Endure

by M. R. Merrick

  “That’s horrible and cruel!” Rayna said.

  Tiki shrugged. “Perhaps, but it is the way it has always been.”

  “And we can’t use magic?”

  “In the Arena, all abilities are allowed. However, there has never been anyone involved with abilities beyond teleportation.”

  “Well, that’s great news then. With the four of us we have a shot.”

  “I can’t wait to tear your brother apart,” Vincent growled.

  “Don’t get too excited. I have four remaining brothers and there will be at least a dozen other clans who compete. Before the competitors are allowed to fight one another, they must first destroy all of the sacrifices.”

  “Fifteen against four? Those are great odds,” I said. I tried to run a hand through my hair but my fingers stopped halfway through the sand-caked strands. Exhaustion tugged at me and I rested my head against the bar, letting the cool glass press against my face.

  He’s going to get us all destroyed.

  The Protector will prevail.

  We should tear him apart ourselves and fight this battle for him. He is useless.

  You must believe.

  I don’t want to believe! I have waited long enough. We all have.

  I say enough!

  “Shut up,” I said. I didn’t realized how loud I spoke, or that I was gripping the bars and pulling my face hard against it.

  “Chase?” Rayna asked.

  I could hear her words, but for some reason I couldn’t move. No matter how hard I tried, I was frozen in place. Rayna’s hand touched my shoulder and I jerked around and shoved her back, but it wasn’t me in control. Foreign anger flushed into my face and my jaw hurt as my teeth clenched together.

  “The Protector is a fool!” The voice that came out of my mouth wasn’t my own. It was a woman’s voice, raspy and cold. Anger purged my body and although I could see and feel everything happening, there was nothing I could do. “He is weak, and not worthy to bear my power.” The smell of sulfur filled my nostrils and if I had any control over myself, I would have gagged.

  “Chase, what’s going on?” Rayna asked. With each step my body moved closer, she stepped back. Fear filled her eyes and panic laced her voice.

  “Mr. Williams, what you are playing at?” Vincent stepped forward but when he was within reach, my hand shot out and smashed him into the glass wall. His head cracked against it and he crumpled to the floor.

  “Silence you filthy half-breed.”

  “The souls…” Rayna whispered.

  “Aww, the souls, the souls, they’re getting stronger.” The woman spoke through my lips in a whiny voice, mimicking Rayna.

  “Chase Williams, you must fight this,” Tiki urged, but he didn’t step forward. He had placed himself between Rayna and me, his eyes focused.

  The woman’s laughter carried from my mouth and I reached out toward him. He didn’t take any chances. In seconds, he tore his demon out from inside and I found myself on the other end of Tiki’s power.

  Sharp bones jutted from the outside of his forearms, his eyes turned black, and thick claws pierced through his fingers. His body morphed, growing larger before my eyes. He was almost as tall as the cell now, and his muscles rippled. A chiseled stomach stood in front of me, but the god inside me wasn’t impressed. She cackled as tiny bones split from his knuckles and shins. Each limb had become a deadly weapon and he roared in her face with a mouth full of ferocious fangs. The woman inside me felt no fear. Her anger swelled and a power I didn’t know danced at my fingertips.

  When I came within reach, Tiki didn’t warn me. His massive hand shoved me back, but he was careful not to pierce me with the spikes jutting from his body. My body smashed into the bars and fell to the ground. I stared at Vincent, sitting upright but unconscious. This goddess had power. She had knocked him out with a single strike. I needed to stop this before someone else got hurt.

  My body shifted and I jumped to my feet. I screamed inside my own head and the woman’s voice rattled in my brain, demanding silence. I didn’t give it. I screamed and cursed at her just as she had done to me. I reached out with my mind, searching for her essence. I knew her power now, I could feel it in my fingertips, but I had to find it around my soul.

  I reached out with the invisible hand inside me, the one that drew my power upward, and I found I still had control of it. I guided that hand out to my soul, where all my power was stored. There were hundreds of gods circling it, but I didn’t need to sift through them. I knew what I had to do.

