by Simone Pond
Benjamin’s smile illuminated his face. “You have a way with words, CO.”
A sudden deafening explosion erupted and blasts of lightning whizzed past. One of the blasts careened into my gut, flinging me so high into the air I came eye-to-eye with Levi sitting in the tower. Gravity then yanked me back to earth and I dropped like an anvil. Something swooped in and carried me off before I smacked into the pavement.
An eagle’s talons gripped the collar of my jacket and soared with me above the bridge.
“I knew you could do it, Benjamin! We have a bird’s eye view of the bridge!”
Benjamin flapped his golden wings and flew higher up. I could see Counselor Magnus and Nils standing in the middle of the bridge. Magnus was still aiming his cane and firing off blasts toward Matthias, who had run for cover under the bridge. Daniel and Haggai were encased inside a glowing crystal mage-cage. On the other side of the bridge, hundreds of armed operatives stood in formation.
“Go back toward Magnus, but don’t land,” I told Benjamin.
He circled back and swooped closer to Magnus and Nils.
“What’s with the lightning?” I yelled down.
“The agreement was only one person. You brought four,” Nils answered for the counselor.
“And what about the hundreds of operatives you brought?”
“We’re not fools,” Nils said.
“Well, neither am I!”
Magnus stepped in front of Nils and shouted up to me, “Come down; let’s talk like reasonable people.”
Reasonable people? He was a freaking genocidal warlock and the furthest thing from reasonable.
“Send the operatives back or I’m not coming down,” I said.
Magnus said something to Nils, who then spoke into his earpiece. The operatives retreated to the opening of the bridge on the right bank. I still considered the proximity of their location a threat.
“Not good enough,” I said.
“It’s the best you’re getting,” Nils said.
Benjamin and I continued to circle above.
“I’m sure you want your friends to go free,” Magnus said.
The only reason I agreed to meet the counselor was to protect Haggai and Daniel. But I couldn’t die for them. I had a prophecy to fulfill. Matthias must’ve sensed my trepidation because he started down the bridge right toward Nils and Magnus. He left me no choice but to go down. But I had an idea.
“If we both agree to bind our magic, I’ll come down,” I said to Magnus.
The moonlight glinted in his panther eyes. “Very well.”
“Take me to Matthias,” I told Benjamin.
He swooped down and lowered me next to Matthias on the bridge.
“Go to Levi and wait for my instructions.” I waved Benjamin off.
Matthias looked panicked. “What’s going on? Are my father and brother okay?”
“You have to trust me.”
We started walking toward the middle of the bridge.
“Magnus has an army of operatives waiting on the other side,” I said.
Matthias quickened his steps. “I’ve gotta get my family.”
“I know. And we will. But I have a plan. Just trust me, okay? The entire left bank is counting on us to get back to those ships with your brother and father. If it weren’t for them, I probably never would’ve known my true purpose.”
I stopped when we were about a hundred feet away from Nils and Magnus. “Nils can bind my magic with that device, but the warlock is getting into a mage-cage.”
“That wasn’t the deal, Bachar!” Magnus said.
“Changed my mind. Mage-cage or I walk.”
Magnus paced, cursing into the wind. He returned to Nils and instructed him to proceed. Nils pulled out his device and ensnared Magnus inside a crystal cage. The warlock glared at me through the glowing blue bars.
I glanced at Matthias. “That was too easy, huh?”
“Definitely.”
Still, we continued walking. When we were within twenty feet, Nils aimed one of those powerful new devices at me and shot some intense energy that not only blocked my magic, but sucked the life force out of me.
“That thing sucks …” I gasped.
Magnus cackled from inside the mage-cage. “Good thing you still have your humor, Miss Bachar. You’ll need that.”
“Shut up,” I slurred, then dropped to my knees to catch my breath.
Magnus studied me a moment with a cruel grin twisting his thin lips. That new device was a force to be reckoned with. I was starting to regret my decision to let Nils bind my magic. Had I known its level of intensity, I would’ve opted for the mage-cage. Magnus might’ve been trapped, but he still looked alive. Meanwhile my vitality was being depleted by the second. Maybe that was his plan—get me to proposition the use of that device so he could drain and contain every bit of my magic. The warlock had outsmarted me.
Matthias tried to help me up, but I shoved him away. “Help your family.”
He stood and faced Nils. “You have Jordan. Let them go.”
Nils whipped out another device from his belt and aimed it at Matthias. A violet streak rippled outward and transported Matthias into the crystal cage with Daniel and Haggai.
“What are you doing?” I tried to shout, but it came out as a moan.
Nils tucked both devices back into his belt, then stalked over to the glowing cage. He did something I’d never seen before. He lifted his hands, palms up, and without the aid of any magical device he elevated the entire cage and hurled it over the side of the Uphaz Bridge.
