Chapter Thirty-FiveLuna
Chapter Thirty-Five
Luna
It took a moment for my head to stop spinning after Salvator set me on my feet. It looked like the volcano was erupting, but it wasn’t smoke that was being released, but excess magical energy. I sensed it as it reached out into this world for the first time in centuries, tasting the air and touching everything the smoke brushed.
Salvator’s fingers wrapped around mine, his strength seeping into me.
Step at a time, we walked forward, my magic responding to the energy of the void, a wild, feral creature inside me raising her head to sniff the air.
Salvator stopped, his rigid body pulling me back, and I realised I had almost been intoxicated by the aroma surrounding me.
“We’re not alone.” His voice was nothing more than a whisper on the breeze, but every cell in my body stilled at his words. I felt the tension in his fingers, his body almost vibrating beside me.
“I may as well make my appearance as you are expecting me.” A tall male emerged from the smoke, his appearance unfamiliar at first since it had been so long since I had last seen him. The hairs on the back of my neck stood to attention, and I felt Salvator’s shock echoing through our bond.
“I have no need for another dead priestess, but I welcome all warriors into my army.” He spread his hands, and I noticed the black tattoos that covered his skin moving as if they were alive, his presence pulsing in the air with authority.
Soldiers emerged behind him, an elite guard who had served him all those years ago, dressed in black, and carrying curved scimitars.
“The rumours of your death were seriously overestimated,” Salvator said, tugging me closer to him. “People were so outraged, they started a war that has lasted centuries.”
Everything fell into place, including the vacant look in Balor’s eyes. This man had commanded the army we served in four centuries ago. He had stormed across South America taking villages and lives, and like every other immortal, he had to disappear before the humans realised that no one could live that long without aging. We had believed Emperor Atahualpa was a mortal who controlled warlocks, when in reality he was a magical being who craved power.
He stepped forward, snapping the fingers on his right hand. Balor appeared at his feet as if he had plucked him from wherever he had been and dumped him there. Swirling patterns of tribal tattoos moved over his skin, connecting symbols together in an ancient enchantment.
I had read about such magical creatures that collected the powers of others, but this was the first time I had encountered one in real life.
“You hid well in plain sight,” I replied, squeezing Salvator’s hand as I moved forward. “It was a stroke of genius to create a war to allow you to pursue your ambitions in the shadows.”
A half smile curved his lips. “I was looking for the combined powers of the priestesses, when I should have been looking for one who had been hidden within the temple.” He glanced down at Balor. “I couldn’t even trust him to find that.”
Another plume of smoke emerged from the volcano, reminding me of my mission. “I cannot allow you to summon the void,” I said.
His smile turned feral. “I claimed this land lifetimes ago when I discovered the location where the sanctimonious elders had buried their rivals. I guarded it, knowing that one day I would possess the key to opening the doorway.” He spread his arms wide. “That day has now arrived.”
“Over my dead body,” Salvator threatened, the deep baritone of his wolf combining with his voice.
The emperor shrugged one shoulder. “It is a pity to destroy a strong warrior, but I have no problem walking on your corpse to get what I want.”
I felt them before they emerged, our people arriving to defend us. Owen and Maia appeared to my right, dire wolves amassing behind Salvator, and a familiar dark figure took his place with an army of vampires behind him on the rocky terrain. Dominic always did know how to make an appearance.
There was nothing more to say, nothing to be gained from a war of words. The void was ready to re-emerge into this world, and I had to believe that mother priestess had been guiding me all these years to protect what lay inside the volcano from falling into the hands of the man who sanctioned her murder.
The magic in my fingertips throbbed for release as I rubbed the symbols on them together. He stumbled back two paces when I hit him with an attack he hadn’t been expecting, but it wasn’t a normal spell. Over the years, I had adapted spells and enchantments to ensure they couldn’t be deflected. His powers would be bound for several moments, and the more he struggled, the stronger his bindings would become.
His howl of rage filled the air, and it was my cue. I sprinted forward in the confusion, throwing a barrier up behind Salvator and me. Owen slammed his hands together, activating magic he had incorporated into the ground when we arrived at the volcano carpark what felt like an eternity ago. Ghostly hands sprung from the earth to grab soldiers and warlocks in a macabre scene that would be engrained in my memory forever. Necromancy was a forbidden form of magic, but Owen wasn’t governed by the laws of the elders, and had developed his own brand of powers while living among his vampire coven. Maia summoned an elemental storm to push those back who tried to follow us.
“This is some fucked-up shit,” Salvator shouted over the storm as we continued our climb.
