Baleful Betrayal

by John Corwin

  I jogged over to Mom where she waited with the other Seraphim, Lanaeia, Joss, Otaleon, Flava, and remnants of the legion. "Mom, have you seen an arch like that?"

  My mother shook her head slowly. "It's unlike any arch I've ever seen."

  "The dome was opaque for a long time," Nailan said. "It wasn't until you arrived that the dome became translucent enough to see what was inside."

  "Why would Cephus make the dome transparent now?" Lanaeia asked.

  Otaleon kicked a loose chunk of rubble. "To intimidate us."

  Lanaeia brushed back a lock of windblown hair from her face. "He threatens this entire realm with the Void."

  Joss clenched a fist. "He is taunting us with destruction."

  The dome shimmered and the deep thrum grew louder and I knew why the shield was transparent. "Cephus is powering the arch with his aether wells."

  Elyssa snapped her fingers. "The more power it draws, the weaker the shield."

  "We need to attack now," I said. "If we let Cephus activate that arch it'll be too late."

  "Agreed," Elyssa said. "We're nearly out of time."

  I touched the comm pendant on my Nightingale armor. "Commander Borathen, we need to press the attack now."

  "I agree," he replied. "Prepare to move out."

  A horn echoed through the canyons of the dead city and another horn answered. Flying carpets laden with Blue Cloaks lifted into the air. Squadrons of flying brooms bearing Arcanes rose behind them. Lycans howled and hellhounds responded with a dreadful chorus. A drum beat a steady tempo and Templar soldiers marched out from the cover of the buildings and into the wasteland from the west, their tempo matched by the elite vampire units or Red Cell from the south.

  A dark cloud of enemy fliers funneled from the roof of the Ministry of Research, twisting and rising from the top of the dome and forming a phalanx over the fortress. Enemy ground troops gathered but remained safely inside the dome.

  Flava hissed. "The cowardly bastards."

  Staring up at the flying forces, I had to wonder if Cephus had captured every surviving citizen of Tarissa and arrayed them against us. "There must be five hundred of them."

  "More," Lanaeia said. "I hope the Arcanes are up to the task."

  "There's no helping it." Much as I wished to reform the Skywraiths and help our aerial units, we had something more important to do.

  Beams of deadly energy streaked across the sky as the Blue Cloaks and Arcanes engaged the mutant fliers. Smoking bodies fell to earth as the deadly dance of war began.

  Chapter 33

  The main body of our troops reached the midpoint and another horn rang out.

  "That's our signal." I turned to Shelton and Adam. "Move out the bots and ready the battering ram."

  "On it," Shelton said. He turned to Adam and shouted, "Move out the bots and ready the battering ram!"

  "Christ Almighty." Adam put his hands over his ears. "I heard Justin the first time."

  I gathered the Seraphim around me. "Be ready for anything."

  "The day will be ours," Lanaeia said.

  Flava took my hand in hers. "We are yours, body and soul, Destroyer."

  Melodramatic much? I repressed a sigh and smiled. "Then let's go kick some ass."

  We raced on foot behind the Templar troops, covering ground quickly and reaching the outside of the dome. Loyalists standing inside the dome leered at us as we approached. I spotted a single concerned face among them.

  Tain Prahven.

  Shouts arose and loyalists cleared the way for a tall figure with a flowing black cape embroidered with the symbol of the Void. Hair dark as pitch crowned his head in the Roman fashion, combed straight down. He regarded me with a pleasant smile—a politician's smile that reminded me of Victus.

  "We meet again, Justin." Cephus clasped his hands and regarded me through the barrier as if we were old friends once again united, even as the screams and cries of dying men echoed in the air above us where the Blue Cloaks fought his fliers.

  I halted my people twenty yards from the barrier and stared suspiciously at the usurper. "Want to make this easy and give yourself up, Cephus?"

  "I only want to restore the might of the Darkling nation," he said. "The religious zealots made us weak, Justin. If I had another way to do it, I would, believe me." Cephus held out his hands imploringly. "Believe it or not, you and I have the same goals, friend. We both want to unite the Seraphim under one government and bring peace to this war-torn realm."

