud of arrows streaked overhead.

Yet there was something more. An errant, sudden gust of wind whipped past his body as a wisp of a low-hanging cloud floated overhead.

An ember sparked in the sky above.

A feeling bloomed.

Hope.

Chapter 48

A bolt of jagged white lightning burst from the newly formed cloud. The arc skipped as it sliced through body upon body. A spray of blackened blood erupted like mist. The volley of arrows rained down upon the demons. Cramped so tightly, both lightning and projectiles had little trouble finding their fleshen marks.

Ryl only had to wait