"Always," I said.
With that, we attacked. But not the way Taverner expected. Instead of rushing the Thessmark head-on like idiots with a death wish, Aidon and I split in opposite directions. His shadows streamed left while my fire blazed right, dividing Taverner's forces down the middle.
The Thessmark hesitated—just for a second—but it was enough. Stella targeted the support columns with concentrated blasts of pink flame. We stayed within five feet of the double doors. None of us was stupid enough to get trapped if the ceiling decided to join the party.
Nana dropped to one knee and fired her shotgun at the nearest Thessmark's legs. The blessed buckshot tore through gray flesh like it was tissue paper, and the creature went downhard.Its screech cut off as it hit the floor.
She pumped and fired again, blasting a hole clean through another's stomach. "That's for the kids, you soulless bastards," she snarled, already tracking her next target.
We weren't trying to win through raw power. We were trying to create chaos, confusion, and opportunity. We had to make Taverner's carefully laid trap work against her.
Through my bond with Tarja, I felt her approval surge. "Good. Keep them off balance. I'm trying to find you an advantage—give me a minute."
I threw fire at a Thessmark coming for Stella, the flames barely slowing it down before my magical core spasmed in protest. The creature kept coming, claws extended, until Aidon's shadows wrapped around its throat and squeezed.
Jean-Marc's voice crackled through the earbud. "Mom, there's something you need to know about that Scythe. The power signature is unstable. It's not fully operational yet."
I dodged a Thessmark's swipe that would have opened my throat. "The Scythe isn't finished. That's why she hasn't used it yet," I said for Aidon, Stella, and Nana's benefit.
Taverner's expression flickered, and annoyance broke through her smile. But it was enough to confirm Jean-Marc's analysis. She'd needed more time, and we’d stopped her by showing up when we had. Thank the gods we hadn’t rested for a few hours first. She didn’t need another weapon to use against us.
"You're right," Taverner said, her voice losing some of its warmth. "It's not quite ready. Another few hours and it would have been perfect. Capable of harvesting multiple subjects simultaneously." She pulled a vial from her pocket, the same kind she'd consumed before. Orange light swirled inside like trapped fire. "But I've learned to improvise."
She uncorked it and drank. Years fell away from her face again, and power bled into her eyes until they glowed like miniature suns. She’d just consumed the stolen essence of how many children? The thought fueled my determination as much as my rage.
"I don't need the Scythe to kill you," she snarled. "I just need you out of the way long enough to finish my work. Once it's complete, I'll have your babies. I'll use their power to pull my daughters back from death itself."
She raised her hands, and orange light gathered between her palms. It felt wild and unstable. "Everyone down!" I screamed.
I hit the ground hard, my ribs screaming in protest. Stella rolled behind a workstation. Nana flattened herself against the wall. The blast hit where we'd been standing, cratering the floor and sending debris flying. Aidon's shadows barely managed to deflect the worst of it, but the effort made him stagger.
Another Thessmark lunged for me while I was down. Without thinking or aiming, I tossed out a magical bomb. I was just desperate to keep those claws away from my throat. The flames caught it across the face, and it shrieked, but two more were already moving in to replace it.
"Tarja!" I sent through our bond, ducking under a Thessmark's clawed swipe. "Any time now would be great!"
"Working on it," she sent back, her mental voice tight with concentration. "The facility's power grid—it's all running off a single generator."
My heart kicked. "Can we overload it?"
There was a pause that felt like an eternity while fire crackled around my fists and Thessmark closed in from all sides. "If we do, you will lose the lights, but it might buy you some breathing room."
I relayed the plan through my earbud even as I called fire to my hands and threw it at another Thessmark. "Jean-Marc, Tarja thinks she can kill the power. Can you handle that for us?"
"Absolutely," my son's voice came back immediately. "You need any advantage you can get."
The lights flickered twice before they died completely, plunging the lab into absolute darkness. For three seconds,nobody moved. The only sound was our breathing and the wet, rasping breaths of the Thessmark somewhere in the black. Then Aidon's shadows exploded outward, and I heard Thessmark screaming.
"Now!" I shouted, letting my fire blaze bright enough to see by, turning myself into a living torch. "Hit them while they're disoriented!"
Stella's pink flames joined mine, turning the lab into a strobing nightmare of light and shadow. Nana's shotgun boomed in rapid succession. And through it all, Taverner's laughter echoed off the walls.
"You think darkness will save you?" Her voice came from everywhere and nowhere. "I've been working in the dark for fifty years."
Orange light flared behind me. I spun, throwing up a shield just as Taverner's blast hit. The impact sent me flying backward into a workstation. Glass shattered. Equipment crashed to the floor. Pain exploded through my shoulder where I'd landed wrong.
"Pheebs!" Stella's voice was sharp with panic. "Are you okay?"
"Peachy," I gasped, forcing myself upright. My shoulder was dislocated. I could feel it grinding wrong in the socket. "Just perfect."
