The Forsaken Hero

Starfall Keep fell silent as I approached Bethiv, Fyren, and Incinderus. Zephyriss was off flying somewhere overhead, but the three were, in my eyes, the leaders of the Fatesworn.

”Are we all ready?” I asked, trying not to sound as nervous as I felt.

”Battle ready,” Bethiv answered. ”I’ve ten thousand swords ready to march. Open a gate to Haven as soon as you secure your arrival site.”

”The rest, along with the demons, are on standby,” Fyren said, folding his arms. ”The moment you drop the World Barrier, we’ll pour through and secure the rest of the keep. It’s important you engage as few of their forces as possible before then. Your power will be extremely limited.”

”Right. I understand,” I said solemnly. Then, turning to Emlica, ”I’ll call you when we’ve destroyed the World Barrier. Are you sure you’ll be able to teleport all the demons from across the sea?”

”Yes, yes, though I doubt they’ll appreciate the collateral damage,” she said, ”We really rushed the development of this spell, and it’s far cruder than I would have liked. But it will work. I give it a seventy percent chance of success.”

”That high?” Nithalee muttered, shaking her head. ”I almost ripped a hole in the realm wall when we tested it yesterday. I thought for sure Haven would throw us out.”

”I thought we agreed not to mention that here,” she said, glaring at the mortal mage. She quickly covered it with a smile. ”It’ll work. Enusia’s realm walls are much thicker than Haven’s. And we’ll have a more reliable power source.”

”Alright,” I said, forcing a little more confidence into my tone. ”Then it’s time.”

”You remember the spell?” Emlica asked. ”A lot of good it would do you to teleport to the Southern Continent and then be suppressed by the world barrier.”

”Yes, Infernal Cloak. Did you have to name it something so...”

”Demony?” Korra asked.

”More or less,” I said with a sigh.

”Good. Now get going. The sooner you begin this battle, the better.”

I looked around the circle of faces one last time, the tension on their expressions mirroring the tightness in my chest. I took a deep breath, nodded to Fate, and silently called for Haven. In a whirl of stars, the realm carried us to the entrance island. It was just me, R’lissea, Korra, Gayron, and Nithalee, now.

”Let’s get this over with,” Nithalee muttered, walking through the gate.

The four of us exchanged glances and hurried after her. The sky of Enusia was dark and gray, the sun hidden behind a mass of clouds. It was drizzling, with the occasional gust of wind seeming ot cut right through my wards and chill me to the bone. The horde was arrayed beneath us, stretching to the horizon across hills, vales, and mountain slopes. The apostles were gathered a short distance away. Luke turned sharply as my aura curled around him, meeting my gaze with a relieved look.

”Finally. Thought you’d never come out,” Edrin said, beginning to frown. But he froze as his eyes locked with Nithalee, his mouth dropping open. His hand went for his sword.

”Wait!” I cried, stepping in front of the nonplussed mage, holding up my hands. ”She’s with me.”

”You have a ninth-level mage in your pocket?” Evla asked, her tail rigid.

”It’s...not like that. She’s going to be the one to teleport us to the southern continent,” I explained quickly.

The apostles eyed her warily, but it was Luke who nodded.

”If you say so, then we have no reason to doubt you,” Luke said. ”Jessia, inform the demon lords that the invasion will begin shortly. The rest of you, gather with your hordes.”

”Wait,” I said, tapping my spatial ring and withdrawing a thinly bound spell book. ”You’ll need to cast this spell on everyone. Both you and the demon lords.”

”What magic is this?” Edrin asked suspiciously.

”It’s like a magical set of coordinates for the teleportation spell. Emlica made it simple to use. Evla, you should have no problem casting it for everyone.”

She accepted the book with a flick of her tail. After skimming it, she let out a sigh and closed it. ”Fine, I’ll do it. But you think you’d have given us more of a heads up.”

”Sorry,” I said, lowering my head. ”Emlica only finished it last night. There was no time.”

”What matters is we have it now,” Luke said.

The other apostles left without much of a fuss, Constance and Evla giving me encouraging nods as they passed. I mustered a half-smile, but it slipped as Luke stepped forward, taking my hand. A shiver ran from the tip of my horns to my tail, and I hunched my shoulders, feeling Korra’s gaze burning into my back.

