Free The Reborn King (Book Six) by Brian D. Anderson Page A

to silence him and closed her eyes. Screams of terror erupted from the other side of the gate, and in less than a minute at least a dozen more elves were desperately scrambling over the wall. But they were not attacking this time. They were fleeing. Not that this made any difference to Kaylia, who immediately sent them to their deaths with a renewed storm of the deadly crystals.
    After a short time, their screams ceased and all was quiet.
    “Vrykol,” muttered Kaylia.
    “Are you saying that the Vrykol have driven off the elves?” asked Linis, incredulously.
    “No,” she replied. “Something else did that. But the Vrykol are with them. And they did not drive our attackers off. They massacred them…all of them.”
    Another loud boom sounded as the gate came under renewed attack. Again Kaylia focused the power of the flow to make it glow red with intense heat. But this time whoever…or whatever was trying to batter it down was not so easily deterred. A dozen more blows thudded relentlessly into the gate until, finally, it burst from its hinges and toppled inwards with a resounding crash.
    More shards of crystal began appearing throughout the grounds, ready to bring death to any who dared enter. Then a wave of darkness washed over the earth, spreading all the way up to the very threshold of the manor.
    All at once, Linis knew what they were up against.
    “Cursed half-men,” he growled through clenched teeth. “Corrupted by the Reborn King.”
    Kaylia recalled the tale and fear struck her heart. Even with Aaliyah alongside her, such foes might be impossible to vanquish.
    The shadow continued swirling and spreading around the manor grounds until the house was isolated like a solitary pearl in an ocean of darkness. Then, slowly, the darkness receded. Standing just beyond the ruined gates were four pale figures – shirtless and bootless, clad only in a pair of dingy leather trousers. Their heads had been shaved clean, and their black, empty eyes were focused straight ahead.
    Kaylia let fly with her lethal barrage of crystals, but the creatures did not even flinch as dozens of shards ripped through their flesh. They simply remained motionless while thin wisps of smoke issued from their wounds. Within seconds, these injuries were completely healed.
    Aaliyah tried to send down a column of flame to consume them, but to her dismay, found that her connection to the flow was being blocked.
    “What should we do?” asked Linis, trying hard to calm the tremor in his voice.
    Before Kaylia could answer, twelve Vrykol filed through the gate and lined up behind the half-men. She could feel their foul gazes directly upon her.
    “We are here for the mate of Darshan,” one of the Vrykol called out in a thin rasp. “She will come with us, or all here shall perish…including her offspring.”
    Kaylia’s heart froze in her chest. She was unable to move or speak.
    “Will you comply?” it pressed.
    Aaliyah stepped forward. “And how do we know that you will keep your word?”
    The Vrykol wheezed its gruesome laugh. “My word? I give you no word other than you will face certain death should you resist.”
    Kaylia turned to Linis. “There is a hidden passage in the basement that leads outside the grounds,” she whispered, her voice was barely audible. “Therisa will know how to find it. Once I am gone, take Jayden to Valshara.”
    “I will not just hand you over,” snapped Linis. “They will surely kill you.”
    “They could kill me now if that was their plan,” she countered. Her hands were shaking and tears were welling in her eyes.
    “Then take Jayden and flee through the passage yourself,” suggested Aaliyah. “We will keep them occupied long enough for you to escape.”
    She took Aaliyah’s hand and shook her head. “No. I cannot risk that. If I flee they will only pursue us. I will not be able to outrun them with Jayden in my arms.”
    “What is your answer!” demanded the Vrykol. 
    The half-men took a step