Kirin winced when Valerien's half-frozen body collapsed onto him. That treacherous, lying, useless bastard!
He grabbed the demon's hand and summoned the small white light from the Veil. It exploded all around him, driving back the attacks of the raging Fae knight.
Those strange memories that weren't his once again filled his head.
The smell of blood and the noise of battle disoriented him for a moment.
"The goblins are attacking from the rear!" someone shouted.
An army of strange creatures spilled down a hill with guttural cries, dark magic swirling above their clubs and swords.
It was a terrifying sight. His hand clutched his sword, and he realised he was wearing armour, too. It felt new and uncomfortable.
A heavy hand landed on his shoulder. Rhian of Yaris looked like a god, his face serene and calm.
"Stay here and hold the line. Take command of the archers. When you see my signal, let arrows and fire rain upon them," he said.
"You can't just take them on by yourself," Valerien's voice said.
The light blue eyes flashed dangerously.
"It is your first day in the field, young Astir, so I will forgive this impertinence. Once. Don't ever question my command again."
Rhian swung himself into the saddle of a large steed and galloped toward the enemy. A spear flew from his mighty arm, piercing through three creatures at once. Water burst from the earth, creating a layer of ice. The goblins slithered and stumbled as the Lord of Yaris jumped off his horse to cut left and right with two swords at once.
"He truly is a one-man army," someone said from behind.
Valerien didn't turn around, his eyes fixed on the river of green goblin blood flowing from the ice into the surrounding earth, where it burned the vegetation like acid.
Kirin was mesmerised. It was a feat of heroics he had only ever known from songs and had barely hoped to ever see in real life, even in someone else's memory. Yet Valerien's body was tense, his stomach turning as if in disgust. He gritted his teeth, then raised his hand.
Blue energies exploded from the middle of the battlefield, forming a strange sign in the air.
"Fire!" Valerien shouted.
Kirin felt his whole body heat up with power as flames erupted from it.
With a jolt, he returned to the present. Valerien's unconscious body was still pressing heavily on him, their fingers still intertwined. Kirin could feel the elemental magic flowing into him from the Fae's hand.
Terrified by the sensation, he broke the contact and gathered all his strength to push Valerien off.
His horror increased when he saw Rhian stumbling blindly towards him, sword in hand. The once beautiful face was a sight of nightmares now. The iron had eaten its way through it, and a few metal scraps still hung from the burning flesh and silver hair. Even the armour had started dissolving where the iron had hit it, revealing charred patches of skin.
He had to run.
As quietly as he could, he moved towards the waterfall that hid the cave like a veil, but the monster turned in his direction as if he felt where he was. The waterfall froze into a solid wall of ice.
"Coward," Rhian hissed and ran towards him.
Kirin instinctively raised his hand. Flames shot from it uncontrollably, but Rhian's armour withstood the fire.
In a fit of panic, Kirin slithered back to Valerien and pulled the Fae's sword. It was lighter than any made of iron, but his hands were shaking. He threw it against the wall, hoping the blind man would follow the noise, but Rhian did not stop.
Kirin dropped to the ground and rolled away before the sword struck. He forced himself to think. It wasn't the sound the blind knight was following. What else could it be?
The heat.
His exhausted body was still full of that energy he syphoned from Valerien. Was that what gave him away?
He directed the flames towards a stalactite until it glowed with heat. Rhian stopped and frowned, then turned away towards the rock.
With desperate courage, Kirin jumped on his back and rammed his iron dagger into the knight's right arm. An ear-shattering cry filled the cave as the sword fell to the floor.
Fighting against nausea, he pulled the dagger out and pushed the Fae against the hot rock. Blue energies exploded again, then silence filled the cave when Rhian collapsed to the floor.
Kirin stared down at him, his heart still beating in his throat. The pale lips moved grotesquely in the disfigured face.
"Finish it."
Kirin hesitated. He had never killed a man.
A strange sound bubbled from Rhian's burned throat. It was an echo of his old derisive laugh.
"You truly are Seren's spawn. No honour, no sense of duty."
"I am not… what are you talking about?" Kirin asked, still shaking.
Rhian forced himself to sit up, his hands balled into fists.
"Human?"
Kirin said nothing, just closed his sweaty palm more tightly around the dagger.
"I should have known that devious young bastard wouldn't have just brought you along as a pet whore," Rhian whispered.
The ripple of water reached Kirin's ears, and he realised the waterfall had unfrozen. He stared at it in disbelief. The power of this once mighty Fae was gone. All that was left was a dying man at his feet, trying to provoke him into killing him more quickly.
"Is he dead?" Rhian asked, his voice even weaker.
"I don't know. He is not moving," Kirin admitted.
"I did you a favour then. You should repay it. Kill me, then kill him before he rises again."
"What… what do you mean?"
"He will weave your soul into the Veil between the worlds to keep it open. All Seren's spawns were as beautiful as they were rotten. Her last living experiment is the worst of them. Now repay me for my warning."
The voice was low and weak, every word uttered with difficulty. Kirin crouched next to him, trying not to breathe through his nose or look at the destroyed face.
He told himself it was mercy when he closed the knight's armoured fingers around the wooden hilt of his dagger and turned away.
A few heartbeats later, the shiny sphere of the Fae soul floated towards the water to return to the Source.