by Ben Hale
"What now?" Rox asked. She was out of breath.
Derek raced to a higher level and peeked out the window. Robar's battle was clearly visible—and they were in trouble. "They're losing too many," Derek said. "We'll attack the Harbinger's eastern flank. We can't afford to lose Robar."
Shorn and Rox didn't hesitate, and the three of them hustled down the hall. The floor shook from a distant explosion, causing them to stumble. Derek touched the nexus charm and addressed the entire Order of White.
"Everyone is safe. We're going to join the Robar." He skidded to a stop at a shattered section of wall. His gaze met his friends’. "No one will blame you if you stay out of sight. Otherwise, keep with your groups and protect each other. Those on the east side can join us at the fountains."
Derek’s group bolted for the collection of water fountains that stood in front of the water school. Sleek and glittering, the water flowed upward and in complicated swirls before returning to the pond. One of the designs had been destroyed, marring the beauty. The three of them slid into place behind it. Then a quartet of other figures joined them. Quad spoke first.
"Don't worry, Iris. I'll be careful," Quad said through the nexus charm. Then his eyes flicked to Derek and he grinned. "Let's do this."
Derek's eyebrow shot up and he tapped his own nexus charm. Are you okay, Iris. Her reply surprised him.
Too busy to talk, Derek . . .
"I already bet we'd win," Mike stated, drawing his attention. "Might as well have a hand in the victory."
Laura grinned beside him. "I thought we don't bet on ourselves."
"Let's crush them," Brody said. Rock rose up to coat his arm as he said it.
A surge of pride coursed through Derek. "Don't let them reach Robar."
They nodded in unison. Then they leapt the fountain and struck the Harbingers from behind. Caught by surprise, three went down, their bodies locked in body bindings. Instead of a larger golem, Derek cast half a dozen smaller creatures, and sent them weaving through the Harbinger's feet. The small creatures perished quickly, but not before kicking dozens of shins.
Across the way an enormous bellow echoed. Professors, Order members, and older students stepped into view and assaulted the Harbingers on the opposite side of Robar's ring. Magic and energy flew thick as the two parties collided. The screech of bats joined the battle cry. As they descended toward them, Derek caught Brody's arm.
"Help me cast a bombardment hex!"
Brody swiveled to face him, and then raced to his side. "Aim for those leading the swarm," he shouted. "Force them to swing wide!"
Derek nodded, and together they poured their magic into the ground beneath them. Large tubes of earth formed and rose into view. The moment they solidified they began to spit rocks the size of baseballs. The stones exploded from the magical artillery like bullets, tearing into the bats and forcing them away.
The sky darkened with leathery wings, and Derek ducked to avoid being picked off. A scream drew his attention to Rox, who had been caught by one and lifted into the sky. Several dived to tear into her body—but Derek was faster. Grabbing the tubes, he yanked them in line with Rox and began to fire.
Rock bullets shredded the one holding Rox, and it collapsed. Caught in its claws, Rox could not break free. Then suddenly Shorn appeared. Streaking over Derek's head, he blasted the bat away and caught Rox. Deftly avoiding the others, he carried them both back to the battle.
"Watch the sky!" Derek bellowed through his relief. "And watch each other's backs!"
***
Jack gazed through his binoculars, his heart in his throat as he watched Shorn catch Rox. The bats far outnumbered them, but they could not withdraw now. There was nowhere to retreat to.
"I don't know how long we can hold!" Breaker's voice sounded pained in Jack's ear. "Ignite the inferno curse!" he roared to someone. "Freezer, watch the ground at your feet!"
"Charlie," Jack said, "report your position."
"The mages at the school have joined the fight," Charlie yelled, "but we're going to be overrun."
The battle echoed through the radio, mingling with the roar of jets, the rumble of missile fire, and the ear-splitting screech of bats.
Jack switched the com back to Tess. "We're losing ground, Tess. You need to find your target."
She didn't answer, and after a moment he gave up. Iris had warned him that they might not be able to communicate once Tess was inside the Spirus.
