Darklight 7: Darkfall

by Forrest, Bella

  Gina and Zach worked with Ingo and Rivo to arrange our weapon belts. We checked our invisibility charms. They’d started working again, but it was anyone’s guess when they might blink out. We had to take the utmost precaution as we wove our way through the palace. For all intents and purposes, it looked as if Alan was making his way to the trial. His excuse would be that Irrikus personally called for him to help with defending against the attack.

  The group we were leaving behind quickly began fortifying the windows and side door. They dragged the massive table near the front door, preparing to barricade it after we left. Reshi worked with Marek to strip any magic they could find to repurpose toward their own powerful spellwork around the room.

  “We’ll completely cover the walls,” Reshi explained. “I doubt anyone will have the energy to expend getting in here. The guards won’t stand a chance.” Good, because if Irrikus was distracted with the battle, that meant she only had the hunter patrols to worry about. We’d attract all of Irrikus’s major forces into the battle at the stadium. Her hand swept over the window of the Mortal Plane map.

  “We’ll analyze the spells on the controllers,” she added, and leveled a sharp look at Marek. “Any funny business from you, and I’ll snap you in half.” She was, in fact, larger than Marek and had far more weapons. Our two vampire guards didn’t react to Marek’s darkness, so I assumed he was mostly good. It was an imperfect situation, but we had work to do.

  “Be careful,” I told her. Reshi was the backbone of our research and technology, a genius we’d been blessed with. She was a good warrior and a true friend. I didn’t want to lose her.

  Reshi fixed me with her amber gaze. “Lyra, we may not get out of this room alive, but I’m prepared to hunker down here until we figure out exactly how to reroute control of the revenants from the controllers.” Her eyes hardened. “Do not come back for us if something goes wrong.”

  My heart swelled with respect, but I wasn’t about to make any such promise. “Thank you, Reshi.”

  Our newly refined group rushed for the door. Adrenaline pumped through my veins. As the door shut, I heard our vampire allies shoving the table in front of it. We left the control room behind, entrusting Ravi’s capable hands with unraveling its secret.

  Hold on, Dorian. We’re on our way.

  22

  Lyra

  The green stone glinted in the light as we slipped, one after the other, from a window to the rooftop. Chaka said the rooftops were the best bet to jump to the next building, allowing us to shimmy our way down to a walkway connected to the building where the trial would be held. The guards helped Alan with this task. With the invisibility back in place, I grew more confident.

  Alan’s radio blared, “Squads in the southern quadrant, sweep the rear entrance of the stadium.”

  I reported what we’d heard to Bravi and Dorian and advised everyone to turn off the noisy immortal radios. We couldn't let any noise give us away.

  We jogged toward the entrance of the stadium. On my comm, Bravi and Dorian were silent, leaving their fates to my worst imaginings. As we reached the doors, I heard movement on the other side.

  The doors gradually opened to reveal three guards armed to the hilt. I prepared to step aside while they passed and tap my bracer against their armor to disable it, but poor Rivo's invisibility shield blipped out. Well, if the battle doesn’t kill me, the surprises from these charms will. We would have to work around his sudden visibility.

  The guards rushed for him, allowing the rest of us to circle behind the guards. One of the attackers shot a bewildered look at Rivo’s composed face. I took advantage of his distraction to disable his magic armor with my bracer as fast as I could. We used Reshi's knives and the powerful blows of the makers to finish the guards quickly.

  Rivo gave a sigh of relief as we dragged the guards off to a nearby closet on the inside of this stadium’s entrance, where the corridor was thankfully quiet… for the moment. We shoved their bodies into the tiny space, but not before taking every weapon and drop of magical energy they had to their names.

  We headed inside. Already, I could feel the thrum of energy coming from inside the courtroom. Here, the chamber walls were a darker green, as if formed from a poisonous version of the green glass of the castle. It was three stories, with a domed ceiling made up of triangular panels framed with iron. I peered upward, delighted to see the giant holes broken through the green glass. Wreckage and smoke greeted my eyes, making it difficult to see at first.

