by Raven Steele
He reached out and pulled me to him. "I'm so sorry. Part of me wishes I could've left you back in Rouen to live your life free from all of this."
"But I wasn't really free."
He said nothing but continued to hold me.
"We need to get that necklace away from here as soon as possible," I said.
"I agree." Silence returned, then he added, "Llona sure seemed excited to see Liam. I don't think he was expecting that."
"Why do you say that?"
"The way he was fighting, it was almost as if he had lost everything. I thought maybe they had ended things between them."
I pulled back and looked up at him. "Why do you fight so hard?"
He stared down at me and smoothed a stray hair away from my face. "Isn't it obvious?"
I lowered my head to his chest, enjoying the warmth radiating from him. It was a heat his vampire body shouldn't produce, but magic had changed that.
"We should get back and help Henry," he said.
"You go. I'm going to grab the necklace."
"I'll help you."
I shook my head. "I need to do this alone."
"Are you sure?" He searched my eyes.
"Yes. I'm getting stronger."
"Just say my name if you need me." He leaned over and kissed me deeply.
It was hard to let him go, but I had an important job to do.
Chapter 4
I hurried up the steps of the old clock tower, the wooden stairs groaning under my weight. Moonlight filtered through the many windows, giving me plenty of light to see clearly.
The situation was worsening. First Hunwald and now Vykens. They were far worse than vampires, but at least there weren’t as many of them. Erebus must be behind the assembly, but where was he?
I reached the top floor, when my head began to swim like I might pass out. I placed my hand against the cool stones to steady myself. The necklace's power was notably stronger. The whole room buzzed with energy.
"Relevo," I whispered.
The effect was immediate. My mind cleared, and I walked straight for the necklace. Even though I hadn't been able to reach the First magic with Llona's Light, I had learned something valuable. The power existed inside me. I'd seen it and felt it. Somehow, Alarica had discovered it too and had planned to use it against Boaz and Erebus before she was killed. I remember her thinking about this power, but she didn't have a name for it, nor did she really understand how it worked. Not that I did either.
I kneeled in front of the brick concealing the necklace and swirled my fingers in front of it. Magic left me and began to pull the brick outward until it dropped to the floor. I took a deep breath and reached inside. When my fingers touched the cold, silver chain, a jolt of electricity shot through making me yelp and jerk my hand away.
I puffed air through my puckered lips a few times then tried again. This time I wasn't slow about the process. I reached in, grabbed it fast, and yanked it out. The orb dangled in front of me. The blood inside was alive and boiling. Finger-like appendages leapt at the glass as if searching for a way out. I wondered whose blood it was. Another wave of nausea coursed through me, stronger than the first, but I managed to push this one back too.
"You will not control me," I whispered. The blood boiled even harder.
I quickly pocketed it and rushed back to Chadni Hall, anxious to get rid of it. I hoped Henry was ready with the strongest spell possible to destroy this thing.
It's too powerful. The thought came quickly and suddenly. I shook my head, unwilling to believe what surely must be a lie.
I pushed open the doors to Dr. Han's office. Several people sat on chairs in a circle, most of whom I recognized. Lucien was between Henry and Liam. Liam still hadn't attended to his wound, but at least he was no longer bleeding. Llona’s gaze kept flickering to his stomach. May sat to her right, then Dr. Han and two other men whom I assumed were Guardians.
Only Lucien looked at me when I arrived. Everyone else was in a debate about what to do. One of the men argued with Llona about kicking us off campus.
Lucien stood and slid a chair next to him. I smiled at him gratefully and stepped into the circle. I dropped the necklace to the floor silencing the group.
May spoke first, her voice quiet. "So this is the source of all our trouble."
"I want it gone!" one of the Guardians cried out, his voice full of anger and pain. He jumped to his feet and raised his foot to stomp on it.
"No, Grant!" Dr. Han said, but it was too late.
