Titans: Revelation (Book 4 of the Titans Saga)

by C. J. Lloyd

  “Maybe you don’t get it or maybe you’re hard of hearing. I killed that person, that entity that had those feelings long ago. The Titan of Light is nothing more than another obstacle in my path. She’s the true test of my power, and if I can destroy her, then nothing can stop me.”

  “So, nothing can stop you?”

  He scowled, his eyes falling on her brimming blues. Swirling over her shoulders and rising over the building, a wave of water began to take shape. “You’re too damn cocky for your own good if you think I can’t kill you, Elric. Who do you think’s been teaching Enzo?”

  Elric smiled. “You’re going to try to stop me?”

  An icy breath left her lips. “I’m not going to try.”

  Shards of ice shot from the roaring wave, cutting through the air. Darkness covered Elric in a veil just as a shard cut through. It didn’t touch him, but it was still strong enough to break through. A massive bubble of water rose from Rai’s feet, encompassing her body.

  He bolted toward her, dodging a few more shards. A black hand formed from the darkness and smacked one away.

  An icy wave blew from her, turning the rooftop into a sheet of ice. Elric’s legs went from beneath him as he hit the ground. With a life of its own, the ice began crawling over his arms, legs, and torso.

  Rai sauntered over as the ice began cocooning him. “I wish I could have been the one to save you, but killing you should suffice.” The icy dagger became a long sword, glistening in the light as she raised it to the sky.

  A blast of darkness threw her back and freed Elric from the icy imprisonment. His skin was healing from the damage of ice eating away at his flesh. He hadn’t even noticed; his entire body was numb.

  Elric focused, allowing the darkness to course through him and fill his veins. Bones and muscle density thickened as he prepared to fight Rai to the death. The spines over the edges of his wings sharpened, and a few spines tore through the sleeves of his hoodie.

  Rai jumped to her feet, condensing the condensation around her into a sphere of ice, and hurled it his way.

  Elric smacked it away with claws turning it into a glistening mist. “I’ll try out this new level on you, Rai. That way, I can see where I stand.”

  A black stream snapped toward her. Elric watched as she dodged, jumping onto a large wave of water. She surfed the wave through the city as gripping darkness cast over the building Elric was on.

  He looked up. Shit!

  The darkness condensed around him as he closed his eyes.

  A massive wave came crashing over the building, burying Elric beneath metal and stone. Trapped beneath the crushing weight, a strange sensation wrapped around his legs. Now what?

  A current snatched him from the rubble and slammed him through the narrow streets, smacking him against buildings and vehicles. Even at this level, the punishment was unbearable. Elric couldn’t believe how powerful Rai was.

  His wings caught the air and propelled him out of the water and into the air. A massive tale swatted him out of the sky and into a cluster of structures. Blood filled his lungs as he jerked forward to come face to face with a rusted piece of rebar coming through his chest.

  Every breath became unbearable as the pressure forced blood from Elric’s mouth. He clawed at his chest, losing focus on the battle as he gasped and wheezed for air.

  “Relax …” Erebus growled.

  The rebar disintegrated, allowing the gaping wound to heal. Elric flipped himself over, spewing blood onto the ground and covering his hands. The taste of blood was thick on his tongue. He just needed a breath and time to heal. All I need is a few—

  A force of water smashed him through several buildings, and a chunk of ice sunk clean through his thigh as he let out a deep groan. He looked down to see he was in the jaws of one of Rai’s water serpents.

  “You might want to do something before she breaks you to pieces. She is fiercely upset and stronger than anticipated.”

  “Don’t you think I know that?” His wings ripped through the jaws of the serpent and created a big enough gap to free himself. He forced himself into the air, higher than the serpent could reach.

  Breathing heavily and holding his side with widened eyes, Elric couldn’t believe he had underestimated Rai’s ruthless style of fighting. But it didn’t matter now; the process of his body getting used to the darkness finished. Opening a door is like starting over from scratch, I guess. Training and adapting are the only way to overcome it, he thought, tightening his clawed hand into a fist.

