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In reply, Jack spoke a small incantation, a prayer that only he could fashion. The glom darkened considerably, and from the fatal blackness arose the creatures of the Underworld, the Black Fire elementals at his command, as one of the First Born, an Angel of the Dark, captain of the lost and withering souls of Hell.
Abbadon might be chained, but Jack still carried his spirit, and the primal creatures bowed to their master. He screamed as he drove his dark army into battle. How ironic that stripped of his power to transform, only then did he recall the breadth and depth of the darkness that had molded him. For too long he had not made use of the powers of the Dark, had not tapped into the deep, hidden strength of the Underworld where he had been made and his name forged in fire and death.
The dark creatures overpowered the Venators in strength and number. Jack pitied the Truth Seekers until he remembered Schuyler’s anguished face from earlier that evening. The Countess had brought death and bloodshed to their bonding. That could not be helped now. He only hoped Schuyler had been able to carry out her part of the plan, that she and her friends were safe.
Jack looked down at the band of steel that was wrapped around his finger, dull and ordinary, even as its dark magic glowed with a fiery treachery.
FIVE
Rescue Party
Schuyler shivered as Jack disappeared into the glom. He would be vulnerable in the glom, just as the Venators had wanted. What would become of him? She had to trust that he would be fine. That he could take care of himself, and that he had understood what she could not tell him.
Before they had set off, Jack had asked her to believe in him and follow their plan. He would draw all the Venators to the glom and take care of them there while she and Bliss freed Oliver. Jack had been clear about one thing: whatever happened, she had to trust him. Even if something happened that she did not understand. He had asked her to promise, and she had agreed.
“Ready?” she asked Bliss, looking up at the ceiling.
“Are you sure you can do this?” Bliss asked, looking doubtfully at the thick planks.
Schuyler thought back to her earlier encounter with the Venator. She had not known the full strength of her sword until the moment she had nearly hacked apart the entire roof structure without so much as breaking a sweat. “I think I can make a little hole in the floor.” She smiled as she raised her sword to the floorboards above.
The blade carved a rough hole in the ceiling. Schuyler leapt through the gap and gazed down at Bliss. “Join me?” she asked. Bliss frowned and Schuyler realized she had forgotten that her friend now lacked the power she took for granted. “Sorry,” she said as she reached down through the hole and lifted Bliss up into the room.
They found themselves staring at a sea of blank faces. Schuyler met the impassive gaze of the nearest Venator. He looked as if he were in a trance. Her heart raced. Jack’s plan was working. He had drawn the Venators into the glom. Now it was her turn to complete the rescue.
“Let’s split up, make sure they’re all gone,” Schuyler said.
They made their way through the catatonic crowd. When a person was in the glom, their body remained limp and motionless in the physical world. She looked into the eyes of each Venator she passed and saw Bliss doing the same. The army was defenseless. Defenseless only if they had all moved into the glom, she thought. She knew better than to believe that the Truth Seekers would leave themselves unprotected. There had to be someone here who was pretending, playing dead, playing possum. She had to find him before he found her.
“Umgghh.”
The sounded echoed through the silent hall. It had to be Oliver. He was somewhere in the back, obscured by the mass of bodies. Schuyler and Bliss raced toward him from opposite sides of the room. Schuyler shoved right and left, pushing roughly through the somnolent Venators that had taken her friend hostage and threatened his life.
She found Oliver, gagged and tied to an old wooden chair.
Bliss arrived at the same time. She looked over her shoulder and said, “I think they’re all out, Sky.” Gingerly, she poked one of the Venators on his shoulder while staring directly into his dead eyes.
“Keep looking; we are not alone. I’m sure of it,” Schuyler said, as she ripped the gag from Oliver’s mouth.
He let out a quick cough and took a deep inward breath before raising his head. “Thanks,” he said softly. He looked around with tired eyes, confused. “Bliss, is that you?”
“The one and only.” Bliss grinned. “Good to see you,” she said, punching him on the shoulder.
“We need to get out of here,” Schuyler said, as she cut the ropes binding Oliver’s chest. “Can you walk?” she asked.
He lifted himself to his feet and nodded. She grabbed his hand and led the other two toward the hole in the floor.
“That was easy,” Bliss said, as they shimmied through the unconscious army.
“Not quite,” a voice said quietly.
Schuyler turned around. She recognized that voice.
One of the sleeping Venators lunged forward. It was the same one who had attacked her earlier.
“The three of you are going to help me end this,” the Venator said, and with a wave of his hand, everything went dark.
When Schuyler opened her eyes again, there was a wild howling in the background.
