Sacred Light (Armor of Magic Book 1)

by Simone Pond

  The guard prodded me with his club, sending what felt like an entire city grid of electricity through my body; I collapsed to the carpet, my body jerking in spasms. Then the jerk opened the cube and tossed me inside next to Julian. Too weak to move, I lay in a heap at his feet, gasping for air.

  Julian stepped back and shouted. “Dude! What did you just throw in here with me?”

  “Another Protector, asshat. This is gonna be a helluva night. Two Protectors for the price of one. And one still a virgin!”

  Julian stared down at me. “Whaaat? You’re still a virgin?”

  “Do you even have your driver’s license?” I muttered.

  “Fuck off, dude.”

  The guard tapped the glass imprisonment with his electric prod. “Have fun getting to know each other. You’ve got a little over an hour until permanent lights out.”

  “Dude, did you just say lights out?” Julian mocked.

  The guard flipped us off and left.

  I tried pulling myself up, which was difficult without the use of my hands. “A little help would be nice.”

  Julian leaned down and helped pull me up so I could rest against the wall of our glass prison. I slid my hands under my ass and folded forward, bringing my wrists around to my front.

  “So are you Fiona?” Julian sat next to me.

  I nodded, still too weak for conversation.

  “You’re not bad looking for a cougar.”

  “I’m twenty-one. That’s not old, butthead.”

  He laughed. “And you’re really still a virgin?” I took my bound wrists and shoved him away, knocking his head against the glass. “Dude. Not cool.”

  “Dude. Do you think you can ease back on the surfer lingo? It’s entirely obnoxious.”

  “Aw, I’m crushed. We just met and you’re already trying to change me.”

  Julian was a real smart-ass. I could picture Ezra getting a kick out of this partnership. Maybe it was payback for my insubordinate behavior, or maybe it was just another case of shitty fate. Either way, I was almost relieved that I’d only have to spend another hour with Malibu boy.

  “Look, kid. This is some serious shit we’re in. Do you have any idea who we’re up against?”

  “Some bro named Cagliostro. Superior demon mage of the entire Shadow Order.”

  “Exactly. And we’re absolutely defenseless. Do you know what they’re planning to do?”

  “I’m figuring Cags is gonna force us to decode the rest of the Scrolls he’s nabbed, then offer us up as blood sacrifices. Sound about right?”

  I looked over and grinned. “So you have been paying attention.”

  “I’ve only been at this a week, but I catch on pretty quick.”

  “You also got caught pretty quick.”

  “Yeah, well, nobody’s perfect, ma’am.”

  I laughed. He might’ve been a smart-ass, but he was a charming smart-ass. “Can you get my phone out of my back pocket? We need to text my friend Charlotte. She’ll help us out of this mess.”

  “Let me get this straight, you’re giving me permission to grab your ass?”

  “Just get the phone, kid.”

  Julian took his time pulling out my phone. He sent a text to Charlotte explaining that Lilith had screwed me over and that we were somewhere in the presidential suite and to please come get us.

  Then we waited.

  thirty-five

  Julian was a native of Los Angeles and a die-hard surfer. He told me about his parents and how they had disappeared a few months earlier while they were on some antique run in Paris to get some pieces for their shop off 3rd Street.

  “What I don’t understand is why you didn’t have to wait until your twenty-first birthday to get initiated.”

  “Dude. I am twenty-one. Just had a birthday.”

  “Oh. Sorry. You don’t look twenty-one,” I mumbled.

  “Well, you don’t look like a virgin.”

  “Fair enough.”

  After what seemed like an hour, Charlotte entered the room with a security guard. He had a faraway look in his glazed-over eyes like he was under some sort of spell. Lilith trailed into the room behind them.

  “What’s she doing here?” I yelled.

  Charlotte shoved Lilith into the room. “I told her if she didn’t help me, I’d cut her off for life.”

  I didn’t trust Lilith at all, but I guess Charlotte knew her sister better than me, and what choice did I have at that point? I needed to get out of that glass prison.

  Lilith whispered into the guard’s ear, and he smiled in a daze as he strode over to the glass cube. He placed his hand onto the side and chanted something. The door slid open, and he stepped aside.

