Free Ascension by Sophia Sharp

Again, the actual strike didn’t come.  Laura wouldn’t be caught entertaining this thing like that.  If she had to fight, let it be on her own terms.  Laura felt the shadow tense, angry, and take a slow, agonizing step toward her.
    Suddenly Laura noticed a glitter of something near the creature’s chest.  It wasn’t there all the time, but when the shadow moved… she caught a peak of it again.  The darkness that made up the creature swirled and fogged around it to give it shape, but every so often the barest hint of the glimmer would come up.  What was it?
    The creature lunged for her, not faking it this time.  Laura waited for the last moment and sidestepped the attack.  It was close, though – she felt the air rush past her along with the shadow.  She knew that the creature wasn’t going at full speed.
    She saw the glimmer of light again.  It looked like there was a… gem, or something like that, embedded into the shadow’s chest.  As the dark shape turned back, Laura caught another glimpse of it.  It seemed to be glowing, but the shine was swallowed up by the greater shadow.  It seemed familiar, somehow.
    The creature had turned back, slowly.  She felt hate radiate from it, directed purely at her.  It was done playing games.  The next time it struck, it wouldn’t miss.
    Suddenly Laura realized what the glow was.  It was the same light of every active torrial she had ever seen.  Was that how the shadow was operating?  Maybe if she could separate the jewel from the shadow… It was her only chance.
    The shadow vaulted at her.  She ran back, but then pretended to stumble and lose her footing.  The creature fell for it.  It streamed toward her with a maniacal intensity.  At the very last moment, Laura caught herself and whipped around.  She dove right at the creature’s chest – right at the gemstone.
    The sudden move caught the shadow off-guard.  It froze for the barest hint of a second.  It was just the hesitation Laura needed.
    She flew through the air, arms extended, and met the shadow’s torso.  Her fingers wrapped around the precious stone and she swept through, splitting the shadow as if it were mere mist.  Just as she was about to fall through to the other side, the heel of her foot caught something sharp.  Horrendous agony radiated from the spot.
    Laura fell to the floor, caught herself in a roll, and landed on her feet.  Another jolt of pain from her heel nearly fell her, but she remained steady.  She held the gemstone in one hand.  She didn’t know if taking it had done anything.  She turned back, expecting the worst.
    But what she found instead gave her hope.  The shadow was frozen in place where Laura grabbed the jewel.  She looked at her hand, and saw the light fading from the stone.  She looked back.  There was a gaping hole in the shadow’s chest where she had gone through.  But then she realized the creature’s blade had a small red spot on it.  Her blood.
    All at once, the darkness that surrounded her started to swirl menacingly.  She heard a cry of pain, of anguish, and the next thing she knew the shadow creature had compressed into a tight ball.  The darkness swirled into it.  The very fabric of reality in this place was wavering, and the black that coated the walls, the surroundings, everything, got sucked into the compressed ball, leaving wavering trails of black fog.  The ground started to shake, and there was a brilliant flash of white.  Laura shielded her eyes instinctively against it.  When she opened them, she was back in the vault.
    The pain from her foot crashed into being, and she staggered forward.  She looked down, and saw blood staining her boot.  The shadow’s blade had reached flesh.  Agony of the worst sort radiated from the spot, and it was completely out of proportion with the actual wound.  Laura shifted her weight gingerly onto the foot.  And cried out in pain when her foot touched the floor. 
    She heard pounding from