Shadows Over Arcadia Chapter 81: 79. The Unstoppable force

Read chapter 81 of Shadows Over Arcadia by Zacheas on NovelPedia.

I am Angela Muara, 53 years old, and I am taking Gavin and Lucian to the lower temple. https://shadowsoverarcadia.com/api/storage/objects/uploads/eb73e2a9-2f17-4856-bf7a-6b3349ab334d “My apologies, Lady Muara. By order of Lord Fobos, no one may enter the lower temple,” says the older of the two guards standing between us and the inner sanctum’s massive, ornate mithril doors. “We don’t have time for this,” Lucian Kael growls over my right shoulder. The younger guard shifts uncomfortably, hand tight on the haft of his spear. He glances up, then quickly lowers his gaze, shrinking as Gavin, at my side, looms over him, staring him down like a hungry predator. “I order you to step aside, guardsman.” “Sorry, sir, but Lord Fobos was granted supreme authority over the temple’s restorations by the King,” the man replies, forcing the words out. “You can’t countermand his orders.” I click my tongue. “I am a priestess of this temple and a member of the ruling council of this kingdom, same as he. What right does Fobos have to bar me from my own temple?” I snap, gesturing to my ceremonial robes. I had been expecting a leisurely visit to the temple, one that would put Gavin and Lucian’s concerns to rest. Perhaps I would offer my prayers at Voltheron’s heart and receive his wisdom. The last thing I expected was the audacity of these insolent fools. It’s ridiculous. Simply absurd. Never in all my years as a priestess have I been denied entry here! And for so dubious a reason! Worse still, it gives weight to Gavin and Lucian’s mutterings of conspiracy… Delusions, I had thought. But I am beginning to reconsider. “You will move aside now. Whether you’re conscious when you do is of your own choosing,” I say matter-of-factly. Both guards take an involuntary step back. The younger swallows hard, eyes darting to his partner, whose voice wavers as he answers, “We don’t want to fight you, Lady Muara.” “Oh no dear, I wouldn’t attack you. I’m a pacifist.” I answer with a chuckle. “That’s why I brought him.” The hall echoes with a rapid series of sharp clangs as Gavin’s gauntlet strikes each guard in turn. I barely register the savagery before both collapse into a heap of rattling armor. A stray helmet tumbles down the hall as I lazily stretch out a hand and begin repairing their cracked skulls and hemorrhaging brains. They needed to learn a lesson, but not with their lives. “You could have just put them to sleep,” Lord Kael mutters as he levitates their limp bodies out of our way. “I can think of at least ten spells—” “Best save your mana for whatever they’re hiding in here,” Gavin interrupts as he approaches the doors. He grips both handles and pulls. They don't move. Then again, harder, throwing his weight into it, but the doors don’t so much as budge. “Everything is a nail to you, isn’t it?” Lucian chides. With a casual gesture toward the door, a series of clicks follows, then a few sharp pops and a brief flash of white. The doors swing inward, yanking from Gavin’s grasp. Black smoke erupts from the opening doors, flooding into the hall in a violent wave. My vision whites out in a searing flash as pain lances through my skull. I try to scream, but the world has gone silent. There is only a cold, hostile presence pressing against my mind. It claws at my thoughts, forcing its way in, barely held back by my defensive enchantments. “Dispel!” I cast with every ounce of focus, and the pressure shatters in an instant. I drag in a sharp breath as my vision clears, just in time to see the smoke that had burst into the hall being sucked back into the temple like a receding tide. But what remains is an overwhelming, oppressive presence pouring out through the open doors. Even through the torrent of smoke, I sense something powerful and hostile awaits us inside. “W—What is this?” I gasp, looking desperately to Lucian. He shakes his head, still shaken from the same mental assault. “Fae magic,” he says at last, voice grim. “The strongest I’ve ever seen.” “Whatever i