Page 31 of Balor
The ground trembled as more wolves and mountain lions rose, their bones clattering together. Shadows wrapped around them, holding them together in a grotesque mockery of life. The creatures moved with fluid grace, their skeletal forms blending with the darkness. Jackson’s eyes glowed faintly, the only sign of the power he wielded.
“Go,” he whispered, his voice barely audible over the growls of the undead animals.
As the animals obeyed his commands, more figures emerged from the woods… humans. Jackson had unleashed an undead army against the coven. I shivered, taking in the tattered clothes on the rotting human corpses. Some were nothing more than bone. The animals had been dead long enough only bone remained on them as well. It didn’t keep them from destroying anyone who was in their path. Their teeth ripped into flesh, and their claws slashed at the coven members.
I watched as his hands twitched again, another set of wolves appearing from the ground. He looked… tired. As if controlling the creatures took more effort than he let on. His breath came out in short bursts, each exhale a puff of white in the cold air.
“Jackson,” I called out. “How long can you keep this up?”
He didn’t look at me, his focus on the creatures. “Long enough. They’re turning the tide. Balor will have the advantage soon.”
I could hear the growls and snarls of the undead animals, the sounds mingling with the screams of the warlocks. The ground trembled again, and I realized it wasn’t just from the creatures. It was fear. The coven members were terrified, and their magick was starting to slip out, completely uncontrolled.
Jackson’s hands stilled, and he took a deep breath. “It’s done. For now.”
My father screamed in outrage as the wolves and mountain lions charged toward the coven members. The warlocks were able to take down some of them, but the animals seemed to be endless, and even those knocked down or taken apart, seemed to reassemble and get back up again. I watched as one warlock or witch after another fell, until only my father was left standing.
Even though the necromancer no longer seemed to be orchestrating their moves, the undead creatures wouldn’t stop. I didn’t know if he’d commanded them to keep fighting until the coven was gone, or if they were only functioning off his residual magick right now.
I glanced at Jackson, noting the pallor of his skin. “You need to rest.”
He nodded, his eyes closing for a moment. “I’ll be fine. Just… need a moment.”
Balor’s presence washed over me, and I turned to see him striding across the field. His eyes glowed with dark power, and blood spatter covered his skin. I felt a shiver run down my spine. He was a force to be reckoned with, and I had no doubt he’d just proven it to the coven.
“Jackson.” Balor’s voice was a low rumble. “Good work.”
Jackson inclined his head. “Thank you. It was… necessary.”
More people joined the fight, ones I’d never seen before, but it was clear they were on Balor’s side. Were they residents of Darkwood? I saw a man with long black hair raise his hands, the earth trembling beneath his feet. A warlock flew backward, landing hard enough his neck snapped. Another man’s hands glowed with magic, and he flung spell after spell at the warlocks.
My father’s coven didn’t stand a chance. Not against the power Balor wielded and the men who had come to help him. My father’s face turned red with rage as he watched his men fall. He focused on me, and the hatred in his eyes made me stumble back a step.
“You,” he spat. “This is all your fault. You couldn’t do as you were told. You had to run away. And now I’ll have to kill the man you seem to love so much.”
“Won’t happen,” Balor said. He raised his hands, and the shadows that seemed to follow him everywhere shot out. They wrapped around a few coven members, and I watched in horror as they fell to the ground, no longer moving.
“You’ll pay for this,” he said, his gaze locked on Balor. “I’ll see you dead.”
“Many have tried. All have failed.”
The remnants of the coven members and the undead army littered the battlefield, a macabre testament to the chaos that had unfolded. The air was charged with energy, sparks flying from errant spells and the deepening shadows cast by the setting sun. It was as if the world itself held its breath, waiting for the final act to play out.
Balor’s eyes glowed with a confidence that bordered on arrogance. The dark power still clung to him, a palpable force that made my skin prickle. He looked every bit the devil his name implied, and I knew my father was right to fear him.
My father’s lips pulled back in a snarl, his angular features twisted in rage. “You think you can take what’s mine and I’ll let you live?”
“You’re repeating yourself, old man. And I think you’ve already figured out I don’t give a fuck what you want. I’m taking back what’s mine. And I’m going to enjoy ripping you apart to do it.” Balor gave a tight smile.
My father threw a potion at Balor, and he dissolved into shadows. I gasped as he reappeared farther away, his eyes glowing even brighter. Balor raised his hands, and I saw a black ball of death magick form, crackling with power. My father tried to counter the attack, but it was clear he was weakening. The black ball hit him in the chest, and he staggered back. His eyes widened as he collapsed to the ground, life slipping from his body.
Balor moved closer, shadows trailing behind him. “I told you not to touch my woman. Or my child.”
My father gurgled as blood pooled on his lips. “You won’t win. She’ll never be free of me.”
“She already is,” Balor said. He raised his hand, and the shadows lashed out, slamming into my father. I stared, unable to look away, as the life left his eyes, and his body slumped to the ground.
I’d known this would end only one way, and that someone like my father could never be allowed to live. But until this moment I hadn’t realized how much it would affect me. He might have been an awful person, and power hungry, but he was still the reason I existed. I felt torn between feeling as if I should mourn his loss, and relief that he’d never hurt anyone again.