Grant's foot came crashing down onto the orb, but instead of shattering the glass, his body slammed into the bookshelves behind him. He slumped to the floor unconscious. Everyone stood.
"Whoa," May said. "That's some serious power."
The other Guardian and Henry hurried to Grant's side. Henry's palm hovered over Grant's head. "He should be okay. Take him to see the nurse."
The other Guardian nodded and picked Grant up. As soon as they were gone, Dr. Han said, "The Guardian killed tonight was his best friend."
Sorrow filled me. Death seemed to follow me everywhere I went.
The room was quiet as we stared down at the small source of power that could obliterate worlds in the wrong hands.
"Can it be destroyed?" Lucien finally asked.
It was Henry who answered. "The scrolls indicate not, but we have something they didn't have."
"What's that?" Liam asked, his voice hoarse as if in pain. Llona reached over and held his hand.
Henry looked around the room at each of them. "All of you. The power in this room is strong, strong enough to possibly destroy it. I've come up with a spell that may work, but it's very dangerous, and I don't think should be performed on campus."
"But if we remove it, Erebus will know we have it, right?" Llona asked.
"I think he already knows," I said, remembering how the blood had been boiling in the orb.
Lucien glanced at me. "We don't know that."
"Then why else was Hunwald here? He must be with Erebus. It's just a matter of time, before the DSRD shows up. Whatever we decide to do, we need to do it quickly. We can't put all these Auran girls at risk."
"I agree," Llona said.
"Not to be rude or anything," May said, "but Grant was right. This isn't our problem. Erebus didn't have an issue with Auras until you," her head snapped in my direction, "decided to hide that grotesque thing on our property—without consent, I might add. Maybe you should just take the necklace as far from here as possible."
"You're wrong, May," Llona said, her voice firm.
May was about to argue with her, but I interrupted.
"No, she's right. None of you asked for this. I should never have done what I did. I acted out of fear and now people are dying."
"Enough!" Llona snapped. "This is our problem. Let's say Erebus is successful in recreating the mirror out of the necklace, and he releases the other six devils onto this Earth. Who do think is the first group of people they will come for?"
No one answered.
"May?" Llona asked, staring pointedly at her.
She lifted her chin a little. "We can fight them."
"Seven Princes of Hell with untold powers? Do you really want to take that chance?" When she didn't answer, Llona continued. "We need to prevent this from happening now, by whatever means possible."
"I agree," Liam said.
"Me too," Lucien added.
"Then it's decided." Dr. Han turned to Henry. "You may use our fire training room in Risen Auditorium for your spell. It's fireproof and should give you the space you need. But if you are unable to destroy it, you must get it off campus immediately. I don't think we will be able to hold off another DSRD attack, especially with Erebus in charge."
"Understood," Henry answered.
"But we will not send you away without help," Dr. Han continued.
"I'll go," Llona said, smiling at me.
Liam glanced at her, worry in his eyes. "Count me in, too."
"Oh hell,"
May groaned. "I guess I'm going too."
"You don't have to," Llona said.
"I know, but where's the fun in that? If this really is an end of the world party, I want to be a part of it."
Dr. Han cleared his throat. "I wish I could help, but—"
"The girls need you here," Henry finished for him. He stood. "Let's get started."
I reached over to pick up the necklace, but at the last second I stopped and asked, "Whose blood is in it?"
"Excuse me?" Henry asked, turning away from Dr. Han.
"The blood. Did you ever find out whose it is?"
He stared down at the orb. The blood appeared frozen and not at all alive like it did before. "It's rumored to be Lucifer's."
"As in the King of Hell?" May gaped.
"You had to ask," Llona murmured at me.
I quickly scooped it up, ignoring the chill exploding across my skin. The blood jumped to life again at my touch.
"Let's get this over with," I said.
It took almost thirty minutes for Henry to get everything ready. While Lucien and I helped him gather supplies for the spell, Llona and the others organized most of the Guardians and the older Auras who knew how to fight. They positioned them all along the outer wall to keep watch.
