Chapter 18 #3
The degree she’d shifted her pink mist was apparently undocumented and not within the acceptable perimeters of her license. She rarely resorted to such caustic measures, but supposedly the chemical strike was strong enough to drop demons in their tracks—something few branch magics could claim.
“You defeated him?” Layla asked, surprised and impressed, having returned to see an empty bubble of pink mist.
“Not exactly,” Campbell said. “Did you clear the floor?”
“Yes, but the others are still flooded with fiends,” Layla explained. “The enchanters and acolytes here are doing their part, but it’s like the fiends are organized.”
“Because they are,” I thought at them. “Chances are, Theodore Whitlock is in the city, orchestrating the fiend’s movements. Your best bet is—”
The floor between Layla and Campbell burst open, carrying a newly re-armored Bardot as he held a diamond sword in each hand. With a swift thrust, he impaled Campbell through her chest and stomach.
“Noooo!” Layla screamed so loudly that it turned into a furious roar of anguish as her therianthrope form overtook her.
Name: Layla Smythe
Branch: Bestial (Therianthropy)
The tiny girl snarled, her body twisted and transformed until she towered over the threatening witch. Rage. So much rage exploded from Layla. With all her strength and added telekinesis, she slammed into Bardot, throwing him back into a wall.
“Guild Master…” Layla’s voice cracked and broke as she swept in to catch Campbell.
There was nothing to be done. Her heart had stopped. Her breathing had ended. Her eyes stared out at nothingness, unable to register Layla’s feline face or blotchy tears.
“This can’t be it…” Campbell’s mind whirled into the darkness of death.
“I’m so sorry,” I called out, hoping to give her something, anything in these final moments.
These seconds, which ticked by slowly, painfully.
“I was supposed to fix it…” Campbell’s mind turned faint, bleeding in and out. “I worked so hard to make this industry better for everyone. I’m not finished. I still have—”
And like too many others, she was dead and gone forever. Campbell’s mind fell away. Her life unfinished.
“You need to run,” I thought at Layla and Amani. “Get the others and run!”
“You heard him,” Layla growled, eyeing Amani before locking her furious gaze onto Bardot. “Get out of here.”
“Oh no, little girls.” Bardot recalled his bloody diamond blades and shifted his stance for combat. “I still got a lot of fight in me and think it’ll be fun to blow off steam, carving you little bitches up.”
Layla roared, lunging for Bardot. Her slashes were swift, but his diamond flesh remained unharmed.
Layla’s telekinetic strikes didn’t work a second time, not with Bardot expecting them.
Amani dragged the others out, holding three unconscious bodies with her own telekinesis, but Bardot threw a diamond blade to block the doorway.
“Stick around.”
Layla snarled and tackled Bardot. With the full force of her body, she managed to pin him to the floor, but he quickly overpowered her.
Bardot straddled Layla’s therianthrope form, punching her over and over.
Each hit chipped away at Layla’s strength.
Still, she continued clawing, biting, and snarling to no avail.
The beating continued until Layla’s willpower shattered and she transformed back into her human state.
“I’m going to take my time with you.” Bardot wrapped his diamond fingers around Layla’s neck and tightened his grip.
Layla gasped, choking as Bardot strangled her. Despite her best efforts, Layla couldn’t break the grip on her throat. Her face turned red. She flailed and fought, but her arms grew heavier with each passing second.
“NO!” I roared, hitting Bardot with as much psychic energy as possible.
“The telepath?” Bardot looked up momentarily. “Figures. The True Witch said she’d kill you. How predictable she’d fail. Still, if your best shot is to make me feel bad, you clearly don’t know me.”
It wasn’t enough to do anything. All I managed was to bypass his protective psychic wards, unraveling his thoughts. I didn’t have enough magic at my disposal to shatter his mind, to break him before he killed Layla. I failed.
Clack. Snap. Crack.
Lightning. Fire. Ice. Gravel. Each element zipped through the office in a flurry of swift slaps.
Chanelle stood in the doorway with an electric whip in hand. She’d knocked both of Bardot’s diamond swords out of the office and snatched Layla into her grasp.
Name: Chanelle Whitehurst
Branch: Arcane (Infinity Spectrum)
“Leave my students alone.” The rage and sadness in Chanelle’s eyes flooded her emotions.
Seeing her frightened students, taking in the destruction of the guild, and finding a dead Guild Master Campbell sent Chanelle into a flurry of anger.
Her mind fell into the deep depression of Jamie’s death that once consumed her. With a slow, calming breath, Chanelle buried that sorrow and focused on the future.
“Fall back, girls.” Chanelle stepped in front of them and braced herself for fighting against Bardot, the diamond witch who came to slaughter everyone within the walls of Cerberus Guild. “I’ll never let down another one of my students again.”