  In the bowels of his insides, Elric concentrated a small amount of darkness. A loud siren screamed into the damp, darkened air of the streets. Vehicles raced from surrounding areas and began unloading into the sky toward him. Helicopters darted through the sky as well.

  “She was more trouble than she was worth. I told you, but you refused to listen, boy.”

  “Don’t talk to me. Traitor!” Elric’s rage and embarrassment were worse than the beating he had just taken.

  He raced toward a helicopter with a speed he wasn’t used to, tearing clean through before they could get a missile off. The aircraft plummeted below with a metallic crash.

  I’m done with all of you.

  He raised a ball of blackness over his head the size of a sedan and slung it to the city below.

  Within seconds, blackness expanded over Kabukicho, and everything below rumbled with a force that made Elric’s insides shake. He flew high above the clouds to avoid the crushing pressure that followed. Overkill. But it got the job done, he thought, snickering.

  As the rumbling faded, he descended from the clouds, the smoke parting ways and rising in large trails above. I wonder what the damage will be like compared to Boston. He was expecting hellish screams, more explosions, more smoke, and destruction. Instead, he was buffeted by an icy wind that blew from below.

  Elric’s mouth hung, and his claws shook at his sides. His eyes widened, gazing at the site below. A frozen tidal wave arched over the city, shielding it from the attack. Chunks of ice had crushed a few buildings, but nothing like the total catastrophe that Elric had expected.

  Waiting below were dozens of serpents, each the size of towers, focused on Elric.

  “Rai, how strong are you?” he whispered.

  Suddenly the serpents began to collapse, splashing over the city. The hardened wall of ice dissolved into water, spraying through windows and washing streetlights away. The heaviest sigh of relief escaped his lungs as Elric glided to the streets toward a glowing serpent.

  Rai stood on the head of the creature, fighting to breathe and barely able to stand. She also looked to have taken on an odd transformation. Her fingers had become webbed claws, her skin covered in smooth scales arrayed in different hues of blue, and the sides of her throat had fleshy pink slits.

  “You thought I wouldn’t be able to protect my city, my country?” She panted, dropping to her knees. The serpent could barely keep its form.

  “Rai, you’re doing too much. Let me take over,” the serpent spoke with a powerful feminine voice.

  Elric stepped back. “Are you her Deva?”

  The creature opened its jaws, bearing icy fangs. It threw its head back and spat icy shards toward him that shattered against his body. One knocked him across the street, leaving Elric with massive bruises and scrapes.

  “Rai, you’re incredibly strong. You and your Deva are the perfect partners,” he yelled to her while stalking back toward the towering creature.

  “Rai, you’re losing consciousness. Keep up your strength, stay focused,” the serpent cried. The creature melted into a splashing puddle that washed Rai a few feet in front of him.

  “I won’t let you destroy my people, my home. I won’t let you … kill me,” she got out between coughs.

  Rai flopped on her back, gasping for air. A dark hand grabbed her by the throat and lifted her into the sky.

  “I know now where I stand,” Elric said, tightening his fist so that the claws of the black extremity tightened ar
ound her throat. “I see why I have to bear this hardship alone. There’s nobody else.”

  A tear trickled down her face. “You don’t realize how sick you are,” Rai choked. “Your mind is so screwed, you idiot.”

  Blasts of purple energy scattered over the streets. One knocked Elric’s grip loose, but his left wing shielded him from the rest. He turned to see Violet and the others scattered over a few nearby buildings looking down at him.

  “Looks like a fight in paradise?” Alfred barked in his wolf form.

  A gust of wind blew by him. He looked to the ground, but Rai was gone. Eden stood on top of a roof next to Jen, cradling an unconscious Rai close to his chest. “Why go after her,” Eden yelled out. “Isn’t she with you?”

  Elric’s wings folded into his back. He clenched his jaw and gritted his teeth. Damn it, not here, not now, not them!

  His gaze of hatred burrowed into Jennifer. The light intensified around her just like the darkness was doing around him. “I’m starting to realize that no one is with me; even my Deva seems to be lying to me.”

