“A former Dane, who used to be an Earth Wielder,” I whispered.
“Who is that?” Rhodes asked.
“Durlan. The Gray’s second.”
Both Rhodes and Slavik readied themselves, stomping on the ground as they prepared their Wielding.
I stared at The Gray’s second in front of me and frowned. “I’d hoped you were dead,” I said.
“You tried to kill me. So did your bitch. But you couldn’t. And now, I have these new powers thanks to The Gray.”
“You should thank your Spirit Priestess,” Slavik said. “Your Gray has no power. He just leaches it from the land and others. The Spirit Priestess is the one who gives.”
I hadn’t wanted to tell anyone outside of certain circles about what was going on, but I didn’t think the man in front of us would live long enough to report to The Gray. He deserved to die for what he did to Lyric, let alone all the others he had dared to hurt.
“The Gray always wanted you,” Durlan snapped, Fire sparking from his fingertips. He blew on them, his face gaunt, his eyes strained from the power. He couldn’t handle it, and no one was here to train him. No one would. Was this what The Gray was doing to his people? Letting them die?
I didn’t know, but regardless, Durlan didn’t deserve my sympathy. Not after what he had done.
“The Gray always wanted you,” Durlan repeated.
“Why?” I asked, truly curious now. “Why would he ever want me to be part of his circle?”
“Because he couldn’t have his son there, so he figured he would take you instead.”
Both Rhodes and Slavik stiffened beside me, but I didn’t turn to them. Luken’s secret was his own, but perhaps I should tell the others soon, especially if The Gray and his people were just going to blurt it out.
“You were promised to The Gray as his third because Lore wanted power. You have enough power. You don’t need to be with The Gray. You were always nothing, and then you betrayed him by cutting off that curse of yours with your stupid Priestess.”
“Watch your tongue,” Rhodes snapped, and I grinned.
It was nice to not have to fight on my own, to have people who wanted to battle alongside me. I always had that, but not against Durlan.
“The Gray’s fourth is dead. Lyric killed him.”
“He was weak. A little Whisperer who thought he could gain secrets and, therefore, power. Favor with The Gray. But he was wrong. He was nothing.”
“Whatever you say,” I whispered, trying to understand what Durlan wanted.
“I should be enough for The Gray. But no, he wanted his Easton. And his precious son. And now, he wants the Spirit Priestess? Why? I’ve always been there for him. I’ve always been loyal. I will be the one who takes you out and kills you. Then I’ll take your bitch, too.”
“I would watch your tone when it comes to my mate,” I said. “So, you’re saying that you want all of the power that comes from The Gray?” I asked.
“I want you dead first. After, I’ll take whatever The Gray gives me.”
“I’m sure The Gray will kill you, but whatever,” Slavik said with a shrug, and then Durlan moved. He shot Fire from his hands, but it was unwieldy, too hard, and too fast. Durlan screamed at the pain as his veins bulged in his arms, and Slavik pushed up the rock in front of him, blocking the Fire with ease.
I looked at my friends, and they both shook their heads, not sure what to do. Did they keep Durlan alive? That would be the smart thing so we could question him about The Gray. But I didn’t think we were going to hold The Gray’s second for long, not with the way his power kept fluctuating, his body shaking from being overloaded. I had only really seen this happen to one other person, and Lyric had somehow survived. Because I had been able to hold her in place, to give her some of my stability so she could find her own.
I couldn’t do that for Durlan. Not that I’d want to.
“You took so much!” Durlan screamed.
“I took nothing. The Gray’s the one who’s done it all.”
“Lies!” Durlan screamed and shot Fire towards Rhodes, who flicked his wrist and doused it with his Water.
The casual show of power from the two men at my side enraged Durlan. He threw his hands into the air and then slammed them down, pushing Fire towards me. I used my own Fire Wielding to lock the Fire in the air, something I didn’t often do because it took more energy than it was worth. But I needed to show the man my strength. Show him what a true Fire Wielder could do. Durlan screamed and shot flame after flame after flame at us. We blocked his attempts, not even using the full depths of our powers. Durlan’s body began to shake, his skin stretching awkwardly as if he had too much flame within him.
“He’s going to burn himself out!” Slavik said over the man’s screams.
“I don’t think we can stop him,” I whispered. And I couldn’t. None of us could. Not with how Durlan was wasting his soul trying to take us out.
“I deserve everything. You are nothing!” Durlan shouted. The high-pitched scream echoed in the silence around us, and others came to see what was happening. Lyric was suddenly behind me, I could feel her, but she didn’t come too close. I knew that if she did, Durlan would focus his attention on her. But it was too late anyway. Durlan screamed, then fell to his knees as the Fire consumed him, taking him body and soul because he couldn’t control it.
As Durlan let out his last breath, his eyes wide, I shook my head and tried to douse the flames as much as possible. No one deserved to die like that, not even the truly heinous.
Lyric was at my side in an instant and slid her hand into mine. “That could have been me,” she whispered.
“It wasn’t,” I said, my voice clipped. I didn’t want to think about her like that. Didn’t want to think about what would’ve happened if she hadn’t been able to control her powers.
“I was able to survive because of you,” she said.
I shook my head again. “You were able to survive because you are strong. I just happened to be there for some of it.”
“But you were there, and I was never alone. Not really.”
“Not like him.”
We moved forward, continuing to douse the flames with Earth and Water, attempting to see what we could do for the man who had died for his power.
In the end, we couldn’t do much of anything.
Durlan had died at his own hands, from his lack of strength. Because The Gray had been selfish in not teaching Durlan how to defend himself.
There was no coming back from this. No silver lining for the Wielder.
The Gray’s second was dead, and sadly we hadn’t gotten anything out of him that we didn’t already know.
The Gray hadn’t come, hadn’t tried to save the man who had been by his side for decades.
Suddenly, the injustice of it all, the depravity and the sadness, slid over me. I looked at the people around me, those of our circle, and knew that I wasn’t alone. That was the only thing I could promise myself: we would do our best to work as one, even if the soullessness of death was the only thing to comfort us in the end.
Chapter Nineteen
Lyric