I stumbled, falling onto my hands and knees, wincing as the sharp rocks cut into my palms. Blood dripped from my hands as I tried to push myself up.
Salvator reached to help me, but I held my hand up to stop him as I watched the blood on the ground absorb into the rocks.
Blood.
Everything in the immortal world revolved around our blood and gifts held in them. My instincts took over, and all the clues from Purgatory slotted together. Salvator was my mate for a reason.
“I need your blood,” I said, my eyes meeting his.
He bit into his wrist without question, holding his bleeding limb out to me. I combined our bloods and pressed my hands onto the ground.
The world around us shook as an earth-shattering earthquake ripped across the landscape, opening fissures, and ripping the land apart. Salvator grabbed me, rolling us away before I fell into one of those gaping holes. His arms wrapped around me, protecting me with his body.
“What have you done?” Emperor Atahualpa screamed when the ground stopped moving. He kicked bodies out of his way as he advanced toward us. “You will pay for this!”
Lightning wrapped around his hands and he stretched his arm out toward us, throwing a bolt. A shadow enveloped us, a feathered barrier protecting us.
“I’m going to get my ass kicked for interfering,” Faulkner said, his eyes meeting mine. “But I was always a sucker for a happy ending, and you’ve waited four centuries for yours.”
The sparks of lava from the volcano morphed into figures, some taking humanoid form, while others the shapes of animals.
Faulkner disappeared, leaving Salvator and me lying on the ground.
The emperor bellowed out orders, but he was too late, the doorway was open, and I sensed void magic as it took its first steps into this world.
More bright red sparks flashed from Misti, some disappearing into the sky, more flying away like birds, and others arcing up and falling down to land on those gathered like raindrops. They didn’t burn when they touched my skin, sinking into my body and activating gifts inside me that I never knew existed. Mother priestess had been right when she said that those of us who descended from void magic possessed latent gifts that could only be brought to life with the energy that had been locked away.
Some of the warlocks tried to jump up and grab the embers as they floated through the air, but they screamed and held their hands in horror as their flesh melted away when they touched them.
“Our people placed a curse on their magic.” The woman from the cave inside the volcano stood impassively watching, released from her vigil. “Only those of our lineage can accept the raw form into their bodies. It will destroy any who try to steal it.”
Emperor Atahualpa lashed out at anyone in his path as he forged his way toward us. Evil contorted his handsome face, his hands bunched into fists. I braced myself for his attack, my body exhausted. Salvator staggered to his feet, his form changed to his hybrid, his nails transforming into claws. The two men clashed, both powerful in different ways. A loud snap signalled Salvator breaking the emperor’s arm as he kicked his leg.
Even as the emperor tried to defend himself with magic, I watched as Salvator’s body absorbed the attack. He was immune to magic, his body accepting the red embers as they continued to fall to earth. Salvator was my mate, so it made sense that he would be able to assimilate void magic.
The volcano continued to disintegrate around us, the ground shaking, and fissures opening to reveal what had been hidden beneath. Strange creatures crawled from where they had been trapped, sniffing the air.
The emperor howled in rage, straightening his bones, his form transforming to reveal his true identity. Scaled wings emerged from either side of his spine, his mouth widening to allow a double row of sharp, pointed teeth to descend from his gums. He was a creature of myth and nightmare, something from a time long forgotten who had clawed his way into this world from another dimension. He faced Salvator with his talons exposed, and a vicious smile dancing on his crimson lips.
Shadow figures emerged from the top of the volcano, making their way toward us.
“Salvator!” I shouted, fear crawling up my spine.
The creature fighting him took his moment of distraction to backhand Salvator, sending him soaring through the air. Salvator contorted his body, turning to land on his feet in a crouch. Owen flung a dagger at the creature, piercing his shoulder, and making him howl in pain as he tried to dislodge it. Maia threw a potion bottle that detonated on his chest, a translucent flame licking across his skin.
Just as Salvator and Emperor Atahualpa were about to clash again, a portal flared into life behind the emperor, feminine hands with long red fingernails reaching out to grab him and drag him backward into the portal. His eyes widened, and he tried to struggle free, but it closed around him, leaving nothing but his scream echoing in the night.
The shadow figures from the volcano came closer, and the air condensed around them to form features, two males and two females. Four of them slowly drew the attention of everyone gathered.
“It has been too long since we inhaled the air from this world,” the male to the left said. “The void is a cold and desolate place, sucking happiness and colour from your existence.” He slowly turned to take in the scene around him.
