I glanced back and noticed Jovi’s cheeks flush slightly as he gave the young Druid a sideways glance. “You made it hard not to look with all the running! Not my fault, dude!”
“Keep telling yourself that.” Patrik smirked as he ran past them and reached my side.
At least our morale was still high, our spirits feisty, and our weapons eager to draw Azazel’s blood. A couple more floors and we’d finally reach the platform. We’d finally face off with our mortal enemy, the only creature left standing in the way of our freedom.
Vita
I could hear the war unraveling below. We could all hear it. We could see the black smoke billowing, Destroyers flying around frantically before descending to defend the castle against the allied armies. The entire building tremored from the explosions, our glass spheres swinging on their hooks.
Aida was in touch with Jovi and Serena through Telluris. Her eyes darted around the terrace, while Phoenix kept tossing and turning, visibly frustrated by his imprisonment.
“They’re on their way up,” Aida said, hope lighting her up. “This is it, guys!”
“Great,” I muttered. “If I could get out of here and get these stupid cuffs off so I could help, that would be even better…”
We all stilled when we heard Azazel coming up, cursing under his breath. He slithered across the terrace. Rage burned in his yellow eyes, and he sneered as he reached our bubbles.
“I will kill each of you. Slowly. I will take my time, I promise you that,” he said, his tone glazed in ice.
I would’ve been more comfortable with the snarky version of him, snarling, shouting and kicking. He was too calm, too cold for what was going on outside Luceria. His demeanor wasn’t that of a defeated overlord, but rather one who kept his best tricks up his sleeve, who was still waiting to release them.
“Vita, sweetheart,” he added, cocking his head to one side as he squinted at me. “This is your last chance to tell me what the future holds. My contingency plan is top notch, but I cannot keep an Oracle that refuses to cooperate, darling. You’re either in or you’re dead.”
“Right,” I scoffed. “As if that’ll make me talk.”
He smirked, sending chills down my spine.
“Hm. Okay then, you want to do this the hard way,” he replied.
A second went by before his arm shot out, crashing through the glass sphere with a bright green spark. He grabbed me by the throat and pulled me out, his fingers pressing hard against my windpipe. I instinctively brought my hands up, clawing away at his arm and drawing blood in a desperate attempt to release myself. I heard the water from my bubble splash upon the stone floor and Phoenix and Aida shouting and knocking against their spheres.
“Let her go!” Aida growled.
Azazel was unfazed, keeping me up, my feet dangling in the air. I choked, my vision becoming blurry. My throat hurt as I wheezed, struggling to breathe. He grinned at me.
“Still no visions, darling?”
“Drop… dead…” I managed to say between the quarter-breaths I strained to take in.
“Again, I find you picking on defenseless creatures instead of facing your enemies like the real Destroyer that you claim to be.” Draven’s calm voice traveled across the platform.
Azazel glanced over his shoulder and smirked, relaxing his grip on my throat, and I felt the blood draining from my face.
“Here to taunt me again, little Druid?” he scoffed.
“I’m here to tell you that there’s still time for you to surrender,” Draven replied.
His tall silhouette stood alone at the top of the only staircase linking the level below to the platform, his hands behind his back, a sword dangling from his belt.
Azazel laughed mockingly, then tossed me aside like a ragdoll. I landed with a thud, whimpering from the pain shooting through my shoulder and the fire burning in my throat as I breathed in a lungful of air and gradually recovered my senses.
“I’m really not interested in dealing with a projection, little Druid.” Azazel turned around to face Draven. “Come face me yourself, coward.”
A small black snake moved along the edge of the platform, coming toward me. Something twinkled between its fangs. As it got closer, I got a better view—it was the little golden key, the magical object designed to unlock my obsidian suppressor cuffs. He must have gotten a copy off Thadeus or Damion before he got here.
“Patrik,” I whispered. I snatched the key from his mouth and freed myself, while Patrik slithered away and vanished behind a pillar.
