Chapter 36 Calypso
Chapter thirty-six
Calypso
Everything degraded into flashes of horror. Snarls radiated around her, and the smell of rotten flesh permeated the air. She slid on blackened blood that soaked the ground as the demon hounds persisted in their assault. Nearby, a witch’s scream abruptly cut short as the hound mauled her neck.
Gold flooded Calypso’s eyes as she went to that place of bloodlust and rage. She became a creature of fire, incinerating the hounds. Truthfully, she was no different from the beasts in this state.
Her fire struck at every threat, hound or human. Burning flesh stung her nostrils, and streams of blood blocked her vision. She felt no remorse for taking the lives of the soldiers. She would do it repeatedly until death finally satiated the darkest part of her soul.
One of the demon hounds slammed into her from the side, knocking her to the ground.
She held it back as it snapped its maw above her, its enormous jaw containing multiple rows of sharp teeth.
She was struggling to get the upper hand when an arrow pierced the demon’s skull, ending its awareness.
Black substance coated Calypso’s fallen body as the creature disintegrated.
Seeing the arrow, she looked back at the manor to find it burning faster than the water witches could stop it. Nyx was now the only witch on the balcony, shooting arrows at an unbelievable speed.
Calypso searched the chaos for Astra, finding her alive but in an equally precarious position. Then her eyes found her mate. Vidorak was slicing through the soldiers, but so many kept flooding relentlessly.
This was her limit. She was certain that if the situation continued, they would all perish. There was no guarantee that the amulet would save them, but she needed to try.
Calypso snapped the amulet off her neck in a savage pull. Her grip was so tight the ruby dug into her palm, and without further hesitation, she spoke the words she had memorized long ago.
The amulet awakened, glowing with her lifeblood, and waiting for the final part of the spell.
Nails at her left eye, she braced to claw out her organ when a slice of pain tore through her other hand. She dropped the amulet, and in its place was embedded a throwing knife.
“Very close, Calypso,” reverberated the low voice of her enemy.
She looked up to see Davinger stride forward and pick up the amulet.
He stood tall and self-assured in his long charcoal-colored robe.
While he had lost weight since she last saw him, the strong features of his face remained.
His hair was still that distinctive icy blond, but his perceptive dark blue eyes now looked almost black.
“Nice of you to spare me the trouble of hunting you down,” Calypso said as she yanked out the knife from her hand.
“It’s amusing that you think you have influenced anything that’s occurred,” Davinger talked down to her. “I have known everything you’ve done since fleeing the capital.”
“I’m flattered by your interest.” Her response was dry as she assessed him. “Though I would’ve preferred to end this years ago.”
“You are a great bloodhound, and I needed you to bring me the Eye of Azara.” He slipped the ruby amulet over his neck. “Part of me is tempted to chain you and keep you in my court.”
She laughed at his threat. “You learn how to cast a couple of spells and all the sudden you think you are unbeatable. I am made of magic, just like my mother. Your magic is child’s play compared to ours.”
“Seraphina never opened her eyes to what her magic could become. I’m glad to see you are not of the same opinion.
” He slipped off his robe and revealed the dozens of runes embedded in his arms and chest. The inky marks of black magic swirled upon his body, similar to hers.
The mutilation he’d done to himself staggered her.
Sick at the sight and at the knowledge she had done similar, she blasted a ball of fire at him, which he easily avoided.
“Why?” Calypso yelled. “Why kill her after all she did to help you?”
“I do whatever I want because I can,” he spat out the last part. “The runes revealed who I truly am. And no one, especially not Seraphina Galanis, was going to stop me.”
The confirmation of what she had suspected brought no comfort to Calypso. Instead, the tragedy of knowing her dear mother’s life had been the price of his lust for power, caused a sharp pain in her chest.
She had nothing else to say to him, had no desire to hear him speak any further. All she desired was his death. Flames swirled up her arms like snakes, and she rushed at him.
Rage consumed her as she lashed out at Davinger, striking in any way she could. He met her blow for blow, his magic sending tendrils of shock up her arms. Pain shook her body, but she didn’t dare stop.
Davinger swept her leg, knocking her to the ground, then stomped her chest, keeping her pinned. No matter how much fire she sent his way, his skin remained unharmed, shielded by the runes.
“I expected more from the mad witch.” He took out a blade. “Pity.”
Before he could stab her, a gust of wind suddenly sent Davinger flying back. Astra rushed over, helping her stand up. Calypso saw Nyx approach, sweat over her face as she focused in the direction she’d sent Davinger.
“I cannot hold him for long,” Nyx said through gritted teeth.
“He has the amulet,” Calypso told them. “Go before he returns.”
“You should know better than to ask that,” Astra responded, and Nyx gave her a hard look.
There was no further discussion to be had. Loving her sisters meant not only keeping them safe but trusting them to keep her safe as well. Calypso’s attempts to separate them from her hardships had only brought them all more pain.
Too soon, Davinger returned, flanked by two large soldiers. She caught the unmistakable red glow in the soldier’s eyes. Despite her use of black magic, the idea of reanimating a human repulsed her.
“It’s nice to see you again, Astra.” Davinger's eyes held a longing gaze toward her sister.
