Dark Illumination Read online

  “This is ridiculous,” he hefted the sword up.

  I started building the magic around me again. I wasn’t sure I could magically take it from his hands, but I was willing to try. The magic flowed from me, flowed into the center of the darkened circle. I began to pull magic from the other Witch. It filled the circle, tried not to mix with mine. But mine was stronger.

  “What?” He faltered, the spell that kept his face shadowed also faltered just a little. I still couldn’t see him, but I didn’t need to. I had him. He hadn’t been expecting that.

  “What?” I repeated, pulling more magic from him.

  “You can’t do that.” He told me.

  “Uh, yeah, actually, I can,” I pulled more from him.

  I let go of the illumination spell. I needed to concentrate on getting the sword. The darkness cleared, street lights became visible again. The sword began to move within the Witch’s hand. He struggled with it.

  “The problem with facing a more powerful Witch is that the things you don’t think they can do, they can,” I told him as the magic finally ripped the Strachan sword from his hands. It clattered at my feet. I picked it up. The sheath came next. I put it on, placed the sword in it. Everything felt right with the world again. I stopped pulling on his magic.

  He fell to his knees and began to laugh. Before I had a moment to process what was going to happen, he smashed the entire bottle of potion against the concrete. The magic that hung in the air instantly joined the magic floating above the potion.

  There was another moment when I thought everything would be fine. Nothing was happening. To my horror, that changed as the first summoned wyvern came out of the puddle.

  The wyvern was green with shiny scales. His eyes were elliptical, like those of a snake and completely black. They didn’t seem to have an iris. His wings held his body about a foot off the ground as he stroked them in smooth, easy motions. His tail was curved up under him, flowing between his legs and onto his stomach. If anything looked like a flying serpent, this was it. I had never seen one up close. I was pretty sure I didn’t want to see another one.

  It opened its mouth and growled at me. I pulled the sword back out. Wyverns are smaller, meaner versions of dragons. And they have wings that are perfectly sized to make them fly. Dragon wings were essentially useless, too small to lift them from the ground.

  “Brenna!” Someone shouted my name. I refused to take my eyes off the wyvern that seemed to be doing the same to me.

  A second one popped through the liquid. Lighter in color and slightly smaller than the first, it was no less dangerous. I took a step back. The first opened his mouth again, this time, flames shot from him. I felt it blister my skin on contact.

  I had less than a second to make a decision. I could step forward and see what sort of damage the sword would do or I could turn tail and run. I stepped forward, the sword moving under its own as it sliced into the wyvern. It hiccupped, the flames stopped, it hiccupped again.

  I stepped back. The wyvern attacked again, this time coming at me with talons out. He seemed determined to get me back for the gash in his side.

  I turned tail and ran. There were others behind me. Safety in numbers.

  As I ran, I felt flames hit my back. I didn’t turn to see if one or both of them were following me. I tossed myself to the ground as Ba’al took to the sky. He rushed past me, just inches from my head. I felt the draft from his wings he was so close. The flames stopped.

  I stood back up and turned. Ba’al slammed into the first wyvern and swept him into the sky. They both disappeared from sight. A third wyvern now caught my attention. The second was coming towards us.

  “Brenna!” Lucifer yelled my name.

  I was starting to feel like a top. I turned back around and now ran away from the wyverns and towards my father and siblings. Fenrir shot past me, transforming as he ran. My foot slipped on something gelatinous and I found myself staring at the sky. I didn’t want to look; I knew that I had slipped on goo from Fenrir.

  “Are you all right?” Eli yelled.

  “Yep,” I didn’t move. Nothing was broken, I wasn’t particularly injured from the fall, but it was embarrassing. Of all the ways to end up on the ground, slipping on goo in the heat of battle was not among them.

  “Then get up,” Lucifer yelled.

  “Ugh,” I moaned back. I rolled over, got up and decided I wasn’t going to run any more. I would walk back to safety, even if it meant I would get eaten by a wyvern.

  “Brenna, run!” Eli started to shout.

  “Good god, girl, get a move on!” Levi also shouted at me.