  The woman jerked my body forward and when Tiki lashed out, I stopped his massive arm with a single hand. My hand squeezed and Tiki roared. I felt his muscles being pinched in an uncanny grip and sliding to the side. The thick bones beneath his skin struggled against the power my grip enforced.

  I panicked, moving around my soul in search of the goddess. There was a god—an essence— somewhere inside me, and it was ruling my body and mind. I hadn’t lost complete control, so she couldn’t have bonded entirely, but she was on her way.

  The invisible hand moved inside me, feeling around the edges of my soul. The vibration of her energy grew stronger with each inch I moved. When I neared it, it was ferocious—a single orb of dark and powerful energy clinging to the side of my soul, trying to squeeze its way inside. I wrapped myself around it, focusing on expelling the energy.

  “No, stop that!” The voice screamed from my lips and she released Tiki’s arm.

  Tiki and Rayna both looked wary, unsure if they should attack or stay back. The woman lashed out in random directions, forcing Tiki to dodge left and then right, avoiding my fists. I didn’t stop. She turned and grabbed the prison bars and smashed my face into them over and over again. Her power struggled against me and I used all the mental ability I had and tore the soul away. When her control over me broke, energy burst inside me, sending arcs of power through my body. I jerked forward in a violent lunge and hit the floor, landing on my hands and knees.

  “I am sorry, Chase Williams,” Tiki said.

  “What?” I gasped for air, as though I had been suffocating. My arms tingled, numb like they’d fallen asleep. Before I could say another world, Tiki’s hand crushed the side of my face, palm open, and smashed my head into the wall. Then there was nothing.

  ******

  The splitting pain came through my mind before I heard Rayna’s voice. “He’s moving,” she said. I wanted to open my eyes but I couldn’t, not yet. The dream was thick in my mind, but it wasn’t a dream, it was a vision.

  “Marcus…” I said. The sound of my own voice gave me a rush of relief.

  “No, Chase, it’s Rayna.” Her hand glided down the side of my face.

  My eyes creaked open, her face hovering above mine. She leaned down and kissed my forehead.

  “Please, after what he did he hardly deserves such a reward,” Vincent sounded angry and distant, his voice echoing in my ears.

  I shook the fuzziness away and tried to sit up. Pain spiked in my head, but I didn’t stop. Rayna helped and I leaned back against the cold wall. Tiki sat in the corner; his legs pulled up to his chin and his eyes watching me warily over the tops of his knees.

  “Marcus, Grams, they’re in trouble. Everyone is…”

  “Slow down, what are you saying?” Rayna asked.

  “The dream, a vis—” My voice trembled and I took a breath to gather my thoughts. “I had a vision. Riley’s demons have the city surrounded, while he and the brothers are watching Marcus…waiting for something. They haven’t attacked yet.”

  “Are you sure it wasn’t just a dream?” Rayna asked.

  “I’m sure. I can…feel it. We need to get back there.”

  “We need to finish the rite before we do anything,” Rayna said. “The souls are getting stronger.”

  “Me, me, me,” Vincent said. “It’s always about him. I got my head smashed into a wall too, you know?”

  “Will you shut up and stop whining for a minute?” Rayna cast a cold glare at
Vincent.

  “I’m sorry,” I said. “I lost control.” Vincent didn’t seem to feel any sympathy, and Tiki still hadn’t moved. “Tiki?”

  “I am sorry for what I did, Chase Williams. I am supposed to help you, not hurt you. I have failed you.”

  “You did what you had to do. Any of us would’ve done the same,” I said. Tiki nodded, but he didn’t seem convinced. “Thank you, Tiki. You probably saved my life, and everyone else’s.” The last seemed to make him feel better and he uncurled from the corner of the cage. “We need out. There has to be a way.”

  I waited for Tiki’s usual shrug, but it never came. He stared down at me and sighed. “There is one way, but given my mother’s condition, it is futile.”

  “You’re not allowed to be the discouraging one,” Vincent said, rising to his feet. “That’s my job.”