His worry mounted.
Chapter 47: The Master's Deception
Tess and Hawk descended the Spirus, searching for Alice on every floor. At every step Tess felt a mounting desperation. Where was she? The longer this fight went on, the more people died. They needed to get to her and find the Sword.
Then suddenly she was there.
Tess and Hawk had just entered the Light Resource Bureau. With floor to ceiling windows and no walls, the illuminated space gave a full view of the battle raging in the city. Light curved like flowing rivers through the room, touching every desk and office. Statues of ancient soldiers stood among the desks with glittering swords at their sides.
Alice stepped out of a gravity lift at the same time Tess and Hawk exited theirs. The purple magic of the twin lifts faded in sync, leaving only the sounds of the conflict outside. Disbelief radiated off Alice as she stared across the floor at Tess.
Alice didn't move. "How did you survive, daughter?"
Tess couldn't believe she felt so calm. She'd prepared herself for this conflict, and now that she faced Alice she realized she was not afraid. Tess jerked her head.
"From the moment I was born I have not been your daughter. You gave me to another family to raise, and they are mine. Last time we spoke you threatened them. Now I threaten you. Give us the Sword . . . or I will rend your magic from your flesh."
Alice sneered. "You don't have the power to perform a horrending hex."
"Drake said the same," Tess said quietly.
Alice's eyes widened—and then narrowed. "He was weak. You have returned alive to fight a battle you cannot win."
"We want the Sword, Alice," Hawk said.
Across the space Alice swept her hands wide. "You are like mewling children before the Dark."
"Your Voidlings are dying, Alice," Tess exclaimed. "And without them you will not be able to maintain control."
Cold fury swept across Alice’s features, and radiated in her tone. "The Iseonix will arrive in minutes, and will restore order."
Threads of flame appeared on Hawk's arms, and he began to advance with cautious steps. Tess jumped to stay with him.
"The abomination will fall as well," he said. "My nest destroyed the first of its kind . . . and I will destroy the second." He smiled, but it seemed to be a threat. "I know of your attempt to deceive me."
"You think yourself better than I?" Alice snapped, but there was a trace of fear on her features. "You have manipulated the course of this world time and again. Am I not doing the same?"
Hawk had covered half the distance. He motioned to the windows, and the battle raging outside. "The defender of life fights for others, while the assailant of freedom wants for himself."
Alice launched a blast of yellow at Hawk, her rage overcoming her. "I am defending life."
Hawk deflected it aside and struck back. "One cannot defend life with murder."
Yellow light surged across her and exploded toward Hawk and Tess. Tess yanked the light in the room into a solid shield and fused other spells into it—but the yellow light seemed to flow right through it. It struck Tess in the chest, and she felt her heart stutter.
She gasped for breath, and cast a healing spell on herself. Then she noticed Hawk. He was on one knee and clutching his left arm. Tess took a quick step toward him and cast the same spell on him. He threw her a grateful glance and rose to his feet. Across the room Alice laughed.
"Luck is more powerful than any magic you possess. It can make you have a heart attack in the moment best for me. It can make you
trip when you are about to strike the final blow. It can even make me invincible. Strike me if you can, daughter!"
Something inside Tess snapped, and she whirled to Alice. "I am not your daughter!"
She released a surge of gravity that would have crushed a house. It missed. Tess struck again with light, and then with fire. Each passed the glowing figure and shredded the furniture behind her. Hawk joined in the assault, and together they pummeled Alice with power.
Imbued with protective spells, the windows withstood for a few seconds, and then succumbed. One by one they shattered in a titanic crackling of raw power. Lightning, fire, gravity, stone, all combined into a tremendous torrent. Scorching and tearing the floor and ceiling, it shredded the desks into oblivion.
Yet Alice remained standing. Her expression one of disdain, she wielded her magic and remained immovable. Enormous forces attempted to strike her down, and she stood with her hair billowing around her.
—then something got through.
