Light erupted from within Trent as he knelt, tugging Kayla down beside him. She joined her power with his and a spark of silver bloomed overhead before shimmering into a silver dome that closed them off from the horde.
I whirled as the demons shrieked, then the Colossus let out a roar of anger that shook me to my very core.
Tensing, I charged the seven-foot-tall wall of steel and flesh, my gaze searching for any weak spots in its armour. It swung its clubbed fist at me, and I threw myself backwards, skidding feet-first underneath its meaty arm. I raised my sword and clipped it below the elbow, drawing a spray of congealed black blood.
The Colossus wailed and twisted, searching for me, but I was already on my feet, striking the back of its knees. Violet sparks erupted, filling the air with the stench of metal and blood as I struck the steel plates infused within its pieced-together body.
Crying out in frustration, I cursed the fact that there hadn’t been a class on how to defeat this pile of rotting shite. If I got out of this, I’d be filling up the suggestion box outside Islington’s office with all the feedback cards I could get my hands on.
The Colossus flailed wildly, its fist striking me in the side. I was flung into the air, then hit the ground hard, the wind pushing out of my lungs as I rolled towards the wall of lesser demons still circling us. I rolled, then was kicked back into the centre. Pain tore through my ribs as I gasped for breath, Trent and Kayla’s cries fading into the background as blood whooshed in my ears.
An ugly, distorted face appeared over me, casting the darkening sky into shadow. The Colossus loomed, its stubby fingers reaching out towards me.
I gasped, searching for Arondight. It didn’t reply and I roared, rolling to the side as a massive fist slammed into the ground where my head had been a moment before.
What was happening? Had I used everything the shard had given me already? Why wasn’t it answering?
I pushed to my feet, giving the Colossus a wide berth. I had my Light, right? I couldn’t rely on a power I knew nothing about to get us through this, and there was no way of knowing if Wilder and the others were coming. This was on me. Trent and Kayla’s lives depended on what I did next.
Talk about a tall order.
The Colossus whirled, its size making the movement seem as if it was in perpetual slow motion.
“Has anyone ever told you how ugly you are?” I shouted at it. “Someone gave you a pretty big whack with the ugly stick.”
The creature roared, seemingly understanding the insult. Wow, I didn’t see that one coming.
I wiped the back of my hand across my nose, grimacing as it came back streaked with blood. Didn’t see that one coming, either.
“Hey, you sack of rotting maggot flesh!” I shouted. “Yo mama’s so stupid, she yelled into an envelope to send a voicemail!”
The Colossus swung and I ducked. The blow sailed over my head, the force buffeting my hair. I twisted, my sword cutting into a piece of soft flesh under its arm.
“Yo mama’s so fat that when she fell over, she rocked herself asleep trying to get up again.”
“Brutal…” I heard Trent say somewhere behind me.
I dodged another blow, darting in and slicing wherever I could reach.
“Yo mama’s so fat, she doesn't need the internet because she's already world wide!”
The beast bashed its fists on the ground, sending up a spray of dirt. A clump of grass narrowly missed my head and I tensed. I had to drop this thing like yesterday.
Summoning all of my strength, I launched myself at the Colossus, leaping into the air. I landed on its back, my fist curling around a slice of metal protruding out of its shoulder blade. I hung on for dear life as the monster began to thrash and flail, my grip slipping.
I let out a roar and stabbed my arondight blade into a slice of unprotected flesh over the Colossus’ spine. Light-infused steel cut through rotting flesh like butter, imbedding right to the hilt. I dug my heels into its back and twisted my sword, praying for a miracle.
The effect was immediate. The Colossus jerked, its cry of pain reverberated through my bones, then it was falling.
Its spine was severed and everything below the neck was useless.
I stood over it, watching as it twitched. Darkness-infused eyes met mine and a black tongue rolled out of its Frankenstein mouth. I knew it was a monster—an entity pieced together by Darkness so foul it left a bad taste in my mouth—but I couldn’t leave it like this.
