Chapter 14 #2
"Probably," she agreed cheerfully. "Grief makes you lose your mind.
But I'm also brilliant, determined, and unfortunately for you, I've had fifty years to perfect my methods.
" She stepped back, all business now. "Take them to the van and restrain them properly.
I want them conscious but contained. And send word to the collection teams. I want those babies brought to the primary facility within the hour. "
The creature holding me tightened its grip, and my vision started graying at the edges.
Through our bond, I felt Aidon fighting against his captors.
He was pulling desperately on his Underworld power despite the cost. I couldn’t see them, but I knew Stella and Nana were fighting just as hard.
It would not be enough. We were going to lose.
They were going to take us and use us to get to our children. They were going to kill Melaina, Thaniel, and Nyssa just to resurrect two girls who'd been dead for half a century. “No.” The word echoed through my mind from Tarja. That one word carried every ounce of desperate fury I possessed.
“Keep the babies safe,” I sent back to my familiar, though I sensed she couldn’t talk.
On my end, I stopped fighting the drain. Instead, I opened myself to it. I let the creature pull my magic through the connection between us. I didn't just let it flow. I shaped it, directed it, and turned it into something the Thessmark wasn't prepared for.
White-hot Pleiades witch fire exploded from every point where its hand touched my skin. The Thessmark shrieked and released me. I hit the ground hard, rolling to absorb the impact, and came up with fire blazing from both hands.
"Aidon!" I shouted, throwing a stream of flame at the nearest creature holding him.
He didn't waste time with words. The moment the creature flinched away from my fire, his shadows erupted with renewed fury. The shadows wrapped around all three creatures simultaneously. They withered instantly as their stolen life force drained into Aidon's magic.
Audrey's smile finally faltered. "Impossible. You don't have the power left for—"
"You have no idea what we have left," I snarled, advancing on her. "You've been stealing power from children for fifty years. We channel it willingly, from sources that want us to succeed. There's a difference."
Parker moved to intercept me, but Aidon's shadows caught him mid-stride. "The only place you're going," Aidon said, his voice carrying the power of the Underworld, "is to answer for what you've done."
The remaining Thessmark converged on Nana, Stella, and me. Their clawed hands reached for us, but I'd learned something in the moments when that thing had been draining me. “Their power works through touch. Don't let them touch you,” I told them.
Throwing fire in wide arcs, I kept the Thessmark at a distance while Aidon's shadows herded them toward the center of the ruined chamber. Nana and Stella began helping us with their witch fire. The four of us moved in sync. Our powers complemented each other, making up for what the other lacked.
One of the Thessmark broke through, and its clawed fingers caught my shoulder.
Pain exploded through my arm as it tried to drain me again.
If my children’s lives weren’t on the line, I might have collapsed.
My need to protect all of them allowed me to grab its wrist with both hands.
I channeled as much fire as I could directly into its body, burning it from the inside out.
It released me with another shriek. It stumbled backward, right into Aidon's waiting shadows. "Seven down," Nana said grimly as she moved closer to us. "Only five to go."
"Plus, Parker and Taverner," I added, ducking a swipe from another Thessmark.
An explosion from above cut off my next words. The chamber shook, dust and debris raining from the ceiling. Cracks spread across the wall as whatever magic had created this space began to fail.
"The support structure's collapsing." Aidon gestured to the stairs. "We need to move. Now."
Audrey pulled a small crystal vial filled with swirling orange light from her pocket. It was the concentrated essence. It felt as if she’d refined it from several of her victims.
Uncorking it, she drank it in one smooth motion. Her transformation was instantaneous. Her skin smoothed as years fell away. Her hair darkened to pure auburn. And her eyes began to glow with stolen power. An orange light even began bleeding from the pupils.
"I may have lost the Scythe," she said, her voice resonating with unnatural harmonics, "but I've been preparing. Fifty years of collecting essences taught me how to distil it down to its purest form. One dose gives me the power of a dozen murdered children."
"Go!" I shoved Aidon toward the stairs at the same time Stella shoved Nana. "We need to get to the surface and warn the others."
"Not without you," he growled, shadows lashing out at the advancing creatures.
"I'll be right behind you." Another lie. But what else could I say? That I was going to hold them off while they escaped? That one of us needed to survive to protect our children, and his Underworld magic gave him better odds?
He knew. Through our bond, he felt my intention, and his expression crumpled. "Phoebe, don't you dare—"
The ceiling chose that moment to cave in.
Chunks of concrete and rebar crashed down between us, creating a barrier that separated them from Audrey's forces and me.
I heard Aidon roaring my name and felt his shadows trying desperately to reach through the rubble.
I knew Stella and Nana were trying to reach me as well.
The collapse kept accelerating, and the chamber began folding in on itself.
"Go!" I screamed. "Save our children! That's an order!"
Through our bond, I felt his anguish and rage. His absolute refusal to leave me. But I also felt the moment he made the choice. The terrible, impossible choice between staying with me and ensuring our babies survived.
His shadows withdrew, and I was alone. Audrey stepped over the rubble, flanked by three Thessmark.
The orange glow in her eyes pulsed in time with her heartbeat.
"Now, let's discuss what happens next. You're going to tell them to stand down and let my collection teams take the children without resistance. "
"Never," I spat, calling up all the magic I could muster.
She smiled a terrible, gentle smile. "I was hoping you'd say that. Breaking you will be so much more satisfying than simple cooperation."