"We need to work fast." My voice cut through the oppressive silence. "That door won't hold much longer."
We moved quickly, using the chalk we were each carrying to draw the complex pattern Tarja had helped us design. It was essentially a massive circle with runes that would help contain the worst of the potion. It was a huge risk using the potion here,but I didn’t want to touch the relic. None of us knew what would happen then.
Nana took the north and south points while Stella handled east and west. Aidon kept watch on the stairs. I worked on the symbols, my hands shaking so badly that my lines came out uneven.
"Steady," Aidon murmured as he came over and put his hand over mine for a moment. The contact grounded me, and I finished the line properly.
I worked alongside the others, my hands moving mechanically while my mind churned through what I was seeing. The glass containers lining the shelves weren't just innocent storage. That would've been too simple.
My eyes traced the nearly invisible channels carved into the stone floor. They were as thin as spider silk but unmistakable once you noticed them. They ran from each shelf straight toward the altar, converging like tributaries feeding a dark river. Or veins. Veins pumping directly into the heart of something monstrous.
My throat tightened. If we destroyed it, all that power had to go somewhere. The discharge could be exponentially larger than Clio had calculated. From upstairs, the sound of metal tearing echoed down the stairwell. The door was giving way.
"You guys stay close to the stairs," I told them in a sharp voice. "I want you far enough from the altar to avoid the worst of the discharge and ready to intercept anyone coming down those stairs. Keep them off me while I work."
"With pleasure." Stella began gathering her witch fire in her palms. She and Nana darted across the room and positioned themselves near the stairwell entrance. They created a terrifying choke point.
"You'd better know what you're doing, Buttercup," Nana muttered, chambering a round.
"I really don't," I admitted. "But we're doing it anyway."
I finished the last line of the containment runes, and the chalk began to glow. It brightened as the magic activated. Purple light spread through the lines. Aidon moved to stand beside me at the circle's edge. His shadows were already gathering around him. "Our powers combined should be enough to enhance the warding."
Through our bond, I felt his determination. He would not leave my side. If the roles were reversed, I wouldn’t either. We'd faced death before. We'd survived Lyra. Survived the parasite. Survived every threat that had come for our family. We'd survive this, too.
I pulled the vial of primordial fire from my pocket and unwrapped it carefully. The liquid inside was contained by Mom's enchantment, which was largely her sheer force of will. "We hit it with this first. Once we break through the warding, we follow up with everything we have."
Aidon's shadows grew darker and denser than I'd ever seen them. They were death itself, concentrated into a weapon. "On three. We hit it with everything. No holding back, no second-guessing."
I called my Pleiades fire, feeling it surge through my veins until teal flames engulfed both hands. My brain still processed things from a mundie perspective at times, and in that moment, I was struck with the impossibility of creating and holding fire. This part of me had become as natural as breathing.
"One," I counted in a steady voice.
The protective stone at my hip was scorching hot now as it worked overtime to shield me from the Scythe's draining effect. Around us, the containment circle glowed brighter, preparing to do its job. "Two."
From upstairs, I heard shouting. Footsteps thundering down the stairs. Multiple sets, too many. The door had given way. "Incoming!" Nana shouted.
My magical senses picked up at least six Thessmark at the top of the stairs. They immediately began descending fast. Stella cast a protective barrier of pure radiance that forced them back. She conjured her pink witch fire and tossed balls of it. Nana's shotgun boomed twice, the blessed rounds finding their marks. We were out of time.
I looked at Aidon—this man who'd given me everything. He'd become a father figure to Nina and Jean-Marc before our triplets were even born. He'd stood beside me through every nightmare our lives had become. "I love you." I let him see the depth of my emotions.
His hand found mine, squeezing tight. "I love you too. Always."
The Thessmark were breaking through Stella's barrier. Their gray forms pushed forward despite the light searing their skin. "Three," I said. I hurled the vial of primordial fire at the Scythe with everything I had.
CHAPTER 14
The second the vial left my fingers, time seemed to slow. The primordial fire potion arced through the air, its contents gleaming like liquid starlight trapped in amber. It was volatile and utterly merciless. It shattered against the altar in a bloom of white-gold flame that burned hotter than anything I’d ever felt.
Aidon and I struck simultaneously to keep the flames from killing us. My Pleiades power erupted from my palms, meeting his shadows at a point less than a foot from the Scythe. The impact sounded like a gunshot. It ricocheted off the stone walls and rattled my teeth.
Then our magic wrapped around those primordial flames like lovers entwining. My magic and his shadows spiraled together, creating a shield around the ancient inferno. It became something neither of us could have created alone. A vortex of annihilation that burned through everything as it slammed into the weakened artifact.
For a heartbeat, nothing happened. Then the Scythescreamed. It was more of a sensation rather than a sound. It was the psychic death wail of an artifact that had been gorging on stolen life for decades. It ripped through my mind like jaggedglass. Gasping, my hands flew to my temples as the wail carved through every nerve ending.
Before I could recover, every glass container in the chamber exploded simultaneously. Hundreds of stolen essences erupted into the air. The swirling lights in various colors were beautiful, terrible, and finally free. They were no longer trapped or bound to feed the things that had murdered them.
Our containment circle held. For exactly three seconds. Then the binding magic shattered like spun sugar. Purple light fractured into a thousand glittering pieces that dissolved into nothing. The magical discharge hit us like a freight train made of pure power and rage.