  I chanced it and looked over my shoulder. wyverns were no longer my biggest worry. There were six or seven of them about, but they were being preoccupied by the next thing that had come out of the puddle. My mouth fell open; my feet froze to the ground. I was staring at Cerebus once again.

  “Brenna!” Gabriel grabbed onto me.

  “Uh, Hell Hound!” I shouted, pointing at the massive beast.

  “Yeah, it’s hard to miss,” he said as he pulled on me.

  “You guys are going to have to send it back.” Levi told me as Gabriel dragged me back to where they were all assembled. Cerebus plucked a wyvern out of the air and ate it. I could hear the crunching of bones.

  “How the fuck did he get Cerebus through there?” Lucifer asked.

  “Who cares,” I looked at my father. “It’s here, what the hell do we do about it?”

  “Can you send it back?” He asked.

  “No, I don’t have a potion or a spell or anything that will make a hell hound go back through a magical portal to the Island. Can we somehow subdue it and get Pendragon to teleport it back?”

  “You want us to subdue Cerebus?” Levi gave me a look. I realized Anubis wasn’t in the group.

  “Do you have a better suggestion?” I asked looking around. I didn’t find Anubis; I knew where Ba’al and Fenrir had gone. “Where’s the Vampire?”

  “He went after the Witch. After he got Cerebus through the magical portal, he took off. Guess the Hell Hound was too much for him. Anubis went after him.” Livi shrugged.

  “Oh god, which way?” I asked.

  “Towards the motel,” she answered.

  “Hold Cerebus off, I have to save Anubis,” I yelled as I ran from them again.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  I took side streets and alleys to avoid the Main Street chaos. I ran two streets away. People were huddled at windows. The fear evident on their faces. This was getting way out of hand. Now, Anubis, the worst off of the damaged Overlords, was going to go head to head with the Witch.

  Another street and I was still too close to hear anything other than the wyverns and Cerebus. There was a low grumble that shook the street beneath my feet. Everything became deadly silent. Even my footfalls seemed to have become quieter.

  The rumble stopped. The chaos returned, but I had moved another street down. I was now moving blindly. I didn’t know where I was or where they had gone. I tried to listen for them.

  Finally, I heard a growl. I recognized it as Anubis. I ran towards it, opening up my mind, hoping to see magic.

  It took another block to find any trace of it. The cerulean signature was becoming all too familiar to me. I followed it.

  Anubis had him by the arm. He had wrenched it behind the Witch, it was obviously dislocated and possibly broken. But the Witch was building magic. I could see it forming in front of him. My main fear was that he would force it into Anubis, force it into his curse.

  I didn’t hesitate. I didn’t have time. I ran forward at full speed.

  “Ani!” I shouted as the Witch pushed the first bit of his magic.

  Anubis rocked on his heels from the force of it. He let go. His eyes changed, turned blood red. Tables were turning very quickly.

  “Anubis!” I shouted again. I was only a few feet from them. The Witch pushed more magic.

  Anubis didn’t move this time. His fangs elongated. His
face changed just enough to make him look evil.

  “Stop!” I came up on them. “You have got to stop.”

  The Witch turned to me. He pushed magic into me. There was no curse to find or break. I took a deep breath and returned the magic with more force. I felt it slide into him. He fell backwards. Anubis raised his muzzle skyward and let out a blood-curdling noise that didn’t sound human.

  “Anubis, stop!” I touched him, gently.

  He turned to look at me. The eyes drained back to blue. The teeth retracted.

  “Brenna,” he looked like a man who had just been woken from sleep.

  “You were going to feed,” I told him.

  “What did you do to the Witch?” He asked.

  “What he did to you.” I touched his face.

  “Is he dead?”

  “Not hardly, I figure we have about a minute before he comes to and he is going to be pissed and twice as bad.” I told him.

  “Why?”

  “I pushed magic into him. He’s been healed.”

  “You did that because?”

  “It kept you from eating him or drinking his soul.”

  “Oh, great. So now we have Super Evil Witch on our hands.”