“I almost forgot the metallic scent of blood,” the other male continued, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply. “I can feel the echoes of battle in this place.”
“We are in your debt,” the female with black hair said. “We were locked away so long ago that I cannot even remember what sin we committed. The elders craved power, and those they couldn’t assimilate, they destroyed.”
“But we were the first of our kind,” the female with blonde hair added. “The Titans who formed this world, and so they could neither kill us for our powers nor destroy us. Instead, they sentenced us to hundreds of lifetimes in a place that neutralised our magic.”
The hairs covering my body rose in awareness. Releasing void magic had been my mission, not these beings.
“Do not fear us,” the black- haired titan said. “We created the four elements, and to them we shall return until we are re- energised.” As she spoke, her body faded until she disappeared into the wind.
The blonde titan sank into the ground, her body taking on the form of a vine until she was no longer standing in front of us. The body of the first male who had spoken became translucent until he was made of water and evaporated.
“My siblings are much more forgiving than me,” the last Titan said. “Tell the elders there is nowhere left for them to run. Zeus and Hades have much to answer for, and our children must be punished.” He exploded into an iridescent flame, which took flight into the sky in the form of a firebird.
“The Titans,” Maia gasped, appearing at my side. “Are we supposed to stop them?”
I slowly shook my head, dread curdling in my stomach. More beings crawled out of the void, running when their feet reached solid ground. More sparks of void magic shot high into the atmosphere.
“What have I done?” I whispered.
Salvator’s hand found mine. “What you were destined to do,” he replied, his fingers squeezing mine. “This land has witnessed enough bloodshed, and no soul deserves to be locked away forever.”
A screech sounded to my left, and I instinctively held my hands up to fend off the attack. Balor launched himself forward, his face contorted and crazed, a dark mist circling his fingers. My spell hit him at the same time Salvator’s hand wrapped around his throat, his claws drawing blood that trickled down his skin.
Balor struggled against Salvator’s strength, his black mist trying to free him, except Salvator absorbed the attack as if it was nothing but smoke from a campfire.
“Enough,” Salvator growled, the words vibrating through the air. Balor was lifted into the air, his feet dangling as he tried to regain his footing. “You killed the innocent, enslaved a noble race of warriors, and tormented this land and those who lived on it. For your sins, for the pain and suffering you caused, I seek retribution for the souls you stole.”
Dire wolves were the strongest and most vicious of all the shifters. A foreign emotion of mixed horror and relief washed over me as I watched Balor’s eyes bulge from the pressure on his throat, his neck elongating until it tore away from his shoulders, and the vertebrae of his spine appearing one at a time as Salvator ripped it from his body.
Balor had been a dark and opposing figure for four centuries, his name striking fear into the hearts of the priestesses who fled his tyranny. Not even the power of his magic could save him from the wrath of my mate. Salvator had fulfilled his promise to kill Balor for the atrocities he had committed against my sister priestesses and all the other members of the magical community.
“May the souls of the women he stalked and tormented rest in peace,” Maia said from beside me.
“So mote it be,” I replied. Emperor Atahualpa had been the architect of this evil, but Balor had happily carried out his work, destroying lives, and stealing magic for himself along the way. Committing evil acts tended to pollute the soul and leave a taint that stretched many lifetimes. Balor would be paying the price for his actions for many reincarnations to come.
The remains of the man whose name had struck terror in my heart lay as lumps of flesh on the ground, his eyes vacant, and his blood the same colour as his victims. In my head, it should have been black to denote the demonic status his reputation had achieved.
“It’s over,” Salvator said, his eyes glowing amber. “He will never again stalk the innocent or take their blood.” Salvator dropped Balor’s head to the ground, blood dripping from my mate’s fingers.
The cascade of void magic continued to spew from the volcano, disappearing into the night while we held vigil. Something had fundamentally changed inside me, a new energy churning deep in my solar plexus which had originated in that volcano. It was the reason I had always felt drawn to here.
The void had held gifts deep in Misti’s heart, powers that had bided their time until they could once again walk on this earth plane. In the distance, figures emerged in the breeches of the volcano, stepping into this realm for the first time in generations.
Only time would tell if we had made a terrible mistake or established a balance to the magical order.
“It’s time to go home.” Salvator’s arms slipped around my waist from behind me, his forehead resting on my shoulder. For the first time in what felt like forever, I allowed myself the luxury of relaxing back into his strength.
