Incarnation: Wandering Stars Volume One Read Free Page B

readied itself for its last stand.  This would be the end.
    Suddenly, the whole forest darkened.  Demons poured from between the dense trees and came into the open in one coordinated movement, blocking the radiance of the woods with their emptiness.  Their bodies were collections of nothingness, reflecting no light.  Instead, as the negative mass of each demon moved in front of an object, the light around it distorted and bent inward.
    Small shapes crawled over the ground on four legs.  Their talons dug into the soil as their elongated snouts inhaled loudly, taking in the scent of their prey.  In the trees above, larger , flying creatures settled on the branches, extending their angular wings to either side.  In between the darker sections of structural bone, the thin membrane s that made up their wings absorbed less light, giving a pale appearance.
    Sariel’s eyes narrowed at seeing the demonic counterpart to the Iryllur ym —the soldiers of the M a r o tru who had descended upon his team from above .  But eventually, his gaze landed on the largest and darkest creatures ; the ones who destroyed the angelic army from beneath.  The Nedaret moved now across the grassy surface with barbed tentacles, hard as stone, raking the fertile soil for traction.
    The entire formation slowed to a stop .  Though Sariel had eliminated hundreds of them on the battlefield this day, the enemy’s reluctance to attack was not due to fear.  Instead, they relished the fact that they had th e lone angel surrounded.
    With his back to the water, Sariel looked out upon one after another of his enemies.  There was no escape.  The odds were impossible.  He star ed at his own death and couldn’t help the defiant grin that overtook his face.
    The winged demons took to the air.
    The small ones scrambled forward along the ground.
    The massive ones lurched into motion.
    Sariel crouched forward with his v aepkir ready to strike.  But something inside him hesitated.
    Your function is not to think, but to act ! he remembered, as the words of his superior came to memory.  The words spoken just before the battle.
    Yes, my Rada!
    In that single, obedient response, Sariel had committed his soldiers to their deaths.
    This is what they’d want.  For me to act.  For me to fight!
    The smaller, faster demons had now come within striking distance.  Two sprang from the ground with their claws ready to rip his stomach open.
    His lightning-quick reflex cut through both shadows in one swift movement and the demons vanished into a brilliant flash.
    Think!   What would they not want you to do?
    Spinning to face three more demons, his reflexes took over now.  His muscled limbs propelled him through a dance of death, hacking and slashing his way through the infestation of darkness.
    Go where it is forbidden.  Where the demons cannot follow.  Regroup.
    Sariel sprang from the ground as his wings thrust him upward into the nearest shadow.
    The blade of the demon came down on him.  Its serrated edge glanced off his vaepkir, leaving behind crimson sparks that perished into swirls of smoke.
    Sariel plowed through th e absence of light and brought the protruding tip of his own blade across the demon’s neck.  Pale green and purple flashed as the enemy slipped by, spiraling downward to its death.
    The T emporal R ealm !
    In a small pocket of safety before the next winged demon, Sariel cast his weapon away and willed his body to shift .  Though he wore the winged form of an Iryllur , he was not bound by their limitations.  He was one of the Myndarym —the race of angels who could shift their existence to any point along the spectrum of creation.
    What had once appeared as a cloud of winged shadows and snarling fangs suddenly became a dizzying array of swirling ashes —a mixture of pale and dark , colorless blotches that quickly gave way to empty air.  The sky, once deep orange, drained of color before it took on shades of blue.  In the distance, the