Radiance - The Alight Archives Book #1

24. Deathstalkers

Elaine charged through the corridor with lungs set ablaze and a terror that shredded what little remained of her confidence into fabricated leaflets, lost to the winds billowing her consciousness. Behind her, the insectoid beast roared, a sort of high-pitched screech that bounced off the vine-infested walls. The surgin' thing had appeared out of nowhere, pouncing from the shadows and nearly grabbing a hold of her with one of its pair of giant claws.

She'd been quicker, but this deathstalker, if nothing else, was a loud and formidable predator. Five minutes had passed, Elaine had approximated, since their game of cat and mouse had initiated. Elaine hadn't a clue if the direction she was blindly running in would lead her to where she needed to be.

Pointed feet armored in a thick layer of chitin stabbed the floor as the deathstalker swerved its trajectory and chased behind her. Upon her aimless and rapid retreat, Elaine ventured a fraction of a peek over her shoulder. Six pairs of dotted eyes glowing a violet-colored hue pierced her with its emotionless, yet all too famished glare. The insect had made its point clear; it wasn't intent on letting its prey escape so easily.

And Elaine couldn't just keep running forever. She needed to find the exit before the lesson concluded, otherwise, she'd undoubtedly fail. Glancing to the side of her waist, Elaine's vision focused on the wand, trembling inside of its holster with each of her movements. Yes, she was a sorcerer, wasn't she? What good was there in being capable of casting magic if she never used it to liberate herself from a dreadful set of circumstances?

Elaine swiped the wooden commoner's wand out of the holster, and as she took her next step, she used her intense momentum to whirl around on the bawl of her foot, her shoulder cape flapping wildly. Now she was staring at the monster only a few paces ahead of her, releasing another of its horrible-sounding shrieks. But it wouldn't stop, and that was precisely was Elaine was counting on.

Setting her jaw with a crack, gripping the wand firmly in her dominant hand, she began to echo a memory in her head. A memory of when she'd first performed the spell, of when she'd surrendered to an alien possession and permitted it to pave a path to her victory. It had helped her then; indeed, it would bail her out of trouble now.

Shimmering rays of golden energy illuminated the tip of her wand, giving it the appearance of some strange glowstick she'd once seen nobles use during the rare occasions when they bothered to visit their local festivals. Only this "glowstick" wasn't made of metal nor was it powered by a keystone, crafted instead by a wandsmith from a little village secluded in the misted hills.

The deathstalker closed in on her, readying to launch its claw in an attempt to crush her skull. Elaine inhaled sharply, and the name of the spell ejected out of her throat. "Icto Lumen!"

Like before, her magic had summoned a concentrated beam of light shaped to look like a javelin. Creaking open her eyelids that she'd squeezed closed, Elaine watched as the golden harpoon soared toward its target. It moved as quickly as a bullet from a runerifle. That is to say, had Elaine blinked or averted her gaze even for the briefest of seconds, she more than likely wouldn't have seen the otherworldly sight.

The projectile parted sheets of dust, rock, and debris that scattered the path, shooting them off to the sides in amassed clouds of dirt. The deathstalker, who had one of its pincers stretched in front of it, paused as the javelin of light collided directly into its face, forcing the creature to arch its spin backward, relying on the strength of its hindlegs to keep it from tumbling over.

An anguished shrill clawed out of its set of fidgeting mandibles. The deathstalker shuddered its enormous frame, blindly swiping at the air, lacking any coordination. It had tried to kill her, but Elaine couldn't keep that feeling of sincerity and guilt as she watched it randomly flailing itself in pain, the front portion of its skull engulfed in a plume of smoldering smoke.