41. Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-One
Ena
Ena felt Ty grab her, pulling her behind him in an effort to shield her from the onslaught of daemons. He was armed with only a dagger, and the three of them were sorely outnumbered.
Daemons swung at them, trying to grab them, so she let her visanis have free rein, focusing on their attackers one by one.
{Sleep.}
{Stop fighting.}
{Release him.}
There were so many of them, it was hard to keep up, and they just kept coming.
With every command, she could feel her magic weakening, her body tiring.
The Change was still new to her, and the effort it had taken to force it so quickly was draining, and now using her visanis as much as she was, she wasn’t sure how much longer she’d be able to maintain her hold on it.
She reached out to another daemon—a harsh-looking woman whose face was screwed up in anger—grasping for the mind channel that connected her to Ena.
{Don’t move} she said, but the command fell flat, the mind channel slipping from her like sand through her fingers.
The woman didn’t even flinch—she lunged forward, grabbing Ena by the hair and wrenching her down towards her knee, striking her hard in the face. Ena felt blood well in her nose, and she twisted to the side, trying to release the woman’s hold on her.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Ty struggling against two large daemons who were holding him down; meanwhile, Steig was wrestling furiously with a daemon one-handed as his other held on to Lara, who mindlessly thrashed and scratched at him—still bound by the magic of the collar to do as she’d been told by Zak.
Neither of them could help her, she realized, as she tried frantically to remember her all-too-brief training in the fighting ring.
She reached up, grabbing the arm that held her, and pulled the woman closer as she cocked her arm, preparing to punch the woman in the gut.
Just then, an arrow came soaring through the Great Antre, striking her attacker in the shoulder and forcing the woman to release her grip as she cried out in pain.
Ena looked up in relief. Stryx—clad in their telltale furs—streamed into the chamber, their bows and arrows cocked and ready as they let loose on the daemons attacking her, Ty, and Steig.
And behind them were more faces she recognized.
Greya, Perse, Mel, Syrelle, Cris, and his brother Colyn came running into the chamber, quickly forming a half ring at the entrance, followed at last by Turner—his two short swords in either hand as he rushed towards Ty and Steig.
Relief flooded her now that they had backup, and she moved to join the witches, to add her magic to their spell as they’d planned, but as she pushed through the crowd, an imperi reached out and grabbed her arms, pinning them to her side.
She twisted around to look at him as she thrashed in his hold—it was the old man she’d saved from Cole’s mockery at the onata celebration.
She didn’t want to hurt him—she knew he had no choice—but at the same time… he needed to get the fuck off of her.
Ena lifted her leg, kneeing the man in the groin—hard—and he collapsed.
Just then, another daemon came at her—a bulky man who looked like he was going to be much harder to subdue—when one of Xena’s arrows soared through the chamber, striking him in the shoulder.
Not a killing wound—the stryx had been instructed to spare life whenever possible—but enough to distract him.
Ena looked up, making eye contact with Xena from across the vast chamber, and nodded in thanks.
Xena returned it, then instantly turned her focus elsewhere as Ena ran to the witches.
The six of them were gathered at the entrance to the Great Antre, blocking anyone’s attempted entry. “You made it,” Ena said to Greya as her sister tossed her a simple shift to cover her naked body.
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Perse said from next to her, the corner of his mouth tipping up.
She quickly threw on the shift before joining hands with her sister, adding to the witches’ sacred arrangement.
Together, the seven of them formed a semi-circle, and as she reached down into her Knowing, she could feel their magic flowing together, syncing with the same purpose. She didn’t have much left to give, but she’d add what she could.
Taking a deep breath, she felt for the moisture in the air—the dankness of the cave—just as they’d planned. Then, once she Knew they were all ready, they spoke in unison.
{Nebula}
The force of their combined magic drew a fog from the air that was so dense, the entire chamber whited out instantly.
Moisture filled her lungs as she looked to her left, finding that she was barely able to see Greya standing next to her.
She felt her sister squeeze her hand, though, and she didn’t let go.
The sounds of fighting and shouting that had filled the chamber were quickly replaced with confusion.
“What in Iblis’s name is going on?!”
“Where did they go?”
“It’s the witches!”
Ena waited for Ty and his signal. She had no idea where he was—there was no way she’d be able to see him in the fog—but his venator allowed him to see better than any of them. So she waited.
In the distance, she heard a surprised grunt of pain, followed by his yell.
“Now!”
She gripped Greya’s hand hard, feeling for her fellow witches beside her as they chanted once more.
{Aeris}
A huge gust of wind bellowed through the chamber, the sound of it exploding through the alcoves like a vicious storm. Her hair blew around her, dancing, as the wind they had created pushed away the stagnant fog.
Ena shielded her face from the onslaught with one hand, holding on fast to Greya with the other, and then just as suddenly as it had begun, it ceased.
She opened her eyes to see Ty standing on the dais at the far end of the Great Antre, holding a knife to Zak’s throat. Ty moving him had broken Ena’s compulsion, and the man looked afraid.
“Tell them to stand down!” Ty demanded.
The daemons, who’d been stumbling around and holding on to the furniture through the fog and the wind, paused.
