by Holly Hook
"I agree."
"Guys," Janine said.
George growled. I didn't like the sound of that. He was still in human form, but the back of his neck looked hairier than before. Night must be approaching. Our time was limited.
"What?" I asked.
Janine pointed. "We have company. They're coming down the steps."
Everyone went silent. I tucked the Orb between my arm and my side again. I heard nothing, but Janine stepped away from the stairs.
And then, after a few seconds, the footfalls grew audible.
Someone was coming down. No. There were several sets of footsteps. If we were lucky, it would just be some employees, but luck wasn't on our side lately. I passed the Orb to George. I drew my sword with my free hand, holding it in front of me and willing the Death Magic to work. A green glow surrounded my blade. It was brighter here in the dim light.
We were trapped down here. There was no other exit except for the steps.
I wanted to kill something.
The footfalls quickened.
A horde of imps came into view and poured down the stairs towards us, growling and cursing.
None of them used glamour. All wore the military uniforms stolen from this world. They carried guns. Thoreau had found us. He'd sent his troops.
Xavier cursed. He threw a charge as energy surged through me. It exploded in the bottom of the steps, making them wobble.
My sword erupted in magenta fire as if I held the weapon of the War God. I charged, swinging at the first imp, who growled and raised his gun at me. I took off his arm as he fired the gun into the floor. Black blood spurted out. He growled and clawed at me with his remaining arm, but I dodged out of the way and impaled him in the chest. Black blood dribbled out of the wound, and the imp fell back, a green glow filling his eyes. My Death Magic was working, too.
He was going to die.
A second imp closed in, firing. Horrendous pain exploded in my right arm, and I nearly dropped my sword. I didn't dare examine the wound. I switched my sword to my other arm while the injured one buzzed, pulling itself back together. I hoped that it hurried.
George growled. Another War Magic charge shot through the room. Liliana thrashed against the grasps of two more soldiers. I swung at the offending imp and sliced her across the side. Black blood dribbled out, and she backed away, flesh sizzling and green filling her eyes. I had a double advantage here. I could kill these soldiers.
Chains dragged somewhere. George growled again. Another imp sailed into the wall, thrown by another charge, and magenta fire streaked across the ceiling. The air heated. If Xavier didn't use care, he would roast us all.
More imps poured down the stairs, but the War Magic fire held some of them back. Some soldiers growled and cursed Xavier as they toppled over each other, scrambling to get away, but even more trampled their comrades on the stairs and rushed down to us. Several guns pointed at me as the imps gathered on the bottom of the stairs, ducking away from the killing flames. I raised my sword in an attempt to block what was coming. In that split second, I realized how stupid that was.
The world exploded into gunshots.
Pain ripped through my body. The magenta fire around my sword died. Xavier screamed my name. I fell to the ground, dropping my weapon. My hand flopped down in front of my face. My hand reddened as my glamour fell away, leaving my horrific change for Janine and Liliana and George to see.
I tried to fight it, but a hand of darkness rose from the depths and pulled me into a void.
* * * * *
It seemed like an eternity passed. I floated in a void of peace, but then tingling swept over me, making me realize that I still had a body. Everything sounded muffled, but the sounds of scuffling feet cleared, and I realized that I was standing. Several hands held onto my arms, and a dull pain had settled over my body. The ache lessened more each second.
Those imps had shot me multiple times.
I was still alive. I knew that before, I wouldn't have been able to take so much abuse. I didn't know how many bullets had ripped through me, and I didn't want to know, but I had healed.
I opened my eyes. Magenta light still filled the room, but all was silent except for shuffling feet and rattling chains.
I wanted to close them again. The scene was not pretty.
My sword lay on the ground, very close to where Mars had burned from the inside out. The Blood Orb and my sunglasses lay next to it as if someone had confiscated them. The metal blade had drying black blood all over it.
