Page 48 of Ashes of Aether
Shadow bolts smash into the shield. They come from Heston and his wights. And my mother too, or at least the wraith of her.
Stiff fingers claw at the aether barrier. Ghouls surround me from every angle.
I conjure what flames I can, knowing fire magic is the most effective against the undead.
My shield shatters.
The ghouls advance. I open my mouth, but there’s no chance to speak any spell-words.
“Ventrez!”a voice rings out from high above.
A wind sweeps under my feet, lifting me from the ground before the ghouls can reach me.
The gale blows me up onto the cobalt roofs and gently sets me down beside the Grandmage of Nolderan.
My father clenches his crystalline staff with both hands, his knuckles ivory white. The veins in his forehead throb, and his shoulders quake with rage.
His wrath is so ferocious I fear flames will sweep from him without him speaking the spell-words, and that they will be born of a fury so wild, they will obliterate even me.
Though his magical presence is terrifying as he stares down at Heston, the undead and my mother’s corpse, I cling to it like a blanket.
“Mother,” I choke out, my body wrought with grief.
He places a hand on my shoulder. “Stay here.” Then he releases me and raises his staff. “Muriz.”
Aether swirls out, covering me with a dense shield. Despite the immense energy humming around me, I know this spell cost my father only a fraction of his strength.
“Laxus.”
In the next instant, he appears on the streets below, standing opposite Heston. His teleportation spell is complete before I can blink.
“Muriz,” the grandmage mutters again. This time aether sweeps across my mother’s body, protecting her from further violation. He swallows hard, staring at her body beneath the aether shield. His hand trembles from both grief and wrath.
“Heston,” he growls, “how dare you return to Nolderan.”
“I missed my boy,” Heston says with a shrug.
I clench my fists. Fresh tears well within my eyes. All I can see is Heston standing over Arluin. I still don’t know whether he is dead or alive.
“What you have done...” My father inhales sharply. “My wife—your crimes are unforgivable. There’s no retribution great enough for your evil. Even the Abyss has no place for one as heinous as you.”
Heston laughs. “I really am terrified, oh mighty Grandmage. How do you expect to save your city when you couldn’t even save your wife?”
My father lets out a roar of fury, which turns into the wordignirahalfway through.
Flames rush toward Heston. He raises his hands, and the shadows shift around him in a shield. “Ekrad,”he whispers.
His wall of darkness is wide enough to protect himself and the undead nearest him from the scorching flames. But the fireball doesn’t collide with Heston’s shield. It continues past and slams into my mother’s wraith.
Fire rages across its shadowy form, eating away at the darkness. The wraith lets out a piercing shriek. Though the scream is unnatural, I hear the traces of a voice which sounds like my mother.
I squeeze my eyes shut, unable to watch as the fire consumes her and sends dark magic scattering through the air like soot.
When I finally dare to reopen them, the wraith is gone.
My father’s jaw tightens. His gaze lingers on my mother’s unmoving face.
“Isparedyou,” he spits, turning back to Heston. “The punishment for your crimes should have been execution, but I instead exiled you. And this is how you repay me?”