  Gem blasts flew through the air. To my left and right, stadium seating rose on the sides of the first floor and some areas of the second. The seating formed an oval shape around an open center, where a gold stage and podium hovered magically at the second-floor height. The other hallways on the upper floors connected the stadium to other buildings. Everything reeked of Irrikus’s design taste with the gilded golden edges, eerie green glass elements, and shimmering black stones.

  A group of rulers and guards, including the twelve Immortal Council members and ten or so guards, were holed up on the floating stage. The stage itself was rather large, with decorative gold railings. It hovered far too high for vampires to jump onto it, unless they tried to make it from the second-floor landing, but making that leap was unlikely given the rulers and guards defending it. The Immortals had formed a defensive circle on the platform, firing gem gauntlets at the ground and second floors at a furious rate. Streaks of angry blue light streaked through the air.

  We’d come out onto the third floor on a short mezzanine, looking down on the destruction of the first and second floors. Shattered glass covered the floor, thanks to the partially demolished roof panels. The iron framework had held better, but light poured in on the wreckage to showcase the disturbing scene in an oddly beautiful light. Redbills and skimmers couldn't fit through the iron latticework, just like Bravi had told us earlier over the comms. An unfortunate situation when it comes to our redbills, but it also blocks their own rescue. There was no chance of aerial rescue for Irrikus and his team. The Coalition’s members must've dropped through like parachuting soldiers. Speaking of which, their bodies swarmed like ants as they clashed with the guards. In the haze, I couldn’t make out faces in the fray, only identifying sides by the armor of the Immortals and the vests that the Coalition wore.

  The rulers were effectively trapped, but they weren't going down without a fight. One of them manned a series of controls at the corner of the stage, maneuvering the platform to slowly hover from side to side, evading some of the responding gem attacks coming from vampire gauntlets on the ground. I imagined that the moving platform served a purpose for the trials that usually went on here, but now it was being used to aid the rulers. I tucked that mental note about the controls into the back of my mind as I focused on the battle transpiring on the ground.

  Coalition members spread across the ground floor. A flash of dark hair and a passionate snarl caught my attention. The blasts cleared for a moment. Laini threw herself in front of Juneau, who was currently cuffed and unable to fight. His handsome face had swollen under angry bruises. Laini fought like hell, slicing with her knife at an oncoming guard. Her movements were fueled by a fury I’d never witnessed before. My stomach twisted as my mind struggled to find the best path forward. Go for the platform while we had the advantage of surprise, or help our friends?

  Bravi's cry carried across the field. I searched for her, finding her pinned between two massive hunters. One landed a cut on her face. My pulse raced as I watched Dorian dart toward her. A hunter reached out to swing a massive sword at the oncoming Dorian, drawing incredibly close to his chest. My breath stopped, terrified. In a blink of an eye, Dorian suddenly appeared right next to Bravi. He landed a blade straight into the back of the neck of one of the guards, in the tiny section where the armored helmets didn't protect the skin. Blood spurted out from the wound, and Bravi snarled, using the attack on the left guard to throw off the other. She fired a gem blast into both guards for good measure, gr
inning with satisfaction as blood trickled from the corner of her mouth.

  He's using his universe powers. My nerves grew electric. It surely meant exhaustion for him if he kept this up. I pressed my comm to my ear.

  "We're here," I whispered, careful to keep my voice low enough not to draw attention. More of Irrikus's patrols could be coming in behind us at any moment. "We're across the stadium, trying to get to the battle by stealth. The charms are failing at times.”

  Dorian didn't respond, but his shoulders squared. I knew he’d heard me. I just hoped we could get down there fast enough. I signaled my team to run toward the staircase, which looked manageable to traverse besides the sizeable debris we needed to jump over, from the fallen stone and glass. Rivo’s invisibility was back in action, thankfully.

  And that's when the sky fell on us.

  I gasped as a metal chunk flew past my face. The sound of the cracking metal hit my ears before the shriek of a wild beast. When I looked up, a familiar serpentine creature greeted me, like a shrieking decay but with a bulkier frame. It reminded me of an eggplant-colored dragon, its shimmering scales containing a shocking, savage beauty. It threw its body against the iron workings of the roof with such strength that on the second try, nearly all the metal rained down. The battle stopped momentarily as everyone took cover. Coalition members shouted, trying to hide under anything they could find. Some of the larger hunters and makers batted away the falling iron with swords and shields.