  “Good boy. Now why don’t you go stand on the balcony until I call for you?” Lilith purred into his ear as she rubbed his crotch. I had to turn away to keep from retching.

  Once the guard was outside on the balcony, Charlotte used a set of keys to remove my hand cuffs.

  “Thank you.” I hugged her, then pulled away and slapped Lilith’s rosy cheek.

  “Bitch!” she yelled, running over to the closest mirror to assess any damage.

  “How could you?” I spat.

  She turned around and glared at me. “Hmm. Let’s see, more power than I could ever dream possible versus helping a Protector of Light who despises me? Pretty simple choice.”

  “I only hated you a little bit, but now it’s full-on abhorrence.”

  “Can you two just shut up, please? We still need to get out of here before that vile Cagliostro comes for you guys.” Charlotte said.

  “Oh, we’re not leaving here without the Scrolls,” I informed them.

  Julian held up his hands, waving them at me. “Whoa, dude. I don’t think so. You don’t understand what he’s already put me through. We’re talking CIA mind control type shit.”

  “Look, I don’t want this responsibility any more than you do, but we have no choice. Those Scrolls are our responsibility. This could very well be our only opportunity to get them back.”

  “You don’t stand a chance,” Lilith hissed.

  “Nobody asked you, succubus!” I yelled back.

  “Screw this, I’m going downstairs. I don’t want anything to do with this bullshit. I’ve already risked my ass with this idiotic jailbreak.”

  Charlotte grabbed Lilith’s arm. “You’re not going anywhere. Not if you want to remain my sister. You’ll help make this right. I don’t give a shit about your powers. Besides, do you need more?”

  Lilith stared at her sister and lowered her eyes in shame. “I guess not. But that doesn’t mean I want to get caught. Do you know what they do to traitors in the Shadow Order? Makes the Inquisition look like a picnic.”

  “If you just play nice, you won’t get caught. I have a plan,” I said.

  “Can’t wait to hear this.” Lilith stepped back.

  I wasn’t lying about having a plan, but there was an important component that was missing: the Armor. Julian and I didn’t seem to have access to it any more, or rather, it had been deactivated. Pacing around the small room, I tried to recall all the things Ezra had told me during our short training session. He had said so many things about the Armor, including some pretty deep stuff that I remember glossing over at the time. But if I concentrated, maybe I could pull up some thread of our conversation.

  “Do you remember something Ezra might’ve told you about the Armor if it ever got deactivated?” I asked Julian.

  He shook his head. “Nah. I mean, he said a lot of stuff. Most of it went over my head. I figured I’d go back for more training, but then I got snatched up by a pack of demons and taken to a warehouse until that scumbag Cags bought me. I didn’t even have a chance to use the Armor. But dude, from what Ezra showed me, it seems like some pretty powerful gear. I was looking forward to being a channel for something so dope.”

  Something about the word “channel” rang a bell. When I had mistakenly thought Ezra had imbued me with special powers, he corrected
me by saying I was just a conduit. That the Light was the source of power. It was coming back in pieces. If the Light was the source and it worked through us, then maybe all we had to do was call for it—the same way I called for my sword and shield.

  “Did he ever say the Armor was always with you?” I asked Julian.

  “If he did, I don’t remember, ’cause that knowledge sure would’ve been helpful.”

  “Well, both of us have something in common,” I murmured.

  “What’s that?”

  “We’re idiots with poor listening skills.”

  Charlotte spoke up, “I have an idea.”

  “All ears,” I said.

  “Maybe the Armor is just momentarily out of order? Why don’t you call for it while I pour my healing light into you guys?”

  “Can’t hurt to try.”

  Julian and I stood in the middle of the room, calling out to our Armor while Charlotte held her hands over our hearts, flooding pink light over us. Lilith pressed up against the wall, shielding her eyes as though the light was searing her. Suddenly, the room lit up with a cyclone of silver-white light. Warmth spread through my cells from my core all the way to my fingertips. Charlotte dropped her hands and sunk to the floor, drained of all energy.