  “You can request an audience with the Queen and ask that your sentence be revoked. But she is ill, and not in her right mind to hear such a request. Even if she was, she hates all things human. She would never concede.”

  “What exactly is wrong with her?” Rayna asked.

  “I do not know. She moves back and forth from two different personalities, neither that I recognize. I fear she may have been poisoned with magic.”

  “What makes you think that? Can’t she just be sick?”

  “We do not get sick like the people of your world. And my mother is crazed. She has never been so kind to me in all the years I have existed.”

  “That was kind?” Vincent asked.

  Tiki’s orange gaze found Vincent and he shrugged. “The illness she is showing suggests her mind has been tampered with. She is inflicted with madness, most likely from the hands of an assassin, one of my brothers, or perhaps another clan wishing to take the throne. It is a rare occurrence, but it has happened before.”

  “We have no choice. We have to try and talk to your mother. How do we call the guards?”

  “There is nobody to call. When those glass doors closed, the hall was filled with sand. Someone will return tomorrow to hear our request.”

  “What about food?” Vincent asked.

  “We are prisoners, not guests. There will be no food. They want all slaves as weak as possible for the Death Throne.”

  “How did you survive here all these years?” Rayna asked.

  “When given a choice between survival—even in the worst circumstances—and death, you will find your desire to live far outweighs the hardships of life.”

  ******

  Knowing we weren’t going to get any food or water, Tiki suggested we all try to rest. The less energy we used, the better. My head throbbed with pain, but I couldn’t afford to exert any energy to heal myself. I needed to keep what energy I had left, just in case.

  After hours of silence and lying on the floor of our cell, the others had drifted off into some semblance of sleep. I lay awake, staring at the cold bars that kept us imprisoned. I was exhausted, but I couldn’t risk sleeping. If one of the souls attached themselves to mine, I feared I wouldn’t be able to bring myself back, so I put all my efforts into focusing on the goal at hand—getting to Drakar and completing the rite.

  Heavy breathing filled the cell when I felt it. All the hairs on my neck rose and a new demonic presence fell over my skin. The glass wall outside our cage turned black, expanding over the surface. A pit of darkness covered a sizable hole, and the pale complexion of Drake Sellowind stepped into the room.

  Drake looked back and forth down the long row of cells and smiled. “What have you gotten yourself into this time?”

  “Do you really need to ask? You always seem to have the answers.” I looked over at the others, waiting for them to wake, but they didn’t move.

  “Touché. This was not the original distraction we had planned, but it sufficed as necessary. And do not worry about your friends. My power will keep them sedated for this visit.”

  “You put us here?”

  Drake shrugged. “I cannot take all the credit. Darius has a way with poisoning the mind.”

  “How did you get in here? Tiki said the dome was supposed to protect the city.”

  “From demons, yes, but not from gods.”

  “You’re not a god either.”

  His smirk faded and he pursed his lips. “Alas, you are correct. Look at you starting to get things right.” He walked down the hall, examining each empty cell before coming back to ours. He gripped the glass bars and gave them a shake. “In need of some assistance I see.”

  “I don’t need anything from you.” I almost regretted the words as soon as I said them. An escape was exactly what we needed, but the last time I made a deal with Drake, it cost me Ithreal’s dagger.

  “Please, Chase, humor me. How do you expect to get out of this one? The Queen has gone mad, and you stand little chance against a platoon of these pure bloods in the arena. They are some of the fiercest warriors known to man. It’s why we tried to recruit them. Why else do you think we had to disrupt that creature’s weak mind? She wouldn’t cooperate, so I had to make her.”

  “How convenient.”

  “If we’re sharing truths, it was really more of an inconvenience.”

  “I doubt the truth has ever come from your mouth. Just more lies and tales to get us where you want us.”

  Drake shrugged and crouched outside the bars. His eyes were almost level with mine, but I remained on the floor leaning against the glass.

  “Since the beginning, I’ve shared a great many truths with you, Chase. In fact, I think it’s fair to say I’ve been more honest with you than anyone you know. And I hardly understand your frustration. After all, I’m here to help.”

