by Rachel Xu
There stood Hannah, wielding a shovel with a crazed look in her eye.
“Hannah—”
“No time to talk,” she said. “Keep going!” She took off, ducking and side-stepping her way toward Mike.
He glanced quickly in every direction, still unable to catch sight of Lily. He had to find her before it was too late—yet already the beasts were closing in on him again.
Morack grabbed Lily by the back collar of her jacket and lifted her to her feet. “Come on and fight princess,” he snarled, “you're making this way too easy.”
She twisted and turned in vain, trying to wrench herself free, and stumbled forward when he let go of her unexpectedly.
He was toying with her.
“Show me what you've got,” he taunted. “Surely you must have some of Serena's power.”
She turned to face him and winced as she inhaled. Were her ribs cracked?
“Too slow,” he said, back-handing her across the face, his knobby knuckles cutting into the flesh of her cheek. She let out a cry and stumbled backward several steps.
It was hopeless. She hadn't the slightest chance against him. Her whole body pulsated with pain. He was simply holding back his strength for his own amusement.
Deciding she would die regardless, she lunged at him and grabbed his shoulders, pulling herself up and biting into his neck as hard as she could, twisting and grinding her teeth in an attempt to severe an artery. But her teeth couldn't even break the corded skin.
He laughed and pulled her from him, throwing her to the ground again. Something cracked in her left leg this time and a crushing pain shot up her thigh.
“This is comical,” he said. “Now get up and try again.”
She tried to sit up but collapsed on her back instead, spots before her eyes.
“Get up!” He kicked her in the ribs.
Lily's breathing grew shallow and whistle-like. He'd collapsed her lung.
Her entire body went numb.
She was going into shock.
“Get up—” he roared, kicking her across the flagstone. She slid, landing face down.
“Pathetic.” He grabbed her by the hair, lifting her face up. “I win.”
Her eyes closed as everything went black.
Chapter 36
Morack stood to his full height and stared down at the girl's crumpled body. He couldn't believe his luck. It had been easy and entertaining. Like a wolf sparring with a rabbit.
A warm tingling started in his hands and spread up his arms.
What was this?
He turned his hands over in surprise, examining them.
The warmth grew hotter still and was instantly painful, like hundreds of fire ants marching up his arms, biting his flesh each step of the way, and spreading out over his entire body within a matter of seconds. He had no time to think, it was happening so fast. He opened his mouth to howl as the searing pain engulfed his limbs like invisible flames and a mounting pressure in his chest cavity burst like an internal grenade.
All around him the beasts continued to wage war oblivious to his crisis but his screeching voice permeated the throngs until they finally took notice and stopped to stare. His cries were so deafening they clutched their ears and squeezed their eyes shut.
Above him the sun vanished and the sky darkened instantly as though a slated blanket had been tossed across the heavens. Thunder clapped, eclipsing his wails.
Then, as quickly as it had started, the burning pain vanished and a cool, tingling sensation replaced it—as though a bucket of ice water had doused his body.
His mouth hung open a moment and then he let out a shout of sudden triumph as renewed strength and power flooded his body.
The world seemed to freeze around Ian as he heard the first blood-curdling scream.
He had just downed another beast. His whole body ached and blood flowed freely from numerous slashes and bite wounds on his person.
None of the creatures he'd faced thus far had induced any terror in him like this sound had. It was like thousands of nails dragging down a chalkboard all at once.
As if on cue, everyone stopped fighting and turned toward the source of the noise. He knew without a doubt it was Morack, though there were too many creatures in front of him to see through.
Ian pushed his way through the beasts, trying to catch a glimpse of what was going on, but suddenly collapsed to the ground as waves of pain washed over his body; as severe as if a hose of acid had been turned upon him. He writhed back and forth, clawing at his skin and wilding scanning the crowd to see who or what had done this to him.
A spreading chorus of distressed wailing surrounded him. Thunder crashed. Then, just as the agony peaked, it left as quickly as it had come, leaving him with an all-consuming sense of power.
The slashes and gouges and bites on his skin and muscles closed up and scarred over within a mere half second. Physically, he felt better than he had in years, as though nothing could ever stand in his way again.
Yet his heart sank to his feet.
The reason his ability to heal had been suppressed and sluggish lately was because of Lily. And the only possible reason for its returning strength was . . . her death.
The sky above him had turned to slate as his father's cries of pain became shouts of triumph.
The thunder ceased.
Ian jumped to his feet and lunged through the crowd, bumping beasts out of his way like bowling pins. He broke through the cluster encircling Morack and there stood his father—looming over Lily's lifeless body. Morack's face was upturned to the sky, hands raised palms up, energy surging up and down his arms like static.
Ian hesitated and stopped short, catching sight of Callamous and Varkis nearby. The look of despair in their eyes confirmed his worst fears. They were bloodied, broken, and defeated. Mike stood near them, tears making trails in the dirt on his cheeks.
