The Forge of Light

By Ben Hale

Text Copyright © 2013 Ben
Hale

All Rights Reserved

To my family and friends,

who believed

And to my wife,

who is perfect

Table of Contents

Prologue: A Voice from the Dark

Part 1

Chapter 1: Visions of the Past

Chapter 2: Visions of the Future

Chapter 3: The Architect

Chapter 4: Commander

Chapter 5: The Coalition

Chapter 6: A Sniper's Mind

Chapter 7: The Stacks

Chapter 8: Killers in the Night

Chapter 9: A Secret Task

Chapter 10: Unto Dawn

Part 2

Chapter 11: Facing the Dark

Chapter 12: The Halo of Dawn

Chapter 13: The Hope of Nations

Chapter 14: Incursion

Chapter 15: Mage or Man

Chapter 16: Hunting the Master

Chapter 17: The Master of Flesh

Chapter 18: The Patriarch

Chapter 19: Vault of the Thief

Chapter 20: Hawk's Gift

Chapter 21: Dead in the Water

Chapter 22: Beachhead

Chapter 23: From the Deep

Chapter 24: Last Resort

Chapter 25: A Daughter Grown

Part 3

Chapter 26: Flight

Chapter 27: The Master's Lair

Chapter 28: Entity of Luck

Chapter 29: The Third Talisman

Chapter 30: Immortalian

Chapter 31: The Location

Chapter 32: Envoy

Chapter 33: Fallen

Chapter 34: Severed

Part 4

Chapter 35: Wrath of Oracles

Chapter 36: All-Seeing Iris

Chapter 37: Heart of Stone

Chapter 38: Depths of the Dark

Chapter 39: The Black Reaver

Chapter 40: A General's Might

Chapter 41: Plummet

Chapter 42: A New Target

Chapter 43: The Aspect of Justice

Chapter 44: Into the Dark

Chapter 45: An Oracle's Will

Chapter 46: Dying

Chapter 47: The Forge of Light

Chapter 48: Daybreak

Epilogue: Remembering

The Chronicles of Lumineia

Author Bio

Prologue: A Voice from the Dark

Leashed by threads of darkness,
the Twisted strained to advance the cloud that had absorbed much of the Earth.
A hundred feet from the human defensive line they came to an abrupt halt.
Snarling their hatred, the black creatures retreated out of sight. Then another
figure appeared.

Well off the ground, Alice glided
out of the Dark. Wisps of shadow cascaded off her form as she became visible. Then
she waited for the army on the beach to notice her. As cameras located her
form, she began to speak.

You are the survivors of this
world . . .

Millions of rasping whispers
combined into a single voice as the Dark spoke—but
the words came from her. Sinister and rending, they pierced the minds of every
man, woman, and child gathered across North and South America. From the coast
of Washington D.C., she addressed the gathering.

Your defiance is admirable . .
. but it is futile . . .

The words echoed and re-echoed through
the army that lined the continent in a seamless barricade. Soldiers from a
hundred nations filled the ranks. Militias, gun clubs, and even gangs had
joined. All fought for a dying freedom. Huddled behind makeshift barricades and
hastily constructed bunkers, they represented a desperate defense. Terror
seeped through them like poison, causing hearts and hands to tremble.

I do not seek your end . . .
only your obedience . . .

Across the center of the United
States the refugees halted where they stood. Endless stacks of steel shipping
containers were placed in neat rows, temporary housing for the displaced.
Mothers huddled inside the metal boxes, clenching their eyes shut against the
oppressive voice. Small children clung to them, whimpering in fear.

To kneel is to live . . . to
fight is to die . . .

The Dark reached to the heavens
in a forbidding wall, its limitless hunger fed by light, heat, and every known
energy. The whole of the Earth had been devoured except for the American
continents, where the remnant of free peoples had gathered.

I would have brought you peace
. . .

Over six billion of mankind had
been Twisted, but they were a mere fraction of Alice's army. Bears, wolves, and
other beasts had become brutes. Robbed of their minds, their bodies were
leashed to the Dark's will and augmented for combat. Their forms prowled the
black threshold, waiting for her order to invade.

But you have chosen war!

Her surge of anger caused soldier
and civilian alike to flinch. The heat could be felt even through the harsh
whispers. Many cried out in fear. Others sank to their knees in silence. Alice
reined in her emotions with difficulty and then spoke in a deathly calm.

At dawn my army comes . . .
and by dusk it will be finished . . .

Her ultimatum given, Alice fell
silent. The sun finally set, plunging the gathered races into their last night
of freedom. Alice withdrew from the threshold, fighting to suppress her budding
rage.

The mages had defied her will and
joined her daughter in uniting the former nations. Alice's lips curled into a
sneer as she thought of Tess. The girl had destroyed her plans time and again,
and deserved the same fate as the aurens.

She glided through the Dark until
she reached her eastern general. At twenty feet in height, the Aspect of
Justice resembled an angel. Its shimmering white wings hung still and its
massive sword touched point down. Lashing its will to hers had been one of the
greatest challenges she had ever endured. The endless Twisted awaited its
order, and it awaited hers.

She clenched her fists. The
Aspect's position had been intended for Tess. Now her daughter stood on the
opposite side of this conflict. She threw the sentient being a glance and
decided that perhaps it was for the best. As powerful as Tess was she was not
suited for the role of general. The Aspect had been crafted by the oracle of
Atlantis for a unique purpose, and had been given a name.

War ender.

Part 1

Chapter 1: Visions of the Past

Auroraq

Two Days Until Dawn

Tess gasped and fell to her
knees. Siarra was at her side in an instant. "What did you see?"

"More than I wanted
to," Tess replied. Accepting Siarra’s hand, she rose to her feet but
closed her eyes until the images settled.

Siarra flashed a sympathetic
look. "Fear of our fate blocks our farsight. You must push past your
fears."

Her vision now focused, Tess met
the gaze of her ancient ancestor. Siarra Elseerian, ancient oracle of Lumineia,
had shifted from statue to flesh an hour ago. Entombed in the guardian spell
for over nine thousand years, Siarra had waited until now to reveal her
presence. Siarra had wasted no time in guiding Tess to use her farsight. Still
in the World Room of Tryton's Academy of Magic, Siarra had helped her achieve a
glimpse of the immediate future.

Siarra’s forehead creased and she
repeated, "What did you see?"

"In two days the Dark will
reach the eastern and western coastlines of the United States and Brazil,"
Tess said, and told her about Alice's ultimatum. The image of the Dark closing
like monumental jaws onto the American continents flashed across her mind, and
she could not suppress a shudder.

"Excellent," Siarra
said, her eyebrows pulling together in thought. "Now that we know what is
coming, we can take steps to change it."

"How?" Tess asked in
surprise. "How do we stop this?"

She was still struggling with the
idea of Siarra being alive. Having an ancestor step out of history was not what
she'd expected when following Hawk's dying request. She had never dreamed that
one of the most powerful ancient oracles had been sitting at Tryton's for
millennia. To have Siarra standing in front of her was both surreal and
intimidating.

"You make a choice,"
Siarra replied. "Every choice we make impacts the future. When you know
what is coming, you have the ability to choose a different path. Even the
smallest choices have a ripple effect . . . and can alter even the result of
war.

"You don't defeat the Dark
in the moment of conflict," Siarra continued, her voice intensifying.
"You destroy the Dark here, when you see what is coming and change it. You
know better than I that the situation is dire. In my time all life stood on the
brink of extinction. Today, freedom of will is what will die. It's imperative
that you see this battle before it occurs."

"Even Hawk did not know how
to stop the Dark," Tess said. "How can I figure it out in two
days?"

"Because my mother already
did," Siarra said, and then quoted Ianna's prophecy. "Four
talismans she will require. The Crest of the Oracle is the first, the thief
will steal the second, and the troll king will bear the third. The fourth she
will have to find on her own, for I know not its location."

Siarra motioned to the pendent
around Tess's neck. "You have only the first, Tess."

Tess felt a spark of irritation
at the implication. She'd been fighting Alice's Harbingers even before coming
to Tryton's. The lack of sleep and the mountain of worry caused her temper to
rise.

"Why didn't you come out
before?" Tess asked. She didn't try to keep her anger from her voice.
"If you had shown up at the beginning you could have stopped all this, or
helped me find the talismans. Use your farsight."

"I cannot," Siarra
said, and for the first time appeared weary. "The guardian spell I endured
had a price. The curse magnifies the innate power of the receiver—but will eventually consume
them. The more power you possess . . . the quicker the enchantment destroys
your mind. Because of this farsight is no longer within my ability."

Tess's anger disintegrated as she
heard the truth in Siarra's voice. I'll live a few days, no more.

"Did you know the
consequences before you cast it?"

"I did," Siarra
replied, "but perhaps it is best if you see for yourself. May I show
you?"

Tess nodded, and Siarra closed
the gap between them. She touched her temple and withdrew a shining thread.
Then she reached out and touched Tess's mind, and her thoughts faded into
Siarra's memory . . .

***

Siarra Elseerian stared into the
empty reservoir at her feet. Unused for millennia it still bore the marks of
the ones forced to endure it. Beast and man had gouged grooves into the black,
anti-magic material as the agony of the enchantment ravaged their bodies.

Few had survived.

Those that did saw their inherent
power magnified tenfold. Bears became massive beasts capable of shredding an
entire company of horsemen. Panthers grew to gigantic proportions, capable of
protecting cities. The two guardians of the city where she stood were such an
example. For thousands of years they had killed intruders and guarded the
decaying citadel.

"Are you sure you want to do
this?" Newhawk spoke at her side.

She threw him a glance. "My
mother said the Last Oracle would need help from us."

"I'm still not convinced she
had this in mind."

Siarra didn't answer and turned
back to the reservoir below her. It had taken her years to find this secret
chamber inside Verisith, and many more to learn the nature of the enchantment.

"What about your son and
granddaughter?" Hawk asked.

"They live their lives
well," she replied. "And they will guide the school with wisdom in my
absence."

They would be the hardest to
leave, but Siarra had already said her goodbyes the best she could without
revealing her intentions. Her family knew her love for them, and that was all
she could ask for.

"What about your
students?" Newhawk asked.

"You know they will be well
taught in my absence. Tryton's Academy of Magic has surpassed even Braon's
expectations, and looks to stand for many years to come."

Her tone was confident, but it
was truly what she would miss the most, aside from her family. The student's
zeal and desire for knowledge rivaled hers in her youth, and she laughed
inwardly at their impatience—a trait she too had exhibited early in life.

The halls, lectures, and secrets
of the school were as dear to her as her own soul. For a long moment she closed
her eyes and recalled the rush of footfalls as students moved about their
schedules, and the whisper of parchment being unrolled followed by the crackle
of magic. Most would say that her role in the Second Draeken War was her
greatest achievement, but to her the establishment of the school ranked far
greater.

A frown creased her features as
she recalled the war. The invasion of Draeken's fiends had devastated their
world, and every soul had felt the heartache of loss. Following the war the
kingdoms had struggled to rebuild. The magic guilds, autonomous throughout
history, could not continue divided. Tryton's had signified more than just
building a school. It had been a symbol of unity for the mages of Lumineia.

"Siarra," Newhawk said,
interrupting her memories. "You are one of the last survivors of the War.
Once you are gone they will begin to forget."

She turned to face him.
"You're as capable as I am at guarding the peace."

Their conversation had the ring
of repetition, causing her to smile. There was nothing new he could say that
would change her mind.

"Are you sure you can
survive at your—"

"Age?" Her voice had an
edge to it now. "I'm not so old as to forget my responsibility."

"I don't believe—"

"Hawk," she said.
"I am committed to this course, and you have committed to my aid. As you
said, I am getting old, and my grave beckons. Would you have me pass away in
silence when there is someone in need?"

"Their generation must fend
for itself," Newhawk said. "Your responsibility is now. Unrest is
growing in the kingdoms even as they expand, and there is talk of a conflict
brewing in the north. You know the treaties are losing support. You are needed
at this time."

She stabbed a finger at him.
"Why are you not with Archeantial?"

He flinched at the shift in
topic. "Because Reiquen and I have accepted our place."

"You want a family,"
she pressed. "And so does she. If I don't do this, your nest will be
threatened just as much as my descendent. I am as committed as you."

He glared at her, and then issued
a bark of laughter. "When you get angry it's like seeing you during the
War." He released a sigh. "Have you said goodbye to Jack?"

Her throat tightened as she
recalled her long dead husband. "If I don't survive you will place me in
his tomb. If I do, I will have the chance to visit later."

He released a grunt. "You
said you would have to stay in solid form. How will you visit his grave?"

She sidestepped the question.
"Every time I change to flesh and blood I risk the madness of the
enchantment. It is imperative that I remain a statue until my descendent is
truly in need."

"Siarra—"

Her gaze flicked to his, and he
fell silent. Then he sighed, and said, "Perhaps I do not want to see a
dear friend die."

Emotion welled within her.
"You have been my family for a long time," she said, and embraced
him. "That is why you are here."

"To kill you." There
was bitterness in his voice now.

"Hopefully not," she
replied, and flashed a smile.

She nodded to him and then
stepped into the reservoir. Before her courage could fail her she strode to the
bottom. Although it was unnecessary, she took her time. Everything was in place.
The stone in the large cauldron above had been simmering for the requisite
time, and the magic had infused it properly. Even though the forbidden guardian
spell had not been performed in a sentenium, she believed she had cast it
correctly.

The seconds stretched as she
steeled herself for what was to come, but her fear remained. She reached down
and clipped the shackles around her feet, ashamed that her hands trembled. For
months she had dismissed all thought of what the magic would do to her, and
focused instead on the preparation. Now as she stood in the reservoir she had
no other distractions.  Her swallow sounded loud in the stillness. Then she
turned and faced Newhawk. Afraid that her voice would betray her, she forced a
nod.

His features twisted with worry,
he shook his head. Then he touched the lever that would pour the cauldron into
the reservoir. Seconds ticked away, and still he did not turn it. His hand
quivered, and a tear glistened on his cheek.

"I never thought I would see
a phoenix feel fear." She said it with a smile, but he jerked his head.

"A phoenix feels fear for
the ones he loves."

Her throat tightened. "I
will not blame you if I die," she said quietly.

He jerked his head. "But I
will blame myself."

"Please," she said, and
the pleading in her voice was evident. "I lack the courage to do it
myself."

He closed his eyes, and nodded.
Clenching his fist he began to turn the lever. The ancient machinery clanked as
the gears rotated the cauldron, pouring the boiling liquid into the reservoir.
She held her breath as it touched the curving channels that wrapped around the
pit.

The liquid magic filled the
trough, and flowed around her until it found the opening. Then it poured down
to her. Its touch on her feet was like a branding iron, searing into her flesh
and seeping into her pores. The pain ripped a scream from her lips. She
struggled to pull away, but the shackles held her down as the magic climbed up
her body. She strained her neck as it reached her waist . . . and then her
chin. Panic burgeoned within her, rising with the mounting agony.

She fought her fear with every
shred of willpower she possessed, and clenched her eyes shut as the liquid
covered her head. Relentless, the magic seeped into her face and eyes. Like
thousands of needles piercing her flesh, the horrendous agony mounted. Rending
and tearing her shaking form, the liquid sank into her bones, splitting and
fraying every inch of her.

Blood poured from her and mingled
with the terrifying liquid, and became altered before seeping back into her
body. Where it flowed the excruciating torture heightened. She fell to her
knees inside the liquid, her consciousness shrieking for relief. Unable to hold
her breath any longer, she opened her mouth to scream . . .

The horrific liquid poured into
her lungs, scorching and rupturing. She collapsed, fighting to breathe, begging
for relief. Each second was an eternity of torment as the liquid magic
redefined the makeup of her flesh.

Every argument she'd used to
convince herself was gone, too weak to hold up against the onslaught of pure
torture. She clung to her memory of Jack. In her mind he dared her to survive.
His expression was of loving scorn.

You are the great oracle,
Siarra, he seemed to say. Are you going to let this defeat you?

She willed herself to fight as
the seconds stretched into hours, and then days. If she survived she would live
to fight the war her mother had foreseen, a war with the Dark.

If she survived.

Chapter 2: Visions of the Future

Tess flinched away, her mind
returning to the present. Siarra's memory had been vivid to the point of
painful, and Tess struggled to breathe. The agony faded with the images,
allowing her to face her ancestor. Siarra's expression was of sympathy.

"I'm sorry," she said.
"It was the easiest way to show you. The weight we carry is heavy, and yet
we are gifted with the capacity to protect worlds. I knew from my mother that
you would have need of me, and so I endured the guardian spell."

"How much time do you have
before you . . .?" Tess asked.

Siarra shrugged. "Perhaps a
few days before this magic consumes me."

Tess met Siarra's gaze, and
realized why she had shared the memory. It was a reminder of what they were
capable of—what Tess
had to endure for victory. Siarra had withstood an agony that had killed lesser
creatures, and the lesson was clear.

Fulfill your birthright, Tess.

Tess was stunned to silence, and
after a moment released a breath. "I'm sorry, I didn't understand."

Siarra flashed a faint smile.
"I feared that you would not be ready earlier, and that my aid would prove
futile. Hawk and I decided to wait until you had proven your abilities. Now
that you have, you must look ahead. Focus on the prophecy and allow your magic
to seek the talismans."

Tess nodded, and took a deep
breath to steady herself. Then she delved into her farsight. She was pleased to
see that it was beginning to come faster. The grayness of reality swirled from
clouds into shapes. As they materialized she began to recognize where she stood
. . .

She exited a vault. Stepping
through a high archway, she and Siarra stood on a mountain with the Dark rising
in the distance. Swarms of Twisted bats filled the air, blocking their passage
to safety. They were trapped. They launched themselves into the air and tried
to evade, but the thousands of bats became millions. Screaming and fighting,
they went down. Tess cringed, and wished she'd stayed on the ground—and the image shifted. This
time they exited the vault and Tess caught Siarra's arm.

"Wait," Tess said in a
rush. "If we fly out, we die. We need to stay in the trees, where the bats
won't catch us."

"Are you certain? Time is
against us," Siarra said.

Reaching into her pocket, Tess
withdrew a tiny red object, the object that would carry them to safety . . .

The scene changed and she saw
herself plummeting from the sky in a massive ball of white fire. Siarra flew
beside her, calling forth a tornado of immense proportions. Rather than draw
the air upward, the cyclone accelerated them toward the Earth. Then Tess caught
a glimpse of her own expression. Rage and hatred contorted her features in a
way that terrified her, and she shied away from the image . . .

Now she stood in the Recollection
with Siarra. With their combined power they separated the sword of King Tryton
from the fused rock, and the blade rose into the air. Tess felt a rush of pride
and hope as the glittering weapon brightened, its light shining brighter and
brighter . . .

Now she saw herself beside
Siarra. They stood on the summit of a great mountain. Snow and ice were whipped
into a clear night sky. Then another figure appeared, and Alice rose up to meet
them. The rage on her face sparked fear in Tess's gut.

"You have doomed us all,
Tess . . ."

Tess summoned her magic and
called to Siarra—but
she did not answer. Desperate, Tess sought to find her—but the view had shifted. Now she stood on the
top of Auroraq. Instead of floating in the sky, the city lay smoldering on the
Earth. Bodies littered the city, the region, and everything beyond. Twisted and
auren alike, everything on Earth had perished. Tess alone remained alive. The
Dark had been defeated, but too late.

Tess had failed.

Guilt assailed Tess, and her
vision snapped back to the present. Breathing hard from what she'd just seen,
she looked to the World Room. Living trees formed the pillars to the roof, and
streams flowed across the walls and floor, gurgling softly. Instead of the
intended serenity, Tess saw the room in the rubble it would become. Without
prompting, Tess told Siarra what she had witnessed.

Siarra released a held breath.
"It appears that we must shift our focus. If we seek to defeat the Dark
first, we will be too late. The races of Earth require help to survive, help
which you can give them. We will retrieve Tryton's sword and the object from
the thief's vault in due time."

Weary and afraid from the effort,
Tess shook her head. "I don't know how much more I can bear. I've seen our
world die."

"You can stop it,
Tess," she said. "You must craft a plan for what will give the races
time, and then verify if it succeeded. It is the only way."

Tess wiped the sweat from her
brow, and sought to delve into her farsight once more. Impeded by her fatigue,
her magic was slow in coming. After several attempts she finally managed to
calm her heart sufficient to see the future.

She tried a dozen ideas, but each
failed. They couldn't enchant the aurens' weapons or help them defend
themselves, nor would any barrier slow the Dark's advance. She even considered
surrendering in order to gain time. Cringing at the holocaust of that choice,
she kept trying. Some showed promise, but in the end they all proved futile.

"I can't," she finally
said, her voice cracking. "No matter what I do they all die. Even if we
destroy the Dark, Alice wins by the time the sun sets."

Siarra shook her head. "We
cannot accept that. I know that together we can—"

"Wait," Tess said, and
held up her hand. "I have an idea."

She had considered ways to
empower the aurens or mages, and strategies for them to shield themselves. In
every attempt she had considered what she could do alone. But she had Siarra
now. Renowned as one of the most powerful ancient oracles, her magic had been
magnified by the guardian spell.

A thread of hope touched Tess as
she realized what she must do. Diving into her farsight, she once again sought
an answer, this time for what they could do together. Without fear, without
doubt, her certainty glided past her previous barriers. Like shadowy figures
rising from gray clouds, she saw the future unfold . . .

The Twisted overwhelmed the
aurens, slaughtering countless millions. Too late, a mighty weapon was
constructed, and rained the power of heaven upon the black horde. Tess felt a
deep regret, and wished the weapon had been built earlier . . . and it was.

Everything she'd previously
witnessed faded, and was replaced with a defiance unlike any ever seen on
Earth. Inspired by the mighty weapon, the gathered races fought as a united
people. For the first time since Siarra had stepped from her statue, Tess
smiled, and then opened her eyes.

"You know what must be
done," Siarra said, and a knowing smile creased her lips.

"I do," Tess replied,
and turned to leave the World Room.

Since the battle for Auroraq
she'd felt lost. She'd pinned her hopes on stopping the Dark then, but she had
failed. Then Hawk had died defeating the Iseonix. Now her perspective had
shifted. Now she had a plan.

"We need to talk to
Derek," Tess said as they stepped outside into the darkened paths of
Tryton's. Then she came to a stop and met Siarra's expectant gaze. "He's
the architect."

"Of what?" Siarra
raised an eyebrow.

Tess thought of what the weapon
would become, and how much it would defend. When the gathered armies were on
the verge of defeat, it would defy the vast army that Alice had assembled. A
smile spread on her face as the name came to her.

"The Halo of Dawn."

Chapter 3: The Architect

Siarra surprised her by smiling.
"Commander Braon was the man I leaned on for such things. Even Tryton's
Academy of Magic was his idea."

Tess was shocked to see that it
was still night. She'd discovered Siarra at just after midnight, which meant
only a few hours had passed since Siarra had turned to flesh. Tess clenched her
jaw and reminded herself the battle would begin in forty-eight hours.

"I don't know what I'd do
without Derek," Tess said, and resumed walking.

Her heart tightened as she
considered that. She cared about him more than she knew how to express. If she
lost him it would kill her. Subconsciously she jumped into the air, intent on
flying to Derek's room. Abruptly she recalled her companion and glided to a
stop.

Spinning back to Siarra, she
said, "Sorry . . ."

"I discovered gravity
magic," Siarra said, hovering at her side. "Remember?"

It was a reminder of what Siarra
could do, and it eased the tension in Tess's heart. Siarra kept pace with her
easily, and they glided through the night. Tess threw her a glance and saw that
Siarra's expression was of intense satisfaction.

"It's been a while,"
Siarra admitted. "I'd almost forgotten how inspiring it is to fly."

"I never tire of it,"
Tess said.

"I discovered gravity magic
at the end of the Second Draeken War," Siarra said, "but it took me a
decade to learn to apply it on my own body."

"Afraid of heights?"
Tess guessed.

"I was," Siarra
replied. "To learn the purpose of that fear without a teacher was . . .
difficult. You cannot imagine the joy I felt when my body pulled free of the
Earth." She laughed. "Or perhaps you can."

They reached the dorms of
Tryton's and Tess descended into the gigantic trees. After a moment of
searching she found the cabin that contained Derek's room. Alighting on his
balcony, she knocked on the door. A moment later Derek appeared.

"Tess?" His expression
was haggard, worn. "Everything okay . . .?" He caught sight of
Siarra, and his mouth locked open. Inwardly Tess cringed. In her haste to get
to him she'd forgotten how recognizable Siarra would be.

"Mind if we come in?"
Tess asked.

Still staring at Siarra, he swung
the door open and waved his hand to brighten the room. His roommate, Warren,
jerked upright.

"I know what's going
on," he snapped, "but really? You can't have your girlfriend in here.
Do you know how little sleep we've had?"

"We have visitors."
Derek had to force the words out.

Warren sat up, his expression
furious. "I know exactly—oh."

Siarra was busy examining the
memory frames on the wall. The one above Derek's bed showed him flying with
Tess, Iris, and Rox on the way to their first battle with the Dark. The one
above Warren's bed showed him kissing a girl.

"I can't believe it's
her," Derek whispered.

Realizing there was no going back
now, Tess nodded. "The statue in the World Room was a guardian. She
endured the spell so she could help us now."

"Oh," Derek said.

Still in shock, Warren mouthed, WOW.

Tess resisted the urge to smile.
With the Dark about to destroy everything she cared about, humor felt wrong.

"I need your help,"
Tess said.

Derek tore his gaze from Siarra
and rubbed his eyes. "Anything. What do you have in mind?"

"I need to build a
weapon," Tess said, and told him about the Halo of Dawn.

"Just how much do you want
it to protect?"

Tess's eyes gleamed. "The
continent."

Derek snorted in disbelief and
jerked his head. "There's no way . . . I mean that's not . . ." His
eyes darted between Tess and Siarra, his expression distant. "But with two
oracles?" A sly grin spread on his features and his eyes flicked back to
her. "Maybe, but it will require the Order of White and a whole lot of
battlemages." Then his eyebrows knit together. "What about South
America?"

Tess's gut tightened. "The
countries that joined Brazil chose where to make their stand. As much as I
would love to help, there's nothing we can do for them except destroy the Dark.
This is the best way I can do that."

Siarra joined them. "Where
are we going to build this weapon?"

Instead of answering, Derek took
two steps to the back of the room and pointed out the window. Visible in the
distance, one object rose taller than anything on Auroraq.

The Spirus.

Tess almost smiled. It was
exactly what she'd seen in her vision. "Derek? Dawn is a few hours from
now, and it has to be done before the sun rises in two days."

His jaw tightened. "Then
let's get started."

Tess stopped him. "No one
can know about her." She jerked her head to Siarra.

"I'm not about to tell
anyone that a ten-thousand-year-old oracle is alive."

"You too, Warren," Tess
said, and threw him a sharp look.

Warren, who hadn't said a single
word, gave an emphatic nod. Satisfied, Tess led Derek and Siarra onto the
balcony. Tess wrapped her magic around Derek and lifted him into the sky.

"Er, Siarra?" Derek
shifted uncomfortably. "You could pass for any of us, but your elven ears
are a dead giveaway."

Siarra flashed a rueful smile.
"I forget that my people no longer exist."

She reached up and ran a finger
over her ear. The motion resembled putting a stray hair in place, but as her
finger passed the point on her ear smoothed out. She turned her head to them.

"Better?"

"How did you do that?" Tess
asked.

Siarra did the same with the
other ear. "Magic can do much more than mages realize, but few are willing
to endure the cost of learning."

Tess was stunned. Without the
pointed ears the ancient elf had shed her identity. Now she could have passed
for a blond woman with angular features.

"I'm glad you're here,"
Tess said.

Siarra flashed a wry smile.
"To see the changes mankind has wrought is a wonder to behold. I only wish
I could view them under different circumstances."

They reached Tess's balcony, and
she opened her door with an odd mixture of excitement and worry—and found find Iris standing
an inch from her. Startled, she jerked back, nearly knocking Derek off the
ledge.

"I can't believe you didn't
tell me," Iris seethed. "Siarra herself is alive and here—and you didn't tell me
first?"

Tess rubbed her forehead.
"I'm sorry, Iris. I was a little preoccupied with meeting my
ancestor." She considered asking how she'd found out so fast, but realized
it would be a waste of breath.

Iris launched into a tirade of
how bizarre this was, until she was interrupted by a knock at the balcony door.
Iris yanked the door open the rest of the way.

"Hello Iris."

Iris spun to face Tess and
mouthed, She knows my name!

Tess cringed from the mental
scream that accompanied it, but before she could comment Derek said.
"Iris, I just found out two minutes ago. Are you coming or not?"

Iris frowned. "Of
course." She joined them, and Tess lifted her into the air. Iris glared at
her, waiting for an answer.

"I'm sorry, Iris," Tess
said. "I know I should have told you the moment Siarra appeared, but she
wanted me to use my farsight. It’s how I saw us building the Halo."

"My apologies for detaining
her," Siarra said.

Iris rounded on her. "If
you ever tell her not to trust her friends, you'll answer to me."

Siarra blinked at the audacity
from Iris, and then flashed a smile. "Iris, I would never try to separate
her from those she calls friend."

Iris flipped her purple streaked
hair. "Good," she said curtly.

As they flew toward the Spirus,
Tess asked Derek, "What's your plan?"

"A combination asunder hex
and meteor charm," Derek said, "except on a much larger scale. If
Auroraq is positioned in the center of the United States we should be able to
reach the coast through a Gate."

A thread of excitement touched
Tess as she recalled certain images in her vision that she had not understood.
"You want to create a weapon that fires here, but the blast goes through a
Gate to hit somewhere else?"

Derek nodded. "You'll have
to build two Arcs. Each will open the Gate on the other end. The question is,
can you two enchant a portal?"

Siarra and Tess exchanged a look.
On her own Tess would have said no, but with Siarra at her side?

"Do you know the
spell?" Tess asked.

Siarra's expression had become
thoughtful. "Perhaps, but as he said, it will require both of us to cast
one of that magnitude. There is a reason that Gates are uncommon."

"Can you do it in
time?" Derek asked.

"We have to," Tess
replied, and met his gaze.

Or Alice wins.

Chapter 4: Commander

"Why does he want to speak
with you?" Kate asked.

Jack finished tying his tie.
"I'm not sure. I'm an intelligence officer without anyone to spy on, so
the president said he has another assignment for me."

"Do you think it has to do
with Tess? She's been working on that weapon nonstop since yesterday
morning."

"I'll find out when I get
there."

Kate pursed her lips and handed
him his shoes. "Alice's army reaches the coast tonight, but I wouldn't put
it past her to try something. Be careful."

He leaned down to kiss her.
"I always am."

He did not allow his worry to
show through. Her expression revealed that she wasn't fooled. He issued a grunt
of acknowledgment and flashed a look she knew well.

I'll be careful.

She embraced him and let him go.
He then departed from the room and descended the steps to the ground floor of
Breaker's house. Since Breaker had been sent to lead a section of the western
front, the newly placed Prime had offered his home to Jack and Kate.

Anxious to reach the president,
Jack strode from the house into the street. Then he turned his steps toward the
Spirus in the distance. As the sun rose it revealed the extent of the damage.
The battle for Auroraq had taken many lives and left enormous scars on the
city.

The white granite of the Spirus
stood pockmarked and blackened, while every inch of glass on the north side had
been shattered. The trees surrounding the building had been decimated, leaving
gaping holes in the landscape. Little had been left unscathed.

In the days following the battle,
the Magtherian had repaired the critical sections but lacked the time for
extensive work. The final battle with Alice's army took precedence. Instead of
repairing Auroraq, the mages had been tasked with fortifying the city against
intrusion and moving it to fly above the Stacks. For now, the great city
remained wounded.

Lost in thought, Jack wound his
way through the early morning light until he reached the tower. Both auren and
mage soldiers stood as sentries, but knew him well. After they let him pass he
ascended to the thirty-seventh floor. When he exited the gravity lift, he was
surprised to find the massive map of North America nearing completion. The
president lay on his back beneath it, talking with several mages as they
worked.

"Mr. President?" Jack
asked.

The president stood up, his body
passing through the floating map. "Jack," he called, and motioned to
the map. "It's almost done. What do you think?"

Jack nodded in appreciation. He'd
seen the battle map two days ago when they had first started enchanting it, but
not their latest progress. If they finished it in time, the atlas would give
live updates regarding the battle.

"I'm glad to see you took my
advice to build it," Jack said.

The president led him to an
office abutting the main chamber and knocked on the door. They walked in when a
voice called to enter. Once he stepped inside Jack realized that it was High
Chancellor Gerik standing to greet him.

"High Chancellor," Jack
said. "You look better than the last time I saw you."

A flicker of darkness passed over
Gerik's features, but he managed to suppress it. "Being imprisoned like a
dog takes time to wash off." He motioned for them to sit.

Jack did, and then said,
"Forgive me for being blunt, but what's the purpose of this
conversation?"

The president and Gerik exchanged
a look. Then Gerik said, "I'll be equally blunt. We'd like you to command
the defenses during the battle."

Surprise flitted across Jack's
face. This was not what he had expected. "It was my understanding that
Admiral Hughes was going to lead."

"He's dead," the
president said, and released a long sigh. "Varson led a small army of mage
and human Harbingers to attack Norad. Most of Congress, the Secretary of
Defense, and Admiral Hughes were buried when the mountain collapsed on top of
them, as were many of the surviving world leaders. My wife had gone to the
Stacks, or she would have been with them."

"The Trimages and several
ranking Masters died as well," Gerik said.

Jack passed a hand over his face.
"Alice wants to eliminate our command structure before it's in
place."

"She already has," the
president said. "That's why we need you."

Still struggling to absorb the
news about Norad, Jack leaned forward. "You are the commander in chief.
Why don't you lead this yourself?"

For the first time since Jack
could recall, the president appeared old. "The United States is gone,
Jack," he said quietly. "Less than ten percent of our federal
officials remain alive, and most of them are already assigned. The coalition
that we are building is the only cohesive government left on the planet, and we
need a commander for the Earth Army."

"With all due respect, sir,
I'm an intelligence officer."

"But you were a
soldier," the president pointed out, "and a good one. With half the
joint chiefs and generals dead, we need a unique commander—one with the qualities that
you possess."

Jack looked between them and
realized what they meant. "I know the most about the mages and
non-mages."

Gerik bobbed his head in
agreement. "The mages are powerful, but we have lived a life apart from
non-mages for thousands of years. The militaries of Earth, in turn, know
nothing of us. You have made a point of learning about the mages since you
discovered the identity of your daughter."

"You have also demonstrated
your ability as a strategist, and you are an honest man," the president
added. "If you don't lead us, we will operate together, but we won't be
united."

Uncertain of how to respond, Jack
didn't. The man was right. What they were proposing made logical sense, and yet
went far beyond what Jack had ever aspired to. Should he do it? Or more
importantly, could he do it? The weight of millions of lives seemed to
hover in front of him, waiting for the shoulders that would carry them.

"I don't possess enough
knowledge to do what you ask," he finally admitted, and then continued
before they could argue. "But that doesn't mean I'm declining."

"What do you need?"
Gerik asked.

"Communication will be
key," Jack said, "so I'll need the best techno mage you have."

"Master Barrows is more than
qualified—"

"Iris," Jack said.
"I trust her, and I know what she's capable of."

Gerik frowned. "The girl is
undisciplined, and her mother is part of Alice's forces. Besides, she is one of
the oracle's friends."

"All the more reason I need
her," Jack said. "We all know that this battle cannot be won. Tess is
the key to victory, and staying in touch with her is paramount."

Gerik released a sigh. "I
doubt you can convince her to assist you, but if you can she is yours. What
else?"

"I want the MIO task force
to help guard the city, and myself."

"My battlemages are prepared
to act in that capacity," Gerik said. "Your request is
unnecessary."

"The best of your
battlemages have been sent to join the battle. Prime Breaker is one of the
leading generals of the western front, and every available mage has been
dispatched to assist other units."

"After the enchantments we
have added, it is unlikely that Alice will attack here again," Gerik said.

"On the contrary," Jack
said. "I have no doubt that she will attempt to damage our ability to
coordinate our defenses. She has proven her willingness to assassinate in the
past." He motioned to the president as a reminder. "And Norad
demonstrates her willingness to destroy the command structure."

"It appears your family has
many requests today," Gerik said. "Anything else?"

Jacob swung to face him.
"What do you mean?"

Gerik's eyes moved to him.
"The oracle requested more help on the Spirus roof. After what she has done
in the past I could not refuse."

The president's eyebrows pulled
together. "Will it really do as she described?"

"We can only hope,"
Gerik replied.

Jack frowned and resolved to
speak to his daughter. If he was going to be the commander, he needed to know
everything she was doing. "One last condition," he said. "My
orders cannot be overridden."

Gerik seemed about to protest,
but the president did not. "For the duration of this battle, you can
command even us."

"So you accept?" Gerik
asked.

Jack felt a chill course down his
spine. If he failed, there would be no country to return to, no land of freedom
left on Earth. Alice and the Dark would reign supreme.

Jack released a sigh. "I do.
I'd like to be present when the generals arrive."

"I would expect nothing
less," the president said. "They should arrive within the hour."

"Then I have a lot of work
to do," Jack said, and rose to his feet.

After shaking their hands, he
departed the office and caught Uri outside. As one of the better techno mages
he'd encountered, Jack asked him to send a message to his wife and then went to
collect his omni-glasses from his previous office. He'd used them to help
select the coming generals, and found them to be far more useful than any
computer.

He paused on his way back.
Checking the time, he strode to the gravity lift and took it to the roof. He
stepped out and came to an abrupt halt, his gaze lifting to see the enormous
structure rising in front of him.

Mages climbed over it or floated
around, casting magic into solid supports. Even though the superstructure had
yet to be completed, Jack felt a chill. The light emanating from the curving
beams implied strength . . . and power. Then Tess caught sight of him and
dropped to the roof.

"What are you doing
here?" she asked, and hugged him.

It was the first time since Hawk
had died that Jack saw hope on his daughter's face, and it warmed him to the
core.

"I'm sorry I've been too
busy to see it," he said, and then gestured behind her. "You were a
bit vague yesterday morning. What exactly will it do?"

"Think of it as an
intercontinental missile," she said. "With it Gerik will be able to
provide support anywhere on the continent. If it works, the damage will be
extensive."

His eyebrows shot up as he
considered the ramifications of such a weapon. "I'll need it," he
said.

Her smile faded as she realized
what he meant. "I thought Admiral Hughes was going to command the
battle."

Her statement carried worry,
prompting him to flash a tight smile. "The Harbingers intervened. Someone
else needed to give you time, and it looks like I'm the most qualified."

She pulled him to the side, out
of the bustle of activity. "Alice is going to come after you."

"That's why I need
help," he said. "Do you think Iris will consider it?"

"Consider what?"

Jack turned to find Iris
approaching. "I want you to be my communications officer."

Iris's eyes flicked to Tess, and
then past her. "Quad," she barked, "make sure that anti-magic
sheath is seamless."

"As you wish!" he
shouted back to her, and threw a mock salute.

Iris's attention had already
moved on, and she now spoke to several others in her techno army. She didn't
meet his eyes, but Jack got the impression she was considering his words so he
made no attempt to interrupt.

"I'm helping Tess," she
finally said.

"I'm not asking you to
stop," Jack replied easily. "I need someone I can trust—and someone capable of
connecting to a hundred million troops. If you have a recommendation for
another, I'd like to hear it."

Iris's lips tightened, indicating
she knew that no one else could replace her. Instead of answering, she turned
to Tess.

"He's right," she said.
"And you have someone new to help you."

Jack caught the connotation, but
gave no outward sign that he had. His gaze swept the collection of mages
building the Halo, searching for one that stood out. It didn't take him long to
spot her.

Her white blonde hair flowed in
the wind as she glided around the growing weapon, her expression intense and
determined. He flipped through his memory of every mage he knew, and then her
eyes connected with his. The sheer power behind them made him want to flinch,
and reminded him of his private research regarding mage history.

"Would you care to explain
how Siarra Elseerian is alive?" he asked in an undertone, interrupting Tess
and Iris.

"How did you . . .,"
Iris issued a grunt of understanding. "Sometimes I forget you worked for
the CIA." She said it with a mixture of respect and irritation.

"She endured a spell that
would keep her alive until now," Tess said quietly. "But she only has
a few days to live. She came to help."

"Do you trust her?"
Jack asked.

"With my life," Tess
replied.

"Then so do I." He
turned to Iris. "Will you accept the position?"

Iris hesitated, and then nodded.
"As soon as the Halo is done, I'll be there."

Jack could accept that. "Let
me know when it's operational."

"I will," Tess said,
"and thanks."

"I should be thanking
you," Jack said, and inclined his head toward the Halo. "This might
mean we survive tomorrow."

"There's something
else," Tess said, and lowered her voice. Then she told him about her
vision of Alice's ultimatum.

"You think she will follow
through?"

"I know she does," Tess
said.

Jack stared into the distance.
"It will give us an extra few hours to prepare." A tightness in his
chest eased as he mentally pushed off the time of the invasion. Then his gaze
settled on Tess. On impulse he asked her a question that had bothered him for
weeks.

"What's it like seeing the
future?"

Her features tightened.
"Terrifying. I can only see what I'm not afraid of." She swallowed
and looked away, prompting him to draw her into an embrace.

"We can do this together,
you, me, and your mom." They parted, and she gave a tiny nod. Her
expression conveyed her reply.

I'm working on it.

Jack didn't push her on it. Tess
knew that victory depended on her. Focusing on it would only serve to hamper
her efforts.

He flashed a grin, and added.
"When it's over, there's a bowl of ice cream with your name on it."

She burst into a laugh. "You
can count on it."

His grin faded as he descended in
the gravity lift. The final battle had yet to begin, but he already felt the
weight. Contrary to what he'd told Gerik and the president, he had not accepted
the appointment because of his skills. He'd accepted because he would not trust
anyone else to help his daughter.

Chapter 5: The Coalition

Jack reached the massive tunnel
underneath Auroraq and came to a stop. Beside and around him, the surviving
members of the MIO task force had joined him, already primed for their new
assignment. Jack spoke with Charlie, head of the protective detail, while they
waited. The president then joined them.

"Here they come," he
said.

A glittering object appeared at
the end of the tunnel, and a large teardrop vessel slipped into view.  Gliding
down the tunnel, it settled to a stop in front of Jack and a door swung open.
Dressed in matching black suits, secret service agents hustled out. Agent
Pierce led the way.

"Is the area secure?"
Agent Pierce asked.

The president nodded to him.
Pierce was the last survivor of the undercover mages tasked with protecting the
president.

"This is the most secure
location on the planet," Jack said.

"We thought Norad was out of
their reach," Pierce countered.

Jack sighed. "The city has
been fortified with both magic and other means."

Agent Pierce issued a grunt and
made a motion to one of his men. A moment later the selected generals exited
the mage ship. Descending the steps, they greeted Jack and the president.

"Glad to see you
alive," General Braun said, his German accent thick in his voice. "Is
everything ready?"

"As much as possible,"
the president replied. "Are your forces in position?"

Braun issued a grunt. "The
line is thin. Time will tell if it holds."

Jack nodded and then stepped to
greet the other generals disembarking. In his research, he'd ensured that each
had a working knowledge of English. He'd further vetted them through his
intelligence records to ensure they at least had a modicum of integrity.

A second ship soon joined and
unloaded another group of generals. Jack felt a twinge of sadness at the sight
of racial enemies soberly shaking hands. It had taken the loss of most of the
planet to bring these people together.

For every nation present, one was
not. Entire countries had been erased from Earth. Others had lost most of their
senior cadre. By necessity some forces had been folded into others, like
Portugal and Spain. A third group had chosen to gather in South America with
Brazil. Inwardly Jack cringed at the idea of the Brazilian coalition. Without
the mages or the numbers they were unlikely to last.

As the president moved to greet
the newcomers, Jack caught Charlie and asked him to direct the military leaders
to the command center as they arrived. Then he took the president and those
with him up into the Spirus.

Sharp intakes of breath
accompanied their passage as the non-mages came to terms with the magic
displayed all around them. Living art, trees, and flowing water defied reality
and any sense of normalcy.

At one point a diminutive mage
assistant wove through the crowd and delivered a brief message to Jack. The
water entity stood barely as tall as Jack's knee and resembled a small child.
Marshal Williams from England nearly leapt from his skin as the water creature
touched his leg. General Jacque Lefevre from France was the only one to reach
down and touch it.

Jack hid a smile and a moment
later ushered the entire group onto a gravity lift. Many demonstrated
trepidation before they stepped onto the apparent hole in the floor. Since Jack
stood without falling, they joined him. Several squeaked in surprise when they
collectively began to rise.

"What sort of lift is
this?" the British prime minister asked. He stared at his feet in wonder.

"This is a gravity
lift," Jack said. "As you can see, there are no floors or walls,
although if you try to reach out you will find a gravity shield present. As you
will come to know, magic is energy. Focused through a human body into a
specific form, they can do what we would consider impossible. These energies
have surpassed much of our technology in their complexity."

The leaders gaped in astonishment
or murmured to each other, and a moment later they reached the command center.
They stepped out and came to a halt, stunned to silence at what lay before
them.

"Welcome to the
Coalition," Jack said.

Prior to the Harbinger takeover,
the thirty-seventh floor had been the Office of Mage History. Liquid light
flowed inside a two-hundred-foot map that displayed North America in minute
detail. Mages walked through, completing the image and connecting it to the
techno threads that would update troop placements.

Every inch of wall was filled.
Techno mages had set up dozens of concave displays and were in the process of
completing many more. Each would be used to communicate with the distinct
commands within the Coalition.

"What are those?"
Braun asked. Worthy of his name, the German was well-built and tall. He stood
near the rear of the group but had no trouble surveying the room.

"Those are techno walls,”
the president responded. “Techno mages use them to tap into every live data
stream available. Among other things, they can access wireless, radio,
television, and even encrypted satellite feeds."

There was a murmur of irritation
at that news, but before it could become anger, the president turned to face
them.

"As we agreed, we are using
this facility to lead the defenses. The mages are better equipped than we are,
and can connect to our forces with far greater accuracy and speed. Previously
this technology may have been used against our countries, but right now it is the
only thing keeping us from being overrun."

Jack nodded in agreement.
"Each of you has been assigned a section of the room that corresponds to
your place on the map. Since the German forces are placed in the northeastern
part of the US, your station is there. General Braun, you can begin setting up
and connecting with your army right now. I will assign each nation its position
and then we will convene in the war room in one hour."

General Braun wasted no time in
striding to his station. The trio of officers he'd brought were quick to set up
their gear and connect to his portion of the army. As they worked, Jack
organized the other military leaders into their respective areas. At first,
their wonder forestalled most of their doubts, but that changed when they moved
to the war council on the floor above.

