The Magic Collector

by Clayton Wood

  The Doppelganger’s body crumpled…and re-formed again. It whipped its bottle at Piper’s temple so hard the bottle shattered.

  Piper stumbled to the side, looking dazed.

  At the same time, the Collector slashed at Gideon, his lethal sword connecting with Gideon’s cane. But instead of cutting right through, the blade stopped instantly, its momentum absorbed by the cane’s powerful magic. Gideon counterattacked, ramming the butt of his cane into the Collector’s belly.

  The Collector grunted, backpedaling quickly…and swung at Gideon’s face as he did so. Nemesis was already lunging at the Collector, and whipped her tail, wrapping it around the Collector’s free hand and jerking him to the side right before the sword would have cut through Gideon’s face.

  And Myko moon-dashed right into the Collector’s flank, sending the man hurtling toward the wall.

  The Doppelganger leapt to intercept the Collector, catching him in mid-air right before he crashed into the wall. Myko finished his moon-dash, rematerializing…and the Doppelganger smashed its bottle right on top the wolf’s skull.

  Myko yelped, stumbling to the side and looking dazed…and the Collector swung his blade, slicing right through Myko’s torso, cutting the wolf in half.

  “Myko!” Bella cried in horror.

  The wolf glowed bright silver, then dashed away from the Collector, rematerialized at Bella’s side…whole once more.

  “Gonna need to work together,” Piper grumbled, walking back to Bella’s side. “How about a little divide and conquer?”

  Gideon took a few steps back, joining them as they faced the Collector and the Doppelganger.

  “Piper and Kendra, you take Simon and the Doppelganger,” Gideon ordered. “Bella, I’ll get you as close as I can to the Collector.”

  “Oh I doubt that,” the Collector retorted.

  The Reaper materialized from its shadow-form, appearing between them and the Collector, its scythe once again in its hands. The air instantly cooled, goosebumps rising on Bella’s arms.

  “Oh yeah,” Piper muttered. “Forgot about him.”

  “Nightmare,” Kendra prompted. “Go kill the Reaper.”

  Nightmare sent a black tentacle shooting at the Reaper, wrapping it around the creature’s huge scythe and yanking it to the side. But the Reaper merely returned to its shadow-form, reappearing a few feet in front of Bella…and lifted its scythe up to strike.

  “Goo!” she cried, even as the deadly weapon plunged toward her.

  Goo leapt between them, the scythe plunging into his gelatinous flesh…and stopping there. Goo wrapped himself around the Reaper and its weapon, trapping it inside himself.

  But the Reaper merely returned to its shadow-form, passing right through Goo and rematerializing next to the Collector.

  “Okay Gideon,” Piper grumbled. “How in the hell are we going to fight that thing?”

  And then Myko moon-dashed straight into the Reaper, sending it flying backward…right into the Collector’s painting.

  Trapping them both inside.

  “Simon!” the Collector snapped.

  The boy rushed toward the Collector’s painting, and Nightmare sent a tentacle shooting after him. But the Collector cut that tentacle in half with his glowing sword. Gideon shoved his cane into his chest-painting, then thrust one hand out, his black glove flying forward. It sailed right at Simon, just as the boy reached the painting to pull the Reaper out.

  But instead of grabbing Simon, the magical glove grabbed the frame of the painting, yanking it forward…and threatening to trap Simon inside.

  Simon dodged out of the way just in time.

  Gideon’s glove flew right back to Gideon, stopping before its master, the painting still in-hand. Gideon reached into the painting, pulling Myko out…but leaving the Reaper trapped inside.

  “The Collector!” he cried, flipping the painting around so its painted side faced the Collector.

  Myko took the hint, moon-dashing right into the backside of the painting.

  The wolf shot across the room, shoving the painting at the Collector…and trapping him within.

  Myko and the painting slammed into the opposite wall, and Myko materialized, stumbling backward from the painting. It landed face-up…and Simon leapt for it, sliding across the floor and reaching into the painting, pulling the Collector out. Then he kicked the painting to the side, and it slid across the floor away from them.