  “Maybe we should subdue him while he is out, instead of talking about it.” I said.

  “Too late,” Anubis said.

  The magic slammed into both us. I felt myself lifted from the ground. I flew backwards and slammed into a building of some sort. The wall gave beneath my weight and I was lying on the ground looking at someone’s ceiling. A face swam into my vision. She looked pasty white. I couldn’t blame her.

  “Ow,” I said.

  “Who pays for the wall?”

  “Homeowner’s insurance.” I stood up and left through the broken wall.

  “I don’t have homeowner’s,” the woman shouted as I went back at the Witch.

  I couldn’t do weapon spells, but I could still do magic. I cast a conjure spell. Sonnellion appeared beside me.

  “You summoned?” He looked at me.

  “How do I beat this son of a bitch? He just keeps coming at me.”

  “You do exactly what you do best,” Sonnellion smiled. I didn’t like the smile, so I sent him back to the ethereal.

  But his magic was still hanging around. I pulled it into me. Anubis sank fangs into the Witch, not Vampire fangs, but Jackal fangs. His jaws crushed through the bone. The Witch screamed. The world seemed to slow down.

  The Witch hit Anubis with a spell. Anubis went sprawling across the road, his body twitching. A thought suddenly hit me; he was a one trick pony so to speak. It was the same electrical spell he had hit me with the first day. He didn’t seem to have much other than the potion and a few spells.

  “Hey!” I shouted at him. He turned on me, casting the spell again. I was ready for it. I pushed magic at it. The spell reversed and hit the Witch.

  I stepped on his chest as he lay twitching on the ground. I took a deep breath. I could feel him breathing. It wouldn’t take much to crush the life out of him.

  Anubis moaned. The Witch echoed him. I waited for him to come around.

  “I win,” I told the Witch as his eyes opened.

  “Not yet,” he rubbed his hand down my arm. It burned worse than fire. The skin on my arm peeled and sloughed to the ground. I didn’t let a sound escape my lips despite the pain.

  I pressed my foot down just hard enough to make it hard for him to breath. He gasped for air. Trying to get words to form from his airless lungs.

  “No more magic for you,” I told him. I grabbed hold of him with my other hand, yanking him up from under me. I held him at arm’s length away from me. He wasn’t much taller, I could get him off the ground and he weighed almost nothing for me. I squeezed, my hand around his throat.

  “You have pissed off the wrong Demon, now you are going to send Cerebus back or I am going to make you regret ever meeting me.”

  He sputtered something and spit at me. My face began to burn. I dropped him on instinct. He coughed and gagged.

  I fell to the ground in pain and finally screamed. The burning sensation was even worse than it had been in my arm. I had just a moment to wonder what the hell it was.

  “Die bitch,” the Witch whispered to me. He struck me down, my body was on fire. The spell hit me full force.

  Anubis was on him. The Witch pushed magic. I felt the curse respond. I screamed again. This time out of anguish not pain. Anubis’s curse was tied to his soul, breaking it would probably kill him.

  Anubis fell to his knees. His face turned upwards. His muzzle open, wordless.

  Anubis’s soul was struggling against the power of the Witch. I was screaming for him. The magic was too powerful for either of us. How had I underestimated him so much?

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  “Brenna!” Gabriel’s voice cut through the pain.

  “Anubis,” I screamed back.

  “Got it,” Gabriel was suddenly there. His wings flashed past me. He tackled the Witch, breaking his concentration. Everything got easier. I could breathe again. I didn’t feel the need to scream anymore.

  “Get Lucifer!” I hoped someone else could hear me. Gabriel was busy.

  “He and Levi are dealing with Cerebus,” Eli’s voice.

  “Help me up,” I told him.

  “Bren, you need to do something,” Eli pleaded with me.

  I looked around. Gabriel was getting his ass kicked. The Witch was hitting him with spell after spell. However, while Gabriel had his attention, I could do something.

  I took hold of Eli’s hand. He gave me a wide eyed look. I ignored it. The magic between us began to build. I waited until I thought I had enough to cast the conjure spell. I thought of Gregorian the Chimera.