  God, he sounds so damned reasonable. I steeled myself against his act and shook my head. "Maybe, just maybe, we could have come to terms before, but the crystoid attack put you number one on my crap list."

  "I was against such an attack," he said. "Serena and Victus approached me with a plan to defeat the Brightling Empire. The magic-draining crystals sounded reasonable, but when they launched the attack, they did it against Eden." Cephus held up his hands helplessly. "I tried to stop them, Justin, but the damage was done."

  I felt a hand grip my arm and turned to see Flava staring at me, eyes warning. "I didn't forget," I told her softly. "Be ready to join." I turned back to Cephus. "Do you suggest I stand here and talk to you while your arch powers up?" My voice rose with anger as I spoke. "Do you think I'm going to just let you kill us like you did Ketiss and the Tarissan Legion while you pretended to negotiate peace?"

  Baring my teeth in a feral grin, I stepped closer to the barrier. "Prepare your sphincter, Cephus, because we're about to rip you a new one." I thrust my fist into the air. "Wonder Twin powers, activate!"

  This time, everyone knew what to do and joined. As the crimson arch thrummed louder and louder, I imagined our time growing shorter and shorter. We had to do this quick.

  "Do you really think you can break through the barrier?" Cephus said. "You'll never hold it open long enough to get an army through." He looked at the approaching Templars. "Speaking of which, your forces are looking rather puny, Justin. I do hope nothing happened along the way here."

  Spheres of Brilliance and Murk blossomed in my hands like miniature stars, swelling larger and larger. I funneled the energy into a huge ball of Stasis and flung it at the shield. The gray cloud soaked into the Murk barrier. Cracks raced up and down the ultraviolet wall. Loyalists drew swords and prepared themselves.

  But they weren't ready for what we had coming.

  As a thirty-foot section of the barrier turned gray as lead and crackled, I shouted the command. "Battering ram is a go!"

  Shelton echoed the command and the battle bots raced past, the battering ram at the ready. Cephus's eyes grew wide as dinner plates when he saw them coming.

  "Thanks for giving us the key to the fortress," I shouted as the battle-bots rammed the diamond fiber container they'd arrived in through the weakened section of the shield. The Murk shattered and the container slammed through, bowling over loyalists and creating the perfect tunnel for our troops to race through as both ends of it thudded open.

  The barrier reformed around the diamond fiber, unable to penetrate its magic immunity. The container was wide enough to hold several rows of battle bots and wide enough to allow two roaring columns of Templars to stream through it.

  I grinned at Cephus. "Happy Independence Day, asshole!"

  His lips curled into a snarl. "Hold them at the bottleneck!"

  The loyalists tried to hold the wave of Templars back, but dozens had already crowded inside the dome. While they were busy there, I channeled another sphere of Stasis a few yards west of the first breach. The shield cracked and the battle-bots rammed through another container. Another stream of Templars poured through the new breach.

  The crimson arch pulsated, jagged bolts of energy arcing across the columns as it raced toward startup. "Move out!" I cried and raced south to create one more breach for the vampire forces.

  Cephus paced us on the other side of the barrier. "None of this matters," he shouted over the din of battle. "I discovered a new use for the portal magic the crystoids utilized." H
e waved a hand at the crimson arch. "I made an arch that can open portals to any realm or anyplace within a realm, Justin!"

  That stopped me in my tracks. "Who taught you how to do that?" I wished I could reach through the barrier and yank him closer by his stupid cape.

  "Soon the true master of the realms will come through my portal, Justin." Cephus's face lit with delight. "The power of the Void will rule supreme."

  "You'll kill us all!" At that moment, I realized Cephus's true madness.

  Flava jerked on my arm. "Justin, don't listen to him!"

  "Oh, I'm completely serious," Cephus replied. "The beast will be released from his eternal prison and the Void will rule the realms."

  I stumbled over a pile of rubble and caught myself. A quick look back told me the Templars were pressing hard against the loyalists, but they weren't making nearly enough headway to reach the crimson arch. I held up a fist and the others formed a chain. Power swelled in me and I blasted the barrier with more Stasis. The battle-bots rushed up from behind and crashed the last container through the shield.