Holding my breath, I wrenched my sword free, then lifted it over my head. With a strangled cry, I brought it down on the Colossus’ neck. Once, twice, three times, then it was dead.
The circle of lesser demons stopped in their tracks, their beady, vacant eyes staring at me.
“Who’s next?” I asked as I turned. “As you can see, I don’t need a single drop of Arondight to fight you.” I held out my sword, brandishing the point at every demon who dared face me.
There had to be at least fifty of the things around us, and those were the ones I could see.
“You’re not going to kill me or them,” I said. “I’m too important to your master. You need the shard.”
I took a step towards the wall of flesh.
“Scarlett,” Trent called, “what are you doing?”
“You will let us pass,” I commanded the demons. “If you don’t, only death awaits you.”
The demons snapped and moaned, then edged aside, creating an opening.
I gestured for Trent and Kayla. “C’mon, let’s split before they change their minds.”
Trent let their shield dissipate and helped Kayla to her feet. We slunk through the gap, my heart beating uneasily as the demons watched our passing. My side burned, likely from a few broken ribs, but I ignored the pain—along with the throb in my right leg—and kept moving.
“Creepy,” Kayla whispered.
“More like stinky,” Trent answered.
When we were clear, I ordered them to keep walking and not to look back. Too bad I didn’t follow my own advice, because what I saw was going to haunt me for the rest of my life.
I glanced over my shoulder at the mass of lesser demons and shivered. They were just standing there, staring after us, nothing more than vacant, expressionless zombies. Their clothes were torn and stained with old blood, their skin was splotched with grey and black rot, and there were some that only had half a face—the other side had fallen off.
I was in Puke City, population me.
“Scarlett!” Trent called, his voice breaking through the nausea. “There’s more coming up the hill!”
“Shite.”
Knowing I had an edge, it was my duty to be the sword that protected the Academy from whatever—or whoever—was controlling the horde. A greater demon was out there, pulling the strings, searching for the key and the shard. If I offered them what they wanted, maybe they’d spare the students.
I was playing right into their hands, but I needed to buy some more time until Wilder and the other teachers could find me.
“Get inside,” I said, waving towards the Academy. “I’ll hold them off.”
“We can’t leave you again,” Kayla exclaimed.
Turning, I grasped her arm, sending a pulse of Arondight’s Light into her. The shock bolstered her energy and her eyes widened. Now she understood.
“We’ll send help,” she said, tugging on Trent’s hand.
I nodded and spun around, readying my arondight blade as the horde advanced up the rise. One crazy, purple-haired woman against an army of demons. What could possibly go wrong? Everything.
I led them away from the gym towards the front of the grounds. I could see the fountain ahead, the statue of the Lady of the Lake appearing through the gloom. My leg was screaming at me, my limp slowing me down. At least the demons were just following, not attacking.
I was within sight of the front entrance of the Academy when several shadows broke away from the fountain and slunk towards me. They circled and I spun this way a
nd that, but there was no escape—I was trapped.
My heart twisted and I knew what these creatures had been. Humans—men and women infected with the mutation developed by Human Convergence. This was the fate that had been awaiting Jackson and Madeleine.
I choked back a sob. It was too late for them, and now it was too late for me. Now all I could do one of two things—let them take me or fight to the death.
No prizes for guessing which one I chose.
I held my arondight blade aloft and launched myself at the closest shadow, but it dodged my blow with ease. It dipped, then counter struck, its shadowy fist slamming into my jaw. I fell to my knees, stars erupting through my vision.
They closed in on me, another inky figure kicking me in the side. I landed on my back, dazed as I stared up at the blank faces which loomed over me. There was nothing there—no eyes, no mouth, no nose… just Darkness. There was nothing left of who they used to be.
I drew in a shaky breath as their slimy hands reached for me.
