by Meg Xuemei X
I shuffled my wings aggressively behind me.
I wanted to strike her down for tricking me and putting a chain on me, but then I understood that she’d done it out of desperation.
“I’m very sorry, Archangel Gabriel,” she said. “But you’re my only hope. I’ve waited for this one opportunity for nine centuries. Help me, please.”
“What if I have sex with my mate?” I asked.
“Revenge fire—the wrath of the Furies—will burn you both. Will you let your witch suffer excruciating pain?”
“I’ll kill you,” I snarled.
“Then you’ll also be dead in a few weeks.”
I shrugged. “So?”
“Even if you don’t care much about your own life, will you let your mate blow up with this place because of your rage and some temporary inconvenience?”
“Temporary inconvenience? You’re trying to keep me away from my mate. I’ll erase anyone who stands between us.”
“I’m not standing between you two. I’ll never do that. I liked Fiammetta from the first sight. I can relate to her. Again, I’m sorry for causing you trouble, but I have no other choice. But if you truly love her, nothing can keep you away from her. It’s just you’ll have to keep your junk in your trousers for a while. I haven’t had a man’s touch for centuries.”
That was hell for her.
“Ask yourself a question, Archangel. Disregarding your bond, do you really love her? Or does she you?”
I ground my teeth. I’d just have to suffer through the inconvenience, deliver her message, and reunite with my mate.
“You can’t tell your witch the details. It shall be the final test on your bond. If you prevail, Archangel, as will I.”
“Any more bad news you want to add?”
“If there’s any consolation,” she said, “you can still touch and kiss her. But it won’t do you any good since you can’t go any further than that. You would be playing with fire. You’d only seek urgent release because of your mating fever. You’ll have to fight the constant mating pull. It doesn’t go away just because you can’t bed your mate.”
It would be hell to resist the mating call, especially after I’d bonded with Fia.
I really should kill this Fury.
“Everything is in your hands, Archangel Gabriel. You hold the fates of all of us.”
“Now, what’s your brilliant idea of getting us out of here?”
Thick red scales climbed up her body. In an instant, she morphed into three Furies. And for the first time, they didn’t shriek. Two Furies came around toward the middle one and sank their fangs into her tail. The middle Fury flung her tail and her blood spattered onto the dark runes on the gold band on my wrist.
A hologram rose above me; the image of the Red Dragon flew through the portal.
“That’s impossible!” I snarled.
The Furies flapped their wings and soared toward the gray sea, and soon they became three red specks.
I flew toward my mate.
11
The Witch
The jungle was as quiet as death—no creepy birds chirping, no hounds and beasts yowling, and no cannibal plants shuffling around.
Which meant Akem had risen from his lair, and he was waiting for me.
It would be the first time I was to confront him ever since he’d betrayed me. I never regarded him as kin as he’d once called me, but he wasn’t my enemy, either. Akem had no concept of right or wrong, good or evil.
To beat him, I’d have to think like the elemental force.
One thing he had in common with a person was greed. Akem wanted to rule. He desired more power and energy, and he would do anything to get them. And that was his weakness.
Ice crystals radiated on my skin, darkness ripped behind me, and fire flowed beneath my skin. My magic was ready.
I surveyed the rainforest. Black trees with large, black blossoms surrounded me, their scent bitter and spicy. This time, I didn’t need to summon the map on my palm. I remembered the path and how every time I went there, the jungle shifted, making it almost impossible to navigate.
I waited for Akem to toy with me, but nothing happened.
I trekked on the route toward where I had last created my portal. I didn’t call for him. I thought I’d give him a chance to show up first.
Silence stretched out as I walked, then Akem’s voice came from afar, yet I knew how close it was.
You remember now, Wickedest Witch. He sounded like the wind of a storm from a place of desolation. But he was the desolation. He caused it on this planet. He’d erased a once old, grand civilization here.
Yes, I remember, I said, allowing him to telepath with me but not let him breach my mental shield. He could only hear the thoughts I threw at him.
How? Is it because of the Archangel? he asked. I could detect acid jealousy in his tone.
Because it’s time for me to go home, I said icily. And I invite you to come with me.
What? he asked. I couldn’t see him, but my every fiber was aware of his ominous presence. I could almost picture him blinking, if only the entity knew how.
Why not? There isn’t much here for you, either, I said.
This is my home!
A broken home, I said in a dismissive tone. A depleted world. You’re basically a beggar king on Pandemonium.
Do you come here to insult the great Akem?
I felt the air grow thin and tight around me, and the whole jungle darkened.
You could be even greater in other worlds. You can rule them all.
What do you mean, Wickedest Witch? He sounded intrigued now.
I focused to a sharp point and tossed at him an onslaught of images—all squeezed into one condensed moment before exploding into hundreds.
It was the vision slammed into me when I’d touched the shimmer of my TimeFire. Those devastating images of catastrophe had made me weep. I’d wrapped myself in my darkness and crumpled to the ground, and Kaara Nightshades had walked into my dark fortress to comfort me.