  When I looked up through the chaos, my heart practically stopped. Inkarri and Sonia rode on the back of this beast. Inkarri's burning eyes swept the battle area until she found the platform. It was almost… breathtaking; Inkarri's blue-green hair blowing back in the whipping wind, Sonia clutching Inkarri for dear life, pale and scared but cheeks flushed pink from their crash landing. That traitor. “Just passing on a message,” she’d said. “Sorry to waste your time.” I wanted to kick myself for falling for that timid act.

  Any moment now, that dragon beast would turn on us, I just knew it. The beast was magnificent and pissed. Its angry blue eyes glowed with eerie rage, as if it were channeling everything Inkarri felt.

  The beast released a blast of fire that traveled an incredible length across the room as it directed its attack toward the remaining iron trellis and then toward the platform. Shrieks rang out from the startled Immortal Council.

  The smoke and flame cleared. The Immortal Council was okay, although their robes were singed slightly. Inkarri focused on her father. Shock coursed through me as she flew the beast closer to the floating platform, ignoring the Coalition below. Inkarri stilled as she stared down into Irrikus’s cold eyes.

  Despite myself, a wave of admiration rose inside me as I observed the strong profile of Inkarri’s face. Sonia stiffened on top of the beast as she watched Irrikus from a close distance. Even facing down a fire-breathing beast, Irrikus looked icily powerful as he emerged in the center of the crowd.

  I scurried over a chunk of ruined benches on the stadium, hurrying for the staircase. While Inkarri had Irrikus distracted, we needed to make the most of our time. My team followed, dodging falling debris. Before Irrikus could open his mouth, Inkarri let out a bellowing war cry. The sound reverberated strangely; it made my muscles tighten, as if sensing something was coming.

  “Stop,” Inkarri cried. Her magically powered voice made me freeze, along with every other body in the room. For a moment, stillness settled over the chaos. The only sound was the heavy, angry breathing from Inkarri’s mount. I managed to move my eyes enough to see Chaka struggling to move his lips. My arms were already coming free from the movement. I could manage a step forward if I tried.

  “She can only do this for a moment,” Chaka whispered, each word fighting to pass through his lips. “Her influence can’t last that long.” I took another covert step forward, careful not to kick a stone and call attention to our invisible troupe. Every Coalition member, every ruler, every hunter had stiffened like awkward marionettes in suspension. So it would buy us a few seconds, and Irrikus would be forced to listen to her.

  For the first time in his life, Irrikus was forced to look at his daughter in the same way he demanded her obedience.

  “Father.” Inkarri’s voice took on a low, rumbling tone of warning and pleading for understanding. “You must listen to me. Stop this madness. Give up this battle and allow the tear to be fixed.”

  Shocked goosebumps rocketed across my skin.

  She hadn’t come to help him. She’d come to confront him.

  23

  Lyra

  Inkarri’s eyes sharpened into diamond-hard chips as she faced her father.

  “Our city will be destroyed by this conflict,” she cried. “You have no idea what your actions have done. Everything we worked for will be ruined. I’ve seen the tear and listened to these vampires. They want to stop the planes from melding. They’re willing to work together to fix it, even after everything you have done to destroy them.” The Immortal Council members were beginning to slip from her hold.

  Irrikus took another step forward on the platform. His Immortal Council parted like the Red Sea to let him through like the obedient servants they were. Irrikus wore a calm expression, like a wise, composed sage in the midst of a storm. He furrowed his brow, studying Inkarri from a safe distance. Would he listen to his daughter? Their interaction was charged, and Irrikus was playing the silence that had fallen over the crowd like an expert musician. He sucked in a pensive breath. I leaned forward unconsciously, holding my breath.

