Chosen Fool (Forever Evermore #5) (14 page)

My tone constricted, I ordered, “Don’t drop the fucking wall until we say it’s safe.”

I had never seen that expression as he stared back at me, his gaze running over my face, and he stated in a cold, dead tone, “You can do this.”

“Dammit, Caro!” Brann’s shout echoed through the air.

My chest heaving, I stared at Queen Ruckler a moment and mouthed, “
Keep him back.”

“Caro, turn around!” Mr Damon bellowed below me.

I instantly turned at the urgency in his tone, only to kneel on the table I stood on. I threw my hands out, swords still in my grip, as a portion of the Shadows flew up to hit the glass windows above, while another section hit the paneled glass doors with such force and evil that exuberant amounts of glass shattered like bullets into the room. The three of us simultaneously threw pulse waves in front of us, protecting ourselves from the flying debris…and blasting some of the Shadows back. The Shadows’ piercing howls of pain and rage as their corporal pitch-black frames blew farther back into the night were able to be heard by anyone, Com or Mys, spirit Elemental or Mage.

The icy wind whipped through the room as they began pouring in. The expanse was still visible by the lights above but suddenly dimmed by the very essences of the Shadows.

Life.

Experience.

Determination.

Any one of those had me lifting as glass shattered to the floor, and my boots were already racing down the long table toward the Shadows. I glowed a brilliant white, my swords swinging as I rotated my wrists.

Mrs Damon shouted, “No, Caro! Stay back with us!”

I ignored it all, the fear gone and the killing bitch coming to the fore as those around me were endangered. I ran harder and leapt into the air, hooking my arm around a Shadow’s. The feeling of pure evil bounced right off me as I used the force of my momentum to wrap my legs around its waist when it started to twist in midair, screaming to get me off its back. I quickly chopped its head off, its black, tar-like blood splattering over me, visible to all. As I started to fall back to the ground, the dead Shadow’s body parts fell, too. At the last second before impact, I hooked my legs around another, their numbers like a fucking swarm of bees in the air. Hanging upside down, and before it could touch me, I sliced its head off.

And so it went.

I hovered in the air, riding the Shadows and getting tossed and turned as the cries of the wicked and pure evil screamed at me as I moved with them. I repeatedly cut off their black heads or jabbed them straight through the heart, more of their black tar-like blood pouring over me. Mrs Damon and Mr Damon fought below, appearing much the same from what I could catch in glimpses through the horde in the air.

Until one fucker grabbed me around the waist—a smarter Shadow.

It flew me straight toward the golden protection none of the Shadows could seem to pass. I shouted in agony as my back slammed into the protective wall, my swords dropping from my hands. I hung in midair, and baring my teeth at the Shadow’s face in front of me, I decked it straight in the side of its head with my diamond knuckles. The damn thing screamed, its mouth opened as wide as my head, and we started falling to the ground.

A wave of air caught me from underneath, the Shadow slipping through to fall to the ground. Breathless, I sucked in oxygen as I lay on a peaceful cushion of gentle air and picked up my blood covered head…to stare into dark glowing eyes on the other side of the protective wall. Elder Jacobs.

Panting over the screams of the evil, I muttered, “Thanks.”

His eyebrows lifted, and he stated dryly, “By all the evidence, I’m thinking it should be us thanking you.”

“Right.” I sucked in air. “I should probably get back to it.”

Brann was suddenly standing in front of Elder Jacobs, brushing out of Elder Merrick’s hold. His eyes were glowing fiercely, an expression I had never seen on his face before; he was a honed, deadly powerful being staring me straight in the face. He surprised me by tilting his head and growling, “One of those fuckers stole your sword.”

“What?” I shouted, my head swinging down past the air cushion. I saw only one of my swords on the ground. “Goddammit! That was fucking
mine
!” I rolled, falling from the edge of the air cushion to the floor and grabbing up my only sword. I finished off the fucking Shadow still lying on his back wailing from the hit to his head, black blood splattering, and then I peered around to the rest of the room, trying to find the thieving Shadow. I shouted, “That was mine, you fucking prick.”

Brann cleared his throat. I glanced back at him, furious I had been stolen from. He pointed to the right, the complete opposite direction to where I had been looking. “Over there, Felon.”

