by John Corwin
The Cyclops golem rotated back to the panicked council members in the club box, its single eye glowing with unholy light.
A relatively miniscule beam of light speared from somewhere in the crowd, and I saw Zagg, staff outstretched direct the energy at the golem's eye. The automaton flinched as though a mosquito had bitten it. It let out a gravelly roar. Turned its baleful gaze toward the section of seating where Zagg stood, now bare of spectators. Scores of flying carpets circled the stadium far overhead, including a large one with a news crew.
The white beam erupted from the golem's eye, ripping up seating, and leaving a massive swath of black ash as it ripped toward Zagg. The historian threw up his arms in a futile gesture, and the beam of light washed over him.
"No!" I screamed.
The tragon, scant yards behind me, roared, and sent a blast of heat washing over my skin.
I reached the golem. Looked behind me and saw the tragon's eyes alight on the giant. One of the golem's giant feet rotated toward this new threat, nearly crushing me. I went down on my back, sliding on the slick grass beneath the lifted foot. I watched, helpless as the bottom of the foot traveled earthward. A hoarse cry erupted from my throat. The foot slammed to earth an instant after I cleared the ground beneath it. The shockwave lifted me off the ground, and sent me tumbling through the air. I thudded face-first into mud, sliding for several feet before coming to a stop.
Clearing muck from my face, I rolled onto my back just as the tragon leapt, claws extended for its new enemy.
The golem rumbled in protest, and grappled with the giant dinosaur creature which nearly matched it in height. The baleful eye glowed, and I feared the tragon was about to meet its match, but the huge reptile roared, blasting a gout of fire so hot it melted the ridge of stone just above the golem's eye. Lava washed across the deadly orb.
I glanced back at the club seating, and saw Michael rip through the door with his sword, freeing the council. The golem seemed to sense its primary targets' escape attempt. It rotated its head, and fired a blast at the fleeing Arcanes, but the molten stone across its eye blocked all but a tiny sliver of the death beam. The tragon's jaws clamped around the golem's head, gouging huge divots from it, and causing the giant to stumble backwards. It crashed against the stadium wall, sending chunks of rock raining down on the field.
The tragon and stone golem circled each other like two predators waiting for the other to make a mistake. The golem's eye burst into light, and the beam speared for the tragon. The tragon opened its jaws and blasted an inferno of ruby-red flames. The rippling energy met in the middle, swirling into a sphere of red and white. I watched, mesmerized at the sight, unable to move. I hadn't seen anything so awesome since watching a movie where pirates with laser swords fought ninjas.
The two creatures seemed evenly matched as the ball of energy boiled unmoving between the two. Any little change in energy would shift the battle. I raced forward, drawing deeply on the magic around me, and heard the whoosh of flames ignite in my hands. Two fireballs, each the size of my head, swirled in my palms. I raised my hands, palms up, and clapped the two fireballs together into one large mass. Rotating my hands around the energy like a kid would do with putty, I focused more and more energy, willing it to grow larger.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the glowing ball of energy between the two combatants shift closer to the tragon. Despite its immense power, it was still flesh and blood. The golem was essentially a machine—tireless so long as it had energy to draw on.
The ball of energy in my hands grew wide as my body, and heat washed over me like a desert. My knees grew weak, and I knew I was beyond my limit. I aimed the shot, and, turning my palms straight out, willing the inferno to speed forward. It struck the ground, rolling and bouncing, burning a charred furrow through grass, boiling steam up from mud. It bounced one final time, and hit the golem in its pinky toe, melting through stone like a hot knife through butter. It sliced away the remaining toes. The golem might be powerful, but without a functional foot, it didn't matter how strong it was. The creature shifted to the side, its damaged foot crumbling. In an instant, the stalemate ended. The massive ball of coalesced death between the tragon and the falling golem streaked toward the stone giant, engulfing its upper body. Lava streamed down the sides of the golem. The bright ball of energy faded, revealing a molten mountain of rock, which crumbled as it toppled sideways. Boulder-sized chunks of rock rumbled and bounced, massive chunks of shrapnel with deadly speed.