  “Right, because you need me.” The exhaustion had seeped into my voice now. “Let me guess, you do this for me, and I cooperate with some grand scheme of yours? No thanks.”

  “Not exactly. I do this for you, and you say yes to one favor.”

  I wanted to laugh, but I didn’t have the energy. “I’m not helping Riley invoke Ithreal.”

  “Of course not, I would be naïve to request such a thing. There is nothing you can do to stop that. My favor comes after. Once Ithreal is here.”

  “If Ithreal is here, that means I’ve failed and I’m dead, so I won’t be much help then.”

  Drake frowned. “Such defeat in your voice already. I’ve told you, once you complete the rite you’re going to be a demigod. Had you done that before coming here, these glass bars would be no match for you either.” He paced outside the cell, both hands clasped behind his back. “In light of being honest, I’m going to share something with you. Something your father does not even know.”

  I didn’t move; my eyes panned back and forth, following his every step. I couldn’t imagine what he was possibly going to share with me, but I was curious nonetheless.

  “Your father isn’t going to invoke Ithreal.” Drake paused, and at first I thought it was because he wanted my reaction, but I soon realized it was only for dramatic effect. “That was an idea planted in his mind, just like all the others. Your father is going to become a gateway, and shortly after, a vessel for Ithreal’s essence. He will not be taking control of Ithreal’s power; Ithreal’s power is going to take control of him. All these soul pieces he’s collected have not been for the ritual, but rather to strengthen his frail shell and prepare it to hold true power. Much like what you have done with the souls inside you.”

  “But Ithreal is imprisoned.”

  “The gods’ powers are like chains, holding Ithreal in the center of an unfinished hell. With some remaining magic, they fabricated a thin veil around his dimension—one that prevents anything from going in or out. The gods are weak, Chase. All their magic is being used to contain a single god. Why do you think they’ve set aside a reserve for you? Why do you think you’re fighting their battle?”

  I couldn’t tell if Drake was telling the truth, but as much as I tried, I had yet to find a reason for him to be lying. “And what’s your point?”
>
  “My point, dear brother, is that Ithreal’s true form may be bound to his world for now, but when we break that veil, part of him will be free. Ithreal is going to pour as much of his pure essence into your father as he can without sacrificing his true form. He is going to take your father’s body and use it as a tool to break the chains that bind him.”

  “How? If he can’t break them on his own now, what’s going to change when part of him is in Riley?”

  “That’s where you come in. You see, unless Ithreal’s full essence is set free on Earth, the gods will not interfere. However, with Serephina’s ring, the Protector has not only the ability to speak with the gods, but to tear them down from their heavens.” Drake stepped closer, his face pressing against the bars. “You can summon them forth and Ithreal will take care of the rest. Or, you can give up control of yourself for but a moment, allowing Ithreal’s essence to enter you and do this for you. A god is the only one who can kill a demigod. Do this and Ithreal will spare you, as well as your friends.”

  I laughed. I hadn’t meant to, but it was the first response to come to me and I didn’t fight it.

  “You think this is humorous?”

  “You thinking I’ll agree to this is humorous.”

  Drake looked suddenly angry, staring at me through the bars. “I do not need you to do this, Chase. This happens whether or not you agree to it. But given my empathy for your situation, I feel inclined to offer you this as a kindness.”

  “That’s really sweet, but how do you expect to force me to do this?”

  “Should you refuse, Ithreal will attempt the easy method first: threatening your surviving friends. If that does not work, he will kill them, and then break you until there is nothing left but a shell of what you were. When you are at your weakest, he will leave Riley’s body, and force himself into yours. Of that, I can assure you, you will not survive the outcome.”

  “And what if I decide to not go through with the rite?”

  “It does not matter. The rite will merge the gods’ souls to yours, leaving you in control. If you do not complete it, one of those souls will take over and they will bend to our will. Ithreal doesn’t need you, he only needs your body and the power it contains.”