All seven are possessed.
The archdemons then launch into a flurry of action. Red light flares as spells are cast. The forest behind Camelot vanishes, replaced by a vast plain covered in human soldiers. In turn, these mortal warriors are divided into seven divisions, one for each archdemon. Each shield shows their symbols of the seven.
A golden skeleton for greed.
A bare skull for gluttony.
The bard’s lute for lust.
A green shield for envy; a red one for pride.
Rust for sloth; silver for wrath.
Where once stood a forest, there is now nothing but armies as far as the eye can see. The archdemons march off to stand at the head of their particular column of warriors.
The skies darken. Roars fills the air. The dragon horde wheels overhead. Dragon-Ximena didn’t summon them. Some part of me cries that fact is important—Ximena must have alerted her horde beforehand to arrive—yet I can’t summon the strength to care.
It’s all I can do to keep looking upon Myla. How can someone who contains such light and life be gone?
I barely register the red mist as it surrounds me. Colored haze swirls across my skin. It’s Colossus. He wishes to possess me and I almost welcome that fact. Perhaps if the archdemon king controls my consciousness, this pain will become his as well. The red haze seeps into my flesh. For a moment, it’s as if every inch of my body were on fire.
I’m becoming possessed by the King of the Archdemons, and for the life of me, I don’t care.
Power zooms through my body. My muscles coil with hidden strength. My thoughts focus in a new direction. One phrase repeats.
Lead my army.
It’s Colossus, and he’s commanding me to act. I don’t even bother to fight back. Fresh blasts of red light appear around me. More magic. Beneath my feet, the ground rises up into a pillar. My simple battle leathers transform into white steel armor. Now I have been literally raised up above all others. Moving in unison, the humans turn to focus on me. Words tumble from my mouth. They aren’t mine.
“Time was, you followed King Arthur,” I call. Magic makes my voice carry across the countryside. “Through deeds of strength and valor, I have proven myself a worthy warrior. Now, I am your new king.”
The armies cheer. It’s a deafening sound, filled with hatred. Thousands of human eyes flare demon red. My gaze falls on Myla.
Still lifeless.
Yet, she said to trust her. My wife’s plan was to lure Colossus to the lab. There is no question what to do next. I must follow through on that wish.
More words try to leave my mouth. It’s Colossus. He wants me to talk about pillaging all the unworthy humans who were not chosen for his army. I lock my jaw and keep every syllable inside.
It’s a battle with Colossus’ mind.
The King of the Archdemons fights back.
The burning sensation I felt before now returns with extra force. Every cell in my body flares with pain. I stay focused on Myla.
I must follow through.
Though the agony, I bite out one phrase. “I will never bow to Colossus.”
Red mist seeps from my body to coil on the ground nearby. Within seconds, the haze has taken the form of Colossus. The King of the Archdemons rounds on me, his yellow eyes blazing with rage.
“How dare you?” he asks.
My thoughts turn back to Myla. What would my Angelbound love do in this situation? The answer appears in a flash of understanding.
My girl would find a soft spot and push.
“Sad, sad Colossus,” I declare. “So much power, yet unable to do anything without possessing another. And if that other refuses possession? You’re nothing.”
Colossus turns to Dragon-Ximena. “You know where this laboratory is?”
Ximena bows her massive head. “I do.”
“Take us there,” orders Colossus. “And bring the thrax.”
“Yes, your Majesty,” says Ximena.
Colossus points to me. “Once I will have that armor, you’ll be my first kill.”
I channel more of my inner Myla. “You can try.”
Colossus stomps away. With a flare of red light, the white armor I wear returns taking the shape of torn body leathers. At the same time, the pillar I stand upon collapses. More flares of red magic appear around me. The armies disappear; the forest comes back.
Dragon-Ximena slashes through my chains with her razor-sharp claws. She nips the collar of my leathers, pulling me onto her back. Once I’m in place, Dragon-Ximena spreads her great wings and takes to the air. As we speed away, I carefully scan the ground below us.