“Should we be stopping all those magical beings from wandering off into the world to create mischief?” Dominic asked, leaning on the sword he had embedded in the ground in front of his feet, and nodding in the direction the creatures were disappearing. “I’ve lived a long time, and I can feel the disruption in the air this magic provokes. Only time will tell if it brings hope or despair.”
“The elders have been in power too long,” Owen replied, taking his place beside his vampire coven leader. “This age of magic was prophesied over a thousand years ago, and tonight we witnessed void magic being reborn.”
It took a sacrifice of blood to open the door, and the pain of losing my sister would remain with me as a scar on my heart every day I walked in a world where she no longer existed. Salvator’s arms tightened around me as he sensed my emotions.
“Our network will stand guard and watch,” Maia said, joining us to watch the light show of void magic escaping into the world. “Each person here tonight was destined to hold vigil over this moment. Each of us have been touched by the essence of the void.”
I felt the difference inside me, saw the change in the aura of those standing beside me. Our world was changing, old powers re-emerging, and magic evolving. Tomorrow would herald a new age, but tonight we would hold those we loved tighter as we remembered those who had been lost in the last four hundred years.
“She’s finally just an extinct volcano,” I said, looking at what had been the focal point for everything that had happened in my life because void magic had drawn us all here.
“Maybe the ghosts of the past can rest now,” Salvator replied, his breath fanning my ear as he spoke.
The dawn was breaking as our group reached the bottom of the volcano, the vampires disappearing before the sun stretched her golden fingers of light into the world. Magic users weaved spells to repel humans until we could cleanse the area, and wolves patrolled the border.
Today signified a new dawn in the magical community. For better or for worse, void magic had re-entered the world again, and if mother priestess was correct, it was needed to balance the corruption that the elders and other groups who were insular and hostile had propagated. Only time would reveal the true extent of what had happened here, but my mission was complete. I had vowed to end Balor’s terror and avenge my sister priestesses who had lost their lives at his hands. Now, I planned to take a background role in our organisation and raise the family I never believed would ever be mine.
Our organisation owned an apartment complex not far from Misti since I always knew she held magical significance, I just never fully understood her role in the war that had waged for four hundred years.
I stood in the bedroom, exhaustion cresting over me in waves that made me sway as if I was watching the ocean crash to shore. I was about to crawl onto the bed when Salvator stopped me, leading me into the bathroom.
“I try to never sleep with an enemy’s blood on me,” he muttered, ripping both our clothes away and throwing them in the corner.
Bruises covered his torso, dried blood painting his skin with the symbols of war. My mate was an alpha who commanded an army of wolves, yet he followed me into battle without question.
“I should have mated with you all those years ago,” I whispered, my forehead resting against his heart as water pounded down on us.
His thumb skimmed over my mating mark. “We could never have walked the paths we needed to if we had physically mated all those years ago. My wolf remained loyal to you even when I believed you were dead. He knew his mate was still out there, and he bided his time.”
Love transcended the oceans of time, it gave me strength to take the next step even when I doubted myself. Salvator had been with me even when I believed I was alone, because soulmates were more than lovers; they incarnated with you to support and guide you. Looking back, I had felt his presence in my darkest moments.
Water purified and it washed away our sins, the blood of our enemies disappearing down the plughole. I wrapped myself around Salvator’s muscular body as he carried me to bed after he had tenderly dried my body, the movement of his hands across my skin re-energising me, and making my inner goddess purr with need.
“Later,” he whispered, kissing the side of my neck and making me shiver.
My journey had been long and treacherous, the pathway at times falling from under me, but the memories of his touch had kept me alive in the darkness. His lips and fingers had a special kind of magic that wasn’t in any grimoire, and they healed me more than any potion.
Fate had brought us together, Destiny had created a mate bound, but our souls had loved each other no matter what life had thrown at us.
“I love you,” I said against Salvator’s shoulder, sensing his emotions through our bond.
“I don’t think there has ever been a day when you didn’t own every beat of my heart,” he replied, placing a soft kiss in the centre of my forehead. Salvator’s hand caressed my stomach. “And I already love this little one and they haven’t even arrived yet.”
My dreams were filled with faces from the past, those who had sacrificed themselves to protect me, those who had been in my life for a season to guide me, every soul who had stayed in Purgatory so they could help fulfil the prophecy. I saw them all in my dreamstate as void magic permeated into this realm.
The grounding force that pulled me back was Salvator’s arms holding me, his steady breath stabilising me. Mate was a small word with symbolism and meaning that was deeper than any vow. He was the other half of my soul, and since he had found his way back into my life, I knew there would never be a day that I would ever be alone again.