Elaine leaned in closer to her horse as it trotted across the plains. It heaved and shook beneath her. They hadn’t stopped for too long, and she was sure that the beast would be dead on its feet soon.

  She couldn’t shrug off the piercing pain in her chest. She was sure that the savod must have cracked one of her ribs in the fight. The entire area was still tender to her touch. She knew she was lucky it was just that.

  The pain was a reminder. She was useless. It was the second time they had faced the savod, and again she could do nothing in the face of the darkness. She couldn’t even defeat its minions. Her sword was useless; her strength was useless. Again, the truth rang through her heart.

  She was nothing without her armor. No amount of praying had brought her solace. Astor refused her cries for help. He was content not to lend his aid, and to let Nethas crumble into the darkness. She cursed him as she leaned closer to her horse.

  Logan whistled suddenly as he reined in his horse. Elaine stopped behind him, but she couldn’t see what he was stopping for. His horse was in much the same shape as hers. Even if they stopped to rest them, their spirits would be broken.

  Logan jumped from his horse and motioned for Elaine to do the same. She did so. She wasn’t sure what Logan wanted to do. He hadn’t talked to her since they had started riding, but she could understand why.

  “I have enough strength now to jump through the Veil,” Logan whispered. “Talan says that she should be able to bring us close to the outpost, so long as nothing interferes.”

  “Doesn’t that drain you?” Elaine crossed her arms. “What good is it if we get there and you can’t even walk?”

  “It’ll save us at least three days.” Logan shook his head. “The horses won’t last that long, and then we’ll be stuck on foot.”

  “It’s not worth the risk.” Elaine grabbed his arm as hard as she could. “We’ve already lost Joshua, we can’t lose you too.”

  “Joshua isn’t lost.” Logan shrugged off her grip. “We will get him back.”

  A fierce determination burned in his eyes. Elaine could not deny it.

  “Okay,” Elaine said. “Let’s go.”

  Logan took the few supplies they had left and packed them away. Elaine let the horses loose after, sending them running out into the night. If Logan failed, they were stuck walking for good now.

  Logan threw his pack over his shoulder. Elaine did as well, stepping beside Logan. This would be the second time she travelled through the Veil. She shuddered at the thought of the darkness touching her again.

  Logan stretched out his hand to her, “Don’t let go.”

  Elaine grasped hold of his wrist, and he did the same to hers. The same uneasiness that rumbled within her heart showed in his frown. He didn’t want to do it any more than she did, but there was little choice.

  The darkness rose up around them like a black mist. It first formed a circle around them, and then steadily clawed its way up their bodies. Elaine did her best to keep her eyes off it, but she couldn’t help it.

  She looked down.

  Her grip tightened and she forced herself to breathe steadily. She could no longer see her ankles as they sunk into the ground. She told herself it would be all right, that they would make it through, but her hammering heart wouldn’t listen.

  She fought down the panic as it rose up around her shoulders. It wasn’t like the last time, where it suddenly engulfed them both. She turned her head to Logan, but he wouldn’t open his eyes. He was concentrating on the magic.

  She took a deep breath and took one last fleeting glance at the stars before it covered her head.

  She fell through the darkness, until time and place had no meaning. Only Logan’s tight grip on her wrist told her that she was not alone. She trembled, and fought to control her breath, but nothing came.

  She landed on the ground softly. Her feet caught her unsteadily, but she quickly used her free hand to balance herself. She would not release her grip on Logan, or else she would lose him in the sea of black.

  “Logan?” she asked frantically. “Logan, what happened?”

  He did not respond.

  She pulled his arm and followed it with her free hand until she found his face. She ran her hand along his nose until she finally found his eyes. She felt only his eyelids with her fingers. His breath was a calm and steady touch against her palm.

  “Logan, wake up.” Her voice trembled as she shook his prone form.

  Still he did not wake up.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  “Talan, please,” she said as she slapped his face with her free hand. “Someone, please, tell me what happened. Someone, tell me what I should do.”

  It was no use. Logan would not wake no matter how hard she hit him or shook him. Talan would not respond to her calls either. She was alone, trapped in the darkness. Despair nibbled at her as the thought sank in.

  They were in the Veil. With each moment that passed, she grew surer of it. There was no darkness in Nelim that could match the wall that surrounded her. Logan’s spell had failed, and now they couldn’t escape.

  “I told you this was a bad idea.” She gripped Logan’s wrist tighter. “Now what am I going to do?”

  A flickering light caught her eye as she sat there. She watched it for a moment, knowing it was nothing but an illusion. She wanted so desperately for an escape that her mind was playing a trick on her.