“Nooooo!” I crawled across the pavement and pulled myself up to the railing to peer over the side.
The crystal cage—with Matthias, Daniel, and Haggai—plunged into the River Elin in an enormous splash and was immediately swept away in the rapid currents.
I sank to the ground, weak and bleary eyed. “Why, Nils?”
He yanked me to my feet, pressing my back against the railing. But without that wretched device sucking my magic, I’d regained some of my strength. At least enough to pull back my fist and clock Nils in the jaw.
He grabbed my fist mid-swing. “Don’t,” he whispered. “Just trust me, Jordy.”
Trust me …
Shockwaves of confusion rolled through me. He’d turned against me to join forces with Magnus. Or had he? Was it a ruse to gain the High Warlock’s confidence? Everything started making sense … the way our lives had intertwined, how I always suspected his special gifts to be of left-bank descent, and how he kept showing up everywhere …
Nils was one of us.
He held the device he’d been using to drain my magic and reversed the energy flow, reverting everything back into my system. The surge rocketed my body like a heart defibrillator, exploding me back to life.
“What are you doing?” Counselor Magnus shouted from inside the mage-cage.
Nils turned and stormed over to the counselor. “Did you really think you could stop the prophecy?” He laughed. “You’re a low-grade wannabe. You could drain every drop of Ancient magic on the entire left bank and you and your demon god would still fail. You’re done, Magnus.”
Somehow the counselor had communicated to the operatives on the right bank and they began charging onto the bridge.
I grabbed Nils’s arm and tried to pull him with me. “We have to go!”
“This warlock needs to pay for what he’s done. Genocide. Daily doses of poison. Enslavement. His bill’s way overdue!” Nils was shouting now.
“He will pay. But we have to get off this bridge before those operatives reach us! We’ll deal with him later.”
Nils was seething with rage and refused to budge. He stood before the mage-cage and began to elevate it using his powerful magic. He was going to destroy the thing with Magnus inside. The mass drumming of the operatives’ boots hitting the pavement grew louder. Something had to be done.
I whistled for Benjamin. Seconds later he swooped down and perched on the railing next to me.
>
“Take Levi up with you and hold them off!”
The eagle flew away. Within seconds he whooshed across the dark sky with Levi gripped in his talons. Levi fired a hail storm of bullets into the oncoming operatives. The first few rows went down quick. But some of the men began shooting up into the sky, forcing Benjamin to fly away. The rest of the operatives continued swarming toward us.
Nils had the crystal cage containing Magnus in mid-air, but he trembled as he fought to keep it elevated. He wasn’t powerful enough to finish it off. But my magic had returned. I stretched out my arms skyward and called on the guiding star. The call didn’t go through because the mage-cage lit up like a particle explosion, knocking Nils and me back fifty feet.
Counselor Magnus stood on the bridge; his glare could cut titanium. The flaps of his long black coat blew in the wind as he held up his cane by the ruby handle. Nils jumped and ran toward the warlock, but the counselor shot a stream of fiery red lightning. My partner dropped to the ground and jerked into convulsions.
I started running over to help him, but Magnus stood before me, holding up his cane.
“Too late, Bachar,” he said.
“That’s not my name.”
“Whatever,” he replied.
The idea of arguing with the warlock over the importance of my true name was laughable. I raised my hands and send forth a blast of violet light directly at Magnus. He lifted his cane and deflected the beam so it struck a row of suspension cables, causing the bridge to totter and sway. I lost my footing and stumbled backward a bit, giving Magnus the opportunity to wing some lightning in my direction. The blasts sent me reeling into the railing, close to where Nils lay on the pavement.
He rolled to his knees and pushed me up. “Go on, Jordy. Before he captures you.”
“You need to get out of here, too,” I said.
“Not leaving till I know you’re safe. You got a prophecy to fulfill,” he said.
The army of operatives was closing in and the bridge was really swaying. Magnus stood back at a safe distance, holding up his cane and waiting for the right moment to strike without causing too much damage. He didn’t want to kill me; I was far too valuable alive.
“If you’re not leaving, then do something about the operatives!” I told Nils.
The sly grin spread across his handsome face as he got up and took off toward the throng of operatives.
“Nils!” I yelled.
He slowed a bit and glanced over his shoulder. “Yeah?”
“I always knew you were special.”
Laughing, he shouted back, “You too, Jordy… Are we off the clock?”
I had a feeling it’d be the last time I’d ever see my partner again.
A sudden burst of heat rolled over me and the temperature probably would’ve melted my bones had my magic not shielded me from the warlock’s flames. The force knocked me forward, causing me to skid across the bridge on my stomach. I jumped up quickly and turned to face Magnus just as a sonic boom sounded from the right side of the bridge. The entire structure jerked upward, then bounced from the cables in a springing motion. I held onto the railing to keep from flopping all over the cement.