Morack stopped gloating and lowered his head, scanning the crowd until his vermilion eyes locked onto Ian's.
Utter fury filled Ian's body and his face distorted as he thrust his hands out in front of him—casting streaks of fluorescent green at his father with a deafening crack.
Morack blocked the lightning bolts with his palms and they dissipated against an invisible shield emanating from his hands. Then, holding his arms out straight at his sides, the energy that had been building in them acted like a giant magnet drawing creatures toward him. As the first beast made contact, Morack's arm went into its body as though it were liquid and instantly absorbed the creature into him.
Morack's body grew taller.
Callamous, Varkis and Mike were far enough back to take instant cover, running in the opposite direction, but many of the beasts did not clue in soon enough, and though they dug their claws into the ground, they were dragged to Morack's side and absorbed one by one until he towered above them all: losing all recognizable features as his body twisted in and out of grotesque shapes.
Ian too was jerked toward his father along with the others, digging his heals into the ground to no avail.
Morack's magnetic power was like a collapsed star.
Forming balls of energy in his palms, Ian blasted them into the ground ahead of him and the explosions sent him flying backward, released from the pull. He hit the ground hard, rolling a few feet before coming to a stop. He scrambled back to his feet just as Callamous galloped up to his side in battle form; smoking black with blazing eyes.
“What's happening?” he asked, skidding to a stop and stamping a hoof.
“I'm not sure,” Ian said. “I've never seen him do anything like this before!”
“Is Lily—?”
“Don't say it.”
“Do you have a plan?”
“Yes—I'm going to kill him.”
“But without Lily—”
“Ssh—something's happening.”
Morack stood two stories tall now and would soon dwarf the mansion. Appendages grew and disappeared as he struggled to take a notable shape.
“We should attack now while he's still transitioning,” Callamous growled.
“No—we're no match. If you touch him while he's like this, you'll just be sucked in like all the others.”
Morack's body completed its transformation as they spoke. It became long and segmented, each section covered with a tough shell, and sprouting dozens upon dozens of centipede legs. He dropped down to the ground with a thwumph, showing himself to be ten feet tall and the length of three school buses end-to-end. His face was a giant maw, lined with the teeth of a lamprey. A pair of jade eyes gleamed on either side of his head.
“It has been an honor fighting with you,” Callamous said.
Ian nodded. “For Lily,” he said, voice catching on her name.
“For Lily.”
Callamous charged forward.
Ian followed suit, grabbing a fallen sword from the ground.
The world seemed to slow around him as he ran, the cries of dying beasts fading away as he focused solely on his target. In his peripheral, a gargoyle charged from the forest with an ax aimed at one of the centipede legs, but Morack lifted the limb and stabbed it through the gargoyle's back.
Like a blade through a fly.
Chapter 37
Callamous reached Morack first and dodged his swinging jaws, galloping beneath him and ramming his horn up into the underbelly over and over again, but Morack's armor-like plating was tightly-knit and there was no time for precision in aim. He galloped out the other end but just as he thought he'd cleared the Beast, searing pain tore through his hindquarters as Morack's maw clamped down on him. He hadn't realized the Beast would be so fast and flexible.
In the next second he was flying through the air a hundred feet above the battle-gored ground.
He began to fall.
Morack's jaws were wide open below, waiting to swallow him whole. There was no escaping. He closed his eyes as the jaws clamped down, impaling him. The Beast shook him to and fro and spat him out.
He crashed into the trunk of a tree and slid to the ground.
With a final glimpse of Ian taking a swing with his sword at one of the centipede legs, darkness closed in on him.
Enraged by the mauling of his friend, Ian swung his sword with all his might, severing the leg in one fell swoop.
Morack snarled and turned to face him.
Knowing he had mere seconds, Ian focused his energy on his palm and a sparking ball of light formed in front of his outstretched fingers. When it reached the size of a basketball he pulled his arm back and thrust it forward, sending the glowing ball of energy hurtling toward Morack's open jaws.
The Beast had no time to react and the orb hit him square in the face with an explosion of energy and light, tearing his head clean off.
Morack’s body twitched spasmodically and his dozens of legs tried to walk in every direction at once before he finally collapsed.
Ian fell to his knees and let out a lung-full of air. He inhaled deeply, staring ahead at the unmoving, headless body.
Morack was dead.
He stood to his feet and a chill ran up his spine.
The shreds of skin hanging where Morack's face had been began jiggling and knitting themselves back together. The nearby severed leg twitched and then skittered across the ground, reattaching itself to the stub.
Ian's heart faltered.
He'd always believed Morack could be killed if a death blow was received too quickly for healing to occur. But evidently even decapitation was no match for his father.
Morack stood up on his dozens of centipede legs and roared. He then bristled and quivered all over like a wet dog shaking off water, and focused his jade eyes on Ian.
He lunged.
Ian dove to the side and grabbed onto one of the legs—clinging to it.