About three dozen imp soldiers filled the room, standing in a ring around the perimeter. Four of them guarded me, grasping my arms and holding them out to the sides. My arms had become lobster red all over again. The weight had returned to my back. The wings had come back. I looked down to see that my clothing was intact--the healing had fixed it--and there was no blood on me. It was a small comfort.
On the other side of the room, George stood with shiny metal chains wrapped around his body. He trembled with weakness. Were the chains silver? If that were the case, he'd be useless.
Several imps stood around him, guns ready, while two of them held Janine's arms. Her sunglasses had fallen away, revealing eyes as reddish as mine had once been. Another pair of imps guarded Liliana in the same manner. Xavier's sister trembled with terror.
She and Janine were staring at me. They were getting treated to the full horror.
Xavier himself stood in the center of the room, arms held by Bathory and Gaozu. I knew that he had no chance of escaping from that. Beatrix stood right behind him as if daring my battle partner to think wrong. Bathory still wore her black dress and gloves. The veil she'd chosen for this occasion was thicker than I remembered, or it might be because it was still daylight and she needed the extra protection. I searched Xavier's neck to make sure she hadn't bitten him. His skin was clear. So far, so good. If she bit him, Xavier's weakness would transfer to me.
Xavier glanced at me with pure horror.
I closed my eyes and begged my curtain of protection to return. A zap surged over my body, and the weight on my back vanished. My glamour hadn't failed. I opened my eyes again and realized that my looks weren't the reason Xavier was sending me that expression of horror.
Thoreau stood before him, in human form and decked out in what had to be his best black suit. The mayor had his arms behind his back and a smug grin on his face. He had kept his sunglasses on.
Xavier had a black eye, and another bruise had erupted on his opposite cheek. At first, the sight didn't get to me, but then the familiarity of it washed over me. My nightmare. His injuries matched it.
I eyed the space on the wall where the rock was solidifying again. Mars's chains lay next to the ashes, still there for use.
Thoreau faced me. No trace of Leon came through. The Elder hadn't held back the baron for long.
"Good move, Alyssa," he said with a smile. "You almost stopped the ritual tonight. It would be a disaster to lose such a powerful being that I need for it. Thankfully, we have your battle partner as a backup."
"Wait," I said. "The War God is dead. You need all five members to pull it off." I would die tonight. All Thoreau had to do once the merger was complete was to kill Xavier, and I'd go with him. No one would threaten his rule ever again.
The world was about to end, and all I could do was think about myself.
"You are right," Thoreau said. He glanced at Xavier, who struggled to pull away from Bathory and Gaozu. "I do need all five members. I knew that the War God would go against my orders eventually. You see, I tricked him into entering my service, and he has always been rebellious. He even created the War Mages to spite me. They've been a minor thorn in my side for the past millennia or so, but this is the first time Mars has directly disobeyed my orders." I had the sense that Thoreau was speaking to Gaozu and Bathory as much as us. "It is a painful death for mortals and immortals alike to break a demonic contract. Even now, he swims in the Infernal's lakes. Thankfully, Mars not only began the War M
ages but a genetic family line as well." He turned to Xavier.
Xavier dared to look up at the mayor. "What?"
"The Lovellis," Thoreau said, "are directly descended from the War God. Mars's essence and power remain in this room. You will serve as its new master, Xavier. Welcome to the Dark Council." He snapped his fingers and addressed his soldiers. "Get the chains ready."
"What?" Xavier exploded. He pulled against his captors, but it was no use. War Magic flared around both his hands. The same energy swept through me, begging for use.
His captors weren't swayed. Gaozu squinted, and Bathory twisted his arm, which forced Xavier to stop. I tried to pull against the imps, they outnumbered me.
Thoreau picked the shackles up off the floor and walked towards the wall.
He was going to chain Xavier here. The glow in the room intensified. I wondered what was going to happen to my battle partner.
And me.
"Hey!" I shouted. "Xavier's just a War Mage. You can't use him for this."
