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

to a paralyzing pitch. He clamped his eyes together; the tears squeezed through the closed lids. The feeling of his skin twisting was agonizing. His arm burned, the pain penetrating as it grated against his bones.

The sensation seemed to drag on for an eternity. He blinked away the tears, looking upon his arm through watery eyes. The brilliant sun, though marred by the blackened streaks, shone with a dull white glow.

He pushed back against the darkness, widening the extent of his bubble of light, of hope. The Lei Guard had now entered the square. The lead element fanned out, forming a semicircle around the edge of the courtyard, though now, they gave the palisade a wide berth. The black-cloaked warriors marched with their weapons stowed. The pointed tips of their shields poked out from around their bodies like spines. The blood-red points added a sickening pop of color against the otherwise dark backdrop.

Over the top of the Lei Guards, the heads of two massive horses took shape. Each beast was jet black, though their coat was shiny, reflecting the light of the midday sun. Behind them, the peak of a carriage loomed. The sight of the black-painted wagon induced a potent chill that made the hairs on his arms stand erect.

Ryl scanned the avenue once again. The Lei Guard had pushed beyond the Horde, their fluttering charcoal wave holding back the demons behind them. The raw hatred that emanated from the Horde was lost under the weight of forced, paralyzing emotion. He struggled to maintain the sphere of light as the darkness crushed down upon him. He needed the strength to get Andr and himself through the gate. To hold out as long as his body could as the workers shored the wooden panels.

The effort to move each foot was monumental. One after another they shuffled toward the opening. Andr was at the gap; he was only a step behind.

With a final glance, his mindsight snapped into view unbeckoned. There at the rear of the wall of Lei Guard, in the presence of the wagon, the signatures stopped him in his place. The mass of darkness that spread from the inside held a gravity of its own. The forced emotion that the Lei Guards affected with practiced measure paled in comparison to the surge of hopelessness and devastation that swelled naturally from its core.

Beside it, a pair of apparitions loomed. Both were subtle, yet out of place in their own stark, shocking ways. Their uniqueness stood out against the monotonous hatred of their surroundings.

The first was a void, yet it registered in his vision as the absence of light and dark. The emotions swelled inside his body. The torment from cycles, now conflicted, raged against each other.

Elias.

The agony of losing his friend had stung. It had reopened a wound that had never truly healed. Of all the tributes he’d loved as family, Elias was a true brother to him. He loved him unconditionally. Ryl’s heart had swelled as he’d discovered his friend again, only to be dashed again as Elias turned on him. The hatred, the betrayal, the self-doubt from believing he could change again was devastating.

Though the conflicting emotions threatened to crush him, they were dwarfed by the second apparition to appear in his phrenic vision. The sight was faint. The glow was barely visible, yet undeniable.

The emotions, conflicted and dark, that had sought to hold him back evaporated in a flash. The alexen in his blood rushed in a frenzied excitement that rivaled his own.

Andr shuffled uncomfortably through the opening in the gate. His head pivoted as he crossed the threshold, his gaze meeting Ryl’s.

He nodded his head subtly, forcing a momentary crooked smile. The dread welled in Andr’s eyes. With one fluid motion, Ryl pushed his friend through the gate, slamming the heavy door shut behind him. Andr’s muffled screams pierced the solid wood as the deep grating thud of the drawbar slid into place.

He turned and faced the arced mass of Lei Guard. His mindsight locked back onto the vision it had produced.

Ryl squared his shoulders, rolling them back as he rose to his full height. For the moment, thoughts of fatigue vanished. He stood ready to face the army alone.

There, clear in his vision, the golden orb flickered even as streaks of black marred its perfect glow.

He’d recognize the signature anywhere.

Kaep.

Chapter 50

Ryl moved a few steps forward, centering his body before the lines of the Lei Guard. None had drawn their weapons, yet the emotional assault continued hammering all within reach.

The archers on the wall were helpless. Even with all phrenics concentrating on the counter emotions, their attempts would be overpowered by the sheer volume. The few archers within the freedom of their reach would inflict little damage.

In the center of the line, the Lei Guard rotated inward. They stepped back, creating an avenue for the wagon to enter. The massive horses pulled the carriage forward, turning slightly to the right, stopping once it had cleared the line. They stomped their hooves, exhaling massive blasts of air as the driver reined them in. The gap sealed behind them as it passed.

Atop the head of the wagon sat two black-cloaked Lei Guard. A single warrior rode on a narrow runner on either side of the wagon, holding on to a discreet handle hidden among the decorative carvings along the top. The pair jumped down, their heavy boots striking the ground with ominous thumps.

The door along the left side of the carriage opened soundlessly. The figure that exited was clad in ill-filling clothing looking to be secondhand scraps commandeered from the garrison stores. Elias’s face was locked into an unsightly snarl. The expression was the antithesis of the vision Ryl clung to in his mind. His gaze travelled past Ryl, never meeting his eyes as it scanned the palisade behind him.

With a contemptuous scowl, Elias turned back toward the carriage. His hand reached inward, rudely pulling on something from inside. Kaep toppled from