Jack stood to address the
seventy-eight officers. Without preamble, he began, "Forgive me if I
ignore formalities. You all know what is at stake. In a few hours the invasion
begins, and we know how it ends. Our only hope lies in stopping the Dark
itself. The oracle and her immediate allies have been working nonstop to that
end. Our job is to hold out until they succeed."

"She is only a girl,"
General Lefevre said in a thick French accent. "How is she going to perform
such a task?"

Jack held his emotions in check.
"She has done more than any one of us in this war."

"And yet she did not stop
the Dark's release," Pakistan's general said. "The video of her
attempt on Mt. Elbrus demonstrated she is incapable of accomplishing what you
say."

The president was on his feet.
"She succeeded in warning us, general—and
imagine for one moment if she hadn't."

The Pakistani general's face
clouded with anger, but he fell silent. Jack stepped in before the dispute
could escalate.

"Regardless of your feelings
about the oracle's chances, she is not our responsibility—or even under our authority.
The United States has opened its doors to every nation, army, and individual
seeking shelter. For the exclusive purposes of this battle, I have been tasked
with the overall combat strategy—"

"Why?" General Xiao
from China demanded. "Where is Admiral Hughes?" There were murmurs of
agreement.

Jack placed his hands on the
table. "Dead," he said, and shared the events at Norad. The news sent
a buzz of fear and doubt through the chamber. Jack raised his voice to draw
their attention back to him.

"All of us have lost more
than we ever could have imagined, and because of this we have been forced to
unite. Our survival depends on this unity."

He let his statement sink in.
Then he continued, "As members of the Coalition we must work together. I
know you were expecting another to lead this battle, but I assure you that no
one is better qualified. Of anyone in this group, I have the greatest knowledge
regarding the mages, and their capabilities. You may have the soldiers, but the
mages have the power. As you are aware, the battlemages have been separated
into smaller teams and spread throughout the combat units. Make no mistake.
Without them, our line will crumble."

General Braun stood up. "I
think I can speak for all of us. We give you our support. Few of our people
would have survived without aid—aid
which was offered by the magical community and the president. We are in no
position to disagree." He shot General Xiao a glare and sat down. In the
ensuing silence Jack flashed a tight smile.

"Earth as we know it is
gone, gentlemen. Banks, trade, and entire economies are gone. If we survive
this, our countries will not return to what they were. By necessity, this
Coalition will likely be the ruling body for our entire planet. Race, creed,
and people are no longer separated by national borders. Country and
organizations have been dissolved—not
by choice, but by need. If we don't outlast the day tomorrow, our children will
become slaves. Alice and her Dark will rule everything, and the power to defy
her will be gone."

He let out his breath and allowed
his words to fade into silence. "Whether we care to be or not, we are one
people now. I should not need to remind you of the treaty your remaining
leaders have signed. There is only one nation now, and we all belong to it.
Right now martial law is the only thing holding us from anarchy and defeat.
This room represents our sole chance at victory. If we fail, any freedoms you
care for will cease to exist."

He stared them down until most
nodded. There were a few holdouts from the more hidebound countries, but Jack
doubted they would fight much. The more prideful nations had resisted the call
to evacuate, and that choice had decimated their peoples. Citizens of countries
such as Iran and Syria were quite possibly extinct. Diminished in numbers and
spirit, those who had come were desperate. They had no choice but to cooperate.

Jack felt a burden ease off his
shoulders. Gaining their confidence was the first challenge. Now he had to lead
them into a continent-wide battle that would likely kill hundreds of millions.
He glanced at the president, and the returning gaze held approval.

Jack straightened. "Now that
we understand each other, we go to war."

He motioned to a light mage near
the door. The man stepped into view and brightened a lightcast model of North
America. Pointing to it, Jack laid out their strategy. As he spoke, the light
mage lit the areas he addressed.

"Our overall army is broken
up into two divisions, each with over a hundred million troops and support
personnel. Eastern covers the entire eastern seaboard of the United States. Due
to the terrain and impracticality of guarding it, Florida has been abandoned.

"Western goes up the west
coast, and ends just north of the former Canadian-US border. The bulk of our
surviving military vessels are positioned in the gulf in a blockade. Your own
ships have been incorporated into the fleet or have positions in rivers or inlets
on the coastlines.

"As the Dark expands around
us, we will add forces along the South and North. If and when we become
overrun, the entire line will fall back to the backup barricades that surround
the civilian population in the center of the United States plains."

He paused, leaving room for
questions. When no one spoke up, he continued, "Each division is comprised
of a thousand companies. Each company is made up of soldiers from a specific
unit. 312th company of Western is a Chinese command. The one next to it is from
Japan. To further reinforce the line, 'heavy' units have been deployed in a
strategic balance. Special forces teams from every country, armored divisions,
and elite mage teams will anchor each section.

"Furthermore, each company
contains reserves and its own support staff, most of which are civilians.
Emergency medics, food services, and other needs are being handled as much as
possible by the local town facilities."

Marshal Williams of the British
Royal Air Force was shaking his head. "I was made aware of most of this,
but I don't understand how. It would have taken weeks to put these kinds
of preparations in place."

Jack gave a slow nod. "The
president of the United States evacuated the borders of civilians two weeks
ago. Military personnel, volunteers, and other staff were dispatched to prepare
for a possible world evacuation to this continent. As your individual forces
arrived they were placed into the framework that had already been
established."

The Pakistani general bore a deep
frown and muttered something to his colleague. Jack rounded on him. "We
did not act out of foreknowledge, General. We acted out of caution. Our
lives depend on your being part of our army. We do not have the manpower to
guard every inch of coastline on our own."

Jack stared at him until he
looked away, and then allowed his gaze to roam the chamber. "Our lives
hang in the balance. Do not think for a moment that we are any less desperate
than you. Our victory will depend on how well we can set aside old grievances
and work together."

General Braun stood. "You
have my support . . . and my allegiance."

Marshal Williams was second to
voice the sentiment, followed closely by General Lefavre. Soon everyone was on
their feet. The motion sent a chill through the room. For the first time in
modern history, the world stood together.

Jack offered a faint smile of
gratitude for their support. "Welcome to the Earth Army. If we survive
this battle I look forward to seeing what this Council will accomplish.
Dismissed."

As the officers filed from the
room Jack felt a combination of emotions tighten his gut. The image of racial
enemies standing shoulder to shoulder was inspiring, yet it left him wondering
if they were too late. As much as they would fight and die to hold the Dark at bay,
in the end it would come down to Tess.

And her will to survive.

Chapter 6: A Sniper's Mind

Kate caught the tail end of
Jack's words from the back of the room. The moment she had received his
message, she'd come to the Spirus. Initially her pace had been angry and
rushed, but by the time she reached the tower it had cooled. She'd then
ascended and listened to her husband speak to the generals.

She was a mother, a wife, and a
soldier—and all three
knew that her husband was the best commander for this battle. That knowledge
did nothing to abate her fear. After months of hunting Harbingers and the
events on Auroraq, she knew her enemy. She also knew her family. Jack and Tess
would find a way to defy Alice.

And Alice would retaliate.

Kate stood on the darkened
threshold and looked down on her husband speaking with his men. He stood with a
regal carriage, his expression focused. The streaks of white in his black hair
served to enhance the determination in his gaze. Before he could spot her, she
turned and strode from the chamber.

Stel rose on her neck, and she
soothed him with a few quiet words. "I know," she said. "It's
our job to protect him."

When Tess had asked her to take
care of the energy intelligence Kate had been reluctant, but her daughter had
insisted. The moment Charlie had tried to touch it Kate had realized why, and
Charlie had nearly lost his finger. Tess wanted Stel to protect Kate, not the
other way around. In spite of that, the creature had grown on her and typically
slept as a warm band around her forearm.

Catching a lift down, she
retrieved her rifle from the ordinance room that her team had set up. Slinging
it over her shoulder, she descended to the base of the Spirus and exited onto
Sentre. The mage city had been a source of constant wonder to her, but this
time its marvels did not give her pause. Hurrying through the morning light,
she left Sentre behind and walked to Tryton's.

The sprawling buildings that
comprised the mage school felt vacant and hollow. Only a handful of professors
had remained after the evacuation of the students, and they had been tasked
with reinforcing the charms protecting the south side of the city. Kate had met
a handful of them, but one in particular stood out to her. Making her way to
the gravity school, she found Professor Lerik in her office.

"May I come in?" Kate
asked.

Professor Lerik looked up from
the scroll she was reading and flashed a weary smile. "Of course, Kate.
What brings you to my door?"

Kate stepped inside but did not
sit down. "I understand you're one of the better gravity mages here. Is
that accurate?"

Professor Lerik cocked her head
to the side. "What is it you require?"

Kate pulled the long-barreled
rifle from her back and placed it on the woman's desk. "I want you to
augment this."

Professor Lerik leaned back in
her seat, her expression inscrutable. Kate did not look away. After years of
teaching, Kate knew how to read the type of teacher by the look in her eye.
This one would have been as strict as steel, but not unkind.

Firm and knowledgeable, Professor
Lerik carried the responsibility of teaching young mages how to harness their
gravity magic to fly. Kate had learned that she hadn't seen an injury in her
class for over a decade. That alone spoke volumes of her discipline.

"Are you aware that what you
ask is forbidden?" Professor Lerik asked quietly.

"I wasn't," Kate
admitted, and finally took a seat, "but even if I had known, I would still
ask."

"Why?"

"Because I have come to know
the enemy we face. Alice is as ruthless as she is smart. We have proven we will
not relent, and our continuing defiance will invite retaliation. I suspect she
will make an attempt on our command structure."

"Your husband."

How had she already learned of
it? Kate touched the rifle. "As hard as it is for me to accept, I
cannot protect my daughter. She's beyond that now. I can protect Jack. The only
problem is the distance. This is an M40A5 sniper rifle with a five-round
magazine. With the charms that Iris placed on the scope I can put a bullet into
a target at over a mile. I want you to help me quadruple that."

Lerik's eyebrows shot up.
"You want to reach the Spirus from here."

"It's the only way,"
Kate said. "Every other sniper unit on Auroraq is tasked with watching the
perimeter. That's what my job is on top of the Earth school. Even if I could
get posted closer to the Spirus, the trees of Sentre block any potential shot.
The earth school is the highest point on the city outside of the Spirus."

Lerik looked out the window for
several seconds. When she looked back her expression bore a hint of a smile.

"I would not do it for
anyone else," Lerik exclaimed, "but you are the oracle's mother, and
her valiance cannot be ignored. It may come from her blood, but it was her
mother who taught her to magnify it." She inclined her head in a mark of
respect.

Kate's throat tightened with
emotion. Then she withdrew a magazine from her pouch. "Do you think you
can do it?"

"Come with me."

Professor Lerik rose and led her
to the rear of the building, where a field of low grass bent with the afternoon
breeze. She raised her hands and purple magic seeped from her palms. Flowing
out like smoke, it formed a large sphere that hovered in front of her.

"Fire your weapon into the
well."

Kate clipped the magazine into
place and racked the slide. Thumbing the safety, she braced herself for the
recoil and then fired. The sound had been muted by one of Tess's friends, so
the rifle barely coughed. Like ballistics gel, the sphere slowed the bullet to
a dead stop. Professor Lerik bent to examine it.

"May I have your
ammunition?"

Kate ejected a shell and handed
it to her. Lerik examined the brass encased bullet and then cast a charm onto
it. The bullet began to emit a faint purple glow. Then she handed it back to
Kate.

"Please fire again."

Kate took the bullet and inserted
it into the chamber. Aiming as she had before, she fired. This time the bullet
seemed to wobble before it struck the purple sphere. Lerik muttered to herself
as she retrieved the bullet and then adjusted her previous spell. After several
more attempts Lerik appeared satisfied.

"Let us try it at a
distance."

Kate nodded and shouldered her
gun. "We can use the earth school post. Agent Bracken is currently there,
but he won't mind allowing me a few minutes."

"Excellent," Lerik said—and then picked Kate off the
ground.

Kate's stomach climbed up her
throat as they lifted out of the grass, and it was all she could do not to
betray her fear.

"Have you never flown?"

"Once," Kate replied,
"when the Harbingers destroyed my home."

Lerik issued a grunt. "They
have taken much."

Kate didn't respond, and her mind
turned to Tess. In spite of what she'd said before, the worry over her
daughter's fate had become an incessant weight on her chest. The helplessness
and fear permeated even her dreams, and when awake she dreaded Jack coming to
her with the news that Tess had been killed.

"May I share something with
you?" Professor Lerik asked. When Kate nodded, she said, "Your
daughter took to magic like a babe to breathing. I have seen thousands of
students learn to fly, but never one like her. Gravity may bend for me, but it
obeys her."

Lerik brought them to a stop.
Hovering high above Tryton's, she motioned to the school. "Here we teach
young mages how to control their magic. For Tess, the sight of a spell was
sufficient for her to know it, as if her nature merely required a reminder of
what it could do."

"Why tell me this?"
Kate asked.

"Because I do not think you
need to fear. She is the oracle, and has a capacity that exceeds any we can
imagine."

"I appreciate your
words." Kate had to force the words past the sudden knot in her throat.

Lerik offered a small nod and
then carried them smoothly to the summit of the earth school. Like a
mini-mountain, the earth school towered over the rest of Tryton's and most of
Auroraq. Ensconced in an alcove near the top, agent Bracken stood up as they
flew above him.

"You aren't due back for
another few minutes," he said. His eyes flicked to Lerik and back.

"Do you mind if I start my
shift early?"

Agent Bracken regarded her for a
moment and then shrugged. "Fine by me. I'll grab something to eat and be
back in twenty."

He stepped from the alcove and
descended the steps. When he was gone Lerik directed Kate to fire a
gravity-enhanced round at the sphere she had left in the field. Attaching the
scope, Kate settled into position.

She was still getting used to the
enhancements that Iris had placed on the rifle. The optics now gave a display
of a dozen other elements, and shifted according to her thoughts. To her
surprise the readings seemed to automatically adapt to the round in the
chamber, and showed the ideal trajectory to the target. Zeroing the distance,
she lined up the shot and fired.

At over eight hundred yards the
bullet would have dropped. It did not. Defying the pull of gravity, the bullet
flew perfectly straight. Kate had been firing long-distance rifles for over
twenty years and had never witnessed a bullet fly true. The sight brought a
smile of intense satisfaction to her features.

"Did you know that was going
to happen?" she asked, and rose to face Lerik.

"I hoped," Lerik
admitted. "You said that Iris had added enchantments of her own to the
weapon, and from your description I guessed they would guide the projectile's
path. The spell will dissipate with distance, but it should reach the Spirus if
you have the requisite skill."

"How many can you
make?"

She grimaced. "Only a few.
The nature of the enchantment is fragile, so having several in close proximity
will cause them to negate each other. In addition, each round will alter the
material of your weapon. Given time I could likely make them more stable . .
."

"But time is what we
lack," Kate finished, and her jaw tightened. "I'd better not
miss."

"One other thing,"
Lerik said, and the severity in her voice caused Kate to look at her.
"This will make your weapon capable of penetrating a gravity shield, the
charm mages use to protect against your firearms. It is—in every respect—a
mage killer."

Kate understood exactly what she was
saying. Lerik had enchanted a weapon capable of killing her own people. Leaving
her gun on the floor of the alcove, Kate stood.

"I will be careful where I
aim."

"Of that I have no
doubt," Lerik said.

Lerik enchanted four other
bullets for her, and Kate lined them up beside her. Each emitted a faint purple
glow. She would have preferred to practice much more before using unfamiliar
rounds, but she lacked the time—and
a four-mile range. When Lerik was finished Kate thanked her.

"You can return the favor by
not informing others of my assistance," Lerik said. "Prior to the
Dark's invasion my act would merit the stripping of my magic." Her
features tightened. "I would not care to lose my ability to fly."

"No one will hear your
name," Kate said. "I can promise you that."

Lerik offered the first real
smile Kate had seen on her, and then departed. When she was gone Kate settled
into her position. She regulated her breathing as she put her eye to the scope.
Four miles away, the Spirus leapt into focus. Then she put every thought of
what she would be attempting out of her mind.

To her knowledge the longest
confirmed kill had touched a mile and a half. She intended to triple that, if
she could. The very idea of the attempt caused her to feel a sober
determination. Unlike other snipers, she had equipment augmented by mages. She
doubted she could even call her rifle the same weapon, and realized it had
evolved into a gravity gun.

She passed the scope over the
side of the Spirus. Much of the glass had been shattered during the battle on
Auroraq, and there had been insufficient time to repair it. Through the
openings she searched for any indication that they had been breached. She knew
in her gut that Alice would seek to punish them for their defiance.

Her finger on the trigger, she
waited. As if Stel approved, he flowed off her arm and settled into a stance
that mirrored hers. It chirped an acknowledgment, and she almost laughed. Her
humor faded as he didn't move, and she realized what he had become.

Her spotter.

Chapter 7: The Stacks

Breaker worked his way through
the endless rows of shipping containers, and the stifling crowds between them.
Built from millions of steel containers, the series of temporary homes had
become known as the Stacks.

Layered three high and placed
throughout the plains of the central United States, the multi-colored
containers were the final destination for the three hundred million refugees
that had survived the Dark's expansion. Countries had been given a section
based on their surviving population, and their citizens had been packed in like
fish in a can. Ladders and makeshift stairs allowed the displaced access to
their homes.

Lack of power and running water
had driven the people into the roads and alleys, where they trod underfoot the
farmland that had dominated the plains before the war. Each day, military units
passed out food and supplies, much of which the food and plant mages had
prepared in order to stretch the desperately thin stockpiles.

Every surface carried a dingy
sheen, matching the people trudging down the paths. Weary and loaded down with
belongings, the latest to arrive looked to be from somewhere in Central
America. Evacuated before the Dark closed off the southern front, they had abandoned
their homes for the uncertain safety of the Earth Army.

Breaker's lips tightened. More
than likely their homes would be gone if they were ever able to return. Alice's
attempt to leash mankind to her rule had erased entire civilizations. Even if
the Earth Army won, nothing would be the same.

An alarm sounded. Loud and
piercing, it reverberated through the Stacks as a series of lights flickered
red. Angry shouts erupted from a group attempting to gain entry to a bottom
container. Four heavily tattooed men had pulled guns and were attempting to
force their way inside.

Breaker made to intervene, but
another man beat him to it. Wobbly and sporting a full head of white hair, the
elderly gentlemen approached the assailants and raised a palm.

"You have been warned of
such actions," he said in a squeaky voice.

The men ignored him and opened
fire on the group huddling inside the door. The bullets came to a stop three
inches from the end of their barrels. A collective gasp escaped the onlookers
as they witnessed the bullets drop to the ground.

The tattooed men stared at the
old man in astonishment until the older mage tapped his hand down. The gravity
punch slammed into the leader like a falling boulder. His bags ripped as he
crumpled, spilling bricks of white drugs onto the muddied ground.

"You knew the consequence of
your choices," the older man squeaked. "You will now be banished for
your crimes." He then cast a charm that lifted the offender into the air
and tossed him back. His companions began to scream profanities and opened
fire, causing the crowd to surge away.

"There is no need to
panic," the old man squeaked.

As bullets came to a stop around
him, the man cast a gravity locking charm that froze every person in view. The
firing stopped as the other drug dealers lost the ability to move. Then the
elder mage tottered forward and wrapped them in gravity bindings. They strained
against their bonds until the older man stepped close to them and again raised
his palm.

Like metal to a magnet, every gun
and speck of drug was drawn to a floating ball in front of him. The men
twitched as knives and other weapons were torn from their bodies to join the
ball. Raising his second hand to it, he unleashed a torrent of white-hot
flames. The drug dealers eyes widened as the ball was incinerated.

"I am sorry to see you
choose such a fate," he squeaked, "but you were warned when you
joined us."

He then turned and tottered away,
trailing the floating offenders behind him. He made a dismissing motion,
releasing the aurens. Then he noticed Breaker.

"Prime," he squeaked.
"We have things in order here."

"I can see that,"
Breaker said as the old man passed.

"I may not be able to fight
on the front, but this old battlemage still has a few tricks."

Breaker grinned and allowed him
to pass. The gathered nations had been forced to pull anyone with combat
experience to man the front line, leaving older mages and retired police
officers to maintain order in the Stacks. Despair and desperation had led many
of the refugees to acts of cruelty already.

Breaker sighed, and continued on
his way. Winding past throughways and dining stations, he reached the stack
that had been reserved for his family. Rather than use the stairs, he lifted
himself on a finger of rock to the topmost container and walked inside the
opening. Rivena looked up at his appearance and rushed to embrace him.

"I didn't think we'd see you
before it started," she said, her voice relieved and joyful.

She smelled like dirt, sweat, and
the unique scent of enchanted water. Stained after endless hours of work, her
clothing bore creases and wrinkles. The evacuation to the Stacks had been
swift, leaving little time to collect much clothing.

He gripped her tighter. "I
wasn't about to go without seeing you," he said. He flashed the soft look
reserved for her, causing her to return a worried smile.

"I just got off a
shift," she said. "They have me casting aquaglass water tubes to each
stack. A lot of people still don't have clean water."

"Where are the boys?"

She waved in irritation.
"Out getting into mischief, I'm sure. The Magtherian stated that anyone
over the age of eight could help. They're just a hair too young. I'm sure they
will be here any moment. They have a knack for arriving just moments before
punishment can be levied." Her tone was both exasperated and loving.

"Rox is on her way,"
Breaker said. "I told her if she didn't come home for tonight I would
order her to. She couldn't refuse."

Rivena grinned at him, but the
smile gradually disappeared. It did not need to be spoken out loud, but they
both knew this might be the last moment they shared. When the line buckled, the
Stacks would be the last resort. He could only hope that Tess had defeated the
Dark in time.

"Do you think she can do
it?" Rivena whispered, unknowingly echoing his thoughts.

"If anyone can stop the
Dark, it will be Tess."

Tears formed in her eyes and she
looked away. Her reply was interrupted by a pair of boys bursting through the
door. Dirty and disheveled, they looked nearly identical. They had taken after
Breaker in both magic and build, so even at the ages of six and seven they were
muscled and thick.

"Dad!" they cried out
in unison, and piled on top of him.

He pulled them into a crushing
embrace, but they did not seem to notice the extra pressure. Jumping from his
arms, they launched into a description of what they had discovered four quads
over. Breaker listened with rapt attention, but out of the corner of his eye he
watched Rivena.

Her expression rigid, she went
about preparing a meal on the one counter in the container. The distilled food
passed through the tiny cauldron and came out as bread and pasta. There was no
table, so she put the plates on a bench made from bricks and a piece of wood.
As the boys jumped to their dinner Rox appeared in the opening.

With the sun setting behind her
and dressed in the uniform of a battlemage, she did not resemble the daughter
he knew. The lighthearted glint to her eyes had been replaced with a determined
gaze, and her stance betrayed her combat training. Conflicted at the sight, he
hugged his daughter with a fierceness that drew a grunt.

"I'm glad you made it,"
Breaker murmured.

"You didn't give me a
choice," she said. "An order from the Prime cannot be
disobeyed."

"I couldn't stop you from
joining the corps," he replied, "but I can order you to come home for—" He stopped himself
from saying it, but it seemed everyone heard it.

A last meal.

Rivena pushed him out of the way
and hugged their daughter. When they separated she touched Rox’s black and
silver uniform.

"I never wanted this for
you," she said. Her voice cracked, and a few tears left furrows in the
dirt on her face.

Breaker's heart tightened in his
chest. He'd agreed to let the Order of White join the battlemage corps, but had
nearly refused simply to keep his daughter out.

"Shorn got assigned
patrol," Rox said. "He couldn't make it."

Breaker met her gaze and read the
tension in her eyes. He had specifically asked for their family to come
together. Knowing Rox, she had tried to bring Shorn, yet he had remained behind—out of respect for him. All
at once he realized how much the boy had been devoted to his daughter, and he
regretted his effort to drive Shorn away. As far as teenage boys went, he was
as decent as Breaker could hope for.

"Next time I want him
here," he said, startling both his wife and Rox.

The stunned silence lasted until
Rivena broke it. "We should eat," she said.

"We're already done,"
one of the boys said, and the both flashed gleaming smiles surrounded by red
sauce.

"Can we go play?" the
other asked.

"Not this time,"
Breaker said, and sat down beside them. Accepting a plate from his wife, he
added, "This meal we eat together."

The boys started to protest, but
Rivena's eyes flashed dangerously, and they fell to grumbling under their
breath. Breaker smiled in gratitude, and the adults set to the task of eating.

Breaker ate the food without
tasting it, but savored the moment. Little conversation was exchanged. Instead
it seemed like they looked between each other with the desire to embed this
event into memory. After a few moments even the boys seemed to understand, and
their fidgeting with the steel wall came to a stop.

Breaker had been Prime for mere
days, and yet this was the burden he deemed heaviest. Protecting his men was
one thing. Guarding his family was something else entirely. Throughout his
career he'd suffered at the hands of Harbingers, mage criminals, and even
enraged reavers. The idea of losing his wife—or
one of his children—far exceeded any agony he'd sustained. No matter what he
did, he knew they would never be the same. Just as they finished, Alice began
to speak . . .

You are the survivors of this
world . . .

The words penetrated Breaker's
mind like a hot lance. His face went rigid with disbelief as he realized who
was speaking, and he darted to the door. Rox and Rivena were only a step
behind. They came to a halt on the threshold, and watched the panic seep into
the people below.

As Alice continued to speak
through the Dark, the members of the crowd came to a jarring halt. Someone had
a television on, and the screen showed Alice floating on the threshold of the
Dark. Her words pierced every mind and sent fear stabbing into every heart.

Children began to cry, their
wailing adding a frightening backdrop to Alice's sudden anger. Woman sank to
their knees, and men bowed their heads. Even here, the furthest location from
the Dark, they felt its presence. Then Alice issued her final warning, and the
proclamation sounded like a sentence of death to the refugees.

At dawn my army comes . . . and
by dusk it will be finished . . .

The Dark had reached their
borders.

Chapter 8: Killers in the Night

His forehead creased in
irritation, Robar struggled to reject Alice's ultimatum from his mind. He'd
been sitting with a group of soldiers when her voice had pierced their minds.
They had been field stripping their weapons, but all motion ceased when their
enemy's words touched their consciousness. As he finished, Robar glanced at the
window to gauge the time.

The sun was setting on the
horizon, meaning they had the night to prepare. It was a small boon, but one he
knew could potentially tip the scales. Alice likely hoped the Earth Army would
realize they were outmatched and simply surrender, but Robar knew that would
never happen.

He assembled his rifle with
practiced fingers and then pulled the trigger. A satisfying click indicated
he'd done it correctly, and he laid it on the table. He released a held breath
and tried to dismiss the thought that had nagged him since he'd set foot on
Auroraq. After Alice's words he knew the night’s peace would be shattered when
the sun rose on the eastern flank. If he was going, this was his last chance.

"I'll catch up with you guys
later," he said.

A round of "later
Robar" ushered him outside, but he paused as the door closed behind him.
For a long time he stood in the deepening darkness, knowing that if he started,
he would not stop. Growling under his breath, he turned and trudged his way
into Eastpoint.

After the battle for Auroraq,
Robar had stayed out of Eastpoint. With the war coming in the morning, he could
hold out no longer. Leaving Sentre behind, he found himself walking through the
graceful streets of the neighborhood he'd grown up in.

He had left when he was sixteen,
but the residences had not changed. Even after two decades the spiral earth
mansion still smelled of cool earth. The tree house next to it brought a smile
to his lips. The multi-story home boasted several balconies and private,
smaller bedrooms. He'd always wanted to climb up there. After the tree house
came the home he'd grown up in.

He came to a halt, wanting to
enter and yet reluctant to do so. Unlike the others on the block, his old house
stood vacant. Its owners—his
parents—had been
killed. There hadn't been time for another to buy it.

Time slipped away, and still
Robar remained in the street. Full dark settled on him, but he couldn't bring
himself to leave. Releasing an explosive breath, he strode to the front door.
Crafted of polished whitestone, the residence stood modest compared to those
around it. Few magical enhancements had been added over the years, making it
appear rather plain.

Robar tried the latch and found
it locked, so he leaned back and kicked the door in. It crashed open with a clatter,
the metal emitting a whine of protest. Bracing himself for the memories, Robar
stepped inside.

A large entry greeted him.
Steeped in shadow, the staircase curved up to the second floor. Several of the
railings bore a slight tilt. It was not noticeable, but he knew where to look.
His older brother had been nine when he'd been caught playing with knives in
the kitchen. Their parents had tied him to the banister as punishment, but even
that young his magic had been strong. Inside of ten minutes he had freed
himself, and from then on their parents had used heavier chains.

Robar's forehead creased in
anger, and he turned away from the sight. Taking two steps into the kitchen, he
came to a halt in the doorway. The glass counters were supported by an aquaglass
base. It too bore the mark of repairs.

The memory burst across his mind.
Robar's brother had put him to bed and then set about cleaning up the kitchen.
Well into their drink, his parents had come home late. Finding him still
working, their father had picked the boy up and thrown him into the aquaglass
cupboard. Glass and water had shattered, cutting him in a dozen places. Their
laughter had drawn Robar from his bed.

Trembling in the hall, Robar had
waited until his parents had moved upstairs. Then he'd darted to his brother.
Unconscious and bloody, the boy lay in a puddle of water and shards of glass.
Robar had carefully pulled him out and poured MuscleKnit into the cuts. They
gradually closed as the bottled healing magic took effect. Then his brother had
woken.

Without a word his brother placed
him back in bed and returned to clean up the kitchen. The next day they did not
speak on what had happened. It was too frequent an occurrence to merit comment.

Why had he felt the urge to come
here? He issued a grunt of annoyance at himself. After the victory on Auroraq,
he'd learned that his parents had been killed during the Harbinger takeover.
Apparently they had tried to sneak onto Sentre to steal distilled moonwine.
Their bodies had been found still holding bottles. He wondered if he should
feel regret.

Robar had left the mage world in
order to avoid all thought of this house. His brother was another matter. Robar
had often wondered what had happened to him. He'd been in his second year at
Tryton's when Robar had left. Robar had just turned sixteen and would have
joined him at the magical school—except
Robar had no magic to speak of. That and his parents weekly punishments had
become too much. One day Robar had simply walked out the front door. He shook
his head at the memories and turned away. He should never have come . . .

—A
board creaked behind him. On instinct Robar spun, leading with his fist.
Equally as quick, the figure of a man flinched backward, and then stepped into
a lightning fast strike. Caught off guard, Robar was hit in the face. Rolling
with it, he struck the ground and came to his feet.

Honed by years as a SEAL, his
reflexes took over. He sidestepped the intruder's lunge. Then he closed.
Grappling in the darkness, the two figures fought for an advantage. Walls and
the table took the brunt of the struggle. Surprised by the figure's skill,
Robar fought to break his opponents iron grip.

As Robar grasped a fistful of the
man's shirt, the man abruptly whirled and threw him across the room. He released
a pained grunt as he struck the wall and slid to the floor. As he forced
himself to rise the intruder retreated and drew a sword.

"Leave on your feet—or your back," he
snapped. "I don't care which."

Robar's tension evaporated and
his eyes widened. "I don't believe it," he breathed. "It's you .
. ."

His voice caused the man to lower
his blade. "Robert?"

Robar flicked a hand at the
light. Brilliant white flooded the room, revealing the stunned man standing across
from him. Dressed in dark attire, he was immediately recognizable to Robar.

"Ronin," Robar said.

Dropping his sword, his older
brother crossed the room in three steps and embraced him. Fierce and crushing,
the embrace conveyed a lifetime of emotion in the span of seconds. When they
finally parted Robar had to swallow the knot in his throat.

"Where have you been?"
Ronin said.

Robar laughed and wiped the blood
from his lip. "I could ask you the same thing," he said. He motioned
to the sword.

Ronin released a grunt and
retrieved his weapon. Sliding it home, he said, "After Tryton's I joined
the battlemage corps, but was dismissed for excessive use of force." He
blew out his breath. "I joined the assassin's guild after that. They call
me the Swordsman now. You?"

"Auren military," Robar
said. "Ended up a SEAL. Got captured on a mission in Russia and spent ten
years in prison for murder. Then the Dark came and killed everyone but me. I've
been Robar for the last fifteen years."

The Swordsman raised an eyebrow.
"You're the one that's immune?"

"That's what Tess
said."

"If she said it, it's
true," the Swordsman said. "That girl is power personified."

Robar laughed, unable to refute
the statement. "You should see her fight a black reaver."

The Swordsman's expression
invited the tale, so Robar detailed how he'd ended up on Auroraq. When he was
finished they fell to swapping stories about their lost time. Righting chairs
and sharing a glass from their parent's secret stash, they talked deep into the
night. In spite of the easy conversation, one question hung heavy between them,
and eventually his brother couldn't hold it back.

"Why did you leave?"
the Swordsman asked.

Robar looked away, and for a
while there was just silence. Then he said, "Because they were hurting
you."

The Swordsman frowned. "I
can heal myself. I always could."

Robar finally looked at him, his
eyes bright with anger. "It doesn’t matter that you could heal yourself.
They were hurting you—and
you took it because of me."

"I'm your brother," he
said. "That's what I do. I was—"

"—protecting me?" Robar growled.
"That's what I was doing for you."

"You said you hated that I
could do magic, and that you couldn't," the Swordsman said, his own anger
rising to the fore.

Robar began to laugh sourly.
"I did, didn't I—but
I wasn't mad at you. Dad told me repeatedly that I was an embarrassment to
them, a mistake. You, on the other hand, were dad's vaunted body mage, just
like him. I may have taken out some of my resentment on you." He sighed.
"Sorry about that."

The apology cooled the
conversation, and after a moment the Swordsman said, "Is it bad that I'm
disappointed?"

"About what?"

"I wanted to be the one to
kill them."

Robar laughed, deep and heavy,
and the Swordsman joined in. When the humor subsided Robar sobered. "So
what now?"

The Swordsman issued a rumbling
grunt and turned away. "I don't know," he finally said. "I
haven't been Ronin in a long time. When you become an assassin your name is
left behind. No one but you and Indigo know mine now."

"Indigo?"

"Another assassin," he
said.

Robar folded his arms and leaned
back. "And are you . . ."

The Swordsman glowered at him,
but then he began to laugh quietly. "I really don't know what we are now.
We were together once, a long time ago. It's a long story."

A moment of silence passed
between them as they both came to terms with how much they had missed. Finally
Robar let out a breath.

"Swordsman, huh?" he
grunted. "Any good with that thing?"

The Swordsman grinned. "Can
you handle that lead launcher of yours?" He tilted his chin toward Robar's
gun.

Robar laughed, but it faded
quickly. "Why did you even come here?"

"I haven't been back in
years," the Swordsman said. "I guess I wanted to see it in case . .
." He shrugged. "You?"

"Aside from burning this
house down, I had no plans."

The Swordsman smirked. "Mind
if I help?"

"By all means," Robar
grinned.

They collected the remainder of
their parent's moonwine and spilled it over the house. Then Ronin disarmed the
flame suppression charm and ignited the wall with a compressed ball of fire. He
tossed it down the hall and they walked out together. Within five minutes they
were watching their childhood home go up in smoke. Robar gazed on the fire with
intense satisfaction. He'd begun the night hating the structure. Now he got to
watch it burn, and with his brother.

"So what now?" Robar
asked.

The Swordsman sighed, and shifted
his gaze to the top of the Spirus. Lit by countless charms, dozens of flyers
were visible as they worked. One in particular stood out even that far away.

"We're killers, right?"

Robar shrugged. "Only for
those who deserve it. Why?" He issued a grunt. "You have someone in
mind?"

"Yes." He motioned to
the spot where Tess could be seen solidifying magic. "We went after the
oracle's mother once. I think it's time we finished the job."

"You want to kill
Alice?" Robar released a snort, and then a grin spread on his face.
"You want to see if my immunity works on her."

The Swordsman inclined his head.
"You in?"

Robar considered his choices, but
didn't see anything better. Alice certainly deserved to die, and who better to
kill her than them? Besides, after nearly two decades of separation he had no
desire to part with his brother. He shrugged.

"Let's go."

Chapter 9: A Secret Task

Siarra watched Tess trudge toward
Westpoint, grateful her plan had worked. Tess had refused to depart the Halo
for almost two days, and Siarra had been unable to find time alone. Then Siarra
had convinced her that she needed to sleep. With much of the Halo
superstructure completed, they both needed to rest for the impending conflict.
Tess had finally agreed, and they had separated at the base of the Spirus. When
she was out of sight, Siarra Gated out of Auroraq. She exited at Hawk's farmhouse
in Virginia and walked the path to the main house.

The bright moon illuminated the
lush forest that grew thick around the yard. Self-pruning charms had been
added, making the trees appear manicured and shaped without the touch of a
gardener. Beneath them, pristine grass carpeted the ground, enchanted to always
grow the same length. The scents of wood and cool earth touched her nose,
reminding her of the home from her youth.

She reached the house and climbed
the steps to the wraparound porch. At her touch the door unlocked and swung
open, allowing her entry. She slipped into her magesight and the darkened
interior lit up to her vision.

Antique furniture graced the
sitting room to her right and the den on her left. Further back she saw the
kitchen with its carved mahogany counters. The curved stairs led to the second
floor, where several bedrooms sat empty.

Siarra released a sigh at the
hollow residence. The home represented one of the few eras of peace for Hawk,
and she wished he could have enjoyed it more. Just as she was about to advance
she spotted an almost imperceptible charm secreted on the side of the door at
her feet. It brought a smile to her lips, and she made certain to pass through
it on her way inside. Then she made her way to the basement.

Littered with rusted farm
equipment, the space reeked of must. Picking her way through the labyrinth she
reached a small alcove that contained a workbench. Hammers, pliers, and other
tools hung neatly against the wall, while a carved arch marked the entrance. In
any other house the scrollwork could have been a decoration. Here the swirls
and knots represented a lock.

Drawing on the memory Hawk had
left her, Siarra gathered her magic into ten distinct temperatures of heat.
Then she sent a thread from each finger into the correct runes. The fire
ignited a thread of magic through the wood, brightening it and flowing down the
sides of the arch. Like a mirage in a desert, the air of the alcove shimmered.

She stepped forward and passed
through the secret barrier into Hawk's private study. A fire sparked in the
hearth at her entrance, yellow and warm. The burst of light illuminated books
and memory orbs that lined the walls.  Wrought iron bent into spiral staircases
that led to a spacious balcony and more bookshelves. In the center of the
space, a single desk and an armchair stood on a raised section of the floor.

Siarra strode to the desk and the
picked up the memory orb reserved for her. Then she tossed it to the floor. It
bounced on the carpet and rolled to a stop, and then light flowed upward into
the figure of Hawk.

"Hello, old friend,"
Siarra said.

Hawk smiled. "I take it the
battle on Auroraq did not end well?"

"At the cost of your life,
you slew the Iseonix."

Hawk closed his eyes. "The
abomination has been destroyed. That is all that matters."

Siarra bowed her head, briefly
overcome with emotion. "You finished with honor. I can only hope to end my
time in the same fashion."

"Of that I have no
doubt."

"Why did you request my
presence?" Siarra asked. "I've never seen you be so secretive. The
hour of the invasion draws near, and I am needed elsewhere."

Hawk gave a solemn nod.
"Forgive me for the vague nature of my final message, but I could not
trust this memory with anyone else, not even Tess."

That caught her attention.
"Tell me."

"In the past several years I
have caught whispers from the Harbingers regarding Alice. On their own they
could be written off as the worshipful claims I have come to accept from her
followers. Taken together they suggest Alice has sought darker magic to achieve
her ends."

"Of what do you speak?"
Siarra frowned. "With the Dark she has the power to subjugate every soul
on Lumineia. What more could she desire?"

"I believe she will not be
satisfied with controlling mankind—unless
her reign has no end."

Siarra's blood turned cold.
"The Immortalis curse."

"I know not how she learned
of it, but the signs are there. I noticed a distinct effort to gather powerful
mages of every type. Under the guise of preparing for this war, she tasked them
with crafting sources of power. Shortly after their completion, the mages and
the sources disappeared."

Siarra began to pace as she put
the pieces together. "If she cast an Immortalian out of all the magics, it
would make her impervious. But an Immortalis curse requires a heart of
extracted magic."

"Alice has proven an extreme
talent for forethought," Hawk said. "When she infiltrated my guild
she did so by removing all of her magics except luck, making her appear as an
auren. On Mt. Elbrus she said she would reclaim her magics in due time."

"She's using her other
magics as the Immortalian's heart." Siarra said. "If she is killed,
her consciousness will transfer to the Immortalian."

"And her reign will see no
end."

Anger flitted across Siarra's
frame, but she clenched a fist in order to restrain it. "I'm not going to
allow that. Where's she casting the Immortalian?"

"I cannot say," Hawk
replied. "She has silenced every mage that helped her."

Siarra's frown deepened.
"Then I will have to ask something else."

"No one can know of this
task," Hawk warned. "Not even Tess."

"She will not know of
this."

"Then be safe, old
friend."

"I will see you soon,"
Siarra said.

How many times had he saved her
life, or she his? After the war they had remained friends through the creation
of Tryton's. Side by side they had forged treaties and alliances between the
races and fought countless foes. Hawk had been there when her husband had died
and had helped correct her wayward children.

"One could not ask for a
truer friend," Siarra added, her voice thick with emotion.

"It has been my greatest
honor," Hawk replied.

Hawk inclined his head, and
Siarra reciprocated the gesture. One dead, one dying, they were the last
vestiges of a bygone age. Then she felt a tremor through the floor, causing her
to smile.

"I must go," she said.
"Some new friends just arrived."

"Make sure they cannot find
this memory," Hawk said with a smile, and then faded from view.

"Goodbye, Hawk," she
said into the stillness.

Her thoughts heavy, she exited
the secret room and returned to the main house. As she climbed the stairs she
dropped a trail of curses. The explosive motes rolled away from her, gradually
growing brighter as she walked up the stairs and stepped onto the porch. She
came to a halt when she saw the line of Harbingers arrayed against her.

Mages gathered power in their
hands, while human harbingers raised their rifles to her. With their numbers
exceeding two hundred, the Harbingers stood ready to kill her. Then two
identical figures stepped from the center and removed their hoods.

"Who are you?" one of
the twins asked, confusion tight across her features.

"Were you expecting the
oracle to trigger your signal?" Siarra asked. "If so did you lie in
wait to take . . . or to kill?" She read the truth in their eyes, and her
fingers tightened.

The other twin's eyes narrowed.
"Our business is our own, and we cannot allow you to warn her."

"The wise warrior seeks to
know his foe . . . before ignorance takes his life."

"Then tell us who you are
before we end your life," one of the twins said, her tone vicious with
anticipation.

Siarra reached up and touched her
ears, dispelling the magic that made her look human. The motion drew a
collective gasp as the Harbingers recognized who they faced. Their fear spread
to the humans.

"Who is she?" one
asked.

"Why don't we just kill
her?"

Siarra shook her head. "You
don't understand. You aren't here to kill me. I'm here to kill you . . ."

The motes detonated, and the
house shattered in a sudden, massive blast. Bits of wood and debris were flung
into the yard, and the concussive wave knocked the Harbingers from their feet.
Still standing on the porch, Siarra reveled in the surge of heat, and then cast
her magic.

White magic flowed from her body,
bright and blinding. Someone called out to attack, but she barely felt the
sting from their attempts as the white magic became thick flesh. Swelling into
shape, the magic became powerful legs, wings, and a wide, scaled body.

Extending from the neck, the head
swelled into long jaws and a tapered snout. Melding her mind with the magic,
Siarra became the white dragon. Then she drew on the fire at her back and
unleashed a torrent of superheated flames.

Harbingers screamed and fled,
their pledge to their master forgotten. The more cowardly reached the tree line
just as her dragon's breath did. Their lives were snuffed out as the forest
became an inferno. Fire shields collapsed from the heat, incinerating their
casters.

Magic and auren weapons exploded
across Siarra's flank, but didn't make a dent in the white magic. She turned on
them with a vengeance, shredding their ranks with jaws and fire. When she'd
decimated the force in the clearing, she leapt into the air and hunted the
flyers.

They cried out in dismay as she
blasted them from the sky. Others she caught in her jaws and left their torn
corpses to fall into the fire. Only when the Harbingers had been eliminated did
she return to the clearing. Her dragon shape fell away as she stalked to the
twins. Singed and crawling away from her, they screamed when they realized her
presence.

"How are you alive?"
one shrieked.

"It's not possible!"

"I am Siarra Elseerian!"
Siarra said, her tone rising as her madness seeped into her voice. "Your
kind is not permitted on this world, for it is MINE!"

Siarra raised her hands for the
killing blow, and they raised their hands in a pitiful attempt to stop her. The
motion brought Siarra back to her senses. Breathing hard, she lowered her
hands, and allowed the spell to dissipate.

"Perhaps you can serve a
better purpose," she said.

Reaching to the shoulder of one,
she touched an invisible tattoo that marked the nexus charm. The woman screamed
as the ink lit up, and Siarra's magic flowed through the charm.

"What are you—"

The sister fell to the ground,
screeching as Siarra marked them as servants of the Master. Across the world,
every follower of Alice fell to the floor in sudden agony. They clawed at their
shoulders but it was too late. They could no longer hide, and the thread
bounced back to Iris. When Siarra was finished, she withdrew her hand from the
burned tattoo and stepped back. Then she ignited one more spell and burned her
presence from their memories.

Leaving them bound and staring
into space, Siarra Gated back to Auroraq. Within an hour authorities arrived to
find Hawk's home in ashes and the bulk of Alice's remaining Harbingers dead on
the ground. Even the twins had no answers for them.

Chapter 10: Unto Dawn

"You need to go," Iris
said. "If you don't go see them now, you won't get another chance."

Tess automatically looked to the
horizon, searching for any hint of dawn. She'd slept longer than she should
have, and time was running out. Her gut clenching, she turned to Iris.

"I don't have time."

Quad appeared next to Iris.
"You can't be serious. They're waiting for you."

Siarra landed next to her, her
magic fading in her hand. "You must go. I will make certain we continue in
order."

"We have to finish the
Halo," Tess argued.

Siarra's forehead creased.
"Hope contributes to a victory as much as a weapon does. The Halo will
kill the enemy, but its true power lies in how it will inspire the defenders.
Your friends need you."

Tess relented and glanced to
Iris. "Aren't you coming?"

"I already said
goodbye," Iris said. "And I can't leave right now. The Halo needs
these threads to be perfect."

Tess nodded and glided to the edge
of the Spirus. With one last look at the nearly completed Halo of Dawn, she
leapt over the edge and flew to the southern Terminous. Again and again she
reviewed the list that needed to be completed before the Halo would fire and
compared it to the time remaining.

One hour left . . .

She glided over the dark trees of
Sentre without seeing them, and dropped to the ground next to the tornado
launcher. Dressed in the black and silver uniform of new battlemages, her
friends turned to look at her. The sight of them in uniform closed her throat,
and she had to choke the words out.

"You all look great,"
she said, and hugged each of them.

"I wish you were coming with
us," Derek said.