  “Nice try,” the Collector growled, holding his sword before him. “Playtime’s over.” He turned to Simon and the Doppelganger. “Kill the woman and the Actor.”

  “But Gideon,” Simon protested.

  “Leave Gideon and the girl to me,” the Collector ordered.

  Simon swallowed, but nodded, glancing at the Doppelganger.

  Who sprinted at Piper with frightening speed, lunging at the Actor.

  Piper met the Familiar head-on, kicking it right in the belly. His foot smashed through to the Doppelganger’s back…but the Doppelganger hardly minded. Piper’s leg was effectively trapped…and the Doppelganger grabbed Piper by the head, whirling him around and throwing him bodily toward the open doorway at the opposite end of the room. Piper went right through the doorway, vanishing into the room beyond…

  …and Doppelganger and Simon went right after him.

  “Piper!” Kendra cried. Nightmare wrapped a tentacle around her waist, carrying her quickly across the room and through the doorway after her husband.

  And Miss Savage stood from her chair, walking up to the door to close it…and lock it.

  “Thank you Miss Savage,” the Collector stated. He turned to Gideon and Bella then. “I believe a little music is in order.”

  Miss Savage smiled, returning to her chair. She reached up into the air with one hand, drawing it downward…and the bow of a violin appeared in her hand. She set this on her left shoulder, and a violin appeared there.

  “Any requests?” she inquired in a smooth, sultry voice.

  “Surprise them,” the Collector replied.

  And then Miss Savage began to play.

  * * *

  Harsh notes struck Gideon’s ears as Miss Savage’s bow danced madly over the strings of her violin, the sudden burst of music so jarring it made him stumble backward. Myko cowered, burying his ears in his paws, and Bella cried out, covering her own ears.

  But the notes climbed higher, screeching with a crazed fury. An onslaught that pierced Gideon’s ears, making his eyes water. He dropped to his knees, his head pounding with each vicious strike of Miss Savage’s bow across the strings. The Collector strode up to Gideon, his sword poised to strike. He had undoubtedly heard the song before, and had become accustomed to its power.

  But Gideon had not. He just knelt there, Bella a few yards behind him, both helpless against the onslaught.

  Undead dragons, however, had no ears.

  Nemesis lunged forward, whipping her tail and striking the Collector across the right side of his face. His head snapped to the side, his thin skin tearing like tissue paper, blood spraying from the wound.

  He cursed, turning to face her and raising his sword. But Nemesis jumped upward, flapping her wings forward to send herself flying backward. She landed at Bella’s side, the wind from her wings slamming into the Collector, knocking him back a step.

  Myko, Gideon cried out silently. Take her down!

  Myko shot forward as a beam of pure silver light, careening toward Miss Savage.

  Who stopped playing the violin…and began to sing.

  Stop world

  Rest for a while,

  Time goes on

  But yours is slowing.

  And as she sang, time slowed to a crawl.

  Gideon watched as Myko moon-dashed toward Miss Savage, beaming toward her inch-by-inch. While his mind moved at normal speed, everything else was painfully slower. His breathing. His heartbeat. Even the speed at which his eyes moved.

  He watched in disbelief as Miss Savage calmly stood from her chair at normal
speed, continuing to play as she stepped out of the way of the oncoming attack, hooking her chair with one foot and sliding it along with her.

  What she was doing was impossible. Inconceivable. No one could do it…not even the greatest Musicians in the Pentad.

  Myko slammed into the wall where she’d been only moments ago, the stone cracking under the impact. He materialized with agonizing slowness, then stumbled backward from the wall.

  And Miss Savage eased herself into her chair as if nothing had happened, continuing to sing.

  You stop

  But Time goes on,

  An eternity in every

  Second.

  Gideon turned his head slowly, watching as the Collector recovered from Nemesis’s blow. He was moving slightly faster than everyone else – save for Miss Savage, of course – having apparently desensitized himself somewhat to the song. The Collector ran right for Gideon, raising his sword to strike.