Their eyes went to Cole’s lifeless body, which Ty had drug up to the dais and placed at his feet, then up to where Ty threatened Zak at the end of the same dagger that had killed his brother.
“Do what he says,” Zak said, his voice shaking.
There were clanks around the room as one by one, the daemons dropped their weapons. She could tell some did it willingly, as if they’d been waiting for an excuse, but others grumbled and were reluctant, the need for violence writ across their faces.
“I have killed the king, and as the rightful heir of the Underworld, I claim its dominion until further notice. You obey me now.”
An older daemon spoke up—an upper-level one Ena recognized from the Convening. “This cannot stand, Ty,” the old woman shouted. “To overthrow the king goes against our most basic law as daemons. We will never accept you now.” The woman spat on the ground at her feet, disgust written across her face.
“I am breaking no such law. I acted only to rectify a wrong. Cole should never have been king in the first place,” Ty declared.
Confused murmurs echoed around the chamber. Ena didn’t know where he was going with this—the plan had just been to take Zak and capture him, or kill him outright if he didn’t cooperate in subduing the violence.
“Tell them,” Ty spoke menacingly, tightening his hold on Zak. Ena had never seen her husband’s face so grave. It was full of rage and hurt as he waited for Zak to speak.
“What are you talking about?” Zak asked. He looked thoroughly confused, but Ena knew it was for show. The man was the picture of perfect lies.
“Tell. Them,” Ty insisted again, pressing the knife just enough into Zak’s throat to break the skin, causing a drop of blood to drip down. “Tell them what Cole did to my father, or I will let my wife pry it out of you with her Gift,” he added, locking eyes with Ena.
Zak’s face paled, his throat bobbing against the knife as he swallowed.
The mask of his Power fell away, and behind the man who could flawlessly lie, Ena saw true fear.
He was conflicted—whatever secret Ty was hinting at, he’d clearly been keeping it for so long, it was difficult for him to contemplate revealing it.
His eyes darted to Ena, though, and Ena let him see her truth as a corner of her mouth tipped up. Ty was right—if he didn’t fess up, she could make him talk in an instant, and she’d relish it.
Zak closed his eyes as reluctant decision fell over his face. “He—he killed him.” His voice was so quiet it was almost a whisper, but the entire chamber had been waiting on bated breath, and they heard it clearly.
“Tell them how,” Ty gritted out.
“P-poison. A witch’s potion that he stole,” Zak replied, his voice filled with shame.
A collective gasp rang through the chamber, followed by murmurs of disbelief.
Ena was stunned. Ty hadn’t told her any of this. How had he known?
“Cole murdered Haden?” the old woman daemon asked, her brow furrowed in sadness and skepticism.
“Yes,” Zak replied stiltedly. “Cole killed our brother. And—and threatened to do the same to me, should I reveal what I knew.” The man squirmed in Ty’s tight hold, but Ty didn’t give an inch.
“Fucking coward!” a large male daemon yelled at the dais.
“Kill him too!” another shouted.
Murmurs of agreement mixed with calls of dissent throughout the chamber as the truth settled over everyone.
“Hear me!” Ty shouted, silencing them once more. “Now you all know the truth. Cole killed my father. His rule was illegitimate. What I have done here today is not a coup. It was retribution.”
The chamber paused as Ty’s words sunk in.
“I regret bringing this down on you all,” Ty said with sincerity. “But you must see…I know you must. We have access to Gaia once more—and we are free.”
Ena swallowed, the passion in his voice bringing tears to her eyes as well. She knew how long he’d wanted this, how much this meant to him.
“We are free to find a new way, to forge a new era—one not defined by Cole’s petty vengeances against witches and mortals, but by the ingenuity of our people.
Too long have we suffered down here—nearly starving for a lack of trade, and access to the world above.
But I have come to you today with witch allies—ones who have pledged an alliance with daemons, and the desire to have friendly relations with us.
Through cooperation and reintegration with the other races, we can thrive. ”
Murmurs broke across the chamber—some expressing skepticism, but others relief.
“And that’s not all,” Ty continued. “I also come with new allies—the stryx—who have traveled long and hard to be here, to lend their support. They, too, have suffered because of alienation—but no longer. Amends have been made, and it is time to let discord die. And as my first show of faith—”
Ty released Zak—letting him fall abruptly as the man stumbled away from him, turning back to look at him in confusion.
“That is for telling the truth—finally,” Ty said harshly.
Zak watched him hesitantly, skepticism written on his face, but he did not attack Ty, nor shout for others to. He simply nodded in acquiescence.
“From this moment forward, the Underworld has no king,” Ty declared.
“But as the current heir, I will be calling a summit between daemons from all the levels, and our new allies, to discuss the way forward that is best for us all. I invite you all to nominate representatives from your levels to attend and air your grievances. You will be heard. Until then, peace will be maintained and enforced.”
He looked at the stryx and witches around the room, highlighting their presence, but no one made a move to continue fighting.
Then Ty bent down, picking up Cole’s body from the floor and slinging it over his shoulder. Without a word, he carried it out of the Great Antre alone.