The Valley of Lies (Lightkeepers #1)

Chapter FIFTY-SEVEN: Liss

(Welcome to the gritty end, faithful reader! Thanks for meeting me here, and I hope you like it. I'm sorry if it's long-winded or confusing in places. It's a tedious process to edit down the bloat, and this baby is brand-spanking new. But I hope you can see the shiny crystal hiding within the dusty rock.

So, without further ado, let's go for a ride together, shall we?)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Liss blinked away shadows, glancing between herself, Cath and Ayer. Two Darkbane priestesses and a Yansu dragon-elf princess, holding hands—sort of. It was all so strange and unexpected, and...

How had they even gotten to this point?

Edril preened inside her, projecting grandiose visions, as if reality had suddenly become a nuisance to him. In these brief, elaborate fantasies, he was a conquering hero addressing legions of loyal subjects, while Liss and the Eternal stood beside him—and all his pompous glory—in plain robes like underlings.

Obstinance kindled within her, a faint reminder that she hadn't completely fused with the warlock and his severed soul. And if Liss knew anything about kindling, after growing up in a village meticulously carved of antique wood, it was just how volatile a few tiny embers could become.

"Soon everyone will bow to us."

His internal dialogue was a bastardization of her voice blended with the reedy whisper of the Eternal. But this time, Liss didn't fall for it. Something had changed when Cath grabbed her wrist. She'd regained a hint of herself, and she wouldn't relinquish control again.

Not after what the Eternal made her do to... to...

Her gaze skewed to Zan, cuddled in his sister's forelegs. Was he awake? Had she hurt him badly?

She couldn't allow herself to think about it, or the gross fascination she'd felt when he'd Changed under her hands. The best she could do for now—the only thing she could do—was exorcize Edril and his damned soul. Then he couldn't fill her head with shadows and sickness ever again.

But how could she exorcize him?

Her whole body itched, as if she were too tight a space for three entities to coexist. Maybe it was a sign that her instinct was right and Edril would get his just desserts. Maybe this night wouldn't cost her everything, after all.

Cath squeezed her wrist, and a thrill coursed through her. Though the wraith's grip wasn't painful, it was strong enough to hold her in place. "We must purge the Coven," Cath murmured through her curtain of loose hair. "Too many souls have languished here for too long."

Edril snorted, but Liss held the sound within her, refusing him the satisfaction.

"You shouldn't be so confident," he whispered into her mind. "This could end very badly for you."

Now it was Liss' turn to scoff. "Didn't Noa say that about you earlier?"

"And look where it got him."

The younger Fex brother lay motionless near his siblings, his skin pale and pallid against his dark green tunic. But the Darkbane elves weren't dead. Liss felt energy radiating off them, the same way she'd known Ayer was alive after the princess collapsed. It was the same energy all the living creatures in the ballroom exuded; energy Liss could harness to power her magic if she regained just a bit more strength.

A soft, melodic chant pricked her ears, and she glanced sideways at Cath. Liss recognized a few of the wraith's sing-song words from verses the Council sometimes recited during their annual ceremonies. But even though she couldn't directly translate most of the chant, she got the gist. Cath was reciting a prayer for lost spirits and promising the wraiths' salvation.