  The blade plunged right for Gideon’s head…and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

  Suddenly wings curled around Gideon from behind, blocking the Collector from view. Gideon waited for the Collector’s sword to pierce right through Nemesis’s wings and impale him…but nothing happened.

  Then he remembered that her wings were painted. The Collector’s sword must have plunged through them.

  Nemesis retracted her wings violently, throwing the Collector to the side. At the same time, her tail whipped out, lashing him across the right temple…again.

  The Collector swore, whipping his sword at her tail as she retracted it. The blade cut right through, amputating the tip of her tail.

  Right as Myko moon-dashed into the Collector from behind.

  The Collector flew forward with the impact, but as Myko was moving incredibly slowly, the blow had only fraction of the force it otherwise would have had. The Collector dodged out of the way, slashing at Myko’s flank as he did so. The blade did no damage – Myko was invincible while he was moon-dashing – and Myko reached the other end of the room, colliding with the wall there in slow-motion.

  Then the Collector turned back to Gideon, leaping past Nemesis and thrusting the tip of his sword at Gideon’s forehead.

  Nemesis swung her tail at the Collector’s head, and it wrapped around his free arm from behind. She yanked backward, and the Collector’s blade veered away from Gideon’s head, piercing his right shoulder instead. It sank into his flesh with ease, going right through his shoulder bone and exiting out his back.

  The pain was excruciating.

  Nemesis pulled the Collector toward herself, the sword yanking free from Gideon’s shoulder. The dragon lunged at the Collector’s sword-arm, clamping down on it with her powerful jaws. The bones of his forearm crumpled with a horrible crunch, blood spurting from between Nemesis’s razor-sharp teeth.

  The Collector screamed.

  But instead of sinking to his knees, or giving up, the Collector did something else entirely.

  He lifted his sword high in the air, bringing it down on the dragon’s bony neck.

  Decapitating her.

  Chapter 49

  Bella watched in horror as the Collector’s sword sliced through her Familiar’s neck, cutting through the bone as if it weren’t even there. She felt a horrible pain in her own neck, so sudden and agonizing that it threatened to drop her to her knees.

  Nemesis’s jaws released from the Collector’s forearm, her head tumbling to the floor in slow-motion. Her body went rigid for a moment, then collapsed, leaving her headless skeleton lying crumpled on the floor.

  And under the power of Miss Savage’s terrible song, all Bella could do was watch.

  A world

  Frozen in Time,

  Rest up,

  Your moment’s coming.

  The Collector swayed, clutching his mangled right forearm to his belly. Blood pumped from deep wounds there, spattering on the floor. He turned to Gideon, gripping his sword’s hilt so tight that his knuckles turned white.

  Bella stared at Nemesis’s head, her mind numb. Her legs wobbled, and she fell slowly, feeling her knees strike the floor. She could still feel her dragon’s thoughts. The final few seconds of life before oblivion took her.

  Look at your enemy, she felt Nemesis order.

  Bella turned her head slowly, staring at the Collector. The man had shifted his sword to his left hand, and was striding toward Gideon, his mouth set in a grim line.

  No more running.

  Gideon raised his cane as the Collector swung his sword, barely managing to block the deadly strike.

  Don’t think.

  Gideon’s cane unleashed the energy it had absorbed earlier, and the Collector’s sword shot backward.

  Do!

  Bella looked down, seeing Sleep Terror still clutched in her right hand. She grit her teeth, rising to her feet.

  She drew Sleep Terror back, then swung it forward at the back of the Collector’s head, watching as the bony whip uncoiled in slow-motion. But the Collector merely dodged to the side, avoiding the strike…and returned his gaze to Gideon, raising his sword again to attack.

  And this time, there was no way Gideon would be able to defend himself in time.

  Bella reached into her chest-painting. She felt the dull heat of one of the fireballs Gideon had placed within the canvas back before they’d gone through Devil’s Pass.