Nils had destroyed the right side of the bridge and tons of operatives were blasted into the river. Nils was also gone. The rest of the structure started collapsing, suspension cables snapping off and whipping at the water’s surface. I needed to get off the bridge before the entire thing collapsed.
Magnus made a shaky approach toward me, getting thrown off balance by the constant jerking of the bridge. He aimed his cane, firing powerful lightning in my direction. The scorching blasts couldn’t penetrate my shield, but they were strong enough to knock me backwards toward the crumbling edge of the bridge.
I hit the pavement and something poked my thigh—one of the golden stars! I reached into my pocket and rose to my feet. The bridge wobbled and shook, but I trudged carefully toward Magnus. Once I was close enough, I winged one of the stars at him. His panther eyes lit up with shock as he stared down at the shining star protruding from his chest. Had I pierced his heart? I couldn’t tell from where I stood. Gusts of wind were blowing his long black coat and cloaking him. Another suspension cable snapped off and struck my back, knocking me down. When it swept back across, I reached up and grabbed it. I swung outward over the river, dangling airborne. Counselor Magnus remained immobile as glaring golden light ate through his body like acid. It was over. It was finally over.
“Benjamin!” I shouted over the roaring collapse of the bridge. “Help!”
In the near distance, the eagle emerged from the left bank and soared toward me. Magnus continued to stand stock-still. The Ancient One had said the light from the golden star would either change or destroy whoever it pierced. I never got a chance to know what happened to the warlock because a pair of sharp talons hooked into my jacket and carried me off.
CHAPTER 28
Benjamin glided back to the left bank and carefully deposited me onto the sand where Levi and CeeCee were waiting.
“You hurt?” CeeCee asked as she scanned my body.
“Minor cuts and bruises.”
The thundering crash of the Uphaz Bridge reverberated all around us. We turned to watch the final pieces of metal and cables plunge into the River Elin. I held onto a tiny sliver of hope that Magnus had gone down with the bridge, but I spotted a flash of light flare across the sky. Golden light. He’d found a way to use the star’s powers to his advantage, which meant I hadn’t pierced his heart. I felt like an idiot. Not only had I failed to kill the warlock, I’d given him a piece of the Ancient One’s priceless magic. I almost wanted to jump into the river and float downstream with the rest of the bridge debris.
Panic shot up through me. “Matthias! We need to get to that mage-cage before they get carried too far down the river and cross into Pyre.”
CeeCee gave me a stoic pat on the shoulder. “It’s all good.”
“What do you mean?”
“They’re taken care of,” she replied.
Benjamin flapped his eagle wings in rapid beats. I hadn’t noticed how beautiful they were before; the golden feathers glistened as if polished. A wind swept around us as he shifted back into his human form.
“Yeah,” Benjamin said. “I flew down to the ships and told them to be on the lookout for the mage-cage. They were able to drag the cage out of the river and pull the guys to safety. Your partner Nils actually did us a favor, sending them over the side like that. Sent them right to our ships.”
My heart ached for Nils, but relief filled my soul for Matthias, Daniel, and Haggai. They were safe. The Ancients were on the ships. And Magnus was out of the picture for the time being.
“Thank you,” I told them.
“We should get going,” CeeCee said.
“Yeah, let’s go.”
I started down the path and stopped to glance back one last time. The left bank appeared shut down, as though on holiday. The streets, factories, and homes had been abandoned. No more black smoke billowing up into the clouds. Not even a single street lamp or porch light glimmered in the night. All that remained was the shadow of a city that had only been a temporary home—later a prison—for the Ancients. I gazed across to the right bank and its glittering and gleaming brightness. The bridge connecting the two banks was now gone. What would become of Mysterium without the Ancients providing their blood, sweat, and magic to the Oligarchs? I thought of my mother, Charity, and a longing tugged at my bones. But that life was over now. I had been given the instructions by the Ancient One. And my job was to bring those three ships to the portal so all of us could return to our original home.
Author’s Note
First of all, thank you for reading my book! I truly appreciate your support and commitment. Writing is my favorite thing in the world and to be able to share this with people is a true gift. I write a lot, so if you’d like to be notified with exclusive updates on when my next novel will be released, sign up for my newsletter: http:/
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BY SIMONE POND
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All books are available on Amazon: Simone Pond’s Author Page
The Mysterium Chronicles
Exodus of Magic Book 1
River of Magic Book 2
Wrath of Magic Book 3
The Coastview Prophecies
Hidden Sight Book 1
Beyond Sight Book 2
Armor of Magic Series
Sacred Light Book 1
Rising Light Book 2
Edge of Light Book 3
The New Agenda Series
The City Center Book 1
The Mainframe Book 2
The Torrent Book 3
The New Agenda Prequel
Swarmed: A Dystopian Novel