Chapter 20 Discord
DISCORD
I tried to do as Cinder instructed, to simply use disbelief to disarm my attackers, but with my powers bound and my confidence crushed, my attempt was futile. My brothers glared at me with venom in their gazes, heavy with accusations and premature triumph.
“Let us see you win a fair fight…without your precious amulet.” Mayhem’s lip curled into a sneer. “You’re not so powerful now, brother.”
Chaos struck, his fist sinking into my gut. I doubled over, and Mayhem landed an uppercut to my chin, whipping my head back, sharp pain exploding down my spine. Their punches certainly felt real enough, so how was I to convince myself they weren’t?
I straightened, my vertebrae cracking as I stretched my neck. “No fight is fair when my powers are bound.”
I threw a fist, clocking Mayhem in the jaw before he could turn to smoke. He lashed back, his arm turning demonic, his talons screeching across the wall as I ducked and lunged left.
“You talk of fairness.” He spat at my feet. “You filled my pockets with hellhound treats and challenged me to a wrestling match with Cerberus to win the amulet. Does Lucifer know of your deceit?”
I clamped my mouth closed. No, Lucifer did not know I’d rigged the fight when I’d wagered the amulet, and I planned to keep it that way.
The knowledge that I’d cheated would only add fuel to the hatred burning in his heart.
And now that Ruin knew of my trickery, my desire to annihilate him compounded.
“Lucifer knows far more than you think,” I lied. “Deceit is his favorite game, after all.”
I’d dealt with many demons over the centuries, who’d aspired to usurp me and take my place by the king’s side.
When Mayhem, my own brother, became so disgruntled that he challenged me weekly, I’d put a stop to his nonsense, making him appear weak, while obtaining the amulet had secured my place in the court.
But I’d grown too powerful, unmatched by all except Lucifer and the goddess. Magic had aided my every whim until I no longer had to fight for anything. Perhaps that was why I’d allowed Isabel to seduce me, to trick me. I’d longed for something other than absolute power.
And in doing so, I had lost it all. Cinder was right. It was time I took it back. Not the amulet’s false amplification, but my own power within. The devil may have stripped my magic, but I would never allow anyone to take my mind.
Still, my heart pounded, doubt worming through my resolve. I tried to focus, recalling Cinder’s words. The reality Ruin had created here was merely a suggestion.
I drew in a ragged breath, the ache of every blow I’d received settling into my bones. But beneath the pain, a spark ignited—a reminder of who I was before the amulet’s allure, and I refused to let Ruin see doubt flicker in my eyes.
Instead, I straightened my shoulders, letting defiance hold my posture steady. Power was more than magic and trinkets, and I had survived worse than this. If I was to reclaim my strength, I would have to start here, with nothing but grit and resolve.
“You will never make it out of this alive, brother,” the Chaos tulpa said. “Surrender now and save yourself the humiliation of pleading for your life in front of your little witch.”
I glanced at Cinder in the distance. She stood near the pool alone, watching me, already triumphant over Ruin’s creations. Lifting her palms toward me, she mouthed the words they’re not real.
But she was, as was I, and I would never succumb to defeat as long as my witch needed me.
I narrowed my eyes, my nostrils flaring. “You are no brother to me, Ruin. And your creations aren’t real.”
The Chaos tulpa laughed. “No? This isn’t real?”
Mayhem struck from behind, jabbing his talons into my back and twisting them, puncturing my lung. I gasped and sputtered as sharp, electrical pain ricocheted through my body, and I cut my gaze to Cinder. Concern furrowed her brow, and she shook her head, but she offered no assistance.
Mayhem removed his claws from my abdomen, and Chaos landed another punch to my gut. I dragged in another breath, focusing on the pain in my lung, willing my body to heal.
“You’re a coward,” I rasped. “Even Bedlam had the boldness to fight me himself.”
I lashed out an arm, but it passed through smoke.
Mayhem backhanded the side of my skull, knocking me off my feet.
Chaos lunged, dropping to his knees and gripping my throat, pinning me to the floor.
His other hand morphed, talons extending from his fingertips as he raised his arm, ready to take out my heart.
Mayhem loomed behind him, his sinister smile revealing too many teeth.