I looked up and watched Azazel saunter toward Draven, who gave him a dry half-smile. There were several torches mounted on the black marble columns decorating the bare edge of the round platform. The closest one was just ten feet behind me. Azazel was focused on Draven’s projection, so I had the two seconds I needed to get the torch and use its flame against him.
I pushed myself up to my knees, then stilled as a thought crossed my mind. Serena had told Aida that her group was on its way up. I stared at the Druid for a couple of seconds, the realization quickly coming over me. This wasn’t a projection. This was really him!
My eyes immediately scanned the platform again, and I held my breath, my heart skipping a beat. I recognized the familiar faces peeking out from behind the black marble pillars, at key points around Azazel—Serena, Jovi, Hansa and Jax, Thadeus in Druid form, and one shape-shifter. I couldn’t believe it. I hadn’t noticed them come up, and neither had Azazel. While he’d been busy threatening us, they must have snuck up the stairs and onto the platform, one by one.
Azazel stopped in front of Draven, still grinning. Just a few inches were left between them.
He must’ve felt Draven’s breath against his face as the Druid looked up at him with calm and serenity. Azazel froze, a frown settling between his eyebrows, before his eyes widened and he realized that Draven was very real, and right in front of him.
“You’re really here,” he managed to say, baring his fangs.
He moved toward Draven but was instantly hit from the side by an invisible pulse that made him wobble and nearly lose his balance. He looked to his right and identified the source. Serena had come out and pushed a powerful barrier against him.
Draven immediately muttered something, loading his fists with incandescent energy and punching out blazing fireballs that pummeled Azazel, turning his skin red as they impacted.
He hissed and pushed back with an invisible pulse of his own, followed by several green flames, which Draven blocked expertly with his glowing forearms. Azazel then noticed that Serena wasn’t alone.
Jax, Hansa, Jovi, Thadeus, and Patrik had emerged from their hiding spots, along with the shifter. The latter drew Azazel’s attention for a split second, and he looked at him with genuine confusion before he decided he didn’t care why a shifter, belonging to a wild, untamed species, had joined this fight. He obviously had a lot more to worry about, as the group had brought out their crossbows, poisoned arrows loaded and ready to strike.
Patrik had most likely come up here wearing a pair of pants, before he’d morphed into a snake to bring me the key, because he was wearing them now. He shot me a glance and a friendly, reassuring wink. My heart began to race, and I moved slowly back toward the torch I’d eyed earlier.
“Look at you, fine traitors,” Azazel hissed as he looked at Thadeus and Patrik. “You think this means you’ve won? You think it’s the end of me? You’re all in for a very rude awakening…”
He glanced around, setting his sights on Serena.
“You’ve bothered me before, coming here unannounced, uninvited, and have been particularly rude to my staff.” His voice boomed across the terrace.
“I liked it so much the first time, I decided I wanted a do-over,” Serena replied dryly, her finger curved around the crossbow’s trigger.
“She’s feisty,” Azazel remarked, grinning at Draven. “I’ll enjoy ripping her head off.”
“Yeah, before you do that, I should warn you that while t
hese arrows won’t kill you, there’s enough shifter poison on their tips to put you through a considerable amount of excruciating pain,” Serena shot back, undeterred by his gruesome promise.
“Surrender now, Azazel,” Draven added, his arms still glowing white, loaded with energy. “It’s no use. Luceria is falling. You can see it. You can hear it. You can feel it.”
“The only thing I feel is an urge to put my fist through your chest and rip your heart out, so you can watch its final beats,” Azazel replied, gritting his teeth.
I held the torch up. I placed my hand above the flame, reveling in how its warmth poured into me, sharpening my senses and filling me with the kind of energy I’d missed since they’d first slapped those obsidian cuffs on me.
I was ready to hit Azazel hard. There was enough fire in me to probably torch the entire place.
This was it.
Aida and Phoenix watched quietly from their bubbles, their fingers splayed over the glass, as the showdown began.
This is it, Azazel. You’re going down.