There’s no sign of Myla’s body.
51
Myla
I’m alive. Go me.
But I’m also soaring through the air clinging to Ximena’s back claw because FALLING.
Sure, Ximena’s a big enough dragon that her curled-up claw makes for a nice sitting place. I won’t build a summer home here, but you get the idea. For the record, I could definitely hang out on this dragon-claw and be a happy girl. But that would mean leaving Lincoln all alone and sad.
Not acceptable.
Which is why I try to scale my way up Ximena’s back. Not easy. Did I worry at one point about side-stepping along a mountain ledge? Ha! That’s nothing compared to crawling up slithery scales while flying along at high velocity. And Ximena still has that love for loop-de-loops.
Ximena did slice through my manacles before leaving Camelot, so a little climbing should be possible. While grabbing onto her leg, I’m able to get myself into a couch-stand …. Aaaaaaaand that’s about it. I knock on her scales.
“Ximena?” I call. “Need your help here!”
“You’re awake,” says Ximena, Dragon Mistress of the Obvious.
“I was always awake, just magic-ed up to look dead.” Which means I watched Lincoln in misery. I couldn’t even blink, let alone breathe. The spell wouldn’t allow it.
And yes, this is all part of the plan to defeat Colossus.
Merlin and Nimue cast the spell to create the illusion of Ximena killing me. At the time, it seemed like a solid scheme. And I did plan to tell Lincoln everything before it happened.
Unfortunately I only shared two words with Lincoln—trust me—before I got fake-murdered by a massive red dragon. It wasn’t enough. My guy spent what felt like years patting my head and looking miserable.
All of which is why I’m not giving up here. I must connect with my guy, like now.
“Ximena!” I cry.
A few minutes ago, I saw how Dragon-Ximena can do her momma-cat move. Namely, she grabbed Lincoln by the collar and then hoisted him onto her back.
I’d like that action, pretty please.
The dragon queen doesn’t respond to my cry, but Lincoln does. He leans over Ximena’s barrel. For a moment, the sharp lines of his cheekbones and jaw lines are slack with disbelief. Then his face softens into the biggest smile I’ve ever seen.
“Myla?”
“It’s me, Lincoln. I’m fine!”
In a few swift movements, Lincoln ignites his baculum into a pair of ropes. After that, he levers the cords around Ximena’s neck spikes—dragon skin’s immune to fire—and creates a kind of pully system to swoop down, grab me, and then hoist me onto Dragon-Ximena’s back. I’ve heard about this way of using baculum over super-short distances. I’d try to pay attention to how it works, but that’s impossible because LINCOLN.
My guy faces forward on Ximena’s back. I straddle his lap with my legs wrapped about Lincoln’s waist. Our mouths meet in a fierce kiss.
“Myla.” Lincoln presses his forehead to mine. “Is this real?”
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t get a chance to give you the full plan before I got—”
“Pretend-killed by Ximena?” finishes Lincoln.
“Yes. That.”
Lincoln wraps his arms more tightly around me, pulling our bodies flush against each other. I rub my hands down his spine and find …
Fresh blood.
I lean back and gasp. “Lincoln, are you all right?”
He shrugs. “I fought seven archdemons.”
I reach into a pocket of my battle leathers and pull out a thin vial. This is another part of the plan, by the way. Merlin and Nimue created some potions for me. I open the small vial of pink liquid and hand it over to Lincoln along with two words.
“Healing potion.”
Lincoln gives me a crooked smile. “So, we’re not kissing anymore?”
I sigh. “Much as I’d love to get busy with you on a dragon’s back while flying along at top speed, this isn’t the best place for sexy time.” I wink. “Not that I don’t appreciate the thought.”
He rubs his nose along the length of mine. “With you, the thought is always there.”
“Take your healing potion and let’s scheme.”
“Agreed,” says Lincoln. He pops the cork off the small vial, downs the contents and winces.
“Too bitter?” I ask.