Out of nowhere a small object slipped past the defenses and grazed Alice's arm, drawing blood. She sucked in her breath in surprise, and all three combatants turned to see the Swordsman and a blue haired woman in front of the gravity lift. He had his crossbow out and pointed at Alice.
"You!" she screamed. "You will pay for betraying me, Indigo!"
"Not if you die," Indigo replied. She flew to take the fourth corner and released her own attack.
Surrounded by the four of them, the combined attacks began to get through. First a streak of fire from Hawk singed her leg. Then Indigo's gravity caused her knee to buckle. Tess's gusting charm caused her to retreat half a step, allowing the Swordsman's bolt to almost strike her in the heart.
Uncertainty flashed across her face, followed quickly by rage. For the first time it didn't matter. The combined assault surpassed her magic. More and more found a way through. Hope filled Tess as she saw Alice falter. Then Varson appeared.
Driving through the shattered windows, he struck at Tess, forcing her to turn on him. Without her corner Alice regained her footing. Her magic seemed to swell, and then exploded outward with colossal power. All four of them were knocked backward, causing their combined attacks to cease.
Her eyes blazing, Alice's voice became one of hate as Varson darted to her side. "You have failed me, Tess, and are no longer mine. When the end comes I will see you as an enemy. Now watch as the Iseonix lays waste to this city."
She flicked her hand to the demolished statue at the center of the room, and the carved sword flew into her hands. At her touch the stone melted away, revealing the Sword of Elseerian.
"Goodbye, Tess."
The four of them rose to attack again, but the floor below her abruptly crumbled. Alice and Varson dropped through. Tess dashed to the hole but she was already gone. She flew to the lower level anyway, and scanned the darkened halls of the Creature Management Bureau. Despair filled her as she flew back to the decimated floor above.
"She's gone," Tess said, the anguish evident in her voice.
Hawk's expression was rigid, and angry flames curled up his arms. Then Indigo stepped forward. "Why go down? Escape would have been far easier going up. Besides, she took the link to the portal. What else would she need?"
The Swordsman abruptly blew out his breath. "It can't be."
He whirled and sprinted away. Indigo made to follow him but his sheer speed left her behind. As he disappeared a gut-wrenching shriek echoed in the distance, drawing them to the shattered windows. Sunlight glittered off the massive figure in the distance.
The Iseonix had arrived.
***
The Swordsman poured his magic into his speed spell, and the walls blurred past him. Several floors down, he bolted through the destroyed Air Travel Agency and into the secret room. Angling his body to maintain his speed, he raced down the spiral steps. He didn't stop until he came to the hidden dungeon of the long forgotten mage.
He counted the doors until he reached his target, and smashed the door with a tremendous kick. Whipping his sword free, he slashed through the chains of the prisoner and yanked him to his feet. Then he dragged him from the space and retreated the way he'd come. Just as he turned the corner Alice and Varson appeared at the end of the hallway, their expressions of furious disbelief.
"Sorry, Alice," he called, and threw the man over his shoulder. Then he bolted back up the stairs. With strength and speed both active, he accelerated far beyond what she could catch.
His legs burned with fatigue by the time he reached the site of their battle, and he dumped his cargo on the floor. Then he could wait no longer. Bracing himself, he relinquished the spells that had kept him going. Weakness assailed him, bitter enough to taste. He remained standing by force of will.
"Who is that?" Tess asked, and then leaned forward. "Is that . . .?"
"Ranson," Hawk exclaimed.
The former Harbinger leader was on his hands and knees, but he looked up when his name was called. His eyes were dim, his hair greasy and unkempt. Dirt coated his clothing and visible skin. The Swordsman guessed he'd been in a cell since the portal had been opened.
"How are you not dead?" Tess demanded. "I watched Alice snap your neck after you opened the portal."