  “I won’t be fooled,” she said to the flickering light. “There is no hope.”

  The light suddenly expanded, and for just one instant, the world around her erupted in a brilliant flash. She could see the spindly dark trees that stretched out above her. She could see Logan’s prone form lying on the black dirt. She could see an impossibly tall cliff in the distance, like a giant’s bent knee.

  It faded a moment later. Elaine rubbed her eyes as blots covered her vision. When she opened them, the darkness rose again. She still remembered everything, even the path that led toward the light.

  Elaine kneeled down beside Logan. He was still unmoving. She would have to carry him if she wanted to find the source of the light. Elaine grimaced. It would not be easy to carry him, even if she could follow the path in the dark.

  Elaine grunted as she reached down and picked up Logan over her shoulders. She stumbled back and forth until she righted her balance. He was heavy, but she would manage. With one small step, she walked toward the pinpoint of light.

  Then she took another.

  Then she took another.

  She continued following the path toward the light at that slow pace. A warm embrace raced through her as the light grew. She did not stumble anymore, and soon it was like there was no weight upon her shoulders at all.

  The light revealed more as Elaine got closer to it. She could see the dark twisted forms of the black trees now. They weren’t living things, they were just shadows given form. The barren land beneath them did not even have grass.

  Finally, she came to a fountain, etched deep in the ground with steep ridges forming a circular stair. At its center was the source of the light. Elaine had to hold her hand in front of her eyes to look at its luster.

  “Logan, you should be awake to see this,” she whispered as she sat him down.

  Elaine walked forward slowly, taking the cautious steps of a child first learning to walk. The warmth of the light surged through her with every step, so much like the warmth of Grace. She reached out to the orb with her hand.

  “Astor,” Elaine said.

  She kneeled down reflexively and bowed her head to the light. She wanted to curse herself for her doubt before. Here was Astor, fully revealed in all of his brilliance. She wanted nothing more than to disappear from under his gaze.

  Elaine looked up, and stared directly into the light. It was no longer blindingly bright. Instead, it had dimmed, until there was hardly any light at all. The orb shrunk, floating down until it finally reached the ground.

  A person stepped out of it, wreathed in blazing light. She couldn’t see any details on its face or body, the light was too great. Elaine stood up as it approached, stepping back and holding her arms before her.

  Elaine blinked. Surely, Astor would know about her mission. He knew all of the actions that every man took. He watched over all to keep them on their path. He would not need to ask that question.

  “Are you truly Astor?” Elaine asked.

  Elaine shuddered under the force of the voice. There was no kindness left in it, only wrath remained. She prepared her words carefully for it. It wasn’t every day that someone talked with a god.

  “We are searching for the seal that holds the savod,” Elaine said.

  “We can’t walk that far,” Elaine said. “We crossed through the Veil to shorten our journey.”

  “I’m not going to escape them,” Elaine said. “Logan and I are going to fix the seal. We are going to stop them from destroying Nethas.”

  Elaine drew her sword and presented it to the god. It lay flat, balanced between her two hands. Astor ran its hand across the blade. Fiery light burned across the surface, leaving a line of sigils etched on it.

  “Thank you.” Elaine looked over the blade carefully before sheathing it. “Do you know the way back to Nelim as well?”

  Astor gestured with one hand and a great white circle opened up in the dark. Elaine couldn’t see through it, but it wasn’t dark at least. She quickly went and grabbed Logan, throwing him over her shoulders again.

  “Astor,” she said as she stood at the breach. “This isn’t what I expected.”

  “I will,” Elaine said. “Thank you again.”

  Elaine stepped through the hole. In an instant, she left the Veil behind. No longer was there darkness surrounding her. An icy wind wrapped around her and her foot crunched down on snow as she stepped out of the rift.

  A cold grip took hold around her arms as she stepped back into Nelim. Elaine looked about uncertainly. It wasn’t the outpost. There was only an icy wasteland surrounding her.

  She started to walk, but tripped on the loose snow. Logan fell from her shoulders and the ice hit her like a cold punch. Elaine struggled up and shivered. The sword wasn’t any good for this.

  “Astor, this isn’t what I meant,” she whispered.

  The howling wind blew about her for some time. If she couldn’t find any shelter, she was sure that her blood would freeze. Elaine sighed and staggered to her feet. She started back to Logan, stumbling as numbness ate at her feet.

  “Over here!” The wind sounded like a man yelling for just a moment. “I saw a flash!”

  Elaine didn’t pay any mind to it as she collapsed.