I zipped side-to-side, dodging the big pieces, but small bits of sharp rock tore into me. Something big slammed into my chest, and I flew backwards. A boulder thudded to earth, just missing my leg. A large rock plowed a furrow near my head. Thankfully, the boulder near my feet shielded me from the rest of the shockwave. I tried to stand, but agony lanced up my leg. I cried out, clutching at the spot where a bone jutted from the blackened skin around my shin.
Whatever blessing the man from the pond had given me seemed to be wearing off, because my lower body started to hurt like hell. I pressed the bone back into the skin, screaming non-stop, hoping the healing process would start. Usually my skin knitted itself together within minutes after an injury. The curse-infected skin wasn't healing, just as it hadn't the scrape from days ago.
As if sensing that I'd just thought of it, shards of cold pierced my veins, running up my legs, and curling towards my heart. My body locked in a spasm. I couldn't move my muscles. I couldn't speak. All I could do cry in ragged agony.
Something thudded. Giant nostrils sniffed the air, and the tragon loomed behind a boulder several yards away.
I bit my tongue until I tasted blood in my mouth hoping to quell my scream.
The tragon's red eyes lit on me, the pupils narrowing to slits. It huffed, jaws opening and closing almost as if it were laughing.
I felt another wave of cold rush up me, like the arctic ocean tide trying to claim the beach. I was able to move my head just barely, and watched as throbbing black veins crept up my chest, visible through my shredded shirt. I knew, with certainty, I was going to die. Whether the curse or the tragon killed me first was the only question.
The tragon leapt.
I looked up as the sinuous, majestic reptile, ebony talons extended, soared in a parabolic arc that would land right on top of me and squash me like a rotten watermelon.
You have to admit, this is a pretty badass way to die.
As brutal deaths went, this one wasn't so awful. This was something people could brag about at my funeral. I felt a grin tug at the corners of my lips as I waited for the end.
The impact rattled my bones. My broken leg twisted. Before I could scream, darkness consumed the light.
Chapter 48
A massive roar pulled me from the dark. I looked up to see the tragon spinning in circles as a figure in black ran up the bony spines on its back like a ladder, and gripped the stubby wings. The tragon blasted fire, and slammed against boulders, trying in vain to shake the intruder.
The figure aimed a fist at the back of the tragon for several seconds. The creature staggered, beady eyes blinking. Its right leg folded, and the creature crashed to earth. I watched in amazement as the dark figure ran off the end of the tragon's snout, and leapt at the last minute as debris from the monster's crash to earth hid them both from view.
I tried to move. Tried to call out. I was so tired. So cold. A silhouette dashed from the cloud of debris and raced to me. A hand touched the neck of the dark Nightingale armor of a Templar, causing the material to peel back from the face and vanish. Raven hair spilled out. Violet eyes filled with tears at the sight of me. Elyssa dropped to her knees and pillowed my head on them.
"Elyssa," I said, feeling hot liquid forming at the corners of my eyes. My voice sounded hoarse. I felt the muddy earth against my back.
"I'm here, baby. I'm here." Large tears dripped from the tip of her nose, and splashed on my lips.
I sputtered.
"I'm sorry," she sobbed. "Oh, god
, I'm sorry I wasn't there in time." She held my hand to her face, and I saw my mottled, blackened skin. I knew Elyssa had only postponed my grisly demise, though this one wouldn't be quite as cool sounding as, "Justin fought a tragon, but the tragon won, and clawed his guts out like spaghetti." Then again, turning into a blood-sucking zombie also sounded sort of cool, just not as glamorous.
"I will always love you," I said.
She pressed her lips to mine, sobbing, peppering me with kisses. "I will always love you, Justin."
I decided I didn't want to be remembered this way. "Will you please tell everyone the tragon killed me, and not the vampling curse?"
"I'm not going to let you die," she said, but the hope was gone from her voice.