“Wilder…” I whispered. “Wilder… I… I’m sorry…”
White Light sliced through the shadows, cutting down the wave of Darkness with deadly accuracy. Wails filled the air as the creatures exploded into a shower of flame and ash, and I clamped my hands over my ears as the sound tore at my eardrums.
“Scarlett.”
Opening my eyes, I sucked in breath after breath.
I almost expected to see Wilder standing over me, but it wasn’t him at all. It was the last person I expected to see.
“Brax?”
18
Brax turned, looking rather unimpressed, and flicked his arondight blade. Blood and guts splattered onto the ground as the sword clicked back into the hilt. He held out his hand with a sigh. Somehow, I felt like there was another detention coming.
I grasped his wrist and he hauled me to my feet. “Thanks.”
“It seems like I arrived just in time,” he said, his tone clipped. “Do you want to explain what’s going on here?”
I narrowed my eyes. If he’d seen me take down that Colossus, he wouldn’t be saying that. Actually, whatever he said would be in the exact same tone. It was a lose-lose situation with this guy. He was the perfect candidate to be a politician if you asked me.
“Demons,” I replied. “That’s what’s going on.”
“Obviously.”
I cast my gaze over the piles of lesser demons and the scorch marks left behind by their cousins. “Where would you like me to start?” I went on. “The bit with the Human Convergence, or the part where I got detention?”
“Where are the others?” he asked, ignoring me. “Islington and the faculty?”
“They’ve fallen back to the gym,” I replied glancing over my shoulder. “The students are there.”
“Good,” he muttered, “they’re all in one place.”
I turned, confused by his words, and before I could ask what our game plan should be, his hand shot out and his fingers curled around my neck.
I gasped as he squeezed, a peculiar mix of Light flowing into my body. My fingers and toes began to go numb, and I panicked. Thrashing against his hold, I sensed Darkness within him and pushed back with my indigo Light.
Wilder’s doubts flashed through my mind and I slammed my wrist against Brax’s elbow. He wasn’t at the Sanctum when we faced Wainthrope.
His arm buckled, loosening his fingers, and I twisted out of his grasp. Sucking in breath after breath, I reached for my arondight blade, but Brax moved with impossible speed, knocking the hilt out of my hand. It skidded across the gravel, coming to rest at the foot of the fountain.
“You’ve betrayed us,” I rasped, “just like Wainthrope. If you were there, the thread from Markzoth would’ve linked you to him and you would’ve been done.”
Brax wrenched me close, his hand biting into my upper arm. Darkness pulsated around him and I could taste the metallic tang of it on my tongue—like copper and molten steel.
“Wainthrope was a fool,” he snarled. “A weak puppet ripe to be exploited by the one flaw all Naturals have.”
“What flaw?” I snorted and gritted my teeth.
“Love.”
“Wainthrope and love don’t belong in the same sentence.”
His lips curved upwards. “It depends on what you love.” And for the late Inquisitor, that’d been power.
I blew through my lips. “And what’s your excuse, Brax?”
“Think about it, Scarlett.” He started to drag me across the courtyard, my boots scraping along the gravel. “Think really hard.”
I pulled against him, but his grip was like cold iron, acidic and absolute. What did he mean? Was he a Vessel harbouring something else, or had he taken on power gifted to him from a greater demon? Or had Human Convergence sunk its claws into his flesh?
Even as I cast one theory away for another, I knew something more lingered inside him. Brax had always been cold and distant, his behaviour attributed to his clinical military stance, but he’d never been on my side, or Greer’s for that matter. He’d never touched anyone that I remembered, and he was never around, save for all the important council meetings. When Wainthrope had shown up at the London Sanctum, Brax had been right up the Inquisitor’s arsehole.
There was only one logical conclusion and I felt like throwing up. It wasn’t betrayal—it was the furthest thing from one there could be.
My eyes widened. “You’re not Brax…”
“This world was made for us to devour,” he rasped. “How easy it is to slide into your kind and feast on your pathetic souls.”
