by A. J. Menden
“I told you not to forget I was here,” he said.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
“I know where Dylan is,” Cyrus said to Wesley.
I moved to sit on the edge of the bed. I was still reeling from the shock of everything that had happened. Cyrus sat nearby, though maintaining a respectable distance in front of my father. Even at our age, I guess no one wants to be caught in an impromptu make-out session by a parent. “And the Cult of the Dragon. They’re getting ready to let him free.”
“We’ll get there and stop them,” Wesley promised. “Give me the coordinates and I’ll speak to Paul about strategy.”
“I’m coming with you,” Cyrus said.
Wesley nodded. “We’re going to need everyone—including Fantazia.” He looked at me with hope in his eye, and I nodded assent without any negotiation. “But we can’t go into this without a plan, especially against the Dragon. And . . . you need to take a few moments for recovery.” He seemed to be watching Cyrus carefully, as if he still wasn’t sure what my spell had done to him.
“I’m fine,” Cyrus said. “I—”
Wesley cut him off. “You and Fantazia need to talk.” His eyes burned into me as he turned. “About what she did to save you.”
“I’m going to,” I spoke up, if a bit testily. It wasn’t like he’d spilled the beans to Lainey the moment his incident happened. But time was of the essence, and after everything Cyrus and I had just shared, I might as well come clean about just how far I’d gone. I’d gotten firsthand knowledge of his deep, dark secrets, so in some ways this only seemed fair.
Of course, our soul link was far greater than anything Wesley and Lainey had, so who knew how much Cyrus already knew?
“Take a few moments and join us when you’re ready,” Wesley said, patting me on the shoulder as he passed to go out into the hallway. “The Dragon isn’t out yet, so there’s still time.”
The door swished shut behind him, leaving Cyrus and me alone. I looked to Cyrus, who watched me intently but with a smile on his face. I smiled back. “What?”
“You’re gorgeous.”
My smile broadened. “Not entirely a newsflash.”
“No, I mean, you are. When you came to see me inside my mind, I saw the real you. What’s on the inside.”
My smile fell a bit. “Definitely less gorgeous.”
“No,” he said. “Gorgeous isn’t a big enough word for what you are. You’re something else—like an angel. You glow.”
I just stared at him.
“I’m not doing you justice. You’re just . . . you’re indescribable.”
God help me, but my heart actually fluttered. “You don’t have to work so hard. I already love you. No need to flatter me. No need to sweeten the pot.”
He grinned. “Say it again.”
“No need to sweeten the pot?”
He moved closer. “The other thing.”
I pretended innocence even as I stretched out on the bed beneath him. “You don’t have to work so hard?”
“You’re such a tease,” he said, moving to kiss my neck.
I moved my head to whisper in his ear. “I love you.”
He stopped and stared deep into my eyes and said, “I love you.” And then he kissed me, hard and passionate.
It was clear exactly where this was headed. I said against his mouth, “But you’re supposed to be recovering.”
“This will be a great way to recover.”
“And I’m supposed to be talking to you . . .”
“Oh, I’m sure you’ll be saying things. Maybe even in a variety of languages.”
I laughed and succumbed. After all, I hadn’t loved anyone in forever. It felt good, and there was a lot of catching up to do.
A short time later I was beginning to wonder how Wesley and Lainey ever got any work done. Soul connections are amazing things! Then I remembered that theirs was a much smaller connection than what Cyrus and I now had. And then I remembered all thoughts about the logistics of their love were something I was avoiding.
“Maybe it’s just having come back from the almost-dead, but wow,” Cyrus said next to me. “Just . . . wow.”
“Stop, you’ll make me blush,” I joked, trying to keep it light.
“If that’s the aftereffect of a hex, I think there’ll be a long list of people waiting to sign up after I publish my autobiography.”
“It’s not the hex,” I said, getting serious. “That’s still there, though. I don’t know if you can tell. There was no way to take it off—not without the help of the original caster.”
