The League of Illusion: Destiny (11 page)

Chapter Twenty-Two

In the distance, Sebastian could hear a thud. It was distinctive enough to pick out from the other night sounds. It came again. Then again. The ground vibrated a little beneath their feet.

“What is that?” Skylar asked, staring toward the mountain pass.

Everyone turned that way to see a tall dark shadow emerging from between the rock.

“It’s the morrigan.”

Rhys and Jovan looked at him. “Are you sure?” Rhys asked, the pitch of his voice a little high.

“Yes. I’ve seen it up close and in person,” Sebastian said. “It’s what the elves are here for, why Drea was taken. Because she’s seen it too. It killed her little brother.”

It didn’t take long before the dark shape got closer. The morrigan’s walking stride was ten times that of a man. It was then that they could also see other forms in the dark. Elves racing toward them on horseback as well as the sorcerer Darin Hawthorne.

But Drea was not anywhere to be seen. If they killed her, Sebastian promised himself that he would make every single one of them pay.

“Ah, the Davenports and friends,” Acari said. “How nice of you to greet us.”

“Where’s Drea?” Sebastian demanded.

“Sebastian, is that you?” Acari asked, humor lacing his voice. “I hardly recognized you inside that armor. Looks like you’re prepared for battle.”

“Where is she?” he asked again.

“Don’t worry, she’s safe.”

“I want to see her.”

“You will. Eventually.”

Sebastian flexed his fingers preparing for the inevitable battle. “Don’t do this, Acari. That man who rides with you does not share your beliefs. He’s only out for one thing. Power for himself.”

Acari glanced at Darin. Something passed between them. And Sebastian didn’t think it was amicable. “Oh I’m fully aware of Mr. Hawthorne’s intentions. Thanks for the concern.”

“The great Sebastian Davenport,” Darin called. “It’s good to see you again. It’s been too long.”

“I would say the same about you, Hawthorne, but I would be lying.”

Darin laughed. “Well, I wouldn’t expect anything less from a murderer.”

“I would watch your tongue Hawthorne, in case you want to lose it.”

“What was her name again? Evangeline?” Darin chuckled. “A prostitute, wasn’t she? I believe I paid her for her services once. Overpriced in my opinion.”

Power filled Sebastian’s hands. He had to tamp down the urge to concentrate it all onto Darin and explode his head into a thousand pieces. He would use the lightning gun to win this war. His magic was a last resort. His brothers had enough for them all.

Jovan’s hands sparked to life. They were dripping with green hellfire. “I’m going to rip out your tongue for my brother, Hawthorne.”

“Ah, Jovan and Rhys. The three Davenports brothers all together again. You’ve made it so much easier for me to kill you all at once.”

“Oh, come now,” Acari said. “We can still be civil. If you move aside and let us pass, maybe the morrigan won’t step on you like bugs. I can’t promise anything, though, she can be quite temperamental.”

The horses snorted and stamped their feet. They too could feel the morrigan approach. Actually it was hard not to notice, especially when the ground shook and the metallic clicks and whirrs of moving parts echoed off the mountaintops.

Sebastian, his brothers, Skylar and Miss Stratton all looked up, way up, to see the morrigan bathed in the eerie green light of Jovan’s magical orb floating in the air.

It was a strange amalgamation of metal and organic material. There was flesh and blood there, but it was covered with pieces of metal in various shapes and sizes, like bastardized armor. Two of its three heads wore war helmets. One was shaped like a wolf, the other an eagle. Sebastian wished the third head had been covered because then he wouldn’t have to look upon its grotesque misshaped features and fire-red eyes that seemed to burn right into his soul. It opened its mouth and shrieked. It nearly blasted them backward. The sound was more mechanical than human and it hurt Sebastian’s ears.

The worst part was the gap in its body, as if two pieces had been half sewn together. And there was movement inside that hollow. He was afraid of knowing what it was. Fearing the horrible truth.

“Time’s up, I’m afraid,” Acari said. “Sounds like she’s ready for a fight.”

“So are we.” Rhys pulled his rapier from its sheath. He then slapped the rump of his horse to get it away. The other horses scattered as well.

Skylar unfolded her long
bo
staff. Miss Stratton sighted her wrist gun, which they’d found out was a double-barreled flame-thrower. She’d had fun practicing with it.

