The Bloodstone Prophecy - Book 2 (complete)

Chapter 33 - The Phoenix

Love this Fall Out Boy song, and very appropriate I think.

So I changed things up a bit and moved some of the last chapter forward. Let me know if you think this works better.

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Kami sat up. Liam was whipping furiously, creating a circle around her. The wolf snapped at her with fierce jaws, then yelped and scooted away as a whip flayed its hindquarters. The creatures prowled around them, teeth bared, growling. Another one lunged for her and he thrashed it.

Sweat poured down Liam's face. She wondered how long he could hold out whipping the creatures. The bloody stripes covering his torso looked painful, and he seemed winded. She wished she'd thought to pack a weapon, but it hadn't occurred to her she might be kicked out of the shadow creature. Besides, all they had was the one whip, and she couldn't use Haji's shadow blade even if she had it.

Kami looked to the fight beyond and gasped at the sight of the shadow giant, enabled by the Shadow Queen and destroying everything in his path. Samuel and Chris were making a valiant effort, but they were clearly no match for the giant. She could feel the fear infecting the men around her, could feel the terror gripping her own heart. There was no way they would survive this onslaught. The queen had already won.

Just as her heart gave into the despair, she felt something warm under her knee. Kami moved her leg to reveal her glowing scarab. It must have fallen off her while she'd been in the creature's body. What was she thinking? The necklace was a weapon! Kami closed her hand around it, remembering the terror and anger she had felt underwater. She channeled it, drawing it inward and upward, feeling herself grow in power. Almost there, almost there. Just a bit more...

Suddenly the power was ripped from her hands. Her eyes flew open. A shadow creature had snuck through Liam's defenses and knocked the necklace out of her hand. Liam whipped the creature and it fell back, yowling, but the damage was already done. The necklace lay several yards away, glimmering in the sand as the creatures walked over it.

"Liam, the necklace!" Kami cried. He looked over and nodded, but as he whipped the creatures, they closed in from behind. More creatures were joining the circle. He moved back to defend their position. They were trapped. She stood beside him, back to back. If she didn't have a weapon, she could at least be his eyes.

Then she saw something burst from the cave, cutting its way through the shadow creatures with a fury that astonished her. Pieces of shades were flying through the air. It moved toward her, leaving a path of destruction in its wake. It snaked its way toward her through the fighting men, and as it reached the edge she saw not what it was, but who it was.

From the skirmish, Haji came running, shadow blade in hand. She stared in astonishment. He'd grown so much in power since their practicing in the White Desert. When had he had become this good with the blade?

"Kami!" Haji called, pulling a shadow whip from his belt and tossing it to her.

She caught it and swung it, slicing a shadow creature. Haji fought his way to the center and joined them. Breathing heavily, he looked around. Kami realized that their fight had attracted attention. There had to be at least thirty creatures surrounding them now.

"I can beat them if I fight them a few at a time, but this is too many," Haji said.

"Let's move the circle!" Kami said. "If I can just get to my necklace, we might have a chance."

Liam and Haji nodded, and they moved as they fought, bit by bit, closer, closer, until they were fighting right over the necklace. Kami dropped the whip and snatched the scarab up, holding it in both hands, focusing her energies intensely until she came to that calm and desperate place and she issued her command.