“Yeah, I can still feel it.” Cyrus absently rubbed a hand across his chest. “But it’s not doing anything.”
“No. I took advantage of your last coherent moment,” I said. “They had ahold of you. Did you know that? Dylan and whoever is working with him.”
Cyrus nodded. “Yeah, I know. I couldn’t stop them. I was trapped inside my body, powerless to do anything.” He shuddered. “It was horrible.”
“Well, that last moment when you were still you, I grabbed it. I froze you.”
He looked confused. “I don’t feel frozen.”
“Well, you are.” I was suddenly afraid he was going to get mad or freak out. “I’m sorry. It was the only thing I could think of to do.”
“I don’t understand, how do you mean, ‘froze’ me?” he asked. “I’m still walking around, moving and talking. You mean you froze the hex?”
“That, too. That magic is frozen; it can’t drain you anymore. But you can’t get any better either. Even if we find the person who cast the spell, they can’t take it off.”
Cyrus frowned but then shrugged. “Well, as long as it’s not doing any damage, it’s not a big deal. Right? It’s like a tattoo but on the inside.”
“Well, there’s more,” I said.
“More?”
“You’re frozen.” I bit my lip, suddenly scared to death of his reaction. “You’re not going to age. You’re not going to get sick. It’s likely you’re never going to die, though I wouldn’t go out of your way to test that theory, because you’ll still feel pain.”
“How in the world did you do that?” He looked a bit scared. “What did you do?”
“The hex was eating your soul.” I took a deep breath. “So I gave you a part of mine. A rather big part, actually.”
He was quiet, just looking at me like he was still trying to digest this piece of information.
“So,” I said, trying to keep my tone light, “that’s why you’re somewhat like me now. You’re frozen in time like I am. And that’s also why everything is more intense between the two of us. We’ve got a soul connection, because we’re sharing part of the same soul.”
Again, he didn’t speak.
“It’s not all gravy, if you’re thinking it is.” I hoped he was pleased by what I’d done, but I’d made an enormous decision without his consent. Wasn’t I the one bemoaning my immortal fate only hours ago? He needed to know the whole truth. “It also means—or likely means—that if one of us is hurt, so will be the other one. Wesley said it’s possible that if one of us is killed, the other would pass on, too. I don’t really know for sure, because no one’s ever done anything like this. Not that I know of. Lainey has a small part of Wesley’s soul, but you’ve gotten a sizable chunk of mine.”
Cyrus finally broke his silence. “That took a lot out of him, when your father cast that spell. That’s when he lost a lot of his powers.”
I shrugged. “It was really more the resurrection spell he cast on Lainey, but I’m sure the soul donation didn’t help.”
“How much did you give?” he asked.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. It doesn’t matter, though. But . . . I’m definitely not the most powerful magic-user on the planet anymore. I’m down on a level playing field with the rest of you.”
He shook his head. “Wow, sweetheart. When you go for the grand gesture, you go for it big-time.”
I couldn’t read his reaction. �
�Are you upset?”
“Why would I be upset you did all of that to save me?” He shook his head. “If anything, I’m wondering if I’m worth the effort. If I’m worthy of the sacrifice you’ve made.”
I gave him a little smile. “I think you are.”
He smiled back. “You know what this means, don’t you?”
“What?”
“You’re stuck with me. Forever. Quite literally, too, unless we find out that we can be killed.”
I hadn’t thought about that, exactly. “Well, let’s try not to find that out.”
“It’s an awfully big commitment,” he said.
“I know.” But I was also aware of something else: I wasn’t alone anymore. I had unwittingly made myself a companion, someone who wasn’t going to age and die. Someone who wasn’t going to leave me. Well, not unless he wanted. Would he want to?
“I’ve got to warn you, I’m a bit terrified of commitment,” he said.
I understood. “Look who you’re talking to.”
He grinned. “Want to give it the first hundred years or so and see how it goes?”