  “Elric, I’m not against you. I told you I—”

  “Shut up!” Elric shouted.

  “Nobody said anything, bro,” Alfred growled.

  “Elric,” Violet called to him, “whatever you had planned, it’s crumbling. Without the Water Titan, you know you’ve lost. If you try to come against us with just you and the Fire Titan, you know you’ll die.”

  Violet stepped forward, her eyes glowing bright and the purple radiance covering her hands.

  “I don’t know anything but what my goal is. And I don’t see death in my future.” Elric glared. “But, as fun as it would be to test my powers right now against all of you, I can only assume it would be suicide.”

  “Elric,” Jennifer screamed.

  “Soon, Titan of Light. Soon.” He glanced over at Rai as she lay in Eden’s arms. “Good luck trying to tame the Dragon Princess.” Then he turned and looked up into the fierce glowing eyes of the other Titans and those fighting by their sides.

  He was outmatched and with no support. Losing Rai would be a blow, but he still had Enzo and Calamity. The thought sickened him, realizing he’d have to rely on her too, and that was probably what she wanted from the start.

  With no other choice, Elric shrugged and began sinking into the watery streets.

  Chapter 18

  Breaking Point

  Japan was blistering cold and covered in water as if it had just received a monstrous downpour. Violet scowled over an injured Rai who had passed out in Eden’s arms. I don’t know what happened here, but it definitely had something to do with her. Why did he try to kill you? What’s going on? Violet asked herself.

  Rai was unconscious, and her body was starting to go pale. Soldiers moved over to them with weapons drawn.

  “V, we gotta go,” Alfred growled.

  “What about her?” Eden asked.

  Violet’s eyes painfully searched the city as she did all she could to fight back the tears of anger. “We’re bringing her back to base. I have a feeling she’s going to be more helpful now that Elric wants nothing to do with her.”

  The purple fluorescent light of Violet’s powers consumed them, and a moment later, they were back at the base.

  Samantha stood and hurried to them. “What happened? Was it bad?” She looked down at the Water Titan. “Wait. You’ve got to be kidding me. You captured one of them?”

  Violet looked over, trying to read the situation. “Well, from my viewpoint, when we arrived, Elric was trying to kill her. We don’t know why yet.”

  Samantha nodded. “Get me a medic in here, stat,” she commanded a soldier.

  A group of doctors came in with a stretcher to carry the Water Titan to the medical wing of the building. Jennifer turned to follow, and Violet was close behind.

  “What about us?” Eden asked.

  Samantha said, “You guys need to stand by because when she comes to, I have a feeling she’s going to do everything in her power to escape. Violet, Jen, you go ahead and keep an eye on her. I need to send a report to higher up. If anything happens, you let me know. Got it?”

  Violet nodded and gave her a less than confident thumbs up.

  They made their way down to the medical wing as whispers and conversations about Rai spread through the building. Violet wondered how long it would be before the entire base knew, then the media.

  Jennifer gazed over Rai with emotionless eyes as they rolled the girl down to the treatment center. Violet saw that remorse consumed her, drifting from her in a light haze. Why? Violet wasn’t sure, but after touring the hypocenter in Boston, Jennifer hadn’t been the same.

  “What are you thinking?” Violet asked her.

  Jennifer came to a halt as she watched the medics roll the stretcher into the other room. Violet saw her eyes gloss over, assuming she was lost in thought. The medical wing doors closed with a rumble, and Jen’s eyes fluttered wildly.

  “Sorry, what was that?” she asked.

  Violet wrapped an arm over Jen’s shoulder. “I know it’s a lot to take in, but you can tell me anything, okay?”

  Jen leaned against the sickly green cinderblock wall, lightly tapping the back of her head against it. “Elric’s getting worse, isn’t he? I mean, I thought him seeing me would make things better. But it’s only made things worse.”

  “You saw what happened to Boston and now what happened in Japan. Do you really think things could get worse?” Violet focused on her hazel eyes.

  Jennifer shrugged. “The world is going up in smoke.”

  Violet tilted her head with a less than comforting frown. “Good point.”