But Akem didn’t know the history. He didn’t even know whether it was a vision or a memory.
Skyscrapers collapsing, red fire breaking the sky, corpses piled in the blue ocean. All that left of the civilization was ashes and fading embers.
Those disastrous images that had assaulted me now darted toward the elemental entity in a burst of speed.
He always wanted to figure me out and have my memories. Now he had them.
And I watched again my fire scorch the land, blaze the ocean, and bring an inferno to my home planet. At my destruction, time passed by like the wind and swept all the living and dead away. It gleaned more than death.
Then I added my own twisted touch—
I held Akem’s hand, as he’d taken the form of an immortal flesh and blood. He glowed gloriously, surrounded and adored by impenetrable darkness. I turned to gaze up at him with utter admiration.
I heard a faint gasp in the jungle, and the black blossoms shivered overhead.
I’d impressed Akem with the damaging power of my dark magic.
I’d showed him what I needed him to see and fed him the lust. I cut the last thread of the alternative future.
You caused all that, Wickedest Witch? Akem asked after a long pause, his voice softer than a caressing breeze.
Only half of it, I said, my voice growing colder and harsher. I plan to go back and finish the rest.
I like it, he said. But how do I fit in the picture exactly? You want me to become flesh and blood?
He enjoyed that part, didn’t he?
I held back a cruel smile.
An invincible immortal of flesh and blood. You can shift between forms.
An interesting concept. Quite interesting. But my roots are still here. He pondered, and I stood still, patiently waiting. I’ve never tried—I’ve never thought of going to the other worlds.
He was worried if it would work out for him.
Afraid of a little challenge and grand adventure, great Ak
em? I taunted as it was time to provoke him.
Careful, witch! he growled, and his darkness—more powerful than mine and containing foul magic—sprouted toward me.
It was my turn to show him that the Wickedest Witch wasn’t one to tamper with.
My fire hovered on my skin, and flames glowed in my eyes. I trained my gaze toward where Akem’s force was the strongest, and for the first time, I saw him—the infinite darkness that contained immeasurable energy.
In the center of his vortex was a living black hole—it stole, robbed, and absorbed all energy, powers, and humanity’s last hope.
He was never satisfied. He wanted to feed every nanosecond, to devour more power and life force.
At my gaze, an undulating shape formed amid the mass of darkness—it was the most terrifying beast, then a seductive demon, then an innocent child with ancient eyes that bore pure evil.
It coveted me.
It wanted to claim me and absorb my magic.
My fire lashed out, crackling like crimson lightning, and met Akem’s darkness half way. My TimeFire was new, but no one and nothing could snuff it out, because no realm could contain it—an elemental force beyond time and space.
Only I could veil it, as I’d done when I’d first come to Pandemonium.
And now I was wielding it.
Hissing in pain and surprise, Akem cringed back.
My fire ate away a trail in his darkness—his energy. But I knew I wasn’t half as powerful as he was. If he kept pushing me to the corner with his abyssal darkness, I might lose and be trapped inside his living black hole.
But he didn’t know that, and I could never allow him to learn that.
Perception is everything.
I laughed coldly and harshly as the Wickedest Witch would and withdrew my fire.
My darkness twirled around me in all its sweetness to calm him, while my fire and ice decorated its inner spectrum.
The entity stared at me with intense jealousy and morbid fascination.
Fire, darkness, and ice shouldn’t mesh, but I was the witch queen of contradictions.
“You’re the eater of planets and all energy and life force,” I said, “and I’m the Wickedest Witch in the universe—the destroyer of the future. We’re kin. We own darkness.” At his questioning mind about my fire, I continued. “My fire is another matter. It isn’t meant to burn our darkness, but to open doors to other worlds, other dimensions, and other universes. Why don’t you join me to explore the galaxies, until they’re ours? Why stay isolated and nameless on Pandemonium and starve yourself when you can have all, when you can be so much more?”
“Are you trying to seduce me, Wickedest Witch?” Akem’s sneer came from his core darkness.
“Can I?” I asked with laughter.
“Of course you can’t! No one can. I’m the great Akem, and all is mine.”
“Pandemonium might be yours, but not all is yours. If you want it, you’ll have to go take it.” I said, projecting images of sunlight, rain, and starry sky for him. “The galaxies are full of planets of boundless resources and energy. With my TimeFire, and with your assistance, I can open the door to any world we desire.”
“My assistance?” he asked as if I had offended him.
“Certainly. When has the Wickedest Witch ever provided a free ride?”
“I can go explore the worlds with you. It’ll be a big step for me, but it might be worth it.”
“Of course it’s worth it. When has the Wickedest Witch ever thought small, especially now that I remember everything?”
“I’m pleased with this new development. Would you like to leave now? I’ve just decided. Open the portal, witch, before I change my mind.”
“There’s no rush, Akem. Why don’t you sleep on it and think about it? It’s a big decision. And when we leave, it won’t be just you and me.”
Akem snarled. “You want to bring the Archangel.”