"Me too," Mike said,
and he pushed Derek out of the way.

Laura laughed and took his place.
"We bet everything on you, Tess."

Tears blossomed in Tess's eyes,
and when they pulled away she saw the same in Laura's. Katsuo then stepped in
front of her. "Call us if you need anything," he said.

"I will," Tess replied.

Brody stepped in and engulfed her
in a crushing embrace. When they parted he flashed a smile. "I'll take
care of Derek for you."

Last in line, Mara smiled.
"I'll be in touch with Iris," she said, and then turned away.
"Yes, Iris, I just told her that—yes,
I know . . ."

Tess looked to her remaining
friends. Over the last two days every member of the Order of White had joined
the battlemages. In groups of five and six they had departed to join the front
line. Since they had been helping her build the Halo, her closest friends were
leaving last.

"Where are you going?"
Tess asked.

"New York City," Derek
replied.

"We're joining SEAL team
seven," Brody added. "Don't worry. We'll be fine."

They stared at each other, and
then Mike issued a sour laugh. "This is crazy, you know that? Auroraq and
Tryton's aren't supposed to be like this."

Brody grunted and turned to
Tryton's. "I looked forward to going here my whole life. It feels wrong to
see it empty."

"Remember the Magic
Melee?" Laura asked, her eyes bright at the memory. "My brothers and
I pretended to play it when we were kids, and then my mom came home and saw how
much damage we'd done to the house."

Mike reached out and took her
hand. "I'm glad you invited me to those games, even if your parents kept
kicking me out."

"That's because you kept
betting against them—and
winning."

In spite of herself, Tess was
drawn into the conversation. "What was it like growing up with
magic?"

Katsuo grinned. "I kept
burning my dad on accident. He's a healing mage, so he would just laugh and
heal himself."

"I was the first techno mage
in my family," Mara said, "so I drove my parents nuts. They say that
after I learned to talk I didn't stop until I was seven."

"In your sleep too,
right?" Derek laughed to himself. "Iris would do that. Teaching her
to focus remains the hardest thing I've ever done."

"What was it like being an
auren?" Laura asked Tess.

Tess sought for the right word.
"Bland," she said. "School was fun, but I struggled in most of
the subjects. Memorizing facts was never something I was good at. I kept having
to take summer school to make up for failing."

"You? Failed?" Mike
appeared shocked.

"More than once," Tess
said. "You have no idea how much fun magic was when I got here."

"We could have shown you so
many secrets to the school," Mike lamented. "Like the old compression
room below Star Hall."

Derek grinned. "I used to
love shrinking things down. I think I still have a tiny jacket that won't grow
back to regular size."

"The weapon room was my favorite,"
Brody said. "You could set the combat entities to fight each other and see
who won."

In the back of Tess's mind she
knew she needed to leave. The clock seemed to tick by, faster than felt
possible. How many hours until dawn? How many would die in the first minute?
Yet she couldn't bring herself to end the conversation. She saw the same
reluctance in their eyes, and sensed they felt the same. When they returned to
reality it would be time to part ways, and no one knew what was going to
happen.

She listened to her friends and
tried to imagine a life without the weight of responsibility. The way Derek
spoke of sneaking into Professor Glant's classroom and rigging his desk to
climb out the window brought a smile to her lips. This is what her life would have
been without the Dark, without the war. Then a lull fell on the conversation,
and the levity faded into sober reality.

"I expect you to come
back," Tess finally said.

They grinned and nodded, and one
by one the group boarded the glass orb inside the Terminous. Derek stood his
ground and pulled her into a kiss. The contact carried a trace of desperation,
as if both of them were thinking the same thing.

They parted, and Derek forced a
smile. "Do what you have to, and I promise I'll see you when it's over."

She nodded, and then he was gone.
As the tornado accelerated, she watched the faces of her friends until they
disappeared behind the cyclone. When it reached maximum speed, the tornado
sucked the sphere into the pre-dawn sky, sending her friends toward the battle.
Wooden and hollow, Tess watched until it disappeared. Then she turned and flew
back to the Spirus. In spite of her best effort, one thought reverberated in
her mind.

What if they don't come back .
. .

Part 2

Chapter 11: Facing the Dark

Dawn broke, and the Twisted burst
from the cloud. Shrieking and howling, they bounded through the surf and onto
the beach to be met by mines. The detonations rocked the morning from the warmth
of Georgia to the beaches in chilly Maine. Then the entrenched army opened
fire, and the deafening roar of auren weaponry merged with the shrieks of dying
fiends.

Million dollar beach houses had
been torn down to make room for bunkers and barricades, leaving a
three-hundred-yard stretch of sand and rubble between the surf and the
soldiers. Abandoned cars had been dragged into place, filling gaps in the
concrete barricade that had yet to completely dry.

Huddling behind their thin
defenses, the army fired upon the horde. The thundering boom of
artillery and tanks drowned out the lighter crack of mortar fire. In the
span of seconds the eastern coast of the United States had dissolved into
carnage.

Marked by their larger statures
and wolflike jaws, the human Twisted accelerated across the pockmarked sand
like feral beasts. Little resemblance remained of their former selves, and
their white, luminescent eyes conveyed hatred and hunger. Their combined snarls
sent fear through the gathered soldiers.

Primates loped alongside them.
Augmented into ten-foot behemoths, their skin was now filled with sharp barbs.
One managed to get through the gauntlet of shrapnel and lead and tore into a
French gun placement. Bellowing as it attacked, it caught the panicked soldiers
and tore them asunder. Gun barrels bent under its wrath and its massive hands
crushed concrete. Then a tank managed to put it down, and the beast disappeared
in a cloud of fire and dust.

Wolves, tigers, and lions
streaked out of the Dark. Fast and lethal, the greater fiends dodged incoming
fire and leapt over the barricades, tearing into the defenders. The screams of
dying men joined the shrieks of the bats above. Each bat had grown to the size
of a jet. They formed giant swarms that collided with the aerial fleet of the
Earth Army.

Tasked with guarding a section of
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Captain Eric "the Wolf" Thompson
cringed as a bear roared into the barricade next to his own. To their credit,
the gun club manning the post stood their ground, but they were no match for
the twenty-foot creature. If Wolf tried to assist them his own position would
be overrun.

"Linda!" he shouted.
"Can you do something?"

She turned and cast a gravity
well on the beast. Forty feet from them, the bear turned and roared. Much of
its fur had been replaced with barbs of bone, and they rustled as it tried to
advance—but Linda's
spell caught its rear paws and held it fast.

"I need support at gun
placement 607!" Wolf yelled into the radio. To his surprise it was the
Mafia that answered.

Wielding automatic rifles, the
Chicago mob stormed the placement. Their combined fire managed to wound it, and
it turned on them with a savage roar. Its jaws snapped onto one man that got
too close. His brief scream was cut off and his gun clattered to the ground.
Then one of the mafia pulled a grenade and skipped it under the bear.

It went off with a crack.
Smoke and shrapnel poured into the greater fiend, causing it to stumble and go
down. The mafia men advanced and fired up on it until it went still. Then they
took the place of the gun club and turned their weapons toward the beach.

Harmon issued a grunt next to
Wolf. "Never thought I would feel grateful for the mob."

"Me either," Baker
said.

Across the gap, Wolf nodded to
the mafia leader, who nodded back. In spite of the men's shady background, they
had acted with grit. The president had allowed them to join the army out of
necessity, but Wolf had doubted the move. For the first time he thought the
president might have been right. They certainly needed the manpower.

"Nice job, Linda," he
said. She grinned at him, and his chest warmed.

"One down, a trillion to
go," she said, and turned her magic to the horde of Twisted that had taken
advantage of the bear's advance.

Bunching into a knot of bodies,
they rushed toward Wolf's position. Recognizing the charge, he dropped his gun
and caught up the grips of the mounted .50 caliber. The belt-fed weapon roared
to life, sending large rounds into the horde of black flesh.

The metal grew warm as thousands
of rounds exploded from the barrel. Brass tinkled out the side in a golden
torrent as the shell casings were expelled. Bullets thundered into the ranks of
Twisted, cutting them down as they bounded out of the Dark.

"It's moving," Peterson
shouted.

"What do you mean?"
Wolf asked, and then he saw it.

As much as they paid attention to
the army of Twisted, the Dark was the greater threat. The wall of black
resembled a great, black cliff. Rising to the clouds in the sky, it stretched
north and south as far he could see. Millions of smoky threads extended from
its surface. Leashed to the fiends surging onto the beach, the Dark gradually
advanced. Inch by inch it approached the sand, its massive bulk casting a
shadow onto the line of soldiers.

The sight caused Wolf's gut to
tighten. Every foot the Dark gained was one they couldn't get back. The Twisted
may have been assaulting their position, but their real purpose was to advance
the Dark.

"Watch the right," he
yelled, and Peterson shifted to fire on a knot that had made it through.

"Baker, get a grenade into
that mix!"

Wolf shouted orders as he fired,
but kept his eye on the neighboring units. If something got past and flanked
them, they would be squeezed like a grape.

"Rhino!" a voice
shouted.

Wolf swiveled his gun in time to
see it. Now the size of a tank, the rhino boasted a horn taller than Wolf's
entire body. It plowed through the shallow waves and surged onto the beach.
Then it accelerated toward the concrete bunker.

"Hit the C4," Wolf
said.

Bricks of explosive buried in the
beach went off with a colossal blast of fire and sand. The rhino briefly
disappeared but burst free of the smoke a moment later. The shrapnel had
scratched its hide, leaving hundreds of bloody furrows.

"It's like poking a tiger
with a stick," Wilson said as the rhino tossed its head.

"Everyone out!" Wolf
shouted.

As the SEALs hustled to exit,
Wolf fired on the behemoth. Large caliber rounds sank into its flesh, causing
it to roar and accelerate even faster. It closed to a hundred feet, and then
fifty. Then Wolf heaved the large gun onto his shoulder and bolted.

"NOW!" he roared.

The rhino struck the bunker like
a wrecking ball, shattering concrete and snapping rebar. The roof disintegrated
as the horn tore a line through it. The rhino slowed, but not enough. In half a
second it would be through. Then the C4 inside the bunker exploded along with a
dozen claymores.

Diving behind a backup barricade,
Wolf covered his ears as the ground shook. The explosion decimated the bunker
and the Twisted rhino. The ball bearings in the claymores pierced its hide from
every angle, tearing through cartilage and bone. The thud of its body
striking the ground was heard even over the rumble of the detonation.

Wolf gingerly rose to see the
charred creature on the ground. Its sheer momentum had carried it to within
feet of the SEALs. He rose and walked to it. Incredibly it was still alive. Its
jaws worked like it wanted to bite them until Peterson withdrew a Desert Eagle
and aimed for its eyes. Two shots and the rhino finally went still.

"Get back and set up,"
Wolf ordered. "They'll have followed it in."

The SEALs left the corpse behind
and hustled to the destroyed bunker. With the roof and most of the walls
destroyed, they were forced to find cover behind piles of rubble. The moment he
saw the beach Wolf's heart sank.

The attack had been carried out
with tactical brilliance. The bear had punched a hole. The rhino had widened
it. Whoever commanded these creatures was using the greater fiends to puncture
the defensive line, allowing the endless hordes of Twisted to pour in.

Twisted had filled the rhino's
wake, bunching into an offensive drive. Wolf rushed to set up the .50 and fire,
but knew they couldn't hold. Every section of the front line had been given one
element of greater firepower. Some had received a contingent of mortar men,
others had gotten a tank. Their company had gotten the SEALs—and the rhino had run right
through them.

Grabbing his radio, he shouted
over the din. "Requesting immediate air support! Our placement will be
overrun in less than a minute!" The response was not what he expected.

"East division company
608," a voice said into his earpiece, "do you need assistance?"

Wolf blinked in surprise. The
voice was one he knew.

"Iris?" The SEALs
around him looked to him in astonishment.

"Who did you expect?"
Iris said. "Can you hold for two minutes?"

Wolf's jaw tightened. "We'll
do whatever it takes."

"Good," Iris replied.
"When you see it coming, brace for impact. Two minutes until airstrike from
the Halo of Dawn . . ."

Chapter 12: The Halo of Dawn

"They need it now,"
Iris said.

"Give me two minutes,"
Tess shouted down to her.

Iris nodded and stepped into the
firing sphere. "East division company 608, do you need assistance?"

Worry tightened Tess's gut. The
weapon was not finished, but Iris was already preparing to fire it. If it
failed . . .

With dawn lighting the horizon
Tess flew to the summit of the massive spearhead that now topped the Spirus.
Yellow and white curved and swirled in arches that culminated in a sharp point.
Siarra flew up to join her.

"Is it finished?" Tess
asked in a rush.

"All except the Gate,"
Siarra replied, equally as tense. "Remember, white magic is the most
powerful kind, and is a combination of all other energies. Once we've cast the
ring we turn it into a Gate and link to the Arcs we built yesterday. Gating is
far easier if you have an exit already placed."

Tess nodded and reached within
herself. In the distance the glow on the horizon signaled that the battle had
already begun. Her heart fluttered in her chest, and it was all she could do to
focus on her magic.

Deep in her magesight, she drew
from all the energies around her. The distinct colors gathered into her hands,
and they began to glow white. She felt a surge of pride and sent the white
magic outward. At her back, Siarra did the same.

The blinding white energy
streaked away from Tess and then split to either side. Curving in a long
backward arc, it joined with the other half of the circle that Siarra had cast.
The contact sent a shudder through the air, as if the sky itself felt the
impact. The fifty-foot circle began to brighten until it rivaled the sun at
noon.

"Now!" Siarra shouted.

Tess drew in a breath and yanked
the fluid energy out of the ring, freezing the latent energy solid. Bereft of
support, the halo hovered well above the enormous spear, glowing. The hundreds
of Order members and battlemages on the roof cheered, and pride engulfed Tess.
It was quickly replaced by nervousness.

"I don't know how to cast
the Gate charm," Tess said as she rotated to face Siarra.

"It's like stepping through
a door," Siarra replied. "You must focus on where you want to go, and
let that image wash over you. Once we exit the other side I will wedge the
portal open by linking the magic between the halos. Understood?"

"No," Tess said, and
Siarra flashed a tightlipped smile.

"Look for a color you've
never seen before. It will be dark, and tiny. Reach out and draw it to
you."

Tess threw a glance at the
horizon, and forced a nod. Then she blinked into her magesight and did as
requested. Energy filled her vision, bright and multi-colored. Now the colors
of magic were as familiar as the red bricks on her old house. Looking past the
energies she knew, she searched for something she had not noticed before.

Her breathing became ragged as
she searched, her desperation rising. Would they be too late? Would it even
work? She forced the doubt aside and focused harder, but it remained. How
can I see a color that doesn't exist—

She saw it, and her thoughts
froze. It really was a color she could not describe. It was dark, but not blue
or purple. It flickered like a dull firefly. She touched it with her will, and
it glided to her. She reached out to it, and her hand grew warm. Siarra must
have seen the motion.

Like stepping through a door,
Siarra said into her mind. Then she pulled her upward, toward the halo.

Tess threw her mind hundreds of
miles east, to where the eastern Arc stood. Then she pushed beyond it, to the
beach in South Carolina. It grew more vivid by the second, as if she were
stepping through a television and into reality. Her hand with the Gate energy
grew warm, and then pressure built around her body. Gathering every ounce of
her strength, Tess flew straight up and passed through the halo . . .

There was a terrific boom, and
her ears popped. She opened her eyes to see the world had changed. Now they
stood floating above the South Carolina beach. Activated by their passage, the
Arc had cast a matching halo for their exit. Tess felt the urge to grin—and then saw the epic battle
arrayed beneath them.

Fire and torn bodies littered the
earth on the threshold to the Dark. Off to the south a helicopter exploded and
went down amidst a swarm of massive, shrieking bats. Nearby a greater fiend
reached a tank, and the rending of armored steel grated against her ears.

"They can't hold," Tess
said, horrorstruck.

The line was on the verge of
buckling at countless points. The army of the gathered nations had been
preparing for weeks, Alice had been preparing for decades. Between the Dark and
her vast horde of Twisted, she would not be stopped.

"I may have helped you see
what was coming," Siarra said, "but you foresaw this. That's why we
built it."

"Is it enough?"

"It will help them endure
until we can stop her."

Tess swallowed the knot of fear.
Then Iris spoke into her mind.

Siarra has linked the exiting Gate
to my threads, she said. Get back so I can fire.

Siarra reached out and squeezed
Tess's hand. "We've still got work to do."

They dived back through the Gate
together. They exited above the Spirus and were greeted by a scattering of
hoarse cheers. Tess dropped so fast to the side of the weapon that she stumbled
when she hit the roof. Siarra landed equally as hard, and together they held
their breath. Then Iris activated the halo.

Light poured into the gaps
provided, illuminating the spearhead as the asunder hex began to build. One by
one the supporting charms activated, enhancing the power as if a hundred light
mages were casting together. The light fused above the spear and pointed into
the halo. Then the meteor charm sparked into life.

The air took on a noticeable
chill as heat was drawn into the weapon, and pure heat augmented the mounting
light. The mages on the roof retreated as the ball of fire grew above the
spear. Mentally Tess counted down from ten, and then held her breath as it
fired for the first time.

The enormous inferno exploded
from the spear tip, sending out a concussive blast that slammed Tess into the
roof. The very air was incinerated as the two thousand degree fireball struck
the halo—and
disappeared. Hundreds of miles away another halo erupted into view. Teleported
to the coast, the searing fireball exploded through the Gate and fell toward
the Twisted surging out of the Dark. As it fell a rising whine rose until it
became a deafening shriek.

Shielding her gaze from the
titanic blast of power still pouring through the halo, Tess heard Iris in the
techno sphere warn the soldiers on the front line of the target area.

". . . get to ground, Eric.
Ten seconds until impact . . ."

***

Wolf didn't hesitate, and ordered
his men to retreat. They looked at him like he was crazy, but two words got
them moving.

"It's Iris."

Without a word they pulled their
guns and ducked behind the rubble. Wolf did the same, his fear rising as the
sounds of the fiend offensive reached the barricade.

"All teams in company 608,
get under cover immediately." The orders came over the radio from Command
now. "No exceptions."

There was a chorus of protests
over the radio.

"If we stop firing we'll be
overrun, sir!"

"They are almost to our
position!"

"Can't do it, sir!"

"NOW!" someone barked.
"If you have your head up you're going to lose it."

Soldiers on both sides of the SEAL
team reluctantly pulled back. Wolf saw the doubt in their eyes, but ignored it.
After what Iris had done on Auroraq, he would never doubt her again.

Then the hair on his arm began to
rise. The air grew cold and the area darkened. His eyes were drawn to a white
halo that appeared in the sky above. The space inside brightened to the point
of blinding, and then exploded with charged power.

Wolf flinched from the screaming
fireball, his eyes wide in shock. It was like the sun itself was falling from
the sky, shrieking in fury at being cast from the heavens. He tore his gaze
from the sight and dived behind the concrete barrier. Then he swallowed and
waited for the impact . . .

Slamming into the beach, the
fireball incinerated everything in a two mile swath. The Twisted pouring from
the Dark were annihilated. Sand melted into glass and puddles of molten rock.
Even the Dark recoiled.

Wolf held onto the wall as the
world heaved. The current of heat washed over the line of soldiers, singeing
skin and igniting small fires on clothing. Huddling behind the barrier, men and
women screamed. The sound was lost in the titanic hurricane of noise. Linda
cast a gravity shield around them, dampening the heat.

Then suddenly it abated, and Wolf
eased himself up to survey the carnage. The other side of the concrete barrier
glowed red, and a section of exposed rebar had melted. Sweat beaded his face as
he peered into the clouds of steam. For a mile in both directions, the beach of
South Carolina had been replaced with a crater of melted sand and newly formed
glass.

Through the searing fog he could
see Twisted attempting to enter the bowl. The few that tried were left with
burned limbs. Snarling their hatred, they retreated. Wolf flashed a grim smile
and tapped the radio.

"Iris, please tell me we can
do that again."

To his surprise it was Jack
Oliver, Commander of the entire Earth Army that answered.

Chapter 13: The Hope of Nations

"Captain Thompson,"
Jack said, "report the moment they manage to pass through the heat
barrier. We need to know how long it lasts. Until then reinforce your position
and prepare for another assault."

"Understood, sir," Wolf
said.

Jack made a cutting motion to Uri
and he disconnected the link. As he did there was a heavy thrumm that
vibrated the room as the Halo fired again. Jack looked at his watch, and made a
mental note of the delay. Nearly three minutes between firing the first and the
second shot. He filed the information away and then turned back to the command
center.

The air of tension lifted as news
of the Halo spread. Inspired by the weapon, the generals and aides spoke with
hope to their techno mages. It was the desperate hope of a man in quicksand,
but Jack intended on pressing the advantage. His gaze on the lightcast map, he
issued orders as the problems appeared.

"General Braun, your line is
buckling on the southern flank. Dispatch reserves to that location. Chancellor
Gerik, add several of the reserve battlemages to company 301. General Xiao, your
eastern division is about to receive an assault into the command bunker. Can
you hold the line?"

One of only four surviving
Chinese generals, Xiao gave a curt bow. "My force will not break."

Jack nodded. "Let me know if
you need assistance."

Xiao turned and spoke in his own
language to the techno mage assigned to him. She rapidly transferred orders as
he spoke.

Jack's lips tightened. The Earth
Army had been cobbled together from the remains of hundreds of militaries and
reserve forces from throughout the world. Without time or means to train them
together, Jack had ordered each nation to occupy a specific area. The larger
militaries held a presence on both sides of the country, while the smaller ones
filled in the gaps. Now he was forced to rely on an army that lacked cohesive
strength.

Without the map or the Halo he
doubted they would have lasted until lunch. With them he had the ability to
spot weak spots as they developed, and provide enormous air support. But what
happened if something slipped through? He frowned, and strode up the model of
the east coast, scanning for trouble spots. A moment later the head of the
auren defense team on Auroraq approached him.

"Do you think Alice will
keep her word and wait to attack the west coast?" Charlie asked.

Jack threw him a look. As head of
the MIO task force, Charlie had led numerous attempts to take down Harbingers
that had infiltrated the United States. He'd come out alive where many others
had not. More importantly, the man had protected Kate.

Broad in the shoulders and the
belly, the man sported a gray goatee that matched his hair. In normal clothes
he still looked like an old soldier. Dressed as he was in body armor and loaded
down with gear, he was tasked with guarding the command center alongside the battlemages
under Agent Pierce.

"She has so far," Jack
said. "Are the teams still tracking down the Harbingers?"

Charlie bobbed his head. "We
still haven't discovered who revealed them, but whoever they were made it easy
for us to track the traitors. Our forces are hunting Alice's spies as we
speak."

"Keep me posted," Jack
said. "We can't afford sabotage from the inside. We have three hours until
Dawn breaks on the west coast. When it does we will have two fronts to
handle."

"We can barely handle
one," the president said as he stepped to Jack's side.

"Without the Halo Alice's
words would be true," Jack replied, and then motioned to Uri. "Have
the weapon target sector 76.29 at south Georgia. It looks like they are trying
to get around the end flank. Then find out when Iris is going to get here. Mr.
President? Send in the reinforcements to the north of them. After the Halo's
impact they are going to redirect their forces around the crater." Then he
threw Charlie a look. "What's your assessment of the defenses here on
Auroraq?"

Charlie tapped the rifle on his
chest. "As good as we can make them. Agent Pierce seems to be a good man,
and between the two of us we've set up multiple perimeters. No one can get
close to the city or this building without us knowing about it. He's also
briefed me on their abilities, and how this city has been reinforced. It was an
. . . enlightening conversation."

Jack flashed a faint smile.
"And the evacuation?" Jack asked. He paused to deal with a hole
forming among the Spain Company in Vermont. Then he listened to the answer.

"Almost done," Charlie
said. "All the underage mages are assisting at the Stacks. Professors from
the various mage schools are keeping track of them, as are the parents that
volunteered."

Kate appeared at his elbow.
"You ready, Sam?"

Jack looked to Charlie. "Why
do they call you that?"

Charlie shrugged.
"Apparently there is a game called Serious Sam. My grandkids started
calling me that, and soon everyone did. Sometimes I wonder if my team knows my
name."

Most of Jack's attention was on
the map, but he forced a light laugh. It was important for the others to see
him at ease, or they would subconsciously echo his tension. Then Kate leaned
close and squeezed Jack's arm.

"Nice try, honey," she
murmured, "but it doesn't work unless you smile with your eyes."

He grinned at her, grateful more
than ever for her support. Kate nodded in approval. "Better."

Then Tess, Iris, and Siarra
walked into the room, drawing their attention. "The Halo is built,"
Iris said, "and I'm lazing it to this location now."

"Between it and our army, we
have a chance to last into tomorrow," Jack said. "Excellent
work."

"It won't fire at
night," Siarra warned.

Jack's eyes flicked to her. Her
accent and features were unlike any he'd ever encountered. There was also an
almost tangible air of power around her that somehow made her look like Tess.

"Anything you can do to keep
it going overnight?" Kate asked.

Tess shook her head. "The
hexes that power the Halo are the most powerful we can cast, but they will only
work during the day. We could have used weaker magic, but that would have made
it weaker throughout the day."

"No," Jack said,
"you made the right choice." The floor hummed under his feet as the
Halo fired again, causing him to smile. "How exactly did you get the
idea?"

Tess's gaze flicked to Siarra.
"I used my farsight to see it coming."

"So you can see further into
the future?" Kate asked, and her eyebrows shot up.

"Sometimes," Tess
hedged. "I'm still working on it." Then she sighed. "That's
where I'm going now. I need to try and figure out my next step. I have three
talismans to find and not much time."

"Hang on," Jack said.

Throughout the conversation he'd
kept part of his mind on the map, and now several spots of red had appeared.
Inwardly he cringed. The Halo of Dawn might have been the largest weapon ever
built, but it was alone. He ordered the Halo to change its target, and then
dispatched secondary teams and reserves.

At the rate they were going it
was only a matter of time before they ran out of reserves. At that point they
would begin retreating to the second line that surrounded the Stacks. After
that . . .

He shook his head. It won't
come to that.

"Do what you have to
do," Jack said. "We'll do the best we can here." Then he
realized how quiet it had become.

He looked up, and realized that
nearly everyone in the room had gone silent. They stared at Tess with a mixture
of hope, anger, and fear. Seeming to feel the weight of their gaze, Tess
straightened and addressed them.

"I know that you fear the
outcome of this battle," she said.

Her tone felt weighty and
powerful, and it sent a tremor through Jack. He swallowed at the reminder of
who his daughter was.

"As you fight the army of
Twisted, I fight the Dark. Do not allow past grievances to buckle the line, and
I promise I will find a way to end it."

She scanned the room, her
challenging gaze somehow connecting with everyone. Most appeared buoyed by her
brief words, and Jack made a mental note of those who didn't. Then Tess's eyes
settled on him, and he felt oddly small.

"Stand as one," she
murmured, "and I promise I will help where I can."

"I will," he said, and
she turned to leave. As she departed the room Kate turned to him.

"I don't think she's our
little girl anymore," she said.

"She's the oracle now,"
Jack replied, but his worry did not diminish. Oracle or not, she was still his
daughter.

Chapter 14: Incursion

"The Halo works," Derek
said in awe.

In the distance to the north a
ring of white appeared in the clouds, and a massive ball of fire erupted from
it. Even from several miles away the impact from the Halo of Dawn caused debris
and smoke to geyser higher than the buildings of New York City. Derek could
feel the tremble all the way to his position.

The man beside him issued a
grunt, and returned his gaze to the pitched battle below. In spite of widespread
protests, the president had ordered that every building within 500 feet from
the coast be demolished. The piles of rubble created a line of demarcation
between the wall of Dark and the Earth Army.

A continuous barricade of cars
and busses had been dragged into a line down the center of the street. On one
side the armed forces issued a barrage of sustained fire, slaughtering the
Twisted creatures climbing onto the docks.

Windows of the neighboring
skyscrapers had been knocked out to allow for sniper and mortar fire. Derek's
team had been assigned to SEAL team seven on the18th floor of an office
building.

A boom drew his gaze as a
warship fired. As one of several stationed just off Staten Island, it bombarded
the horde attempting landfall. The bombardment slowed the Twisted down, but
fresh forces were quick to take their place.

The scene of desperate battle was
repeated in either direction to the horizon, with smoke rising from the
constant shelling. The United States had invested everything into preparing
this front, and they were not about to let it fall.

"Larger fiend," Freezer
said, "four o'clock."

Beside him, Ensign Tack rotated
his sniper rifle. "Got him," he said, and the crack of a
high-powered rifle rippled over them.

"What's with the glasses?"
Freezer said with a grunt. He didn't take his eyes from his binoculars.

"They're omni-glasses,"
Derek said. "Among other things, they have an eye enhancing charm. I would
guess they act similar to your binoculars." Another of the SEALs fired,
and Derek added, "There was a gust of wind as he pulled the trigger."

The man muttered under his
breath, and then fired again. Freezer issued an annoyed grunt, and Derek threw
him a look. The SEAL captain towered over him. Loaded down with body armor,
weapons, and camouflage paint, he could have intimidated a reaver—but the most frightening
thing about him was his eyes. It was also where he'd gotten his callsign,
Freezer.

Derek struggled to remain silent.
He'd left the safety of Auroraq behind to fight, not sit idle because the auren
soldiers saw them as kids. His frustration mounted as he watched men die in the
street below, and an hour after dawn he could contain it no longer.

"This is ridiculous,
Captain," he said. "We've seen combat before."

The man spared him a glance.
"I know what you did on Auroraq, but this is different. Because of you I
get to babysit while my team sits up here instead of down there." He
pointed with his chin to the front line.

The coldness of his tone caused
Derek to bristle. "We're here to fight, same as you."

Freezer looked at him, and then
returned to scanning the battle. The way his eyes slid off Derek caused Derek
to bristle.

"Captain," Derek said.
The word came out with enough heat that several of the other SEALs looked at
him in surprise. Derek ignored them. "The Order of White was assigned here
by the head of the battlemages himself. You're wasting what we can do."

"You're not getting killed
on my watch, boy." Freezer spoke without looking at him.

Do you really want to
antagonize him? Mike spoke through the nexus charm. I have odds that he
could fold you in half like a taco.

Derek glanced at him and jerked
his head. Thirty feet away, Mike stood beside Laura. Along with Katsuo, Mara,
and Brody, they had been ordered to 'keep an eye on things'.

"I thought SEALs were
supposed to be smart," Derek said quietly.

Freezer rotated to face him, slow
and deliberate. Derek felt the urge to retreat, but stood his ground.

"I was saddled with your
group because we're professional soldiers. Your Prime placed you with us
because he said you were ready. My superiors think you are a liability,
that you're a bunch of kids that think you know how to fight the demons of the
world. Take it from me, you don't. Now get out of my way so I can do my
job."

Freezer turned away and ordered
his team to target the 37th pier. Seething, Derek stalked to his friends.

Mike blew out his breath.
"Well that didn't go well."

"We can't just sit here
while people are dying," Laura said. "After what we've been through
we're not afraid to fight."

"I know, Laura," Derek
said. "And if we sit around the aurens won't last long."

"So how do we get into this
war?" Katsuo asked.

"We find our own
fight," Derek said. "We should—"

"Leviathan!" Pork
yelled, and the words charged the tension in the room a hundredfold.

Derek turned to look, and his
eyes widened. Dragging itself onto the pier, the enormous creature tossed its
head and issued a roaring bellow. At over a hundred feet in length and forty
feet high, it still resembled the whale it had once been. Now a series of
ridges had grown across its back, and its fins had swelled into massive paws.
Its mouth had grown to accommodate multiple rows of serrated teeth. The Dark
had twisted it to appear more like a crocodile than a whale.

One of the SEALs swore under his
breath. "I thought they didn't come on land."

"The .50 isn't going to do
much damage," another said.

Freezer took charge. Striding to
a crate nearby, he kicked the lid off and hefted a shoulder-launched missile.
"Then we'll use rockets," he said. He strode to the broken window and
pulled the trigger.

The missile streaked away with a
roar, leaving a trail of smoke before it struck the leviathan on the flank.
Built to destroy armored vehicles, it barely made a dent in the creature’s side.
The leviathan issued a bellow of rage but the wound was superficial. In seconds
hundreds of weapons targeted it.

Hot lead and explosions rocked
its frame, but they couldn't stop it from reaching the line of cars. Its jaws
closed on a yellow taxi and reared back, tossing the vehicle like it was a
dog's chew toy. Someone must have called in air support, because a pair of jets
roared by and released a quartet of missiles.

Fire and concrete exploded as
they struck the leviathan, and it collapsed onto its side. The ragged cheer
from the defenders faded when the massive fiend shifted its legs and moved to
stand.

"Keep firing!" Freezer
bellowed. "Aim for its head!"

Amidst the detonations and
screams, Derek tore his gaze from the scene and looked to Mara. "Any
chance the Halo can help?"

Mara's eyes were wide with fear.
"Iris has over a dozen breaches up the coastline. She has to close them
first. We're twenty minutes from a Halo strike here."

A thought suddenly crossed
Derek's mind, causing him to frown. The leviathan was punching a hole in the
defenses, but it couldn't last. The place it had chosen to make landfall was
visible from nearly every building. Several hundred feet away the sea curved
into an inlet. Blocked by the nearest buildings, it would have had a much
greater chance of breaking through—unless
that was not the intent.

Derek suddenly straightened and
turned to the rear of the building. If it was him, he would have drawn
attention to the front and then struck the rear flank. Ignoring the questions
from his friends, he bolted to the rear of the building. Weaving through empty
offices, he reached the rear of the structure and looked out the window.

There was nothing.

Support teams lined the streets
and intersections below. Ammunition carriers, reserve front line units,
barracks, and temporary medical tents filled every inch of the pavement. Men
and women hurried about their duties a hundred yards behind the front line, but
not one threat was in sight.

"What is it?" Brody
asked. He skidded to a stop next to him, and the others joined him.

"There aren't that many
whales in the world," Derek said. "They would want to make each
leviathan count. That one is big, but it's not going to punch through the line
this early—not where it
chose to attack."

"So?" Rox shrugged.
"They're just beasts now."

"But the Dark isn't,"
Derek said. He continued to look down upon the street, searching for a sign
that he was right. "We know it has a mind powerful enough to control the
army within the Dark. We also overheard Alice talk about her generals. What if
the fiends are being controlled by something else when they leave the
Dark?"

"I don't understand,"
Mike said. "If what you say is true, why waste the leviathan?"

Before Derek could answer a
splash of color drew his eye. He looked to the subway entrance and leaned
forward, peering into the darkness of the steps. Then he saw it again, and his
eyes widened. A heavy shape was prowling on the threshold of shadow. By the
swing of its oversized arms and the lumbering gate, it had evidently once been
a gorilla. Now its fur was orange, and its fists looked like swollen bricks.

"It's not being
wasted," Derek said. "It's drawing our fire." He stabbed a
finger at the subway entrance. We have to get down before . . ."

The gorilla stepped into the open
and raised its huge arms. The next instant other primates poured from the
entrance like ants. In near silence they moved toward the tents and support
vehicles.

And then they began to climb.

Chapter 15: Mage or Man

"They're going to take out
all the overwatch teams," Derek said as they raced back to the SEALs.

"We're an overwatch
team," Mike said.

Laura shook her head. "If
they take out the teams in the buildings the line will buckle. It will be
crushed from both sides."

Derek felt a knot in his throat.
"If the city falls, there's no way the army can retake it. There are too
many buildings. We would be retreating within an hour after the battle
started."

"I thought they sealed the
tunnels," Katsuo said.

"Apparently they got one
open," Brody said.

Derek's mind buzzed. They needed
to cut off the source, and fast. If they could do that, they might stand a
chance at eliminating the enemy troops that had gotten past. But how? From what
Derek understood, the subway beneath New York was a labyrinth of tunnels. How
could they close it off?

He swung to Mara. "Can you
activate the subway cars?"

"I think so—but why?" she asked,
and then her eyes glazed. "Yes, Iris, I know what charm to use. Yes, I can
do it, what do you think you trained us for . . .?"

Derek skidded to a stop next to
Freezer. "We have a problem."

Freezer didn't take his eyes from
the Leviathan shredding the barricade. "Not now."

A sudden shriek rent the air.
Both roar and scream, the primal sound caused the hackles to rise on Derek's
neck. In the same motion, Freezer dropped his binoculars and caught up an
assault rifle.

"Assault rifles and
grenades," he said. "Move!"

The soldiers switched their gear
in record time, and then raced toward the stairs. Derek explained on the way.
Just as they neared the stairwell the door was ripped off its hinges, and a
massive primate burst into view. The entire group slid to a halt.

Standing at over eight feet, the
hulking creature caught sight of them. With muscles like corded steel, its arms
reached to its feet. Fists the size of cinder blocks struck the floor as it
leaned forward. Baring its fangs, it issued a screaming roar. Then it charged.

Carpet shredded as it
accelerated, and cubicle walls were snapped in half. Reaching a desk, the brute
caught the edge with one hand and tossed it aside. The heavy oak desk smashed
through a window and fell from view. As it neared Freezer spoke a single, cold
word.

"Fire."

It was a death sentence, and
hundreds of rounds tore into its flesh. It bellowed and kept coming, but could
not withstand the assault. Its bloody chest heaving, it tumbled to the ground.
Cubicles were scattered from its fall, and a printer was smashed against a
wall. Freezer stalked forward and drew a pistol from his thigh. It opened its
jaws and struggled to reach for him, but he coldly fired a single round into
its brain, ending it for good.

"We'll take point," he
said. "Mages in the middle. Tack, you have the rear. Let's go
hunting."

Then came the sound of another
beast on the stairwell—and
then another. Derek turned to Mike. "Seal the door. We have another way
down."

Mike stepped off the ground and
flew to the shredded stairwell door. Leaning out, he cast a gravity well. The
sounds of bending metal joined the shrieks of the primates attempting to
ascend.

Freezer returned from the primate
corpse. "That was our fastest route to the ground."

Derek darted to the shattered
window without responding. While they had been occupied, the primates had
clogged the middle of the street. Reserve units had put down the initial
assault and had thrown together a makeshift barricade behind a Humvee. It
wasn't enough to stem the tide.

"Brody," Derek said,
"slideways charm down the side, clear a spot. Laura, tornado on the
sidewalk below. Flyers, help Brody until the SEALs get down."

Brody grinned and dived out the
window. Laura was only a step behind. The moment they landed Brody cast a trio
of golems. Rising from the concrete, they prepared to engage the primates that
turned toward them. Laura wasted no time in casting a lazy tornado. Then Derek
turned to Mara.

"Show them how it's
done."

She nodded, and jumped out the
window. SEALs crowded the glass to watch as the girl fell eighteen floors. Her
fall slowed when she landed in the tornado, and she came out walking on the
other side.

Freezer's eyebrows knit together.
"If you let us fall, I will shoot you." Then he stepped out the
window and plummeted to the ground below. The SEALs lined up to follow,
laughing at the absurdity of what they were doing.

"It's like base
jumping," one said, "except without the chute."

"You aren't afraid, are you
Pork?"

Pork grunted. "These kids
are crazier than we are." Holding his gun to his chest, he jumped out the
window.

Derek went next, but leapt to the
side. Casting a slideways charm, he pulled a section of glass out of the
windows and it solidified into a small ledge that sped him toward the ground.
Long before he got there he went on the offensive.

He shattered windows as he passed
and he cast a snake charm on the falling glass. With the sound of scraping
edges, they bonded together into a twenty-foot whip. He jerked his hand, and it
sliced into the primates below. The thousands of tiny glass blades cut into
them, gouging deep furrows in their flesh. Their roars became shrieks of pain.

Derek landed hard and wasted no
time in raising a wall of concrete from the road. As the SEALs walked out of
the tornado they used it for cover, and fired on the primates charging their
position. They shrieked as they died, leaving the way clear to the subway
station. The moment Tack landed, Freezer stood.

"Keep together and no one
falls behind. We go for the truck." He stabbed a finger at a truck on its
side with a mounted gun in the bed.

Freezer gunned down a smaller
primate and surged forward. SEALs and mages raced with him, and as one unit
they bolted for the downed vehicle. Just as they reached it a primate jumped to
the top. Screaming at them, it reached down and caught Pork by the head. Before
anyone could react it tossed him thirty feet and grabbed Brody.

Gravity and gunfire slammed into
the primate, and it tumbled away, taking Brody with it. Derek darted after
Brody as Freezer went for Pork. Brody cried out as the primate's fangs ripped
into his arm, and he cast a stone bracer. Concrete flowed up and around his
arm, covering the wound and breaking the primate's teeth. By then Derek had
gotten there.

"Dragon's head!" he
shouted.

His face a mask of pain, Brody
touched the ground and a mouth pressed out. Derek cast the neck, and the head
pressed out and snapped at a primate. Like a snake head, it coiled and struck
at the primates, providing cover for Derek to pull Brody out.

"Are you okay?" Derek
asked.

"I'll be fine," Brody
said, and tightened the stone bracer around his arm. Blood dripped out by his
hand, but he nodded. "Let's go."

Derek helped him back to the
truck, but it was too late for Pork. Leapfrogging each other, the SEALs kept up
sustained fire trying to reach him. The primates dragged Pork out of sight, and
abruptly his gun stopped firing.  A moment later Pork pulled a grenade on
himself, and he disappeared in a cloud of smoke and fire.

Freezer snarled at the loss.
"Can you get this truck upright?"

Derek signaled the flyers. In
unison, they slapped the side of the truck. It rolled upright and bounced on
its tires. Then Freezer leapt into the back and grabbed the handles of the
mounted gun.

"Tack, you have the wheel.
Everyone else, in back."

Derek nodded. "Flyers, up in
the air. Keep them off us. I'll take the back."

"Don't be stupid, kid,"
Harry said as he jumped up. "There's no way you can keep up with us."

Drawing on the wealth of
concrete, Derek cast a goliath charm, and mentally sent Breaker a note of
thanks for teaching it to him. Sidewalk and road peeled up and wrapped around
his form, bending to his will. Rising to match the stature of the primates, he
encased himself in the armor.

A SEAL fired over the edge of the
truck, and issued a bark of laughter. "Harry, I think he can keep up just
fine."

Derek looked up to Freezer
through the eye slit. "I'll cover the back."

"Don't fall behind,"
Freezer said with a grunt, and turned his attention to the gun.

The weapon roared to life,
tearing into the primates that descended toward them. "Get moving,
Tack!"

"There's no key!" Tack
shouted.

"Don't need one," Mara
said. Her eyes glazed and the engine started.

The truck jerked into motion as
Tack stomped on the accelerator. With his legs augmented by the armor, Derek
surged in pursuit. Any primates that came within reach he struck with a fistful
of concrete.

Mike, Laura, and Katsuo cast
their magic from above. Fire and micro tornados tore into the thickening tide
of primates, clearing the way. From inside the bed, the SEAL's combined fire
kept them from reaching the speeding truck. Then one got through.

Leaping from an apartment window,
it fell directly toward Freezer on the gun. He swiveled to fire, ending its
life in a hail of bullets—but
it kept falling, and its sheer weight would roll the truck. Derek saw it
coming, and swung his arm like he was throwing a baseball.

Half the concrete on his hand
sloughed off and intercepted the beast. The flying fist slammed into its face,
knocking it askew. Instead of landing in the bed, it bounced off the side of
the truck and crumpled into the road. Bouncing over it, Tack swerved through
overturned vehicles and shredded tents.

They passed one block, and then
another. The primates must have sensed the impending threat, because they
turned wholly away from other foes and descended upon them. Hundreds became
thousands, and still they poured from the subway entrance ahead. Breathing
hard, Derek knocked them aside as fast as he could swing his arms. As his hands
grew heavy, he shouted to Mara.

"Get a train car to slow
them down! Move it to block them in the tunnel!"

Huddled in the center of the
truck bed, she nodded. A moment later the horde charging from the subway
entrance slowed. Freezer swung his gun forward and filled the stairs with
gunfire.

"Block the end!" he
shouted.

High powered rounds tore into the
handful still coming up the stairs, raining fire into the darkness below. Then
the truck reached it and Tack yanked on the steering wheel. It slid sideways
and slammed into the top of the stairs. Freezer expertly swiveled his weapon
and did not stop firing.

"Beta team, hold the stairs.
Alpha, with me."

Freezer made room for Harry and
jumped onto the stairs. Leading with his rifle, he descended the steps with
several of his team. Exhausted from the strain of holding the goliath together,
Derek jumped the truck and shed the magic. Chunks of concrete fell away from
him, and he landed on the steps going to the station below. One by one, the
other mages landed beside him.

Strobes of light illuminated the
scene as Freezer killed dozens of primates that reared up in front of him. In
several bursts of precision fire, he put them down, and they fell away into
darkness. Then they reached the platform and saw the extent of what they faced.

Primates coursed along the
railway in a river of orange fur. Squeezing past a subway car that had clogged
one end, they snarled and bellowed through bared fangs. Then they spotted the
SEALs. Like a river rising over the bank, the Twisted primates clambered out of
the tracks and charged. Their collective roar echoed and re-echoed down the
subway.

"Open fire!" Freezer
bellowed at the same time Derek yelled.

"Reverse gravity
wells!"

The leading edge went down under
a combined attack—and
then suddenly they floated off the floor. They flailed their arms and struggled
to grasp the walls, but remained stuck just inches off the subway platform.
Freezer took advantage of their stationary positions.

"Conserve your rounds!"

The rapid staccato of their fire
tapered off to single shots, but each one found their mark. The second row of
primates died frozen in the air. By then the swell pressing from behind drove
them forward.

"We can't hold them!"
Mike called.

"We have to fall back!"
Freezer yelled.

"No!" Derek shouted.

He feverishly worked to finish a
pair of his most powerful spells, and the moment they were done he darted to
Mike.

"Unstable compression
charms!" he yelled and tossed them into the air.

Mike turned and sent twin blasts
of wind that caused the pulsing eggs of rock to fly over the primates’ heads.
One went into the source tunnel, while the other bounced into the exit tunnel.
In unison, the entire Order cast their final charms and ducked behind the
pillars of the station. Seeing their reaction, Freezer did the same, and a
moment later his team followed suit. Just as they did the compression charms
imploded.

The rising wail overpowered even
the hundreds of primates, and sucked them toward the two ends of the subway
tunnels. Chunks of rock and concrete were peeled off the ceiling and walls,
while the rails themselves bent upward at the charm's focal point. Then
suddenly the tunnel closed. Like an eyelid snapping shut, the walls and ceiling
slammed together, crushing dozens of primates caught in the middle.

As the pull from the charms
faded, Derek rose to see that less than ten primates had escaped unscathed.
With lethal accuracy, the SEALs killed them. When it was over, Freezer turned
to Derek.

"Any more in the
tunnels?"

"Mara?" Derek asked. He
tried not to let his fatigue show. Compression charms were difficult, and
dangerous.