  There are bad people out there, Bella. And they’ll use your kindness against you.

  Bella hesitated, gripping the fireball tightly. She heard a voice inside her head then, Nemesis’s final thought.

  End him.

  Bella cried out, drawing the fireball out of her chest-painting and hurling it at the Collector.

  A sudden burst of heat assaulted her as it materialized, shooting forward at incredible speed, even with Miss Savage’s song. But somehow the Collector managed to dodge it anyway, lunging to the side.

  And the fireball shot right past him, slamming into Miss Savage instead.

  Miss Savage shrieked as she and her chair burst into flames, and time returned abruptly to normal.

  “No!” the Collector cried, turning away from Gideon and rushing to Miss Savage’s aid. He struggled to remove his white suit coat to snuff out the flames, but Miss Savage recovered quickly, her voice filling the room again. A chilling tune that send a shiver down Bella’s spine…and turned the air inside the room practically arctic.

  The flames around her snuffed out.

  “Go Myko!” Gideon cried.

  Myko moon-dashed at the Collector and Miss Savage, but materialized halfway across the room, his silver glow dying out early.

  “What’s wrong?” Bella blurted out.

  “He’s running out of moonlight,” Gideon answered grimly.

  Myko bounded toward the enemy anyway, leaping at the Collector. But the Collector dodged out of the way at the last minute, and Myko slammed into the wall behind the man.

  And the Collector thrust his sword into Myko’s flank, the terrible blade sinking into the wall itself…and pinning poor Myko against it.

  Myko howled.

  Bella burst forward, rushing to the great silver wolf’s aid. She went around the Collector’s desk – and Gideon vaulted over it, even with his injured shoulder – sprinting at the Collector.

  Miss Savage intercepted them, assaulting them with the end of her time-altering song.

  Soon Time

  Will be with you again,

  And give life

  To moments.

  Time slowed again, even as Bella lashed out with Sleep Terror, aiming for the Miss Savage’s head. Bella watched as the skeletal whip unfurled before her, the tip sailing toward the woman. And as the Collector wrapped his fingers around Myko’s throat.

  And squeezed.

  Myko shrieked, the horrible sound cutting off abruptly as his windpipe was forced shut. He flailed frantically, wrapping his big paws around the Collector’s arm, his eyes wide with terror. Still the Collector squeezed, harder and har
der. So hard his whole hand turned white.

  Crack.

  Myko’s windpipe crumpled.

  “No!” Gideon shouted. He rushed at Miss Savage, swinging his cane at her.

  Miss Savage dodged Gideon’s attack…but not Bella’s. Sleep Terror struck her temple in a glancing blow, barely scratching her. But it was still enough for the whip to exert its dark power.

  Miss Savage’s song cut short, her eyes rolling up into the back of her head. She slumped to the floor, her head bouncing off the hard marble.

  Gideon rushed past her, swinging his cane at the Collector. But the Collector yanked his sword out of the wall – and Myko – blocking the blow. Gideon roared, swinging the cane again and again, attacking the Collector viciously.

  The Collector stumbled backward, barely managing to fend off Gideon’s blows.

  Gideon was unrelenting, his face twisted in rage. And the harder each blow struck the Collector’s blade, the more powerful the subsequent strike became…until Gideon hit so hard that the Collector’s sword flew from his hand. Gideon followed up with an expertly executed blow to the man’s right thigh.

  The bone snapped in half, and the Collector screamed.

  He fell flat onto his back, clutching at his ruined leg…and Gideon stood over him, pressing the butt of his cane into the Collector’s chest. Gideon’s own chest heaved as he glared down at the man, his face beet red.

  “You bastard!” he cried, pinning the Collector to the floor.

  Bella reached Myko’s side, kneeling down before the poor wolf. Myko gasped for air, his eyes wide with terror, a horrible gurgling sound coming from his throat. Blood oozed from his nose and mouth, forming a frothy pool around his snout.

  “Gideon!” Bella cried.

  Gideon blinked, turning to face them.