  “Dude!” Julian shouted, whipping out his hand so his sword appeared in a white glow.

  I pulled up my shield and sword. It worked! Julian and I were fully suited up.

  Julian’s eyes were gleaming with excitement. “Let’s go down there and start slaying those motherfuckers.”

  “No,” I said. “We get back into the glass cube and wait for the guards to come for us and bring us downstairs for a surprise attack.”

  “Won’t they see the Armor glowing?” Julian asked.

  “Not if our friend Lilith helps out. Didn’t Cagliostro give you more powers?” I asked Lilith, who looked like she had just gone through a wind tunnel. Not in the mood to argue with two Protectors and a healer, she simply nodded. “Well, I nominate you to use your new powers to mask our Armor. At least until we get down to the Garden Court. Nothing like the element of surprise.”

  thirty-six

  Lilith created a magical illusion that shielded our Armor. Once we were back inside the glass cell, Lilith and Charlotte left the suite, with the spellbound guard in tow. I begged Charlotte to get as far away from the Palace Hotel as possible.

  When it was time for the main event, a couple of other guards came in and escorted us in chains downstairs to the Garden Court. The guests were now seated at white-clothed tables that surrounded a center platform where Cagliostro sat at a black baby grand piano playing Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. Again, you never would’ve guessed the room of dazzling ladies and gentlemen was actually housing evil supernatural beings—their ostentatious glamour and magnetism would’ve put any red carpet Hollywood event to shame.

  The guards brought us to the platform and chained us to some kind of crazy-ass statue that looked like Dionysus double-fisting goblets of wine. From the looks of it, Lilith’s spell was working. She had been able to conceal our Armor’s glow from the guests. Cagliostro continued with the somber piece of music as though he were performing at Carnegie Hall and not a blood sacrifice. Either the level of illusion they had over this event was extreme or the entire hotel staff was in on it, because none of the waiters or attendants batted an eye at Julian or me up on the platform as offerings.

  Cagliostro moved his slender fingers across the ivory keys with a delicateness that made him appear sentimental. I had to fight through his charismatic spell to remember he was a murdering demon mage. I heard Julian grumble smugly under his breath, not impressed in the slightest.

  Cagliostro finished the piece, bowing his head of black hair, and let the final notes resonate into the captivated room. The guests broke out into a peal of applause. Many gave standing ovations, commending his remarkable performance.

  Allowing the moment to hold, he waited, then cleared his throat. “Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for coming tonight. As you know, tonight ushers in a tremendously special occasion. A ceremony of this gravity has never happened during our tenure in this dimension; tonight you will take part of something that has heretofore eluded us, for tonight, our Shadow Order will have claimed victory in a pivotal battle in this continuous war against the Monarchy.”

  I rolled my eyes at Julian because we both knew it wasn’t the Shadow Order Cagliostro was fortifying; this charade was strictly to enhance his own powers. It might’ve appeared to be a win for the entire Shadow Order, but in supernatural reality, it had everything to do with advancing Cagliostro’s designs on consolidating power over the many factions that, at best, tolerated one another. He fancied himself a conductor attempting to harmonize a dark supernatural orchestra. I was sure some of the higher-level demons grasped what he was doing, but they were willing to stand down and let Cags try his hand at confederating and ruling over the factions. Maybe they figured it was a suicide mission. Or maybe they were too busy feeding their own self-interests to care.

  “I’d like to call up a charming young lady who has played an integral role in assisting to maintain the virginity of our female Protector of Light, as well as handing her over to me. Ladies and gentlemen, I introduce the lovely and incomparable Lilith Amon.”

  I whipped my head around, mouth hanging open as Lilith gracefully walked across the room toward the platform. I didn’t know what was more upsetting: that she really had been intentionally cock-blocking me all those years or that she was going to assist Cagliostro in the sacrifice. Hadn’t she just helped us moments ago? She was one extremely confusing succubus. I hoped my glare would cause her to trip and break her back when she stepped onto the platform. No such luck. She stepped onto the stage, her beauty radiating the entire room. I could’ve scratched her eyes out for double-crossing me twice in one night. Julian and I were chained to the grotesque statue in a room full of evil beings without any protection or power whatsoever. Sweet.