Sebastian guessed they were as ready as they’d ever be, then he heard her voice.

“Sebastian!”

He looked up and saw Drea struggling within that hollow. That had been the movement he’d spied earlier.

His gorge rose and he had trouble putting his thoughts together. He could see Drea holding on to the cords piecing the top to the bottom together, but he also saw something that froze his mind. Blood slicked those cords. Drea’s blood. She was anchored to the morrigan through them. What had they done to her?

Fury rose in him like a storm. He wanted to destroy every single one of them for this. But now he couldn’t use the lightning gun on the morrigan. Drea would be affected as well. If she was touching the metal, she would be electrocuted.

Acari must’ve realized what Sebastian had deduced, because he smiled.

Without another thought, he charged toward the morrigan. Power was already simmering inside his palms, just itching to be unleashed. As he ran, arrows whizzed by him. Two bounced off his armor with audible pings. He looked to his right to see Rhys and Miss Stratton also being attacked. They weren’t as lucky dodging the arrows. One grazed Rhys’s leg just as he released an illusion. The Bengal tiger pounced toward the elves, scaring their horses. The horses reared up, sending both elves to the ground. Miss Stratton sent a wave of fire their way, effectively providing a barrier.

Sebastian moved on, but didn’t get far before a blast of red magic hit him on his left side. He stumbled and saw Darin raising his hands to shoot another fireball at him. Sebastian clicked the switch on the blunderbuss, then, turning, sent a stream of lightning toward Darin. It narrowly missed the sorcerer and scorched the ground right in front of his feet. It gave him pause and granted Sebastian enough time to keep on going.

“I got him.” Jovan tossed his own brand of magic at Darin. A green glob hit the Hawthorne sorcerer in the side of the face. Darin cried out and brought his hands up to his burning cheek.

The morrigan was only a few feet in front of him. It just stood there, inert, as if waiting for a command. And maybe it was. Like a golem, maybe it needed to be given a directive. And, like a golem, maybe Drea was its keystone. The object that gave it power. Sebastian had to get her out of there before the war goddess drained her dry.

He was about to jump onto the beast’s boot when Acari stepped into view. He no longer had his crossbow but now carried a broadsword. Sebastian noticed him too late. The elf swung at him, hitting him in the right side, busting the lightning globe inside the satchel. The blunderbuss was useless now. He slung it over his shoulder and drew his own sword just as Acari came at him again.

Steel clashed against steel. The impact vibrated up his arm but he kept on. Back and forth they parried. The ringing of metal surrounded them.

Acari was faster. Faster than any human could ever be. A few blows got past Sebastian’s sword and struck against his armor. If he’d not been wearing it, he’d already be dead. Although the metal protected him from actual damage, the force was enough to drive him to his knees. The next blow was to his head.

The helmet protected him from the steel kiss of the blade but not the actual power of the impact. The ringing in his ears brought tears to his eyes and made his stomach lurch. He had to fight back the urge to retch.

He tore at his helmet, yanking it off his head. His right ear screamed with pain. Blood ran down his neck. His vision wavered a bit. He blinked back the dark spots in time to see Acari lift his sword for the killing strike. Gathering power, Sebastian squeezed his hand around the hilt of his sword, pushing magic into it, and thrust it forward. His magic guided his blade and it found its mark, sinking deep in the elf’s gut.

Acari’s eyes bulged and he dropped his sword to the ground. Stumbling backward, he slid off Sebastian’s blade, blood and gore streaming down his legs to pool at his feet.

“You’ll never defeat her,” he said, his voice garbled by the blood bubbling up between his lips. “Kill!” he yelled, then fell to his knees, trying to hold his guts in.

The morrigan jerked into action. It lifted its arms over its head and drew the biggest, longest sword Sebastian had ever seen. It was easily thirteen feet long, more than twice his height. With a shriek, it swung at him.

He easily dodged the blade. Because of the morrigan’s size and bulk, its movements were a lot slower and, because it had to swing downward, its accuracy was greatly flawed. Although it missed him, one of the other elves wasn’t as lucky. The morrigan’s sword cleaved him in two.