Astra stiffened by her side, though remained unwavering in her stance. Calypso rushed at him simply to take his covetous stare away from her.
Nyx and Astra jumped into action, focusing on the undead soldiers at his side.
Astra dug her fingers into the earth, sending poisonous vines to wrap around one of the soldiers.
He slashed himself free, but not before Nyx sent two arrows into his red eyes.
Blinded, the soldier collapsed to the ground and became trapped in the quicksand Astra conjured.
“Be careful!” Calypso called out toward Nyx as the other undead soldier lunged in her direction.
He attacked Nyx with unforgiving swings of his sword. She defended, but her body became peppered with bloody slashes, her pale skin staining red. The soldier kicked her chest, sending her tumbling onto her back.
Calypso encased the soldier in flames, heating the metal until it glowed yellow-white. The soldier’s movements became sluggish as she incinerated him inside his own armor. Within seconds he slowed to a stop.
Despite her wounds, Nyx moved without pain as she stood from the ground. Her gaze filled with terror as she focused behind Calypso. Nyx swiftly nocked a fresh arrow to her bow, aiming with unwavering concentration. Calypso turned to find out what had frightened her sister.
“Astra, I could have given you everything,” Davinger snarled as he held Astra by her throat. “We could’ve been everything, but you denied me.”
Astra clawed at his hand as she went pale.
“Nyx, guide me,” Calypso yelled out, trusting her friend understood her meaning as she unleashed her fire. His skin may not burn, but that didn’t mean his insides were safe. Nyx aided the stream of fire into Davinger’s nostrils, attempting to burn him from the inside out.
That worked, and he released Astra, sending her crashing to the ground. Davinger yelled in pain and stumbled backward, disappearing behind a shield of his soldiers.
Nyx and Calypso rushed to help Astra, but she put up a hand and coughed. “I’m fine. He will return soon.”
Staring in the direction Davinger hid behind his guard, Calypso shouted, “Give it up. We both know you’d never sacrifice yourself to use the amulet.”
“You are correct.”
The soldiers parted to reveal a young man being dragged over to Davinger. It took Calypso a moment to place him, as she hadn’t laid eyes on Prince Isaac in ten years.
Davinger’s hand gently caressed the prince’s face before tugging his hair back harshly.
“What are you doing?” Calypso’s voice was laced with disbelief at the sight before her.
“You’ve done such a marvelous job of infusing the amulet, it’d be a pity not to use it. All it requires is the last step after all.” With a swift jab of his knife, he carved out Prince Isaac's eye and slammed the ruby inside.
The prince collapsed, his body shaking so severely she couldn’t imagine it’d end in anything other than death.
After what felt like an eternity, the shaking subsided, and he stilled.
Then, like an illusion, his skin began to ripple.
Limbs stretched and grew scales, slowly at first, then they picked up speed.
Horror seeped into her heart as what was once a human body transformed like molded clay.
The transition wasn’t beautiful, but was uneven and scattered.
One side held the start of a wing, while the other was still a fully formed human hand.
Scales were plastered on haphazardly, shining like emeralds.
Sharp predator teeth grew from a jaw that hadn’t caught up in enlarging.
Her stomach heaved when she saw him move, trying to make sense of what was happening. Compared to this, death would be a mercy.
Terror overtook his features, and he thrashed around. Nothing calmed him, as he was blind and deaf to the world. His panic seemed to slow the transition, and Prince Isaac was stuck in this grotesque form between human and beast.
“Transform!” bellowed Davinger, and a shock spread through the prince’s body. He completely stilled, not of his own accord, but ordered by something magical. The transition sped up, faster than before, more painful than before.
The excruciation human scream from the prince morphed into a dragon’s roar that shook the ground.
The dragon was the size of the manor, its wingspan so great it blocked the light of the moon.
All fighting halted as everyone took in the ancient monster before them.
It seemed impossible that anyone could conquer such a creature, let alone rid all of its kind from the realm.
As everyone watched the dragon, Calypso looked over to see Davinger’s bright eyes manically take in his new pet. The runes over his heart glowed eerily.
If the runes were protecting Davinger, then Calypso needed to relinquish him of them.
Without further thought, she rushed at him and dug her sharp nails around the glowing rune at the center of his chest. Hearing the squelch of his tissue tearing was satisfying, and she persisted even as her arm throbbed in pain.
Rune grasped, she tore it from his body. Davinger screamed, clutching at the gash on his chest, which exposed the muscles and bones beneath.
Connection severed, the dragon unleashed a fiery breath across the army, triggering a cacophony of cries and sending the soldiers fleeing. Then, the dragon took off into the sky and disappeared behind the clouds.
“How dare you!” Davinger screamed and made to come at her but stumbled. “Soldiers, retreat!”
Immediately, a group of soldiers closed around Davinger, and what remained of his army began to withdraw from the grounds.
“We need to go after him,” Calypso told Astra and Nyx. “We may not get another chance.”
Nyx responded, but Calypso couldn’t make out what she said. Everything became blurry, and pain blossomed in her abdomen. She looked down to see her dress soaked in blood.
The last thing she heard as she crumbled to the ground was her mate’s savage roar.