by N M Thorn
“I do hope you have a reasonable explanation for all this”—he waved his hand around—"including the presence of the dark Slavic deity in this room,” he said, pursing his lips.
“Thank you for answering my call, Archmage.” Damian inclined his head in a respectful bow. “Give me a moment, please, sir. I just need to summon one more person. I do have an explanation, and I promise to make everything clear.”
“It better be a good one, Enforcer,” growled Grand Master Elony, approaching them. She placed her hands on her hips, tapping her foot, her gray eyes sparkling with annoyance.
“Ma’am.” Damian raked her with an icy stare and turned away, channeling his elemental power. Despite his effort to control it, his suppressed aggravation fueled by concern for the entire situation took over, and the floor trembled slightly, making the dishes in the cabinets jingle.
He drew a rune in the air and pressed his hand over it, infusing it with the elemental energy of Earth. “Oleg Svetlov,” he whispered, “I summon thee.”
He expected a communication window to open, and it did flicker on and off before disappearing. A heartbeat later, Oleg materialized next to him with a light pop. He glanced around without showing any surprise and inclined his head, greeting everyone. Then he turned to Damian, and his face relaxed.
“You called?” he asked, raising his eyebrows. Damian nodded. He didn’t expect Oleg to travel from Kendral with no questions asked, but Oleg just shrugged, as if reading his thoughts, and added, sounding all business, “I thought you wouldn’t call me because you had nothing better to do. So, here I am. What can I do for you?”
“Oh, Heaven, Earth and all the stars,” mumbled Mara, making a slow circle around Oleg, her fingers brushing his backside. Once she completed the circle, she turned toward Damian. “Damian, are all Children of Earth this tall? You with your giant friend by your side make an unforgettable view.”
“No,” replied Oleg, not without sarcasm. “Most of us are actually dwarfs.”
Damian sent a pointed stare at Mara, and she raised her hands in a placating manner, giggling.
“Okay, now that we’re all here, I can explain what’s going on, and why I summoned you,” started Damian. He explained the situation and his plan, carefully gauging the reaction of all present in the room to every word he said. Once he finished, for a short while no one said a word, an identical expression of bewilderment on all faces.
Grand Master Elony spoke up first.
“It’s crazy dangerous,” she said, her unnatural light eyes dimming slightly. “Commander Blake, I understand that blocking magic in the Downtown area is the only way you can bring down the defensive spells and wards placed on the underground bunker and teleport directly inside. But come on!” She threw her hands up. “As soon as you and your Enforcer cross into the enchanted territory, you will lose your magic and your elemental power. You’ll be human. Even less than human because without your connection with your element, you’ll be as weak as a child.”
“I know,” replied Damian calmly, “but so will Donna Luna.”
“You don’t know that,” objected Archmage Allerton. “If she retained any demonic powers in her after the mask was broken—which I believe she did—she will still have some of the demonic essence in her. She will lose her magical abilities, but not the demonic ones.”
“Very true,” agreed Damian calmly. “But my brother, his maker and Sylvana are powerful ancient vampires, and they’re not going to lose what comes with their nature. I also count on their help.”
“Wait, Commander. You have a hole the size of the Grand Canyon in your plan. How are you going to get there?” asked the Archmage. “I understand that you don’t know the location of the underground bunker, and you’re planning to teleport almost blindly, aiming at the location of your brother, which you sense through your blood bond. Once you lose your magic, you can’t teleport, and opening a portal into an unknown location is impossible.”
“I think I have a solution.” Zabava got up, observing everyone in the room. “Both Damian and Petrukha will lose their magic, which will make them weaker, but if Damian keeps his elemental energy, he can use his other sight and teleport. He won’t need a potion to open a portal. All we have to do is modify the original spell just a little to allow him to keep his elemental power.”
Zabava walked to the counter and grabbed the notepad and pen River always kept there. She scribbled something quickly and ripped the page off, offering it to Archmage Allerton. His eyes darted from side to side as he read every word, nodding with approval.
“Brilliant.” He bowed to Zabava, returning the page to her. “You’re just as wise as your parents, my lady.”