Her eyes glazed and she mumbled
to herself. Then her eyes widened, "They’re coming through a side tunnel
between here and another station. The entire horde has shifted to go up to the
next station."

Derek stabbed a finger at the
subway car that Mara had moved to block the entrance. "We can use that.
We'll lead the way and clear the track. Once we get there we can use the car to
block the hole."

Freezer regarded him for several
seconds. Blood from his foes covered his form, adding to the sense of menace,
but ultimately he gave a curt nod.

"Do as he says,"
Freezer barked.

"Sir?" Tack began, but
Freezer merely looked at him. "Yes, Sir," Tack said, and stepped to
the stairs. Reluctantly the others followed him. As they piled onto the train,
Brody, Derek, and the flyers leapt to the front. Freezer caught Derek’s arm.

"Don't get yourself killed,
boy," he said.

"I don't plan to,"
Derek replied evenly. "I know what my team is capable of." Freezer almost
smiled.

Almost.

"Don't make me regret
this," Freezer said, and climbed on board the subway car.

Chapter 16: Hunting the Master

The Swordsman flew on his board
over the southern Louisiana border. Indigo coasted beside him. Although they
were a mile from the Gulf of Mexico, the sea battle commanded attention.

Explosions blossomed in the
distance, belching smoke into the hazy sky. The rumbling from auren artillery
reached them, echoing like distant thunder. Towering over the battle, the
twenty-thousand-foot wall of dark continued to advance toward Mexico.

"Are you sure we can trust
Robar?" Indigo finally asked.

He shot her a look. "He's my
brother. I would trust him with my life."

"That's what we're going to
do."

His brow furrowed. "He said
he can find us a plane. Now we need a destination."

She sighed and changed the
subject. "Just months ago I was carrying out a contract in China,"
Indigo said. "Everything was normal. How did it get to this?"

"Alice," the Swordsman
said simply. "Whatever her failings, she is carrying through on her
plan."

"If the oracle somehow
destroys the Dark, I don't want to be an assassin anymore."

The Swordsman shot her a
surprised look. "Are you saying that as Indigo, or as Inora?"

She smiled at the use of her real
name. For assassin's it was the pinnacle of trust to reveal one's true name.
Until the battle on Auroraq he'd been afraid to share his, and it had driven a
wedge between them that would have been permanent. Now it seemed his sharing
the secret had negated his previous reluctance.

"Would Ronin still want to
be the Swordsman?" she asked.

He didn't answer for a while, and
she didn't press him. Then he said, "I don't think so, but I don't know
what else to be. I've been the Swordsman for half my life, and I don't even
know who Ronin is. What would we even do?"

She shrugged. "The
Assassin's Guild has existed for eons, and there were always seven. Rook and
Elena are now dead, and Harry has switched sides. By the time this is over we
might all be gone." She motioned to the desperate battle to the south.
"Even if we win, do we really want to hunt and kill the survivors of this
war?"

The Swordsman shook his head.
"If we are alive when it's over, we'll talk."

Indigo nodded, and then dipped
toward an inlet of Louisiana. "You think it's still there?"

"It's Kulldye Dreg,"
the Swordsman said. "The merchants won't close up shop until the Dark is
at their door. Even then they'd probably sell to the Twisted."

Indigo issued a grunt of agreement.
"You think he will talk to us?"

"Not by choice," the
Swordsman said.

"What happened between you
two?"

"He broke my rule," the
Swordsman replied grimly. "I should have killed him."

A moment later they descended
into a swamp and passed through an invisible barrier. The island of Kulldye
Dreg burst into view in the center of a lake. Materializing as if from nowhere,
the village's winding streets and shops remained unchanged. The two assassins
dropped to the ground and flashed their tokens that would allow them entry.
Then they strode through the jaws of the wrought iron dragon and descended into
the village.

Seedy shops dominated both sides
of the path. Each contained illegal wares for the unscrupulous clientele that
favored the village. Nearly everything the Swordsman wore had been purchased in
the Dreg. The moment they were free of the exterior enchantments, they leapt
into the air and hurried toward their goal.

Wessel's Flyers, one of the few
places in the world that sold air boards to non-flyers, sat between an
apothecary and a tavern. Unlike most of the structures in the town, the tavern
was relatively new. Over the last few years it had become a den of thieves,
assassins, and aspiring mercenaries. Since the Dark had consumed most other
places for them to hide, the tavern was packed. Raucous music and the rumblings
of a fight came from within.

The Swordsman ignored it and
stepped to Wessel's door. It was open, so he and Indigo strode inside. Wessel
looked up from the counter with a sleazy smile—but
it evaporated when he saw who it was.

"Get out!" he said, and
retreated toward the back room. "I told you never to come back."

Indigo stepped in front, and
purred, "We just want to know where the Master's lair might be."

The Swordsman suppressed a grin.
With her bright eyes, blue hair, and perfect shape, she could have passed for
an auren model. When she turned on the charm it tended to make men weak.

Wessel's eyes widened at her
pouty expression, but he jerked his gaze back to the Swordsman. "I swore
if you ever came back I would . . ."

"Do what?" the
Swordsman said as he stalked forward. Then suddenly Wessel's fear evaporated.
Cold, triumphant fury took its place.

"I would kill you," he
said, and then reached to a rune hidden in the folds of the doorway behind him.

The Swordsman took one step
before a section of the floor retracted. A roar from the darkness below
vibrated the floor and caused the Swordsman and Indigo to retreat several
steps. With the sound of wings flapping, a creature rose into view and alighted
at the edge of the hole.

With the body and head of a small
lion, the beast's features bore an almost human element. Powerful wings spread
from its back, while a scorpion's tail had replaced its own. It tossed its mane
and issued a snarl, revealing three rows of teeth in its jaws. Then the
manticore began to stalk forward.

"Really, Weasel?" the
Swordsman said with a frown. "You know we have to kill you now."

Wessel released a cackling laugh.
"It cleans the streets of dead, Swordsman. Now it will rid the world of
you. Not even you can kill a manticore." Then he darted out of sight.

"Go after him," the
Swordsman said. "I'll take care of this."

"You sure?" Indigo
asked uneasily.

The Swordsman drew his sword.
"Go."

After a moment's hesitation
Indigo leapt into the air over the manticore. Quick as lightning, the beast
whipped its tail. She rolled to the side, avoiding the strike by inches. Then
she banked through the door and disappeared from sight. The manticore made to
follow, but the Swordsman scraped the tip of his sword on the floor, drawing
its attention.

The Swordsman drew in a breath,
and then cast speed and agility. Facing such a foe he would have preferred to
add more, but lately he'd been combining too many spells at once. The craving
to use magic was already difficult to suppress.

The manticore lunged—and the Swordsman
sidestepped. Even with magic enhancing his speed he failed to avoid the beast's
claws, and they raked across his arm. Annoyed at the lapse, he darted to one of
the air boards on display. Catching it as he drove past, he swung it to cover
his back. It shuddered from a blow, and he felt the board yanked from his grasp
as the manticore retracted its tail.

The Swordsman rebounded off a
wall and leapt at the enemy. Momentarily distracted by the air board stuck to
its tail, it didn't realize until too late the Swordsman's proximity. It roared
and retreated, but the Swordsman scored a line across its flank and dove away.
Infuriated, the manticore charged after him.

For several furious seconds it
was all he could do to avoid being killed. Endowed with blazing speed,
strength, and agility, the creature had claws, a poisoned tail, and jaws to
attack with. The Swordsman dodged and deflected, struggling to keep the attacks
at bay, but in the midst of the fury he recognized the truth. He could not win—not here.

Within the tight confines of the
shop he could not maneuver. He needed more space, and something to distract it
with. Then an idea sparked in his mind and he darted to one of the walls.
Spinning to face the manticore, he dropped his agility in favor of strength.
The manticore lunged for him, its jaws open to take the Swordsman's head.
Instead the Swordsman leaned back and punched it in the face.

The manticore recoiled, more from
surprise than injury. Then its humanlike eyes narrowed, and the snarl it issued
raised the hair on the Swordsman's neck. The message was clear.

How dare you . . .

The manticore charged, and the
Swordsman dropped to the ground. Unable to halt its momentum, the heavy creature
crashed right through the wall and tumbled into the space beyond. Tables, mugs,
and people were knocked sprawling as the winged creature rolled into the
tavern.

Wood and bone snapped as the
manticore climbed to its feet, the harsh sounds mingling with the curses and
shouts rising from the thieves in the room. Magic blossomed from a dozen
sources as they all sought to punish the manticore for the intrusion.

Fire splashed across its flank,
but the manticore merely snarled at the offender. Its tail lashed out, piercing
him in the chest and tossing him away like trash. A flyer soared above and
tried to blast it with an asunder hex, but the manticore leapt into the air.
Catching the flyer's foot with its jaws, it brought the screaming man crashing
through the bar.

Brown magic coursed from a trio
of animal mages attempting to subdue the enraged creature. The attempt
succeeded in drawing the manticore's ire, and it lunged at them. They
scattered, but it dragged them down with its claws. Roaring at the pitiful attempts
to destroy it, it did not see the Swordsman.

Activating agility once more, the
Swordsman rebounded off a table to catch the railing of the balcony. Then he
swung himself up. Racing to a position above the manticore, he jumped. Catching
the whipping tail on his way down, he slammed the scorpion point into the
manticore's back. Its thick hide may have been able to withstand blows from
ordinary weapons, but not from its own flesh.

It roared and flailed, sending
the Swordsman crashing into a rack of bottles. Glass and liquor poured on him
as he climbed to his feet and retreated. This time the manticore did not let
him go. Pursuing with single-minded ferocity, it trampled those in its way.

Bloodied and wounded, the
Swordsman wove between the pillars that held up the balcony. Each shattered in
his wake as the manticore plowed through them. Catching the last, the Swordsman
swung around and leapt in the creature's face. The manticore braced to stop and
opened its jaws, and the Swordsman drove his blade into the opening.

Issuing a strangled cry, the
manticore tossed its head, sending the Swordsman crashing into a table that had
survived the carnage. Too drunk to move, the table’s occupant somehow retained
the awareness to lift the bottle so it wouldn’t be broken. The table
disintegrated as the Swordsman crashed into it.

The Swordsman rose to his feet
and the man raised the bottle to him. When the Swordsman shook his head, the
man shrugged and took a swig. The weakening sounds of the manticore caused the
man to issue a snort.

"It's 'bout time that thing
was kilt."

His chest heaving from the
battle, the Swordsman strode forward and yanked his blade free. Flicking the
blood from the weapon, he sheathed it and strode from the room. Once outside,
he pulled a small vial from his side and took a swig. Drawing on his own
strength, the distilled healing magic knit the deeper wounds. He turned when a
figure alighted next to him.

"It's good to see you made it,"
Indigo said.

The Swordsman winced.
"Barely. What happened to Wessel?"

Her expression darkened. "He
didn't make it."

"Did you get what we
need?"

Indigo nodded. "You aren't
going to like it."

"Why?"

"Because it's inside the
Dark," she said, and told him the coordinates.

The Swordsman sighed. Was it ever
an easy kill? He'd tracked all types of targets, but never one so elusive as
Alice. He clenched his fist.

"Let's go."

"Where?" Indigo said as
they lifted into the air.

"Auroraq," the
Swordsman said. "Robar was right. We're going to need a plane."

Chapter 17: The Master of Flesh

"Robar's asking for a
plane," Iris said again.

"He still won't say what
it's for?" Jack asked, distracted.

"Nope."

Jack made a motion of dismissal.
"If we can spare one, give it to him. Then give me a full status report on
the east coast. The western dawn is in a few minutes, and I want the east
locked up tight."

Jack listened to Iris report the
host of breaks and responded appropriately. Then he strode to the other side of
the map. The entire eastern line could crumble at any moment, but it merely
comprised half the battle. With the western dawn approaching their attention
would be divided, and even small mistakes could turn into a rout.

"Notify all western generals
to prepare for imminent attack," Jack said, “and send the briefing
regarding what we learned from the first few hours of battle."

Iris's eyes glazed. "Perry,
Branson, Nancy, Janson, and Breaker, we estimate two minutes until the western
dawn—yes, I know they
prefer last names, but I don't. Just make sure they read the memory I'm sending
now." Her eyes focused and she turned back to Jack. "What next?"

Jack turned to her. "Have we
caught the rest of the Harbingers?"

Iris flashed a faint smile.
"Whoever branded them knew what they were doing. Most chose to fight, but
none escaped alive."

Jack allowed a moment to consider
her answer. It was possible Alice had done it herself in order to lull them
into a false sense of security, but Jack doubted that. The sheer volume of
betrayed Harbingers implied that someone else had intervened. Regardless of the
reason, he had no intention of lowering his guard.

"Connect with Tess," he
said. "I'd like to know her status."

As Iris worked on that, Jack
turned his attention to the western front . . .

***

Breaker listened to the briefing
and issued terse orders to his forces. As he did, he kept his eyes on Shorn.
Placed at the rear of a flyer formation, the young man rose into the air with
his team. The father in Breaker wanted to find fault with the boy, but the
soldier in him found none.

Focused and determined, Shorn
glided forward, ready to fight. If he was afraid he did not show it, and he
stayed with his team like he'd been a battlemage for years. Breaker's forehead
creased as he thought of Shorn's relationship with his daughter. The depth of
her affection for him bordered on serious. But would he fight to protect Rox?

An image of an seven year old
girl swimming in the ocean came to mind. In spite of sharks and storm-driven
waves, Rox had laughed and cruised underwater, searching for fish and coral.
She'd just had her birthday, and Breaker had taken her to see the beach for the
first time. Her joy was only matched by the wailing when it came time to leave.

Breaker would have smiled at the
memory, but now it served as a reminder of how strong his daughter was. His
eyes flicked to Shorn again. He had proven to be respectful, but was he strong
enough?

"Sir?" Lance asked,
drawing his attention back to the present. "Everything okay?"

"We'll see soon
enough," Breaker said, his gaze still on the formation of flyers. Then he
turned to watch as the beach gradually brightened.

From his vantage point on top of
the seaside cliff, Breaker had an unbroken view for miles to the north and
south. Mages and auren soldiers lined the beach behind sand cast barricades,
arrayed in a phalanx that protected a large gap in the cliffs. From on top of
the cliffs, auren missile launchers and tanks were positioned to fire down onto
the beach.

The men and women sat still and
quiet, glancing back at the sunlight touching the eastern horizon. It was the
stillness before a hurricane, where animals huddled in their burrows, and the
air hung heavy and still. Then the sun touched the mountains behind them, and
the stillness shattered.

Twisted erupted from the massive
cloud in a flood of gnarled flesh. Gunfire, artillery, and sparks of magic
ignited across the breadth of the California coast, decimating the first ranks.
Breaker issued crisp orders to the mage and auren captains around him as he
surveyed the conflict.

"Have your military target
the left flank," he said. "Don't leave an inch of ground free. I want
them bunching in the center."

Captain Lee passed on the
message. Then he shook his head. "Are you sure they are going to assault
here?"

"This is the only break in
the cliffs for miles," Breaker said. "And we can't use the Halo here
or risk eroding the embankment. If they can breach this point our whole line
will crumble. The entire western coast will fall."

The captains didn't argue, but
Breaker heard the doubt in their silence. Breaker didn't bother trying to
convince them. Like most of California, the coastline boasted stretches of
beach alongside towering cliffs. For most of the cliffs, gun placements would
keep the Twisted from attacking head on. With concrete bunkers to protect the
defenders from the bats, they could hold out well. The beaches between the
cliffs were another matter.

The stretches of beach were like
open doors, inviting and empty. Even with heavy artillery, armored tanks, and
mage curses, the holes could not be closed. While Janson and other trusted
generals had been tasked with the rest of the front, Breaker had kept the
largest hole for himself.

With the information Iris had
been feeding him, he'd learned a great deal about the tactics of their enemy.
He'd shifted mages to compensate for weak areas, and had prepared for the
greater Twisted he knew would attempt to create holes. Unfortunately, the Dark
had also learned.

Instead of an unbroken surge of
Twisted, the Dark army focused its entire attention on the gaps in the cliffs.
Twisted of every size exploded from the Dark and surged onto the beach. A pair
of leviathan's anchored the center, their roar rattling the ground for miles.
Auren fire and mage attacks darkened the air before slamming into the horde of
Twisted.

Funneled by the cliffs into the
mile wide gap, the Twisted drove into the teeth of the Earth Army defenses, and
men began to die. The Dark horde died by the thousands, and yet the advance did
not halt. Breaker let out a breath and turned to the earth mage at his side.

"Is everything in
place?"

"Are you sure about
this?" Lance asked.

"They have leviathans,"
Breaker said. "It's time we had one as well."

Lance shook his head but stepped
to the edge of the cliff. Thirty earth mages stepped up beside Breaker and
Lance and collectively they cast their magic. Brown light poured into the
ground at their feet. In response the cliff cracked . . . and began to move.
The auren soldiers around them sucked in their breath and leaned over the drop,
craning to see.

Eyes, a nose, and lips pressed
out of the cliff face, the features grinding into an expression of anger. Rocks
and sand cascaded down as a hand reached out and caught a rock outcropping.
Using it as a grip, the titan pulled the rest of its body from the cliff.

A huge chest appeared, followed
by a waist, and finally an enormous leg stepped out. Several Twisted were not
quick enough to move, and the eighty-foot behemoth crushed them under its foot
like rodents. Rocks cascaded off its shoulders into the recess it left behind.
Then it turned and began to walk toward the beach.

"Where did you get this
spell?" Lance asked, his voice strained with both awe and exertion.

Breaker thought of Hawk, and how
he'd taught them the Alluvian charm. Hawk had made it clear that casting an
entity of such magnitude required a unique piece of magic to hold it together.
Hawk had been careful to teach the Core charm to only a select few, and Breaker
knew why. If the knowledge of such magic fell into the wrong hands . . .

"Some magic was not meant to
be remembered," Breaker quoted Hawk.

Lance issued a grunt. "Yes,
Prime," he said, and did not press the issue.

Down on the beach, the
battlemages and aurens gave way to allow the behemoth space. With a quickness
that belied its form, the titan dove into the fight. Fists the size of tanks
crushed the Twisted exiting the Dark. Then it reached the leviathans.

Catching one by the open jaw,
the behemoth lifted the enormous creature off the ground, and heaved it into
the other. It crashed into its companion and they both went down. Thrashing and
hissing, they rolled to their feet and circled. The normal Twisted were left to
be trampled as the giants squared off.

One of the leviathan's lunged for
the titan's leg, snapping great chunks from the rock. The other leapt for its
throat. His mind deep in the Core charm, Breaker lifted the giant's arm and
caught the leviathan by the neck. As the first chewed on the giant leg, the
titan reared an arm back and smashed a great fist into the second leviathan's
head.

Empowered by the Dark to
withstand bullets and artillery, the thick hide of the former whale could not
withstand the mighty blow. The whale went limp, and the giant tossed the body
aside. It crashed into a group of Twisted, flattening them under its bulk. Then
the titan turned on the smaller one.

Reaching down, the titan caught
the open maw of the leviathan. Teeth broke off as the titan pulled it free.
Keeping the jaws at bay with one hand, the titan leaned back and struck it in
the skull. It too went limp, and the titan picked it up. With a quick jerk and
release, it launched the massive corpse into the horde still streaming from the
Dark.

The carcass rolled across the
ranks of Twisted, leaving a trail of dead in its wake. Breaker allowed a tiny
smile to crease his features. Hawk had not left them defenseless.

"Breaker," Jack's voice
spoke into his ear.

Breaker fought to hold onto his
concentration as he answered. "I can't really talk right now,
Commander."

"You've just made yourselves
a target," Jack said. "I'm seeing a movement from the north and
south. It appears the Dark doesn't care for your defiance."

"Let them come."

"I hope you know what you're
doing," Jack said. "If they break through at your location the entire
coast will have to withdraw."

"That's why I'm here,"
Breaker said.

There was a moment of silence,
and then Jack relented. "Take them down, Prime."

"I intend to."

Controlling the titan through the
core charm, Breaker wrecked havoc on the Twisted charging the beach. With the
small army of earth mages at his back keeping the rock semi-solid, Breaker
could focus on the attack.

As the minutes passed it became
evident that Jack's words were true. The sheer volume of Twisted increased
tenfold, and they climbed up the titan's body like giant ants. By their sheer
numbers they were whittling the titan down.

Breaker gritted his teeth and
fought against his rising weariness. His plan counted on the behemoth lasting.
It had taken days to enchant and prepare. There would not be time to cast another.

The minutes stretched into hours,
and as the time passed the titan's movements began to slow. Scratches and
cracks marred the surface of the behemoth, and its legs bore deep gouges. No
matter how many Twisted it killed, more clawed at its frame. Shortly after the
morning passed into afternoon, the behemoth buckled.

Crashing to the earth like an
avalanche, the behemoth killed hundreds under its bulk. As the Twisted swarmed
over its shape, Breaker fought to force it upright. At the very least it could
still use its arms . . .

"A core charm has not been
cast since my time," a voice said.

Weary and weakened by the use of
magic, Breaker looked to the source and found a man gliding toward them. The
thread of Dark that supported him stretched back to the cloud, but evaporated
when he alighted a dozen steps from the collection of mage and auren soldiers.
Breaker sucked in his breath in recognition as the aurens trained weapons on
him.

"Don't," Breaker said,
but it was too late. One by one they shot themselves with their own weapons.
Captain Lee died last, his expression one of terror as his body betrayed him.
The mages were quicker to obey, and did not move to attack.

The man looked the corpses.
"Their weapons are so useful," he said. "Wouldn't you say . . . Breaker?"

"Ducalik." Breaker spit
the word out.

The man's lip curled into a
menacing smile. "You are fortunate I was distant, or your pitiful attempt
would have ended far earlier."

"Sever your charms,"
Breaker ordered his men.

"But it can still
fight," Lance said. His gaze did not leave Ducalik.

"We have a new foe,"
Breaker said, and cut the link to the Core charm.

As if the strings had been cut on
a marionette, the titan collapsed. The other earth mages released their charms
as well, and the entire shape disintegrated. Breaker made a motion with his
hand, and the earth mages spread out. Golems rose from the rock at their feet,
and several of the mages wrapped themselves in a goliath charm.

"You do not have the Dark
here," Breaker said.

Ducalik issued a mocking laugh.
"I was the Master of Flesh before I was cast into the Dark."

Breaker struck as his enemy
finished the statement. Whipping his arm forward, he cast a whip charm that
streaked toward Ducalik's skull—but
Breaker's arm suddenly betrayed him. Two feet from contact the whip came to an
abrupt halt.

Breaker fought with every ounce
of willpower he could muster, but his body was no longer his own. Sweat beaded
his forehead from the struggle as he turned to face the other earth mages.
Lance turned with him—and
soon others joined them. In seconds over half of the command were being
controlled by Ducalik.

"I do enjoy watching friends
kill each other," Ducalik said, and his eyes glowed with anticipation.

Breaker fought even harder. It
did not matter.  Against his will his body raised the whip charm and struck
down one of his men, and then another. Confused and afraid to attack their
battlemage companions, those not controlled were slaughtered.

Breaker's heart rent in two has
he was forced to kill his own men. He tried to close his eyes, but that too was
outside his control. Then Ducalik turned them on each other. Half of those
remaining were forced to stand inert while Breaker and Lance methodically
crushed them to death.

The golems and entities that had
been cast could not move without the command of their master. As their casters
were killed the entities disintegrated. Tears of rage blurred Breaker's vision
as his body struck down those he called friends. When Lance and Breaker were
the only ones left alive, Ducalik released them.

Breaker fell to one knee, weak
yet filled with fury. He raised his head to Ducalik and forced himself to his
feet. The Twisted general issued another mocking laugh and raised his hands,
summoning a thread of Dark to lift him a away.

"I look forward to killing
you, Prime," Ducalik said as he departed.

Breaker ground his fingers into a
fist, and snarled, "I swear I will see you dead before this is over."

Ducalik simply laughed as he
departed. As he disappeared into the Dark, Lance stumbled to Breaker's side,
his expression one of horror. "What sort of magic wrought this?"

Breaker didn't answer, and his
gaze settled on the beach below. In the wake of the titan's demise, the Twisted
had launched themselves at the mage and auren battlements. Screams of the dying
accompanied the desperate attacks to stave off the assault.

Gritting his teeth, Breaker
tapped his nexus charm. "Ignite the failsafe."

He stepped to the edge in time to
see the entire beach disappear in a hurricane of fire and sound. Every Twisted
was engulfed by the blast and incinerated. Few lasted long enough to scream.
Magnified by magic, the auren explosives that Breaker had ordered placed
beneath the sand continued to spit forth torrents of searing fire.

Instead of a weak spot on the
front line, the raging inferno would now forestall any attempt to break
through. Sand gradually melted and turned to patches of blackened glass as the
compressed fire traps burned through the fuel that Breaker's fire team had
poured underground.

Breaker breathed a sigh of relief
at the sight. He'd anticipated the titan drawing the Dark army's ire, and even
that it would fall. He had never suspected that Ducalik himself would appear.
His gut wrenching, he finally turned and looked at the corpses littering the
ground behind him.

"I don't understand,"
Lance said. "Why didn't he kill us?"

"The dead cannot be
afraid." Breaker turned to face him. "He wants us to fear."

The expression on Lance's face
made it clear that it had worked. Breaker looked back at the bodies of his
friends, many of whom he'd gone to school with and trained with as battlemages.
Their eyes were locked open, their expressions full of horror. Breaker's fists
clenched so tight that the ground beneath him began to crack. It was not fear
he felt.

It was anger.

Chapter 18: The Patriarch

After finishing the Halo of Dawn,
Siarra and Tess had moved to the library so Tess could delve into her farsight.
Time slipped away as she sought the vault's location, and when she did she blew
out her breath.

"I have it," she
exclaimed, and sent a message to Iris including the images she'd foreseen.
After a moment of searching Iris came back with an answer.

"It looks like the Vault is
outside Calgary in Canada," Iris said. "The fastest route would be
via terra train in Oakridge."

"Can't we Gate?" Tess
asked.

Siarra shook her head.
"Without an exit we would have to know our destination intimately, or have
a memory of someone who does. The vault itself is laced with powerful negating
hexes. We can't open a Gate anywhere near it."

"We can Gate to Oakridge.
From there we can take a terra train." Tess flashed an image to Siarra,
but Siarra shook her head.

"Perhaps it would be best if
you Gate us," Siarra said. "Gating can be taxing, and you must never
do so in haste."

It would be the first time Tess
Gated someone by herself—without
an exit—and a flurry of thoughts filled her head. What if I do it wrong?
What if we don't come out? Do we die in oblivion?

"You can do this,"
Siarra said.

Tess concentrated on the place
she remembered best, the Terminous launcher on the edge of Oakridge. Then she
collected a speck of Gate energy. Holding her breath, she activated it and
stepped through. The change in pressure revealed it had worked, and she opened
her eyes to see Siarra standing beside her. She blinked at the sudden
brilliance—and then
realized how much time had passed.

"It's after noon," she
said in dismay.

"We must hurry," Siarra
said.

"Iris," she said
through the nexus charm. "We're on our way to the Vault."

They leapt into the air and
glided over the Colorado mage city of Oakridge. As she flew over the village
Tess was struck by the difference from her first visit. The town had offered
her first real exposure to the mage world. Unique magic had been on display in
wondrous buildings, roads, and even on the people. The invasion had taken all
of it.

Many of the shops had their
windows and doors shuttered, the magic that drew customers disturbingly quiet.
Instead of mages, refugees from Mexico filled the streets. A pair of older
earth mages ushered them out of the elevators from the terra trains and guided
them toward the line of auren buses that would take them to the Stacks.

In spite of the circumstances of
their arrival, the aurens stared in shock at the remaining demonstrations of
magic. Drawing gasps of astonishment, Tess and Siarra flew above them and
landed next to the elevators that would take them to the subterranean station.

Aurens crammed each elevator
coming up, but the descending lift lay empty. Stepping inside, Tess and Siarra
rode it to the station below. It came to a stop, and the doors opened to reveal
an overcrowded cavern.

Domed and massive, the space held
eight tracks. Rather than gleaming and white, the one train carried a dingy
sheen on its surface, matching the people trudging into view. Bearing
overloaded bags, the ones disembarking appeared to be from Mexico.

Spotting an older mage directing
the crowd, Tess flew over the others and landed next to him. The act drew a
collective gasp of wonder from the onlookers, and she spared them a smile
before turning to the harried conductor.

"We need to get to
Canada," Tess said.

His eyes flicked to Tess.
"The North is almost evacuated now. Only a couple of trains are still
going past the northern front. If you go up, you won't be coming back. Orders
are that no one is sent outside the line unless they have broken the
rules."

Siarra frowned in irritation at
the delay. "We will board this vehicle."

The conductor glanced at her—and recoiled at the rage in
her eyes. Catching sight of it, Tess sent a mental thread to calm her and
Siarra visibly reigned in her emotions.

"Er . . . I'm sure for the
oracle and her friend I can make an exception," the conductor said.

He withdrew an orb from his
pocket and touched the rune engraved on the top. An ethereal map shimmered into
view. After studying it for a moment he moved some things around and then
dismissed it.

"Five minutes," he
said. "Third track."

Tess nodded in gratitude, and a
few minutes later they boarded an empty train headed north. This marked the
first time Tess had been aboard a terra train since her initial journey to
Tryton's, and she found it disturbing. The sofas and seats were dirty and
ruffled from constant use and the air reeked of sweat. The oppressive quiet
overrode the smell, reminding her that their destination had been abandoned.
The miles slipped by, and Tess's anger mounted.

"We should have flown,"
Tess finally said.

"Iris was certain,"
Siarra replied. "It would have taken too much time—and we would have expended unnecessary
energy."

Tess stood and began to pace.
"I can't bear to sit here while everyone is fighting for their lives.
There has to be something we can do."

"We can prepare
ourselves."

Tess rounded on her. "You
mean use my farsight again?"

Siarra shook her head. "If
you use farsight too much it will fracture. For now we have a purpose. We will
seek Jack's Vault, and the talisman within. Then we will return and retrieve
Tryton's Sword, leaving only one talisman."

"For I know not its
location," Tess quoted. "We don't even know what the last
talisman is, let alone where to look."

"We will."

"How can you be so
calm?" Tess demanded.

Siarra released a long breath.
"On the eve of battle you prepare your mind. Willpower and fortitude are
the elements that carry an oracle to victory."

Tess sank into a seat across from
her. "How many battles have you been in?"

"I couldn't begin to
guess," Siarra replied, "but many."

"How did you survive them
all?"

"I didn't have it in me to
go down," Siarra replied. Her eyes now saw memories. "No matter the
odds or the enemy, I would not yield." Her gaze shifted back to Tess.
"I see the same trait in you."

Tess fell silent and looked away.
Derek had said much the same thing, and Tess had written it off as
stubbornness. What if he had been right? Then an idea struck her that she
hadn't considered. She had become strong because she had fought. Lost in
the implications of that idea, she remained quiet until Siarra cleared her
throat.

"The wonders of your time
are difficult to describe," she said, and gestured to the train.

Tess met her gaze and felt a wave
of exhaustion wash over her. "It doesn't seem to matter, does it? If we
lose, all of this goes away."

Siarra released a long breath.
"When I first flew it scared many. They were afraid it meant more danger
to them. As others learned to harness their skill it proved to be the greatest
boon since the Dawn of Magic. They began enchanting ships to travel faster,
enhancing communication and social structures, and ushering in an era of peace
that culminated in Atlantis."

"How do you know all of
this?" Tess asked. She rubbed her neck, irritated at the exhaustion that
was threatening to overpower her. How much had she slept in the last two days?

"I may have lost my farsight
as a guardian, but my magesight was enhanced. It was akin to an endless dream,
and I saw time unroll like a scroll. I witnessed wars and calamities—but also eras of peace and
unity. Alice may be threatening every freedom you hold dear, but she is also
forcing the people of Earth to value it."

Tess wanted to argue, but instead
stifled a yawn. "So you just stayed as a statue the whole time?"

Siarra's expression darkened.
"Not always," she admitted. Raising a hand to forestall Tess's
question, she said, "You should sleep. From what you said, it will take
two hours to arrive in your Canada."

"I should practice my
farsight," Tess argued. "While I can."

"Fatigue breeds
accidents," Siarra said. "Now rest."

Tess shook her head. "I
can't sleep right now. Millions are dying. There is no time."

Siarra smiled. "Sometimes
you have to make time to rest," she said, and then gently tapped Tess on
the forehead.

"What was that . . ."
Tess's voice faded with her consciousness as the sleeping spell took effect.

"Sorry Tess," Siarra
said as Tess' vision went dark. "We will need to arrive fresh . . ."

***

Siarra recalled the time
Draeken's servant had used the same spell on her and felt a touch of guilt.
Reminding herself of what was at stake, she rose to her feet. Then she Gated
out of the train and appeared in California. With just two miles separating her
from the coastline, she could hear auren artillery fire echoing through the
forest. Rising in the distance, the wall of Dark remained visible. Turning away
from the battle, she wound her way through the gigantic sequoia redwood trees.

Thousands of years had passed
since she last visited them, and they had grown much. Now they towered hundreds
of feet in height, and their trunks had swelled to gigantic proportions.
Striding through them, she sought the father of them all, the patriarch.

Spotting it near the center of
the grove, she stepped into the air and glided to it. She reached out and felt
the bark, and then sent a spark of magic into the wood. The great tree rustled
as if a wind had tugged its branches.

Patriarch, she thought to
it. I am in need of your aid.

I know your voice, the
tree's voice rumbled in her thoughts. Long has it been since I heard you
speak, not since I was a mere sapling, and my mother yet lived. How can I help
an oracle as ancient as I?

Siarra heard the smile in the
tree’s voice and returned the gesture. I need to find a place of secrecy,
where a dark magic has been cast.

The tree fell silent, and after a
moment its branches rustled again. The little ones tell tales of a shadow
growing beneath their roots. It does not harm, but it has frightened them. Take
their memory and find this creature in what man calls South America. Water
falls into the Devil's throat from the falls of Iguazu, and you will find your
dark magic there.

Le Runtáriel would be proud.

Mothers are required to feel
so.

Siarra grinned at the truth to
his words. Then she turned when a larger blast rumbled from the beach. Turning
back, she touched the tree again.

Battle looms at your roots,
Patriarch. You must aid the race of man if you are to survive.

My time comes to a close,
the tree rumbled, and the saplings of the mother have been hewn down across
many lands. Man deserves its fate.

The hint of anger kept Siarra
from pressing the point. Sleep well, Patriarch. I hope you live.

As I hope for you.

The tree fell silent, and Siarra
glided away. Holding the thought of her destination in her mind, she Gated to
South America and exited mere feet from the Dark. She flinched away—and then realized it was on
both sides.

The huge walls of Dark were
closing on each other, with her in the middle. She dove to the ground and sped
north, seeking to evade the closing Dark. Behind her the two walls reached each
other and sealed. Then the bats appeared.

The swarm burst from the Dark a
hundred feet to her side and struck her. Teeth and claws ripped into her skin,
eliciting a cry of pain. On instinct she cast an expanding fireball. The heat
blasted outward in a growing sphere, redirecting the swarm and giving her
space. The opening allowed her to see the ground below.

Pristine waterfalls cascaded in a
multi-tiered network that emptied into a river. Cool mist rose from the impact,
partially obscuring the water and wetting the surrounding vegetation. As the
Dark closed on the area, Siarra dove toward the water. The bats followed her
down, shrieking at her escape.

As she neared she shifted to her
magesight. Deep below the falls she spotted her goal, a cavern protected by many
layers of earth and water. The Dark drew close on both flanks, spurring her to
greater speed. Evading the bats, she struck the pond below the waterfall and
went under. At the last moment the bats veered away, and then the Dark closed
off the light above.

Inwardly Siarra sighed in relief,
and descended below the water. The current pulled her away from the waterfall,
but she manipulated it to push her upstream. At the very base of the waterfall,
she found a crevasse and dived into it. A hundred feet down it turned to air,
and she fell into an enormous cavern.

She banked away before striking
the floor. Then she retreated into the shadows and watched the figure in the
center of the space. She held her breath and waited, but it did not turn toward
her. As much as she wanted to destroy it, she lacked the time or preparation to
do so now.

Standing in the center of the dim
cavern, the Immortalian was in the form of a woman. Tethers of energy extended
out from its body to connect with the twelve magical sources that were embedded
in the walls of the cavern. Each rope siphoned the magic from a source and
turned almost white as it melded with the others.

Much of the magical flesh was
fully formed. In another few years the Immortalian would be complete. Then its
power would rival that of an oracle, and the tissues would defy even time. As
if it sensed Siarra's presence, the Immortalian whirled to her. Before she was
spotted, Siarra Gated back to the train.

She winced as she sat down, and
realized that several of the wounds were deep. Since she was a guardian she
could only heal by reverting to the source. She could only hope her wounds
would knit before Tess awoke. Shifting back to stone, Siarra rested.

Chapter 19: Vault of the Thief

Tess woke as the train began to
slow. Anger flared within her, and she sat up to find Siarra in statue form.
Tess felt somewhat pacified knowing that Siarra had rested as well. She reached
out to tap her on the arm, but hesitated. Instead she reached to her magic and
sought her friends. She knew Iris was safe, so she connected to Derek.

His attention was focused
elsewhere, so she pulled back. She had no desire to distract him and get him
killed. One by one she reached for her friends. James was the first she could
not find, and her throat tightened as she realized why. He and Marcus had led a
team to Oregon, and Tess couldn't reach either one of them, or their team.

She pushed on to the others in
the Order and counted the casualties. Mercifully there were few, but she felt a
stabbing ache for each one. These were her friends, the students she had gone
to class with and studied with. And she had failed to protect them.

James and Marcus died
protecting a hospital, Iris interrupted her thoughts.

Tracking my threads? Tess
asked. She couldn't bring herself to be mad.

I track everything, Iris
replied softly. They held out until the reserves showed up. You should be
proud.

How can we do this, Iris? Our
friends are dying.

Everyone's friends are dying.
What matters is that we haven't given up.

Then the train came to a
whispering stop. Tess's jaw tightened as she said, Keep my dad safe, Iris.

Why do you think I accepted
the assignment?

Tess grinned and disconnected the
link. Then she tapped the statue's arm, and Siarra thawed into flesh.

"You didn't have to knock me
out," Tess said.

Siarra peaked an eyebrow.
"Are you certain?"

Tess didn't respond, and a moment
later they slid to a stop inside a smaller station than the one they had left.
They stepped to the elevator and rode it into the city. The doors opened to
reveal an actual train station in Calgary. A passenger train sat vacant on the
tracks, while the terminal itself lay strewn with trash. They hurried outside
to find a matching scene in downtown.

Streets were littered with
abandoned cars while streetlights continued to operate. Office buildings and
skyscrapers reached into the sky, but not one person walked in or out. A pack
of dogs started at their passing. They barked and snarled before returning to
their meal in the garbage.

"At least they got everyone
out," Tess said as they flew west. She hated how her voice echoed off the
glass of the skyscrapers.

Siarra seemed equally impacted by
the view, and said, "In my time I witnessed entire races depart their
homeland. They may have survived, but their homes did not. They returned to
find every evidence of their history erased."

Tess gazed down on the silent
city, and tried to imagine what would remain if Alice won. Would the Twisted
destroy the city? Would they rip through concrete and glass and leave only
rubble? Her heart tightened, and she turned away from the image.

"It should be somewhere in
those mountains," Tess said, and pointed to the peaks rising to the west.

"How long until the cloud
reaches it?"

"Hang on," Tess said,
and turned her thoughts to Iris. A moment later her response came.

You have an hour until the
Dark reaches the peaks. Then it will descend into the valley and you will be
trapped.

And we can't Gate out,
Tess thought.

So get the talisman and get
back, Iris responded. You don't have much time.

"We have an hour," Tess
said to Siarra. "What are we looking for?"

"White magic," Siarra
said, and flashed a tight smile. "At one time I gave him a gift, a ring
crafted from solid white. He said it would never leave his side. I didn't tell
him I could use it to track him."

Tess returned the smile.
"Let's get to work."

They put the city behind them and
flew above an empty prairie. Bound by barbed wire fences, it contained a small
herd of cattle. A cow raised its head to look at them, and she felt a pang of
guilt. Before it finished its meal the animal would be dead. A few minutes
later they reached a forest at the foot of a sprawling mountain range.

"You want to split up?"
Tess asked.

Siarra shook her head. "Plan
to go south and look with your farsight. If you don't find it, change your
intention."

Tess nodded and came to a halt
above the trees. Then she closed her eyes and looked ahead. Her vision faded to
gray, and she witnessed herself and Siarra turn south. They scanned with
increasing worry but found nothing. Frowning, Tess made the decision to search
north first, and her vision instantly changed. Now she saw them alight on a
ledge after twenty minutes.

"North," she said with
certainty.

"Well done," Siarra
said, and they launched themselves into motion.

Deep in her magesight, Tess
searched for a spark of white that would indicate their goal. She soared above
a thick forest, passing a herd of deer and a lumbering bear. She did not pause,
and rocketed past rolling foothills, rivers, and endless tracts of pine. Many
times she glanced to the peaks on her left. If the Dark touched them, their
chances of success would plummet. After twenty minutes Siarra called out to
her.

"There!"

Tess turned to follow her, and
together they dropped toward a cliff. On a forbidding wall of granite a small
shelf extended out into a ledge, and they landed on it together. The moment her
feet touched the rock she recognized the distinct arch above the wall in front
of her. There was only one problem.

"Where's the door?"
Tess said. She was unable to keep the strain from her voice.

"We have to find a way
in," Siarra said, and her tone carried the same tension. She stepped
forward and ran her hand over the surface. She snatched her hand back as a face
pressed out of the rock.

"Took you long enough to
find me," it said, and then smiled. "I missed you."

Siarra smiled in turn.
"Hello, Jackal. We need to find something he stole." Her eyes flicked
to Tess. "It's an echoin, an entity imbued with his memory."

"How is it still
alive?" Tess asked.

"Their purpose is to endure
after one's death. Jack asked for one to guard his vault."

Tess raised an eyebrow. "You
enchanted it."

She flashed a smile. "I
think you would call it . . . an anniversary gift."

"He called it a memorable fortnight,"
the face said. Its laugh sounded like gravel rubbing together. "But what
do you seek? He stole a great many things, you know."

"May we enter?" Siarra
asked.

"That depends," Jackal
replied, its voice cagey. "How long will you stay?"

"We don't have time for
this," Tess said.

"I know," Siarra
murmured, "but it might be able to help."

Tess looked up at the top of the
mountains. How long until it was too late? It felt like the minutes were
slipping by faster than she could keep track. Siarra turned back to the face,
which appeared amused at the interchange.

"We need a talisman beyond
the norm," Siarra said, "I suspect it will be unique."

Dust settled off the face as it
frowned. "You don't know what you seek? That will make this difficult. I
suggest you look on the upper levels. That is where he kept the best
items."

It winked and pulled back into
the rock. Then there was a grinding of stone as it swung open. They walked into
the darkness, and it offered a chuckle and a final warning.

"Watch out for the traps.
This is his vault after all."

"I would expect nothing
less," Siarra replied, and cast a ball of light that illuminated the hall.

As they walked down the corridor
Tess leaned close to her. "Was he like that?"

"Always," Siarra
replied. "He bled confidence and arrogance, and yet his love for me ran
deep. He never ceased to surprise . . . or amaze me."

"But he was a thief."

Siarra looked at her. "No,
he was the thief. No relic, artifact, or talisman was outside his
ability to take."

"Wasn't it odd for one of
your status to be with him?"

Irritation flashed across
Siarra’s features. "I didn't let my people tell me who I could be
with."

They reached the end of the
corridor, and the ambient light flickered to life. As it brightened Tess sucked
in her breath. Floor by floor the light continued to rise, illuminating a
massive cylindrical cavern of thirteen tiers. Hundreds of alcoves lined the
exterior of each level. A thick pillar dominated the middle, allowing for a
single display of prominence per floor.

Light charms activated, illuminating
the enormous collection. Swords, daggers, and armor stood on display next to
weapons she could not describe. Jewel encrusted chalices, rings, and crowns sat
beside shimmering cloaks and bowls of strange food.

The second tier contained a model
ship, its detail indicating it represented an actual vessel. Statues dotted the
various levels, and their faces turned to see Tess and Siarra. One leaned over
to whisper to its companion, and the stone woman issued a quiet giggle. Several
alcoves over, what appeared to be medieval undergarments were on display.

"There are so many,"
Tess breathed.

"This is much like my
personal Library," Siarra said, and a smile spread across her face.
"Although my records came by more reputable means."

"How can we possibly find
the right item?" Tess asked.

"We don't have to worry
about the illusory relics," Siarra said and motioned to a bladed, circular
weapon on the right. It glowed with purple light.

Tess peered at it and realized
she was right. "They aren't all real?"

She shook her head. "The
challenge is what mattered to him, not the hoard. Much of what he stole he did
so by contract. He stored them here until he could get paid. He used the
illusions to remember them."

Rising off the ground, Tess flew
to the highest level. Siarra joined her, and they alighted on the pinnacle in
the center, where a white ring held the place of highest prominence in the
vault. Siarra smiled at its placement and reached out to touch it.

"I gave this to him after he
escaped from a dwarven dungeon," Siarra said. "They didn't take
kindly to him stealing the crown, and he was just hours from execution. They
didn't realize that his capture was part of his plan. In the end the dwarves
had to craft a new crown, and a new dungeon."

"What magic did he have?"

"Animal," Siarra
replied. "At one time he had a companion panther named Shadero. Many of
the cat's physical attributes were passed to Jack before the cat was killed.
Beyond his talents, it was his mind that made him great. His cunning helped him
thrive in a profession that killed most."

She gestured to the Vault.
"The elven high council desired me to join with another powerful mage and
continue the oracle line. In this regard I chose love over duty, and no oracle
was born from my womb."

Tess blinked in sudden
understanding. After Siarra there had not been another oracle until Atlantis
four thousand years later. The reason for the gap had never been explained. Now
she knew why.

"Do you regret your
choice?" Tess asked.

Siarra issued a soft smile.
"How can one regret choosing love? We may have a calling to protect the
world, Tess, but that is not all we are. Do not sacrifice your heart in service
to the people. The cost of doing so will twist your duty into a dark
path."

Tess's mind turned to Alice, who had
never displayed a desire for herself beyond her designs. She had justified the
murder of billions in a perverted desire to protect them. A sliver of fear
coursed through Tess as she realized the truth. Alice was a reflection of what
Tess could become if she lost herself to her duty—if
she lost Derek.

Her lips tightened. "What do
you think we're looking for?"

Siarra seemed to shake herself
and motioned to the alcoves of artifacts. "You look at the ones on the
right. I'll search the left. I would advise against touching the items."

Her thoughts still on Derek, Tess
flew to the thirteenth ledge that wrapped around the cavern. One by one she
scanned the objects within the ensconced alcoves. The first few were weapons,
which she passed by. Since they needed King Tryton's Sword she doubted they
needed a second blade. The next few did not catch her eye. Then she came to an
object that caused her to pause.

