Arcemis's Arc

Chapter 16 of 16

The feast hall fell quiet after Cade's warning. A piece of Vaphos was loose. Arcemis set down his crown and looked at the faces around him. Amira reached for his hand, but he stood. "I cannot sit here while any part of that demon breathes," he said. "Not with our people at risk." At dawn a pale light drifted through the tall citadel windows. A fae butterfly, its wings glowing blue and pink, floated over the table. It had once led Arcemis to Cade at the war's start. Now it circled him again and hovered by the door. "It wants to guide us," Cade said. His blue eyes went distant with a vision. "The fragment gathers strength near the old stone. If we wait, it will grow into him again." Master Archadious rose from his seat at the far end. Arcemis's adopted father moved slow, one hand on the table, but his eyes were sharp. He had raised Arcemis with rough hands and little patience. He had also, once, driven Rhademus's whole pack away with a single blast of light. "You have hunted this evil across the world," the old monk said. "Do not go alone. Finish it with those who bled beside you." Arcemis followed the butterfly out past the pale walls. His guardians came with him. So did Amira, though he asked her to stay. "I woke from that dark sleep," she said, her voice calm and low. "I will not sit behind a wall while you face what put me there." He knew that look. He did not argue. The butterfly led them to a broken shrine below the citadel. There a statue of Gaia stood, vines carved down her stone gown. A black smear crawled across her feet like spilled oil. It pulled itself upright and took the shape of the demon's face, red eyes burning. The fragment hissed and lunged. Arcemis raised his sword and it flared gold. He struck once, and the light bit deep. Then a warm voice spoke behind them all. The goddess herself stood by her own statue, golden eyes bright, blonde hair falling like a river. "Together, my guardians," Gaia said. Cade lifted his hands. Archadious flared with light. The others poured their power into Arcemis's blade until it burned white. Arcemis drove the sword through the black shape. It shrieked, thinned, and broke apart into ash. The red eyes went dark and did not return. The shrine went still. Arcemis knelt at Gaia's stone feet, breathing hard. Amira pressed her hand to his shoulder. He looked up at his wife, at his father, at every friend who had fought with him. "It is done," he said. "Every spec of the demon is gone." He had kept his vow. The war was truly over now. What remained was the life he had chased so long, waiting to be lived. THE END