Chapter 3 Ambrose Wisteryn #2
With a grunt, my palms still live, I dragged my robe off my left shoulder, exposing my navy tunic-style shirt beneath that fell a little long over my dress pants.
A slight flick of my power had my tunic pushed aside, revealing the magical wound beneath that I’d drawn into myself earlier.
I heard Ketheron’s gasp as he took in the sight of it—concentric jagged rings burned into my flesh.
A thick ring of midnight-blue circled a band of molten amber, both enclosing a crimson core.
My black magic splashed across all three like spilled ink, seeping into the colors and spidering out in blotches, fighting to prevent them from breaking free, from destabilizing.
My hand shook violently as I hovered my black glow over the site, needing to boost my ability to contain it, to hold it steady. “Potestas mea cuncta superat. Aequilibrium rerum servandum est.” My power transcends all. The balance must maintain.
The circles flared viciously.
No. Absolutely not.
I slammed my right hand on top of the other and roared, “Non mihi imperabis!” You will not command me!
My body shook with the force of it all, my power rumbling and rolling.
And then it had me crying out as it burst out of me in a sudden shockwave.
I thrust my hands out and fisted them, and a wave of black tendrils rushed back to me, swirling all around me, sparking and lashing.
Protecting me.
Safeguarding what was so dear.
What I had to. No matter what.
My strength returned bit by bit, and I was able to rise back to my feet, a heavy sigh escaping me.
Ketheron burst back toward me with his supernatural speed, coming to a stop right in front of me, his expression so deeply worried and pained.
He threw his arms around me, and my magic welcomed him.
“All is well. It’ll hold long enough now for me to do what I must.”
He eased back, holding my forearms. “The additional power you called in order to do that when you were already maxed out… you pulled on the essence of your lifeforce, didn’t you?”
I swallowed. “Yes. I am sorry, treasure. I had no choice. I can’t break the connection or he will perish.”
“I know,” he rasped. “Just… be so very careful. There is no margin of error for you now. If your power taps out, you’ll—”
“I won’t die.”
“Ambrose—”
I cupped his cheek. “I made you a promise, did I not? Besides, we are sparing the life of a necromancer. That comes in handy where untimely deaths are concerned.” I quirked my lips.
“I can’t believe you’re making a joke right now.” He sighed. “Although, I certainly know why you are.” He grasped my hand. “Hold on tight. I can’t teleport us without my magic touching you and risking affecting your spell. And you can’t expend any additional power. I’ll employ my speed.”
I nodded. “Perfect.”
I drew in a steadying breath as I tightened my grip on him.
I could see to this.
I had the means, despite the strain.
I just had to hold on.
Just a little while longer.
As we passed through into the Rifted Cradle in which Glacialis Arx was located, Ketheron stilled in surprise, then swung his head abruptly to the left.
He’d sensed her.
His kindred.
Ariana Martel.
There she was, long wavy golden hair flying wildly about as she paced up and down, while arguing with Kai Hunter.
Nyx Laryn was also there, and seeming to be of much the same mind as Ariana regarding the lecture that Kai was receiving for his intent to apparently “go off half-cocked like a fucking dumbass” in a bid to retrieve Winter.
Well, as their other companion there with them, Vorzyr Titanus, clarified to the formidable angel, Kai intended to “draw that motherfucking twisted True Celestial out”.
This did not bode well at all.
Nor did the fact that Kai was clearly distraught and grieving so very heavily over Sylas’ death.
Clarity of thought was compromised. And that was a very dangerous thing for the likes of him.
For the likes of all supremely powerful beings, many of which were deeply connected to Sylas and also Winter.
Winter’s loves needed monitoring and soothing. They were young, yes, but held notable power—and connections where Vaxan and Evira were concerned.
They weren’t here, I didn’t sense them.
Remnant was. I could feel that Ancient vampiric weight rolling through the area.
Cassius was most definitely present inside the castle-like home.
Velra and Lazriel also.
“Ketheron!” Ariana cried, registering our arrival.
She beamed at me with that starry-eyed look she always gave me. It was due to her being over the moon and deeply touched for Ketheron that he’d fallen in love and been able to forge a romantic relationship with another—and me, no less.
Her expression faltered all too soon as she took in the sight of my black magic tendrils and thick black glow emanating wildly all around me—and Ketheron—and not dissipating now we’d already passed through the ward into the Rifted Cradle.
The truth was, the ward didn’t touch either of us, no magic interference to worry about there as we were permitted regulars to this home, and Ketheron actually lived here. He’d added me alongside him, basically.