Glancing in that direction, I muttered quietly, “Dammit, don’t be so obvious next time when I’m wrong. You’re ruining my cool factor.”

His wolf growled at me. “Just go get your shit back since I know you don’t like to share.”

“Fucking right,” I murmured as I raised my sword and slashed down a Shadow aiming right for Brann, its blood splattering all over the protective wall in front of him. “God, I knew they’d like you, Wolf Man. You’re just as twisted as me. You need to stay
behind
the barrier.” As he stared at the blood, I raced after my sword. There was a damn Shadow using it to hack at a deer head mounted on the wall. I raised my hand and sent a pulse wave at it. “That is mine, you stupid fucking shit!”

Bone-tired, wavering on my feet and sporting black blood all over my body, I blinked at Mr Damon, both of my swords back in my hands. “I hate this part.”

He flashed white teeth at me through the black blood on his face. “Be happy we survived.”

I muttered under my breath,
“Surviving isn’t shit, if you’re insane.”

Mrs Damon pointed one of her glowing daggers at me, not at all the prim woman she normally was, being covered in black blood like us. “Especially you, young lady! You put yourself at risk fighting up in the fucking air with them!” More waving of her dagger. “That kind of reckless behavior is unacceptable!”

“Mrs Damon, with all due respect,” I spat on the ground, some of it black blood, “you can go fuck yourself.” I managed a sweet smile even as I gripped my bruised ribs. My wrist was twisted and smarting something fierce. “Okay?”

She growled, but Mr Damon grabbed her arm, holding her back when she wanted to pounce on me. He waved one of his axes at the back of the room where everyone was standing completely mute, watching us, almost all the none-Royals with wide eyes. “We need to finish this, so they can get out.”

And, speak of the devil, a goddamn fire Elemental in utter stupidity stepped outside the fucking protection right as Mr Damon was speaking…and instantly dropped to his knees, hands going to his head as he started screaming bloody murder. His eyes glowed fiercely, fire beginning to lick along his body as his power went berserk.

I cursed profoundly and raced toward him, dropping my swords to grab his head. Fire skimmed along my fingers, making me shout in pain. I still tilted his head back before he completely lost it, and I pressed my mouth to his, sucking in…pulling on my power, glowing brightly. I swallowed down the black, purified soul consuming him. I shuddered hard at the absolute malevolence, but I sent him back through the protection of the golden wall with a hard shove while I coughed and hacked. I wiped my mouth and gritted my teeth while I picked my swords back up with slightly singed fingers, straightening on wavering feet.

I pointed my swords at the stunned, silent group, someone holding the whimpering idiot behind the protection. “I swear to fucking God, I won’t save the next idiot to step past this protection because,” I spat again, coughing, “that fucking tastes like shit. Understand me, people?” I paused as they nodded, mute. “To make sure you all understand, here it is in simple logic: keep your fucking hands and feet inside the goddamn ride at all times or you can kiss your asses goodbye.”

“Caro…” Unbelievably, there was a bit of a reprimand in my King’s tone.

I stared at him wide-eyed, throwing my swords out wide. “Are you fucking kidding me? I’m worn the hell out from saving your asses, about to do something I truly hate, and that idiot,” I pointed with my sword, “can’t follow rule one!” I jabbed my right sword in the dummy’s direction with each word. “Stay. Behind. The. Damn. Protection.”

King Collins’s eyebrows rose. “Then why don’t you finish up, so you can rest?”

My nostrils flared as I watched him a moment. “You know, I’m going to ignore the fact I think you’re about ready to laugh at me, and do what I need to do.”

With a steady voice, he stated, “That sounds like a reasonable plan.”

I blinked. “You’re one damn condescending bastard.” I turned away, griping as I moved, “And I didn’t even get a fucking thank you for my hard work.”

Mr Damon chuckled quietly, murmuring softly, “And you still won’t get one once we wipe their memories.” His brows lifted. “The Temple is sounding better and better, isn’t it?”

“Shh,” I muttered quietly, glancing back at the group. My gaze roamed and landed directly on King Zeller, whose brows had lifted, he apparently having heard the comment. “Great.” I glared back at Mr Damon. “He’s all yours when we’re done here. I’m not about to tackle his ass to do what we have to.”

“Not a problem,” Mr Damon stated factually, even as I heard a slight ruckus happening behind us. We ignored it, the three of us spreading out in the room.

