This time, the Vodrun stopped their charge. The staggered to a mute halt, their baleful eyes staring up at the gremlin. An enormous bolt of lightning crashed down from the sky, killing several Vodrun and creating a small crater in the ground.

A second strike followed after it, but it suddenly popped out of existence a moment before it hit the creatures. A ripple passed through the army and they moved apart, creating a thin path.

A tall islander man glided across the ground. His long braided hair swung behind him like the hand of a grandfather clock and his narrow eyes were as cold as ice. His skin tone resembled Linna’s, but it was lighter, as if he hadn’t seen sunlight in several years.

“You’ve gone and lost your mind again, traitor? I’m surprised you’d do something like that now, but you’ve never cared about others, have you? Looks like you’re getting into the habit of killing friends,” the islander man spat, putting emphasis on the last word.

A spike of stone erupted from the ground behind the man. It punched through his chest and lifted him a foot off the ground. The man grabbed the rock and it turned to sludge in his hands. He dropped back to the ground, the enormous hole in his chest sealing as each second passed.

“I wonder how much that one cost. A day? A week?” He asked Jasper mockingly.

“Be silent!” Jasper roared. A bolt of lightning crashed down on Yon’s body so violently that he instantly turned to ash.

No more than a few moments later, Yon was once again standing where he had been, apparently no worse for the wear.

“You’re weak, Spider,” Yon growled. “Toggle pitied you. He showed you mercy!”

A bolt of violet light launched out of Jasper’s hand and drilled into Yon’s chest. There was a silent pop followed by a loud sucking noise. A large whirling ball of darkness erupted into being where he had been standing, enveloping several Vodrun as well.

It vanished a moment later, leaving a smooth crater and the bloody back half of a Vodrun. The air around the attack shimmered for a moment. Then, starting with his feet, Yon formed back together.

“Attack all you want, traitor. Death has lost its grasp on me. The sands of time have forgotten my existence, but I will remind them of yours.”

“I will put you down, dog,” Jasper snarled. “And then I’ll bury you with your crazed master.”

“You shall try,” Yon said. “We’ll meet at Midnight, assuming you show even an ounce of care for the man you’re in the process of killing.”

Yon’s features sagged downwards. His features starting to melt like wet sand. His body crumbled as the wind blew it apart. Within seconds, there was nothing left of him but the foul smell of death and burning flesh.

As one, the Vodrun let out a grating howl and surged back into motion toward Ringden. Jasper poured attack after attack into them, but the horde swarmed past him and reached the city walls despite his best efforts.

The stone shuddered as thousands of Vodrun hurled themselves against it, clawing their way up toward the guardsmen.

Arrows and hot oil rained down on the creatures, but they barely seemed to notice. Their bodies piled up against the base of the wall like a ramp as the horde pressed forward relentlessly.

Like a wave of molasses, the Vodrun forced their way up Ringden’s walls. Somehow, through the clamor and noise of the battle, a single click resonated throughout the city. The gaze of nearly every guard swung toward a single point on the wall, just to the side of the gates.

A black claw dug into the top of the wall. Then, it was over before the nearest terrified guard could react. The Vodrun heaved itself up and, with a casual flick, ripped the man in two.

The guards surged forward and pressed the beast back, but it was too late. One by one, the Vodrun appeared at the top of the walls and tore into the guards.

At the same time, Jasper felt a faint tug at the back of his mind. He paused briefly, the lightning crackling across his knuckles fading for a moment as an errant thought clawed at the back of his mind.

Then it was gone. The power surged back into existence and the air around him crackled with the smell of ozone as he sent another bolt of lightning hammering into the Vodrun horde. Somewhere deep within his own mind, Jasper screamed.

Ethan’s cheeks were pale and his hair was matted on his head with sweat. He found Linna near her wagon, a backpack thrown over her shoulder and her sword drawn.

“Jasper needs you,” he said in a strained tone.

“Where? And what did he do?” Linna asked, letting the pack drop to the ground as she moved to stand beside Ethan.

“You need to knock him out,” Ethan said. A tremor passed through his body violently and the swordsman gritted his teeth. When it passed, he impatiently grabbed Linna by the hand.

“No time to waste! You need to do it before the Vodrun horde gets finished off,” he said as he took off running, dragging Linna along behind him.

“Horde? How many of them are there?” Linna asked between breaths. The city crowd had already thinned out, so the walls were quickly coming into sight.

“More than enough,” Ethan grunted. Cold sweat was pouring off his brow and his pace had slowed down slightly. They reached the base of the wall just as a guard crashed to the ground beside them. Linna winced and looked away.

A loud crack split the sky and the bodies of several Vodrun were launched so high that they could see them from behind the wall.

“I thought Jasper couldn’t fight the Vodrun,” Linna said.

Ethan bounded up the stairs with Linna hot behind him. He slid his sword slid out of its sheath as they ran.

“He normally shouldn’t. It’s not good for my health. Or anyone’s. The moment he polishes off the Vodrun, he’ll turn on the city. An arrow might do the trick, but that’ll kill him. Only a Vision can get close enough to stop him without doing serious harm.”

They reached the top of the wall just in time to see several young guards throw themselves into a Vodrun, taking it over the edge along with them. Ethan gritted his teeth as a new Vodrun pulled itself up in the previous one’s place.