“I’m brilliant,” she whispered into Damian’s ear as she passed by him, returning to the counter. She tore four more pages and wrote the modified spell on each of them. Then she made a circle around the room, giving one of the pages to each person present.
Once done, she halted by the table and muttered something under her breath, her green eyes igniting with the magical energy she was wielding. The surface of the table rippled, waves spreading through it as if it were liquid, and then turned into a large map of Downtown Phoenix and some of the surrounding areas. She touched the five points of the map, and bright red flags materialized in each place she touched.
“To complete this spell, we have to create a ginormous pentagram.” She moved her hand over the map and thin, glowing lines connected the five flags, creating a large pentagram that encapsulated the entire Downtown. She glanced at Mara, her lips curling in distaste. “Mara, you’ll need to be here, and I will take this point.” She touched two flags on the map. “This position will allow our godly powers to spread evenly over the area.”
“Agreed,” replied Mara without her usual snideness.
“Grand Master Elony, Archmage Allerton and Oleg will take these points,” continued Zabava, pointing at the three flags on the map. She looked around the room, thinking. “We need some kind of signal… We must start chanting at the same time, but we’ll be separated by miles.”
“I’ll give you a signal,” said Damian. He exchanged a look with Oleg, and he gave him a short nod, understanding what Damian wanted to do without any explanation.
“Okay,” said Zabava, her natural exuberance gone. “We are ready to go. Damian?” She gave him an arched stare.
Damian looked down, feeling a strange emptiness inside. “Give me a minute,” he said, glancing at Petrukha apologetically. “I just need to pick up something before I go.”
He turned on his heels and walked out the door. He marched through the dark hallway, his steps echoing through the entire building. A small, dark shadow darted past him, and he saw Gypsy trotting ahead of him with her bushy tail up, its white tip almost glowing in the dark. He halted by River’s room and pushed the door open. He knew she wasn’t there, and he wasn’t sure why he did that. Taking a deep breath, the slight fragrance of her perfume touched his nostrils, and his jaw tightened, a strange ache gripping at his chest.
Stifling a sigh, Damian closed the door and headed toward Cole’s room. He walked inside, trying not to think about his brother, and made his way into the closet. Opening Cole’s trench coat, he took the leather scabbard with his sword in it, and put it on, slightly readjusting the straps to his size.
“Hey, Sasquatch.” Gypsy’s voice sounded in his head, and he snapped around to see the cat sitting on the bed, her eyes glowing with a phosphoric light in the darkness of the room. “I need you to come back. You will return, won’t you?”
“Most likely,” replied Damian flatly. He lowered himself on the bed next to the cat, scratching her behind the ears. “I’m immortal, but there is always—"
“Don’t say that.” Gypsy shifted closer to him, nibbling on his arm lightly. “You’re the best belly-rubber in the world, and no one can scratch a cat behind her ear the way you do. It’s not going to be easy to find a replacement, you know?”
“I hear yah,” he
replied softly. “Sorry.”
“And River… she needs you, you know?” Gypsy continued, her bushy tail jerking from side to side nervously. “She’s not going to admit it, but ma-a-an, she has no idea how to fix that old dryer or knock a nail into a wall. She definitely needs you for that.”
Damian snorted, shaking his head. “Well, thank you for letting me know. I’ll keep it in mind, and I’ll do my best to come back here after everything is over.”
“Let me help you with that, Child of Earth.”
A soft, musical voice sounded on his right, and Damian jolted to his feet, turning toward the sound. Mara stood in the doorway, almost invisible against the darkness of the hallway. She sauntered toward Damian and waved her hand, gesturing for him to sit down. As he lowered himself on the bed, Gypsy hissed, her long claws coming out, and shifted closer to Damian, pressing her side to his.
“Don’t be upset, pretty kitty,” purred Mara, her eyes strangely foggy and dazed. “I’m not going to hurt your boyfriend… After all, I still need him, so it’s in my interest to keep him alive and well…”
“Boyfriend!” Gypsy hissed indignantly, flashing sharp fangs. “He can dream about that. Still, I claimed him a long time ago, and he’s under my protection, so you better don’t hurt him or else.”