It was a key, but unlike any she
had ever seen. Its surface glowed with gold light, and it carried a tinge of
darkness that seeped menace. As she looked at it the key it morphed several
times, and she got the distinct impression that a lock somewhere was changing
to match.

"The key to the
Construct," a voice said, and she looked up to see Jackal's face pressing
out of the wall above her. "It is a dangerous choice."

It was the first time Tess had
heard it speak with solemnity, and her gaze returned to the key. Her desire to
ask about the Construct was interrupted when Siarra called out to her.

"It is here," Siarra
declared.

Tess turned to see Siarra
standing in front of a display across the cavern from her. Rising into the air,
she flew to join her.

"What did you find?"

"The Seeker Stone," she
said, and motioned to an amulet.

Silver and blue, the amulet
resembled a star in the center of midnight. It flickered as Tess looked at it,
and the four points on the star brightened. She felt the urge to pick it up,
but stilled her hand.

The face pressed out of the rock
above them. "An excellent choice, for it finds that which has been lost—or hidden."

Tess swiveled to face Siarra.
"We can use it to find the last talisman. But what if we are wrong? We're
not going to be able to come back."

Siarra turned to her. "Look
ahead, and see if we use it."

Tess nodded, and slipped into her
farsight. As she pushed ahead she looked for the amulet, and found herself
standing in her previous vision. With Siarra by her side she landed on the
summit of a great mountain. Huge and forbidding, it pierced the surface of the
Dark and rose into the sky. Tess looked down, and saw the compass in her hand.
All four points were glowing.

"This is it," Tess said
with certainty, and her vision returned to normal. "This is what we came
for."

"Now we just have to remove
it."

"Good luck," the face
said. It withdrew into the rock with a rumbling chuckle.

Siarra met Tess's gaze.
"Jack was adept at protecting his things, even from me. I have no doubt we
could bypass the curses, but not quickly. I don't think we have time to finesse
this."

Tess guessed they had only
minutes before the Dark crested the summit of the mountains above them.

"Then get ready to
run," she said, and reached for the amulet.

Chapter 20: Hawk's Gift

Tess wrapped her fingers around
the Seeker Stone and yanked it from its stand. Then she leapt away with Siarra—and saw the defenses. In the
column on the third tier, a golden spider came to life, and cast a giant web
that completely filled the middle levels. In seconds the spider had multiplied,
and thousands of tiny creatures filled the strands.

Below them, an entity leaked from
the wall and materialized into the shape of a brown reaver. Then another
appeared, and another. Soon they were difficult to count. Above it all, a
series of holes appeared in the walls, and anti-magic arrows slid into view.
One strike would drain their magic. More than that would take them down. The
statues that had been whispering before climbed from their alcoves, and picked
up neighboring weapons. Their expressions were no longer laughing.

"What now?" Tess asked.

Siarra surprised her by laughing.
"Jackal, I would love to spend an hour remembering my time with him, but
right now I really don’t have the time."

"As you wish."

The voice sounded amused, but
Tess couldn't see its face. A moment later the enchanted barriers returned to
their sources, allowing them to drop to the floor. Tess hurried down the
entrance corridor. She blinked as she exited into the sunlight, and immediately
turned to look to the peaks. Her heart sank.

While they had been occupied
inside the vault, the Dark had crested the mountain range. Towering peaks that
moments ago had stood majestic had disappeared in the depths of the cloud.
Dragged by millions of screeching bats, the Dark advanced toward them.

"This is from your
vision," Siarra said.

Tess nodded. "The moment we
try to fly out of here they come after us. There are too many, even for us. If
we get to the city we can Gate out, but how can we get there?"

Siarra turned to Tess. "What
did we do in your vision?"

"Nothing," Tess said.
"I pulled something red from my pocket and that's what we used to escape.
The only thing I have like that is something Hawk gave me, and it's not going
to help."

Siarra went rigid. "You have
his car?"

Tess withdrew it from her pocket.
"How can a toy car help us?"

Siarra's smile was of
anticipation. "Because it's not a toy. She took it from Tess and touched
the rune on the bottom. Then she tossed it aside—and
it began to grow.

Shock robbed Tess of breath as
the toy car swelled into a full-size vehicle. Tires, seats, and an engine
expanded like balloons and solidified into a magic-infused BMW sports car. As
the metal hardened into a pristine vehicle, Tess's throat constricted with
emotion.

"Thank you, Hawk,"
she murmured.

While Tess was overcome, Siarra
climbed into the passenger seat.

"Wait," Tess said, and
moved to intercept her. "What are you doing?"

"I'm a ten thousand year old
guardian oracle," Siarra replied. "You really want me driving?"

A rising shriek pierced the air,
drawing Tess's gaze to the swarms of bats. Disconnecting from the threads of
Dark, they surged toward Tess and Siarra. Tess shook her head.

"I guess not."

Tess climbed into the driver’s
seat and buckled the seatbelt. Then she looked for the key—but there wasn't even a
hole. Her panic rising with the horrendous sound, she searched for any
indication of how to start the car. Catching her concern, Siarra opened
compartments as well.

"It's Hawk's car," she
said, her voice tense. "He'd have given you a way to start it . . ."

Tess froze as she caught sight of
the gear shifter. "I think he did."

The handle bore no markings.
Instead it had a distinct char to the edge that indicated the touch of fire.
Tess put her hand on it and ignited a flame. The fire was drawn into the black
material and poured into the engine, and it roared to life. As the sky darkened
above them, Tess grabbed the steering wheel and stomped on the gas pedal.

She was slammed back into her
seat as the car roared off the ledge—and
a road appeared beneath it. Materializing ten feet in front of the car, the
blacktop street disintegrated in their wake. The section of road curved
downward as it appeared, sloping into the trees.

"Look out!" Siarra
shouted as they approached a massive pine tree.

Tess swung the steering wheel,
but overcorrected. Tires squealed as they slid sideways on the emerging road.
Tess leaned away from impact with the trunk, but it never came. In a great
groaning of wood, the tree leaned to the side, allowing the car and the roadway
to glide past.

"Whoa," Tess breathed
as she straightened out. She flinched as another tree leaned away.

"It appears Hawk ensured it
could travel in obscure locations," Siarra said.

Tess caught the tension in her
voice and threw her a glance. Siarra sat gripping the door so hard that the
material had cracked. Then Tess noticed that her own hand was doing the same to
the steering wheel. They struck the ground, bouncing and skidding, and she
gripped even harder.

The car careened down the
mountainside, but she did not ease her pressure on the pedal. Wood creaked and
groaned as the trees leapt to avoid their intrusion, then returned to their
previous location when they had passed. The tarmac continued to appear ahead of
them, covering uneven rocks and holes in their path.

Bats filled the air above, their
leathery wings buffeting the leaves and branches into a frenzy. Many tried to
reach the car, but their massive wingspans did not allow them access through
the thick canopy. Those who tried saw their wings shredded and broken, and
their mangled bodies were left tangled in the branches.

The car reached a cliff, and Tess
sucked in her breath as they went over. Once again the road appeared and curved
downward toward the forest below. The open air allowed their pursuers to
attack, and a heavy shape collided with them. Her heart in her throat, Tess
struggled to control the speeding car as it bounced on the materializing road.
Then others began to buffet the vehicle, and it took all of Tess's strength to
keep them upright.

"This is not how
you're supposed to learn how to drive!" Tess shouted.

Siarra didn't respond—her
attention occupied by reinforcing the buckling walls and ceiling of the
vehicle. A moment later they reached the trees below. As the pine trunks swung
to avoid their path, the branches struck the hordes of bats, decimating the
leaders.

Tess's breath came in ragged
gasps as she drove. Without the appearing roadway there was no way she would
have survived, and she fleetingly wondered if Hawk had added the enchantment
specifically for her.

Trees scattered ahead of them
like deer before a wolf. Boulders rolled to the side and shrank before rolling
back. Tess finally managed to ease back on her grip as the slope leveled off.
Then she saw that the trees were beginning to thin.

"We're reaching the
plains!" Siarra yelled over the roar of the engine.

A moment later the trees came to
an abrupt halt and the car exploded into the open. Tess gasped when she saw the
full scope of the swarming bats. Churning in pursuit, they were like a sentient
storm cloud bent on the oracles’ destruction. As the car streaked across a
stretch of tundra, the cloud descended on them with an ear-splitting shriek.

Tess pushed the pedal further,
and the engine snarled. Cringing against what she was about to do, she poured
more fire into the engine. It revved even louder in response, and tongues of
flame appeared at the edges of the hood. Flecks of paint peeled off the surface
and burned into ash. They inched closer to the point where the road was materializing.

"I don’t know how much more
it can take!" Tess shouted. She risked a glance in the rearview mirror.
The bats had fallen behind, but they were not giving up on the pursuit. Their
faces twisted from exposure to the Dark, they blocked her entire view.

"We're almost to the
city!" Siarra yelled.

Tess nodded and gripped the
vibrating wheel as the car roared across the landscape toward Calgary. They hit
a fence, but the posts lifted out of the ground before impact. The leading bats
crashed into the raised fence and tumbled to a ground.

Tess had pushed the car as fast
she dared. She could no longer see the road materializing in front, only the
particles of rock as they blossomed into view and collided. The buildings of
the city seemed to grow large as they approached, and a moment later they
reached the outskirts of Calgary.

Homes and trees blurred past them
as they roared by. Tess tried to avoid the abandoned cars, but there were too
many. Her whole frame quivered in fear as she jerked the steering wheel to
avoid a bus, but it proved unnecessary.

The side of the bus crumpled
inward, the seats compressing to make room for the car’s passage. Like a
balloon pressed from the side, the larger vehicle shrank and then returned to
normal as they rocketed away.

"We're almost there!"
Tess shouted.

Then another shape appeared ahead
of them. Skidding out of a side street, a massive form slid to a halt in their
path, blocking the route between a pair of downtown skyscrapers. Tess's mouth
fell open as she recognized it.

Standing at over thirty feet in
the shoulder, the enormous elephant's bulbous shape had tightened into corded
muscle and powerful legs. Its trunk had splintered like the tentacles of a
squid. They writhed and twisted, and opened to reveal the jaws of a predator
with jagged teeth. Then it extended its trunks and issued a trumpeting
challenge, the sound laced with malice. It clawed the concrete, tearing great
furrows as it launched itself forward.

"It was sent to intercept
us!" Siarra said.

With the bats filling their wake
and the elephant charging from the front, Tess had nowhere to go. Siarra raised
a hand and the road rose up in front of the elephant's leg. The beast shattered
through without slowing, and issued its challenge once again. Her fear mounting,
Tess jerked the steering wheel a fraction before impact. The elephant tossed
its head to the side, its tusk reaching out.

The magic of the car sought to
rebuff the tusk, but the sheer force of the blow overpowered it. The tusk
caught the edge of the roof above Siarra. Both women ducked as the roof was
sheered off. The contact sent the car into a tumble. Bits of road appeared and
disintegrated as the magic tried to keep track of the vehicle's path.

They bounced and rolled toward a
building, but the concrete pillars lifted like a runner jumping a hurtle, and
they careened through the interior. Walls, desks, and pipes attempted to jump
out of the way, but the car's chaotic path prevented the magic from performing.
Sheetrock and wood exploded into dust, and sparks burst from broken power
lines. Then they went through an exterior wall and rolled into a neighboring
street. They landed upside down, their momentum sending them spinning a hundred
yards down the road. Purple sparks issued forth from their combined gravity
shield as they finally skidded to a stop.

Aching and bruised, Tess fell to
the scarred concrete and dragged herself from the upside down car. Siarra
climbed from the opposite side, equally as bloodied. Tess rose to her feet in
time to see the swarm of bats shrieking toward them, and the elephant rounding
the corner on the street.

A surge of anger tightened her
gut. The car had been the only tangible present Hawk had given her, and now it
lay crushed and smoldering. She turned her magic onto the skyscraper at their
side, and one by one shattered the supports adjacent to them. Concrete and
glass exploded, and metal began to lean. Without a word Siarra joined her, and
together they carved a wedge out of the building like they were taking an ax to
a tree.

As the building began to tilt,
Tess turned around and slapped the side of the car, rolling it upright. The
crumpled door remained on the ground, so she stepped into the gap and slid into
her seat. Siarra joined her. The area darkened from a looming shadow, but this
time it was not their enemy. Glass rained down around them as Tess coaxed the
engine to life.

The ground trembled from the
approaching elephant, and the air vibrated with the sound of millions of bats.
As Tess accelerated away she saw the enormous building fall into the swarm
above them. Bats were crushed as the skyscraper came down in a titanic rending
of steel, glass, and concrete. Then they were clear, and Tess threw a look over
her shoulder.

It struck a neighboring tower and
folded, compressing the swarm and slaughtering thousands. Then it reached the
elephant. As if the creature sensed the impending destruction, it charged after
the car. Its feet gouged holes in the road, and it released a bellow of fury
just before disappearing from view. Smoke and debris exploded outward,
darkening the street as Tess and Siarra sped away.

Tess slid them to a stop in front
of the train terminal and stepped from the smoking vehicle. Siarra joined her
and reached to the steering wheel. She ran a finger around the edge, but the
motion merely elicited a shudder. The car did not shrink.

Siarra sighed. "He would
have been pleased."

"That we destroyed his
car?"

Siarra looked to her. "That
it saved your life."

Tess could not refute that, and
prepared to Gate back to Auroraq. She paused when she caught sight of her
reflection in the window beside her. The reflection revealed a bloodied and
dirty girl, but her eyes carried a fierceness that bordered on menacing. She
shook herself and looked down at the amulet in her hand. They had the third
talisman, and Tess's thoughts turned to Tryton's sword.

"Iris," she said.
"We have the third item. We're going to use it to look for the
fourth."

Then they Gated home.

Chapter 21: Dead in the Water

"Tess made it back,"
Iris said. "They're going to Siarra's refuge to try and identify the last
talisman."

Jack felt a rush of relief.
"Inform me if she needs anything." Then he returned his gaze to the
front. "Virginia command, French battalion 617, you have a breach. Send in
the last of your reserves and then prepare to withdraw. Expect a Halo strike in
. . . ninety seconds. Alabama command, German battalion 381, they are bunching
on your western flank. Concentrate artillery fire there in thirty
seconds."

Jack cringed as he saw what was
happening in the Gulf of Mexico. The blockade had survived nine hours of brutal
battle but had suffered tremendous losses. Of the two thousand vessels they had
started with, more than half had been sunk.

"Southern Fleet Command, I
have a pod of leviathan's surfacing behind you," he said. "Expect to
be hard hit in three minutes."

A crackling voice answered.
"We're already hard hit. I don't know how much longer . . ."

***

". . . we can hold
out!" Admiral Stark had to shout into the radio.

"Let me know if you need to
withdraw." The commander's voice sounded strained.

"Understood sir!" Stark
yelled, but knew he would not do it.

The Earth Army may have comprised
a collection of armies from a hundred countries, but it lacked the manpower to
fill a continuous line around the continent. If their armada fell, the legions
of Twisted would walk right in through the southern part of the United States.

"How soon until the deck
will be operational!" he yelled.

"Two minutes!" an
ensign shouted back.

"We need to retreat!"
Colonel Allen yelled, his voice rising with hysteria. "We're being
slaughtered!"

"Colonel," Stark
snapped. "Get a weapon and join your men on the railing."

"I can't do that!" the
Colonel shrieked. "They're dying by the second!"

"Sergeant!" Stark
shouted. "Put this man in the brig!"

"Yes, sir!" the man
replied, and dragged Allen out of the bridge.

"All hands, brace for
evasive maneuvers!" Captain Donaldson yelled into the shipwide broadcast.
"We have another pod inbound from the north."

Stark gripped the edge of his
chair as the aircraft carrier banked to port. Through the forward windows the
view shifted. Crippled and damaged boats fought against the oversize foes.
Leviathans clung to the warships like parasites, tearing them apart.

Broken hulls dotted the water
like leaves in an autumn pond. Burning fuel and dead sailors surrounded them as
they gradually slipped beneath the surface. Smaller leviathans hunted the
lifeboats, tearing into them like sharks.

Planes and helicopters filled the
air, firing on the endless swarms of bats. Their horrendous screeches took on a
pained whine when they were hit, and their bodies rained down like hail. Even
through the thick steel of the Washington, the sound of Twisted striking the
deck could be heard.

"Five blues!" an ensign
shouted over the roar of battle. "Coming straight for us!"

Stark's gaze connected with
Captain Donaldson's. They both knew the truth. Early in the battle the
leviathans had mostly ignored the larger carriers. Instead they had focused on
the numerous gunboats, battleships, and cruisers. With half of those down, the
larger creatures had carved a hole in the blockade and were coming for them.

"Call in air wings seven
through nine," Stark ordered. "And have the subs target their
torpedoes for the center of the pod."

Donaldson gave a sharp nod and
passed on the orders. "Ensign—"

The explosion was sudden and
massive. A hundred yards off the starboard bow the water went white in the
distinct shape of a sub. Erupting upward with a muted boom, the
implosion rocked the Washington. Then a leviathan breached the water and
roared. Its body bloodied and gouged, it held the conning tower of the USS
Albany in its claws. Then it turned to them, and dived underwater.

"It opened the sub like a
tin can," an ensign cried out.

"Stow it, ensign," the
captain barked. "I want depth charges and torpedoes targeting that thing
now! And get the C-130s over here!"

The super carrier rocked
violently as the bluish leviathan caught their starboard edge and pulled. Stark
grimly held on and issued orders as fast as they could leave his lips.
Torpedoes sped through the water while planes bombed the incoming pod, but it
was too late. In seconds the other leviathans joined the first.

Jaws ripped into the hull, deck,
and tower from all sides. Like a pride of lions bringing down its prey, the
Dark-empowered creatures reduced the super carrier into scrap. Stark drew a
pistol and fired into the leviathan's mouth as it closed around the tower. Then
the deck cracked and he fell into the maelstrom of twisted metal and teeth.

***

Jack rubbed his skull, fighting
to keep his worry in check. By taking out Stark and the Washington, the Dark
had eliminated their command ship. By nightfall the entire armada would be
annihilated. Signaling Iris, he switched the channel to the secondary command
ship, the Teddy Roosevelt.

"Captain Heron," he
said. "I think it's time for you to pull the fleet back."

"We'll withdraw a hundred
miles, sir," the captain answered. "With our losses it's the only way
we can tighten our line."

"Inform me when you need to
abandon the Gulf."

"Negative," Captain Heron
replied. "The armada still has the larger artillery. If we abandon ship we
leave the door open for them to walk into Texas."

Jack made to argue, but the words
didn't come out. "Godspeed, Captain."

Jack held his frame rigid, the
weight of thousands of sailors settling onto his shoulders. He knew in his gut
that the fleet in the gulf would be destroyed. For them to survive this long
was a testament to their will. But what could he do? The man was right. The
Earth Army lacked the forces to cover all four fronts. When the fleet fell, it
would mark the end.

He let out a slow breath and did
his best to set aside the weight of their lives. Right now other teams needed
his help, and other soldiers were dying. Recognizing he'd spent too much time
focusing on the southern and eastern fronts, he strode to the other side of the
map. Out of the corner of his eye he saw red blossoming across at the edges of
the map. Jack issued several fast orders and tried not to feel like they were
in vain.

"Oregon command, Chinese
battalion 934, the Australian battalion to your south has suffered heavy
losses. Dispatch two companies to assist. North California Command, India
battalion 378, if you don't get your mortars going again you will be
overrun." Then someone else called for him.

"Jack!" the president
shouted. Hearing the urgency in his voice, Jack hurried to his side.

"What do you make of
this?" the president asked, and motioned to the US techno wall.

Jack peered at the concave
screen. The display revealed an object exiting the Dark ten thousand feet off
the ground. The object seemed to pulse, and then suddenly it began to fall.
Hurtling toward the ground, it continued to pick up speed.

Jack felt his gut clench, and he
turned away to speak to that command. "New York command, United Stated
battalion 508, you have an unknown tango headed your way. Stand by for impact .
. ."

***

Derek stood beside Brody and
worked the bombardment hex. Drawing material from the floor itself, they aimed
the tubes at the docks, sending sections of the floor streaking into the ranks
of Twisted. Rocketing from the tubes, the spheres of concrete sped almost as
fast as the auren bullets, shredding the black forms as they fought to gain an
advantage. With the stone brace still around his forearm, Brody had refused to
leave the unit.

For the last several hours the
New York Command had withstood countless attempts to take the city. The SEALs
and Derek's team had worked in unison after the primates had stormed the
subway. Freezer's gaze still carried a chill, but at least the soldier had
allowed them to join the combat. Then Freezer lowered his gun.

"They're retreating,"
he said.

Surprised, Derek stood up to see
that the Twisted had stopped exiting the Dark. Gunfire across the barricades
tapered off as soldiers found themselves without a target. Rather than
reassuring, the eerie quiet sent a foreboding charge through the air. Then
Freezer touched his radio. His eyebrows pulled together as he listened, and he
leaned out the broken window to look into the evening sky.

"Understood, sir," he
said. "I have a visual."

Derek followed his gaze and
spotted a white object plummeting toward them. Shimmering and brightening as it
fell, it seemed to be aiming for their front line. Confusion swept through
Derek—and then he recalled
what he had overheard from Alice.

"Captain!" he shouted.
"Get down!"

Following his own advice, he
ducked below the window. His tone caused every SEAL and his own team to obey.
Guns stopped firing, and magic came to a halt as they pulled their heads down.
Then the object impacted the docks and the entire building rocked.

The shockwave slammed into the
neighboring buildings, shattering every single window at once. Glass rained
down on the front line soldiers. Those closest to the impact had been thrown
ten yards, and their bodies slammed into brick walls. Then the object rose to
its feet and brandished a colossal sword.

Derek peaked over the windowsill.
"I don't believe it," he breathed.

As if carved from pure white
stone, the figure stood as tall as a giant. Its white robe undulated with the
wind, while a hood obscured the Aspect's features. Glittering wings of light
extended from its back, the material translucent yet strong. In its hands, a
massive sword emitted a blinding white light, its power pulsing as the Aspect
placed the tip on the ground at its feet.

Ensign Tack sucked in his breath.
"Is that an angel?"

Derek jerked his head. "It's
the Aspect of Justice. Six thousand years ago it and the Aspect of Peace laid
waste to entire armies. They were called war enders."

"What's it doing here?"
Freezer asked.

"It's one of Alice's
generals," Mike said.

Freezer thumbed his radio.
"Command? I have confirmation on enemy general. He's in a stationary
position just north of my coordinates. Recommend priority one tactical
assault."

"Negative, Captain,"
the reply was loud enough for Derek to hear. "Command has re-tasked the
Halo of Dawn and will be firing in nine seconds."

Derek frowned as he heard the
answer. "It's not going to work."

"Why do you say that?" Freezer
asked.

"Because the Aspect has not
moved," Derek said. "It's practically begging us to hit it with our
best shot."

"That doesn't mean it won't
kill the thing," Freezer growled.

The halo exploded into view high
above, and a massive fireball erupted from it. It emitted a shrieking whine as
it fell, growing louder by the second. Derek shielded his eyes but forced
himself to watch.

The Halo struck the Aspect dead
on, and the impact shook the building under Derek's feet. For the second time a
shockwave rippled outward, washing over them in a wave of heat. Concrete and
metal adjacent to the epicenter melted while the ocean water burst into steam.
The blinding light gradually faded to reveal raging fires up and down the docks—and the Aspect standing
tall.

Untouched and flawless, the
figure withstood the two thousand degree heat without flinching. In the midst
of the smoke and charred cinders, it remained free of ash or soot, as if the
dirt itself feared to touch the Aspect's form. Its point proven, the Aspect
lifted off the ground and glided toward the barricade.

The soldiers opened fire, but
their bullets bounced away. Undeterred, the Aspect reached the line of cars
that the soldiers had been using as cover. As a missile exploded across its
wing, it grabbed a car and tossed it away. Then the slaughter began.

It swung its sword with blinding
speed, cutting the soldiers before they could take a step to retreat. A nearby
plant mage cast a treewalker spell, and an oak tree tore itself from the
ground. It took two steps before the Aspect cleaved it in two.

The fire intensified from the
building next to Derek, with rockets, grenades, and lead pouring onto the
Aspect. The enemy general lifted its head to them, but the attacks did no more
than a spring rain. Then it leapt into the air and swung at the corner of the
building.

The blade brightened as it sliced
deep—impossibly deep.
Somehow the sword elongated to a hundred feet, and cut through concrete, steel,
and brick. Sheered from the lower floors, the entire structure began to lean.
As if the very building had been slain, it groaned . . . and then slid off its
base. The men inside screamed as they were carried with it. Caught by the pull
of gravity, the building struck the neighboring structure and crumpled.

Concrete and brick burst into
powder from the sheering forces, and metal was snapped like candy. Soldiers on
the barrier sprinted out of the way as it fell toward them. Vehicles, weapons,
and those too slow were crushed as the enormous structure slammed into them. A
cloud of dust blossomed skyward, marking the Aspect's victory. Then the Aspect
turned toward Derek's building and raised its sword again. Freezer bellowed a
warning just before it struck.

"Move!"

Chapter 22: Beachhead

The building quivered as the
blade cut through the lower levels—and
then the floor began to lean. Derek saw fear in the eyes of his friends and
anger in the eyes of the SEALs. He gritted his teeth as the building tipped
faster.

"Get close to me! Brody,
bubble charm! Flyers, cushion charm!"

His words tumbled from his mouth
as he lost his footing. Desks, office chairs, and equipment slid down the floor
and struck the wall ahead of him. He braced himself as he called on his magic.

The concrete beneath the carpet
rolled up as Derek and Brody shaped it into a large sphere. Rolling and
sliding, the rest of the team slammed into each other as the ball sealed around
them. Then the flyers cast cushion charms that lifted them off the interior of
the ball and kept them hovering in the middle. Derek frantically sought to
thicken the sphere before the entire building crushed his attempt. It fused
above him, the concrete knitting together . . .

—their
building smashed into the neighboring structure, throwing them sideways. The
protective sphere bounced brutally off a now exposed I-beam and then smashed
through a sheetrock wall. Picking up speed, it accelerated down the sinking
slope, blasting through walls as it went. Derek struggled to keep his senses.
Without Katsuo, Mike, and Laura, they would have been knocked senseless. As it
was he could barely stay conscious.

The ball slowed as it struck
something hard, and Derek slammed into the wall of the sphere. Filtered through
the gaps in the ball, he caught glimpses of floor, wall, desk, and ceiling as
they accelerated down the sinking floor. Then they hit the exterior wall. In a
tinkling of glass they shattered through an office window—and then they were
plummeting toward the street.

"Brace yourself!"
Freezer roared.

Gravity pressed against Derek's
skin as the flyers fought to expand the gravity cushion. His heart in his
throat, he closed his eyes. Then they smashed into the street like a boulder
falling off a mountain. Every person in the sphere slammed downward at once,
and he was on the bottom. He cried out when his forearm snapped. Nearly
unconscious, he sensed the massive building falling toward them and forced
himself to roll their sphere to the side.

Cradling his arm, he poured his
magic into the concrete ball, but it had sunk into the street a few inches, and
refused to budge. Grinding his teeth together, he bumped the earth beneath them
and lifted them out. Grunts of pain filtered through the ball, but were
overridden by the rising groan as the building collapsed on top of them.

With all his might, Derek got
them rolling. Inch by inch they picked up speed. Deep in his magesight, he saw
the walls and windows of the building they had just occupied. The falling
structure grew large in his vision, and he cringed from the impact . . .

The building collapsed into the
street—inches behind
them. Thousands of tons of concrete and steel crumpled into an unrecognizable
lump in less than a second. The force slapped them away, and they careened
through trucks, Humvees, and other buildings. After several blocks they spun to
a stop next to a streetlamp.

Dizzy and crushed between Freezer
and Mike, Derek cracked the sphere down the middle. The entire group fell into
a pile on the ground. Derek wasn't the only one to cry out in pain, but at
least they were free—and
alive. One by one they got to their feet.

Freezer caught the streetlamp for
support and looked back toward the docks. They'd rolled four blocks, and in
that time two more buildings had been cut down. Like a farmer in a giant field
of wheat, the Aspect of Justice was systematically carving a hole in their
defenses. Freezer caught at his radio, and when he found it broken, turned to
Mara.

"Inform Command that the
enemy has a beachhead. If the entire line doesn't evacuate now we will lose the
battalion."

The rage in Freezer's voice
caused Derek to shudder. He'd never heard such cold fury from anyone. As Mara
passed on the message he reached down and caught up a length of the sphere that
had broken off. Gingerly he wrapped it around his arm to form a makeshift
splint. When it had solidified he stepped to Freezer's side.

"What now?"

"We retreat," Freezer
said, "and fast. Now that the general has made a hole you can bet the
troops will take advantage of it. We've got several hundred miles to the
secondary line."

"How?" Tack asked as he
wrapped a stretch of cloth over a wound on his knee. "It's not like we
have a vehicle."

Like a tide of flesh, the Twisted
appeared over the rubble. Primates bounded down alongside human Twisted, while
a pair of greater creatures thundered into a tank. It's huge gun belched fire
for the last time before the Twisted tore at the metal. The driver must have
realized he was surrounded, because he tried to retreat. He made it thirty feet
before the Aspect caught up to him.

With a single blow it sliced the
tank from track to track, spilling fuel and oil onto the street. Twisted were
quick to pry the gap apart and pour in, ending the lives of the soldiers. The
triumphant Aspect rose into the air and hovered, its wings barely flapping.
Still pristine white after the devastation it had wrought, it turned and
departed. As the horde of Twisted poured into the streets, Freezer turned to
Derek.

"You saved us from
that," he jerked his thumb at the demolished buildings. "Can you get
us out of here?"

Derek looked to the approaching
horde and guessed they had less than a minute. There was no way he could do a
slideways charm large enough, and the flyers could not lift so many. Then his
eye fell on an abandoned car nearby.

"Brody?" he called.
"Are you up to building a roller?" His face drawn, Brody managed to
grin.

One minute later they climbed
onto a makeshift platform that hung suspended between the remains of the broken
sphere. Fastened like large stone wheels, the two halves resembled giant
concave tires. The vehicle rocked when they boarded. As the horde of Twisted
closed the gap, Derek and Brody spun the wheels and they accelerated away.
Derek bounced in his seat inside the right wheel, and each motion sent shards
of pain up his arm. He cast a smoothing charm on the exterior of the stone.

The bouncing stopped, and he
breathed a sigh of relief. The horde of Twisted finally slowed after several
blocks, allowing them to retreat. Soon their roller was joined by other units.
Trucks, Humvees, and civilian cars became a convoy. Tanks and other military
equipment brought up the rear, the sound of their tracks rumbling loud against
the empty streets of New York City.

Weary and wounded, Derek focused
on keeping their roller moving. The roadway was littered with trash and debris,
remains of the millions who had occupied the city just a week ago. Instead of
lights and sound, the city echoed back the sounds of their passage.

Several miles outside the city
they came to a halt to regroup. As he stepped down from the roller a mage
healer appeared, and healed their wounds. Harried and rushed, the woman moved
on before they could express their gratitude.

Spotting Freezer standing at the
summit of the hill, Derek strode to join him and looked back at New York City.
The Dark had already claimed a third of the city. Towering skyscrapers faded
from sight as the sentient cloud swallowed them whole.

"You did good, kid,"
Freezer said.

"Not good enough,"
Derek replied.

Freezer motioned to the sun,
which had begun to set. "It's almost dusk now. We lasted longer than Alice
thought. Sometimes victory comes from defiance."

A spark of fire in the sky drew
their gaze, and as it approached Derek recognized it as a missile. Speeding
through the clouds, it was evident where it was headed.

"Don't look at it,"
Freezer said.

Derek closed his eyes, but the
blast of light penetrated his eyelids, forcing him to raise his hand. The
titanic sound and heat washed over them for several seconds, until finally it
began to fade. He opened his eyes to see a giant mushroom cloud rising over what
had once been a sprawling metropolis.

Towering structures had
shattered. Streets had been ripped up and shredded, while any remaining cars
had crumpled into piles of twisted metal. The devastation of New York City
caused Derek's entire frame to cringe, but he knew it to be necessary. The
fires and radiation would slow the Twisted enough to allow the armed forces to
retreat.

"Let's go," Freezer
said. "We have one more fight before this is over."

Derek nodded and followed him to
a waiting truck. The SEALs and the other mages had already climbed onboard, and
Derek joined them. As the truck lurched into motion he looked at the faces of
his friends. They had been through battle on Auroraq before, but nothing had
prepared them for this.

Shock and numb disbelief
reflected back at him, and he wondered if his expression was the same. No words
were exchanged until a bend in the road closed off the view. Even then the glow
from the nuclear fires rivaled the sun setting ahead of them. The miles slid by
and his mind turned to Tess. For the first time he wondered if he would survive
to see her again.

Chapter 23: From the Deep

"Sixty seconds to evac!"
Wolf bellowed.

Spurred by his words, the
soldiers hustled to retreat from the front line. Men and women frantically
loaded trucks and cars with gear, trying to join the convoy before the entire
front line collapsed. Between the losses and the men retreating, the Twisted
had broken through the line in countless locations.

Wolf threw a glance at the
setting sun, praying that they could get out in time. Inch by inch the Dark had
claimed most of the beach. Other units to the north and south and been driven
back for several hundred feet, only holding due to the last of the reserves.
Any second now the entire line would break like a dam, allowing the tide of
Twisted to slaughter any left behind.

Linda gathered the remaining
rockets for the launcher and flew them to the truck. Then she darted back for
the weapons. Wolf held down the trigger on the M60 as the units on either side
of him evacuated. All around the SEALs were keeping the Twisted at bay, giving
the others time to depart.

"They're not going fast
enough!" Linda's voice barely reached Wolf over the thunder of gunfire and
shrieking Twisted.

"I'm so tired of being the
last ones out," Wilson growled. "When do we get the front
seats?"

"Not what we signed up
for," Harmon yelled back.

"I don't think the contract
included this!" Wilson yelled.

"Cut the chatter," Wolf
snapped. "Watch out for shriekers."

Jets, attack choppers, and
predator drones roared above them, releasing millions of high-caliber rounds.
With most of front line soldiers retreating, the aerial fleet was the only
thing keeping the Twisted at bay. Swarms of bats hammered at them, leaving
crumpled wrecks to fall with the bombs.

The bats may not have been as
fast as the jets and predator drones, but they outnumbered the fleet by a
thousand to one. The nearest swarm snapped out and devoured a helicopter. The
chopper rolled over and plummeted into the ground, crushing a trio of human
Twisted as they attempted to climb over an empty barricade.

"MOABs inbound!" Wolf
shouted as he heard the order in his earpiece. "Get ready!"

The heavy bombs whistled as they
fell, blossoming into fire when they struck the mangled beach. The remaining
teams evacuated into the trucks and pulled out, firing as they went.

"Truck's ready!" Ensign
Baker yelled.

Wolf gathered up the belt of
ammunition and retreated, still firing. The Twisted poured over the barricade
he'd just occupied, howling at the proximity to his team. The black, orange,
and gray flesh of the distinct types blended together in an endless tide of
angry bodies.

"Linda!" Wolf shouted
in a rising tone. "We could use some help!"

"Go!" she shouted, and
slammed her hands downward.

The invisible gravity wave
slammed into the Twisted and launched them soaring over their companions. More
took their place, but for once they were too late. Wolf and his remaining team
leapt onto the small military transport while Linda stumbled to join them, her
hand on her stomach. The moment Wolf pulled her in, Baker jammed his foot on
the accelerator and the truck lurched forward.

Wolf dropped his smoking gun and
picked up a rifle with a grenade launcher. Then he pulled the second trigger,
sending a high impact grenade into those in pursuit. The explosion sent them
flying, twisted and broken. He emptied the clip, blasting the crowd before it
could get close. On either side of him the other SEALs fired their rifles, and
gradually the truck pulled away from the pursuit. When it became clear they
were free, Wolf released the trigger.

They were the last vehicle out,
and so were granted an unimpeded view. Lit by the sun setting behind them, the
Twisted swarmed over the barricade that the nations of Earth had bled and died
for. Leashed once again to the cloud, billions of fiends dragged the Dark over
the broken bunkers.

The sight faded from view as they
sped away, but Wolf remained at the back opening. Not until they left the city
behind did he allow himself to relax. As they pulled onto a road that cut
through a thick forest, he finally took a seat.

"At least we lasted the
day," Harmon said.

Wolf didn't respond. They were
retreating to their final stand, and he knew it was weaker than what they had
just defended. His eyes flicked to Linda, and he stepped to her side.

"Are you alright?"

Her white features were stretched
taut across her face, and her breathing came in ragged gasps. He searched her
form for injury, but found none.

"It's magesickness,"
she said. "I'm using too much magic at once.” She forced a weak smile.
"A few hours of rest and I'll be fine."

"Don't throw up on the
rockets," Wolf said. "It makes them hard to hold onto, and they're
not something we like to drop."

She issued a small laugh, and her
grip tightened on her stomach. His humor faded. "Anything I can do?"
he asked.

She shook her head.
"Time."

"How about some water?"

She nodded, and he moved to the
rear of the truck to get a bottle. Just as he reached for it, a movement drew
his gaze. He leaned out the back of the truck—and
sucked in his breath.

"Brace for—"

His bellow of warning was cut
short as an enormous Twisted lion slammed into the side of the truck. As if it
were tackling an antelope, the beast struck the truck with its claws
outstretched. The impact raised the wheels on one side, sending the SEALs and
equipment tumbling to the other. For an eternal moment they teetered as Baker
fought the steering wheel. Then the large vehicle groaned and tipped onto its
side.

Metal screeched as the truck slid
down the road, issuing sparks until it came to a stop. The lion leapt free, its
claws digging into the soil as it spun to face the downed truck. It prowled to
the side and issued a rumbling snarl.

"Where did it come
from?" Harmon said, but his voice sounded distant and hazy.

"Must have broken through a
barrier to the north," Wilson said.

The interior of the truck swam
back into focus for Wolf, and he struggled to make sense of what he saw.
Crates, weapons, and ammunition lay scattered across a purple barrier, while
Harmon hung suspended on the inner side. Then the contents of the truck fell to
the side when the barrier evaporated.

Wolf settled onto the knobby
surface of the truck and winced, but he knew from experience that his injuries
were minor. Then he realized what Linda had done and turned to find her at his
side. Her face had a sheen of sweat to it, and she was grasping her stomach.

"I'll be fine," she
said through clenched teeth. "But I may throw up on the rockets." She
flashed a tight grin.

Wolf managed to get to his feet
and grabbed his radio. "Baker, you alright?" After a moment came the
muffled reply.

"Pretty banged up,"
Baker mumbled. "Don't think I can move."

"Where's the convoy?"

"Out of sight," Baker
grunted, and his voice grew faint. "I was trying to catch up when it hit
us. Sorry, Captain . . ."

"Baker?" Wolf growled.
"Stay awake. That's an order!" There was no reply.

"Wolf?" Jameson called
in rising tone. "That thing's coming at us."

Struggling to contain his anger
at the loss, Wolf levered himself up and felt his chest for a weapon. Snagging
a grenade, he yanked the pin out and tossed it out the back.

"Frag out!" he shouted,
and ducked behind a crate.

There was a sharp crack as
the grenade detonated, followed by a snarl of anger. Wilson poked his head up.

"He's mad now," he
said.

"Can't get to the
MAAWS," Harmon said, "so no rockets." He'd scrounged a rifle and
a few magazines.

"We might have five minutes
before the horde on the beach catches up to us." Wolf said. "We need
to kill that thing and get moving. Linda, think you can right the truck?"

She nodded, but Wolf saw
immediately she could not. She could barely stand, let alone lift a six ton
truck. His jaw tightened. Without a vehicle their chances dropped to zero.
Before he could consider another option a heavy weight crashed onto the side of
the truck, sliding them several feet. As it came to a stop the lion clawed at
the metal skin, tearing huge furrows through the steel.

"Open fire!" Wolf
ordered, and raised his gun. Strobes of light lit the deepening darkness, and
bullets tore through the shredded covering. Releasing a roar that rattled the
truck, the lion dived away again.

"That's not going to
hold," Harmon said as he reloaded, jerking his chin at the shredded
barrier.

Wolf looked at his men and knew
the truth. Without a transport and communication, they weren't getting out of
here. Even if they had the firepower to take down the lion they would not be
able to catch the convoy, and the horde would take them down.

He grunted and caught up a pair
of magazines. "I'm going to draw it into the trees. Get Linda and Baker
and make a run for it. He might still be alive."

"Negative, Captain,"
Harmon said. "Even if we were willing to leave you behind, we wouldn't
make it."

Wolf's features hardened.
"Then what do you suggest?"

"We take out the lion,"
Harmon said. "The least we can do is make sure it can't kill anyone
else."

Wolf looked to the other SEALs
and released an explosive breath. "Gather what gear you can," he
finally said. "Let's take as many as we can with us. As soon as it attacks
again, we go full offense. Don't let it get close to you."

The SEALs scrounged for ammo and
gear, and a moment later the lion returned. Bursting into view at the rear of
the truck, it snapped and growled as it sought to reach an enormous paw inside.
Its Dark-augmented features filled the breach, and its jaws chewed on the metal
gate.

Wolf dragged Linda out of the way
as the others opened fire. Bullets impacted across the lion’s face, forcing it
out and away. Wolf set Linda down and barked an order.

"Flares out!"

Several flares sparked to life,
and the SEALs hurled them through the opening. Their red light illuminated the
highway and caused the lion to issue a snarl of protest. Then Wolf caught a gun
from Harmon and leapt out of the truck.

Landing on the torn roadway, he
targeted the large form and pulled the trigger. In moments the others joined
him, and they fanned out to flank it. Bellowing and swerving, the lion lunged
at Harmon. His gun clattered to the ground followed soon after by his body.

Rage filled Wolf. He slammed a grenade
into the M203 launcher attached to his rifle and pulled the secondary trigger.
Fire exploded across the lion's oversized flank, digging shrapnel into its
flesh. The creature turned on Wolf and surged at him. Wolf knew he was not fast
enough to reach cover, so he stood his ground and kept firing.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as
the huge lion leapt. Wolf was oddly aware of the feel of the gun his hands, and
the scent of fire and blood. Instead of anger or fear he felt regret, and his
mind turned to Linda. In the background he heard her cry his name, but her
voice was overpowered by a disturbing rustling sound . . .

Another creature burst into view,
slamming into the lion's side and sending them both tumbling down the street.
The newcomer rolled to its feet and circled the lion, and Wolf's eyes widened.
Instinctively he retreated.

The dark creature resembled a
great cat, but steel spines grew from its back, flanks, and arms. Its forepaws
were almost hands, and they dug into the earth as it glided with a feral poise.
Then it opened its jaws, and its steel teeth gleamed in the darkness.

Wolf had faced countless
Dark-empowered creatures. Humans and primates had gained the strength to tear a
man in two. The bats, rhinos, and tigers had been able to take down
helicopters, trucks, and even tanks. None of them could match the sheer menace
this new creature exuded.

Blood-curdling snarls erupted as
the two creatures tangled. Lit by the flares, they fought with a speed and
ferocity so intense that Wolf and the SEALs retreated further. Fur and blood
spotted the highway, but it was the lion that was knocked down. Releasing a
mighty roar, it rolled to its feet and lunged at the newcomer again.

The lion’s claws raked the
creature, but its claws were no match for the steel spines and they came away
bloody. Its wounded cry was cut off as the creature drove under its body,
shredding the underside of the lion by its passage. The lion attempted to
retreat, but the creature turned and backhanded the lion, tossing it aside like
a sack of garbage.

The lion tumbled to a stop and
struggled to rise, but the creature stalked forward, and released a snarl that
froze Wolf's blood. Then the creature reached to its back and tore one of the
spines free. Blood dripped from the point where it had grown from its flesh,
but the creature didn't seem to notice.

Rising to stand on its hind legs
like a bear, it caught the larger beast by the throat and lifted it into the
air. With a savage thrust, it plunged the spine into the lion's body, cutting
off its fading snarls. The lion's corpse dropped to the ground with a thud—and then the creature turned
to Wolf. Knowing it was futile, Wolf raised his gun, but a voice called out
from the darkened trees to the side.

"Knisenik!"

The creature came to a halt and
reluctantly sat on its haunches. Then other figures appeared from the trees.
Darting into view, the lithe warriors closed on the SEALs. Wolf's eyes widened
as he saw their gray bodies and pointed ears.

"Dark elves," Linda
said, and he turned to find that she had limped to his side.

"And that?" Wolf asked,
and motioned to the creature.

"A black reaver," Linda
said.

They were interrupted by a dark
elf in supple armor. "As promised, we have come to the surface to join the
Dark War. Our forces are ensuring yours are able to escape. You should get
moving."

In the distance the sounds of the
Twisted army could be heard, but before Wolf could ask, another dark elf
brought a lizard into view. It stood larger than a horse, and boasted reins and
a saddle.

"This should support you,
human," the dark elf said.

As Wolf struggled to overcome his
astonishment, Linda asked, "Your name?"

"Urilian," he replied
with a smirk, and a short bow.

"And who did you promise you
would come?"

The Dark elf's black eyes
glittered with amusement. "Who else? The oracle can be very persuasive.
You should get moving. There are others which require assistance."

The dark elves evaporated into
the night. Last to go, the black reaver looked back at Wolf. The intelligence
Wolf saw there was unmistakable, so he inclined his head in gratitude. To his
surprise the reaver reciprocated the gesture. Then it was gone.

Wilson appeared at his elbow.
"What was that about?"

"How should I know?"

Linda issued a quiet laugh.
"That means it respects you."

"Is that a good thing?"
Wolf asked.

"It's less likely it will
kill you," Linda replied.

As they collected their gear and
departed, Wolf couldn't stop thinking about the reaver. At first he had seen it
as a threat, but then it had taken down the lion. When the dark elves had
appeared Wolf had assumed it was a trained beast. Then he'd noticed the black
collar around its neck and realized what it was.

A captive.

Chapter 24: Last Resort

"The line has fallen,"
the president said to Jack. "All units on the east have withdrawn to a
safe distance."

"What about the fleet in the
gulf?"

The President's expression was
pained as he shook his head. "They held out until dusk."

"They saved us all,"
Jack said, and then closed his eyes. "Launch the nukes."

The president turned away and
began to issue the orders. "Notify all nuclear commands, they are cleared
to fire. Authorization code is Alpha, Tango, X-ray, seven, nine, one."

One of his men opened the
briefcase, and the president placed his hand upon the scanner. He bowed his
head as it beeped.

"Firing codes have been
sent," Iris said quietly. "I'm ensuring their delivery along with the
correct targeting coordinates."

"Prepare the western
withdrawal," Jack said to Iris. "As soon as they are clear, fire the
second salvo."

