Fulcrum of Light (Catalyst Book 2) C.J. Aaron (unputdownable books .TXT) 📖

mouth to beg for his life, yet no sound save a quiet gurgle exited his lips. He felt his senses failing; his legs went still, his eyes struggled to remain open. The pain from the gash in his side and in his hand faded away into nothing.

Yet even as the rest of his body shut down, even as his senses failed him, the throbbing in his left arm reached a fevered pitch. His arm stretched forward on its own volition, the sun centered on his elbow pulsing with a golden light as it condensed, sliding down his forearm. The black tattoo filled in where the sun passed. The glow continued to intensify as it reached his hand.

Elias, or what remained of his friend, growled as he squeezed tighter around Ryl’s neck, intent on finishing the task. The light shifted as it left his arm, growing into a small, brilliant white ball that seethed in the palm of his hand. The throbbing sensation in his arm began to fade as the last threads of life began to fray.

The orb of light was blinding. Ryl could see only blurred silhouettes of washed out shapes as his eyes began to close for the last time. A final impulse surged through his veins. A veiled understanding that had remained hidden blossomed in his mind.

The answer was startlingly simple.

It was in the palm of his hand.

Peace had conquered the hatred that seeped from the Lei Guard.

Hope had vanquished the decisive feeling of failure they fought to instill.

Light would banish the darkness.

With every ounce of his remaining strength, he swung his left arm, leading with his open palm toward the chest of the Lei Guard. The motion of his hand was aided by the rushing of power through his veins and an unexpected magnetism that his oxygen starved mind failed to comprehend.

Ryl’s palm, fingers splayed outward, hurtled toward the heart of the Lei Guard. As it neared, the ball of burning white light focused, the sphere narrowing into a spike that extended outward from his hand. His palm slammed into the chest of his friend with a flash of light. His black cloaked body went rigid as the spike of pure energy and light burst through his back.

The hand around Ryl’s neck went limp. His frenzied gasp for air was excruciating as the blood and oxygen rushed back through his body. His lungs burned. The slashes on his side and hand screamed in agony. He felt the warm blood oozing from both, pooling on the ground around him. His left hand was still on the breast of the Lei Guard; he felt the energy pumping outward through his palm.

The connection was electric. Ryl felt as if his hand was stuck against his friend’s chest. The feeling flashed back to the unforgettable memory of the solitary occasion that his hand had contacted Kaep’s bare skin. The magnetism was similar, yet shockingly different at the same time. His connection with Kaep had been energizing, enlightening and exciting. The hand on his friend’s chest communicated unimaginable pain, suffering and ultimate cold.

The spike of light blossomed at its point, spreading outward like flares of light from the core of a star. The beams curled inward, wrapping around the body of his friend as it fell backward onto its knees. Elias' arms went limp, falling to his sides. The Lei Guard’s head rolled back staring up into the darkened sky above.

Still struggling to suck in every drop of precious air, Ryl squeezed his eyes shut, turning his head to the side as the cocoon of light surrounding his friend imploded on itself. The wave of light exploded outward, drowning the area for a moment in a brilliant, blinding white.

Ryl was still panting rapid shallow breaths, savoring every morsel of oxygen he could draw into his lungs. The air around him smelled a noxious mix of blood, smoke and the unforgettable odor of burnt flesh. He blinked his eyes open. The sky above was blue and clear. The mists of the morning still clung in places to the forest and river below.

He remained still for a moment as his senses regained control of themselves. He flopped his head to the side, wincing as the pain raced through his body. He lifted his left arm in front of his face. The tattooed surface had returned to its previous state, though the large sun that was centered on his elbow appeared to have dimmed a shade. A small smudge of a black dot had appeared in the crook of his elbow.

The monotone pitch of the ringing in his ears returned, slowly at first before ratcheting into a thundering force. Over the doldrum, he could hear the frantic calls of his friends from the shore. With pain and effort, he wiggled his body to a seated position, offering a feeble wave to his companions. He saw Nielix rushing toward the docks, barking commands at the stunned fishermen who stood frozen on the piers.

Hardening the woodskin on his right leg, he hammered upward on the side of one of the red spikes of the circular shield. Without the body weight of the Lei Guard pressing it down, his effort was rewarded as the shield shifted in the ground enough for his hand to slide out from underneath.

Ryl sat, rubbing his right wrist with his left hand, flexing his fist over and over. The scene around him defied explanation. The battle had lasted only a matter of moments, yet the devastation they had wrought was intense. Once spanning over fifty meters across the river below, the bridge had been reduced to a section of roughly ten meters that balanced precariously atop the center pillar. Close to either bank, the crumbling stone jutted out only a few meters past the sheer drop off of the land.

The final tendrils of smoke from the fireballs slithered away in the clean, morning air. Gone was the oppressive blackness that had once cast its hateful shadow over the area. At his feet,