“I hear you, kitty-cat… no worries, he’s all yours…” Mara placed her hand on Damian’s forehead. “Sit still, Child of Earth.”
“Mara, what are—,” Damian started, but magic spiked around the goddess of Nightmares, and he sucked in a short breath, unable to speak.
A wave of cold spread through him, settling somewhere in the pit of his stomach, but as soon as Mara removed her hand, the knot was gone.
“What did you do?” he asked, panting, struggling to fill his lungs with oxygen.
“You’ll find out soon enough.” A mysterious light ignited at the bottom of her eyes. She moved closer to him and whispered into his ear, her cold lips brushing his skin. “Sometimes, the only way to fight the darkness is to become the darkness…”
She patted Damian on his cheek gently and made her way toward the exit. Halting in the doorway, she looked back at him. “But you have to rush, my little darling, because my spell has a Cinderella-type expiration date. It’ll be gone as soon as the first rays of the rising sun will touch the ground…” She wagged her eyebrows at him and walked away.
“Jeez, I hope I’m not going to turn into a pumpkin,” muttered Damian, shaking his head.
He picked up Gypsy and let her settle on his shoulder before heading back to the kitchen. As soon as he walked in, everyone turned to him. He halted between Oleg and Petrukha and lowered Gypsy to the floor.
Zabava got up and touched the table, making the map of Phoenix vanish. “Everyone ready? Does everyone remember where they need to be?” Except for Oleg, everyone nodded.
“Oleg is new to Arizona, and he doesn’t know the Phoenix area,” explained Damian. “I’ll take him to his location, and Petrukha and I will go from there.”
“Let’s get moving then,” muttered Grand Master Elony. She glanced at Damian, and he didn’t find the usual frosty animosity in her gaze. “Be careful, Enforcer. I’ll have my best team of slayers on standby in case you need a backup.”
“My gratitude, Grand Master.” Damian inclined his head.
Archmage Allerton stepped forward, his eyes gliding up and down Damian’s body, halting on the sword sheathed behind his back. A shadow of astonishment crossed his face, but it was gone right away.
“While you were out, I directed a few of my mages to shadow the magic we’ll be wielding around Downtown.” He tapped Damian’s shoulder, and while he tried to sound confident and calm, his tense shoulders betrayed his true state of mind. “Godspeed, Commander.”
Then he snapped his fingers and disappeared from the room. Zabava, Mara and Grand Master Elony followed him.
“Let’s get it over with,” muttered Damian. He placed his hand on Oleg’s shoulder, and Petrukha seized his elbow. With a snap of his fingers, all three of them vanished from Paradise Manor.
Chapter 29
~ Damian Blake ~
Damian materialized in a dark alley at the edge of Downtown, and a deep shudder rushed down his spine at the sight of the high-rises towering over him. Something fell with a clatter too loud for a midnight street, and a small shadow darted behind a dumpster.
“For fuck’s sake! What are these humans doing here? It’s midnight! Goddammit! If you’re lucky enough to have a bed, go, make use of it… No, they’re skulking around dark alleys.”
“A foulmouthed alley cat,” murmured Damian, turning to Oleg and Petrukha. “Let’s go.” He pointed at the street at the end of the alley. “Oleg, your position is at the intersection, just a few feet to the left.”
They walked in silence until they reached their final destination. The streets were unusually empty, and the stoplights on the intersection were blinking red in all four directions, throwing crimson flares of light on the asphalt. Damian inhaled the night air tinted by the ever-present odor of dust and exhaust. He opened his other sight and turned in place, craning his neck to look up. A barely noticeable glow of magical energy spread around and over the tall buildings as far as he could see.
“The Guardian mages are doing their job,” Oleg said matter-of-factly, confirming his observation. “Are you guys ready?” His light hazel eyes moved from Petrukha to Damian.
