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“Hey,” she yells in irritation as we land on the narrow outcropping of rock. “What are you doing?”
I don’t dare tell her I’m keeping her safe or potentially saving her life. Those are primary, but my secondary reason is nearly as important. “You’ve got the most powerful weapon. I need you at a high vantage point where you can see everything. You blast the demons if they get too close to any of us.”
She nods, doing exactly as I ask by blasting a group of demons slinking toward Amell.
I prepare to bend distance back down into the fray, but hesitate, turning to her. “And if you get a clear shot at Rune… take it.”
“Got it,” she replies, and that’s all I need to hear. I’m gone in an instant, appearing behind Amell. He’s swinging the mace at Ariman but the priest keeps blocking it with his spells. His magic is ancient and powerful, and I know the king of the Underworld well. He’d rather tear Ariman apart, not only for facilitating this entire thing but as payback for what he did to me for twenty-eight years.
I reach an imaginary hand inside of Ariman and quickly locate the deep well of magic he’s accumulated over millennia of practicing the dark arts. It pulses angrily at my touch, and his eyes widen with horror from my invasion.
Now you know how it feels, bastard.
I give a hard yank, one forceful rip, and it explodes from his body in a swirling mass of insidious power I hold in my palm.
Ariman shrieks and stumbles back from Amell, who frowns at his opponent, before glancing at me. I close my hand, snuffing out the ancient power as if squishing a bug.
“No!” Ariman screams in agony.
I turn to Amell. “Now you can do as you wish with him.”
Stepping back, I enclose the two immortals in a shielded dome so Amell can mete out justice in his own slow, torturous way. I can’t feel bad for the priest, though. He had it coming.
From above on her ledge, Finley points the bolt at the crevice and lays down a swath of fire that incinerates the creatures before they climb out. They shriek in fury as their cries evaporate into hisses of death. My sister is brilliant.
Carrick is easily dispatching the remaining demons, and I dare not look at Rune and Maddox yet. There’s one more thing I have to do now that my powers are back.
Though the distance isn’t but about thirty feet, I don’t waste time running, instead bending distance to the cages where the gods are being held. I hold my palms out close to the glowing edges and feel the tingle of the Blood Stone magic holding them in. I push closer, and it burns.
Fuck, that’s strong.
I shore up my resolve, push aside all doubts circulating around my ability to be a powerful deity, and I blast the cages with everything I have. It’s not easy like quashing Ariman’s power was, but I feel it tremble before me. I strain from the effort and remind myself the Blood Stone is indeed powerful, but I’m a god. More important, some of that power the gem holds is due to my sacrifice, which means it’s only strong because of my grace.
That last realization suffuses me with the confidence I need and I almost cry as I see the glow start to dissipate until it’s completely snuffed. There’s no magic left binding the gods, only the delicate scrolled bars of gold, which any one of them could easily break.
Onyx moves first, rolling to her side and groaning. I don’t waste time aiding her. She’s going to have to figure things out quickly because Rune needs to die.
I search for the demigod and former god across the crevice, smoky from the melted demon bodies. Every once in a while, one crawls to the top, and Finley blasts it. Through the haze, I blearily make out Rune and Maddox locked together, but no details. I’m relieved Maddox is still alive and battling, but I’m well aware that the Blood Stone gives Rune an edge.
Softly blowing out my mouth, I send a gust of air to clear the smoke and I give an involuntary cry of fear for what I see.
The battle-ax is lodged deep in Maddox’s back, his face contorted in pain. Rune’s hands are clamped on his shoulders, and the red beam of light that was shooting from the Blood Stone into me is now boring into Maddox’s chest. There’s no mist of white going in the opposite direction.
No give-and-take the way Rune did to me.
I survey Maddox’s condition, and while a battle-ax in the back won’t kill him, whatever Rune is doing with the Blood Stone is draining his life. His skin is pale as snow, cheeks caving inward before my very eyes. His legs buckle, but the energy from the Blood Stone keeps Maddox upright as Rune destroys him from the inside out.
“No,” I whimper in anguish as I watch Maddox’s long blond hair turn gray, his eyes fading to a dull, muddy green as they sink into his head. His body gets thinner… wasting away until his clothes hang off him.
Despair holds me for only a second before white-hot rage explodes inside me. I lift my face to Finley up on the ledge. She’s curbed most of the demons coming out, but some still escape. My attention flicks over to the protective dome I put around Amell, and I’m not even shocked to see he’s torn Ariman to pieces. He’s drenched in the priest’s blood and looking satisfied. Carrick continues to slice through the remaining demons oozing from the crevice.
I lift my hand high in the air and summon the bolt from Finley.
CHAPTER 21
Zora
Finley cries outin surprise as Cato’s bolt flies from her hand, rockets through the cavern, and lands in my grip. I whirl a quarter of a turn, aim it at Rune, and give him a blast.