  Irrikus scoffed. I heard the bitter echo of cynicism as he said, “The vampires will never rest until I’m dead, daughter. I thought you were wise enough to understand that. I destroyed their people. Conquerors do not listen to those they conquered. They’re feeding you lies about a meld that will matter little to us. You have always shown insolence, even being born of my own essence.” His eyes were rimmed with red. If Immortals slept, Irrikus had not done so in quite some time.

  “Your plans will kill us all,” Inkarri pressed. “Even you, Father.”

  “The extermination of vampires is more important than anything else in this world. Can’t you see the shape of my plan?” Irrikus’s cruel tone echoed over all of us. Madness bubbled within him, leaking out in his words as he faced this defiance. “All the destruction in the mountains will be of no importance when my plans are complete. You speak nonsense about this tear, tricked by those lowly creatures we worked together to destroy.”

  Every word was a like a whip cracking in the air. Inkarri’s jaw tightened. For a moment, her eyes grew cloudy—with hatred or grief or perhaps both. She may be doing what she promised by helping us take down Irrikus in the end. Sonia, although stricken with conflicted emotion, gave Inkarri a tight, proud smile.

  Turning my attention away from the familial tension, I tried moving again. Chaka was right; it had only lasted for a few seconds. I had full use of my body now. Chaka and Rivo scrambled out of their invisible restraints as the hold officially gave way. I shook off the frozen sensation and vaulted over another chunk of debris as we moved down the staircase.

  “We must kill them all,” Irrikus bellowed. “You were born to be my weapon. You are an extension of my greatness, a finer blade than I could ever hope to wield. Don’t look down on your father, or your destiny.”

  He uses her as a tool. Sonia’s insistence and empathy made more sense to me now. How much had Inkarri confided in her during those delirious days in her cell? Hatred for Irrikus surged through me again as I imagined what it would have been like to be his child. Inkarri had been raised to kill, in order to please a monster.

  Dorian’s voice came onto the line, whispering quietly, “Don’t let your guard down. This family dispute won’t distract them long.” He didn’t have to warn us twice. Zach and I led the others to the ground floor. Thankfully, the exhales of the hard-breathing creature Inkarri rode covered our descent. My eyes were on the staircase as we flew down the steps, but my ear was trained
for Inkarri’s answer. I wanted to scream at her to defend herself against her father, to stick up for herself.

  Zach cursed softly. I glanced to the side to see Inkarri lower her head in shame, her face fighting against a decision. My stomach sank with disappointment. Her father’s hold on her was too strong. She’d spent her entire life serving him, and she couldn’t break free now.

  “I will serve you, Father.” Inkarri’s response sounded as broken as her spirit had been when we found her in the Bureau’s cell. “I will serve my city and my caste, as I’ve sworn to do.” The last of my hopes were dashed when I heard the resigned sincerity in her voice. Her unhinged father still had too much sway over her.

  Sonia gasped. She cried out in protest, but there was nowhere for her to go, unless she wanted to plummet to her death.

  I threw myself down the last of the steps. My eyes searched for Ruk in the madness. Where was he? Fighting Irrikus and Inkarri together would be a waking nightmare. Inkarri was the most formidable fighter we’d ever faced.

  Inkarri reeled upon us. Gone was the determined face of a warrior charging forward against her father. Now, she looked resigned as she turned her beast toward the ground. Bravi sent a gauntlet blast straight at Inkarri, but Inkarri lifted her sword to slice through it until the energy fizzled into… nothing. Inkarri shot from her gauntlet—or one she’d recovered from another patrol on the way here—at one of the Coalition makers, who brought up his double knives to counter her. The knives sucked up the energy greedily and sent an aftershock through Inkarri. She nearly flew off her mount, though the maker seemed untouched by it.

  She can't hurt us! Our pact meant that Inkarri couldn’t hurt any of our allies. It would do nothing to stop our allies against her, though. Bravi went in for another attack. Inkarri gnashed her teeth, forced to retreat instead of retaliate. I ran toward Dorian and Bravi, across the room. I darted behind a hunter who was struggling against a vampire. Quickly, I smashed my bracer against the hunter's armor. Zach and the others followed suit, with Alan trailing behind us, his guards surrounding him to protect him. Our invisibility was still working for the moment, and we made good use of it.