Anjani
The Mara wards were adept at diverting potential hostiles away as we raced through the tight corridors and down the service stairs toward Azazel’s dungeons. We stayed in the shadows as we listened to every noise beyond the walls. I had a feeling that all the loud bangs and fighting outside were keeping most of the Destroyers and incubi busy. The volcanoes getting shut down, along with the little Daughter’s extraction, were clearly taking their toll on Azazel’s magic.
The dungeon was ripe for the picking, I realized as we got there. Seemingly endless rooms were filled with black iron cages rattling as the prisoners called out for help, eager to get out and fight, energized by the sound of war trickling in from the ground above. They’d been down here for so long, I couldn’t blame them.
Several Destroyers emerged from behind the cages, armed to the teeth. They hissed and came at us. I brought my crossbow out and shot a couple of them in the eyes, moving quickly from side to side to keep a distance. They both wailed. I dropped the weapon and took my sword out. Its stainless steel blade was thirsty for blood.
The wards used their mind-bending skill to disrupt two other beasts before using their swords to behead them. Our opponents were blind and cursing, their serpent tails flailing erratically. One of them was quite close to one of the walls, and I needed a high angle, so I ran and jumped at the wall, using the push from my legs to launch a mid-air strike against him with my sword. The blade swished down, and his head rolled to the floor before his body collapsed.
The cages rattled even harder, prisoners gripping the bars and growling, desperate to get out as they witnessed our fight. The second Destroyer in front of me pulled the arrows out of his eyes with a short scream, the blood pouring down in streams from his orbits.
“I’ll kill you, you little…” He snarled, and used his forked tongue to pick out my precise location by scent.
I was counting on him to do that. He lunged my way, and I immediately shuffled around, gripping my sword with both hands and driving it right through his spine in an upward motion. I heard the bones crack as the steel cut through them, severing his spinal cord. There was no going back from that. He choked on his own blood, the tip of my sword piercing his throat.
I put my foot against his back and pushed in order to pull my sword back.
He fell flat on his face, lifeless.
There was a set of keys hanging from his belt, including a small gold one that caught my eye. I snatched it and proceeded to unlock the cages. I looked around and noticed the Mara wards were doing the same thing, after they’d brought down a couple more Destroyers and snatched their keys. Each set of keys had a gold one included, it seemed. Dozens more beasts poured in from the darker corners of the dungeon, so I moved as fast as I could to let as many creatures out as possible. The incubi and succubi were quick to pick up weapons from the Destroyers we’d killed.
When more Destroyers poured in, they were ready to strike. A fight ensued as the wards and I liberated some Maras and more succubi.
“You’re a sight for sore eyes!” one of the Maras said as I opened his cage.
He pointed at the little golden key as he lifted his arms. He’d been restrained with obsidian cuffs.
“Use that to open these; otherwise, I can’t do any mind-bending,” he said as he jumped out of his cage.
He was significantly taller than me, almost towering over me. His broad shoulders and athletic frame were well complemented by his ruffled black hair and jade eyes. I had a feeling I’d seen him before, somehow. He looked familiar.
My heart was thudding—every second counted. The more prisoners we freed, the more fighting power we had—not just against the Destroyers left in the dungeons, but also the hostiles on the upper levels.
I unlocked the cuffs, the symbols carved in them glowing green for a second before they came off, and he rubbed his wrists with relief. I had two long knives strapped to my back, and I pulled them out and handed them over to him.
“Here, use these,” I said.
“Thank you!” He grinned. “It’s been a while…”
“How long have you been down here?” I asked as I continued to let prisoners out and remove their obsidian cuffs with the little golden key, while the Mara wards did the same. Several incubi broke into one of the armories on the other side of the hallway used to access the dungeons. Swords and spears were brought out, then distributed around so each freed creature could wield a weapon.
“I lost track. At least ten years,” the Mara grumbled, moving to my side and helping the weaker prisoners stand for the first time in perhaps decades. “I’m Heron, of the Dorchadas clan.”
