Read Online Sunrise(Pact Arcanum 2) by Arshad Ahsanuddin - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Arshad Ahsanuddin
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the battle so far. “Father, our enemy has shown himself.”
Jiao-long’s acerbic voice commanded over the bloodline, “Kill the Wind of Earth if you can. If you fail, then I will avenge you, my son. Fight well.”
Without another word, Liang silently ordered his remaining forces to attack. As the vampires leapt forward to strike, Antonio and Thomas launched bolts of white fire to immediately pick them off, one by one, from behind their shields. Helena teleported around the room, clutching two knives sheathed in flames and dealing punishment to any vampires able to raise shields strong enough to block the Fire Sentinels’ attacks. Joseph shifted form, becoming some kind of tentacled horror that hurt to look at but was strong and versatile. He ensnared and immobilized vampires four at a time, allowing Marjorie to kill them with ease.
Meanwhile, Liang launched himself directly at Takeshi, who blocked Liang’s strike with his katana and returned his stroke. Simultaneously, Rory leapt sideways and slashed horizontally with his cutlass, in perfect synchrony with Ana, who lashed out with her staff trailing orange fire. To avoid their coordinated, three-pronged attack, Liang had no choice but to retreat and fight defensively. He knew the combat skills the Gift imparted to the Wind of Earth were superior to anything any Nightwalker could command. He had only minutes to gain an advantage against Takeshi until his own forces were dispatched and the other Sentinels could come to Takeshi’s aid. If he did not win this battle quickly, he would almost certainly die here.
Rory struck high, aiming for Liang’s throat. The Sentinel’s blade was sheathed in holy fire, and it sliced through Liang’s shield and grazed his neck as he twisted to the side. Knowing that Ana would use the opportunity to strike at his exposed flank, Liang steeled himself, but still felt the shock of her staff burning through his shield and then punching into his side, where it seared a trail deep into his flesh. He staggered forward involuntarily, raising his sword to block Takeshi’s stroke, which aimed to take his head off.
Takeshi struck for his head, but simultaneously pulled a wakizashi sword from his belt to nick the inside of the Nightwalker’s exposed wrist. The spellworked steel of the short sword slashed the tendons of Liang’s sword arm, its charmed edge preventing the Nightwalker from regenerating the damage. Liang watched helplessly as his blade tumbled to the floor. He had only seconds left. Sweeping his arms in a wide circle, he forced the Winds to dodge his talons and used the brief respite to gather his power. With the accumulated strength of three thousand years in the dark, he cast one final spell.
All of his energy exploded in a single burst of ferocious light, consuming him utterly. The room was obliterated and the rubble of the building reduced to dust and ash in an instant. Nothing remained to mark the building’s presence but a perfectly spherical, molten-glass-lined crater extending deep into the earth.
* * *
Shaking off the disorientation of the teleport matrix, Takeshi glanced around the hotel room and then at Rory and Ana—both mirrored his shock. “What happened?”
“Radiant Burn,” Antonio said from behind them.
Rory faced him. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s a spell that allows the caster to convert his body into energy,” Ana explained. “It takes a huge amount of power to cast, so only a master spellcaster can even try. Jesus.” She looked around the room. “We should be dead.”
Takeshi glanced around the hotel room. “How did we get away?”
“When I cast the jumper block over the base, I added a subroutine that would trigger an automatic jump back to safe coordinates if a Radiant Burn was initiated,” Antonio said, drawing himself up. “Your predecessor died that way in Alexandria, along with the other Winds of my generation. I decided I would not be caught unaware again, so
Jiao-long’s acerbic voice commanded over the bloodline, “Kill the Wind of Earth if you can. If you fail, then I will avenge you, my son. Fight well.”
Without another word, Liang silently ordered his remaining forces to attack. As the vampires leapt forward to strike, Antonio and Thomas launched bolts of white fire to immediately pick them off, one by one, from behind their shields. Helena teleported around the room, clutching two knives sheathed in flames and dealing punishment to any vampires able to raise shields strong enough to block the Fire Sentinels’ attacks. Joseph shifted form, becoming some kind of tentacled horror that hurt to look at but was strong and versatile. He ensnared and immobilized vampires four at a time, allowing Marjorie to kill them with ease.
Meanwhile, Liang launched himself directly at Takeshi, who blocked Liang’s strike with his katana and returned his stroke. Simultaneously, Rory leapt sideways and slashed horizontally with his cutlass, in perfect synchrony with Ana, who lashed out with her staff trailing orange fire. To avoid their coordinated, three-pronged attack, Liang had no choice but to retreat and fight defensively. He knew the combat skills the Gift imparted to the Wind of Earth were superior to anything any Nightwalker could command. He had only minutes to gain an advantage against Takeshi until his own forces were dispatched and the other Sentinels could come to Takeshi’s aid. If he did not win this battle quickly, he would almost certainly die here.
Rory struck high, aiming for Liang’s throat. The Sentinel’s blade was sheathed in holy fire, and it sliced through Liang’s shield and grazed his neck as he twisted to the side. Knowing that Ana would use the opportunity to strike at his exposed flank, Liang steeled himself, but still felt the shock of her staff burning through his shield and then punching into his side, where it seared a trail deep into his flesh. He staggered forward involuntarily, raising his sword to block Takeshi’s stroke, which aimed to take his head off.
Takeshi struck for his head, but simultaneously pulled a wakizashi sword from his belt to nick the inside of the Nightwalker’s exposed wrist. The spellworked steel of the short sword slashed the tendons of Liang’s sword arm, its charmed edge preventing the Nightwalker from regenerating the damage. Liang watched helplessly as his blade tumbled to the floor. He had only seconds left. Sweeping his arms in a wide circle, he forced the Winds to dodge his talons and used the brief respite to gather his power. With the accumulated strength of three thousand years in the dark, he cast one final spell.
All of his energy exploded in a single burst of ferocious light, consuming him utterly. The room was obliterated and the rubble of the building reduced to dust and ash in an instant. Nothing remained to mark the building’s presence but a perfectly spherical, molten-glass-lined crater extending deep into the earth.
* * *
Shaking off the disorientation of the teleport matrix, Takeshi glanced around the hotel room and then at Rory and Ana—both mirrored his shock. “What happened?”
“Radiant Burn,” Antonio said from behind them.
Rory faced him. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s a spell that allows the caster to convert his body into energy,” Ana explained. “It takes a huge amount of power to cast, so only a master spellcaster can even try. Jesus.” She looked around the room. “We should be dead.”
Takeshi glanced around the hotel room. “How did we get away?”
“When I cast the jumper block over the base, I added a subroutine that would trigger an automatic jump back to safe coordinates if a Radiant Burn was initiated,” Antonio said, drawing himself up. “Your predecessor died that way in Alexandria, along with the other Winds of my generation. I decided I would not be caught unaware again, so
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