“No, too sweet,” he replies. “You know how I am.”
Which is true. While I love sugar in all its forms, my guy would rather eat a green leafy vegetable any time. I know. But I love him anyway.
I brush my fingers long his back. The wounds have all healed over. Even so, I carefully scan Lincoln’s face, searching for any lingering signs of pain. “Feeling better?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“Any time.”
“Now, tell me about this plan of yours.”
“Colossus and the other archdemons were imprisoned using a magic book called the Opus Magica. Long story short, Merlin and Nimue now have a new Opus Magica, along with the super-happy news that it would take another thousand years to charge the thing up enough to lock everyone up again.”
“That’s rather grim.” Lincoln presses his palms against my hips. It’s a rather yummy sensation. “Yet you have a plan.”
“That we do.” I bob my brows.
“We?”
“Yes, it wasn’t just me. Nimue, Merlin, Fluff, and Ximena all helped.”
“Excellent.” Lincoln’s mismatched eyes sparkle with pride. It’s a great look on him.
“We can’t wait for a thousand years to charge up the Opus Magica, but guess what could do the job for us super-fast?”
A slow smile winds across Lincoln’s mouth. “The crystal clock in Lucifer’s lab.”
“Oh, yeah.”
Lincoln purses his lips. “We need to be careful. There were signs before the bomb went off. Specifically, we heard a whirring sound followed by what Fluff called the tick-tick-boom. What if Colossus and the Seven archdemons hear either of those noises … and guess what we’re up to?”
“Well.” I scrunch up my mouth and think this through. “Then Colossus could focus the energy of the crystal clock into himself. That would give him some crazy-ass power.”
“Every plan has risks,” aays Lincoln. “We just need to know what they are.”
“Sure,” I say.
Even so, that word comes out as more of a question. In all my excitement about re-locking up Colossus—and saving everyone in the after-realms—I didn’t think through how this plan could actually backfire.
Oops.
Lincoln glances about. This is one of my favorite of his thinking-faces. “If my memory is right, we’ll have two minutes and forty three seconds between the first whirring sound and the actual explosion.”
“I knew you’d have the right countdown.” I reach into my pocket. “And guess what I remembered for this trip?” I pull out a pair of thin rings. “Merlin and Nimue gave me these charms to keep us warm.” I slip mine on my pointer finger.
Lincoln slips his band onto his pinky. “Thank you.”
Dragon-Ximena swings her head in our direction. “We’re landing.”
I pull out another vial from my pocket. “This potion will make me invisible to everyone except our team. Nimue and Merlin already drank some. Fluff can make himself invisible at will, so he didn’t need any.”
“Prepare to jump,” cries Dragon-Ximena.
Uncorking the vial, I down the potion. My body vanishes just as Dragon-Ximena swings past the entrance to Lucifer’s lab.
Lincoln and I jump, landing right into the mouth of the dark passage that marks the lab’s entrance. Dragon-Ximena then wheels toward the cavern’s mouth as well. At the last moment, she transforms into her human self and lands beside us. Ximena’s cocoa skin and long brown hair positively glow against the pale landscape. The dragon queen wears a red riding coat over her battle leathers.
Voices echo in from inside the passage. Colossus and his archdemons are already here. Our group takes a few steps deeper into the corridor to Lucifer’s lab.
That’s when we hear it.
Low rumbles sound from outside the mountain. The passageway around us vibrates from this hidden force. We pause.
“What’s that?” I ask.
“No idea,” offers Ximena.
Lincoln frowns. “Same here.”
Little by little, all three of us turn about. The outside landscape gleams before us, a bright scene that’s framed by the passageway’s dark mouth. Moments ago, the mountain range was colored in shades of white. A red cloud now rolls out over the land.
Magic.
It’s same shade of power Colossus wielded while possessing Vain. A realization hits me. That’s what the voices inside the laboratory could have been doing—casting a spell. My pulse speeds. This isn’t good.
