Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 125422 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 627(@200wpm)___ 502(@250wpm)___ 418(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125422 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 627(@200wpm)___ 502(@250wpm)___ 418(@300wpm)
Rangaista shifts, dislodging stones that clatter down. Its massive form partially blocks the opening, and I see flashes of a stormy sky beyond. The demon’s voice, if it can speak, hasn’t manifested yet. Instead, it watches, a predator toying with prey. I recall stories of this demon—how it’s the epitome of evil itself, how spell can fully contain its wrath.
It’s unbeatable. Unstoppable.
And my grandfather.
Lovia glances at me, a thousand words unspoken. I nod slightly, understanding. The blood of that beast runs in us. We must stand together, no matter what comes next. I left Vipunen’s cave to act, to stop waiting. Now action finds me in the form of a nightmare looming overhead.
Perhaps the final battle.
The one that might end us all.
Rangaista shifts, tendrils of darkness rippling around its form. A guttural rumble escapes it. Soldiers tighten their grips on weapons, and I feel Rauta tremble beside me. The air grows colder, as if the demon’s presence sucks warmth from the world.
Hanna steps forward, raising a hand that glows faintly. Whatever she’s become, whatever has happened to her, there is no doubt she’s powerful, the only one here that doesn’t seem to show any fear. My father aligns beside her, Lovia on the other side. I take my place next to my sister, shoulder to shoulder with my family, forging a line of defiance. We might be outmatched, but we are not alone.
Rangaista lets out a sound like distant thunder. The cavern’s silence breaks as soldiers swear under their breath. The Magician’s stars flicker, Torben’s staff hums faintly, and I think of Vipunen’s warnings.
Deviations and unpredictable ends. Maybe we are off-script now. Maybe destiny itself trembles, the same destiny I cast to the side.
Either way, the demon descends.
Coming for us all.
CHAPTER 34
DEATH
The cavern trembles as Rangaista comes down, its massive frame blotting out the gray light from the opening above. Stone crumbles beneath its weight, the sound like grinding bones. The demon’s glowing eyes, fierce and unrelenting, scan the cavern as if savoring its prey before striking. Shadows writhe around its colossal form, tendrils of cold that creep across the ground, swallowing what little light remains.
Every instinct in me screams to act, to protect, to fight. My sword is already in hand, the worn steel humming with latent energy. Around me, soldiers stiffen, shields raised, weapons trembling in their grips. They’ve fought against Louhi’s undead hordes and the Old Gods, but this is different. This is something ancient and primal, something that carries with it the weight of despair itself.
This is Rangaista, the devil himself.
Or as Hanna once called him, the final boss, though frankly I don’t think he’s the boss of anyone.
Hanna steps closer, her light flickering faintly in the gloom. She glances at me, her golden eyes clouded with hesitation. I know she feels it—the fear that if she uses her power, she might lose herself forever. That whatever humanity is waiting to emerge might be buried for good. She doesn’t say it, but I see it in the way her fingers twitch, in the way her breath catches.
I want to tell her it’s okay, that I’ll still love her no matter what she becomes, but the words won’t come. I don’t have the luxury of reassurance. Not now. Not when this monstrosity threatens to destroy everything.
“Hold your lines!” I shout, my voice cutting through the growing chaos. “Do not falter!”
The soldiers respond with a collective roar, a feeble attempt to rally against their terror. I glance at Lovia, who stands firm beside me, her blade drawn, her face grim. She meets my eyes, and in that moment, I see both a fearless warrior and my daughter, someone who has endured so much and yet refuses to break.
Rangaista roars, the sound reverberating through the cavern like an avalanche. Its slick claws rake across the walls, sending more debris to rain down, landing on the cave floor like bombs. Soldiers scatter, some tripping over themselves, others instinctively charging forward.
“Keep your formation!” Lovia yells, her voice sharp and commanding, a true general.
The first wave of spears and arrows flies through the air, striking Rangaista’s hulking body. Most bounce harmlessly off its shadowy black hide of fur and hard puckered casing, but a few manage to embed in the softer gaps of the membranes between joints. It doesn’t flinch. Instead, it lashes out with a massive arm, its claws cleaving through soldiers as though they were paper. Blood splatters across the cavern floor.
“No!” Vellamo cries, rushing forward, her black armor gleaming as she strikes at the demon’s leg with her spear. Her blow lands, chipping away a fragment of its hard leathery casing, but Rangaista reacts instantly. Its tail, a spiked, serpentine appendage, whips around and slams into her side.
The force sends her flying across the cavern, her scream cutting through the chaos. She crashes into the far wall, crumpling to the ground. Her arm—her entire left arm—lies severed a few feet away, blood pooling around it.