  As much as she wanted to disagree, Jen hit it right on the head. The fact that he was attacking the other Titans so soon after Jen coming to him showed it did something to his mental state. Maybe he really was worse now than previously—if that were even possible.

  A loud crash and the sound of people screaming and yelling echoed from down the hall. Violet and Jen looked at each other and bolted into the medical wing. An alarm started blaring, and the facility went into lockdown.

  The door was sealed shut with ice. Violet wrapped her fingers around the handle but yanked her hand back as an icy burn made the tip of her finger strangely firm. “Not getting in that way.”

  The large glass windows were also frozen over. It was impossible to see anything. Violet felt the frantic heartbeats of two people and another strangely calm and collected.

  Eden, Terra, and the others came rushing down the wing. “Sam’s on her way. What the heck is going on?” Eden asked.

  Terra rolled her eyes, looking at the ice-covered glass and frozen doorknob. “I guess she doesn’t take waking up from naps lightly?”

  Sasha growled as her green eyes flickered a wild orange. “Should we smash in?” Fur began to cover her hands, and her nails curved into claws.

  “Absolutely not,” Violet said, calming the group. “If we go in there looking for a fight, I can almost guarantee she’ll kill someone and bring this base down on top of us.”

  Manie pressed a clawed finger over the glass. A puff of white came from his mouth. “Then what should we do?”

  Violet looked over at Eden. “You and I will go, Jen and Terra, back us up if things go south.”

  They both nodded.

  “Sasha, you and the boys will get civilians to safety if things get out of hand and a fight ensues.”

  A growl of disappointment escaped Sasha’s throat. “Fine.”

  Violet took a deep breath. “Okay.” She looked down at the frozen handle. “Eden, you want the honors?”

  He slashed the handle, and the door slid open. A white puff of frozen air bellowed out. Violet entered first with Eden right behind her.

  Water was wrapped around two doctors’ throats while another stream was centimeters from entering the pupil of a third who remained against the wall. Violet’s eyes met Rai’s.

  “Looks like you’re better,” Violet
said, inching over.

  “You take another step, and I’ll snap their necks,” Rai growled, “and for now, an eye for an eye with this guy should work out just fine.” She glared at the man as he focused on the stream of water in his face.

  “You know you’re not going to get out of here with all the soldiers in this building. You wouldn’t make it a foot out of this door,” Eden said, coming in beside Violet.

  Rai smirked. “You’re acting like I didn’t wipe the floor with you two and pigpen back in Boston. Should I remind you?”

  The alarm continued to blare through the halls of the base. Violet sensed the energy from Eden growing.

  Rai’s eyes danced around the room, searching for a way out. “Where am I?”

  “You’re on a military base. We pretty much saved your life, not that it was deserved,” Eden replied.

  Rai’s face faded to a ghostly white. “As hot as you are, you really shouldn’t talk. You’ll live longer,” she said, not even putting her eyes on Eden. “So, this is it? Are you guys going to try and take my Deva out of me like you tried to do to Elric?”

  “No, we’re not like that,” Violet assured her. “We’re here to help. You almost died.” Violet kept her voice calm and steady.

  Rai sneered with a raised brow. “Help me? Why would you do that, especially after everything I’ve done?”

  Eden stepped closer. “You’re right. You don’t deserve to be helped. And the Titans are getting the worst kind of publicity right now, thanks to you three. But at the end of the day, you’re still a person.”

  Violet felt the tension from Rai. She wasn’t in the mood to kill, at least not like before when they last fought. She felt lost, confused, even a little heartbroken.

  Rai threw one of the doctors to the ground. “Tell you what, I won’t kill any of them if you let me out of here.”

  The man climbed to his feet and rushed out of the room. Violet looked back up at her, reading the expression on her face like words in a book. She was frightened. A look that Violet had never seen on the face of the girl who tried to kill them countless times.

  “Rai, right?” Eden asked. “Look, if they wanted to do something to you, they would’ve done it while you were unconscious. Let the rest of the docs go. I get that we’re all not on the same team, but they were only trying to help.”