“And any others I choose. I’m no ordinary witch. I need escorts.”
“You don’t need your puny army. I’m powerful enough to guard you. As for the Angel, I can replace him. I can take the form of an immortal blood and flesh, as you showed me. I can satisfy you more than him.”
I shouldn’t have enticed him with the idea of us holding hands, now his proposal repulsed me, but I showed no emotion.
“I’m the great, terrifying witch and I need no one. The entourage won’t exactly serve as my army since I can just lift one finger and vanquish my foes. However, I nurse the idea of having the mortals, who have served me, to continue to witness my glory—our glory—should you join me. It’s less fun not to have an audience to witness how we destroy the worlds. And this lot fears you. They tremble at hearing just your name.”
“Yet they fought my creatures last time.”
“They were under my witch power.”
“Are you trying to bewitch me, too?” he asked, looking amused, his darkness forming and dissolving. Akem could unmake all things by devouring them.
“If only I knew how,” I said. “However—”
“Yes?”
“You’ll have to prove your worth to go off with me to the other worlds.”
“I’m not worthy?” he asked outrageously. “How dare you, witch!” His darkness pulsed, ready to slap me with punishing force, and flames leaped in my eyes.
“I wouldn’t let you tag along if you aren’t useful to me,” I said, my eyes glowing. “I now can open a portal to any place anytime, but I’m not sure if you can carry a ship.”
“Why must I carry a ship?”
“Because I’m the Wickedest Witch, and I have style and standards. I don’t arrive by barefoot. And a ship is also the most convenient vessel to fly through my portal and get us to any universe.”
“But I’ve drained all of the ships in my realm.”
“Then restore one of the ships with a tiny portion of your energy. We happen to have one in your jungle.”
Akem’s undulating shape withdrew to the center of the living black hole, which meant he had a second thought. My hearted pounded furiously. I couldn’t afford to letting him back off. For my plan to work, I’d have to get Akem aboard. I didn’t intend to leave any of my subjects and my allies behind.
“You can’t do it,” I said, disdain dripping in my icy voice. “You aren’t as powerful as you pretend. You can’t even power up a ship.”
Akem hissed. “Of course I can, but I won’t give up my energy.”
I hissed back. “You give little, so you can take more. Aren’t you wise, Akem? Would you rather hole up in an abandoned planet in the past and starve, or rule over one planet after another and eat all you can?” I looked up at the gloomy sky through a tiny space in the canopy above. “Make up your mind now. I don’t have the whole day.”
The day was short, and night was long on Pandemonium. My mind flickered to Gabriel for a second. Had he fared well with the Furies? What blood vow had he sworn? I should trust his judgment. The Archangel had never been a fool. Though, when it came to my safety, he was ruthless.
Just then, I felt a tug through our mating bond. I approved his caution. Instead of charging in here, attempting to cut Akem in ribbons—which he wanted to do more than anything, and ruin everything, he decided to be strategic and checked with me first.
I infused a message through my magic into our bond. I’m fine, and I’m almost done. Do not enter the jungle.
I heard his grunt on the other side, and his worries about my safety kept rolling toward me.
Ever since I’d aided him to purge the vampire venom in his veins with my flame, our bond had grown stronger. Often, we could feel each other even when we weren’t in the same place. We were still learning how to communicate better through our bond. It was a private channel, so even the powerful elemental entity couldn’t eavesdrop on us.
“I won’t waste my time on you, Akem,” I said harshly, closing my statement, “if you’re incapable—”
Akem vanished in front of me.
/> What a coward!
A machine ahead purred and hummed.
In a blink of an eye, Gabriel’s shuttle hovered above me, its limelight casting down on me.
Akem had powered up the Red Dragon.
My heart beat with joy. That would do. It would fly us home.
I can do everything. My power is limitless, Akem said from somewhere.
“If you’re indeed limitless,” I challenged him, “then you’ll be able to expand the ship and triple its size. Mind over matter.”
In front of my eyes, the Red Dragon started to grow, until it was large enough to bring everyone on board.
“You’ve just passed the test, Akem,” I said.
12
The Angel
Fiammetta walked out of the jungle, icy light radiating on her skin and darkness rippling behind her.
I was at her side in a second, pulling her into my arms. I’d been worried sick, yet she’d warned me not to go into the jungle to fetch her.
“Baby, let’s go back,” I said.
The white wolf howled a retreat, and Rocky shouted for the army to move back to the Witch Tower.
As one, we hurried back toward the City of Nine.
The Furies flew in our direction, shrieking, and diving toward Fiammetta’s guards in a blast of speed. The soldiers screamed, and wolves charged toward the Furies, yet they couldn’t reach them. One of the wolves even got scratched on the snout by a Fury. The arrows shooting toward the mutant Dragons bounced off their hard scales.
The main Fury poured black fire from her mouth to push the wolves back and winked at me. Her sidekick snatched Otsana, a female alien with yellow horns, and surged back into the high sky.
I shook my head with disgust at the Furies’ behavior.