Ranson released a maniacal laugh. "The Master is brilliant, is she not? The portal is linked to the soul that opens it, not the weapon. She led everyone to believe that the Sword of Elseerian would close it, a ruse that convinced the whole world. If the Sword fell into your hands, you would have nothing." The mad shine to his eyes became one of adoration. "The Master will save me."
"I think not this time," Hawk said.
Tess's expression was one of shock. "We can't kill him like this."
"I can," the Swordsman said.
Drawing his weapon, he rammed it through Ranson's chest and yanked it out. His chest wet with blood, Ranson's expression did not fade.
"She will save me. She is the Master. She will . . ."
He fell to the floor as the Swordsman flicked his sword free of blood. Hawk's expression was of resignation, Indigo of victory, but Tess's features were twisted in horror.
"I killed an evil man, Tess," the Swordsman said. "It's what I do." He flicked his sword free of blood and sheathed it.
Tess didn't take her eyes off the body. "What about the portal? Shouldn't it be closed?"
She darted to the shattered window. The Swordsman joined her with the others, his eyes on the Dark. A few seconds later they saw it. Like a hurricane stirring the ocean, the Dark rolled and heaved, lifting up and crashing onto itself. Roiling as if in pain, the Dark shuddered.
The massive cloud rippled toward them, sending titanic Dark waves to crash against the underside of the city. The very air trembled as the Dark reacted to the portal's loss. The tumult occurred across the whole expanse of the Dark . . .
But it survived.
Chapter 48: The Willing Fire
Tess stood at the window, horrified. "We were too late. Too much of the Dark was here."
How could we be too late! The words reverberated through her skull with enough force to cause pain. It didn't matter. They had failed.
Her dad's voice filled her ear. "Satellite recon shows the portal has been closed, Tess, and the Dark has stopped expanding."
How is this possible, Dad? Last time the portal closed the fiends were drawn back to their realm. This should have worked!
There was a pause, and then Jack said, "I'm sorry, Tess."
She wanted to scream, to cry, to hit something, but she could only stare at the Dark. Everything had been for naught. Even if the Dark had stopped expanding, Alice still controlled it, and the massive army of Twisted.
An ear-shattering screech yanked her from her despair, and she looked up to see the Iseonix enter the battle. Its wings streaked a line of frost that caught a helicopter. Metal, electronics, and flesh froze solid, and the chopper dropped from the sky.
Hawk caught Tess's shoulder and pulled her about, forcing her to lo
ok at him. Her emotions in disarray, it took her a moment to see the expression on his face, and her gut wrenched.
"Tess," he said, "I have to fight it."
"You know it will kill you," she said. Desperation leaked into her voice. I cannot do this alone, not with the Dark still here!
"I must."
"The first one slaughtered eight of your kind," Tess said. "As powerful as you are, you don't stand a chance. It will kill you and then just go back to killing them."
He looked away at the reference to his nest, his gaze distant. "I miss my beloved," he said. "Living without her is like being dead already."
"Don't talk like that. We'll find a way. There has to be a way. The Dark can be defeated."
"I have no choice."
Robar was right. "I can't do this without you," she said, her voice cracking.
The weight of his gaze settled on her. "We wanted a child, you know, but that dream died with her. You have given me what I could not give myself."
Hot tears of anger leaked from her eyes. "No," she pleaded. "There has to be another way."
He pulled her into an embrace. "There isn't," he whispered. "This is what I stayed alive for, to die when it would do the most good."
She struggled to speak, but couldn't find any more words. He was going to die, and it didn't seem to matter to him.
"Please don't do this," she choked the words out.
He pulled away. "Thank you for letting me feel like a father," he said. "It has been my greatest honor."
The words were thick with emotion as he turned away and began to change shape. Tess stood rooted in place, bound by the conflict of emotions that had no resolution. When he'd transformed into the great phoenix, Reiquen, he spread his wings and stepped to the edge.
After I am gone you will find hope at the heart of Tryton's. Go . . . and speak the words of your heritage.
Tess didn't understand, but she nodded through her tears. The great firebird dipped its head in a bow, and then dropped off the ledge.