“No,” whispered Petrukha, a short sword materializing in his hand. “I’ll be honest with you. I’m scared… I’ll be powerless and useless, and all the hard work will fall on Damian’s shoulders. I’m terrified of what could happen if Damian’s plan fails… But I’ve been waiting for this moment way too long, so I guess I’m as ready as I can be.”
“Always ready,” replied Damian, observing Oleg with interest. He was always calm and collected, and it seemed like there was nothing in this world or any other world that could faze this man.
“The team is waiting for our signal. Let’s do it, then.” Oleg held out his hands, palms up, and connected with his element. Damian joined him, and soon, a large orb made of the pure elemental energy of Earth materialized between their hands. It rotated slowly, tiny bolts of electricity crackling around it. A scent of ozone and damp earth permeated the air, and the corners of Oleg’s mouth lifted slightly, his eyes foggy and drunk.
Carefully, Damian moved his right arm away from the energy orb and placed his hand under it. As he started to chant in Dragon tongue, the orb began to rise, moving higher and higher, until it was hovering high in the air, shining like a mini sun in the star-spangled sky. Oleg lowered his hands and looked at Damian, a soft smile dancing on his lips. He reached up with his hand and whispered one word. The orb exploded soundlessly, thousands of small, orange stars floating toward the ground, gradually dissipating.
For a moment, all three of them stood illuminated by the dwindling orange glow of their magic and the red shades of blinking stoplights. Then Oleg offered his hand first to Petrukha and then to Damian.
“Godspeed,” he said, squeezing Damian’s hand in his, and then repeated it in Russian, a fleeting shadow of concern crossing his features. “Udachi, brother in element. Watch your back.”
Without pulling the page with the enchantment out of his pocket, Oleg turned toward Downtown and spread his arms wide. He channeled his power and started to chant, clearly pronouncing the words in Dragon tongue. The air around him shimmered, and glittering mist surrounded him like a sheer veil.
Damian opened his other sight and held his breath. Two thin lines of pure magical energy separated from Oleg’s hands, entwining into a single line above his head. It ran up and forward, and as Damian followed it with his eyes, he saw the other four lines rising, crisscrossing, creating an enormous dome of light over Phoenix.
He reached to his brother through their blood bond, noticing with relief that his connection with Cole was loud and clear now. So far, his plan worked exactly as he expected. Drain
ing all magical energy out of the area where the bunker was located deactivated all its magical defenses, including the spells that blocked their blood bond.
A moment later, Oleg glanced at him over his shoulder, his eyes glowing a bright orange.
“Go, Commander,” he mouthed and continued his chant.
“Brace yourself, Petrukha. The initial effect will be jarring.” Damian jerked his thumb at the dome of magical energy, gesturing for him to follow, and stepped forward.
As soon as he crossed inside, he felt as if someone punched him in the gut. He leaned forward, bracing his hands against his knees, gasping for air. Just as Zabava had promised, his connection with his element was as strong as ever, so he knew that the crippling effect of magical energy deprivation would dwindle as soon as he adapted to the magicless environment. Even though he realized it would drain some of his strength, and he wouldn’t be able to cast even a basic spell, the debilitating weakness and nausea would be gone soon. Petrukha, however, looked like he was ready to faint, his face a sickening green, his mouth opened.
Damian placed his hand on Petrukha’s shoulder, sending some of the healing energy of Earth through him. The old Enforcer moaned and straightened, his face slowly gaining some color. Still holding his hand on Petrukha’s shoulder, Damian nodded at him and focused on his brother’s presence.
“Here goes nothing,” he muttered and snapped his fingers.
Teleporting without knowing exactly where he was going was never a sure thing, prone to all sorts of mishaps, and Damian hated doing it. In his entire life, he had to teleport blindly only twice, and both times he had regretted doing it.
Even though he could feel his brother’s presence clearly, he materialized in a dark hallway, hitting his head against the wall. He rubbed his bruised forehead, cursing under his breath. On his left, he heard Petrukha’s strangled gasp, but it was immediately swallowed by a blood-chilling shriek—a sound filled with so much horror and blinding fury that the small hairs on the back of Damian’s neck stood on end.
