Page 573 -- LXVI.

‘Uh, shit... is, um--is there anything I can do to help them?’

‘No,’ said Garovel. ‘They’ve taken their lives into their own hands now. It’s up to them.’

Uncertain, Hector went to work on a soul-empowered dome. He doubted it would do much good at this point, but attacking directly seemed like a much worse idea now. At least this way Harper would be “blinded” again.

Darkness fell over the two of them as the iron roof spanned out, blocking out the sky and the rain. Able to taste both blood and mud in his mouth, Hector watched Harper begin to glow again, becoming the only source of light once more. Dozens of pillars supported the dome as it completed itself. Even Rathmore’s Gate was covered.

Harper returned to his feet. He looked straight at Hector, and the expression on the man’s face seemed to indicate that he had regained consciousness.

However, Hector didn’t get the opportunity to ask.

The explosion of light made everything go white.


Chapter Sixty-Six: ‘Once the Light has arrived...’
Click to display entire chapter at once -- (mobile link)

Roman saw the solid bar of white shoot up into the sky and had to shield his eyes. It remained there for a long moment, and even after it was gone, the image of it was still burned into his vision for a few seconds.

As he drew near, he saw the aftermath of the fight from the air. The forest had been leveled all around Rathmore’s Gate, the odd chunk of metal or stone mixed in. Unable to see either Hector or Harper, he returned to the now wildly uneven ground for a closer look, knocking an upturned rock over with his rough landing.

‘Damn,’ he said. ‘I know the place wasn’t in such great shape when we left it, but now it just looks like a bomb went off.’

‘See anyone?’ said Voreese.

‘Looking.’

Harper appeared in a flash, standing right in front of Roman. But he didn’t attack. Instead, the light dimmed all around him, and he collapsed face-first into the mud.

Roman stared at him a moment. “Huh.”