“Who are you?” I demanded. “Where’s Brax?”
“The one you call Brax has been gone for a long time, Natural. I control his flesh now.”
I stared into his eyes, my throat tightening and my heart galloping at an alarming pace. Did the demon mean that Brax’s soul…
“You took his soul,” I whispered. “You—”
“His soul is obliterated,” he snarled.
“No!” The gravity of what’d happened to Brax—the real Brax—tore through me, the pain insurmountable. It was as if he’d been erased from history, his soul lost, never to return, never to rest… as if he never was. Was this the fate for the human race?
Had I ever known the real Brax, or was it this creature the whole time?
“Who are you?” I demanded for the second time. “I command you to tell me!”
“You cannot command me, child!” The back of his hand collided with my face and I fell to the ground, stars bursting across my vision.
I spat blood, gravel digging into my palms.
“I am the One.” He moved towards me. “I am the pinnacle.” I scrambled towards the fountain, hoping I was moving in the right direction. “I am death, destruction, and pain.” My back hit the edge of the fountain and I reached blindly. “I am here to take your world.” My fingers brushed against my arondight blade. “With you, I can open the rift between our worlds and let the horde raze your pathetic existence to the ground. Arondight will be your downfall and our triumph!”
I willed my blade into life with a cry and swung, purple sparks showering across the courtyard. Brax—or whoever he was now—stumbled, my swing missing. He engaged his sword, and as his Light manifested the links, I could see a tinge of red glowing along the steel. How in the hell could he still use his Light?
I propelled myself to my feet, raising my sword as his came at me, and they collided with a blow so hard, it vibrated up both my arms and rattled my teeth.
Sparks showered everywhere, blinding me to the world around us. We were locked together, my shard of Arondight the only thing holding against the onslaught.
“Scarlett!”
“Stop!” I screamed as Wilder approached from somewhere on my left.
I could see his form through the rain of sparks, his sword at the ready. He looked at Brax, then at me, clearly confused.
“It’s not him,” I shouted. “Brax is gone.”
“D
on’t listen to her!” Brax barked. “She’s been taken!”
“Shut up!” I shouted at Brax. “What was it you were saying about eating all of our souls? C’mon, it was only two minutes ago.”
“Wilder!” Brax roared. “We must stop her or all is lost!”
“The root of all evil,” I said, my gaze locking onto his. We were locked so close together, I could see his nose hairs. “That’s what you are. The king of the demons, lord of bad breath, duke of rancid body odour. How dare you take Brax’s soul.”
I pushed against him, breaking apart our swords. Steel slid against steel, and we both struck at the same time, clashing once more.
Our blades locked, then I was forced to move as a third slammed through Brax’s chest, directly through his heart. Wider!
Brax screamed, his voice shredding the air as flames erupted inside his body. He exploded, the force sent me reeling. I fell against the fountain and tumbled to the ground, my chest heaving.
“You okay?” Wilder stood over me.
“Nice decision you made there,” I drawled.
He held out his hand and hauled me to my feet. “I know you better than you think, Purples. No one else is that creative with their insults.”
“How did you find me?” I asked, dusting myself off.
“You’re still being tracked.”
Well, shite. That damn Light tracker was useful for something after all.
“We have to go back to the chapel,” I said. “I left Madeleine there.”
“Madeleine?”
“She was mutated, Wilder. She was the shadow, but she was strong enough to fight it and come to me for help. We were there when the alarms went off, and I pinned her down with my dagger. If there’s a chance of saving her, we have to try.”
He raised an eyebrow but didn’t offer any smart-arse quips to punctuate my sentence. “We better get her then, Purples.”
“What about the demons?”
“Look.” He pointed across the grounds where a herd of lesser demons were galloping across the lawn in a hasty retreat. “Without Brax…” He glanced at the blackened mark on the ground. “Without their leader, they’ll scatter four ways to the wind.”
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