Jack didn't know what to feel or
think. He just felt numb. The airstrike would create a line of radiation and
fire that would slow the Twisted down, but it would require the entire United
States complement of nukes. He passed a hand over his face. They had defied
Alice and survived the day. Without weapons, manpower, or defenses, they would
not last another. Then Gerik raced into the room.

"The dark elves just
arrived."

Jack rotated to face him, and
Gerik's smile widened. It was the look of a man in despair who caught a glimpse
of hope. "The dark elves have joined us. They are assisting with the
withdrawal, and have already saved countless teams."

Jack should have been surprised
that dark elves even existed, but the emotion did not come. "I will need
to be briefed on what they can do," Jack said. Then he turned to Iris and
prepared himself for the answer. "What's our casualty count?"

Iris's expression fell.
"Forty million dead or missing. Twice that are injured."

The words came like a hammer
blow, and the blood drained from Jack's face. The casualty list from the
withdrawing forces defied belief, and yet he could not doubt them. The combined
forces of Earth had guarded over three thousand miles. Half of their force had
been injured or killed in a single day.

New York may have been the
largest breach, but it had not been alone. Already the entire eastern front was
retreating to the barrier at the Stacks. Construction crews had been working to
frantically finish bunkers and barricades. He turned to the president and
Gerik.

"High Chancellor, make sure
the dark elves don’t get caught in the blast radius. Mr. President, fire the
second salvo as soon as the western line is clear."

"I never thought I would
order our nukes to be used on our own soil." The president's voice echoed
hollow.

"We have no choice,"
Jack replied. "It will slow them down enough that we can regroup."

"How long until they reach
the Stacks?" the president asked.

"Our forces will be in
position shortly after midnight," Jack replied. "I expect the Dark to
reach it by morning."

The president took a step closer.
"How long can we last?" he asked quietly.

"We spent three weeks
preparing the coastal barrier, and we held out for twelve hours." Jack's
voice was somber. "By the time the battle starts again the Dark will
surround us, and our fortifications will be far weaker." He turned to face
him. "Three hours . . . at best."

After a moment the president
asked, "Why did Alice wait to send in her generals? Both clearly have the
power to breach our defenses."

"She doesn't want to risk
losing them," Jack replied. "Intel is fairly certain that her two
generals control the Twisted when they are outside the Dark. Losing Ducalik or
the Aspect would be catastrophic to her."

"But even the Halo couldn't
harm the Aspect."

"Everything has a
weakness."

He'd learned that lesson from
years as a soldier and an intelligence officer, but for the first time he felt
a sliver of doubt. Their foe had the magic of luck and commanded a force thousands
of times their own. If that wasn't enough her two generals were almost as
powerful as she was. If they had a weakness, he did not know how to exploit it.

"We have until morning,
gentlemen." He raised his voice so every general could hear him.
"Make sure every unit gets into place, and put everything we have into
strengthening the secondary line. We have nine hours before we make our last
stand."

He paused, and his gaze swept the
room. Generals from all the nations looked at him with fear in their eyes. To
withdraw meant they had lost, and they knew it. His throat tightening at what
he was about to say, Jack forced the words out.

"We will be surrounded, and
much of our force is gone. We have nowhere else to go, so inform your combat
troops to rest as much as possible."

The generals turned to pass on
the orders, and Jack went back to looking at the map. The eastern edge of the
map was already darkening. Dragged by the billions of Twisted, the Dark had
covered everything to the north, and would soon seal off the south. Then they
would be in a rapidly shrinking hole of light.

He closed his eyes, his heart
yearning for news from Tess. The weight of the clock surpassed even that of
those who had died. If Tess failed, those who lived through tomorrow would be slaves
to Alice. Freedom on Earth would end.

Turning on his heel, he strode
from the room. The moment he entered his office he closed the door and slid
into the chair at his desk. Numb, he stared at the wall until the door opened.
Forcing an alert expression, he turned to find his wife closing the door with a
foot. In her hands were two plates of food.

"You need to eat," Kate
said.

"I don't think food is going
to help me," he said, but accepted the plate she offered him. She took the
seat opposite him.

"How bad is it?"

He met her gaze. "I just
ordered nuclear airstrikes across the United States."

She winced. "Want to tell me
why?"

"The radiation will feed the
Dark, but the Twisted will have to advance through it. It will slow them down a
few hours." He passed a hand over his face, fighting the cyclone of
emotions. "We lasted twelve hours on the front line, but it cost forty
million lives to do it. We might have been able to last longer except for
Alice's generals. The Aspect of Justice decimated New York City in a matter of
minutes. Ducalik forced Breaker to kill his own men, and you know how strong he
is."

"So what now?" Kate's
voice remained quiet.

He took an apple from his plate
and examined the skin as if it contained the answers he sought. He did not feel
hungry, but took a bite anyway. The sweet texture of the fruit reminded him of
life before the Dark, and his heart constricted. Would apple trees even exist
anymore?

"I don't know." He
nearly choked on the words. "We have a few hours of respite while our forces
withdraw. After that . . ." He shrugged in defeat.

"I'm proud of you."

The simple statement shocked him.
"How can you say that?" he demanded.

"Alice said we would
surrender by sunset. The sun is setting now, and I call that a victory. I know
you will find a way to endure."

Jack couldn't help it, he
laughed. Her words were so absurd and yet said with such earnestness that it
was evident she believed them. Kate merely smiled.

"You don't believe me?"

"I haven't told you the
worst of it."

"So tell me."

"It took everything we had
to build the coastal barricades and organize units to man them. The second line
is not yet finished, and after our losses there's no way we could fill it
anyway. Texas is littered with holes. If I had any more nukes I would use them."

"So call on the mages."

"What can they do? Burn
Colorado? Or Texas?"

"Why not?" Kate asked.
"They've proven resourceful before. Tess caused a volcano to erupt, and
Hawk was just as powerful."

He sat back into his chair.
"I don't know how much they can do. They've lost just as much as we have.
Breaker just informed me that a quarter of the entire mage community has been
killed. What would you have me do?"

"You're the brilliant
one," she said with a smile. "I'm just a shooter."

Jack let out a slow breath.
"I don't think I can do this, Kate."

She got up and came around the
desk, dragging her chair. Placing it next to his, she sat and took his hands.

"You don't have to
win," she said quietly. "That's our daughter's role. You just need to
hold your ground."

He looked to her. "What if I
can't?"

"Do you doubt Tess?"

"Of course not."

"Do you doubt me?"

He frowned. "I know better
than that."

She flashed a smile at his tone.
"We feel the same about you. I know you can do this. As much as Tess was
born to be the oracle, you were born to do this."

"What do you mean?"

Kate sighed and leaned away.
"When we met, you were on the fast track to being the Secretary of
Defense. Then we got married, and you sidelined your career so you could focus
on our little family."

"You gave up being a
marine," he pointed out. "And you always said it was your second
love. Was it worth it to change diapers and teach the second grade?"

She laughed easily. "Do you
remember how Tess used to hide broccoli in her clothes so she wouldn't have to
eat it? Or how she would track mud into the house and then paint with it? I
remember wondering where her streak of willful disobedience had come
from."

"She wasn't our
daughter," Jack said quietly.

"No," Kate said, her
voice just as sober, "she wasn't—but
she did become ours."

"What are you saying?"
Jack asked.

"We raised her to be
our daughter, Jack, and she knows how much we love her—and how much we sacrificed for her. We gave up
our futures for Tess," Kate said. "Now our futures are being thrust
upon us."

He sighed, and murmured,
"I'd never be anything without you."

"So find a way to hold
out," she said. "I know you can, just as I know that Tess can end
it."

They looked up as the door
opened.

"I'm sorry, Jack," Iris
said, "but you need to see this."

Jack nodded, and they returned to
the map room. Instead of standing at their stations, everyone in the room stood
in front of the main techno wall. Jack strode to join them, but it took a
moment for him to recognize what they were looking at. Then his blood ran cold.

The image was of South America—or what was left of it.
Instead of vast jungles, forests, and countries, the image displayed a single
circle of land. The Dark had swallowed everything for hundreds of miles,
leaving only a fraction of the continent free. A smattering of whispers seeped
from the crowd of generals.

"The Dark stopped
advancing."

"They must have
surrendered."

"How many do you think
died?"

As if the last statement was
heard, a line of text appeared on the screen.

A
hundred million died before they accepted their fate. How many will perish
until you accept yours?

The words drew a collective gasp
as everyone realized who was speaking. Jack took a quick step to the front
before anything else could undermine them.

"Why are we looking at this?"
he demanded.

Iris didn't take her eyes from
the screen. "Someone connected the threads to an auren satellite. The
image just appeared."

Jack's lips tightened and he made
a cutting motion to Iris. Her eyes wide, she did as he requested. As the screen
died he turned to the group. He made a mental note to address their security
and then spoke to the group.

"She wants us to give
up," Jack said. "She wants us to be afraid."

"We should surrender,"
someone called, and the comment elicited a whisper.

"Before it's too late."

"You will be slaves."
Jack bit each word off. "Or you will be dead. Do not forget what happens
if we give in to Alice's demands. The Dark will remain at our feet, and it will
kill us if we intend to break her laws."

His challenging gaze swept the
crowd, and many eyes turned to avoid it. Jack knew that many—if not all—came from governments filled
with corruption. They needed to remember that if they surrendered, they were
just as likely to be killed.

"We have ten hours until the
battle starts again," he said. "Make sure we're ready. A lot of lives
depend on us."

Murmuring to themselves, the
crowd of generals and aides dispersed. When they were gone he turned to his
wife. Her expression rigid, she continued to look at the dark screen.

"Thanks for dinner," he
said, but she did not respond to his attempt at humor.

"I need to go."

"I thought your shift didn't
start for another hour."

"It doesn't," she said,
"but there's something I have to do."

He frowned at the tension in her
tone, but nodded. "Be safe."

"I will," she said.

Jack watched her go, concerned.
Her shift in attitude could be explained by the intrusion from Alice, and yet
he sensed something more. He'd known his wife for many years but had rarely
witnessed fear on her features. Then he recalled that she was never afraid for
herself.

She was afraid for him.

Chapter 25: A Daughter Grown

Encased in a goliath charm,
Breaker anchored the line on the beach in California. After twelve hours of
combat his arms felt like anchors, and only his will kept him fighting. In
spite of the losses, Breaker's remaining men continued to fight on the
threshold of the water.

Six inches of solid stone covered
every inch of his body. Like a rock giant of old, he reached the first fiend
and crushed it. Others turned on him, but their claws and fangs could not
penetrate his scratched and dented armor. Any that drew near were left bloodied
and broken.

"For the Prime!" Ivan
bellowed, and the other mage soldiers echoed the battle cry.

Breaker recognized the call as an
attempt to rally the flagging strength of the soldiers around him. The sun had
set against the Dark hours ago, and each passing minute the darkness deepened.

Wave upon wave of Twisted had
crashed against their defenses, only to be slaughtered by Breaker's handpicked
force. Forty thousand aurens and mages had died guarding this single break in
the cliffs.

In spite of the casualties,
Breaker held a grim smile on his face as he fought. As if Ducalik had taken their
resistance as a personal affront, the Twisted came at four times the normal
density. Breaker could almost feel Ducalik's anger as they continued to hold
their ground. The Twisted still far outnumbered them, but they were losing the
elements that made them strong.

Throughout the day Breaker had
noticed a decline in the number of greater fiends. In the beginning they had
been thrown at Breaker's army without regard for their numbers. Now only a
handful of Twisted tigers or lions had appeared. Every passing moment Breaker
drew strength from the Dark's failure—yet
dreaded Ducalik's return. Discarding the brutal memory of their encounter,
Breaker crushed a pair of Twisted and charged a knot nearby.

The Twisted poured from the Dark
in another surge, attempting once again to break them. Weary battlemages and
soldiers called on their magic and struck back. Wolves of fire knifed through
the dark creatures, tearing them down and incinerating their prey. Piercing
resonak curses shattered blood and bone alike, while water mages used the ocean
itself against their foes.

Water hydras climbed out of the
ocean and sent blasts of concentrated water at the line of black creatures.
They froze the Twisted where they stood, creating crowds of ice encrusted
creatures. One by one they shattered as auren snipers targeted them, and the
frozen shards of their bodies floated on the incoming tide.

Flyers soared on air boards
above. In tight formations they assaulted the swarms of screeching bats that
appeared. Gravity blades, blasts of fire, and tornado hexes tore into the
flying creatures, sending their bodies splashing into the surf below. Bats
dived for the flyers, attempting to tear them apart with their oversized fangs.
Few attempts got past the repelling cloaks the flyers wore.

Breaker caught a glimpse of
Shorn. Holding the right wing of a quartet, he cast curses like a veteran,
protecting his team and killing the enemy. A swarm came for them, but they
banked together and cast a combined cyclone hex that ripped through the swarm.
In spite of himself, Breaker's respect for the boy rose. Then a Twisted drew
his attention.

Breaker bared his teeth and
caught it trying to sneak past him. Lifting it high with one hand, he crushed
its skull with the other. Then he launched the corpse into the next charging at
him. They went down in a heap, and a nearby flyer blasted them both with fire.

Breaker released a bellow of
triumph, galvanizing his diminished company into action once more. He sensed
their despair and mounting fatigue and willed them to continue fighting. Then
his nexus charm activated and the order to retreat came.

"Lance," he barked,
"get things into motion. We've got twenty minutes before this beach is hit
by an auren missile."

Lance dodged to the left flank
while Breaker moved to the right. The order to retreat spread fast, and the
line of mages began to withdraw. His gaze swept the distinct units, searching
for any hint of them breaking.

The flyers had lost half their
number but still managed to keep the swarms of bats from reaching those on the
ground. The fire mages cast a series of fire golems to take the brunt of the
attack from the horde, allowing the rest of the ground force to retreat. Next
to them, the water mages called forth torrents of water and walls of frozen
aquaglass. Then Breaker spotted his daughter.

Riding a personal wave, Rox
darted between Twisted like they were standing still. Needle charms flew from
her nimble fingers, taking them down before they'd even registered her
presence.

His anger flared at her
disobedience, but it mingled with a sudden burst of pride. He'd made certain
she had orders to remain at the rear of the conflict, yet she had somehow
joined the forefront of the battle. The water mage unit had suffered severe
losses throughout the afternoon, and he guessed she had convinced her
commanding officer to use her. With her hair billowing behind her and magic
flying from her fingers, the girl reminded Breaker of Rivena the day he'd met
her.

"Lance," he barked into
the nexus charm, "keep them moving."

Lance took over, and Breaker
sprinted the hundred yards to Rox's unit. Several Twisted attempted to attack
him, but he left them crushed and bleeding in his wake.

"Your orders were to stay
behind," he said. His irritation didn't reach his voice, and his pride
seemed to win out.

Rox glided to a stop and raised
her chin. "My unit needed me. What was I supposed to do?" She cast a
hydra nearby and gestured an invitation.

Behind the helm of his goliath
charm he grinned and drew a bombardment charm underneath the hydra. As its five
heads reared back and fired, the streams of water carried chunks of hardened
sand into the horde. Smashed and battered, they went down under the fusillade.

He blew out his breath. When he had
taken her back to Tryton's he'd accepted that she was an adult. His acceptance
had not extended to her going to war, but now he realized she might not have
seen it that way.

"I'm proud of you,"
Breaker said.

She beamed up at him and motioned
to the newest group of Twisted exiting the Dark. "I could use a hand,
Prime."

His throat tight with emotion, he
nodded, and together they went to work. Water and sand rose up and combined
into hexes and curses. After decades of training, combat was second nature for
him, yet this time it felt different.

He attacked on the left, and she
smoothly defended his back. When a knot of primates jumped toward them, he
stepped to the front, and she gave him swords of aquaglass. As he charged them
down she glided to the flank, cutting them down with lancing sprays of water.
Breaker met her in the middle and couldn't suppress the grin.

"You fight like your
mother," he said.

A smile blossomed on her face,
but it faded as she caught sight of the newest wave of Twisted. Breaker turned
to find dozens of Twisted elephants charging into the surf. Their placid bodies
where now muscled torsos and powerful legs. One trunk had split into many, and
their tusks had grown sharp and serrated.

They reached the line of golems
and tore them to shreds. Men and women cried out in warning, but their ability
to retreat had just been cut down. Forced to turn and fight, they called on
their magic to fight again.

Breaker's chest tightened as he
realized Ducalik's intention. He'd waited until the last moment to send in a
crushing blow. With his forces halfway up the beach and much of the auren
artillery already retreating, Breaker had nothing that could stop the greater
fiends. His gaze lifted to the cloud, where he guessed the general was
watching.

"Dad," Rox had to shout
over the menacing bugle of the leader. "We can do a—"

"Get off the beach," he
growled.

"But I know—"

"That's an order, Rox,"
he barked, and his tone left no room for argument. Then he turned to leave.

Water surged out of the sand and carried
her in front of him. "We can do a quicksand hex," she snapped.

Breaker made a motion to dismiss
her, but his hand stopped. She was right. They didn't need to kill the beasts,
merely stop them. Fleetingly he wondered if he would ever stop underestimating
his daughter. Then he went into motion.

"Lance," he shouted.
"Get the earth mages to pair up with water. I want a line of quicksand
between us and them."

"Yes, sir!" Lance said,
and Breaker could hear the grin in his voice.

"Do you know what to
do?" he asked Rox.

She'd started to drift away, but
darted back. "You aren't going to make me leave?"

"Not this time," he
said, and shed his goliath charm.

Her face smudged with dirt and
her new uniform torn, she flashed a brilliant smile. The expression cast a ray
of light through him, and for one eternal moment everything seemed to pause. In
spite of the war, in spite of the carnage, death, and billions of casualties,
his daughter had not lost her hope.

He stepped to his daughter's
side. "Don't get caught in it," he said, but it sounded more like a
laugh than a warning.

She nodded, and side by side they
lifted off the ground. His slideways charm tilted forward as he accelerated.
Water lifted through the sand and lifted her, allowing her to surf on an
aquaglass board and match his pace. Then they cast the charm together.

The ground in their wake began to
liquefy, becoming a semi-solid mixture of sand and seawater. As they sped
across the beach they trailed an expanding pool of quicksand. Reaching Lance
and his partner, Breaker and Rox doubled back, adding to the depth and
dimension of the lethal pond.

By unspoken accord they turned
when the first elephant hit the barrier. The lead elephant stepped into it and
its leg sank to its chest. Unable to halt its forward momentum, it rolled into
a flip. Sand and water geysered upward as the enormous beast crashed into the
quicksand. Another flipped next to it, and then another. In seconds the entire
line was floundering in the ground, struggling to move at all.

Breaker reached out to Rox and
drew her to him. "I'm proud of you, Roxanne."

"Thanks for listening,
Dad."

He couldn't help the laugh, and
together they turned up the beach. A moment later they joined the rear of the
heavily laden convoy. Breaker cast four wheels from the rock on either side,
and she cast a pair of aquaglass seats. They climbed in and sped away. The
happiness lingered until the nuke struck the beach they had fought and died
for.

Breaker looked back as the
mushroom cloud climbed into the sky. Then his eyes were drawn north as another
cloud climbed into the sky. Another blossomed to the south, and then another.
His gut tightened. They had survived the day.

But at what cost?

Part 3

Chapter 26: Flight

Wolf sank into the porch seat and
gazed at the sky. Millions of stars were visible—but
not to the horizon. As if the heavens were being devoured, the eastern stars
gradually disappeared as the Dark obscured them.

"Do you think there is any
humanity left in the Twisted?" Linda asked as she joined him.

"I hope not," Wolf
said, "for all our sakes."

They sat on the porch of a
mountain house in Tennessee. A roadway wound up to them, covered in support
personnel. Construction crews worked feverishly to complete fortifications and
bury explosives. Military support personnel were rushing to mount gun
placements and unload ammunition on the summit.

Wolf's gaze was drawn to the Arc
that sat on the mountaintop. Like a giant tooth curving out of the rock, the
white material gleamed dully as lights reflected off it. Along with ten
thousand soldiers, mages, and several hundred dark elves, his SEAL team had
been tasked with guarding the Arc. If it went down, the Halo would be unable to
fire on the entire eastern flank. Because of the strategic importance of the
Arc, they weren't going to retreat.

He sighed and looked away. Like
the rest of the combat force, Wolf and the six remaining members of his SEAL
team had been ordered to sleep. After weeks of straight fighting and the horrific
day they had just endured, his body needed to rest. His mind refused.

"It's hard to believe what's
happening," Linda murmured, and Wolf looked at her. Since the dark elves
had killed the Twisted lion, she'd at least managed to regain much of the color
in her face.

Wolf released a breath.
"When I was a kid I was afraid of the dark. I never thought I'd have to
fight it as an adult."

Linda released a grunt, and her
hand tentatively reached out to his. His arm tingled as their fingers entwined.
For a moment the sounds of construction faded, and all he heard was his beating
heart.

He released a quiet laugh.
"I'd face down creatures of nightmare, but I'm afraid to hold a girl's
hand."

The door swung open behind them,
and Peterson poked his head out. "Everyone's bunking in, Captain."

"Boots on, Sergeant,"
Wolf said, "and keep your guns at your sides. We may know when the Dark is
supposed to arrive, but Alice may send a vanguard."

Peterson nodded and then grinned
as he caught sight of their hands. "Keep an eye out for the dangerous
ones," he said.

"Shut up, Peterson,"
Linda said, and flicked a hand without looking.

Peterson recoiled as if he'd been
slapped, but it only caused him to grin. His chuckle faded as the door closed.
In the ensuing quiet Wolf looked at Linda, who bore a faint smile on her face.

"My men like you," Wolf
said.

"They respect me,"
Linda replied. "But then, I've noticed there aren't any women in your
command."

Wolf met her gaze, the impending
battle momentarily forgotten. "The training we go through to become a SEAL
is brutal. Physical and mental faculties are tested to the extreme. In the past
my government has feared that women wouldn't be able to hold up."

Linda released a tired laugh.
"My government was the same as yours, once. Women were allowed to serve in
the battlemage corps, but not in the Rayths. Then a woman refused to accept
rejection and took the trials to join the elite. Many more followed her
example. I was one of them."

"What were your trials
like?"

"I'll tell if you
tell," she said with a smile.

He grinned, and told her about
his first week as a SEAL. He'd never been so exhausted—except perhaps now. He'd lifted boatfuls of
water until his arms had felt numb. He'd swum for endless miles, slept for an
hour, and then dragged himself out of bed to do more. Every waking minute he
thought of the bell, and how easy it would be to just walk up and ring out of
the program.

He'd survived the first week out
of spite for his father, who'd laughed in his face when he'd said he wanted to
be a SEAL. After the first week the rigorous training program had been as fun
as it was effective. He'd learned to handle knives, guns, and other weaponry,
as well as tactical gear. Everything had been drilled into him until he could
fight in his sleep. Then came SERE training.

Survival, Evasion, Resistance,
and Escape had tested him like nothing before, and he'd come the closest to
dropping out. In the end he'd emerged stronger. Scarred perhaps, but stronger.
He didn't realize until later how much the SEAL training would save his life.

Suddenly chagrined at how much
he'd shared, he motioned to her. "Your turn."

She leaned her head back.
"You'd be surprised at the similarities between us. My first week as a
Rayth began much the same, albeit with magic."

She talked about the six trials,
each with a rising level of difficulty. The first stage had been with other
mages like her. She'd had to siphon water from a pond using just gravity, and
hold it aloft. If a single drop touched the ground she would be eliminated from
consideration. The precision required had been more than many could attain, and
she'd just barely qualified.

In the next stages she'd learned
how to battle mages of other types. Weaknesses had been exploited on both
sides, resulting in countless injuries. By the fifth trial only a fraction
remained, and they had been deployed to learn how to fight rock trolls, dark
elves, and the fiercest of magical animals.

The last trial had been the
worst. Tasked with protecting a tiny glass orb, she'd battled twelve Rayths
over the course of a week. They'd come during the night and in the day, in
groups and singly. They used every type of magic against her in a battle that
was not meant to be won, only endured. Like all those before her, she had
failed, and her advancement had been decided by the twelve testers and the
Prime.

Lost in the story, Wolf shook his
head when she finished. "How many made it through?"

"Seventeen out of
ninety-eight," Linda said. "I was fourteenth, but it didn't matter.
Becoming a Rayth is the highest honor a single-talent mage can receive."

"So how did you end up in
Erzurum as a secretary?" Wolf asked.

Linda smiled at the reference to
the first time they had met. "Rayths were routinely placed undercover in
militaries and governments throughout the world—one of the many ways we used to
maintain our secrecy. As a secretary I had access and invisibility."

He laughed at that. "I doubt
that, not with your looks."

She flushed at the compliment.
"You were the first soldier that I noticed."

"That's because I almost
shot your colonel."

"That too," she said,
and squeezed his hand.

The humor faded, and Wolf's
attention returned to the beach. "If we survive this, will you do
something for me?"

"What do you have in
mind?"

"I want to see what it's
like to fly." He flashed a faint smile. "Every time you lift off the
ground I wonder."

Linda surprised him by getting to
her feet. "Let's do it now."

"I don't want to tire
you," he said, and resisted her pull. "You should be resting."

"You too," she said.
"Now stand up."

"Only for a minute," he
said with a sigh, and stood in front of her.

She took his other hand.
"Don't be afraid." Then they lifted off the deck.

Wolf's boots left the wood, and
his grip on her hands tightened. They rose one foot, then two, and then ten.
They passed the roof and continued to rise. Only when they passed the power
lines did she stop.

Wolf swallowed in both fear and
excitement. The hills and mountains of Tennessee stretched away into darkness.
Lights dotted the road, but the traffic was sparse. Civilians had been
evacuated days ago, so only military vehicles and construction crews remained.
The ones finished with their work were moving a hundred miles back to the
secondary barricade at the Stacks.

Condo high rises sat north of
them, their mountaintop views lined with snipers. Mortar and rocket teams
filled the roofs. Lights dotted the mountain. Each light represented hundreds
of soldiers like him. He saw it all and yet did not think about the impending
battle.

"Wouldn't you just fly all
the time?"

"It's like running,"
she said with a smile. "You can build up your endurance, but you can't run
forever. Now, don't worry." She slowly pulled her hands free, causing him
to suck in his breath.

Hovering above their assigned
cabin, she rotated him in a slow circle. The motion robbed him of breath, and
he found his heart thundering in his chest.

"This is incredible,"
he said, and then turned his eyes to her. "This is every kid's dream, you
know that?"

"It was my dream," she
said.

Her lips parted slightly, and he
took the hint. He reached out and drew her to him. Wrapping his arms around
her, he leaned and kissed her, tender at first, and then harder. For an eternal
moment, the war, the Dark, and all they had endured did not exist.

It could not last, and the weight
of reality soon returned. They parted, and he stared into her eyes. Then slowly
they descended to their chairs. Wolf did not release her hand, and instead
scooted his chair closer to hers. She threw him a smile, and together they sat in
silence. Wolf stared out over the dark forest and wished he had met her sooner.

"Any chance we'll get lucky
and someone kills Alice?" Wolf asked.

Linda released a quiet laugh.
"We can always hope."

Chapter 27: The Master's Lair

The Swordsman gazed out the
cockpit window of the C-35 Sherpa, but was unable to discern anything below. He
favored the obscurity of night for his work, but this was not the same. To have
the darkness on the Earth be greater than that of the night sky sent a
disturbing tremor through him, and he turned his eyes to the pilot.

"I've never been inside one
of these things," he said.

Robar flashed him a grin. "I
was dropped from a few when I was a SEAL and even dated a pilot. She let me
take off a few times when we were off duty. I've never landed one,
though."

"Then it's a good thing we
don't have to," Indigo said from a seat behind them.

The Swordsman threw her a look.
Like him, she had been tense during the rough takeoff, but the tension had eased
soon after. They had managed to get off the ground ahead of the Dark's advance
and had flown east toward the location they had received from Wessel. The plane
would not be returning.

One of the engines coughed as the
fuel ebbed in the tank, and the Swordsman asked, "Are we going to make
it?"

Robar reached out and flipped a
switch. "We're approaching the drop zone now. Switching to autopilot, I
think." He gingerly removed his hands from the stick, and when the plane
continued to fly, he issued a sigh. "We've only got a few minutes of fuel
left, so let's go."

They left the cockpit behind and
collected their gear from the floor. In order to make the trip, Robar had
stripped everything from the hold. Chairs, gear, and even mounts had been
ripped from the interior of the plane.

The Swordsman did a quick check
of the contents of his pack. Since he had no idea what they would encounter
he'd packed a spare blade, enchanted gear for infiltration, and survival items.
Beside him, Indigo's pack carried similar items, but Robar's couldn't have been
more different.

An assault rifle and shotgun went
into what he called a rucksack. Pistols, ammunition, and explosives had been
added until the bag bulged. The Swordsman had doubted Robar could lift it, but
he strapped it to his waist and walked to the rear of the plane. Robar then
picked up a helmet and fitted it over his head. Lastly he strapped on his
chute.

Indigo cast a breathing charm on
herself, while the Swordsman activated the tattoo on his neck that would allow
him to breathe in the high altitude. When they were ready Robar tossed them a
pair of special radios.

"Remember," he said,
"you have twenty feet on all sides of me. Drift away and the Dark has you.
Ready?"

"Let's go," the
Swordsman said.

He cast a body warmth charm to
keep himself from freezing, while Indigo cast a fire bubble charm around her
body. When they were ready Robar slammed a fist into the red button on the
wall. A klaxon sounded as the door opened, allowing a blast of frigid air
inside. Robar held up his fingers as he counted down. Then he jumped from the
plane. The Swordsman and Indigo leapt after.

The drone of the plane faded as
it carried forward on its course, and the Swordsman didn't spare it a second
thought. The wind buffeted him, but it had been diminished by the magic in the
Swordsman's gauntlet.

Angling his body downward, he
drifted closer toward Robar until he managed to snag a strap on his bag. Indigo
took up position on the other side of him. Like three arrows in the night, they
plummeted toward the Dark. Robar lit a flare in his hand, and red light
splashed over them.

In spite of Robar's presence, the
Swordsman felt a tremor of fear as the Dark rose up to swallow them. If his
brother's immunity had somehow ended, all three of them would perish long
before they hit the ground.

They pierced the surface of the
Dark and disappeared, and the Swordsman allowed a smile of relief as the Dark
withdrew. His breathing loud in his ears, the Swordsman focused on the red
light of the flare and stayed close as they penetrated the Dark.

Silence stretched between them,
and the Swordsman did not break it. After connecting with his brother, the
Swordsman hadn't had much time to speak with him, and he still felt a barrier
between them. Nearly twenty years apart left a lingering rift that he was
uncertain how to overcome.

"Any idea what we are headed
for?" Robar finally asked.

"Your guess is as good as
mine," the Swordsman replied. "I just hope there's something
there."

Indigo issued a grunt of
agreement. "It's our best chance of killing Alice. Wessel was adamant that
this was her place of refuge."

"Well there is no satellite
coverage for these coordinates," Robar said. "The military has mapped
every inch of Earth—except
here. Even Google missed it. But how's that possible?"

"Luck," the Swordsman
said. "She must be guarding it with her own magic."

The wind began to pick up,
driving them to the side and off course. They forced their way back, but the
gusts of air continued to pick up. Even through his magic the Swordsman felt
the biting cold and the wind push at them. It could have been coincidence, but
he sensed a deliberate nature in the elements. Gritting his teeth, he willed
himself to drive through it.

The wind buffeted them with
increasing might, causing their tightly packed formation to shake apart. Head
pointed straight down, it was all he could do to stay within Robar's bubble as
the gale slammed into his body. Several times he was pushed away, and the
whispers attacked. He closed his mind to anything but a single thought—returning to Robar.
Controlling his body, he fought his way back to his brother's side.

Then suddenly the Dark came to an
end, as did the wind. The Swordsman cast a night charm on his vision, and the
ocean below burst into view. As he continued to fall, the Swordsman scanned
their destination. Like a dome of darkness, the cloud formed a protective
shield around a section of the Atlantic. At its heart a shadowed island sat
free of the Dark.

"Pulling chute," Robar
called, and yanked a chord.

The dark green canopy opened
above him, jerking his body like he hung on the end of a whip. The Swordsman
activated his air board, while Indigo used her innate magic to fly. Both of
them drifted out of Robar's immunity sphere and their magic strengthened. Robar
pulled off his helmet and tossed it away.

"Since when is there an
island here," he said.

"She probably raised it
herself," Indigo said, "or eliminated anyone who helped. You don’t do
this much to hide and then let people know where to find you."

"Her army is on the verge of
victory," the Swordsman said. "She may not be here."

"Everyone has a home,"
Indigo said, "and every contact I've had with the Harbingers has shown
facilities akin to barracks. She doesn't strike me as the 'bunk with your
buddies' type." She swept her hand at the darkened island growing larger
as they neared. "This looks more her style."

The Swordsman hadn't taken his
gaze from the island, and as they drifted downward he began to make out what
lay on its surface. At a mile across, the island was tiny, and yet it boasted
streams and lush vegetation. Waterfalls cascaded down tiny slopes. Blossoming
from springs that dotted the landscape, the streams fed the abundance of
vegetation. The island looked like it had been plucked from a mountainside in
Virginia and dropped into the ocean.

A single structure rose above
everything else and resembled a lighthouse. Smooth white stone formed the
circular tower, while the roof had been fashioned of aquaglass. Rather than
white light shining from inside, the color was deep yellow. It glowed like a mini
sun, but its rays did not cascade outward.

"At least we know why the
island hasn't been found," the Swordsman said.

"A source of luck that size
would take a decade to build," Indigo said.

"I bet she built this place
in the beginning," Robar said, and banked his chute toward the beach.

They alighted on the sand
together, and he discarded his chute. Dropping his pack, he began withdrawing
the weapons and fastening them to various points on his body. In short order he
racked the slide on his assault rifle and nodded.

"Let's go kill the
Master," he said.

The Swordsman drew his blade, and
Indigo cast her own fire sword. Then the Swordsman leapt into the air and
activated his black air board once more. Gliding to the pathway leading away
from the beach, he readied himself for combat.

"I'll take the lead,"
he said.

Indigo fell into place beside
him, likewise floating in the air. Robar brought up the rear, his attention on
their flanks. As they entered the dark forest, the Swordsman kept his sword out
and ready.

Trees grew on either side of the
path, their twisted trunks curving toward the night sky. Small animals blinked
at them from the darkness, their eyes reflecting briefly before they retreated.
Somehow the moonlight managed to penetrate to filter through the branches,
providing faint illumination.

They reached the lighthouse, and
the Swordsman paused on the threshold of the forest. The surface of the stone
glowed with imbued light, illuminating the clearing around it. The soft sounds
of night drifted from the forest, somehow inviting and yet menacing at the same
time. This was the home of the Master. Entire nations had knelt before her, and
soon the world would follow.

The Swordsman scanned the tower
for traps or other curses. It disturbed him that none appeared. There was no
hint of even monitoring motes. Indigo shook her head, indicating she hadn't
seen any anything either. A frown creased his forehead. Whatever guarded the
refuge, it was apparently sufficient that Alice saw no need for other defenses.

His caution mounting, he glided
to the door at the base of the tower and dismissed his board. Landing on cat's
feet, he proceeded to check the door. Indigo and Robar took up positions on
either side of him.

"The door isn't
locked," he whispered.

"I have that feeling I get
right before I get shot at," Robar said.

"Alice has proven an extreme
talent for forethought and caution," Indigo murmured. "Whatever
guards this place must make even regular locks unnecessary."

"Time to find out
what," the Swordsman said, and swung the door open.

He darted inside, and the others
followed suit. The interior was larger than he would have been expected, and
was well lit by the source of luck magic at the top. A spiral staircase wound
its way up the large, empty shaft and connected to the seven balconies that
ringed the space. Four doors opened to each balcony and led to the many rooms
inside the lighthouse.

Pillars of aquaglass supported
the second floor, allowing an unimpeded view of the open bottom floor. Visible
between the transparent columns, the walls were filled with auren art and mage
memory frames. Couches, tables, and other fine furniture were carefully placed
on the smooth wood floor. The Swordsman scanned the space but saw no one. Then
a figure appeared.

Exiting a room higher in the
tower, Alice herself flew down to greet them, her luck magic blazing in her
hands. The cold rage on her face made it clear she had discovered their
presence, so the Swordsman stepped into view. The others did as well and they
drifted apart to flank her.

"Two assassins and an
aberration," she said, her voice shaking with anger.

"And a target," the
Swordsman added.

Alice ignored him, and continued
staring at Robar. "The source of the anti-Dark weaponry, Robar is it? I'm
so glad you came to me. It will make killing you that much easier."

Robar kept his gun trained on
her. "I'm not here to talk."

The click of the trigger echoed
in the tower, but no bullet exited the barrel. Alice released a mocking
chuckle. "Your immunity does not extend to me? How very . . .
fortunate."

"Every magic has a
weakness," Indigo said calmly. "We are here to exploit yours."

Alice smiled, but it only served
to enhance the threat in her gaze. "There are very few things I would
relish more than killing you, Indigo, but I have a defiant world to subdue.
Enjoy my guardian. It has had precious little to do in the last ten
years."

Before any of them could react,
Alice faded from view. Then the yellow light brightened. The shift drew the
Swordsman's gaze upward in time to see the orb of luck change shape. It
tightened into a thin stream that poured down the center of the tower. As it
neared the floor it separated into three teardrops that landed facing each of
them—and then swelled
into three figures.

The one facing the Swordsman
became a man with a sword and shield. Dead eyes stared at him before a
Gladiator helm obscured its features. It twirled its sword in anticipation as
its companions took shape.

The one in front of Indigo
swelled into a woman with features like hers. Its hair drifted in the air as it
rose off the ground and gathered magic across its arms. Robar's adversary
joined the first two, and the yellow magic extended out from its hand until it
became a gun that dwarfed Robar's assault rifle.

The Swordsman cast speed and
agility. Then he tightened his grip on his sword as he realized why Alice had
no other defenses. The sphere that guarded the island was not a source
of luck.

It was an entity . . .

Chapter 28: Entity of Luck

The trio of guardians attacked as
one. The Soldier pulled the trigger on its huge gun and shattered an aqua
pillar as Robar dived away. The Flyer ignited a torrent of flames at Indigo so
intense that the temperature in the tower spiked. Then the Swordsman was forced
to devote his whole attention to his adversary.

The Gladiator charged with its
shield, causing the Swordsman to dart away. In spite of the Swordsman's
enhanced movement, the Gladiator swung its shield as if it had anticipated the
move, and clipped the Swordsman on the shoulder.

He rolled with the blow, and came
out into a leap. Activating his air board, he spun back in time to block the
next attack. His weapon vibrated from the contact with the Gladiator's blade,
and he was forced to duck as the Gladiator followed up with its shield.

The Swordsman retreated,
attempting to gain space to regroup. The Gladiator didn't allow it, and pursued
him with relentless purpose. Gritting his teeth, the Swordsman added strength
and dived onto the first balcony. He caught the railing and levered himself
over.

The Gladiator rotated into a
fluid flip and alighted next to the Swordsman, but the slight delay had given
the Swordsman what he needed. Snagging the hilt of a dagger at his back, he
yanked it out and attacked.

Now with two weapons, the
Swordsman assaulted the Gladiator. Every skill, every trick he knew, he flowed
into a combination of lightning blows. The sheer ferocity of the attack drove
the Gladiator back, and the Swordsman's skill got past the defenses.

The Swordsman's blade skimmed the
side of the shield and drove into the yellow flesh. He yanked it out to block
the next attack, and the wound solidified in seconds. The Swordsman growled
under his breath and sought for another way of damaging his opponent. Risking
being impaled, he cast a look at his companions.

The Flyer had driven Indigo
upward. Blasts of fire and wind shredded the upper balconies as they sought for
an advantage. The walls rippled as gravity waves slammed into them, tearing
great holes in the tower's walls.

At the base, Robar and the
soldier were exchanging blistering fire. A grenade exploded next to the
Soldier, and the shrapnel pockmarked its skin like ugly wounds. Just as with
the Gladiator, they sealed in seconds.

The Swordsman's distraction
allowed the Gladiator to close the gap. Fending off the dual blades with a
spinning assault, it slammed its shield into the Swordsman. Ribs cracked as he
crashed through a wall, and he sucked in his breath through clenched teeth. He
cast a healing spell and rolled to his feet.

The Gladiator pressed the
advantage and charged through the hole. Its dead eyes held no emotion as it
drove for the kill. The Swordsman growled and rose to deflect the attack. Slapping
the overhand chop to the side, he spun to the Gladiator's back with lighting
speed.

As he passed, he hooked his arm
over the shield and stabbed his dagger into the Gladiator's side. Then he
twisted and used the contact to throw the Gladiator into the desk at the side
of the room.

The wood crumpled under the
Gladiator's weight, but the Swordsman wasn't finished. Pouncing onto its back,
he drove his sword into the back of the Gladiator's skull, pinning it to the
floor. Then he dragged his dagger across the neck of the Gladiator. It reformed
in the wake of the slice—and
the Gladiator began to morph.

Like a boat sinking under water,
the back of the helmet withdrew into the head—and
the face pressed out. With the dagger now sticking through its forehead, the
Gladiator's hollow eyes did not blink. Then its arms rotated as if the
shoulders were made of liquid. Recognizing what was coming, the Swordsman
yanked his sword free and withdrew.

Racing through the hole, he used
his momentum and leapt to a railing above. He caught the rail and levered
himself out and up. Rolling into a back flip, he landed on the second balcony.
At his back the floor splintered into a hole as the Gladiator carved a path to
him. The Swordsman waited until it was halfway through and then dived over the
side.

"Can't hurt mine," he
shouted as he fell. "Coming on your right!"

Without waiting for a response,
he landed on the back of the Soldier, carrying it to the floor. Using the
momentum, he drove both his blades into the Soldier's back. At the same time
Robar rotated, and his gunfire slammed into the Gladiator jumping off the
railing above. The impact of the rounds threw the Gladiator back.

The Swordsman sliced great wounds
in the Soldier. Each time the liquid flesh knit in seconds. Recognizing the
effort to be futile, he issued a furious grunt and leapt to Robar's side. A
glance revealed how much damage his brother had sustained.

Blood dripped from his arm, and a
bullet had grazed his skull, leaving a bloody furrow in his hair. Other bullets
had creased his legs, barely leaving him upright. The body armor had taken most
of the damage. Gaping holes marked his chest, back, and leg armor pieces,
leaving the ceramic plates scratched and blackened.

Indigo impacted the ground next
to them, landing so hard she stumbled. Regaining her stance, she cast a massive
wall of fire, cutting off the image of the three entities of luck leaping after
them.

"Outside," the
Swordsman barked.

Robar kicked the door open and
led the way. "Nothing I have hurts them."

The pain in his voice was echoed
in Indigo's. "Me either," she said and cast a spell that shut the
door behind them.

The barrier shattered as the
Gladiator led with its shield. The other two were only a step behind, and all
three surged in pursuit. Relentless and lethal, they closed the gap.

"How do we kill an entity of
luck?" Robar panted.

The Swordsman threw a look back,
searching for any hint of a weakness. Then he noticed an oddity. Barely
distinguishable, a space separated the entities from each other. It could have
been nothing, and yet the buffer was slightly more than necessary.

"We can't hurt them, but
perhaps they can harm each other."

Robar grunted. "I'm the
slowest. I'll lead the Soldier straight."

"I'll take left,"
Indigo said.

"Thirty seconds," the
Swordsman said, and swung his air board right.

The Gladiator peeled off from the
Soldier and leapt into the air. It activated a shimmering yellow air board, and
streaked in pursuit. Counting the seconds in his head, the Swordsman feigned
fatigue. He slowed as the Gladiator caught up. Just as the Gladiator swung its
sword, the Swordsman rolled on his board and banked aside, grazing the Soldier
as he streaked past.

The Gladiator's blade clipped
hair from his head but missed—and
sank deep into the Soldier's neck. The Soldier stumbled and went down, and the
Swordsman caught a glimpse of its gaping wound.

It did not heal.

A grim smile creased his
features, and he rotated back for another pass. To his surprise the Gladiator
was no longer in pursuit. A sinking feeling seeped into his gut and he turned
toward the sounds of Robar's passage. Dark trees blurred past him until he
burst into a clearing.

The Gladiator stalked Robar, its
sword raised high. The Soldier advanced beside it, one arm limp as it fired
one-handed to keep Robar pinned behind a boulder. The angle allowed the
Swordsman to see Robar grab a grenade from his chest and pull the pin.

Fear for his brother gripped the
Swordsman, but it was burned to a crisp by a surge of rage. Dismissing his air
board, he amplified his speed, agility, and strength beyond any limit. His
reflexes and abilities magnified by magic and focus, he bolted into the
clearing.

Hearing his approach, the Soldier
spun about—but the
Swordsman was too close. In a blur of strikes, he shredded the Soldier's
injured arm. As the wounds knit he kicked the Soldier in the stomach, launching
it away. Wood splintered as the Soldier snapped a heavy branch and went down.

"Grenade!" he barked,
and Robar tossed the explosive at the downed Soldier.

The Swordsman dived toward the
Gladiator as the grenade detonated, and a shard of shrapnel dug into his back.
With so much magic coursing through him he barely felt it, and drove for the
Gladiator. The Gladiator whirled to face him and deflected the initial strike
with its shield. Then it swung its sword in a blow meant to remove the
Swordsman's arm.

The Swordsman shifted his weight
and rotated, drawing his own sword through the Gladiator's wrist. With
deliberate control, the Swordsman cut the hand like he was slicing bread,
dragging it out from hilt to tip. With the Swordsman's weapon in the way, the
hand could not heal, and it fell to the ground, taking the sword with it.

Hand and blade immediately began
to disintegrate, but the Swordsman saw the opportunity. Leaning into the blow,
he kicked the Gladiator's shield with all his might, sending the Gladiator
skidding back. Taking advantage of the space, the Swordsman snatched the luck
blade with his free hand and attacked.

Pieces of luck splintered off and
evaporated as the Swordsman cut the Gladiator to pieces. Finally he caught the
shield and yanked it away—and
then severed it as well. Then he plunged the fading luck blade into the
Gladiator's heart. As if its power had been cut, the entity collapsed and did
not rise.

"Ronin!" Robar
bellowed.

The Swordsman spun, and
registered the scene at a glance. When the Soldier had gone down, Robar had
closed and fired point blank. Unable to bring its own gun to bear, the Soldier
had drawn a knife and engaged. The two had fallen to the ground and rolled, and
ultimately the Soldier ended on top. Bringing its weight to bear, it drove the
yellow knife downward.

Too far to assist, the Swordsman
whirled and threw the luck blade. It embedded into the Soldier's side just as
its knife began to enter Robar's chest. The force of the blow slammed it into
the tree at its side, pinning it to the wood. Robar reached up and caught the
luck blade hilt. With a savage yank he cut the Soldier in two. The blade
disintegrated as the Soldier collapsed.

