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even from here, I can tell that it’s evil.”
     

Chapter 4: The Sun and the Moon
     
    Vye and Nuria had felt the same thing, but closer and stronger. A magical presence. A malicious force. Something was closing in on them in space and time. A conflux of mystical energy. An arcane ambush.
    Suddenly, Vye saw the attackers. Two of them. A man coming down the corridor in one direction with flowing, blond hair, albino skin, and a robe of gold. A woman approached from the other direction, bald, her skin an odd grey tone, with pitch black lips and a silver robe. They were named Helios and Selene, though they didn’t introduce themselves. Instead, without warning, they both raised their palms and fired death hexes at Vye.
    Her first instinct was to protect Nuria. She wrapped the girl in a cocoon, a shell of energy that kept her safe. Vye was confident she could resist the death hexes. She always had. But she hadn’t taught Nuria that lesson yet. It hadn’t seemed necessary.
    When the flares of death magic hit Vye, she lost faith in her own fortitude. The two strange attackers were definitely using a spell very similar to the spells the Turin had used against her, but they were stronger. Each blast shocked her with pain. Each hit felt like a punch to the gut.
    “Get Duncan!” Vye shouted to Nuria. And she swung her hand out and blasted a hole in the nearest wall. Bricks and dust cleared away, and Vye rolled Nuria, magical shell and all, into the next room. She didn’t care where the girl was, as long as she wasn’t in the line of fire. Every second, Helios and Selene kept hitting her with the life-draining spells.
    But once her pupil was clear, Vye drew her sword. These guys didn’t know whom they were dealing with...
    Except, actually, they did. Vye charged right at Helios, and bashed at him with her sword again and again. Helios only swiped his hand in response, deflecting the blade with sharp bursts of force. Vye wasn’t only failing to hit him. With each parry, she took a shock of pain to her hands and wrists. She was actually losing ground, even though she was the aggressor.
    And, of course, Selene wasn’t idle. She used her magic to lift some of the loose rubble from the wall Vye had knocked down. She barraged Vye with the debris, forcing her to bat away the stones.
    Vye didn’t have time to process all that was happening. But she recognized one thing. One truth that cut through her mind, solely for its tactical value. These weren’t the Turin-Sen. It was obvious that they weren’t ethnically Turin, but more than that, the magic they were using wasn’t the same as the Turin. Not exactly the same anyway.
    It’s not that it was more brutal, per se. The Turin, under Argos’ instruction, had plenty of brutality in their spells. But these two opponents were much more powerful. There was no exertion in their attacks. Helios waved aside Vye’s sword swings with lazy swats of his hand. Selene chucked boulders at her with terrifying serenity.
    Vye managed to catch the bricks and mortar before they hit her, but it took a lot out of her. And while her back was turned, Helios grasped her shoulders, one in each hand, and pressed into her. Vye’s body wracked with electrical death energy. Like being hit with one of the Turin death hexes, but one that didn’t end.
    Vye didn’t have a lot of time or a lot of options. She was pressed up against Helios as he zapped her to her knees. She couldn’t throw any boulders at him. They would hit her first. And she couldn’t contend with the might of his magical energy. He was way too strong.
    There was only one thing she could use as a weapon.
    Vye focused on her own body, sending it airborne, backwards, bashing against Helios. Both of them flew down the hallway at an alarming speed. Right at the dining room...
    Vye felt the impact as they crashed through the entrance, splitting the double-doors wide open. Helios landed on the table with a clatter and a smash, breaking dishes and