For a moment, the scene shimmers with crimson light. The passageway around us shivers more violently.
The landscape changes.
Explosions sound as the mountain range collapses. Peak after peak implodes, leaving plumes of white smoke behind. Snow and dust fill the air. Within seconds, the jagged landscape has flattened out. Now, we look upon a snowy plain that stretches off in every direction. A fresh red haze rolls out over the ground.
Another spell begins.
The colored mist solidifies into seven massive armies. Like before at Camelot, all the humans hold the colored shields for their archdemon. Above it all, hundreds of dragons wheel and fly.
Tension zooms through my every muscle. This army also appeared at Camelot. Only now? It’s double the size. Colossus isn’t wasting time. Once the archdemon king gets his armor, he’ll move out over the world.
“Damn,” I grumble. “Let’s hope we didn’t make everything worse.”
Lincoln nods. “Quite.”
52
Lincoln
Colossus’ voice echoes through the corridor once more. Bands of worry tighten around my chest. The archdemon king is off doing who knows what in Lucifer’s lab.
No time to delay.
Turning, I face the shadowy passage. “Let’s move out.”
Myla shoots me a thumbs up.
Ximena nods.
Our trio rushes off into darkness until we reach the lab itelf. The chamber appears identical to when Myla and I first entered it in our own era. There are tables covered in sheets, round walls lined with shelves, and the small red alcove of statues.
The big difference this time is who waits inside the lab. To the right, seven archdemons line up against the wall. Their eyes seem pale and lifeless; Colossus isn’t possessing them right now. They remind me of so many toy soldiers, unmoving until someone turns the key in their backs.
On the far left of the room, I find Merlin and Nimue. They appear semi-transparent to me, just like Myla—which means they’re invisible to everyone else. The golden clock looms beside them; it’s still covered in a white sheet. Merlin grips the new Opus Magica tightly against his chest. The pair hold hands as they prepare to begin casting.
Both mages scan the room with anxious stares. They’ll need to wait until just before the explosion in order to cast their spell and channel the crystal clock’s power into the Opus Magica. Otherwise their spell will be visible too early. Colossus and his archdemons might see it ... and then where would we b
e?
And in the center of the space, there crawls Colossus. He moves spider-style on all limbs, pacing a circle while staring up at the ceiling.
Or to be specific, at the armor suspended there.
Colossus glares at me. “Get me my armor, thrax.”
I steal a glance toward Myla. The words are there but unspoken, Is this part of the plan?
She nods; I move.
Crossing the room, I step to the waist-high lever that juts up from the stone ground. Grasping the lever’s top, I yank until it now stands perpendicular to the floor.
The red metal armor slowly lowers.
Beside me, loop after loop of chain rises to the ceiling as Colossus’ prize comes down. With a great clunk, the armor hits the floor. It’s a segmented affair made of concentric loops that fit over Colossus’ long limbs. I can only hope the King of the Archdemons must apply each loop separately. That would take time.
No such luck.
Colossus slides into the armor the way I might drag on my favorite battle leathers. Not that I’m shocked; Lucifer is a rather talented craftsman.
But I am alarmed.
Myla waves to Merlin and Nimue. She’s giving them the signal to start. The ghostly mages lower their heads to mouth silent incantations. A light layer of blue mist surrounds the nearby floor. For now, that haze is hidden behind the draped tables. Still, that can’t last for long.
Whir.
Across the room, the crystal clock launches into action. To me, the sound seems deafening. Thankfully, Colossus is letting off a chorus of metallic clinks as he slides on his armor. His archdemons watch in rapture.
None of them notice that a countdown has begun.
Every nerve ending in my body goes on alert. That’s when it happens. Merlin drops the Opus Magica. He scoops it back up quickly, but is it too late?
Myla mouths a curse word. I couldn’t agree more.
Moving in unison, all the archdemons turn to scan the left-hand side of the chamber. Their gazes lock on the tall object covered in a white sheet.
The Brutal Time Special Edition Page 20