  The Red Cell, rushed forward, but I decided not to wait on them. "We have to reach the arch," I said. "We've got to shut it down."

  "We are with you," Lanaeia said.

  "Joss, Otaleon, keep us shielded." I turned to Flava and Lanaeia. "Blast everyone who gets in our way. Nailan and Philas, while we divert the loyalists, I need you to sneak through and find out how to deactivate the arch."

  Elyssa whirled her swords. "What are we doing?"

  "We're going to make a hole if we can and get to the arch." I summoned globes of Brilliance and Murk. "Move out!"

  We charged through the container, Joss and Otaleon leading the way with shimmering shields of Murk. Loyalists flooded the other end of the container, attempting to clog it. Flava and Lanaeia poured forth a torrent of destruction. Flesh charred and seraphs screamed in agony. I formed a blazing sword and Elyssa and I cut a furrow of death through the enemy.

  The loyalists lost cohesion and retreated from the container where the advantage of numbers would be theirs. Blood slicked the bottom of the container and fallen bodies made footing treacherous. We pushed outside and found a wall of soldiers waiting.

  "Everyone form shields and push!" I shouted. "Make room for the vampires."

  Elyssa pressed herself behind me while the others channeled wide shields. We formed a Spartan phalanx and pressed up against the enemy.

  "Heave!" I shouted. We shoved forward, bodies locked into one offense unit. The enemy lines skidded back. "Heave!" I shouted again. With a roar, we pushed again and the loyalists lost another foot. We had three feet of space from the container but we needed more.

  Towering above the fray, light flickered inside the crimson arch.

  We're almost out of time. "Give it everything you've got!" I roared. "We've got to break the line!" I tensed every muscle in my body and drew upon my demon side. Muscles snaked around my arms, my legs, swelling my body larger. Stabs of pain impaled my forehead as horns sprouted.

  Drawing a deep breath, I bellowed the command in a guttural demonic voice. "Heave!"

  With a unified roar, we pushed forward and the enemy stumbled back ten feet. I heard the almost silent patter of feet and a rush of wind as the vampires poured into the freshly made space. The loyalists were decently trained and had Seraphim magic on their side, but they weren't prepared for the Red Cell vampires.

  Precision strikes with swords found the neck seams in the enemy armor. Blood spurted and the loyalists fell like wheat. I looked back and realized Nailan and Philas had already left. Using my sword of Brilliance, I cut a path through the enemy soldiers toward the flashing columns of the crimson arch. We sliced through the lines and finally emerged in the open square.

  I spotted a black cape flapping in the wind as Cephus raced toward the Ministry of Research. Once inside, he could easily lose himself in the maze of corridors and tunnels. He probably had an escape plan already mapped out. As the only person who could shut down the crimson arch, I wasn't about to let him escape.

  "Help Nailan and Philas with the arch," I told the others. "I'm going after Cephus." I didn't wait another second and blurred across the square in hot pursuit. A host of enemy fliers lifted off from the roof of the building and swooped toward me. I didn't have time to stop and engage.

  Shards of Murk crashed into the ground all around me as I dodged back and forth between attacks. Cephus, a hundred yards in front of me, was nearly to the entrance. There was no way I'd reach him in time.

  Two flying brooms streaked overhead. Shelton and Adam flung out their staffs and fired webs of energy at Cephus. His feet tangled and he went down in a heap, sliding across the ground.

  "Woot!" Shelton shouted. He and Adam flew past each other, exchanging high-fives then engaged the fliers.

  "Great job!" I caught up to the snared usurper and dropped to a knee. I wanted to gloat so bad it literally hurt. But I had no time. "How do I turn off the arch, Cephus?"

  He smiled calmly at me. "I'll never tell you."

  I jerked him off the ground by his super cape and let him choke for a few seconds in front of the infernal flames burning in my demon eyes. "Tell me, or I'll eat your soul."

  "Never," he croaked. "Your new master comes."

  I slung his bound form over a shoulder and raced toward the crimson arch. "We'll let you be the first to meet your new master."

  "No!" He bucked and writhed.

  "What, are you too good to meet the Beast?" I roared.