”You’re going to be alright,” Luke said, more of a statement than a question.

”That’s, um...Luke?” I peered up at him, biting my lip.

His gaze grew gentle, and he raised a hand, cupping my chin and stroking my cheek with his thumb. ”Don’t push yourself more than you have to. The most important thing is that you’re safe.”

”I’ll...be careful,” I said, forcing a little smile.

He nodded, his tail brushing against mine before he let go, taking a step back. ”I’ve got to get with my demons and get Evla to cast that spell on me. I’ll see you soon.”

”Wait, Luke!”

He paused as I caught his sleeve, a flying art already encircling his body, lifting him off the ground. The violet light died as he returned to me, and I collapsed against him, hugging him fiercely. The cold metal of his breastplate pressed against my cheek. I squeezed my eyes shut, fighting tears.

”Hey, what’s this?” he asked, glancing helplessly over my shoulder at my friends, awkwardly patting me on the back. ”This isn’t a goodbye.”

”Luke, please, don’t go,” I whispered, looking up, my vision blurring. ”Don’t leave me now. Come with me. I need you.”

He opened his mouth and closed it again, emotions flickering across his face faster than I could read them. His grip on my arms tightened ever so slightly, and my heart sank. I braced myself, already promising myself I wouldn’t cry when he refused. We had a plan, after all. We both had our own battles to fight.

”How exactly does this teleportation of yours work? Will there be a way for me to join my forces in Radia?” he asked.

I blinked, taken aback by the question. Was he actually thinking about it?

”It, um...” Flustered, I looked back at Nithalee.

She sighed, rolling her eyes. ”Yes, if you must, though the cost won’t be low. But don’t ask me to explain how. This spell’s Emlica’s project, not mine.”

”I really should conserve my strength,” he murmured, absently stroking my back.

”Please? I...I should have told you earlier. I’m sorry, but...I don’t want to go without you.”

His lips drew in a thin line, and his tail twitched once, before he let out a heavy breath.

”I didn’t know you felt like that. You should have said something,” he said softly.

I bowed my head. ”I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to lie when you asked if I was okay with your plan. But I’m not. I want to fight this battle together.”

He tilted my chin up, and my cheeks colored slightly as our eyes met.

”Yes, well, I can’t say no to a face like that,” he said, shaking his head in chagrin. ”I’ll call one of my evolved demons to accept Evla’s spell in my place. Once we’ve secured the world barrier, you can send me to join them. Is that good enough?”

”Oh, yes. Thank you,” I whispered, the tightness in my chest easing.

”Then let’s go. The demons won’t be happy if we dawdle any longer.”

I nodded eagerly, latching onto his arm and holding tightly. The rest of our party drew close around us, Korra flashing me a warm smile as I quickly soul cast Infernal Cloak over the three of us with infernal blood, warding us against the World Barrier.

”It’ll only last like twenty minutes. We won’t have a lot of time,” I said.

”Twenty should be plenty. Remember, the shard is pretty far away from the keep, but it’ll likely be defended. No one leaves until it’s secure, and Xiviyah brings in our reinforcements..Got it?” Korra asked.

Everyone nodded.

”I kinda missed the part where we went over what we’ll be doing,” Luke whispered.

I suppressed a nervous giggle, the tip of my tail curling around his ankle. ”Just follow my lead. We’re hunting the World Barrier itself.”

”Figured.”

”If we’re all ready,” Nithalee said, giving us a sharp look. ”Then I’ll get on with this.”

She summoned her staff and began to cast. The sudden swell of mana took my breath away. It formed an expanding bubble of pure, unadulterated divine power that pushed the oppressive haze of infernal mana back, letting me take my first easy breath since leaving Haven. Nine magic circles appeared with dizzying speed, the runes forming faster than I could keep up with. Again, I was forcibly reminded of the gap between me and a true ninth-level mage, one that never seemed to narrow, no matter how much time I spent studying under Emlica. My mana might be close, but Nithalee put an entire lifetime of experience on full display.

In the time it took me to cast a single eight-circle spell, her ninth was finished.

Nithalee brought her staff down. ”Wormhole!”