“Fuck, I hope I didn’t kill as many as I think I did,” I murmured, starting to glow as I set my swords down on the ground. “This isn’t going to feel pretty.”

Mrs Damon, still covered in black blood, clipped in her prim tone, “Maybe next time you won’t rush off like the damn grim reaper, and instead hang back like you should have.”

“Enough,” Mr Damon murmured, each of us glowing brightly. All three of us were raising our arms to shoulder-level in front of us, palms down toward the ground. “Let’s finish this.”

Jaw clenched, I let my power out through my hands, bright white shining down on the floor. There was enough light from the three of us to fill our half of the room. I heard gasps and even a few screams from those in the protected area, all of them now able to see from our power the Shadow bodies littering the floor, the entire floor a freaking deadly battleground of the evil departed.

I pulled from the stars, from the
pure
, shouting on a groan as I drew the magnitude of malevolence into my hands, lifting my arms high. All the Shadows I had killed elevated into the air. Which was at least half of the Shadow bodies. I screamed, “Ah shit, this is gonna hurt!”

I slammed my hands down hard, unable to do anything else. I let the fire from the stars out through my palms, the dead Shadows I had killed instantly shattering into millions of tiny pieces. Groaning, I crashed my hands together, and all of those pieces flew in front of me in a straight line. I shouted the order, stars sparkling with each of my breaths, “
Come to me.
”

As I inhaled heavily, the black particles of pure evil flew straight into my mouth. My head flew back with the force of the impact as I fell to my knees, my eyes glowing fiercely on the ceiling. I zoned out, time passing, unaware, but knowing Mr Damon and Mrs Damon were also doing their part. My Core expanded from the influx of sinful darkness and the fight of spirit versus evil, malevolence crawling over my body like ants. A small piece of myself broke, wanting to kill and torture and rape. The evil was whispering in my ears.

I screamed and grabbed my head, cleaned of blood from the disintegration, even as my Core began to beat a heavy rhythm in time to my heart. My magic was fighting back, trying to stay in place. I rocked back and forth to keep from doing as the darkness whispered, demanded, ordered me to do. It was begging, pleading, and then trying to trick and coax me. I screamed again, seeing Mr Damon’s face in front of me while hearing Mrs Damon shouting at everyone to stay back behind the protection.

Lying on my side now, I hissed, “Get back! Get back!”

And then I growled furiously, “
I will fucking kill you!”

“Focus, Caro,” Mr Damon ordered gruffly as he slammed me onto my stomach. He kept a forearm on the back of my neck and his left knee pressed between my shoulder blades. I tried not to fight back, keeping my hands above my head and face down into the wooden floor as another scream of rage and pain ripped through me. “Focus, goddamn it!”

I trembled under him, my Core throbbing with the effort to take in so much while tiny whispers of the depraved poured over my skin. I screamed again.

He muttered a curse above me, shouting, “It’s too much. She’s too damn young.” Even as I bucked under him, he shouted, “Tavia, get Leric now. Before she loses the control she’s fighting for.”

Not a second later with a flash of white light, I lost it, sending a pulse wave behind me. I heard Mr Damon grunt, his weight suddenly gone. I rose to my knees, growling quietly, not hearing him land anywhere. No sounds. Just absolute frenzy.

Rage.

I jerked my head back, only the feral part of me shining through my eyes, and I saw Mr Damon glowing about ten feet in the air, caught there by a certain Elder Elemental. I shouted in fury, jumping to my feet, and started throwing pulse wave after pulse wave at the golden protection, aiming directly at Elder Jacobs. His eyes remained glowing, his hand raised in the direction of Mr Damon, keeping the spirit Elemental protected.

The golden protection wavered.

The Mages behind the wall slammed both hands on it in surprise.

I ignored the shouts called toward me and grabbed one of my swords, letting my power pulse through it. I glowed brightly before I ran straight at the golden wall. My sword arced down to stab through the protection directly in front of Elder Jacobs. I grunted as I pulled down hard, my sword of pure power cutting through it as I tried to slice it fully…and stopped.

I growled in the face of my King. His eyes glowed fiercely as he stood in front of the Elder I wanted to tear apart. He whispered softly, “Caro, fight it. Whatever it is…fight it.”