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

She laughed, a single demure chuckle. Her chest rose and fell with a deep breath.

“Do not lay the blame on yourself, as I assign none of it to you,” she cooed. “The Erlyn understood. She gifted me the strength to accomplish what must be done. Of the forces at play and of your role.”

Ryl cocked his head slightly, eying her with a look of confusion.

“And of mine.” Her voice contained infinite sadness.

“What of our roles, Kaep?” Ryl inquired.

She stepped closer, placing her left hand on his arm where the intricate leaves of the vines covered his skin. Her touch was exhilarating. Even though his body coursed with energy, the contact sent a jolt of power flowing through him.

Where her hand met his arm, the markings of his tattoo shifted. The twisting vines and leaves moved to accommodate space for her hand to rest. The arboreal pattern covered her fingers, slowly weaving up her forearm as well.

“This is what the Erlyn Woods showed me,” she whispered, bringing her head close to his. Every moment her hand lingered on his arm, the energy surged through his body.

“You are the catalyst, Ryl,” she whispered. “You have brought the wind needed to steer them in the right direction. There is still more for you to do. They need your light to hold back the darkness that surrounds us all.”

Kaep’s image faltered slightly as her hand remained connected to his arm. The energy continued to flow into him. His body swelled with a power he could scarcely contain. Ryl caught the hint of movement from the periphery of his vision.

He turned his head toward the broken cliff, toward the black sun that stole the color, the life from the crumbling hills. The landscape to the right, beneath the broken crags of the ragged mountains, swarmed with the blackened bodies of the Horde. Ryl flinched at the sight, yet the expected emotion, the hatred, raw and unfiltered, was absent. The demons stood in place, their lanky bodies swaying side to side gently as if pushed by the same wind that jostled his cloak. They watched patiently; their eyes curious.

Kaep’s figure flickered as the opacity faded. A faint green glow began to shimmer, highlighting the outline of her body.

Ryl panicked as the details of her form began to fade from view. In places, the soft green glow was all that remained. He tried to pull his arm away, yet she was bound to him.

“Fear not. I will be with you always, Ryl,” she continued. “Let me be your light, your voice of reason when the darkness clouds your way.”

His eyes turned to her, staring into the large hazel orbs that met his gaze. There was a note of profound sadness, yet a sense of relief filled her eyes.

“You are the catalyst.” Her voice was little more than a breath on the wind. “You are the fulcrum between light and dark.”

Ryl reached for her, trying desperately to pull her fading frame to his body. His hand passed through her form as if it wasn’t there.

Kaep smiled.

“You are their hope.” Her voice was nothing but a whisper in his head. “Until we meet again, Ryl.”

She leaned in close, planting a tender kiss on his cheek. The energy that accompanied the gentle touch was overwhelming. Ryl gritted his teeth as the power streamed into his body. Kaep’s body disappeared into the nothingness of the nexus. His vision faded as the blinding whiteness overwhelmed his senses.

Chapter 52

Ryl’s eyes snapped open.

The blinding light that had swelled around his body cleared, resolving into the dramatic view he’d recently departed. He’d expected the incoming charge of the Lei Guard to run him to ground.

The black-cloaked warriors were stalled in their approach as time remained frozen.

He expected to see Kaep.

He stood alone in the center of the courtyard.

Kaep was gone.

The hollow weakness that had overcome his body only moments earlier had vanished. He felt rejuvenated. His energy felt limitless. The throbbing pain that pulsed from his left arm again had faded. The origin of the light seemed to now be emanating from his body. The entirety of his frame burned with a blinding light. He felt the alexen course through his veins, raging with an unbearable power that far surpassed his norm.

The sphere of white light swelling from his body expanded outward. The blinding aura spread out over the courtyard, swallowing the Lei Guard under its influence. Ryl screamed as the power exploded from him. He felt the massive release. The shock wave rippled outward, tossing the Lei Guard from their feet. His body quivered as the energy rushed from him, spreading out over the surrounding square,

As quickly as it had erupted, the sphere of light contracted, drawing the energy back to its source. The force of the recoil knocked him backward. He balanced his body, falling to a single knee as he was thrust by the might.

Ryl’s scream carried on long past the diffusion of the blast. The voices that accompanied his cries of agony, of pain, of desperation were absent from his voice. Whether they had been the voices of phrenics long past, or the rage of the Horde, they were silent. His emotion dwarfed them all. It was his voice, and his alone, that cried out. His long, pathetic, agonized scream breached the silence of midday.

The impact of the energy returning to its source, to him, had left him reeling. The weight pressed him backward and into the ground. His shoes left streaks on the ground where he had slid across the stone.

Prior to Kaep’s touch, his body had been both mentally and physically exhausted. She had propped him up. Her energy had electrified his withered body. It coursed through him, animating the alexen in his veins.

His left arm felt heavy, almost detached from the rest of his sensation. The blazing sun tattooed around the joint of his elbow was clouded with a myriad of black streaks. Thousands of individual black stains blended together as they sought