Ezra and Kaelis pushed forward through the horde.
Their blades moved constantly.
Dark Ones rushed them from every direction, and steel answered every time. Bodies dropped into the grass as they advanced, cutting a narrow path through the mass of twisted figures.
Ezra's sword struck again.
Another Dark One collapsed.
Then another.
Kaelis moved beside him just as quickly, his blade flashing through the air with practiced precision.
He didn't hesitate.
Not even when the Dark Ones standing before him were the quieter ones.
The docile ones.
Kaelis cut them down the same as the others.
"If you have to kill them, kill them."
Ezra glanced at him sharply.
Kaelis had clearly noticed.
Noticed the way Ezra was moving now.
The hesitation.
But how could he not hesitate?
Ezra looked ahead again, his grip tightening around the hilt of his sword.
'All I see now are humans.'
They were still moving.
Still breathing.
Alive.
Alive humans who somehow weren't human anymore.