"That may change," Thoreau said, ignoring me and holding the shackle mount to the wall. The stone glowed again, melting and reforming around it. The shackles waited, open, for a new prisoner.
Xavier thrashed. Horror swept through me. Liliana's lip trembled. No one could speak. I knew that nothing I would say would convince them to let Xavier go.
I was going to die.
And without Xavier, I would go dark. Very dark. It was already happening. The voids between my thoughts deepened. Nothing good could exist there.
Gaozu and Bathory dragged Xavier closer to the chains on the wall. There was nothing Xavier could do, even though he was stronger than before. Thoreau held the shackles ready. His captors pushed him in.
"Leave him alone!" I shouted.
But I had no authority here. Not with Thoreau around, that was. I could kill him again and maybe order the surviving imps around, but I had to reach my sword for that.
Xavier hit the still-glowing wall and seethed in pain. The shackles snapped around his wrists, keeping his hands above his head. They glowed with magenta. The air in the room heated. Xavier squeezed his eyes shut and trembled.
Or could I summon the killing fire?
I focused on making the magenta flames flare across the ceiling, but nothing happened. Xavier was too distracted. Too distressed. Terror paralyzed him.
His chains continued to glow. Xavier pulled against them. His bruises vanished as he opened his eyes. The magenta light surrounded him in an aura. The violet in his eyes overtook the blue. Something was happening to him. I could feel it, but I couldn't sense what it was.
My battle partner looked at the floor, panting for breath.
"We'll leave Xavier and the others here," Thoreau announced. He faced his soldiers. "I must take Alyssa to her destiny. Guard these four. We'll figure out what to do with them soon enough. Remain here. Guests are beginning to file into the park, so you must stay out of sight." He faced Bathory. "I hope you have worn a sufficient veil. You will need to sit on the other side of Alyssa as me."
"I will be fine," Bathory said.
"Death is in position?" Thoreau asked her.
"Yes, sir."
Xavier pulled against the chains again. "Alyssa!" he shouted. The light remained around him. His eyes had grown as intense as the War God's. "You're good. Remember that. I think I know why you turned. You had to--"
Thoreau whirled on him so fast that Liliana yelped. The demon baron held up one hand. Xavier's jaw snapped shut. He struggled to speak, but it was useless.
"You may be elevated now, but do not forget who you answer to," Thoreau said. "I see that we have another rebellious one on our hands. I should have expected it."
"What have you done to my brother?" Liliana shouted.
Xavier lunged. George growled, unable to break the silver chains. What did Thoreau mean? Xavier hadn't given him any blood out of his own free will. He wasn't Bound.
My battle partner tried to form words through his closed mouth. I eyed him, begging him to spit it out already. What had I done to become this, other than visiting the Infernal? Was there a way to suppress Thoreau's blood again?
"We must hurry," Thoreau said to everyone. "The ceremony begins in a few hours. Bathory. Gaozu. Bring Alyssa to the limo."
Chapter Nineteen
Thoreau had an imp driver for his limo, dressed in white gloves, a stupid hat, and a suit. The windows were tinted, hiding him from outside view. I didn't see him until they pushed me into the backseat.
Xavier's muffled shouts rang in my mind as I entered the car. This section of the park was empty, but even from here and with my dulled senses, I could hear distant chatter. The evening had arrived.
I scooted across the seat and pushed on the opposite door of the car, but it wouldn't budge. A strange pulsing energy rushed through the handle. Magical wards. Thoreau, of course, had them everywhere in here.
"Alyssa," Thoreau said with impatience. "You are sitting in the middle. Elizabeth, get on the other side of her."
I was trapped. I thought of knocking out the imp driver, but Gaozu was already climbing into the front passenger seat, and besides, there was a glass barrier between us. I had a feeling that had wards around it as well. Elizabeth opened the door I had been trying to exit, and I made a rush for it, but she seized my shoulder. Her strength was enough to hold me back as she climbed into the car, sat down, and closed the door.
"She's difficult," Bathory said.