The Beast howled in rage, twisting his body around and snapping at him with the lamprey teeth. Ian scrambled up the leg and went underneath, grabbing hold of an armored plate and hanging upside down from Morack's belly. Sweat dripped from his forehead and his muscles bulged as he dug his fingers and boot tips under the plates to keep from falling.
Morack curled his head in and under his belly to try and swallow up Ian, but he couldn't reach.
Supporting himself with only one hand, Ian pulled his sword from his belt and drove it into the soft flesh between the plates.
He cut and slashed everywhere he could, digging deep, hoping to perforate an organ. Morack writhed and squirmed. Ian let go and dropped to the ground, rolling out of the way as the Beast tried to impale him with his many legs. Rancid heat bathed his neck and he spun around to meet Morack's wide open maw coming toward him. It let out a roar, sending globs of spittle all over him; and would have swallowed him whole if Varkis hadn't appeared and rammed the jade eye with a sharp stick.
Ian yanked Varkis away from the Beast as it shook its head to dislodge the stick. The Anubis' ear was half torn and his bottom jaw hung at an odd angle, clearly broken. Blood dripped from between his canine teeth and his eyes were glazed and dim, but he gave a nod and indicated a plan.
Catching the cue instantly, Ian ran to Morack's side while Varkis started jumping up and down, distracting the Beast who couldn't seem to decide who to attack first. Deftly grabbing a leg, Ian scooted up to Morack's back and crawled on his hands and knees, gripping the armor to keep from sliding off. He reached the neck and withdrew his sword, preparing to drive it into the back of the Beast's skull between the plates and into his brain. If he could effectively leave the sword in place, Morack would be prevented from healing.
As if sensing his plan, Morack tucked in all the legs on his left side and rolled over. Ian was dislodged and flew through the air, flailing his arms and legs, sword slipping from his fingers.
With a thwack and a crunch his body collided with stone wall of a turret, snapping his back. He fell to the ground paralyzed.
Morack was only thirty feet away and quickly approaching.
Ian lay watching; helpless.
Varkis yelled and jumped and beat the ground to no avail: Morack was ignoring him now.
A prickling sensation engulfed Ian's legs and the bones in his back crackled as they fitted themselves back together. The sword lay only a meter away.
He snatched it just as the Beast lunged, and turned and jumped up, grabbing hold of Morack's lower jaw with his left hand and swinging from it—just barely missing being impaled by the row of teeth. The Beast tossed its head to shake him off and Ian let go deliberately, dropping down on Morack's back and gripping the plates with one hand to steady himself, while tucking in his sword with the other. He then scurried up to the head, withdrew the sword afresh, and rammed it between the plates—skewering Morack's brain.
Morack gasped and collapsed to the ground.
But there was no time to rejoice.
The jade eyes snapped open again and the Beast rose to its feet, lifting Ian into the air with him.
Chapter 38
Lily could see nothing but darkness all around her—yet it wasn't the darkness of being blind or unconscious—it was more like being in a windowless room with all the lights shut off.
Though come to think of it, she couldn't feel her body even remotely. She was neither hot nor cold. Just . . . there.
And she sensed a presence in the room with her, too, in the darkness. But good or bad, she couldn't say.
Where am I?
Lily had only thought the words, but an angelic feminine voice responded from nearby: “The in-between.”
I don't understand.
“You are neither dead nor alive, just in-between.”
How is that possible?
“Morack defeated you and now you are faced with the most important decision of your life.”
What is it?
“To live or to die.”
I'd like to liv—
“Stop. You must think this over very carefully. Your whole life has been a test. All the past guardians of Alvernia have been keeping
an eye on you from our place of rest. We have been waiting to see if you are worthy of our power. Today you have finally proven that you are. You fought valiantly against Morack even though you knew you had no chance. And now, you are ready to receive our gift. That is, if you want it.”
Is there any reason why I wouldn't?
“The life of a guardian can be long and hard. You will be in control of an entire planet, responsible for keeping the peace and rebuilding it from the ground up after the destruction of Morack's reign. It is in shambles—war-torn. You will have to prevent others like him from coming back. It is no easy task and once you've chosen it, you can not go back on your word. You will not be immortal, however; but you will outlive many.”
Was my mother given this choice?
“No. She died before she was ready. She had no knowledge of Alvernia and she had not shown the will or stamina needed for so much power. It was not her calling. Since she had an heir and we knew the line would not die out with her, we allowed her to pass straight on to the next life at her death. We have watched you ever since.”
If I choose not to live, what will happen?
“I will take you with me to rest with the other guardians in a place of unimaginable beauty and peace, where you will never suffer again.”
But what will happen to Earth and to Alvernia?
“They will fall under Morack's supreme reign. His insatiable hunger for blood and power will be his eventual undoing, but not until both worlds are utterly barren and he is the only living creature left. Unlike you, he is immortal, but with one vital exception: He can be killed by a guardian—permanently. No one else, no matter how powerful, can ever do so.”