I couldn’t help the smile on my face. “A century sounds great.” A century with Cyrus seemed like the best thing that had happened to me in millennia.
We sealed our pact with a kiss. And then another and then another. And then, when it seemed like we were headed back into territory that would keep us occupied for far too long, considering what was happening with the EHJ, I said, “We’d better be getting back with my father and the others. We’ve still got to try to get to Dylan before he can get to the Dragon.” Part of me was enjoying the idea of helping the world now. It seemed there was so much more to save.
Cyrus shrugged. “I know exactly where he is, and we still have time.”
“We have other things to do, too,” I reminded him. “There’s just the Cult of the Dragon to get through before we have to fight him.”
“Only that,” Cyrus agreed amiably.
“And the kid’s hopped up on powers not his own. Neither of us is powerful enough to stop him.”
“Well, we’ll be able to wear him down, maybe. Or perhaps we can punt him into another dimension or something, like what Wesley did to the Dragon. It’s not like he can kill you or anything. Did you give up enough of your power to be scared?”
I sighed. “I always said it’s possible things can kill me. Like, a weapon meant to kill a god could likely hurt me, and . . .” I stopped dead in my tracks. “Oh. Oh, my.”
“Got an idea brewing?”
I jumped up and started throwing on clothes. “Kate’s here, right?”
“Last I knew, yeah.”
“Then I wonder if she would make a quick trip home . . . to possibly borrow one of her father’s weapons.”
Light dawned in Cyrus’s eyes. “Because if we get our hands on a weapon forged by one of the gods, powerful enough to kill another god . . .”
“It’ll definitely be enough to take out one super-powered kid. But we’re going to have to get in close to use it.”
Cyrus grinned. “Leave that to me.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“Is everyone clear on what they’re doing?” Wesley asked.
“We’re going to beat the Cult of the Dragon into submission. Not much to misinterpret,” Toby said.
“Try not to die in the process,” Lainey put in.
“Lather, rinse, repeat,” Paul said.
Luke shook his head. “It’s still off-putting when you do that, Paul. I’m too used to the overly serious version of you.”
“See what you’ve missed?” Selena said.
Wesley smirked. “Fantazia, Kate and Cyrus are going after Dylan. We’re the big distraction. But should they need us, we go in on the assist.”
“Let’s just hope that whoever’s guarding Dylan is lovelorn,” I said, taking another look at Kate and remembering her powers. She could only coerce the unattached.
Kate shrugged. “I’m not above using my fists, sweetie.”
“Good to know.”
“Everyone keep your headsets on at all times,” Mindy spoke up. “I’m supposed to be battle coordinator, and I can’t be coordinating if I can’t hear you.”
Forrest glanced around at us. “You all scare me a bit,” he said, eyeing Toby nervously. He was in town to help and supposed he would assist Mindy in monitoring every location with combat. “We’re talking about life-or-death situations, in which you could all possibly be killed, and you’re acting like it’s no big deal.”
Toby smiled sadly. “Honey, it is no big deal to us. We do this on a daily basis.”
“The joys of being a mundane with a hero,” his boyfriend said, giving him a quick kiss. “Just be careful out there. All of you. But you especially, hon,” he said to Toby.
“It doesn’t get better if you’re both heroes,” Mindy spoke up. “I worry just as much.” She winced and put a hand on her stomach. “And worrying seems to wind this kid up. If only I were going out—”
“It’s no better when you’re in the field,” Lainey said.
“Everyone, we’re trained professionals. We’re all going to make it through this, just try to concentrate on what needs doing,” Wesley said. “I know it’s not going to be easy, but our concerns for our teammates should be at the back of our minds instead of the front. We need to get there before they release the Dragon.”
I turned to Cyrus. “Does Dylan know we’re coming?”
“You turned off the link between us, so I don’t know for sure, but he knows we have his location. You do the math.”
I nodded. “We’d better move fast. Everybody ready?”
Everyone nodded.
