“You will not best me! I swear, I’ll rip that cocky head right off your shoulders!” I weakly wheezed, my arms shaking violently as I tried to pull myself upright.
Ambermourn tsked and walked up to me, placing his foot on my back to shove me back into the ground. “It’s a shame, really, that you chose the path you did. We could have built something wonderful together, but you like to play people like violins toyour liking.” I groaned as he stepped on me harder. “You little Gods think you’re so powerful? Let me show you what real power is.”
“You said you wouldn’t hurt anyone, that you would bring back my sister! Was that all a lie?” Isadora fumed, her eyes turning pure red.
Ambermourn rolled his own. “You stupid, gullible girl. Stay out of my way. Do what you do best and go back to being a spineless little bitch.” Isadora went to reach for her sword, but Ambermourn flicked his hand, which made a black portal appear. With a stretch of his index finger, she flung backwards and into the portal, which made it close with a sharp smack. With her gone, he flipped through the pages of the book and to the middle, which I knew was the section about the God of Death. “Let’s see, let’s see... ah, here it is. The summons for the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.”
“Evander, please, don’t do it! You have no clue what you will unleash!” I wheezed.
“Oh, I have every clue.” He let out a dark laugh, his eyes flashing pure black. “I’ll make that little brat Nicodemus Crawford beg me for mercy. The most powerful Elemental to exist, ha! I’ll show him what real power is!”
“EVANDER!” I screamed. The feeling returned to my body, and with that burst of energy, I grabbed his ankle and snapped it forward. He tripped and almost hit the floor, but instead, spun on his other leg and conjured a portal. I knew I had to stop him, so I scrambled upright and through the portal after him, racing across the grass.
Ambermourn flipped through pages to get back to his original spot, then turned and held a hand out towards me. “It’s time this world saw you for who you really are, Atlas Crawford.”
“Please don’t do this! I’m begging you!” I choked out.
For a moment, my plea seemed to work. His expression softened, as he could see the pure desperation in my own, and he almost fell for it. Bodhi raced forward and bit Ambermourn’s leg as hard as he could, snapping him out of that compassionate mindset. Ambermourn flicked Bodhi across the ground at me; I caught him and cuddled him close as he whined from the pain. His slick smile lit up like a firework. “You and those mangy mutts… let’s see what happens when they prove to us all what they really are.”
“EVANDER!”
I went to rush him, but he spoke the spell so fast, so clearly, that it made the entire world crumble around me. “Quattuor Equites Apocalypsis evoco. Chaos in hunc mundum adferte et aequilibrium restituite!”2
The world grew quiet, like sound had been sucked out of existence by a vacuum. My pulse beat in my head wildly, quivering in my chest. My arms swung lifelessly until they hit my sides, where for a moment, a peaceful silence enveloped us.
Ambermourn waited to see if the spell had worked, curious about my reaction. He took a step forward and breathed my name. “Atlas…?”
1. Ruina Dei: Ruin the God
2. Quattuor Equites Apocalypsis evoco. Chaos in hunc mundum adferte et aequilibrium restituite: I summon the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Bring chaos to this world and reset the balance
Chapter twenty
A Catastrophic Catastrophe
Nicodemus
Dad was late again. This pattern of his lately was getting out of hand, and each time he flaked on me, I grew more and more impatient with his nonsense. Regardless of his recent ‘side mission’ he still had responsibilities to me and his role, and I was not the only one growing frustrated by his absence.
Mom sat on the couch in my dorm room with her arms crossed, eyebrows furrowed, and a disgusted grimace smeared across her face. Her right eye twitched every time I checked my phone, every time I peeked out of the door, or glanced out of the window. Eventually, I gave up waiting for him and sat down beside her. “So, want to go without him? He’s wasted enough of our time today.”
“I ask for one day a month, one damn day that we spend together as a family. Apparently, he’s too busy fucking Ambermourn to make time for hisactualwife and child!” she acidly spat.
I flicked her nose, which was crinkled from her scowling. “And to think I fell for the idea that you were ok with him doing this.”
“Cut the sarcasm, Nicodemus,” she hissed.
I put a hand up innocently. “Just trying to lighten the mood is all.” I checked my phone one final time before switching it off and stuffing it deep into my pockets, a reminder to stop. My eyes drifted to the window, where in the distance, clouds had begun to gather. They were as thick and black as tar, and lightning cracked through them ominously. I squinted hard at the mass, unsure of what I was looking at. “Huh, those are some weird storm patterns. Think Griff and Praxis are playing around up there?”
“I’m not sure. It does look quite nasty.” Mom stood to lean on my shoulder and watch the spreading clouds. “I hope everything is ok…”
A violent rush sounded behind us, and to my surprise, Claude flopped onto the floor. He scrambled to catch his bearings before grabbing my shirt and shaking me wildly. “Nick, you need to come quick! It’s Atlas!”
“What? What’s wrong?” I bawled, catching him to help him stand up.
He was panting on so much adrenaline that he could barely breathe in between words. “Ambermourn, he-…! He used the spell on him! He summoned the Horsemen! He got his hands on the Liber Silentium!”
“What? How?” Mom exclaimed.
