Ch.28

Fir was a blur in the air, easily avoiding the daedric prince's strikes‌—swiping the other way with his sword, leaving the daedric prince covered in fresh blood‌—or whatever was left of his flesh .‌.‌. and dodging the swords of his men as they came flying toward Fir.

If I didn't know better‌… I don't know that I would've ever guessed that I'm an elf.

He saw a chance to escape .‌.‌. only a handful of soldiers stood between him and the gates. Then, he leapt toward the nearest group of them, sweeping his sword through all the warriors at once. He barely managed to avoid being shot by their arrows before he struck the ground, landing heavily.

It's easy to imagine that I'd want to join the humans now .‌.‌. I bet it would feel nice not having to worry about anything, knowing that I can just come and go as I please.

Fir could already picture it‌—joining a band of soldiers, taking one of their swords, and living life as a soldier instead of the monster he'd become. He could almost hear his father yelling at him .‌.‌.

The gods look out for those who take the path of honor .‌.‌. no matter how many times you lose along the way. They're looking out for me. I know they are. And we'll get out of this together. We will.

As for the rest of the world‌…

They'll have to be left behind.

Fir felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned to see Elestra pointing to his friends in the distance. There‌. Fir could see Evander over the tops of the buildings, still fighting with the daedric prince. And beside him, Ophiel was holding the book out in front of him like she had earlier‌—and the daedric prince was clearly close enough to snatch it away from him any moment now.

He can't do that .‌.‌. he can't just kill Evander and‌…

As the words left Fir's mouth, the daedric prince managed to grab the book. Then, something unexpected happened‌—the witch turned quickly, bringing her arm back in an arc, and a ball of energy shot toward the daedric prince.

"No!" cried Elaric, flying over Fir. He kicked off the ground and landed between Fir and the witch, pushing the other two out of the way.

And the force of the blast shattered the daedric prince.

Evander fell to the ground in a heap, and even as Elestra rushed forward to hold the book out again, the daedric prince was fading from existence .‌.‌. leaving the book right where it sat in Evander's hand.

I would've thought that I wouldn't be able to find such relief for a long time after everything we've been through‌… but this was my first thought.

Then, just like that, the daedric prince vanished. As a result, the screams stopped, and the sounds of fighting‌… went silent. Fir looked up and around‌—he couldn't see any sign of the soldiers left alive. He took that as the perfect opportunity to rush toward the gates, helping his friends pull open the doors‌—only to see the village burn.

But I don't understand .‌… What happened? Did the daedric prince kill everyone who was with him? But why would he leave?

"Evander?" said Elaric as they raced toward Fir and Evander. "How did you get down here?"

He's in my head again .‌… as if I didn't have enough on my plate already .‌…

***

They continued to push aside the last remaining soldiers. The skies were filled with clouds and smoke, but none of them seemed to move. As for the bodies of their fallen friends‌—there were far too many. There just wasn't enough time to cover all the remains.

In fact, Evander wasn't entirely sure he'd ever get used to this‌—no matter how much he had to live through in the years ahead‌—and yet it happened time and time again.

And yet, he didn't take the time to mourn those who couldn't be saved‌—not when there was still an active daedric prince on the loose. Especially not when he could already hear footsteps walking toward them. Evander's attention was drawn away from the pile of bodies behind him to see the daedric prince enter the village.

That's one thing we do know about him‌—that he can move around and destroy anything he wants with little effort. That must've been what the explosion earlier was about. But now‌.‌… he's out of control. We have to stop him before he kills anyone else .‌…

Evander held up his hand, ordering the others to stay back. "The book!" he yelled.

When no one made a move to obey, he drew his sword and pointed it straight at Fir. "Take the book. Take it now."

He felt a pair of hands grab him by the shoulders and hold him in place. "No," said Elestra. She stared back at Evander, ignoring the others completely. "You're going to be fine. We have to stop the daedric prince from killing any more people. Please‌. it will be better for us if you get a few injuries so that I can heal you. This way, the only problem we'll face is Evander's death. We can live with that. But if we don't try to protect ourselves right now‌… then we won't be able to go forward anymore. Do you understand? There isn't enough left inside of me to allow me to take another hit like the last time."

"I don't want your help."

"You shouldn't have come. I told you to leave, remember? I just wish you would have listened .‌… You can always die later‌—I'm already dead."

And so she let go of Evander, charging in front of him while gripping her dagger tightly in both hands. It was almost as if she knew what to do with it. "Get ready to kill everyone else," she said. "This is our only chance to win this‌…"

***

With the final soldier out of the way, Evander ran forward, dashing straight into the fire‌—and not even hesitating for a moment. He held on to the book with his good arm, even when the flames reached up toward him, attempting to consume every last thing he owned.

He didn't notice it, but there was one thing in particular that caught his eye‌—one person standing on top of the ashes. She was trying to scream, but smoke filled her lungs. And although her voice never came through clearly‌—not even he could make out any of the words‌—he imagined that they had to be full of hate.

Then, before he could even ask himself why‌—Evander charged toward the figure. He may have been running and swinging wildly with his sword, but this woman .‌.‌. this one was much harder to avoid. With a forceful kick to the back, she rolled over her shoulder .‌.‌. and right into the flames.

There was a brief moment of silence .‌.‌. after which Evander turned to see a black figure standing behind him. And without being able to see anything else, he fell to his knees.

***

It's not easy to kill something that's not truly alive‌…

Evander wasn't sure how he knew‌—not really. But at some point during the battle, he realized that this daedric prince was a spirit trapped between realms. The fact that he didn't realize that before‌—that he didn't feel like he had the power to get out‌—was part of what made him so dangerous. But he also knew that when she was killed‌—whether by the witch or anyone else‌—it would all be over.

Even if it felt like his mind had just given up‌…

Evander thought about that for only a brief moment before he looked back at Ophiel .‌.‌. and the sight of her left him stunned.

He couldn't begin to imagine how she survived, and yet, he also knew she did because he saw her face right as the daedric prince grabbed the book .‌.‌. right before he could snatch it away.

Evander could've sworn that she raised her hand above her head‌—even though she'd have no reason to do so .‌.‌. and that she took one single step forward toward him .‌… just enough for the daedric prince to take notice of her. And then he was gone .‌… just as he had been on the day that Evander had first met him.

Even in death, he managed to live on.

Evander stood up, looking around and taking in the scene‌—just staring, but not thinking anymore. Then, without a second's hesitation, he grabbed Fir's shirt, pulling him back toward the gates. He glanced over his shoulder‌—he could still see the black figure standing behind them. She's probably not going to move‌… not until she can get to the book.