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Before his eyes, Cerberus splintered, creating five replicas of himself, each arming with a spell.
Fuck me. Will the real Cerberus please stand up?
The Firebrand studied each form, looking for a tell, searching for the living, breathing mage. Cerberus had created exact copies of himself. If Rein identified the true mage, he could counter the spell.
Their sizes were the same. Their faces were the same. They moved the same. But… He listened. A heartbeat.
Thank you, vampire hearing. Gotcha, dickwad.
Rein launched a razored blade of lightning at one of the figures. Bingo. Four apparitions disappeared, leaving behind the true Cerberus, clutching his chest, wavering on his feet, about to go down. No such luck. The asshole wouldn’t die. When Rein cast a second, deadlier bolt, the mage threw up an impenetrable shield while he recovered.
With another dramatic wave of his hand, the air surrounding Cerberus turned as black as a starless night. Then it began to move.
The darkness advanced toward Rein, who created a spell to obliterate it. No good. The ominous shade continued its slow progress. He launched a blocking force field to halt it. No go. He had never seen the likes of this … what? … nothingness before.
What the fuck is it? A void? A black hole?
****
The spell Cerberus had been perfecting pleased him, but it required an immense amount of power. While he continued to manifest it, he tapped his stored energy. Once he depleted it, he reached for outside conduits.
He closed his eyes to concentrate. An incubus Arisen Dawn soldier near him collapsed to the ground. The female beside him wobbled before she fell across his body. One by one, Cerberus drew from his soldiers, stealing their energy until they were empty husks. Their sacrifices were for the greater good. He must win this battle against Rein in order to rule the world and lead Aeternals to their rightful place.
Killing others to supply his spell was a heady experience. Cerberus’s chest expanded with a deep breath while he accepted their sacrifices. The act of depleting them was so much sweeter than swallowing a sip here or a sip there. Death of a conduit was invigorating, his right as the leader of Arisen Dawn.
Cerberus’s mouth fell open. He was unable to halt the laughter which burst from within as Rein failed to stop the advancing darkness. It was impossible. The Firebrand was no match for his skills. His vain efforts at blocking and shielding were ineffective.
With a palm out in front of him, Cerberus focused on his magic, willing it to creep forward, eating everything in its path.
Though Rein attempted to distract him with spells designed to slice, stab, or set his body on fire, nothing interrupted his concentration. Nothing penetrated the darkness. That was the beauty of this creation. It absorbed its surroundings. Once it reached the Firebrand, it would devour him. Cerberus just had to hang onto it long enough and not allow it to sap his own energy.
More Arisen Dawn soldiers died, their contribution to the war significant, their lives drained to power Cerberus. Out of the corner of his eye, he noted his fighters moving away, not wanting to be the next to topple. The warlock pushed harder at the darkness, driving it toward Rein with everything he had.
He tasted victory. If only his mother, Echidna, could see him now. A lifetime of her efforts were paying off. He was the greatest mage of all time.
The Stygian hole crawled onward, baffling the Firebrand who cast useless magic in an effort to destroy it. Again, Cerberus’s glee bubbled from his chest and out his mouth as a roar of victorious laughter.
****
Rein closed his eyes, tossing around solutions, assessing the situation. Nothing he had done so far had worked, but he didn’t accept defeat. Any spell could be countered. He studied the black void while it wormed closer, eating everything in its way. If it were indeed the lack of life, what would negate it?
His lids flipped up. The answer was in the question.
Life.
To combat the advancing evil, Rein gathered the energy which animated all things. He breathed in the verdant green of nature. Of flora. He concentrated on the souls and lifeforces of living creatures. He listened to the blood flowing through his veins. Thinking of Braelyn, he focused on love which created life. He sensed his flesh and bones which gave his body form. With these, he fashioned a spell, hurling it into the void.
Nothing.
Though it should have worked, the blackness skulked steadily forward. When it was inches from his feet, Rein backed up before it swallowed him.
Then it happened. His magic coalesced. It took shape. A bomb-like, vibrant, rainbow-hued orb crashed into the amorphous dark cloud. Shooting into the hungry emptiness, it exploded. Cerberus’s inky death trembled before it shattered into black shards of ice.
When the air cleared, Rein’s gaze met Cerberus’s wide-eyed stare. The mage gathered his flagging strength to create a new spell. Though the atmosphere shimmered around the warlock, nothing happened. His energy deserted him.
Sometimes assholes think they have the biggest dick. It’s a shock to find out in the locker room yours is the width of a pencil and the length of your thumb. Of course, I’ve never had that problem.
Rein tapped into his own power. But it also sat on empty. Since both males were drained of their gifts, the Firebrand warrior drew Blood’s Kiss from its sheath, the sword whistling, the rubies catching the sun and glowing like fire.