Darkness gathered around the edges of the world. Shadowy shapes flickered in my peripheral vision. Fanged skulls strained at the fabric of darkness, trying to tear away.
Drink. Devour. Kill.
The voices urged me to kill with violent whispers. But I knew that would never happen.
"When the time comes, you know how to end this," I said, feeling a tear trickle down the side of my face. "I want it to be you. Please."
She squeezed her eyes shut. Nodded. Her arms squeezed me as sobs shook her body. My arms felt numb. They wouldn't respond when I tried to hug her one last time.
Just when I need a hug the most.
"Is—is he dead?" said a small girlish voice.
Elyssa looked up, her red-rimmed eyes wide. "No."
Ivy's pretty face filled my vision. I vaguely felt pressure on my hand. "I know you tried to trick me, Justin." She sniffled. "I know you don't like Bigdaddy or my family, but—but I don't like this. I saw what you did. How you saved those people."
"You're my sister, Ivy," I croaked. "I only wanted to save you."
"I thought about it a lot," she said. "You could have kidnapped me. We almost went inside the house. But you changed your mind. You decided not to." Tears gathered in her eyes. "You really do love me, don't you?"
"Yes." I tried to reach for her, but my body was done responding to my wants or needs. I tried to say more, but a wave of dizziness tried to claim my remaining consciousness.
A sparkling tear fell from her eye, and splashed on my cheek.
I tried to say something witty about girls drowning me in tears, but arctic cold swept up my neck and into my throat. I heard Elyssa gasp.
"Get away from him, child," said the voice of Jeremiah Conroy, but I couldn't turn my head to see. What I did see was Elyssa frozen in place. Her eyes widened, but she didn't seem to be able to use her mouth, or move.
"He's my brother!" Ivy yelled. "My only brother! I won't let him die."
"He will only cause you harm, child." His voice turned pleading. "Let him go. Otherwise, the world will suffer. We stand at the precipice of light and dark, child."
"But, he's my brother," she said, choking back sobs.
"Your brother stands against everything we have taught you. If you do this, if you make this choice, you could destroy everything we have worked for." I heard a foot splash in water. "The fate of the world could rest in this decision, Ivy. Will you choose this demon boy, or your family?"
I heard Ivy sobbing quietly. Several long seconds passed, and then I heard her whisper. "I choose family," she said.
"That's my girl," Jeremiah said. "That's my good girl."
I felt pressure on my chest, and heat scorched through my veins, seeming to light every molecule of my body on fire.
"Justin," Ivy said in a furious voice, "is family."
My mouth suddenly responded to the agony in every fiber of my being. I cried out, my voice hoarse and raw.
"There will be consequences for this, girl," Jeremiah said in a low angry voice. "I promise you will not like them."
Ivy leaned into view, her face screwed up with worry. "I love you, Justin." She kissed my cheek.
"Nightliss," I whispered in a hoarse voice. "In…healer's…" I couldn't get out another word.
My sister's lower lip trembled as she drew away from me. She vanished from view, and I heard feet splashing away. A moment later, Elyssa gasped and grabbed my hand.
She's holding my hand, and I can feel it!
Strength rushed into my body. I sat up, and watched as blackened skin and veins returned to a normal pink hue. The jutting bone in my shin snapped back inside with a painful pop. My gorge rose, and I lurched onto all fours, gagging as something bulged up my esophagus. Slime slithered up my throat, and the world went black for a moment as I puked like a sorority girl on a Friday night.
When I opened my eyes, I saw a vile black slug-like mass the size of a python squirming on the ground. A circular mouth lined with the kind of latching teeth someone might see in a leech opened, and made sucking sounds. A gout of fire streaked toward it, boiling the awful thing. It screeched, writhed, and shriveled down to ash.
"What the hell was that?" Shelton roared. "What was it? Holy—oh god, I think I want to puke."
I rose unsteadily to my feet, and looked around. Neither Jeremiah Conroy nor my sister were anywhere in sight. "Ivy?" I said.