"That's because you're disgusting and I don't want to sit next to you," I said.
"Touchy," she said. "You have room to speak?"
I thought of my sword, still lying on the floor of Xavier's new prison. What had happened to my battle partner, anyway?
What I felt wasn't so much concern, but curiosity. The further I got from Xavier, the less I seemed to care. But our lives were intertwined. I had to care because of that.
And what had he been about to say?
Thoreau sat next to me and closed his door. They had boxed me in. Only Death was missing. I wondered why.
"I want you to sit next to me even less," I told the mayor. He still disgusted me. That hadn't faded. If anything, my hatred of the mayor had grown. He'd done this to me, after all.
He held up the sunglasses I had dropped down in the chamber. "You need these," he said with a smile. "I find it ironic that you borrowed one of my pairs."
"That's not my fault."
"You allowed my blood to take over."
Now he was shifting the blame to me. I snatched the glasses from his grasp. Thoreau wanted me humiliated. He wanted me to know that I had fallen into all of his traps.
"I see you are discovering your powers," the mayor continued. He spoke without anger. In fact, it almost sounded like pride. "I expected nothing less. Three floors of the ATC building burned last night. If it weren't for the fact that I no longer need them, I would be angry. However, you did make it appear awkward that I am still opening Cumberland's Water Adventure tonight. People are wondering why I am not spending my night with the fire investigators."
Translation: I had a punishment coming.
I put the glasses on, hating every second of this. I just wanted to hide from this scumbag and most of all the fact that I was related to the mayor. At least I had figured out the glamour thing, but once the worlds merged, that was gone forever. "So," I asked, "when you bring together the worlds, I take it that you're going to dispose of Xavier and me and the entire Dark Council?"
Bathory didn't flinch as I hoped. The imp driver started the car. Gaozu must not have heard through the glass. My attempt at starting some mutiny was hitting the ground and splattering.
Thoreau laughed. "The merger would fall apart if I didn't have the Dark Pentagram to power it. For another thing, I cannot kill the two of you. Xavier has just become immortal. That is a good thing. Neither one of you can be allowed to die."
My mouth fell open. The driver pulled the limo away from the God of War water slide. "You m
ean that Xavier's--"
"A god," Thoreau finished. "He's a stupid god, but a god. War Magic needs a center, just like all other forms."
A chill swept through me. Thoreau might be the most powerful being in the world. He had enslaved two deities and destroyed one other.
"So I, like, can't die either?" Allunna had told me otherwise. It could be a lie.
"Precisely," Thoreau said. "But you can be...controlled if necessary. Cooperate with me, Alyssa, and you will have a seat of power in this new world. Imagine taking vengeance on those who have made you feel terrible about yourself. You can make those who have inflicted hardship on you suffer. You will have the ability to torment those who have done you wrong."
For one horrible second, his idea sounded good. I thought of all those people saying that I was a monster--including my mother. Then I shook my head. I was sinking further into darkness. Soon, I wouldn't be any better than the baron sitting next to me.
"And the irony is," Thoreau continued, "those people who wronged you also readied you for your current state. It's always nice when justice comes around, isn't it?"
"Readied me?" I asked. He was trying to egg me on, to push me further into anger and evil.
The mayor looked straight ahead. We drove along a service drive, past a few employees in bright blue shirts who watched the limo roll past. They checked out the shiny car but didn't appear to see us.
"What do you mean, readied me?" I asked.
He said nothing. I rolled Xavier's words and Thoreau's words over in my mind. What did it mean? Something was going on here.
The limo drew closer to the center of the park. More employees milled around. I even spotted a local news crew, parked by the pool and getting cameras ready. The end of the world would get televised. Nice. A few guests in swim gear already stood around the central area. Food stalls around the pool had opened for business. A few people had already arrived, waiting for the festivities. There was also a yellow tape around the central area, blocking most of the park off from access. The tape was supposed to get cut at midnight, after the mayor's speech.