  “Demon,” Gregorian’s voice floated into my head.

  “We need help,” I asked him.

  “How need help?”

  “Cerebus is here. We have a Witch casting dark magic. Anubis is hurt. There are wyverns everywhere.”

  “Understand,” Gregorian turned from me. His eyes found the Witch. He turned back.

  “What?” I asked.

  “I cannot help.”

  “Why Gregorian?”

  “He is tied to the Vampire.”

  “How so?”

  “Magic.”

  “Damn,” I sighed.

  “Help with wyverns.” Gregorian lumbered off towards the sound of noise. I wasn’t entirely sure what I thought Gregorian would do, but some part of me had hoped he would eat the Witch.

  “That didn’t help.” Eli told me.

  “I know, I’m winging it and I’m not doing a good job.”

  “Let me,” Eli started to pull magic from me. I felt myself draining fast. Gabriel, Fenrir, Anubis and Ba’al were all pulling energy from me. Now Eli was pulling magic. I didn’t know how much I had left.

  Someone grabbed hold of my hand. I turned and found Daniel. He smiled at me. I felt a little stronger.

  Eli created arrows from thin air and they aimed themselves at the Witch. They flew straight and hit their target, he stumbled, distracted. Gabriel fell to the ground, he moved slowly, crawling back towards us.

  Daniel took a turn. Rocks began to rain down on top of the Witch. They pummeled him, beating him to his knees. It kept him from being able to regroup or attack.

  Eli began another attack, shooting flames from his hands. They caught the Witch on fire. His screams began to drown out the sound of the wyverns and Cerebus.

  “Enough,” Daniel said. He began walking towards the Witch.

  “Daniel,” I warned.

  “I got it,” he smiled back at me.

  “You are in trouble,” Daniel cast another spell, binding the Witch.

  “That was easy enough,” I frowned.

  “Not easy, just effective,” Eli gave me a smile that looked as tired as I felt.

  “I’ll bring him along,” Daniel hoisted the bound Witch using magic. He floated behind the teenager like he
was on a leash. I couldn’t help but feel proud of my brother.

  “We need to join the others.” Eli told me. “They weren’t winning when we came here.”

  “How bad?”

  “Cerebus is taking it out of them. We only know how to send back what we conjure.” Eli frowned.

  “I know. Damn, if only…” I looked at the unconscious Witch. “Why is his face still not visible?”

  “What?” Eli asked.

  “Can you see his face?”

  “No, I thought it was the light.”

  “I’ve seen him three times now and I have no idea what he looks like. Even two feet from me, I can’t see his face. What the hell is it?”

  “It has to be a spell.”

  “Yes, but obviously not one that he cast.” I told Eli.

  “Surely not,” Eli gave him a sideways look.

  “Find the mark, take it from him,” I told Eli.

  “You find it, I’m not touching him.”

  “Oh good grief,” I walked over. Even standing over him, his face was hidden in dark shadows. I dug around his pockets and didn’t find the Strachan mark.

  “Bren,” Eli suddenly pointed at me.

  “What?” I asked, turning to look at me.

  “Maybe he isn’t carrying it, maybe he’s wearing it,” Eli suggested.

  “That’s just wrong,” I looked at Daniel.

  “I’m not strip searching him,” Daniel told me. “I’ll keep him bound for you though.”

  “Thanks for all the help,” I sighed and pulled off the hat. It wouldn’t budge. I yanked on the brim, on the tip, used both hands, it never moved.

  “What the fuc…” There was a loud crashing noise and flames shot into the sky where the wyverns and Cerebus had been.

  “We’ll deal with him later. Daniel can you hold him? Take him, Gabriel and Anubis back to the motel. Keep them close to you,” Eli told Daniel.

  “No problem, I’ll call Pendragon while I’m there.” Daniel started walking towards the motel. It was less than half a mile, but it didn’t settle well with me. The Overlords were magically picked up and trailed behind him as well. Not for the first time, I realized that my magical education was lacking. My youngest brother knew more spells than me. I would really need to crack the books after this was over.