  “Dude, that’s totally uncool,” Julian whispered.

  I kicked his foot, hoping to shut him up so I could think. We needed to get out of there and fast. But how? And why was Ezra totally MIA?

  Cagliostro snapped his long fingers at his assistant. A young boy ran up to the platform and bowed before him, holding out a black case, which Cagliostro took and placed gingerly atop the baby grand. He opened the flaps of the case and lifted the lid. Inside the red velvet encasing was the exact type of obsidian dagger I had seen in my recurring dream—the fierce weapon the demon mage had used to slaughter the angel so he could steal the Sacred Scroll. If it could destroy an angel, what would it do to two measly Protectors of Light? Sweat dripped down my back as Cagliostro lifted the dagger from the case and offered it to Lilith. Her eyes gleamed under the chandelier light.

  “My dear, tonight’s honor of the sacrifice is yours. May it be your first of many.” Cagliostro feigned a humble bow, handing the dagger to Lilith with both hands.

  She smiled brightly as she graciously accepted the powerful weapon. Pausing, she whispered into Cagliostro’s ear. He grinned evenly, then strode to the baby grand as he called over to a violinist. They began playing Schubert’s Piano Trio in E Flat, a perfectly suitable death serenade for the main event. If I didn’t hate Lilith with such vitriol, I would’ve been impressed with her choice of composition.

  As Cagliostro closed his narrow eyes and immersed himself into the melancholy piece, Lilith made a slow and somber approach toward Julian and me. As she lifted the dagger above her head, I caught a glint of light from the chandelier in the blade. Then it hit me, what Ezra had meant when he said, rather than shielding the Light from the Darkness, you will use the Light to vanquish the Darkness. Evil couldn’t destroy the Light, it simply shadowed it; I already had everything I needed. The Light was in me and I was in it. I couldn’t be destroyed unless I allowed it. Before she could plunge the dagger into my chest, I kicked my foot forward, hitting her in the gut and knocking her acros
s the platform. She smashed up against a marble pillar and sunk to the floor, unconscious.

  thirty-seven

  The Armor lit up all around me, causing quite a spectacle. Cagliostro continued playing until the gasp of the crowd penetrated his concentration. Meanwhile, I yanked my hands and ankles from the shackles, then tore away the one around my neck. I quickly called upon my sword and shield just as a bunch of guards charged the platform. Their robust bodies ricocheted off the force field and they splayed onto a row of tables below.

  Julian stared at me in disbelief until I yelled, “Break your chains and suit up!”

  I swung at another few demons as they rushed up to the platform, their bodies spraying into billions of black fragments upon impact of my sword. Cagliostro sat on the piano bench, smirking as Julian called on his sword and shield. He batted off a handful of shifters who had switched into their lizard-like form. Of all the shifters, I really hated those bastards the most, so I let Julian deal with them as I trained my eyes on Cagliostro. I ran toward him in a blur, but he blinked across the room. The blinking was a real challenge I couldn’t seem to get around. He began shouting orders, and the array of factions began shifting into ferocious predators, while others started casting spells and blasting fire or ice. Using my shield to deflect the deadly emanations, I zipped across the room and ducked behind a pillar to strategize. Lilith lay on the floor, coming back into consciousness.

  “Charlotte’s definitely not going to approve,” I whispered.

  She pulled herself up, still holding the menacing dagger. “You’ll never get between me and my sister, Fiona. Besides, you’re the one who dragged her into this mess, and now look.” She pointed across the room to where Cagliostro stood, laughing maniacally as he held Charlotte by her neck.

  Charlotte! I had told her to leave the hotel! Why hadn’t she listened? She was worse than me. I had to help her, but how could I get close enough to the bastard without getting killed? I knew tapping my helmet wouldn’t do shit as far as cloaking myself. My speed and the sword were my best options. Then I remembered Ezra had said Protectors were stronger when they worked together. I held up my shield, creating a force field around me, and darted back to the platform, leaving Lilith behind.