"They're gone," Elyssa replied. "Took off on a flying carpet. If we hurry we can catch them."
"And do what?" I said, beyond exhausted. Jeremiah was too strong for me to handle. Besides, there was only one thing I wanted at that moment. A kiss. I grabbed Elyssa around her slim waist, and pulled her tight. My other hand caressed her jawline, and pushed a lock of stray hair behind her ear. "I love you," I said, gave her a kiss to remember.
"He's alive?" said a familiar voice somewhere into the second minute of the epic kiss I was giving Elyssa. I looked to see Zagg, a little singed, but otherwise no worse for the wear, standing next to Cinder.
"I thought you died!" I said, and, letting go of Elyssa for a moment, gripped the historian in a bear hug. "How—"
"I threw up a shield at the last minute. And the tragon redirected the death beam just before it burned through my defenses."
A hulking figure in black emerged from behind a pile of rubble. I looked at Michael, and nodded. He nodded back. He'd taken care of his end of the bargain, now I had a chance to do the same for him. I took Elyssa aside, and told her everything Michael had done.
"He wants your forgiveness," I said.
She regarded me with a sad smile. "It's not forgiveness he needs from me," she said. "It's trust. He broke that trust the day he worked for Underborn. I can't just forget that. He has to earn it back."
"Everything he did, it was to make sure you were safe. He thought he had control from inside Underborn's circle and miscalculated. Underborn outsmarted him and used you anyway." I sighed. "Then he rubbed it in your face, bringing Michael along with him to show you he can manipulate anyone. If you don't forgive your brother and trust him again, Underborn wins."
She laughed. "So I trust my brother, or the bad guys win, huh?"
"That's about it."
Her eyes grew pensive, and she stared at the ground for several moments before a slow nod moved her head. "He'll have to make me some promises. He can't just go around trying to protect me in secret. I'm a big girl now. And he'll have to welcome you into the family with open arms."
I grimaced. "Just don't make him kiss me, okay?"
She giggled. "You are too much sometimes."
I kissed her. "And I can never get enough of you."
"We have a lot of catching up to do," she said, and nibbled on my ear. "So much catching up."
The low, sexy tone of her voice sent shivers of anticipation up my back, while other parts of my body perked up. "I can't wait."
My heart went still, as I remembered a friend still in need. Nightliss. I had no time to waste.
I saw a discarded flying carpet lying on the ground near the stands. "We need to go, now," I told Elyssa, and turned to the others. "I'm going to the infirmary."
Before they could respond, I grabbed Elyssa's hand, and ran for the carpet.
"Do you think Ivy will h
elp her?" Elyssa asked.
"I don't know." I just prayed she would.
I zoomed low to the ground, beneath the portcullis, and veered down the stone path to the entrance of the school. The carpet was a much nicer one than the ones from the library and had some zip to it. I took it inside the school, whooshing through empty corridors, and dodging around corners. Within minutes, we reached the healer's office.
I jumped off, stumbled, and went down on my knees. My legs were still tired from the beating I'd put them through, apparently. Elyssa pulled me to my feet, and we went inside. The place was a beehive of activity, with golems loading sick children onto flying carpet gurneys, and pushing them down the hallway.
Meghan appeared at the end of the hall, directing traffic. She spotted us and raced over. "Is everything okay? Adam told me you stopped the arch from exploding."
"That's true," I said. "And we stopped the council massacre by giant golems."
"Then why do you look so upset?"
"Where's Nightliss?" I asked.
She pointed inside the office. I raced inside without another word, weaved through the procession of golems and gurneys, until I reached the ward.
Ivy looked up as I entered, her hand on Nightliss's chest. White light glowed beneath her hand. "This feels like a terrible mistake," she said.
"Where's Jeremiah?"
"I told him I was going to help your friend." She frowned. "I thought he would be furious, but he just looked at me and said, 'You and those you love will have to live with your choices.'"
"That's it?" I asked, completely confused.