  I found the others fending off loyalists near the arch while Elyssa and Flava worked on a dais with several gems embedded in it.

  "We can't figure it out," Elyssa said.

  Flava pounded the top. "There must be a pattern to the gems."

  I set Cephus down in front of the arch. "Tell me how to stop it or you'll be the first thing the Beast sees when he comes through."

  The seraph stared at me, calm smoothing his features. "I will gladly welcome him."

  That wasn't the answer I'd hoped for.

  "We have to destroy the arch," Flava said.

  I waved my hands imploringly. "No, we can't do that. This arch can open a portal to any realm. It might be our only way back to Eden."

  The thrumming in the arch reached a fever pitch. "Oh, Christ," Shelton said. "Do something and hurry!"

  Elyssa gripped my arm. "We have no choice, Justin."

  A loud boom rocked the air and a portal split the air between the columns. There was no world to be seen on the other side, just pitch black emptiness. A wail of intense sadness and longing echoed from the other side. There was no telling how close or far the source of that sound was. Distance might not even be a thing in the Void.

  Cephus struggled to turn. "I'm here, master! Your servant beckons you to take this broken world!"

  A long note of despair sang out from the void, this time noticeably closer. It was like listening to a depressed whale in a karaoke bar, except whatever was making those sounds was definitely not a friendly denizen of the deep.

  I looked at the arch and over at the control pedestal. Without the Alabaster Arch, this is our only way home.

  If we didn't shut this thing off, none of us would have a chance of getting home.

  The wailing changed to a roaring bellow. A gust of foul-smelling air blew from within the portal and we were out of time. "Destroy the arch!"

  Lanaeia, Flava, Joss, Otaleon, Nailan, Philas and I took aim at the base of the arch and opened up with everything we had. Shelton and Adam aimed their staffs and fired gouts of destructive energy. The stony material began to glow, but it was so thick, our attacks weren't doing enough.

  "Farting fairies on a pogo stick," Shelton yelled. "We're not doing squat."

  "We need more firepower." Adam took out his phone and tapped on the screen. Battle bots raced to the scene and unloaded their lasers on the thick arch column. The shield dome flickered and vanished as the Daemos completed their task of disabling the aether
wells powering it.

  Thomas's voice sounded through my comm pendant. "What's coming through the arch?"

  "Master, come for me!" Cephus shouted. "Come for me!"

  "The Beast," I told Thomas. "We've got to destroy the arch, but it's made from the same stuff as the Obsidian Arches, and we can't put a dent in it."

  The battle had all but stopped. The bodies of mutant fliers and loyalists mingled with those of vampires and Templars. An unnatural silence fell as a heavy breathing and the sound of flesh dragging across a rough surface emanated from the portal within the arch. The base of the arch glowed cherry red where we'd attacked it, but we'd barely scratched it.

  Cephus's face lit with joy. "Your loyal servant is here." He unsteadily rose to his feet. "Save me from the religious zealots, master."

  A swarm of pure black swept out of the portal and engulfed Cephus. His scream cut off almost instantly and where he'd once stood was nothing except a wailing black presence.

  Shelton's face blanched and he backed away as did the rest of us. More of the dark swarm crept through, a shrieking sound slicing through the still air and causing my heart to skip several beats. I tried to make out the individual forms making up the swarm but it was like staring into oblivion. My eyes couldn't focus on the shimmering darkness.

  Stretching like a tentacle, the swarm came for me. I threw up a shield and the darkness splashed against it, rebounding against itself and reforming.

  "Justin!" Elyssa grabbed my shoulder.

  The void swarm pummeled my shield relentlessly though it could have easily just flowed around it. Every attack drained energy from me, leaving brittle cold down to my very core. I dropped to a knee as my power waned and then the swarm swept in to consume its prey.

  Chapter 34

  More shields sprang up to protect me. Flava, Lanaeia and the other Seraphim overlapped their shields. The moment the swarm hit their barriers, however, they gasped in unison.

  "It drains energy," I gasped. "Can't stop them long."

  One by one the others staggered back as the energy-leeching things stole their power. Joss lost his shield first, followed by Philas and Nailan.