“Now is not the time for a nap, silly.” Cinder’s voice cut through the madness, and I focused my wavering vision on her silhouette moving toward me. “Are you going to lie there all day, or can we get moving?”
“I’m a bit preoccupied.” I forced the words through my crushed throat.
“With what? A bedtime story?” She rested her hands on her hips, shifting her weight to one leg. “Get up.”
“I can’t.” Chaos gripped me harder, his muscles coiling in his arm.
“Why not?” She looked at me as if I’d grown a second set of horns. “There’s nothing holding you down. Nothing real.”
Nothing… I looked at Chaos. “You can’t hurt me.”
“Watch me.” He plunged his talons toward my heart. The tips pierced my skin.
I closed my eyes, inhaling deeply and focusing on Cinder’s words. These tulpas were not my brothers. Chaos, as ornery as he was, would never wish me dead, so this being was simply a fabrication.
And I refused to give it any more power.
I opened my eyes to find confusion morphing both their faces. The Chaos tulpa’s talons should have been embedded in my heart, yet only a whisp of smoke floated atop my chest.
Cinder stretched out her arm, and I accepted the gesture, allowing her to help me to my feet. I passed through the tulpa as if walking through a fog and took my witch into my arms.
“Your mind never ceases to amaze me.” I pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
She drew in a breath to respond when the air around us crackled. The tulpas dissolved into smoke, the last echoes of their voices fading like laughter down a long hall. Then, silence.
Once again, too still. Too quiet.
“Cinder,” I said, scanning the shadows, Ruin’s energy vibrating around us. “Stay behind me.”
“Not a chance.” She lifted her chin. “If he’s finally done hiding, I want front-row seats.”
A rumble shook the ground, deep and guttural. The walls warped, and the air thickened until the pressure made my ears pop. The remaining smoke congealed into a mass of writhing shadow, limbs unfurling, eyes—hundreds of them—blinking open one by one.
“Ah,” came the haunting voice, smooth and mocking. “The prodigal prince and his little flame. You’ve made quite the mess of my garden.”
“Enough tricks,” I said. “Face me as a demon, not a shadow.”
“As you wish.” Ruin stepped from the darkness, his true form towering, more nightmare than flesh. His skin glistened like liquid obsidian, veins of red light pulsing beneath. Horns coiled backward like a ram’s, and his grin was more sinister than I’d ever seen.
He lunged.
I met him head-on, hellfire igniting in my fists. His claws scraped against my forearm, splitting skin as I shoved him back, the impact rattling my bones. He countered, landing a blow that sent me skidding across the floor.
“Discord!” Cinder’s voice cut through the haze. She hurled a ball of witch fire, searing the air between us. It struck Ruin square in the chest, but he only laughed as the flames slid across his skin.
“An admirable attempt,” he said, “but your mortal tricks don’t work here.”
“I can do a lot more than put on a smoke show.” Cinder smirked. “Can you?”
I rose and stepped forward, placing myself between them. “You were always more bark than bite, Ruin.”
He laughed, rows of fangs glinting like daggers as he towered above us, a mass of slick muscle and molten veins. “I’ve missed this,” he said, and he inhaled deeply. “The smell of fear.”
I growled low in my throat, loath to admit it wasn’t just Cinder’s fear tainting the air…
it was also my own. My body ached, bruised and beaten.
My lung had barely healed, and the rips in my flesh stung as if filled with salt and spirits.
Alone and in my weakened state, I was no match for the fiend standing before me.
But I wasn’t alone. Not anymore.
Ruin lunged. I tried to dodge his advance, my shoulder taking the brunt of the hit as I crashed to the floor. My ribs protested. Breathing hurt. Everything hurt. He was stronger, faster, and I was trapped in this damned human shell.
He caught me by the throat and lifted me like I weighed nothing. “You’re weak, Discord. Defanged. Declawed. Reduced to a man.”
“Maybe,” I rasped, “but you should know better than to underestimate a man with something to lose.”
Cinder hurled another fireball, hitting him in the side of the head.
“Pathetic,” he said, turning toward her. “Did your little prince not teach you that witch fire doesn’t hurt demons?”
“It might not hurt,” she said, arching a brow, “but it does distract.”
I wrenched free, sucking air through my bruised windpipe and plunging my knife into his side.