This afforded Sebastian an opportunity to move forward and jump onto the morrigan’s metal boot, grabbing hold of a plate on its shin. It did its best to try and shake him off, but he held firm, although his teeth rattled in his jaw. In the process though, one of the horses was stepped on. Sebastian could hear its pitiful snorts of pain. He couldn’t let the animal suffer. Closing his eyes, he concocted a spell, mumbling the Latin phrasing needed, and then tossed it toward the horse. His magic caressed the animal, soothing it, then put it to sleep in a flash. It died without further pain.

Once that was done, he continued to climb higher, which proved difficult because of the armor weighing him down. He glanced down to see his brothers engaged in battle. Jovan was still exchanging hellfire with Darin, while Skylar was at his side hoping to knock Darin’s head off with her
bo
. Rhys had his sword out, dueling with the other elf. His tiger illusion paced back and forth, its tail whipping, waiting its turn. Miss Stratton was there egging the tiger on, looking for any reason to shoot fire from her wrist. The female elf was off to the side, drawing in the dirt with a stick. She must’ve been the one chosen to open a new portal.

He focused on getting to Drea. That was his mission. He kept climbing. Realizing that the shaking wasn’t working, the morrigan tried another tactic. Swatting at him. But Sebastian saw what it was going to do before it did it. As its empty hand came down upon him, he unsheathed his sword and stuck it through the unprotected part of its palm.

It howled in pain. The sound nearly shattered his eardrums. It flicked its hand, trying to dislodge the sword. It didn’t work.

Sebastian clambered across its belly plate. He could see Drea fully now. Metal cords impaled her hands. She was immobile. She couldn’t move without having her hands torn apart. When he caught her gaze, she called for him again.

“I knew you’d come for me.”

“Always. I’ll always be there.”

“I’m in love with you,” she said in a rush. “I wanted you to know just in case, you know, something happens.”

“Nothing’s going to happen. You’re going to be fine.” He pulled himself up a little farther.

“Aren’t you going to say anything back?”

“What?”

“I just told you I’m in love with you, don’t you have anything to say to me?”

“I don’t really think this is the right time to be discussing this.”

“It’s exactly the right time. What if we don’t have any other time? What if this is the only time we have?”

Despite the situation, he smiled. Drea was as feisty as they came. “Drea, I’m in love with you.”

“Good,” she said. “Now get me the hell out of here.”

He climbed up into the hollow of the beast. He could now see the pain she was in. Sweat slicked her skin as more blood trickled down the cords. Her cheeks were sunken, and she looked ragged, not the vibrant woman he’d seen only days ago.

He wanted to hold her, to kiss her tears away, but now was not the time. He had to get the damn bloodsucking cords out of her first.

Carefully, he gripped one, inspected it, trying to figure out how best to remove them without hurting her even more. They were made out of coiled metal. It was hard, stiff, un-malleable, and impossible to break or cut though with a regular blade. He was going to have to melt them with his magic.

After removing the arm plates, he wrapped his hands around the cords just below Drea’s hands. “Hold still, darling. I don’t want to burn you.”

“Grab them!” Acari screamed at the morrigan. “Grab them now!”

“Hurry,” Drea begged.

Closing his eyes, Sebastian gathered every molecule of power inside him. He let it build up, then he let it out slowly through his hands. His skin grew warmer by the second, until it was scorching hot. If someone were to touch him, the person would sustain burns for sure.

“It’s working,” she said.

He opened his eyes, to see the metal growing red and dripping down to the metal floor. It looked and smelled like a smithy inside the morrigan. After a few more moments of squeezing the cords, they were melted all the way through. He released his hold, and helped Drea drag her hands down. He made sure the edges of her ruined palms didn’t touch the molten metal. Although the heat might have helped in cauterizing the wounds.

Once free of her chains, she threw her arms around him and wept. “I knew you’d come. I knew it.”

He kissed her. He had to. There was nothing more that he wanted than the feel of her lips on his. But their reunion was short-lived as the morrigan reached inside the hollow of its body to try to grab them. Its metal finger just brushed by him.

They wouldn’t be able to evade its reach for long.

He looked out across the battlefield. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes, of course. Always.”

“You’re not safe here. But you won’t be able to climb down.” Her hands were a mess of blood and gore, and looking at them made his heart ache. “I’m going to throw you off.”