Chapter 53 #2
I took hold of the vial of blood around my neck, the heat of it burning me as I ripped it free of the necklace it hung from. I threw my consciousness towards the ether, offering that which was most precious to me so that I might save the only people I had left in this world to care about.
Everest was yelling something, Kaiser still crumpled on the ground by her feet, his blood staining the stone.
I dove into the vast power of the dark magic which had raised me more thoroughly than any mother and smashed the vial of my sisters’ blood in front of us, using the weight of their sacrifice to buy me enough power to shield us from the wrath of a monster.
The Incubus howled as its power collided with mine and the ether tore its way through my veins until they stood out, dark and livid against my skin.
Bastian grabbed my arm, trying to haul me back as I sank further and further into the depths of the ether, throwing everything I could summon at the endless force of power which was exploding from the eschaton star.
I cried out as the terrible weight of its power surrounded us, far too much of it for me to stand against for long.
Shadows pooled in the corners of my eyes and within them I felt the gaze of two lost souls staring back at me, the weight of their hands pressing down on my shoulders as they gifted me whatever power they still held from beyond the grave.
My grief at their loss struck me with force and the pain of it ignited a fierce determination in me as I lashed myself to the power I was calling upon and refused to let it fail me. I wouldn’t lose him as well. I couldn’t.
Bastian yelled my name, his arms banding around me from behind as he pressed his cheek against mine and opened himself up to the ether too, offering me whatever power I could wield via him. But I wouldn’t take it. I refused to drag him down with me. I refused to fall into death with him at my side.
“Let me help you,” he demanded.
But I was lost to the ether, unable to pull back, unwilling to attempt it even if I could.
There were wounds on my arms and I smeared my fingers through the blood that wept from them, spitting out words to bind this power to my own lifeforce, offering myself up in payment for the protection of the Fae at my back.
“Stop!” Bastian bellowed. “You’re killing yourself!”
A yell tore from my throat as I demanded more and more from the ether, refusing to back down, my boots sliding against stone, Bastian’s hold on me the only thing keeping me on my feet, Everest and Kaiser shielded behind us.
The Incubus howled in fury, claiming another step towards me as my power roared and tears of blood spilled down my cheeks.
The sensation of my sisters’ hands on my shoulders grew firmer, the feeling that I was with them soothing my soul as I made the decision to sacrifice myself. For him. Only him. My one good thing.
“Vesper,” Bastian snarled, his grip on me tightening as he fought to summon me back to him. He knew what I was doing, he could feel it just as surely as I could feel the cloak of death creeping up behind me.
I wouldn’t stop. I couldn’t.
My heart struck a ragged rhythm against my ribs, its beats rushing to a crescendo I knew would end in death.
But I fought for every second longer, every extra moment I could steal within his arms. Because the second I broke I knew I would be torn from him.
And I would cherish each moment with him until our last.
I cried out, stumbling back against Bastian whose arms never once loosened around me, his mouth against my ear as he returned the words I’d given him, the pain I felt in the admission breaking what was left of my ravaged heart.
“I love you, Vesper. Have done since the moment I first saw you in that cave. And if I only got to make you mine in this one second then that’s enough for me.”
A bloodstained tear fell from my jaw to splash against his arm where he held me, the power I was forcing through my limbs cracking me open, burning me alive.
We were almost out of time and we both knew it. I couldn’t win this fight. The eschaton star was too strong.
I turned my head so that Bastian would be the last thing I saw in this wretched world. But instead of my eyes landing on his face, I found myself blinded by flames of brightest red and blue.
Where death had come creeping up on me, fire now chased it away.
My hold on the ether snapped before I could complete the sacrifice and I stumbled back against Bastian, throwing my arm up to shield my eyes from the blazing flames.
It was so hot it seared the air in my lungs, dried the bloody tears against my cheeks and threatened to peel the skin from my bones. But before it could burn us all, a shield snapped up around us, a dome of glimmering, solidified air protecting us from the blaze.
I blinked at the dark-haired man who had appeared from nowhere to protect us and stood with his arms outstretched ahead of us. Black, feathered wings spread wide at his back and tattoos were scrawled across every inch of skin I could see on his bare torso.
In the blaze beyond the stranger’s shield, the eschaton star was screaming, its power battling the blue and red flames which blazed all around it.
“There’s a woman flying out there,” Everest gasped, pointing into the depths of the fire but she was gone before I could get a proper look at her.
“Two,” Bastian said and I tilted my head back to look just as two figures sped by overhead, wings made of that same, impossible fire burning at their backs. They appeared to be twins, though one had dark hair while the other’s was blue.
“Gemini?” I breathed, staring at the deities who soared above us.
“The stars have come to save us,” Everest exhaled.
“No,” the tattooed man who was shielding us said darkly. “I just fucked up on the timing when the shield fell – we’re running late.”
“What?” I asked but he didn’t answer me, his muscles bunching as he focused on protecting us from the blaze.
A piercing shriek burst from the eschaton star. I flinched as the cavern cracked apart beyond the flames and the shield tremored violently.
Mavus howled as his face was illuminated between flames of red and blue and then he spread those black, reptilian wings from his back and launched himself into the sky, careering away from us at a frightening speed, taking the sickening taint of his foul power with him.
The fire fell away and the twin warriors landed in the ruins of the cavern, turning to look at us as the inked man dropped his shield.
“Well?” the dark-haired twin asked, her green eyes meeting with mine, accusation burning bright within them. “Which one of you is going to tell us how the fuck that thing was unleashed?”