She drew closer, but choked from the potency of my black magic and burst back a few feet, her brown suede jacket flapping about her.
Kai was beside her in the next moment, eyes narrowing on me. He didn’t like black magic around Ariana due to corruptibility issues surrounding a pure angelic being of her nature and supreme power.
“What’s happened?” she asked us, worriedly.
“You located an entry point into Sanctus, and Ruxnoth… did this to you?” Kai asked.
“No,” Ketheron responded.
Vorzyr strode over with Nyx, and I saw the latter grimacing as he focused on Ketheron.
He’d been inside my love’s mind before years ago in a bid to…
salvage him, so despite Ketheron’s power levels eclipsing his, Nyx’s emotion-reading abilities of his incubus side were able to interpret Ketheron’s emotional state to an extent.
He told Ariana, “You need to get out of here. The black magic potency is only gonna worsen, halo.”
“What’s the deal here?” Vorzyr growled, wrapping his arm around Ariana.
Kai gestured at the castle across the grounds, telling us, “They’re in no state to deal with anything else right now. You need help, I’ll see what I can do.”
“I know you guys were off the grid tracking the entry points to Sanctus, so you might not have heard, but a lot has happened here in the last few hours,” Nyx told us softly.
“It’s Sylas and Winter,” Ariana said. She reached out and stroked Kai’s hair as he grimaced and looked away to hide his emotion and grief.
“We’re aware,” I spoke, not wanting them to have to recount the awful events.
“And my gorgeous is here to remedy one of those things,” Ketheron told them.
“How? What does that mean?” Kai asked, blinking his emotion away, or at least attempting to.
I stepped forward. “I need to see Sylas. Immediately.”
Vorzyr had left with Ariana, the two of them needing to head to Haven Initiative to reassure and comfort the Celestials there concerning there being a True Celestial now revealed to have escaped the Severance.
Kai and Nyx followed at our backs as Ketheron helped me along down the corridors of the homely castle.
We passed by Winter’s bedroom and I saw Velra and Cassius inside.
Cassius was holding her to him, his eyes red from clearly breaking down.
Velra was in a similar state, her voice clogged with emotion as she spoke with King Darethor of the Dark Fae Realm via speakerphone.
He was pledging his support concerning Winter and conveying his condolences that Winter had both been taken and framed as an enemy to the supernatural world.
Not condolences for Sylas’ murder, however.
It had been kept under wraps. The death of the Last Necromancer would add extreme panic to an already panicked situation as it was.
While I had been enacting what I’d needed to earlier, Ketheron had kept his ear to the ground concerning all of this.
As we approached the guest room where a Restoration Chamber had been set up for Sylas’ body, raised voices caught my attention.
Lazriel Thaine and Remnant.
“It’s not normal, right? Right, Dad?”
“Lazriel—”
“There’s no bloat. No decay of any kind. Even with the Restoration thingy, that was just to continue treatment, not to preserve a body or put him in stasis or anything. I know you think I’m in denial and—”
“I want you to have hope, son. But I don’t want that to shatter you.”
“I’m already shattered, Dad. Sylas… and our boy… I… fuck. I… we’ll find Winter. Then when we do, he can pull Sylas from the Valley. He’s the only one who can. Except Ambrose who could use black magic to—”
“Ambrose won’t allow that. It would destroy the Valley of the Dead. Sylas wouldn’t want that either. He’s worked hard not to harm it.”
“Well, with Win doing it—”
“Sylas isn’t there, Lazriel.”
“What? Of course he is. Where else would a dead necromancer—”
“I talked to both Cassius and Kai about the nature of the Spiral Thorn, it being used to deliver a deathblow to a necromancer. It was able to do that for specific reasons. Ruxnoth didn’t just take Sylas’ life, he erased him.”
“Erased him? No. That can’t—”
“It erased him from existence. I’m so sorry, son.”
I heard dangerous snarling, crashing and smashing and roaring from Lazriel.
Kai and Nyx tensed, Kai about to call his power in response.
Zips of speed whipped through the area, then Lazriel came bursting out, but Remnant snatched him in a body hold, containing Lazriel’s flailing, sobbing, and roaring with his superior strength, while also stroking his head through it.
“Cease!” I called out.
Remnant’s gaze snapped to mine, his surprise at both not sensing me because he’d been so caught up in comforting his grieving son, and that my power was flaring all over the place, having him startling and nearly losing his hold on Lazriel.