His chest heaving and his senses
tuned, the Swordsman heard a rush of wind that indicated a flyer's approach.
Stepping on the edge of the fading shield, he flipped it up to his hand and
then tossed it into the air just as Indigo appeared.

With burns covering her side and
marring her cheek, Indigo saw the shield just inches from her hand. Without
hesitation she caught it and threw it into her wake with a growl of triumph.
The Flyer exploded into view in time to catch the shield in its neck. Without
its head, the entity of luck crashed to the ground and tumbled to a stop.

Gasping for air, Indigo landed
and fell to her knees. "Thanks for the assist."

"Anytime," the
Swordsman said. Gritting his teeth, he released his magic and nearly passed out
from the wave of weakness. His body yearned to call on his magic again, to feel
the rush of power and strength, but he fought the desire by focusing on a more
pressing concern.

"You alright?" he asked
his brother.

Robar watched the Soldier's body
fade from view and touched the blood trickling from the shallow cut in his
chest. "I'm not going to lie. I thought we were done for."

Weak and exhausted, the Swordsman
sank to the ground and leaned against the boulder. "Once she cast them
into solid they couldn't reshape quickly. We were lucky she split the entity
into three parts."

Indigo offered a weak grin at his
word choice. "Her magic has made her arrogant. The oracle should exploit
that."

Robar stabbed a finger at the
fading Flyer's body. "Arrogance may be Alice's downfall, but Tess won't be
able to stop her the same way we killed the entities. The caster is always
stronger than the entity she casts. Tess will have to find another way."

Indigo winced as she got to her
feet, and the Swordsman joined her. Robar groaned but also managed to stand.

"So what now?" Robar
asked.

"I hate to admit it,"
Indigo said, "but I don't think we can stop Alice. We'd counted on Robar's
immunity extending to her. Now that we know it doesn't . . ." She shrugged
in irritated defeat.

Robar shook his head. "So
then what do we do? Join the war?"

"We're assassins," the
Swordsman said with a jerk of his head.

"So?" Robar asked.

"So we find something else
to kill."

Chapter 29: The Third Talisman

Exhausted and sore, Tess and
Siarra stepped out of Siarra's refuge and into the night. After returning from
the vault, they had spent the last few hours attempting to identify what the
last item would be. Even with the Seeker stone they did not know what to look
for other than its location on a mountain.

"I'll meet you at the
sword," Siarra said.

Tess nodded, and then flew to
Westpoint. She'd promised to speak to them as soon as she had answers and
couldn't delay it any longer. Landing on the steps, she opened the door and
stepped inside. Her parents were seated at the table, and both looked up at her
entry.

"You're back," Kate
breathed, and closed the distance to hug her. "Did you find it?"

"Not yet," Tess said,
and moved to embrace her dad. "But the second talisman is helping."
She showed them the compass and added, "I believe it's how we find the
fourth talisman."

If I can figure out what it is.

They drew her to the table, where
a plate had already been set out for her. Distracted by the food, she asked,
"Did you cook this?"

"I used a cooking
cauldron," Kate said with a grin. "I don't think I'll ever be able to
use an oven again."

Her statement elicited memories
of happier times, of the three of them cooking on a Saturday morning. A pang of
sorrow lanced through Tess's frame.

"Mom, Dad, if I fail—"

"You won't," Jack said
quickly, and placed a hand over hers.

"But if I do—"

"Why don't you tell us about
the vault?" Kate asked.

Tess knew she was trying to
distract her but didn't fight it. Starting with how they had found the vault,
Tess detailed what she'd seen inside. Then she described activating Hawk's car
to escape.

"You drove a car?" Kate
asked, startled.

"Sort of," Tess
responded. "It conjured a road in front of me so it was anything but
normal."

Jack began to laugh. Quiet at
first, it grew into a deep belly laugh that drew an angry look from Kate.

"Is something funny?"

"After everything Tess has
been through, you are afraid of her behind a wheel?"

"She's sixteen," Kate
protested. "She could have wrecked it."

Tess couldn't suppress a grin at
the absurd turn in the conversation. "Er . . . I actually did," she
said, and told them about her encounter with the elephant.

Kate looked daggers at Jack, as
if Tess had just proved her point. Jack began to laugh again. "She can fly,
and you are worried about her in a car?"

Kate glared at him, but her
expression had begun to soften. "It is a little silly, isn't it?"

Tess shook her head. "Not
really. It's a lot harder than it looks."

Kate released a snort of
laughter. "After this is over, I promise we'll teach you to drive."

The reminder of what they faced
ended the levity, and Tess's smile faded. Jack gave a slow nod.

"Any idea what the fourth talisman
is?"

Tess looked away. "I spent
the last few hours trying to find out, but the Seeker Stone can't tell me where
to go if I don't know what I want. Without the right question even my farsight
is useless."

"So what's your plan?"
Kate asked.

"I know we need Tryton's
Sword, so that's where I'm headed now. After that . . .?" She offered a
helpless shrug.

"Get the sword, and then get
some rest," Kate advised. "We have a few hours before the battle
starts again, and you look exhausted."

"I don't think I can
sleep," Tess said. "Not with how many are depending on me." Her
voice quivered, and she looked away.

Kate touched her hand.
"Combat carries a heavy responsibility, Tess, one that seems all
encompassing. As soldiers we were trained to manage our fatigue so we could
function at a higher rate."

"What are you saying?"

"That you will do more after
sleeping a few hours," Jack said. "Trust us on this one."

Tess nodded and stood. "I
promise I will try. I'll be back after I draw the sword."

They came to their feet to hug
her. "We'll be here," Kate said.

Tess forced a smile and then
departed. Trudging through the dark streets of Auroraq, she couldn't bring
herself to fly. Eventually she reached the Spirus and met Siarra standing at
the center of the Recollection. For a long moment they stared at the ancient
sword in silence. Then Siarra motioned to it.

"Only Braon witnessed what
King Tryton did for the races of my time. It was a sacrifice that surpasses any
in my history."

"Why?"

Siarra turned to face her.
"Because he fought the general called War, a being purposely built to lead
Draeken's army. I doubt Tryton had ever faced a battle he could not win before
that day, yet he did not yield. At the cost of his own life, he plunged his
sword through his adversary, leaving it fused to this very rock."

Tess gazed down on the gigantic
sword, moved by her words. "Why do you suppose we need it?"

"I do not know," Siarra
replied. "But it is clear why it was never withdrawn."

"It requires two oracles to
do so," Tess replied, eliciting a smile of appreciation from Siarra.

"I'm impressed, young
one."

"I examined it shortly after
I heard about the prophecy," Tess admitted, "and saw that the magic
inherent in the blade is also blended with the stone. One of us separates the
stone from the blade, the other pulls back the magic in the weapon."

"Well said."

"One thing I don't
know," Tess added, "is what magic is in the blade. It's white, but
not the same color as the pure magic of an oracle."

Siarra's smile was the softest
Tess had seen. "It is the magic of honor."

"How's that possible?"
Tess asked in astonishment.

Siarra swept a hand at the many
artifacts in the Recollection. "As much as we know about magic, there is
much we don't understand. Even after all this time I see that mages have yet to
go far beyond the standard magics."

"Like Gate magic?"

"Like emotions," Siarra
said.

Tess's eyes widened. "How
are emotions magic?"

"Emotions are energy,"
Siarra said. "They compel men and women to acts of great love or valor
that far exceed their capacity. My mother used Tryton's own honor to fuel this
sword, and when it pierced War the energy destroyed him, for he had no honor.
In many respects, emotion is the most powerful of energies, for it drives our
magic to greater power."

Tess's mind turned to Alice, and
how her magic had done so much damage. Luck certainly wouldn’t be considered a
normal energy, and yet it had a tangible effect on normal life. For the first
time since she had stepped into the mage world, Tess realized she'd barely
scratched the surface of what magic could do.

"Can we really do all
magics?" Tess asked.

A knowing smile creased Siarra's
features. "The true question is . . . what magics have we yet to attempt?
My mother once commented that every aspect of our souls has the potential to
become magic, but they await the gifted individual to discover them."

She sighed in regret. "It is
an enigma for another time, however. Alice's army will reach the Stacks soon
after daybreak, and this time the races will not defy her. We must focus on
what we know, the talismans. I will withdraw the magic of the sword, while you
re-forge the material itself."

Tess nodded and stepped to the
opposite side of the blade. Then she blinked into her magesight and looked to
the stone around the sword. Inch by inch, Tess separated the stone from the
material of the blade. As she worked, the glass core of the weapon began to
brighten, and threads of white seeped into the mithral.

Deep in the thrall of her magic,
Tess fought to hold the materials at bay. After thousands of years molded
together they resisted her efforts, but she did not stop. She reached the tip
of the blade, and started up the other side.

The light inside the sword
continued to brighten, until Tess was forced to squint. The farther she went,
the more she had to concentrate on keeping the separated portions apart, and
her mind flashed to the time she'd attempted to juggle. Holding multiple balls
in the air was infinitely more difficult than one or two.

The distraction cost her, but she
gritted her teeth and forced the stone and mithral apart. Her effort slowed as
she neared the end, but she refused to quit. As the last piece separated she
felt a glorious moment of triumph.

And the sword began to rise.

Drawn from the ground by Siarra,
the shimmering blade lifted into the air. Inch by inch it scraped from the stone
that had been its home for a sentenium, until it finally floated free of
restraint. The image appeared exactly as it had in Tess's vision, causing her
to smile. She allowed her magic to lapse and let out a sigh of relief—and the sword exploded.

The detonation sent Tess tumbling
through the displays. Her arm cracked and the skin scrapped off before she came
to a stop. Dizzy and barely conscious, she raised her gaze to see the entire
center of the Recollection had been decimated. Even the protective enchantments
of the displays had been no match for the mighty blast of power.

Dismay filled her as her vision
swam into focus, and she forced herself to her feet. Crying out at the pain,
she stumbled to the giant hole in the floor and stared across at Siarra, who
appeared equally in shock.

"What happened?" Tess
coughed.

Holding her side, Siarra flew
over the gap and alighted next to her. "The magic in the sword was far
stronger than it should have been," she said, and the guilt in her voice
was evident. "It's power surpassed my effort to contain it."

"What does that mean?"
Tess turned to look at Siarra as auren and mage soldiers stormed the area.

Siarra shook her head, and the
look of disbelief on her face caused a sinking fear to fill Tess. Her answer
only served to reinforce it.

"I . . . don't know."

"How can you not know?"
Tess asked. "You're one of the best oracles in history—and a guardian—"

"I DON'T KNOW," Siarra
shouted.

The timbre of her voice caused
Tess to retreat a step. Instinctively she raised her magic, but Siarra visibly
reigned in her emotions, and the madness faded from her eyes.

"I'm sorry," she said
quietly."The honor mounted faster than I could control. I've never seen
anything like it. It's almost as if the magic had found another source, one
much larger than the original."

"Any chance you can repair
it?"

Siarra shook her head, her eyes
full of guilt and suppressed anger. Then the soldiers drew close.

"What happened?" a
battlemage asked, his eyes wide.

"Nothing," Tess said.
Turning on her heel, she left, unable to voice the answer.

We just destroyed the third
talisman.

Chapter 30: Immortalian

Siarra watched Tess depart the
Recollection. Shoulders hunched, the girl did not look back. Siarra wanted to
comfort her, but couldn’t find the words. Without an answer for herself, Siarra
was left to watch Tess trudge away.

She ground her teeth and lifted
into the air. Then she Gated to her refuge. Alone, she considered what she
could have done differently, but time and again she came up with the same
answer.

Her frustration rising, she
struggled to keep the seething anger at bay. Then she realized it was the
madness driving it and blew out her breath. Bypassing the twelve sources of
magic that ringed the room, she strode to the small ball of fire and addressed
the entity present.

"Eleana, please open
it."

The light entity flickered into
view. Then Eleana glided behind the ball of fire and traced a door in the stone
wall. It brightened to pure white and opened, allowing Siarra to enter.

"Thank you, Eleana,"
Siarra said. The light entity nodded and the door swung shut, leaving Siarra in
her personal study.

Much like Hawk's office, her
study boasted bookshelves and memory orbs, some of which had gone dim. On one
wall were swords, their blades still bright and sharp while their wooden stands
had worn away. The room smelled of dust, age, and ancient tomes.

She stood until her anger had
turned into resolve and then moved to the cabinet on the wall. The third
talisman had been destroyed, but she still had a task to perform. Selecting the
sword she thought would be best, she strapped it to her back and cast several
charms that would protect her. Then she gathered herself and Gated to the
Immortalian's chamber.

The moment she appeared she
struck with a blistering wave of fire at the Immortalian. The figure evaporated
under the onslaught. Sparks burst from the threads of magic, and they faded
away. Then Siarra ended her magic.

"Clever of you," she
said to the empty cavern. "How long did you wait for me to return?"

The Immortalian dropped from the
ceiling and landed on the charred spot of its predecessor. Dressed in a regal
robe of crimson, the Immortalian's skin reflected bright, almost translucent,
against the backdrop of the energy sources. The flesh beneath swirled with
suppressed power.

Its features were a flawless
match to Alice's, yet a distinct shift in the gaze set it apart. Instead of
appearing arrogant and haughty, the Immortalian's face betrayed a disturbing
serenity. Shallow gaps covered its flesh, marking the places where the magic
had yet to knit.

"You think to destroy me so
easily?" it asked.

Its female voice was clear and
inviting, yet carried a sinister edge to it that repulsed. Like poisoned honey,
it was meant to inspire fear and respect in equal measure. It sent a chill down
Siarra's spine.

"Merely to draw you
out," Siarra said, and flicked her sword.

The Immortalian's perfect
forehead creased. "Why seek my demise?" it asked. "I am a shard
of the Master, a splinter of perfection. When she deems me ready we will become
one, and the world will no longer know fear."

"Absence of fear does not
mean freedom," Siarra replied. "Your body cannot be allowed to serve
her."

The Immortalian smiled sadly.
"You are disobedient, and must be punished. Your death will serve to
teach, so that others may know how to obey."

The Immortalian's body faded to
gray and then black. Then it retreated into the shadows. Siarra hurled her
sword at the light source, splitting it open and flooding the cavern with
illumination—but her
foe was gone.

Sensing the attack with her
magic, Siarra dived forward and felt the sweep of air as something sharp passed
her neck. She rolled to her feet and summoned her sword into her hand. Catching
the hilt, she spun the blade and deflected the next strike.

The Immortalian fractured into a
dozen images, each with a matching sword. All came at her at once, forcing her
into the air. They followed her, their matching expressions bearing the same
smile.

"I am sorry for your
punishment," they said in unison, "but you must learn."

Siarra cast white magic and added
it to her sword. Then she pulled herself into a whirlwind toward the ground.
Keeping her sword out, she shredded the mirages on her way down. The moment she
landed she spun to face the Immortalian. Its sickening smile did not waver as
it cast a fire hydra between them.

Siarra sucked in her breath at
the size of the beast. Most fire hydras were the size of a man, but this
rivaled a dragon in stature. Casting a water hydra of equal size, she added
legs of stone and it lifted free of the ground. Her entity slammed into the
fire hydra and the two snapped and hissed at each other.

Siarra darted to the side and
called on the stone beneath her foe. The rock rose in large jaws to slam shut
on the Immortalian. It shifted into liquid and poured out the side. Then it
reformed into a person. Its smile fixed, it struck back.

The rock came from nowhere and
slammed into Siarra, sending her skidding between the grappling hydras. Her
body bruised and cut, she rose to her feet with fire in her eyes.

She called on gravity magic and
amplified it tenfold. The Immortalian responded by spiking strength and walking
out of the gravity well. Then it raised its hands, and sucked energy from all
the sources in the room to fashion a staff of near white magic.

Siarra's eyes widened at the
feat. The Immortalian's weapon would not be as powerful as Siarra's true white
magic, but it was the strongest she had ever witnessed. Her hands tightened,
and she swept her sword upward. Then she darted in.

She cast speed and agility on
herself, but the Immortalian did the same. Weaving in complicated patterns,
they struck and blocked, and sought to damage each other. In spite of the
Immortalian's power it lacked experience, and Siarra found an opening. Driving
into it, she severed most of the Immortalian's arm before retreating.

For the first time the
Immortalian's smile faded. The anger that took its place reflected a terrifying
darkness. Drawing in a breath, the Immortalian healed the wound. Then it
stalked forward.

"Your punishment has been
heightened."

The Immortalian struck with a
barrage of curses, each aimed to take her life. Forced to retreat, Siarra
sought for a way past the Immortalian's defenses. At every turn the
Immortalian's power neared her own—even
with the guardian magic flowing through her.

The Immortalian struck Siarra
with a near white-laced blast of fire, breaking through her charms and singeing
her skin. Fingers of rock blossomed from the ceiling and reached down like
coiling snakes, snapping at her head. As quick as thought, she dodged them all.
Her attention upward, she did not see the snake head rising in front of her. It
slammed into her, its fangs piercing her chest and sending her tumbling
backward.

Siarra broke its fangs and
shattered the snake. Then she rose to her feet and yanked the fangs out of her
body. Her frustration turned into anger, and her madness turned it into rage.
Casting a pair of white golems, she sent them toward her adversary. As the
Immortalian dealt with them, she reached up to the tiring hydras and lashed
them to her will. Both turned on the Immortalian and unleashed a torrent of
fire and ice upon it.

The Immortalian lifted its hands,
shielding itself from the attacks. The enormous entities thickened the barrier
with ice and heat, solidifying it until the twin golems reared back and struck.
The orb shattered, sending the Immortalian sliding back. It rose to its feet
and its staff morphed into a scythe.

"No one defies the
Master," it said.

Darting forward, it spun between
the golems and cut them down. Its staff shuddered as it struggled to slay the
golems, but did not break. As pieces of golem fell to the ground and
disintegrated, the Immortalian raised the scythe and killed the hydras.

"The Master calls for
your death! And you WILL OBEY!"

Its scream echoed like shrill
thunder—but Siarra was
not there. Capitalizing on her foe's distraction, Siarra had sped around the
room, piercing each of the sources of magic. The moment the Immortalian killed
the golems, Siarra cast her prepared charms.

Fifteen threads of magic reached
out and connected to the Immortalian. Where they touched its flesh glowed—and then began to darken.
The Immortalian swung its scythe, severing three of them. The threads re-knit
before it could swing its weapon again. Pulsing with power, they began to draw
the Immortalian's magic back into the sources.

It stumbled, weakened from the
attack. Dropping to its knees, it cast a sphere of near white that cut the
threads. Its clothes rent and torn, its hair in disarray, the Immortalian spun
to face Siarra. Their eyes connected, and the Immortalian dropped the shield.
Shifting its scythe into a spear, it hurled it at Siarra.

Siarra leaned to the side and
risked opening a Gate. Doing so in haste could backfire, but the portal opened
where she'd been standing. The spear disappeared from view—and reappeared behind the
Immortalian. The spear sank into its back, causing it to stumble.

"You will not disobey
me," it rasped, and forced itself to stand.

Siarra summoned her sword from
where it had fallen and stalked forward. The Immortalian did not move except to
dismiss the spear through its chest. When Siarra was within striking distance,
the Immortalian rose and struck at her—but
Siarra was prepared.

The empowered fist streaked past
her face as Siarra ducked and twirled under the outstretched hand. Rotating to
its back, she buried the white coated blade into the Immortalian's side,
severing an arm and knocking it to the floor. Injured yet still powerful, the
Immortalian glared at her. Then it began to rise and heal.

Driven by anger and struggling to
contain the madness, Siarra yanked her weapon free and kicked the Immortalian
down once more. Then she buried her blade through its body, pinning it to the
floor. Drawing on her power, she flooded white energy into the sword.

The magic filled the cavern,
blinding and hot. Stone melted on the walls, dripping to the floor as the magic
continued to build. Still gripping the hilt of the sword, she pulsed it,
causing one of the sources to shatter. Then another. One by one the sources
were ripped from the walls and drawn into the sweeping hurricane of combined
magic.

The ceiling cracked, allowing
water to pour into the space. It too was drawn into the burgeoning light.
Siarra's skin quivered from the surge of magic, yet the power continued to
build. Her hair whipping into a frenzy, she gathered every speck of white power
and hammered it into her sword. In a thunderclap of raw energy the magic
penetrated the Immortalian, and the room went dark.

The Immortalian fought to hold
together, but its weakened body could not withstand the surge of power. From
the sword out, the Immortalian burned. Its flesh turned as black as soot, and
cinders floated away. Charred beyond recognition, its face stared at Siarra.

"All will obey the Master .
. ."

The Immortalian disintegrated
into ash, its power gone. Siarra slipped to her knees. Even with the guardian
magic in her blood, Alice's Immortalian had nearly bested her. If the curse had
been completed and Alice had melded her mind to it . . .

She shivered at that thought and
rose to her feet. Limping away, she sought a speck of Gate magic. After a
moment she found one. Collecting it into her palm, she teleported back to
Auroraq.

Chapter 31: The Location

Tess lay in Rox's old bed and
stared at the ceiling. She'd returned to Breaker's house and told her parents
what had happened. Their dismay had been brief, but enough to hammer home the
failure. Without any other option, she had gone to bed. Bitterness and fatigue
had driven her to sleep, but after a few hours she had woken and could not
sleep again.

How could she have failed so
utterly? She was meant to guide the races to freedom and light, and yet she had
shattered the third talisman, and their sole chance at destroying the Dark.
Even with Siarra's help, the talisman representing the unity of the races had
been destroyed forever.

Self-doubt washed over her in
ever increasing waves. When she could bear it no longer, she threw off the
blanket and dressed. She tied her shoes with savage yanks and took two steps
toward the door. Then she realized she had no idea what to do. With a sigh, she
sank back onto the bed.

She'd thought that Siarra would
have all the answers, just like Hawk. Now she realized the full extent of what
Hawk had always tried to teach her. The weight of her responsibility was hers—and hers alone. It wasn't
Siarra, Hawk, or anyone else who could defeat the Dark. It was her.

You don't have to do it alone.

Unbidden, Derek's words came to
her mind, causing a smile to appear on her features. She may ultimately be the
one to defeat the Dark, but right now she needed help to figure out how. She
reached up and tapped the nexus charm on her shoulder.

Derek?

There was no reply, and fear
gripped her. What if he had . . .

Tess? Is everything okay?

She let out an explosive breath
at his groggy reply. I need your help.

What's up?

Tess had to swallow at the sudden
pain in her chest. She would give anything to be with him right now. Then she
had an idea.

Can you send me a memory of
where you are?

Er . . . sure. But why?

The image flickered in her
thoughts, revealing the dim interior of a rock tent. Most likely cast by Derek,
it was mercifully empty for what she wanted to do. Blinking into her magesight,
she scanned Rox's room for the type of magic she required. When she found it,
she drew it to her hand and it grew warm. Then she opened the Gate.

She appeared a foot above Derek
and crashed onto his form. He issued a grunt of surprise as a body collided
with his, and the cot underneath him gave way. They tumbled to the floor
together, tangled in the blanket.

"Tess? You scared the—"

Her kiss cut him off. Unable to
stop herself, she poured all the anger, doubt, and desperation into the
bruising contact. He responded in kind, and when they pulled away he grinned.

"If I knew you could
teleport here, I would have sent you a memory hours ago."

"Sorry," she said.
"I'm still getting used to it."

She extricated herself from the
blankets and helped him up. In spite of the dire circumstances, she found
herself distracted by his lack of shirt.

"Do you always sleep without
a shirt?" she asked.

"I get hot," he replied
defensively. He grabbed one and pulled it over his head. "I didn't expect
my girlfriend to appear above me." He sat down next to her, his expression
sobering. "Now, what's this about?"

She told him about the vault and
her failure to extract Tryton's sword. She held nothing back, and he merely
listened. When she was done he released a low whistle.

"That's certainly not what I
expected," he mused.

"I just destroyed our only
hope," Tess said, "and that's all you can say?"

He grinned at her irritation.
"The prophecy says, 'four talismans she will require'.

It doesn't say anything about how you will use them."

"You think we were meant
to destroy Tryton's sword?"

"Why not?" he asked,
and shrugged his shoulders. "It doesn't sound like you and Siarra could
have done anything different, which implies that was exactly what Ianna
foresaw."

Tess opened her mouth to protest,
but no words came out. Was it possible he was right? If so, what was the
purpose of destroying Tryton's sword?

"Why didn't Ianna just spell
it out?" Tess asked, her tone full of irritation.

"And have it fall into the
wrong hands?" Derek shook his head. "Just think what Alice would have
done if she knew what you needed."

Tess released a sour laugh.
"How is it that one minute with you changes everything?"

He flashed the lopsided grin
she'd grown to love. "You should have come earlier."

She couldn't help it, she
laughed. When it subsided she showed him the compass. "You want to solve
my last problem too? I don't even know what the item is, let alone where to
find it. The prophecy says, 'she will have to find it on her own, for I know
not its location.' Even with my farsight I'm at a loss."

Derek accepted the compass and
examined it with interest. "Apparently finding it won't be the problem, so
what do you need to defeat the Dark?"

"Something . . .
powerful," Tess thought out loud. "And I don't mean Siarra or me. The
Dark covers millions of miles of Earth. Even if we had the capacity to
withstand the cloud, we could not affect something so large."

Derek's forehead creased in
thought. "Give me a minute to think."

She laughed and leaned against
him, and the conversation shifted to lighter topics. As they talked Tess felt
like she was stealing a moment of peace before the end. Alice was just hours
from crushing all semblance of freedom, but for once she was not afraid. With
Derek by her side she felt like the calamities of the world had paused—if only for a moment.

"Can I ask you a
question?" she asked after a while.

His eyes turned curious at her
tone. "Something wrong?"

"I was just wondering why
you have stuck by me through all of this," she said. "I've almost
gotten you killed so many times that I've lost track. I can't tell you how
often I feel like I'm drowning, and yet you have never abandoned me. Even when
I fell into the Dark and everyone thought I'd been killed, you didn't.
Why?"

He let out a slow breath, and
then said, "Because I love you, Tess."

Tess's heart seemed to stall, and
her breath caught. She'd known he cared for her, but not the depth of his
affection. Now suddenly she saw everything he'd ever done for her. The encouragement
when she'd first appeared, the willingness to fight by her side.

The memories accelerated as she
recalled the times he'd considered what was best for her, and then done it
without asking—or even
seeking praise. He'd protected her, guarded her, and at times devoted his
entire mind to planning what she would need. She wouldn't be alive without him,
or have come so far.

"I love you, too."

The words came out before she
could stop them, but as soon as she heard them she felt a surge of certainty. She
could not imagine life without him. He was a true friend, smart and ever loyal—and yet she yearned to be
with him in a way that surpassed all of that.

His crooked smile grew, and then
suddenly he blinked. "For I know not its location . . ."

"What?" Tess asked.

Derek's eyes widened and he
swiveled to face her. "It's not an object, Tess. It is the
object."

"I don't understand,"
Tess said. "What do you mean?"

"The location is the
talisman," Derek said. His voice intensified as he continued.
"Remember when I told you that sometimes magic is tied to a fixed
location? Any magic large enough to affect the planet would have to be fixed.
It's the only way it could draw on a source of energy large enough."

Tess's skin tingled with
certainty. "That's why Ianna said she knew not its location. Derek, you're
a genius. I have to get back and talk to Iris."

She stood at the same time he
did, and he gave her a crushing embrace. "Promise me you will come back to
me."

"Only if you promise me the
same," she said with a smile, and kissed him.

Then she stepped back and sought
for the Gate energy. Just as she spotted it, Iris's consciousness connected
with hers.

"TESS! Jack is hurt!"

Desperation, anger, and pain
filled the mental scream, and Tess felt a surge of fear. Iris was supposed to
be helping her dad in the Spirus.

"What's wrong?" Derek
asked.

"My dad," Tess said,
and Gated back to Auroraq.

In her wake a pair of figures
stepped into Derek’s tent and struck him in the back of the head. Then they
dragged his unconscious form into the night.

Chapter 32: Envoy

Jack woke after four hours of
sleep and gently nudged his wife awake. Then he rose and got dressed while she
strapped on her gear. She went to check on Tess while he was lacing his shoes.
A moment later she returned.

"Tess is gone."

He frowned. "She must have
had a good reason to leave."

She sank into a seat beside him.
"A year ago I was worried about her passing algebra. Now I'm afraid she'll
be murdered in her bed."

"She gets it from you, you
know." She swung to look at him, and he released a quiet laugh. "Do
you know why I asked you out on a date?"

She peaked an eyebrow, surprised
by the turn in the conversation. "You said a friend set us up."

"It was a dare," Jack
admitted. "There was a pool going in our unit on who had the guts to ask
you out."

Her eyes widened. "Why
didn't you ever tell me?"

"For the same reason they
were afraid to ask you out. You're extremely intimidating."

She began to laugh. "But
you asked anyway."

He smiled. "You also happen
to be extremely attractive."

She shook her head in
exasperation. "You always had a way with words." Then she sobered.
"Thanks for asking, Jack."

"When this is over, let's go
back to the café I took you to. Even if it doesn't exist, we'll share a drink
over the ashes."

"It's a date," she said
with a laugh.

"I'll see you soon,"
Jack said and then stood to leave.

She stood as well, her expression
returning to that of a soldier. "I'm on the Tryton's earth school for the
next few hours. By then Tess will have won or . . ."

We will be dead.

She didn't need to say it, and he
inclined his head in acceptance. "I love you, Kate."

"I love you too," Kate
said, and leaned up to kiss him again. "Let me know if you hear from Tess.
I know she's the oracle and all, but I still worry when I find her bed
empty."

He lingered in their parting
embrace, reluctant to let the moment end. Then he slipped out the door and into
the early morning. As he wound his way to the Spirus he focused his mind on the
impending conflict. He had been tasked with protecting hundreds of millions of
lives. There had to be something he could do to stave off the inevitable.

The northern line was the
strongest because the Dark had the furthest to go. With the dark elves joining
forces with the Earth Army, the east had been strengthened even with the
losses. The west had no such aid, and large holes remained in their retreating
line. His plan to deal with the largest hole depended on Breaker, and he hoped
he could pull it off. The south, however, concerned him the most. Covering
north Texas was requiring a huge volume of personnel. If only he could tap into
something greater . . .

He smiled at the idea and
wondered briefly if it were possible. Certainly not with any weapon he had, but
perhaps with magic? Perhaps. Then he set the intriguing thought aside
and returned to the problem.

He reached the Spirus and caught
a gravity lift, wondering when the presence of magic had become normal. Then he
reached the command center and strode into a maelstrom of desperate people.

"Jack!" Iris darted to
his side. "I've been trying to reach you for the last five minutes. We
have a situation."

"Give me a sitrep,"
Jack said.

"The southern line has been
left unguarded."

His breath caught. "That's
not possible."

The anger behind his words caused
Iris to recoil. "It's accurate."

If the report was true, their
attempt to defy Alice was over, and they would be forced to surrender. Despair
crashed over him, so bitter he could taste it.

"What do we do?" the
president asked. He appeared haggard, and Jack realized he likely appeared the
same.

"How did you learn of
this?" Jack asked, his voice rigid.

"I just got a thread from a
friend of mine. He wanted to know why the southern front has been left
open."

"The map shows our forces
moving into position on Texas," someone said.

"They're not," General
Lefevre said. "My units are reporting that they were redirected to
reinforce the east."

"Iris," Jack said,
raising his voice over the din. "Get me a direct satellite feed. Don't
channel it through any of our own hardware or other points."

Iris nodded, and the entire group
turned their attention to the map. For several tense seconds no one spoke, and
then the image flickered. The southern part of the United States remained the
same, but the marks indicating military units were gone.

There was a collective intake of
breath as the room realized the truth. Instead of the millions of soldiers
moving to cover the southern flank, their orders had somehow been altered,
leaving the entire south devoid of defenses. The Dark had reached the bottom
border of Texas, and a thousand miles north lay the Stacks, unprotected and vulnerable.

"Can we reposition
soldiers?" General Braun asked.

"Not in time," the
president said. "We left six hours for our forces to get into place by
sunrise—but dawn is
only an hour away."

"The Dark will reach Texas
by then," Jack stated.

One of the generals issued a
snide comment about another, and the angry retort escalated the tension. In
seconds the hundred nations dissolved into furious shouts of blame.

"Stop," the
president barked. "This was not our work, correct?" He turned to
Iris, whose expression bore confusion for the first time that Jack could
recall.

"The threads leaving this
city were shifted several hours ago. Our orders went out, but not where they
were intended—but
that's not possible—no
Uri, he's locked up in the battlemage corps. Yes, I'm sure—" She gasped.
"That cannot be." She turned to Jack. "It has to be him."

"Keidon," Jack said,
and she nodded to him.

"He's locked in a cell at
the base of this tower," Gerik protested.

The door opened behind them, and
one by one the generals fell silent. Jack turned to find Varson striding into
the chamber, his expression full of dark triumph. As soldiers and battlemages
leapt to target him, he held his hands wide, and his companions appeared behind
him.

Keidon stepped through the door
and his gaze locked with Iris's. The purple haired girl spread her fingers at
her sides, causing faint sparks to cascade to the ground. Jack caught her
shoulder in a calming gesture before she could act in haste.

The next figure appeared
innocuous at first. Bald and overweight, the middle-aged man shifted into
another form as he stepped through the opening, snapping the door from the
hinges as he grew. Razor spines stretched from its arms while tufts of faded
white fur grew across his body. The floor vibrated from every step as he
reached the full stature of a silver reaver, and his rumbling snarl sent a
nervous murmur through the soldiers. Gerik released a breath of surprise.

"It's the assassin,
Harry," he murmured to Jack, his voice rigid. "He can turn into
animals."

Then the last appeared. Slim of
figure, the woman's Twisted features inspired fear. Her eyes had gone opaque
and a shadow tinged her skin, revealing the Dark's touch. She glided to the
left flank and stared at the soldiers and mages arrayed against her with
unblinking eyes. They shifted nervously under her baleful glare.

"Varson," Jack said.
"To what do we owe the visit?"

Varson's lip curled in anger at
his easy tone. "This level has been sealed from the Spirus. Reinforcements
will not be arriving."

"Your presence has already
told me as much," Jack said. "Please answer the question."

Varson clenched his hands, and a
finger of fire coursed up his arm. Jack knew he was walking a fine line in
provoking him, but the fact that he had arrived with so few indicated he was
here to talk. The fire extinguished as Varson visibly regained control of his
emotions.

"I represent the
Master," Varson said, and his gaze swept the room, "and call for your
surrender."

A nervous murmur rustled the
room, causing Varson to offer a smile of triumph. "You are now aware that
your entire southern force has been redirected. Nothing in your arsenal can
stop our army from advancing into the women and children you have sheltered.
Surrender now . . . and they will not perish." His dark eyes returned to
Jack, and the whole room waited for his answer.

"No," Jack replied.

Varson's eyes bulged in
disbelief. "Do you not understand? The end has come. Your defiance will
only invite the slaughter of those you call innocent."

"No," Jack repeated.

Rage flitted across Varson's
face, and this time he could not stop the fire from streaking up his arms.
"Your pride has brought about the death of billions, and still you will
not kneel. How many must die before you will accept your fate?"

"Only one," Jack replied.
"And you call her Master."

There was an audible intake of
breath from the room, but Jack did not look away from Varson. His surprise
quickly faded into hatred.

"The hole in your line
cannot be filled. Your faith in the aurens is misplaced."

"It is my daughter I have
faith in," Jack replied.

Varson advanced a step. "The
oracle's blood is mine, and her power comes from the Master."

"Yet her choices are
hers," Jack said. "And she has chosen to defy you. Those in this room
stand with me, and we stand with her. You may return to the Master and inform
her that her legacy will be one of slaughter and cruelty. The people desire
freedom and are willing to die for it. We have accepted our fate. We will live
free . . . or we will not live."

Jack's ringing words echoed into
the stillness, and the president took a step to stand by him. Gerik was quick
to follow, and soon the generals fell into place. One by one the others in the
room arrayed themselves in silent defiance of Varson.

Jack heard hesitation in the feet
of several, but felt a rush of gratitude as he sensed their combined
resistance. Regardless of their national origin, these men and women had fought
against the Dark. After weeks of evacuation and brutal battle, they had finally
united. Jack felt a surge of pride as the world's remaining leaders stood with
him.

"I believe you have your
answer," Jack said quietly. "You may go."

His tone of dismissal caused
Varson's expression to darken. When he spoke it was the soft voice of a killer
about to act.

"This was never a request.
This is a command from the Master. There is no refuge from her wrath, no will
strong enough to defy her. Even the Dark now obeys her word. Your insolent
attempt at freedom has merely served to bring about the slaughter. They will
perish because of you, and their final screams will be curses to your
name."

"The blood of the victim
stains the hand of the killer, and Alice is just a—"

"You dare say her
name?" Varson's eyes shifted, his restraint falling away like a discarded
cloak. The darkness in his gaze deepened with warning. "You will call her Master."

Jack sensed the moment as if he
stood on a precipice. The tension in the room stood taut with danger. Any word
he said against Alice would bring Varson's wrath upon him—but to back down would spark
doubt in his allies.

"Alice is the master of
murder," Jack said.

Varson stared at him with
unbridled hatred. Then he spoke to his companions. "Harry, Elena . .
." He locked eyes with Jack and coldly sentenced them to death.

"Kill them all."

Chapter 33: Fallen

Iris watched Keidon step into the
room and her surge of anger caused sparks to cascade from her fingers. Jack
caught her shoulder, reminding her that acting rash would be unwise. As Jack
spoke with Varson, Iris spoke with Keidon.

I hoped we would meet again,
Keidon said mentally.

I hoped you would choke on
your own tongue, Iris responded, and then sent flash threads to her army. All
teams, I need seeker charms cast and modified to my location.

Keidon intercepted the threads,
his lips quirking as he demolished them with a Drogan enchantment. Nice try,
little one, but you will have to do better than that.

I already did, Iris
replied. I added a Trisilian charm to those threads.

I know every techno charm ever
created—

Except the ones I invented, Iris
said. The Trisilian charm causes a destroyed thread to fracture into
thousands of micro threads, each with the capacity to seek out its intended
recipient. Thanks for delivering my message for me.

Keidon's eyes burned with hatred,
but there was a flicker of surprise as well. You think you can overcome me
as you did before?

Iris smiled as she recalled
slugging him in the stomach. Keidon used the distraction to send a subtle curse
that would shock her mind. She caught it just in time, and struggled to keep
the indirect attacks from showing on her expression. The replies from her army
were filtering through, commanding her attention—as
was Keidon's curses. She forced a mental laugh.

You have no idea what you've
missed, Iris said.

Nor you, Keidon responded
with a mental barb that split off a piece of her defenses. Or you would have
noticed your commander's orders being redirected.

She clenched her fist, and sent a
barrage of rapid-fire static hexes at him. He flicked them aside easily, but
the distraction allowed her to get a reply from several of her lieutenants.

Two minutes until we're ready,
Uri replied.

Now I know why you had us
practice this, Scott said in a rush.

Iris didn't respond to them. The
tension between Jack and Varson had peaked, and Iris was out of time.

I'm sorry, Iris said,
surprising Keidon by her sincerity. She took advantage of his lapse and slipped
a message through to Chuck—and
connected it to the assassin Rimpact and the professor of ancient weaponry at
Tryton's, Kellon. They would need the firepower, and the two rock trolls were
the only ones capable of handling Harry as a reaver. Now she just had to get
the shroud down so they could get through to their level . . .

For what? Keidon sneered.

"Kill them," Varson
said, and Keidon grinned.

For this, Iris said, and
slammed her palms together.

The threads in the room answered
her call. Snapping free of their connections, they coursed into her hands and
collided, shimmering into the visible spectrum. They struck Keidon as Jack drew
his weapon and fired . . .

***

Jack drew his sidearm and fired
at Varson, but the bullet deflected aside. Ignoring the attacks sparking across
his gravity shield, Varson leapt into the air and streaked toward him. Jack
dove to the side, but Varson caught him and launched him across the room.

Jack crashed through a desk and
tumbled to the floor. Wincing, he grasped a chair and forced himself to his
feet. Magic and bullets filled the air, cascading from both sides in a
hurricane of fire, lightning, and lead. Faster than all of them, Iris had
struck first, and sent Keidon reeling. She leapt closer to him, compelling him
to focus on her. Their duel faded into the background as the silver reaver went
to work.

Magic charred his visible flesh
and bullets sank deep. Neither did enough damage to slow the behemoth down.
Issuing a roar that rattled the teeth in Jack's skull, he surged into a charge
that leveled the front line of soldiers.

Bloodied men were knocked aside
like bowling pins, and left limp on the floor. A man's scream was cut off as
his leg was crushed along with his rifle. The blade on the reaver's arm ended
his life, and that of the mage beside him. Blood spattered amidst the bodies,
and the silver reaver's rampage continued.

On the opposite side of the room
Elena killed with cold efficiency. Purple and black magic stretched from her
fingers. The anti-magic robbed the mages of their power, while the gravity
struck the soft flesh inside their ribs.

Hearts collapsed as she floated
past, and soldiers were left clutching their chests, gasping. She did not
flinch or deviate, and men wilted at her passage. Then a man stepped in front
of her that did not fall.

Agent Pierce struck hard, driving
her back and stripping her gravity shield. A trace of annoyance flitted across
Elena's Darkened features and she glided to a stop. Her anti-magic rippled in a
wave that just missed Pierce as he darted to the side.

"Iris!" Jack bellowed
as he retreated from Varson. "Get reinforcements in here!"

Working on it! came the
mental reply—and the
door burst open. In the lead stood a pair of rock trolls. One bore a whistling
hammer, while the other carried a sword. Behind them were a team of battlemages
led by Charlie, who motioned his team inside and opened fire on the silver
reaver.

As the reinforcements rushed to
engage, Rimpact and Kellon glided apart. Then they struck the reaver like a
hammer on an anvil. The thundering maul smashed into the reaver's head while
Kellon's sword cut into its arm. Harry released a bellow of pain and backhanded
Rimpact.

The brawl between the three of
them crashed through walls and techno screens, leaving a trail of destruction.
The surviving officers and generals caught up spare weapons and formed two
phalanxes against Harry and Elena. Varson knocked all attempts aside and came
for Jack, his eyes brimming with rage and hatred.

"I will tear you to
shreds," he growled.

Jack threw himself to the side,
and the gravity punch smashed through the wall he'd been leaning against.
Clutching his side, he stumbled down a hall, desperately considering his
options. The blast of fire took him from his feet and rolled him down the
corridor. He gasped as the fire charred his flesh, but he forced himself to his
feet and pressed onward.

"I would tell you I would
make this quick," Varson called, "but that would be a lie."

Jack ducked into an office as the
door was torn off. Fighting nausea and pain, he grasped the handle to the next
door. The aquaglass barrier shimmered and opened, allowing him into the next
hall. As it closed another blast of fire shattered the barrier into steam.
Varson stepped into the hallway and sneered.

"You are pathetic," he
said, and cast a gravity well that sucked Jack into the ground. Jack cried out
as he felt something snap in his chest. Varson flicked his finger and tossed
him down the hall to the window at the end.

Through the haze of pain and
desperation, Jack's heart sank. They were in a dead end, and there was no way
out. Varson shattered the glass and slowly pushed Jack toward the lip.

"You are an auren,"
he said. "How could you hope to fight one such as I?"

With his head and shoulders
hanging off the edge, Jack coughed through the blood in his throat.

"I'm not alone."

Varson's eyebrows knit together,
but Jack said simply, "Kate, take the shot."

***

With the gravity bullet in the
chamber, Kate looked through her scope at Varson's chest. With an iron will she
set aside all of her fear for her husband and let out a slow breath. Then she
pulled the trigger.

The bullet exploded from her
barrel and trailed a thread of purple magic as it streaked across Southpoint.
Faster than the speed of sound, the bullet defied the pull of gravity as it
crossed four miles and shattered the window next to Varson. The bullet pierced
his gravity well with the sound of a thunderclap, and smashed Varson into the
wall. His eyes wide with disbelief, he slid to the floor as blood blossomed on
his chest.

Kate jammed another bullet into
the breach, and took aim. This time when she fired the bullet's magic
evaporated, causing it to jam in the barrel. Her hands trembled as she realized
it was useless. Discarding her rifle, Kate picked up an assault rifle and
dropped from her hide. Stel morphed into a bird and caught her around the
shoulders. Straining to carry her, he flew her toward the Spirus with the speed
of desperation.

***

His strength ebbing, Jack watched
Varson struggle to use gravity to put pressure on the gaping wound in his
chest. Then he caught sight of Jack. His eyes glowed with hatred, and he
pointed to Jack's body. Jack nearly blacked out as the gravity mounted against
his skull.

With every ounce of strength he
possessed, Jack shoved his hand to his secondary weapon at his ankle. It came
free agonizingly slow, and it took all his strength to raise it. Varson's eyes
widened as the weapon pointed at him, and he struggled to recast a gravity
shield.

"You do not have the power
to do this . . ."

"And yet we do," Jack
said weakly, and pulled the trigger.

Without a gravity well to stop
it, the bullet struck Varson in the head. Varson's dark eyes closed and he
slumped to the floor. The weight on Jack's brain evaporated, but the damage had
been done.

Burned, broken, and bloody,
Jack's vision began to dim.

Chapter 34: Severed

Locked in an iotian duel with
Keidon, Iris saw Varson fall through the threads—and
then realized Jack's condition. Her fingers balled into fists.

"TESS!" she
mentally screamed. "You need to—!"

Keidon's lips curled in twisted
triumph as he caught the desperate message and destroyed it. Her gut churned
with anger and grief—and
she turned on him with a vengeance.

"You are to blame for
this," she screamed at him.

The disdain on his features
recoiled at the poison in her voice, and she plunged a curse into the gap. One
step at a time, she drove forward with cold fury. Keidon's attacks sparked into
shards of lightning around her, but she stepped through the whirlwind. Clothing
and skin tore across her body, but her gaze never left his.

"I have done what the Master—"

"SHE IS NO MASTER!"

Unbridled wrath amplified her
voice, causing him to recoil again. Doubt flitted across his features, and she
bombarded the gap with curses. Then Keidon's expression filled with malice, and
he cast a single imaging curse. Iris's shield stopped the damage, but the image
made it through.

And she saw her mother.

Iris hadn't heard from Trina
since Alice had been ejected from Auroraq. With Alice controlling her magic,
Trina had been forced to join the Harbingers against Iris. Now it appeared she
had tried to escape.

Bound in gravity chains, Trina's
expression appeared weak, yet defiant. She knelt in a darkened cell, staring at
the orb of pulsing magic in Alice's hands. Her cheek twitched, and she licked
her lips as she yearned for the return of her power.

"You will kill your
daughter," Alice commanded softly. "Or you will never feel your magic
again."

Trina clenched her eyes shut and
jerked her head. "Even my magic is not worth harming my children."
Her tone wavered but carried enough steel that Alice sighed in regret.

"I believe you," Alice
said quietly, and then motioned to Varson.