“I’m Anjani, of the Red Tribe.” I nodded respectfully, then stilled. I’d heard the name before, from the White City Maras. The wards had used it to address Jax. I looked around and saw one of the wards moving toward us from the growing crowd of prisoners.
The Destroyers spilling in were now quite easily overpowered, as the freed incubi, succubi, Lamias, Maras, Bajangs, and imps took their revenge in droves. The dungeons were ours.
The ward reached us and greeted Heron with a reverent bow and a short hug, visibly happy and relieved to see him.
“Milord, thank the Daughters you are still alive!” the ward said, further amplifying my confusion.
“I’m missing something here,” I muttered.
“This is Heron, Jaxxon’s younger brother,” the ward replied. “He was captured during a raid, many years ago. We’d feared him dead.”
“As you can see, I’m still here.” Heron smirked. “Though it’s been boring as hell. No entertainment whatsoever, terrible food, rude service. I’m not coming back!”
I had a joker on my hands. I smirked, then gave him a hard pat on the arm.
“Welcome back to the free world, then,” I said. “We’re taking Eritopia back. Your companions can fill you in.”
I left him there with the ward and moved on to the next cages. I glanced over my shoulder and watched as they herded the weak and wounded off to the side. Several incubi brought them water and blankets from some of the nearby service quarters. They’d even broken into one of the dry food deposits, bringing out rolls of dry bread and nuts, to feed those who had been deprived of sustenance.
The other prisoners were surprisingly well coordinated. They’d been here for so long, they’d probably bonded with one another and were able to quickly assign offense and defense positions appropriately—it worked, too, as the few Destroyers left were swiftly taken out.
“Help me!” I spotted an old female fae in a cage, half covered with a dirty blanket.
Had she not spoken, I might’ve missed her. She’d been kept separate from the others, tucked away in a dark corner. She looked pale and weak, her bony fingers trembling as I took the lock off. She reached out, showing me her obsidian cuffs.
“I’ll get you out of those now,” I said reassuringly, and inserted the little golden key into the first
cuff.
She looked at me, frowning before her eyes widened with surprise.
“I know you,” she mumbled as I took off the second cuff and gently rubbed her wrinkled wrists. I stared at her, trying to figure out if I’d seen her before, but there was nothing familiar. Her skin felt cold, her flesh soft and her bones brittle. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the ordeal she’d had to endure.
“I don’t think so. We’ve never met,” I said, helping her out of the cage.
“We haven’t, but I saw you at the Sarang Marketplace, not too long ago,” she replied, unable to take her eyes off my wolf’s head pendant. “Before they brought me here. You were with an incubus and the boy who smelled like a wolf.”
“Jovi.” I stilled.
My heart ached. I’d been so busy down here that I’d managed to put the thought of him aside completely. I knew he’d successfully extracted the Daughter, but I had yet to reach out to him via Telluris.
“Listen, he’s in danger,” the fae said, visibly worried, her lower lip trembling.
“What do you mean?”
My stomach tightened. She tucked locks of her white hair behind her ears and leaned against the cage. Her feeble legs couldn’t hold her up for long.
“I’ve had to do terrible things to stay alive in this world,” she explained, her voice thick with regret. “I’ve had to do Azazel’s bidding, collect blood samples from different creatures. After he felt the Oracles come through, he instructed me to keep an eye out for anyone who seemed like an outsider, not a native of Eritopia. Jovi was one such creature…”
“So you were at the Marketplace as Azazel’s spy?” I felt rage pouring through my veins but kept myself under control. “What have you been doing in a cage, then?”
“I couldn’t do his dirty work for him anymore.” She sniffed, and tears rolled down her cheeks. “He’d been working on a powerful blood spell, and he needed samples from all the creatures that weren’t from Eritopia. Whatever it’s for, it’s not good. I couldn’t do it anymore. I am not an evil person. You must believe me… I only did what I had to do to survive…”
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