Prince of Blood and Shadow
I. Chapter 22

Inias and Styx suddenly stopped when a crimson lightning bolt erupted in the sky. “He made it,” Inias grinned with relief. Despite the trap, luck seemed to favor them once more. All the pieces had fallen into place; Keira had finally found Vestin, and they were on the way to replace Ashryn. The maenad had raced to Sylvis with astonishing speed, and with Styx’s help, Inias knew they could navigate through the waves of redcaps. Caelan was watching them, and Inias could feel that it wouldn’t be long before he joined the battle.

Styx let out a wild howl and sharply changed direction, causing Inias to struggle to keep up, nearly slipping. In the midst of grunting and blade clashes, Inias glimpsed rainbow braids twirling in the air as Naesala forcefully pushed a redcap into a tree. The creature’s head exploded with a sickening pop against the trunk. In her right hand, Naesala held a dagger, and in her left, a pistol crafted from redwood and an unfamiliar metal, its barrel emitting a red aura.

Naesala pulled back the hammer and aimed the pistol directly at Inias, who quickly raised his hands. “Hey! Same side!” he called out, coming to a halt. She shook her head and fired. A beam of red light flashed past Inias, striking a redcap behind him in the face. “Crystal magic?” Inias asked once his shaking had subsided. Naesala nodded and flashed the weapon before his eyes with a mischievous grin. “Stolen from a pirate in the bay and modified. Don’t tell anyone, okay?” Naesala glanced at the redcaps she had left behind.

“Can you make me one?” Inias asked with a hopeful smile. She shook her head and listened for any oncoming enemies. “Keira found Vestin, and you saw the lightning?” Inias asked as he made his way around the trees, navigating around the goblin corpses. Naesala nodded and took a deep breath. “I freed two of them,” she breathed as she reloaded her gun with small red crystals. It held only six in a wheel pattern, which Inias found impractical.

Naesala wiped blood onto her pants as Styx began sniffing at the bodies. “A hobgoblin and a dwarf. When I found them, I remembered why I came here. I wanted to come back and free the others, but when they had me bound again...” It felt like reliving it all over again - the shock collar, the laughing humans, and the leering eyes as she performed for their amusement. Inias knew the feeling all too well; he had been grappling with his own demons since losing his father.

“And the heroes have found each other!” Caelan’s voice rang out as the three turned to face him. “A little too quickly, though.”

Naesala fired her pistol, but Caelan lifted his staff and caught the beam of red against the crystal flame. “Rushing to the finale?” Inias asked, pointing his sword at Lord Rouan. Caelan gave the three of them one of his sickly sweet smiles, pointing his staff straight for Inias. “It would seem your lady friends haven’t forgotten you. I barely managed to escape them.”

“The maenads? They’re here?!” Naesala asked in a mix of concern and hope. “I freed one of them, guessing she found her friends.” Inias explained, stepping ahead of her towards Caelan. “They swarmed the tent as they did the manor, ripping through everything in sight like feral beasts.”

“Saves us the trouble,” Inias grinned as the diamond edge of his blade glowed. He wished the others were by his side, but this was the fight he’d been waiting for. Vestin and Ashryn were safe, Sylvis was on his way, and now Caelan stood before him. “We should lead him to Sylvis, send Styx to replace Keira,” Naesala whispered beside him as Styx growled at Caelan. Inias shook his head and held his sword ready in front of him.

“There it is!” Caelan beamed a smile at Inias as those crimson eyes bore into him. “Your father had that same look when he discovered my dealings.” Warnings went off in his mind, but the rage he felt as Caelan spoke overshadowed them. “Said he’d deal with me upon his return.”

“You killed him!” Inias roared as his body shook. Boiling blood sang in his veins as he gripped his sword tighter, fighting the urge to rush him. Styx barked and snarled beside him, waiting for Inias order to strike. “Inias he’s bating you.” Naesala whispered beside him, giving him a light shove with her shoulder to draw his attention. “He killed himself. The Crescent could’ve made us the richest kingdom in all the Vale.” Caelan went on, his smile growing as Inias’ glare deepened.

Inias shoved at Naesala and pulled a knife from his belt. “Styx, are you ready?” He whispered to the fox, who nodded with an eager lick of his lips. Styx sunk into his shadow and slipped beneath Inias. The tattoo on his neck glowed, to Naesala’s surprise. “Find Sylvis. I can hold him.” He could only borrow Styx’s strength for so long, he only hoped it was long enough to wear Caelan down.

“Do you ever learn?” She asked, pointing her gun straight at Caelan, who was forming a ball of fire at the end of his staff. Inias shot forward like a bolt of black lightning, moving more quickly than the crystal she’d fired. Caelan slammed into a tree, barely able to lift his staff in time to catch the boy’s blade. Despite her surprise, she shook her head and rushed to join Inias. “Sylvis will replace us!” She reminded him, knowing Caelan’s flames would draw his attention.

“So that’s it,” Caelan growled as red flames lashed for Inias face, who quickly jumped away and rolled. “You eat the fox and gain his strength. Clever boy. Even your father hadn’t thought of that.” He turned and deflected another crystal aimed at his head. A blow came to his right and before he could turn, another came to his left. Before he could make any noise, a fight slammed into Caelan’s gut. Naesala watched as that black bolt darted around, slamming Caelan from every direction until the man finally flew across the forest.

Inias held his knees, huffing as Styx reformed at his side, short of breath as well. They hadn’t had time to practice, only discussed the plan with Styx and gave it a trial run on the way to the tent. That sudden burst of speed had drained them more than he’d intended, but it left Caelan in a great deal of pain. One slash across his side, claws to his right, and a punch to the gut all in two breaths. Naesala fired a shot at Caelan, who drew up a wall of fire as he struggled to stand. “Can you do that again?” She asked, resting a hand on Inias’ back.

Bolts of fiery red streaked through the dense forest, propelling Caelan into the air with a gut-wrenching cry. “Caelan!” Sylvis bellowed as he sprinted past the two towards Caelan, his eyes blazing with fury. The elder raised his staff, unleashing a whirlwind of flames aimed directly at his charging foe. With a powerful leap, Sylvis brought his spear down into the swirling inferno, causing the flames to scatter as Caelan caught the blade with his staff.

“Brave children with your flashy toys,” Caelan smiled up at Sylvis, whose spear crackled with lightning. Sylvis turned to replace a large ball of fire hurdling towards him. They had fallen from every direction, catching the foliage and trees around them. Sylvis jumped away from Caelan, who stood with a fiery hand against his wounds, burning them closed.

Inias dove as fire fell from every direction. Naesala and Styx circled around trees to evade them and close the distance with Caelan. Inias threw one of his purple knives straight for Caelan, only to have him duck away from it at the last minute. He’d revealed his ace too soon, and now it was all he could do to evade the falling flames. Trees were ablaze and the surrounding brush was catching fast, sending smoke into the air.

Soon, the fire stopped falling as Naesala fired another shot towards Caelan. It slammed him in the shoulder, causing him to cry out and stumble back. “You!” He snapped, sending a volley of fireballs from his staff. Styx leapt forward, catching them in his mouth before he shot straight for Caelan, snapping his jaws. Blood sprayed from Caelan’s throat as Styx twisted his body, causing the man’s head to roll to the side as the body fell limp to the ground.