"The light didn't choose me for you," Atlas growled as he pushed Sarah behind him, golden energy crackling around his fingertips. "It chose you for me."
The darkness swallowed them whole, Mercer's void energy crushing against Atlas's protective shield. Sarah clung to his back, her fingers digging into his shoulders as the golden cocoon around them flickered dangerously.
"You can't protect her," Mercer's voice echoed from everywhere and nowhere, the darkness pulsing like a living organism. "The void will consume you both."
"Not today," Atlas snarled, pushing back with a sudden surge of power that sent Mercer staggering backward.
The darkness retreated momentarily, revealing Hannah and Sarah's grandfather huddled in the ice fissure thirty yards away. Hannah's eyes were wide with terror,