I lit a candle, the last of dozens to outline a giant pentagram. Lucien was placing items just outside it, all of which represented Earth, fire, air, and water. Henry had escaped to the corner of the room several minutes before to meditate. The wall on the opposite side was scared with burn marks. So this was the room Furies trained in. I’d have bet it was an awesome sight to behold, all that fire streaking across through the air.
"Eve, Lucien," Henry called. "Come here."
As we drew close to him, I noticed his face was pale.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
He looked each of us in the eyes. "What we are about to do requires powerful magic. I'm going to need each of you to tap into Genesis. Lucien, do you remember what I taught you?"
He nodded. "I can do it."
"Eve?"
"I got it." I had practiced multiple times a day for weeks before disappearing, knowing I needed Genesis' powerful magic to erase my memory. If only I had that kind of time to access the First magic.
"Good." Henry reached out and gently touched me on the elbow. "I want you to be prepared. This may not work."
"I know." I squared my shoulders to show him that I wasn't afraid. And I wasn't, not anymore. I was more afraid of someone I cared about getting hurt.
"Then get ready." He walked past us to the point of the star.
Llona, May, and Liam walked in.
"Over here, Liam," Henry ordered and pointed at the star opposite him. "Llona, you stand at Liam's right, and when I say, I want you to blast the necklace with light. Eve, I want you on my right and Lucien on my left."
"What can I do?" May asked.
"Bring us back to life if we need it."
She smiled, thinking he was joking, but when his expression didn't change, her face fell.
"Repeat after me," Henry said.
"I invoke the powers of all the earth, channel the magic from before our birth. Earth, air, water and fire; come to us now, fulfill our desire!"
He repeated the spell again. By the third round, the rest of us were chanting along with him. While we continued to speak, I dug deep into my mind to seek out the First magic, like I had done with Llona, but every time I tried, something prevented me, and I'd have to start all over again. I groaned in frustration. I’d hoped I’d be able to use it instead of Genesis, but it was still out of my reach.
The others grew in strength as they added their power to the spell. I had to catch up.
I dove back into my consciousness and focused on Genesis, the kind of magic I was already familiar with. I found it fairly quickly and sucked it into my body. It poured into me until I thought I would burst. I opened my eyes and said the words again, this time with power that pulsed through the room.
May had backed up against the wall, her eyes wide. Llona and Liam still had their eyes closed, but Lucien and Henry stared at the necklace along with me. The blood trapped within thrashed back and forth. The glass began to glow a bright red. I said the words louder. Smoke rose from the ground beneath us.
A quiet sound, like the beginning of a lion's deep-throated growl, rumbled the floor, but soon it was a full-on roar, shaking the walls and causing bits of debris to fall from the ceiling. The necklace bounced as if it were attempting to resist our magic.
Sweat broke on Lucien's brow, and Henry's hands shook. My heart beat so fast it hurt within my chest. I hunched over slightly from the pain, still chanting.
"I invoke the powers of all the earth, channel the magic from before our birth. Earth, air, water and fire; come to us now, fulfill our desire!"
"Llona," Henry gasped. "Now!"
Her eyes snapped open, and she pressed her hands forward in the direction of the glass orb. Light shot from her palms, strong and bright. It crashed into the blood-filled globe, spraying sparks in all directions.
The roar turned to a painful cry, and the necklace stopped moving. We were succeeding! I pushed harder, determined to end this once and for all.
May let out a triumphant cheer.
The tortured wailing suddenly stopped and a dark and suffocating presence entered the room. It was so powerful, that all of us were shocked into silence. Light receded from Llona’s hands, and she grew pale.
I glanced around the room, my eyes meeting the worried gazes of the others. A cold chill crept up my spin with icy fingers. Lucien tightened his grip on my hand.
A deep, booming voice filled the room with words that made me think of rotting dead things. I swore I could even smell the decay.