“You need me, you call,” Wesley said to me. Then, to the others: “Let’s go. It’s a good plan, Fantazia. Thanks for thinking of it.”
Using Mindy’s latest transportation device, we all teleported. In the moment between the EHJ headquarters and nothingness, I felt a shift in the atmosphere, like the whole world tilted. It was something that only another magic-user could feel, and it wasn’t good. Then we appeared in front of the Cult of the Dragon’s secret lair.
I stood upon a small hill overlooking an unassuming old warehouse at the edge of Megolopolis. The building was long abandoned, fallen to wrack and ruin. Nothing about it felt right, and something extremely significant felt wrong.
I groaned. “Oh, no.”
“Oh, shit,” Cyrus growled.
“What?” Lainey asked, looking sick.
Wesley’s face was a mask of determination. “The Dragon. He’s out.”
The nonmagical members of the team stared at us in horror. I felt the same.
“He knows we’re here, doesn’t he?” Lainey asked, sounding terrified.
As if in response, an army of cultists came flooding out of the warehouse. They were led by a darkly handsome man with crimson hair. He called out across the field between us, “Old One. We will have words. And I will have your friends’ blood.”
Wesley stared at me. “Get in there and stop Dylan.”
I stared back. “Dad, you’re going to need our help. You’re going to need all the help you can get. Everyone.”
He shook his head. “Just go.”
Kate grabbed my arm. “Listen to your father, Fantazia. But I’ll be of more help to them than to you.”
“No need for seduction in there,” I agreed. “We’ll just hack our way in.”
I held up the sword she’d gotten me from Zeus and checked to make sure the dagger she had given me was stashed away in case I needed it. Cyrus raised a large broadsword that had been his gift. “Let’s kick some ass,” he said.
I smiled. “You look so hot with that. A real warrior.”
“Likewise.” He grinned. “So, Dylan’s still in that building; that much I can tell. You ready to do this?”
“No. So let’s do it quick before I change my mind.”
He took my hand and we teleported inside.
I felt several
wards shudder in protest as we entered, but the gun we used was potent; we managed to appear intact. “Ooh. Science trumps magic,” I laughed. It was the first time I was glad of such an outcome.
“Mindy was right: wards can keep out magical teleports, but they can’t do squat against travel based on science. The people here severely misjudged,” Cyrus said, peering around. The room wasn’t very big, and there weren’t many places for Dylan to hide. He cocked his head to glance at the rooms above. “Upstairs?”
“He’s got to know we’re here now,” I said. “He had to feel the wards shift.”
“He’s just hiding,” Cyrus said. “Because he’s too scared to come out and face us.”
Ah. Cyrus believed Dylan was listening, so I joined in on the baiting. “Like a little boy. Because that’s all he is.”
“No! I’m much more now!” Dylan’s voice rang out, echoing through building, and I shot Cyrus a look of triumph. “I’ve been remade into something else entirely. Something powerful.” He stepped out of the shadows, flanked by several guards, and I saw that he was right about one thing: he looked different. He was no longer the slouchy, gangly youth I’d known in the bar; he now walked with confidence and projected potency.
Of course, that only made me want to mock him even more. “Powerful, huh?” I said, with a barely concealed sneer. “So powerful you have to have paid goons watch your ass.”
“Just like you’re so powerful you need to paint protective wards on your body,” Dylan replied.
“No, I never needed those wards; they were only for effect,” I said. “But you’re all show, Dylan.”
He ignored me. “You had to bring your little boyfriend for backup? Really, Fantazia. Cyrus? He’s always been a second-rate loser.”
“I take exception to that,” Cyrus spoke up. “I’ve always been a first-rate loser.”
Dylan ignored him. “You could do so much better, Fanny.”
I laughed, though my throat was dry. “Like you, a pubescent boy who got sucked into doing the dirty work of the Dragon because a more powerful person isn’t available? You’re nothing but a glorified lapdog, Dylan, and you know it.”