All Chapters of The Darkest Hour: Chapter 41 - Chapter 50

The boarding planks thumped against the dock. Edwin stumbled forward amidst the press of troopers surging towards the shore. Lukas grabbed him by the arm as he felt his feet begin to slip beneath him. He hadn't even stepped onto dry land and already he owed Lukas his life. At the Captain's orders they edged their way along the packed pier towards the shelter of the city. It was then that the first shrieks pierced the air."Get down!"Edwin leapt to the ground and covered his head with both his hands as six dark shapes flashed past them, shrieking and slashing. Edwin rolled onto his back just in time to see Captain Bridgemore locked in combat with the first of the monsters, sword flashing as the creature clawed and swiped. As soldiers rushed to the Captain's aid the creature beat its leathery wings and drew itself high into the air. Edwin watched in horror as the beasts made another diving run. Lukas held out his hand and Edwin allowed himself to be dragged to his feet. "We need to

The fighting was bloody. They had only been on the island for a few hours and already they had seen enough death to last a lifetime. Edwin stepped gingerly past the bloodied corpse of their sergeant who lay face down alongside three more of their former squad-mates. The four men had been cut down within the space of a minute by a particularly bloodthirsty pack of the smaller creatures that had forced them away from the harbour, into the city streets. If it hadn't been for Lukas and a couple of the braver members of their squad, he too might have fallen to their savage claws. By all rights he shouldn't even have been alive, but somehow he had survived where other braver, stronger men had failed. He was just one of the lucky ones, though he wasn't sure if "luck" was the right word for it.As the adrenaline of their latest encounter started to fade, one trooper started to vomit onto the side of the street. Edwin patted the young man on the back as he stepped past him to find Lukas starin

High above the misery and destruction, Varrus, the dark envoy, appeared amidst a cloud of thick black smoke. His mount Death snorted furiously as he held position above the Magical Isle and surveyed the carnage his forces had wrought."Curses! What has he done to my beautiful army!"Even from a distance the dark mage could sense the tremendous power being wielded so very far below. Every so often a flash of pure brilliant light would shine up from the 'Isle and cause him to flinch away in pain. Despite the cold, despite the dark, despite everything, somehow Callum had managed to find a way to thwart his plans.Varrus could feel the lurking presence of the star-god at the back of his mind. He was now entering a critical phase of the plan. Failure now wouldn't just mean death it would mean an eternity of damnation at the whim of his omnipotent master.Varrus gripped the reins of his dark Pegasus tightly and brought his mount lower over the island. At his presence, swarms of furies a

The moment had come. There, buried beneath a thick blanket of snow, the Heart called to her. She could already feel the subtle changes in the world around her as she approached. All she had to do was reach out and touch it... She had survived death and travelled hundreds of miles without food, water or barest idea of what her final task would be, or even who or what she was. It was all now so clear.She was unique in the world born of union between the two great forces of nature. If the earth were the body then magic was the blood; neither could exist without the other. It seemed fitting then that she should be the one to save them all seemed fitting that she should be the one to breathe life back into the old world and so right the wrongs of the past.She knew what she must do.Slowly, serenely, Phae floated to the ground, her bare, naked feet sinking into the soft white snow. She barely registered the cold her innate power kept her safe from harm.The earth called to her.

It was over the demons were gone. An eerie silence fell upon the city. No one knew what to do. Some of the survivors broke down and wept while others embraced companions, or offered up a silent prayer for the departed. At some point during the battle he had lost sight of Lukas and they'd been separated. Though his mind was clouded he was sure he remembered seeing his friend wade into the thickest fighting, throwing himself mercilessly at the demon creatures during what they felt would surely be their final moments on the earth.Suddenly Edwin's eyes widened. As he started to sift through his memories, one image in particular stuck in his mind. Lukas had fallen!Edwin's heart started to race. He searched round desperately but couldn't recognise his friend's face amidst the countless bodies that filled the city streets. Just then a faint voice reached his ears."Edwin."Edwin looked round, anxiously scanning the bodies that lay on the floor. There amidst a pile of demon corpses