"You shall not defile me. You are not worthy. Death will come to you all!"
Chapter 5
My heart slammed against my ribcage, and my legs grew weak.
"You shall not defile me. You are not worthy. Death will come to you all!"
The voice repeated the phrase three more times, almost like a spell, before a cold breeze whipped through the room, snuffing the fire on top of the candles and plunging us into darkness. The sound of my breathing was all I heard.
"Is everyone—" Henry began, but a loud explosion interrupted him.
I flew back and hit the wall. My head smacked hard enough that warm blood instantly ran down my neck. I collapsed to the ground, my mind swimming in reds and blacks of impending unconsciousness. Intense pain shot up and down my spine.
I couldn't see Lucien. I couldn't see anyone. My vision was too blurry. What had we done? We had played with a power we didn't fully understand.
I stayed like this, suffering great agony, for what seemed like a long time, just waiting for my body to heal, but relief didn’t come. Something more had happened to me with that explosion, something supernatural.
A shadowy figure crossed in front of my vision. The person had long brown hair. May. She checked for my pulse then scrambled away. I attempted to move again, but everything burned with intense pain. My jaw was clenched so tight I thought it might break. Was Lucien hurt too? Henry?
Several more minutes passed. My vision went in and out, going from darkness to light. Someone was touching me, and then came warmth. It spread across my whole body, and when it reached my head, the pain finally began to dissipate. Eventually my vision cleared.
Llona knelt next to me, her palms lit up with warm light hovering above me. Her white hair was partially covered in blood. It ran down her neck and onto her arms.
"Lucien," I whispered.
Her arms fell to her sides, and she gasped for air like she was exhausted.
"He will live."
I sat up, leaning on my elbows. "And everyone else?"
"They will too."
I glanced around. Liam was attending to Lucien, but like I was only moments ago, he couldn’t move and his expression was twisted in pain. I tried to go to him but could bar
ely move. He stared at me, eyes unblinking. I gave him an encouraging smile and lifted onto my elbow.
Llona crawled over to where they were and raised her arms. A second later, light poured from her hands onto Lucien. As soon as it touched his body, a shadow-like entity lifted from his body and slowly dissipated.
"What is that?" I breathed, pushing harder until I was in a sitting position. My body was beginning to heal, but my muscles still ached.
"Whatever power was in that necklace, imprinted itself onto us," Henry said. "I suspect something Erebus created, maybe even a part of him. Thank goodness Llona was here to get it out."
Henry shuffled toward me and reached his hand toward me. I gripped his palm and let him pull me up. As soon as I had my balance, I slowly made my way to Lucien, my legs heavy.
Llona finished with Lucien, then collapsed backwards on to the ground, her chest heaving. Liam sat next to her, whispering something into her ear.
May whistled low. "Whatever power is in that necklace knocked all of you onto your asses. It didn't touch me though. I revived Llona first because she was the only one who didn't look comatose. She restored the rest of you."
I reached Lucien and helped him into a sitting position. I rubbed at his back in slow circles, watching tension drain from his face. His hand slid over my thigh, and he squeezed it gently.
Glancing at May, I said in a quiet voice, "Is Llona going to be all right?"
She pursed her lips and drew her eyebrows together. "Using her Light like this takes a toll on her body. She'll get better, though, in time."
"It's completely unscathed," Lucien said, shock in his voice.
I followed his gaze. The necklace still lay on the floor, unharmed. All around it, however, the floor was charred black.
"I was afraid of this," Henry mumbled.
"We need to kill him," I said, my voice louder than I intended. It was the logical next step.
"Erebus?" Henry asked.
"It's the only way. If we can't destroy the necklace, then we kill him."
Lucien inhaled a strong breath. "How?"
I didn't answer because I was still trying to figure that part out. He was more powerful then any one of us, but all of us combined might be a different story. Especially if I could learn to use the First magic.