He jerked it out, sneering as his taloned hand heated, glowing first blue, then white, melting the blade and disintegrating the handle. “You’ll both die screaming.”
“You first,” Cinder said, her eyes narrowing before she looked at me and tilted her head, mouthing the words what’s the plan?
I raised my brows, hoping to convey that I was working on it, though my thoughts currently bounced between agony and profanity. Then I remembered what lay behind Ruin. I jerked my head, and she followed my gaze before looking into my eyes and nodding.
No hesitation. No question. The plan was in place, and we only had to execute it.
Ruin swung. The wind of it alone sent dust spinning around our feet.
Cinder ducked, skidding beneath his arm and slicing her knife across the back of his knee.
He roared, lashing out. I moved in from the other side, slamming into him with everything I had left.
It felt as if I were tackling a wall of fire and iron.
He backhanded me, and the world went sideways. My head hit stone. Warmth trickled down my neck. Through the blur, I saw Cinder still standing, her chest heaving but her spine straight.
“Your soul will taste divine,” Ruin hissed.
She smiled faintly. “Funny. I was about to say the same.”
He lunged at her, his forearm hitting the side of her head, knocking her to the ground. Her skull hit the ground with a sickening crack, and she fell limp at his feet.
Panic flushed my veins, frigid and sharp, and instinct took over. I called on what little power I had left, forcing myself to my feet.
Ruin lifted a taloned foot above her head, his muscles coiling, ready to crush her. I plowed toward him, dropping and sliding across the ground to retrieve Cinder’s knife. I rolled and shot to my feet once more, slashing the blade across the back of his heel, severing the tendon.
He wailed and stumbled back. Cinder groaned, lifting her head and blinking repeatedly. I allowed myself to feel a moment of relief as my witch rose to her feet, but we had no time to waste. The injury I’d caused Ruin would heal in seconds.
Cinder threw a massive fireball, the air heating as it flashed passed me and slammed into Ruin’s chest. The impact knocked him off balance, and he stumbled again. The energy in the chamber thickened, vibrating and sharpening. I didn’t dare turn around to witness the tulpa forming behind me.
“Your monsters can’t hurt us anymore.” Cinder crossed her arms as the shadow closed in around her.
My pulse sprinted, my stomach souring at the sight of darkness attempting to devour the woman I loved. But she held strong to her disbelief, and the thoughtform passed through her.
I hurled the knife, and it spun pommel over tip before sinking into Ruin’s shoulder. Cinder lunged, her arms outstretched, and pushed him backward, to the edge of the pool. His foot slipped on the ledge, his taloned toes dipping into the purple liquid before he caught his balance.
The entities trapped inside reached upward, their gnarled hands breaking the surface and latching onto his ankles.
Ruin froze, recognition flashing in his molten eyes. “No—”
“Say hello to your little friends,” Cinder said, and together, we shoved. He teetered, his claws scraping stone, his expression one of sheer terror.
“How do you like the smell of fear now?” I asked.
He tumbled backward into the pool. The purple liquid swallowed him whole, and for one heartbeat, all was silent.
Then the water exploded with motion.
Hundreds of hands, spectral and skeletal, shot upward, clawing at him.
They wrapped around his horns, his limbs, his throat.
His scream echoed through the chamber as they dragged him into their depths.
The last thing I saw before the surface closed over him was his face, twisted in rage and terror as the souls he’d tortured claimed their revenge.
The pool went still. Cinder and I stood side by side, panting, staring into the silence that followed.
She rested a hand on my biceps. “Think he’ll come back from that?”
I wiped blood from my mouth. “I doubt those souls will ever let him go.”
She let out a shaky laugh, brushing a lock of hair from her face. “Good. Because I am so done with demons for the day.”
The ground shook, and cracks splintered up the wall. Cinder’s eyes widened, and for a moment, neither of us moved. A fissure formed in the wall, veins pulsing around the crack as it widened.
“Seriously.” Cinder widened her stance. “No more demons today.”
Bright light spilled through the opening—not Hell’s orange moonlight, but something colder. Paler. Silver. It pulsed like a heartbeat, slow and steady, raising the vibration in the chamber and making my arm hairs stand on end.
Cinder clutched my hand. “Do you think that’s…?”
I nodded once. “Indeed.”
We had defeated Ruin.
But our confrontation with the goddess had just begun.