The Akashic Mandate

Chapter 7

Two dozen pairs of glowing red eyes stared at Elijah from the dark line of dead trees. The night air was totally silent, except for the low, vibrating growls coming from the throats of the massive beasts. The Lesser Hellhounds stepped out of the shadows. Their bodies were made of bright white bone and swirling, liquid-like black smoke. They were huge, hungry, and ready to tear him into tiny pieces.

Before tonight, Elijah would have felt absolute terror. If a pack of angry, infected Hollows had surrounded him back on Earth, he would have looked for a way to run. He would have felt cold fear gripping his heart.

But right now, standing on the muddy shore of the blood river, Elijah did not feel any fear at all.

He looked down at his right hand. The pitch-black flames danced over his skin, outlined by a sick, glowing purple light. The fire did not burn him. It felt like a part of his own body. It felt warm, powerful, and deeply alive. A strange, vibrating energy hummed inside his chest, right where the golden orb of the first monster had entered his heart.

Elijah slowly closed his hand into a fist. The black fire flared higher, casting wild, dark shadows across his face.

To his own surprise, Elijah smiled.

It was not a happy smile. It was a dark, dangerous smile. He had spent years running from monsters. He had spent years hiding behind walls, hoping the sickness would not find him. He was tired of being the prey. For the first time in his life, he felt like the predator.

"Come on," Elijah whispered into the cold night air. His voice was steady and hard.

The Hellhounds answered with a chorus of terrifying, screeching howls. They charged.

Thirty massive beasts ran across the jagged black rocks toward him. Their bony claws tore up the dirt. They moved incredibly fast, like a wave of dark water rushing toward the shore.

Elijah did not wait for them to reach him. He looked past the running beasts, his eyes locking onto a massive, dead tree standing near the edge of the forest. The tree was thick, tall, and completely dry. It leaned heavily to the right, directly over the path where the main pack of Hellhounds was running.

“Let's see what this magic can really do,” Elijah thought.

He planted his boots firmly in the mud. He raised his right hand, pointing his burning fist directly at the base of the massive dead tree. He focused his mind, pushing the warm energy from his chest down his arm. He imagined the fire exploding. He wanted the flames to leave his body and destroy his target.

"Burn!" Elijah shouted.

He pushed his hand forward. A thick beam of pitch-black fire shot out from his palm. The fire roared through the air with a sound like a rushing train. It crossed the distance in less than a second and slammed directly into the bottom of the giant dead tree.

BOOM!

The explosion was deafening. The black fire did not just burn the wood; it hit with the force of a powerful bomb. The thick trunk of the tree shattered instantly into a thousand pieces of burning, flying wood.

Without its base, the massive, heavy tree had nothing to hold it up. It let out a loud, groaning CRACK that echoed across the canyon. Then, the giant tree fell straight down, crashing directly onto the charging pack of Hellhounds.

The impact shook the ground beneath Elijah’s boots. A massive cloud of gray dust and black ash exploded into the air.

Terrible screams of pain mixed with the sound of breaking bones. The heavy trunk and thick branches of the dead tree crushed more than half of the pack instantly. Huge chunks of heavy wood pinned the beasts to the rocky ground. Their white bones shattered under the weight. Their shadow-flesh dissolved rapidly into the air.

Before the dust could even settle, tiny golden orbs of light began to float up from the crushed bodies under the tree. There were fifteen of them. Like iron pulled to a magnet, the golden orbs flew quickly through the air and sank directly into Elijah’s chest.

Blue text flashed rapidly in his mind, glowing brightly behind his eyes.

[Entity Devoured. Soul Essence +10]

[Entity Devoured. Soul Essence +10]

[Entity Devoured. Soul Essence +10]

[Vitality Restored. Strength temporarily increased.]

Elijah gasped as the pure energy hit him. It felt incredible. It was like a sudden rush of pure adrenaline injected straight into his heart. His muscles swelled. His vision became sharper. He could hear the rapid, angry heartbeats of the remaining Hellhounds. He could smell their fear.

But not all of them were dead.

Fifteen Hellhounds burst through the cloud of ash and smoke. They were angry now. They leaped over the broken tree and continued their charge toward Elijah.

Elijah did not run. He ran toward them.

The first beast jumped at him, opening its jaws wide to snap at his neck with its black glass teeth. Elijah did not try to dodge. He simply pulled his right fist back and punched the monster straight in the center of its bony face.

The impact was brutal. The black fire around Elijah’s fist exploded outward. The Hellhound’s skull cracked like a fragile teacup. The beast was thrown backward through the air, completely dead before it even hit the ground.

Another golden orb flew into Elijah’s chest. More energy. More power.

Two more hounds attacked him at the same time. One from the left, one from the right. The hound on the left managed to bite Elijah’s arm. Its sharp glass teeth cut deep into his skin, tearing his muscle. Fresh, red blood poured down his arm. A sharp wave of terrible pain hit Elijah's brain.

But Elijah barely cared. He grabbed the biting hound by the neck with his left hand, holding it tight. With his right hand, he pressed his flaming palm directly against the side of the monster's ribcage.

"Die," Elijah growled.