Chương 41: 041

Time snapped back into motion, and I lurched beneath Silas's arm, twisting away from his grasping fingers. I stumbled back several paces, putting hard distance between us, then turned inward, reaching for what I could only assume was my mana. Silas's confusion blurred into background noise as Time's voice echoed through my mind. Focus on him and no one else. His failed attempt to grab you has isolated him from the others. He was right. Dominicus and the rabbit beastfolk stood nearly across the hall now.

I'd still have to be careful, but the space to maneuver was a blessing. I fixed my attention on Silas and pulled. Mana surged beneath my skin, building fast, until I nearly vibrated with it. The same searing pressure bloomed, that desperate, scalding urge to let go clawing up my spine. I didn't. Every instinct screamed at me to release it, but I held on, teeth clenched, vision swimming as the power swelled. When breathing became an effort, Time's voice anchored me. Good. Now wrap the spell around him.

Picture him withering beneath it. Mana and intent, those are the foundations of casting. Silas's eyes narrowed, lips thinning.

"Guards, apprehend-." I didn't let him finish. I imagined the power unfurling like a sheet, snapping tight around him, cocooning him where he stood. The sound that tore from his throat wasn't human. Silas gagged, eyes bulging as his hands flew to his neck. Beneath his fingers, skin puckered and wrinkled, aging decades in heartbeats before flaking away in gray, brittle sheets. My stomach rolled, but Time's voice cut through the nausea like a blade. Remember who he is. He ordered that child used as bait.

His hunger for power has starved and slaughtered thousands. He leads to the end of everything. Maya's face flashed behind my eyes. Then the orc woman, still alive, for now. Maya had already lost her mother to this monster. The woman hadn't lost anything yet. She would though, if I stopped. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Silas's plans ended with everyone dead. I wouldn't allow that. Resolve hardened inside me, cold and unyielding.

I drove the spell deeper. Silas staggered, nails scrabbling uselessly at his throat as the magic spread. I met his gaze and held it while his legs buckled beneath him. Muscles wasted away, clothing hanging loose as his body thinned and shrank. His hair bleached white, his fingers turning skeletal, a dull gray film clouding his eyes. His breath hitched. In blind panic, he lunged, fingers clawing at my shirt, nails raking my neck. I didn't release the spell. His strength failed.

He collapsed to his knees with a weak wheeze.

"Please," he rasped.

"Have mercy." Any lingering unease drowned beneath a surge of icy fury. I grabbed his cloak and hauled him close, nose to nose.

"Did you give mercy to the mothers and children you slaughtered for your own gain? The innocent whose blood all but flows from your little castle?" I snarled.

"You made your bed. Now lie in it." His grip slackened as the spell spread from his throat toward his chest. One last wheeze escaped him as the spell reached his heart. His eyes went unfocused. Then empty. He sagged sideways, crumpling to the floor, staring at nothing. I stayed there, breathing hard, seconds stretching into minutes as I waited, watching, listening, until it was unmistakably over. A shuddering breath tore from my chest. It was done. My stomach churned, but I shoved it down.

There would be time for agonizing later, without Silas's shadow hanging over Nexus. You did well, though it may not feel like it now. He cannot harm anyone else. That is what matters. Time's voice steadied the chaos rattling through my head. I nodded faintly, but before I could answer, another voice broke the silence.

"Holy shit." I spun. The two guards stood frozen near the far wall, the orc woman between them. No dagger pierced her chest this time. No hatred burned in her eyes. Only stunned disbelief, mirrored on the guards' faces. Strike now, before they recover. Right. I surged forward, slamming into the guard on her left and driving us both into the wall. Metal rang against stone, the impact rattling my teeth, but I ignored it, pain barely registering. I spun, squaring off with the last guard.

He threw his hands up instantly.

"I surrender!" That voice. The last time I'd heard it…

"Who better to serve than an orphaned brat? No one will miss her." He'd dismissed Maya's life as nothing more than bait. I hadn't thought about him when Time rewound everything. But now… To be content sacrificing a child in such a way… Time's presence stirred, disgust simmering at the edges of my thoughts. He might have escaped justice entirely… if you had not recognized him. Unfortunate for him. Rage surged anew, raw and feral. I lunged, wishing there was a wall to throw him against like the last one.

There wasn't. So I'd make do.