20. Maya #2
Right as his magic collided with the stone, causing a massive rumble to fill the space before a pop sounded, the roof caved in, revealing a dark, stormy sky.
I cried out, shielding one of the little ones as I realized that something else, something outside of this room, had caused this to occur.
Something massive. An onyx dragon, completely different looking than any of my mates, began to coil around the entrance of the roof, letting out a roar that filled the sky.
When my magic surged through me, the stone shattering, the door opened and slammed against the wall, allowing us to run.
Considering the dragon let out another roar, shooting black fire that seemed to melt the stone itself, no one argued.
Azrael’s magic surrounded us like a ward of bright silver that allowed us to usher the children towards the exit.
“Go!” Azrael demanded sharply, pointing to the door.
I paused, most of my mates sprinting forward with the children as I turned towards the odd but brave man.
“Maya, baby girl, we need to leave now,” Marco demanded as another blast of black fire hit the shield, causing Azrael to grunt, looking weaker.
Azrael, who was now on one knee, struggling to stand, his wrist bands completely silver and seeming to burn his skin.
But it was more than that, I realized. His wings were turning white…
silver…no, white, almost ghostly, as his skin went pale.
Realization slammed into me as my instincts told me that he was… he was dying.
I could see it. Panic infused my chest as I saw the snake-like dragon above, a malevolent, terrifying creature, now slithering into the open hole of the roof.
“Maya!” Marco shouted as another blast hit the weakening shield, causing me to duck. I moved towards Azrael, grabbing him and trying to get him to move. I wouldn’t let him die for us. I just wouldn’t.
“Go.” His voice was hard as I looked into his now white eyes that were filled with an immense amount of pain. “Go, now.”
“No.” I shook my head, refusing as he used what seemed like the last of his strength to push me towards the door with his magic, his shield giving out on blocking the dragon.
Turning sharply towards the door, knowing the others wouldn’t be safe, I let out a blast of power that resurrected a golden shield around them.
I could hear Marco and Atlas yelling at me and trying to shift, but I turned away from them.
I grunted as Azrael tackled me to the ground, the dragon surging forward and hitting the wall above us.
“You stubborn fucking woman. Go. Now,” Azrael demanded sharply.
“Come on, peanut,” Anani begged softly from my other side, making me panic, realizing he wasn’t behind my shield.
The walls and ceiling began to crack and fall around us, bouncing off the shield as I kept my hand on Azrael.
When silence finally fell around us, Anani grabbed me by the waist and let out a low growl.
I turned my head to find that the massive dragon had transformed into a man. A man who didn’t look once at the people in my golden shield, instead making his way towards us, his nearly ten-foot-tall stature making me feel more intimidated than his dragon form.
He was watching us with amusement. He found this funny.
“Oh, Azrael.” The man offered him a sad sigh. “Always wanting to be the hero. How many millennia has it been? And you still are so ready to betray me, always. At least this time I can understand your reasoning.”
His eyes moved over to me, their completely black nature sending a chill of revulsion over my skin.
“This must be our Blue Phoenix—what a brave little creature. Tell me, Azrael, did you tell her that the stone’s power would poison you?
That it would cause you, an immortal being, to die?
I have a feeling you didn’t, which explains the guilt on her face. How selfless of you, brother.”
I struggled to stand and stepped in front of Azrael, who was on the floor, and Anani, who was producing a low growl behind me.
The man smiled indulgently. “Like I said, so incredibly brave.”
“We are leaving. Now.” The words were as hard and even as I could manage. Despite no longer being in dragon form, I could almost feel that he was more dangerous.
“No, Maya.” He sighed. “You aren’t going anywhere.”
My phoenix flared up defensively as blue flames wrapped around me in an arc and blocked the men behind me. “I am. You are going to let us leave.”
My fire went out almost immediately as the man surged forward, placing a claw right on my neck, piercing my skin as he offered a dark smirk. “You may be powerful, but you are no god, and you never will be. You will always be a pawn, Maya. You should learn that now.”
“Screw you,” I bit out, panic infusing me.
“Oh, I plan to do exactly that.” He flashed a smile before looking behind me. “But first, I am going to get rid of the traitor in my midst and your lover. It seems that you have more than enough to serve our purposes.”
I heard a roar echo through my barrier as the man pulled me back.
He lifted his hand, black fire growing as he brought it back to throw…
directly at Anani. I acted purely on instinct, letting out a scream, pushing against him.
He let out a grunt as I escaped his hold, and I snapped right in front of Azrael and my mate, hoping to take the brunt of the hit.
And I did.
I’d felt pain before, but this was…excruciating.
Instead of burning from the outside in, it felt like someone had dipped each organ and bone in my body in hot tar.
I screamed, my shields falling as my body dropped to the floor, my skin burning.
I could barely see as tears gathered in my eyes, but Anani dropped right in front of me, his body lit in flames as I watched the light being drawn from him…
Watching the light fade, a second body falling next to him. Azrael.
There was something going on in the room. A roar. A rumble. Chaos. But none of that mattered. All I could focus on was reaching out to grasp the hands of the men in front of me. My mate and the man who’d sacrificed his own immortal life to counteract the magic of the mad man behind us.
I had a feeling that I wasn’t going to come back like normal. This wasn’t normal fire. This was something else, something far more lethal. Maybe…maybe this was how they had managed to actually kill phoenixes. The last flicker in my chest was smothered by black tar as Anani took his last breath.
The darkness invaded my lungs at that point, and all I felt was pain from the knowledge that I wasn’t going to be reborn from this. I’d spent the last few seconds of my life staring at one of my mates, hoping like hell the others got out, as I burned alive in flames.
I didn’t regret it.