He smiled as he stepped from the
shadows and raised his hand to strike. Trina issued a small smile before the
blow fell. Then her dead form fell to the ground, and Alice turned away in
disgust.

"Go to the Spirus and finish
this," she said. "Keidon will handle Iris . . .”

Iris snapped back to the present
with two omnipresent thoughts. Keidon meant to use this memory to break her—and in the end her mother
had fought for her. Her gaze settled on Keidon and his confident sneer faded.

"You will die like your
mother," he shouted, but his voice echoed shrill and empty.

"Not from you," Iris
said.

Empowered by her mother's
defiance, she struck him. He screamed as energy ripped into his skull. Sparks
exploded across her body and
streaked toward him, merging with the magic assaulting his mind. Her eyes
turned purple as she poured her magic into a single spell.

"You cannot defeat me!"

The fear in his voice was evident
as she stalked forward. He sent a barrage of attacks, but she swatted each
aside and closed the gap. Then she raised her hands and summoned the threads
her army had been feeding her. Purple sparks coalesced into a wicked scythe of
pure, flowing energy. She screamed as she swung it.

He raised his hands as if to
block it, but the blow passed through them. The scythe continued on through his
body—and every shred of
magic surrounding his form winked out. He crumpled to the floor, his eyes wide
in disbelief. The magic coming from him faded into nothingness.

"You lack the power to
perform a horrending hex," he mumbled.

The energy scythe disintegrated
as she released the threads back to her army, and she sank to her knees.
"You're right," she said. "But I can sever your body from your
mind. Without it you cannot feel the threads." She flashed a grim smile.
"Enjoy the silence, Keidon."

She rose and walked away, leaving
Keidon with the awful realization of his future. He had been paralyzed from the
neck down, and his magic was gone. His cry of anguish reverberated around the
chamber, echoing loud through the sudden quiet.

With the rock trolls and the MIO
task force, Harry had gone down. Upon his death his body had reverted back to
the balding, overweight man. Nearby, Elena had suffered a similar fate. Dozens
of corpses littered the ground around her, and Agent Pierce lay slumped against
the wall, alive, but fighting for breath. Darting through the carnage, Iris
raced to where Jack had fallen and caught a thread.

TESS! Jack is hurt!

***

Tess Gated directly into the map room,
and her eyes widened in shock. Bodies and chunks of fading magic littered the
chamber. Half the map had gone dark, and most of the techno walls had been
reduced to sparks and shards of magic. Then she spotted Iris. Leaping into the
air, Tess bolted to her.

"What happened?" she
demanded.

"Varson called for Jack to
surrender. Jack refused."

Tess wobbled in the air and
touched a wall to steady herself. Then she turned a corner and spotted her dad.
Surging ahead, she alighted at his side. Her frame went rigid as she saw the
extent of the damage to his body.

Kate appeared in the broken
window. Carried by Stel, she landed hard, and Stel collapsed off to the side,
his little body trembling with fatigue. With a shaking hand, Kate touched
Jack's neck, and her face went white.

"His pulse is weak."
Her mom's eyes sought hers. "Can you heal him?"

The desperation in her voice felt
like a physical blow. "I'll try," Tess said in a strangled voice, and
blinked into her magesight.

And saw the truth.

Tears blossomed to her eyes as
she saw the extent of the damage. Burns covered most of his body, and several
bones were broken. Two of his ribs had caved in, puncturing his lungs. Her
hands trembled as she placed them on his burned flesh.

"It's too much." Tess
choked the words out.

Fear gripped her, but she used
her magic to seal the worst of the wounds and ease the pain. He groaned in relief,
and his eyes fluttered open. Angry tears leaked from Kate's eyes and she turned
to look at him.

"You promised you would
survive, Jack."

"I promised that Tess
would."

"I'm here, Dad," she
said, and clasped his hand, shocked by the weakness to the grip. His eyes
sought hers, and were surprisingly clear.

"Ignite the oil," he
said, his voice faint.

"I don't know what you
mean," Tess said as tears wetted her cheeks.

"Ignite the oil, Tess,"
he said. "It's the only way to stop . . ."

"Jack," Kate's
voice was barely a whisper. "I need you."

His hand shook as he raised it to
her cheek. "I love you, Kate."

"I love you too." Her
voice was barely audible.

"Dad . . .," Tess
pleaded, "I can't do this without you."

His eyes closed, but opened again
to look at her. The light was fading, and helplessness bound her like steel
shackles. How could she be the oracle and unable to stop this!

"I love you, Tess," he
mumbled. "You're the reason I was fighting. You're the reason everyone is
fighting . . ."

Tears filled Tess's vision, and
she wiped them aside with the back of her hand. Her emotions tore through her
like shrapnel, puncturing her heart and mind.

"I love you, Dad."

Her throat hurt. Everything hurt.
How could this be happening! Her mental scream went unanswered.

A small smile appeared on his
lips. "Keep us free, Tess . . ."

The light faded, and his body
relaxed. Tess clenched her eyes shut against the truth, but it did not stop the
tears. She fought to breathe, fought to think, fought to scream. Nothing came
out. After an eternity Kate reverently place his hand down and moved to Tess's
side. Kate's arms slid around her shoulders, but it only magnified the rending
of her soul.

"I couldn't save him."

Kate held her. "No one
could."

The grief in her voice sent a
lance through Tess's wounded heart. Tess had failed her father, her mother, her
family. How had she not foreseen this? Wasn't that exactly what she was
supposed to do? But she knew it wasn't. Her fear for her parents fate would
have closed off their future from her farsight. Guilt washed over her as she
realized her lack of courage had cost her father his life.

"I should have stopped
this." She bit the words off with a rancor that surprised even her.

Kate caught her shoulders and
forced Tess to meet her gaze. "You don't have the power to stop
everything."

Iris spoke from the hall.
"She's right, Tess."

The sadness to her tone caused
Tess to look up at her. Then she saw the anguish in Iris's expression, and knew
it mirrored her own. Reaching out to her, Tess drew Iris to her side.

"It will be okay," she
whispered to herself, and then again in her mind. It will be okay. She
kept repeating it, over and over again until the words filled her mind and a
numbness filled her soul. It didn't make a difference, and eventually the words
changed.

It will never be okay.

Part 4

Chapter 35: Wrath of Oracles

Time passed, and Tess did not
move. Rage and grief grappled within her, leaving her numb and raw. Then she
heard a voice.

"I'm sorry, Tess,"
Siarra said. "But we have to go."

"Where have you been?"
Tess asked. Even though she knew it wasn't Siarra’s fault, she couldn't keep
the anger from her voice. If Siarra had been here . . .

"I'm sorry for your loss,
young one," Siarra said quietly.

Her regret drew Tess's gaze, and
Tess blinked in surprise. Covered in wounds, Siarra stared at Jack's body, her
features tight with sadness. The expression deflated Tess's anger, and reminded
her that she wasn't the only one who had lost a loved one.

"Where were
you?"

"I lack the time to
explain," Siarra said. "We must go."

"Where?" Tess asked as
she rose to her feet with Iris and her mother.

"The southern flank has no
army. If we fail to act it will be over."

"She's right," Iris
said. "The hole is hundreds of miles. What can you do?"

"I know not," Siarra
replied, "but we cannot allow our foe to claim victory."

Kate squeezed Tess's hand.
"Go. I'll take care of him," she said.

A wave of emotion swelled within
Tess, but it did not evoke tears. Her eyes fell on the second body in the room,
and her grief hardened into anger. The rage swept across her frame with so much
heat that a fever burned her skin. Her arms trembled with the desire to strike
at Alice. Then she remembered her father's words.

Ignite the oil . . .

She hadn't understood before, but
now the words brought back a memory. When she was a little girl they had gone
on vacation to visit some friends in east Texas. While there Jack had taken
Tess to see an oil rig.

"How much oil is down
there?" Tess had asked, fascinated with the machinery.

Jack had smiled. "The
reservoir it draws from is half the size of the state . . .”

Ignite the oil.

All her rage and anger settled
into a resolve so hard she tasted steel. "I know what to do," she
said and turned to the door. Siarra fell into step beside her.

"Tess?" Kate called.

Tess turned on the threshold to
see her mother's hardened features.

"Burn them to ashes,"
she said.

"You can count on it."

Two minutes later Tess and Siarra
rose into the air above the Halo of Dawn, and hovered at the Gate. Iris stepped
into the firing sphere of the weapon and called up to them.

"Are you certain you can do
your part?" Siarra asked.

"They killed my dad,"
Tess said evenly. "I'm not going to fail. Iris, make sure we're on
target."

A moment later the sun lit the
horizon. As the sun rose the weapon beneath them began to brighten. Fire and
light coalesced as the asunder hex and the meteor charm came together. Then it
fired in a mighty eruption of heat and blinding light.

Wrapped in a heat shield, Tess
and Siarra were engulfed in fire as it disappeared through the Gate—and reappeared in the sky
above Texas. Falling with the churning ball of fire, Tess heard Siarra through
the mental link.

Follow my lead.

Drawing on the energy all around
them, Tess and Siarra altered the huge ball of fire. The colors of magic arced
into view and merged until they became the powerful white magic. As it fused
with the fireball it began to change shape.

The front extended and tightened,
sharpening until the enormous ball resembled a bullet. Orange fire gradually
brightened to pure white and shimmered with power. As they passed fifteen
thousand feet the meteor had become a fifty foot projectile that burned at over
four thousand degrees.

Fire blossomed at their passage,
igniting the air in a trail that extended to the Gate far above. Tongues of
fire burst into view and curled away into ash. Then the air around the shaft
began to spin, darkening into a massive cyclone. Instead of drawing upward, the
enormous tornado sucked downward, speeding the projectile until it emitted an
ominous whine. The sound continued to rise until it erupted in a tremendous boom.

The tornado briefly ballooned
outward as the projectile breached the sound barrier. Then it tightened further.
Standing at the top of the supreme weapon, Tess held the magic together with an
iron will, her mind fused with Siarra's. Fueled by the image of her dying
father, she poured every ounce of power she possessed into the weapon.

This is for you, Dad.

Just before it struck the Earth,
she and Siarra dived free. Tumbling through the tornado wall, she managed to
right herself in time to witness the impact. The massive projectile struck the
earth and disappeared from view. Rocks and a nearby road were tossed into the
air as the ground rippled away from the epicenter.

Tess flew to Siarra and they rose
together. The seconds passed, and Tess looked to the wall of Dark rising a
hundred miles south of them. Hoping and praying their efforts had worked, Tess
dropped her gaze to the ground . . .

And saw it shudder.

Rumbling like an earthquake had
struck, the Earth trembled. Far beneath, the enchanted drill had pierced the
massive oil reservoir—and
kept going. Seconds later it struck the molten magma beneath the earth.

Oil cascaded down the steaming
column until it reached the burgeoning magma, exploding a pocket out of the
compressed rock. The hole allowed more oil and magma to touch, igniting a
larger hole and sending a ripple through the ground. On the surface, Tess and
Siarra turned and streaked away as the ground reacted to what was happening
beneath.

Hundreds of miles of Earth lifted
and then settled. A moment later it heaved, and the quake could be felt all the
way to the Stacks. By then the cavern in the Earth had grown sufficiently to
allow the entire billion-gallon reservoir to seep toward the magma . . .

The state of Texas shattered,
sending chunks of rock skyward faster than a bullet from a gun. Millions of
Twisted were incinerated in a blast so massive the entire tectonic plate shook.

Cities like Dallas were erased,
snuffed out of existence in the span of a heartbeat. Roads, abandoned homes,
and trees burst apart into motes of sand, twisted metal, and slivers of charred
wood. Then the other half of the oil field detonated.

The southern coast of United
States exploded into oblivion. Huge portions of the ground disappeared in a
wall of fire, ash, and soil. The ocean in the Gulf of Mexico recoiled from the
blast—and then poured
into the gaping wound the blast had left. As lingering pockets of the massive
oil field continued to explode, the water burst into steam on contact with the
extreme heat.

Clouds of vaporized ocean water
rose into the sky, joining the dark cloud of ash and soot that had begun to
drift west. Superheated by the magma, the tremendous plume of steam became a
lethal barricade, causing the Dark to grind to a halt. Tess witnessed the
expanding carnage from ten miles north.

"Southern flank is
closed," Tess said.

The bitterness in her voice was
strong enough to taste. Her entire vision could not capture the sheer breadth
of the destruction they had wrought, yet it failed to fill the void in her
heart. Then she recalled how Siarra had disappeared.

"What are you keeping from
me?"

Siarra stared at her for several
seconds, measuring her. Then she let out a breath. "Alice had been
preparing a way to live forever."

Tess's eyes widened. "Is
that possible?"

"It is called the Immortals
curse," Siarra admitted. "But the cost is heavy."

"I don't understand."

"If Alice had been killed
her mind would have transferred to the Immortalian. With flesh made of magic,
she would have lived for an eternity."

Tess felt a tightening in her
chest at that prospect. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Hawk did not wish to burden
you further," Siarra said. "Our weight is heavy, and cannot be
carried by another. I have done what I could to aid you, but our foe remains.
If we do not emerge victorious, she will certainly find a way to complete her
quest."

Alice.

The name echoed through Tess's
mind like profanity. Was there no limit to her ambition? Was it not enough for
her to decimate the population of Earth and enslave the survivors? How many had
to die before her thirst for dominance would be quenched? She thought of her
father, who had stood defiant until his final breath. Her hands balled into
fists, and her anger burst across her once more.

No refuge on Earth would protect
Alice now. Not the Dark, not her legions of Twisted, not even her generals.
Nothing on Earth would stop Tess from exacting the full measure of justice from
Alice. With fire burning in her veins, Tess caught a speck of energy and Gated
them both back to Auroraq.

It was time to end it.

Chapter 36: All-Seeing Iris

After watching Tess and Siarra go
through the Halo, Iris returned to the command center to wait. She paused on
the threshold. They had defeated Varson, but the victory had come at a cost. A
third of the generals lay dead, and much of the techno walls had been
destroyed. She closed her eyes as she thought of her mother.

After Iris's father had left,
Trina had fallen into the threads and not come out. Derek had been forced to
place their mother into a facility that could care for her. Iris had visited
often, but Trina never came back to reality. Then Alice had stripped Trina of
her magic and sent her to convince Tess and Iris to join her. They had refused,
and Trina had joined the Harbingers. Now she was dead. A hollow pit opened in
Iris’s gut, and she felt an ache for the mother she had never truly known.

For the first time in years, the
voices of her techno friends were quiet—not
because she could not hear them, but because they had voluntarily withdrawn. It
was the greatest gift a techno mage could give another. As the battlemages
floated the dead out of the room, Iris turned away. The motion caused her to
wince.

"Let me take a look at
those," a voice said, and she turned to find Quad standing by her side.

"I'm fine."

"Have you seen
yourself?"

Iris shook her head. Too busy
watching people die.

Ignoring Iris's protests, Quad
pulled a bottle of All Purpose Wound Filler and began to squeeze drops into
Iris's wounds.

"They're not that bad,"
Iris said through clenched teeth.

Quad issued a grunt of
irritation. "Stand still."

Iris released a sigh and
relented. After a moment, she said, "I can't believe he killed Jack."

"Varson hated him,"
Quad replied. "I think it was only a matter of time until they fought. I'm
more surprised that Tess's parents killed him."

Iris shook her head. "I've
learned not to doubt them."

Quad fell silent, but after a
moment he murmured. "Are we going to get out of this?" When Iris
didn't respond, he pressed, "Our ability to communicate with our army is
destroyed, half our officers are dead, and our commander was killed. By all
accounts we've already lost."

Iris's lips tightened.
"Jack's final act was of courage. I'm not going to betray his memory right
after he dies."

"But what can we do?"
Quad asked.

Iris felt a pull from one of her
threads and perked up. "Riley, can you see them yet . . ."

Her eyes widened at the image,
and she gestured to the only surviving techno wall in the room. Abruptly
Riley's memory thread filled the screen. Wrapped in the despair of the recent
conflict, the survivors in the room did not notice it. Then the sound cut in.

The boom shook the chamber
and rattled the shards of broken magic on the floor. Men and women turned to
the image, and watched the mighty cyclone drive a massive white drill into the
Earth. The tiny figures of Siarra and Tess rolled away as the huge projectile slammed
into the earth, causing the ground to ripple for miles.

Drawn to the screen, Iris's
heartbeat began to accelerate as nothing happened. Then suddenly the ground
trembled. A moment later it shook. Then it heaved. With each subsequent quake
the ground reacted with ever increasing violence . . .

—The
explosion rent the very horizon, incinerating thousands of miles of Earth in a
titanic blast. Fire and dirt pierced the clouds and streaked outward. Then the
shockwave hit the viewer and the entire image shook.

Iris tore her eyes from the
screen when she realized the rumbling of thunder was not just coming from the
thread. Out the window a massive surge of wind blew past the city, momentarily
nudging Auroraq north.

Iris looked back to the screen in
time to the see the blast of superheated steam rise with the smoke. Vaporized
at the supreme temperature, the plume of steam did not abate. Bound by the
natural barricade, the Dark had been caged.

"What did she do?"
someone breathed.

"The oracle closed the
entire southern flank," Gerik responded in awe.

A smile pulled at Iris's mouth,
and it quickly grew. If her best friend could do that, they could hold the
line. She was not surprised to see the same affect on the others around her.
Men and women straightened, their eyes filling with hope once more. The oracle
fought for them, and she had given them a chance.

Iris's mind buzzed with ideas,
and she linked to every thread that had survived the assault. As she did a part
of her mind overheard High Chancellor Gerik and the president in a tense
discussion. From the gist she understood they were trying to decide who would
replace Jack.

Stupid.

With so much damaged, no one
would be able to connect to the distinct branches of the Earth Army in time. No
magic could link the threads fast enough. The only way to link them in time
would be to cast a gralisian charm and connect every thread to a single mind .
. .

Understanding filled her and her
heart sank. The gralisian charm was meant to connect one's mind directly to the
threads, magnifying their thoughts until they became the network. To
connect with the entire army would require every one of her army to cast it—and then one of them to be
the hub.

"Are you alright?" Quad
whispered in her ear. "I've never seen you so tense."

"Fine," she responded.
"I'm just going to regret this."

She let out a long breath, and
then sent the message to her techno army. All teams, prepare a gralisian
charm. The replies bombarded her with immediate concern.

But that's a level
twenty-eight charm—

And only Keidon could do it—

Are you sure you can—

It's too risky!

The replies came faster and
faster, until her anger cut them apart. "We don't have time for
this," she snapped. "Get it done. It's the only way we can connect to
all of them. Laz them to me and brace yourselves."

But connecting to so many will
kill you! Uri shouted.

The others raised their voices in
protest but Iris ignored them. Drawing a breath to steady herself, she stepped
from Quad, but he caught her arm.

"What are you doing,
Iris?"

"What I have to," Iris
said, and pulled her arm free.

She strode to the center of the
map and then called on her magic. The threads in the room brightened into the
visible spectrum and coursed toward her form. At her will they fused together
and wrapped around her in a lazy tornado. The surge of power caused everyone in
the vicinity to retreat as her skin began to glow.

"Whatever happens,"
Iris said, "don't touch me." Then speaking became difficult.

The threads of magic bombarded
her mind, demanding her attention. Gritting her teeth, she allowed them to link
directly to her consciousness—and
her awareness exploded outward. The monitoring motes in the Spirus had now
become her eyes and ears, allowing her to see every person and hear every
sound.

But it did not end there.

One by one she linked to hundreds
of other techno mages and her awareness sped through their networks, stretching
her mind until she could feel every remaining thread on Earth. Her skull
throbbed as her consciousness struggled to retain the volume of information.
Empowered by the tremendous support of her techno friends, she cast workaround
charms to overcome any damaged threads. She did not stop until she could feel
the entire army.

Dimly she was aware that those
around her had begun to shout, but it was like a mouse squeaking in the
background. Her mind was now lazed to hundreds of techno mages and millions of
radios, phones, and other signals. It took all her effort to speak in a single
voice.

"The communication is
repaired. Initiating orders now . . ."

Her mental voice reverberated
through the chamber a thousand compressed echoes. After a moment, the president
stepped forward. Iris saw it through the surviving motes in the room.
Everything from a loose thread on his suit to the creases in his skin were abundantly
obvious, as well as the soldier whispering into his ear.

"She's taken control of
every signal we have," the soldier said, his voice rising in panic.

"Iris," the president
drawled, "What are you doing?"

"Sorry Jacob," she
replied, her voice thrumming as threads in the room reverberated with her.
"The Dark is an hour from the eastern side of the Stacks. We don't have
time for you to find a replacement."

"I don't recall placing you
in charge," he said.

"I already am," Iris
replied. "And until this kills me I'm your best shot."

"You don't know how to be a
general," Lefevre shouted.

"Of course I don't,"
Iris replied, drawing a startled gasp from the generals in the room. "But
I know what Jack would do. I watched him every step of the way. When I burn out
you are welcome to try something else."

The surviving generals crowded
around Gerik and the president, their voices angry. Gerik stared at Iris, and
she watched his eyes from a dozen angles. Ultimately he came to the conclusion
that she knew he would. He had no choice.

"She's right," Gerik
yelled. "If her mind is controlling all the threads, it's the best chance
we have."

"Let's make the next few
hours count," the president said with a curt nod. "Iris, what do you
need?"

"Silence," she replied.

The president turned to the other
generals and issued crisp orders for them to return to their stations. With her
mind buzzing with unbridled power, Iris heard one more voice speak her name.

"How could you do
this," Quad groaned under his breath.

It was obviously not meant to be
heard, but she picked up on it anyway. Flicking a thread to his mind, she spoke
into it.

I'm sorry, Quad. I wish we
could have gotten more time together. I would have liked to feel what a kiss
was like . . .

Quad blinked, his eyes widening
with sudden understanding. She'd never kissed him—not
because she didn't want to—but
because she was afraid to. Regret flashed across his expression, too painful
for her to witness in such magnified detail. She gave herself over to her
magic, and his voice faded into the background.

Then she focused on the line of
Twisted dragging the Dark forward. Visible through the millions of auren
cameras, mage monitoring motes, and the memory threads from her army, she
witnessed the impending assault in its entirety.

The images bombarded her mind and
courage in a tidal wave of doubt. She struck back with her confidence in Tess
and began to issue orders. The words left her mind as fast as she could think
them, and the combat units leapt into action.

Because of Keidon's attack on the
network, the combat units were in disarray. The Dark had dispatched millions of
Twisted ahead of the eastern cloud. Realizing her army wouldn't make it to the
Stacks, Iris ordered them to turn and form a line. The ones already at the
Stacks she ordered to fill the inevitable holes.

Tanks mobilized, their great
cannons spitting fire as Twisted appeared in the distance. Soldiers opened fire
with magic and machinery, their weapons tearing into the Twisted. Now leashed
to her will, the Halo of Dawn began to fire. Like they were her hands and feet,
each of the millions of people and machines reacted to her thoughts.

With the east forming up, Iris
turned her mind to the west. Their losses had been extreme, but most had made
it to the Stacks. She spread them out, and then ordered several of the
straggling units to get to Oakridge. Due to its placement in the mountains, the
secret mage village would hold out longer against the Dark.

The magic taxed her mind and body
to the extreme, and she felt a buzzing flicker at the back of her awareness.
The human mind was not meant to see so much, and it was only a matter of time
before hers simply stopped functioning. Until then she would give her friend
all the time she could.

Standing in a vortex of threads
and churning magic, she sifted through the information sub-charms. Analyzed
from the mountain of information, the enemy's plan came together. With so many
resources at her touch, she crafted a counter-strategy in seconds, and sent the
orders to the teams.

One of her charms came back after
connecting with Jack's discarded omni-glasses. Finding a memory thread in them,
she realized what Breaker and General Branson had been ordered to do.
Re-tasking a satellite, she issued a hundred orders as she waited impatiently.
When it was in position she looked through the eyes of the satellite and felt a
stab of fear. Then she sought to warn them. To her dismay she discovered all
threads to the group had been severed.

Even the one to Rox.

Chapter 37: Heart of Stone

"How much time will we
have?" Breaker asked.

General Branson looked up from
the device. "Five minutes to escape the blast radius."

Breaker accepted the report and
his gaze flicked to the horizon. Even with twenty miles separating them from
the eastern wall of Dark, it rose higher than the mountains that surrounded
Yellowstone National Park. Breaker's jaw tightened as he thought of Jack.

They hadn't heard from the
command center in over an hour. Without any other direction, he'd carried
forward with the last orders he'd received. The absence of communication caused
his worry to mount, forcing him to consider the tactic.

The western losses had forced
Jack to reassign the units in Wyoming to reinforce other areas. The gaping hole
in their defenses had been an invitation—and
a trap. As the army had retreated to the Stacks, Breaker and a small force had
remained behind to trigger the failsafe.

A squad of Army Rangers
surrounded their position. Their fatigues were blood-spattered and numerous
wounds marked their skin, but they had volunteered for this operation. Breaker
had hand-picked his own team as well. Among them, Rox and Shorn were posted on
the western side of the circle.

Rox's eyes connected with
Breaker’s, and her look of anger could not be ignored. They both knew he'd
pulled her from the front line to keep her safe, but he didn't care. The battle
was coming to an end, and Breaker would do anything to keep her alive.

"One more minute,"
Captain Jeffreys said.

Breaker nodded, and strode to his
lieutenant. "Any sign of intrusion?"

Lieutenant Barrows shook his head
as he continued to rotate in a slow circle. "I sense nothing abnormal in
the trees. I've got a wolf pack coming from the west, but it looks like they
are just fleeing the cloud."

"Don't stop checking,"
Breaker said, and returned to General Branson.

"Are you sure your team
modified this device properly?" the General murmured to him. "A three
megaton tactical nuke is not something to be meddled with."

"They know what they’re
doing," Breaker said. "When it goes off, it will wake this slumbering
volcano. Miles of magma will stop the Twisted better than we can."

"I'm more worried about an
eruption," General Branson said. "This super volcano is only a few
hundred miles from the Stacks. If it becomes a full eruption, there won't be
any of us left."

"You can trust my
team," Breaker said.

"We're ready, sir,"
Captain Jeffreys said, and opened the case. "We just need your handprint
and the timer will start. As you requested, we've removed any chance of
disabling the device."

General Branson nodded, and
strode toward the bomb. "Let's get this over with—"

The bullet struck him in the
knee. Crying out, he went down as other shots rang out. Breaker spun to the
source, and watched as a trio of the Rangers fired on their own team. He raised
a wall of stone just in time. Sparks scattered across its surface. Then he saw
their faces. Horror twisted their features as they strained to fight an
invisible force . . .

Ducalik.

He lunged for the triggering
mechanism and swung it toward Branson. Just as he was about to release, his
fingers froze, causing it to fall to the dirt. Breaker fought to open his
mouth, but it felt welded shut. His warning went unvoiced, and soon the gunfire
tapered off. Most of the soldiers and mages lay dead, and the remainder were
forced to walk into the clearing.

Out of the corner of his eye, he
watched Ducalik ride into view astride a Twisted wolf. The beast had grown to
the size of a tiger, as had the quartet flanking it. They glided into a
perimeter, surrounding the group. Ducalik dismounted and strode to Breaker.

"You are a stubborn one—"

His mouth locked open as his eyes
flicked past Breaker. His hand shot out—too
slow. A loud beep indicated the device had been activated. Breaker would
have smiled if he could. Branson had dragged himself the distance and activated
the trigger.

Rage contorted Ducalik's
features, and he forced everyone to turn and look at Branson. The general was
clutching the wound in his upper leg, but the pressure did little to stop the
blood flow.

Ducalik stalked to him and knelt.
"You will disarm the device."

"You can control my
body," Branson said, his voice strong despite the color draining from his
face. "Why don't you do it yourself?"

"No man can control the mind
of another," Ducalik said. Standing, he turned to the remaining Rangers
and motioned them forward. Against their will, they pointed their guns at their
commanding officer. "You will disarm it, or your men will kill you with
your vile weapons."

One of them fired, and the round
penetrated Branson's shoulder. Bound by Ducalik's power, Branson could only cry
out. Pain filled his expression, and he forced the words out through clenched
teeth.

"I need my hand to do as you
ask."

Ducalik gestured to him, and
Branson's free hand twitched. His hand was surprisingly steady as he yanked his
pistol free and pointed it at his own head. Before Ducalik could react the gun
fired, and Branson went limp.

Ducalik sighed in annoyance, and
his gaze fell on Breaker. "Let's try a different tactic, shall we?"
He motioned out of Breaker's view and two figures were forced to walk to his
side. Sweat beaded Shorn's features as he fought to control his own body, and
Rox's eyes were full of defiance.

"I may not be able to
control a mind," Ducalik said in a sinister voice, "but I can see
what it thinks. It appears you have brought your daughter and the man she
loves."

Caged by his magic, Breaker
screamed and roared. His flesh trembled from the effort to break free. No sound
escaped his lips, but Ducalik heard his thoughts. His smile implied pain, and
Shorn's hand rose toward Rox. Tears leaked down his face as he realized what
Ducalik was about to do.

"Let's see how much gravity
it takes to crush your daughter, shall we?" Ducalik said.

Rox slumped to the ground, her
eyes clenching tight as Shorn's magic slowly squeezed her. Supreme rage filled
Breaker, and he surged against his bonds. His hand lifted a fraction, forcing
Ducalik to turn on him.

"Such power." He issued
a dark laugh. "Yet so helpless. Disarm the device, or watch your daughter
die in front of you."

Breaker's vision filled with
black, but then he noticed the look in Shorn's eyes. Instead of defeat or
anger, there was a monumental resolve to cast a spell without moving. Ducalik
must have sensed what was coming, because he whirled to him and raised his
hands.

"You think you can harm
me?"

Shorn's gravity blade struck his
own arm, severing it at the elbow. The spell crushing Rox dissipated and relief
flooded her frame. Ducalik stepped forward and struck Shorn in the face. His
head rocked back, and the skin on his cheek split. Shorn's eyes conveyed only
triumph as the blood dripped onto his uniform.

"Your flesh is mine!"
Ducalik roared. "You will obey my will. If I want you to kill, you will
kill. If I want you to die, you will die. There is no man on this world that
can defy my might. I am the Master of Flesh, and the very Dark obeys me!"

His voice rose into a shriek, and
he struck Shorn again and again. Shorn's eye began to swell, but the look of
triumph did not fade. The defiance served to goad Ducalik to greater violence,
and he unleashed his rage onto him. Then another voice spoke . . .

"Not all flesh obeys
you," Breaker said.

Ducalik froze, and the wolves
issued a low snarl. He whirled to face Breaker, and his eyes widened. Step by
step, Breaker advanced toward him. Ducalik raised his hands to stop Breaker,
but Breaker did not stop. Each step of his halting advance spurred Ducalik to
greater effort, but his magic had lost its hold on Breaker's body.

Drawn through his feet, grains of
dirt filled Breaker’s body. Organs, skin, and blood darkened as they were
gradually replaced with rock. Breaker had witnessed Shorn's act of defiance and
realized that nothing was going to stop Ducalik. No man could get close enough
to defeat him.

Unless they were made of stone.

"This cannot be!"
Ducalik screamed, and the wolves darted in.

Breaker struck him in the face,
breaking his nose and sending him sprawling. The impact released the others
from their bonds, and they turned on the wolves. Nine men and women struck with
combined force.

A searing fireball caught one
wolf across its flank. Its snarl became a whimper of pain as it fell away.
Another caught a Ranger in its jaws and retreated. Mortally wounded, the man
managed to get a knife free and plunge it into the creature's neck. It tossed
him free, and then attempted to limp away. The ground rumbled beneath it, and a
searing blast of superheated water exploded from the ground, engulfing the
wolf.

Snarls, bellows, and gunfire
filled the clearing as Rox ended the geyser and crawled to Shorn. His eyes
clenched tight in pain, he didn't move as she removed her cloak and wrapped it
around his arm. His face had gone white, but his pain eased when she pulled
water from the ground and covered the wound in a water bandage.

Through it all Breaker stalked
Ducalik. Stumbling in his attempt to flee, the man put all his strength into
his magic, fighting to stop Breaker. Breaker hardly felt it. The grains of soil
that he'd drawn into his body continued to fill his flesh, making it easier and
easier to defy Ducalik's magic. He did not need his flesh to obey him, only the
stone within his form.

Ducalik got to his feet, but
Breaker reached out and caught his arm. Spinning him around,

Breaker brought his knee into Ducalik's face, spattering blood across his
features and once again sending him to the ground. His anger replaced with
whimpers of fear, Ducalik struggled to drag himself away.

Breaker reached out and cast a
goliath charm on Ducalik. The stone wrapped around his body until everything
but his head was covered. At Breaker's command, Ducalik was forced to stand and
face him.

"You should not have
threatened my daughter."

The cold fury in his voice made
Ducalik wince. "I did not mean to—"

The stone that bound him rose
over his mouth, cutting off his words. Trapped in solid rock, he stood
helpless. His eyes widened in fear as Breaker stepped close to him.

"You deserve eons of
pain," he growled, his voice thick with hatred. "But I will be
content with giving you the same fate I have given myself."

Then he cast the hardennek hex
that Hawk had taught him. The stone of the goliath pressed against Ducalik's
flesh and then seeped inside. Ducalik's eyes widened in terror and pain as
stone began to replace his body. A grim smile crossed Breaker's features, and then
he turned away from the dying man.

With Shorn's good arm slung over
her shoulders, Rox looked up at Breaker—and
blanched at the cracks in his visage.

"Dad, what did you do?"

Breaker let out a breath, but it
sounded raspy and pained. "What was necessary."

The gravel in his voice deepened
as the hardennek hex continued to solidify his flesh like rapidly drying
concrete. Once cast, nothing could halt the spell, not even him.

"Dad . . .," her
voice broke. Shorn pulled his arm off her shoulders, allowing her to step into
her father’s slow embrace. "I love you, Dad," she whispered.

"You are my little
girl," he rasped. "I've always loved you."

She squeezed him, but he could
barely feel the pressure. Conscious of the ticking bomb just feet from them, he
forced her away. Grunting from the effort, he pushed her to Shorn.

"Dad, please . . ."
Tears blossomed on her cheeks.

"Protect my little girl,
Shorn."

"I will."

Breaker forced the hardening
stone of his face into a smile. "You have proven that."

"Sixty seconds!"
Jeffreys yelled.

With one eye closed from the
beating, Shorn raised his voice, "Gather around me!" The remaining
soldiers hurried to his side, and he pulled an air board out of his pocket. It
swelled to full size, and he motioned the four survivors onto it.

"Goodbye, Dad," Rox
whispered.

"Tell Rivena and the boys I
love them." Breaker's words rasped thick and slow.

His eyes shifted to Shorn, who
took the hint. Pulling Rox to him, he lifted them into the air. Then he raised
the air board containing the others and streaked over the trees. A small
tornado blossomed into view, driving them away from the impending blast.

With all his strength, Breaker
raised his hand in farewell, and in the distance he saw Rox reciprocate the
gesture. The smile on his face turned solid as the last of his flesh was
replaced, and his eyes went dim.

Behind the statue of Breaker,
Ducalik could only scream through his bonds as his flesh hardened. Then the
nuke went off, incinerating him and everything within hundreds of miles. Trees
and earth reached one million degrees in less than a second, erasing the crust
that covered the super volcano.

As the explosion faded, endless
tracts of magma remained.

Chapter 38: Depths of the Dark

Iris clenched her eyes shut
against the image of Breaker's death, and almost lost the gralisian charm.
Fighting her anger and grief, she focused on the battle. Every lapse now
threatened the stability of her magic. Then inexplicably the pain of the charm
eased.

Her eyes fluttered open and she
saw Quad. He stood at the edge of sparking circle, carefully casting anti-magic
charms around the visible threads. Each one smoothed the flow of information,
lessening the chaos of her magic.

Then his fingers came too close
to the threads. The energy arced like electricity, shocking him. He yanked his
hand back with a grunt of pain. Clenching his jaw, he finished the charm with
one hand and then moved to the next.

Thanks, Quad, she said to
him.

He threw her a hard glance.
"I joined the Order because of you, Iris, and I'm going to kiss you before
this is over."

She felt a rush of gratitude. If
I survive, you have my permission.

"I'll hold you to
that."

Buoyed by his efforts, she
refocused on the millions of threads demanding her attention. She frowned when
she realized one of her charms had failed to deliver. She sent it again, and
her magic disseminated through the threads, searching for her brother. Again it
returned without finding him. She frowned, and sent a message to Freezer to see
if he could locate him. Trying to ignore the doubt in her gut, she turned to
the thousands of other pressing demands. Then she noticed a shift in the flow
of Twisted.

Her eyebrows knit as she changed
her orders to the two armies guarding the Arcs. If they were destroyed, her
mightiest weapon would be useless. And the Halo of Dawn would fall silent. She
fired the Halo twice, as fast as she could. Then she contacted an old friend.

Eric, she said. They're
going for the Arcs . . .

***

"Here they come!" Wolf
bellowed.

He fired the MAAWS rocket from
his shoulder, sending the warhead into a knot of Twisted dragging the Dark
forward. Bodies were torn and trees snapped like twigs. Then the other soldiers
in the line opened fire, filling the air with lethal rounds of hot lead. The
Twisted cut themselves from the Dark and advanced over the dead, their
collective howl raising the hair on Wolf's arms.

"At least we have the high
ground this time," Jameson said as he leaned out over the cabin porch. His
sniper rifle bucked in his hands, and a Twisted went down. It tumbled to a stop
as he fired again, slamming another into a tree.

"It's all we need,"
Wilson called with a grin, "a full mag and a field full of targets."

Lined up on the balcony, the team
aimed down the slope. Trees and lower buildings had been hastily cleared below
them to allow clear lines of fire. Gnarled stumps rose from the ground, their
wood snapped and broken from the explosives used to fell them.

On top of the mountain, the Arc
glowed to life and the Halo burst into view in the sky. The now familiar
fireball appeared and plummeted toward the ground in front of them. Trees and
Twisted disappeared in the fire and smoke, and the mountain trembled.

"At least we have help from
above," Linda said.

"And from the sides,"
Wilson said, and jerked his head toward the Dark elves that had taken the
stretch of road beneath them.

Wolf threw them a look as he
reloaded. Using magic and ethereal crossbows, the dark elves were proving to be
as lethal as the SEALs—and
that didn't include their pet. The black reaver known as Knisenik prowled well
in advance of their unit. Its spiked form cut through the Twisted with abandon,
seemingly undeterred by the hail of bullets all around it.

It paused when it caught sight of
Wolf and casually mauled a pair of primates. Its deep intelligent eyes burned
with curiosity, prompting Wolf to offer a curt nod. The black reaver issued a
rumbling growl and tossed its head. Then it returned to its rampage.

"I think you have a
friend," Linda said. She cast a reverse gravity well that lifted a dozen
of the leading Twisted into the air. Wolf put them down with precision shots.

"I'm not really a dog
person," he said.

"It's not a dog," she
replied with a laugh.

Wolf didn't respond. The banter
kept his men from focusing on their position, but deep down Wolf knew how dire
their situation was. Already he could see a unit to the south of them going
down. Led by a pack of primates, the Twisted tore them and the barrier apart
before a reaper drone took them out. Soon they would reach the collection of
houses they were using as a vantage point. Then they would be forced to retreat
to the summit.

Wolf tightened his grip on his
gun. When the Arc went down, the Halo of Dawn would stop firing on the entire
eastern line. Without it, nothing would keep the horde in check. Wolf saw the
tension in the eyes of the soldiers around him. Smiling comments were made
through tight lips, and the humor failed to reach their eyes. They knew what
was at stake, and weren't going to retreat.

The Arc on top of the mountain
warmed and fired again, and another blast of fire came down right in front of
it. Wolf saw it coming, and ducked back into the living room. The proximity
spiked the ambient temperature, causing him to frown. It was the only time he'd
seen the Halo fire consecutive shots in the same location. Then the radio
chirped in his ear.

"Eric," Iris said,
"they're going for the Arcs, and that's the last shot I can do. Any closer
and I will damage it. I'm ordering everyone to retreat to the summit to guard
it."

Iris's voice sounded distorted,
like a thousand echoes of a single tone. The timbre carried an edge to it that
implied pain.

"What do you mean, I?"
Wolf asked.

"Varson killed Jack."

The words struck Wolf like
shrapnel to the chest. "He was a good man."

"The best," Iris
replied. "I'm trying to fix things here, but the battle did a lot of
damage. The defense network is in tatters, and our secondary line is in
shambles. You are my only hope in keeping the Halo going. Don't let me down,
Eric."

Then a burst of static signaled
that Iris had withdrawn.

"She doesn't sound
good," Linda said quietly, and their eyes met.

"She's a fighter," Wolf
said uneasily.

Wolf's gaze met his team, who had
evidently heard the same message. "You heard the girl," he said.
"Let's move."

They gathered their gear and
retreated. Sprinting through the cabin, they burst onto the driveway on the
opposite side and piled into a Humvee. Peterson revved the engine and they sped
up the road. All around them the scene was repeated. Soldiers, mages, and dark
elves withdrew to the summit. Wolf watched them as he reloaded.

The dark elves moved with a fluid
grace that Wolf admired. Darting up the steep slope or riding their lizards,
they appeared at ease in spite of the strain.

"I wonder how they
condition," Wilson said.

"Pilates?" Jameson shot
over his shoulder.

Wilson shook his head. "Five
bucks says it's yoga."

They neared the summit—but a swarm of shriekers
passed above them. Wolf and his team ducked, but the huge bats were not going
for them. Issuing their horrendous screech, they slammed into the Arc. It did
not budge, and several fell to the ground around Wolf, their wings broken.
Peterson cursed and swerved to avoid one before bounding over another.

A moment later they achieved the
peak. Leaving the vehicle in neutral, they piled out and let it roll down the
slope. It fell off the side and rolled. The bumper flew off as it flipped and
crashed its way down the mountain. Wilson laughed when it struck a pair of
human Twisted.

Wolf stepped through a gap in the
barricade and took in the scene at a glance. The uneven surface of the summit
was surrounded by a concrete barricade. It glowed purple, indicating gravity
magic had been used to reinforce it.

A thousand soldiers and mages
filled the space. A trio of mounted guns pointed down the east slope, firing
into the haze of fire from the Halo's blast. Men stood between them with magic
and metal, sending a blistering wave of death down the slope.

Dominating the center of the
space, the Arc rose like a massive claw from the rock. Sharp and curving, it
pointed to the eastern sky. It began to shimmer white as it warmed, until it
became difficult to look at. Then it abruptly winked out, and a halo burst into
view to the north. Wolf blinked in the sudden dimness and spotted the CO.

Dressed in jeans, a dirty
t-shirt, and body armor, the man boasted white hair and weathered skin. In
spite of his age, he issued crisp orders to everyone around him. Catching sight
of Wolf and the dark elves, he strode to them.

"Colonel Pearson," he
said, "retired Marine recon. Gear up and replace Tango team on the right
fifty cal. Command reports a surge coming at us. Any gravity mags with
you?"

"Here," Linda said.

"Report to the flyer team at
the Arc and reinforce the bubble charm. It's the only thing keeping the
shriekers from tearing us into dog food."

"And us?" one of the
dark elves asked.

Pearson's eyes flicked to them.
"I was advised of your help. Stick with Captain Thompson and reinforce his
position." He jerked his head at Wolf. "We're not letting this Arc go
down, Captain."

"Yes, sir," Wolf
responded, and then led his team to the mounted gun.

"Wilson, you have the
gun," he said. "SEALs, set up on the left. Urilian, you take the
position on the right line."

The dark elf issued a grin and a
mock salute. "Yes, human."

They settled in, allowing a
German team to withdraw for a few moments of respite. Wolf settled next to the
barricade and swung his gun over. Even with the lingering heat from the Halo
blast, the Twisted pressed forward. Cooling the flames by their very flesh,
they climbed over the corpses of their companions and died closer to the Arc.

"Make each bullet
count," Wolf said, and targeted a human Twisted bounding over the charred
corpse of another.

He emptied the mag one round at a
time, and then reloaded to do the same. Expended magazines were tossed over his
shoulder out of habit. As they fought, the wall of Dark continued to advance
around them. Mile by mile it closed off their flanks . . . and then shut behind
them. Wolf cast a glance back when the Dark sealed shut behind them. Surrounded
by the cloud, the mountain remained in a column of light that reached to the
sky.

Millions of shriekers blocked the
view, their combined screeching overpowering the echo of battle. Pouring from
the Dark and churning in huge swarms, they slammed into the gravity bubble that
Linda and the others maintained.

Normally invisible, the surface
of the shield was marred with cracks and smears of blood. Linda and the others
flitted from break to break, attempting to seal them over before the shield
shattered. Inches from their attempt, the shriekers impacted the exterior and
bounced away.

"Looks like we're
surrounded," Peterson said.

"I didn't want to go home
anyway," Wilson shouted. "My favorite McDonalds is gone."

"Why was it your
favorite?" Wolf asked.

"Because of the girl in the
drive-through," Wilson yelled with a belly laugh.

Urilian moved to join them.
Extending his ethereal crossbow over the barricade, he fired. "How is the
food at this McDonalds?"

"You've never had a Big
Mac?" Jameson asked, and shot him a look.

"Such items are not served
in the Deep," Urilian said, and his sadness was such that Wolf turned to
him. Then he saw the hint of a smile.

"When this is over,"
Wilson said, "I say we open a franchise in your hometown."

Urilian grinned as he
methodically killed the enemy. "Perhaps I could taste bacon as well."

Jameson laughed so hard he nearly
dropped the magazine he was loading. "You've never had bacon?"

"Hawk once told me it is a
taste unlike any in the Deep," Urilian said.

"What exactly did you eat
down there?" Wolf asked.

Urilian launched into an
explanation of the various dishes unique to his homeland. Wolf listened with
half an ear as he fired his weapon. In spite of himself, a smile pulled at his
lips. Urilian and the other dark elves were not nearly as strange as Wolf would
have expected. Aside from the pointed ears and gray skin, they could have
passed for any foreigner.

As Urilian talked the Twisted
drew closer. Several hundred yards separated the summit from the Dark that
ringed it, and Twisted covered every inch of the slope. Scaling cabins and
bounding up the incline, they managed to get within thirty feet of the
barricade at the top. Wolf and the dark elves fought with increasing speed, but
it was insufficient. Urilian loaded and fired as fast as the SEALs, but
continued to talk as if they were at a café in France.

The horde reached the barrier,
and finally Urilian fell silent. Apparently the effort to kill creatures twenty
feet away required his whole attention. One pushed past the bullets and clawed
at Wilson. Wolf drew his pistol and fired on the creature. Then Pearson
bellowed an order, and someone triggered the explosives . . .

Chapter 39: The Black Reaver

Buried in a ring around the
summit, the bricks of C4 ignited in a single, massive blast. Fire engulfed the
houses and Twisted as the mountain shook. Most of the cabins lost their
foundations and collapsed down the slope, crushing hundreds before they disintegrated.
Wolf squinted through the inferno and opened fire once more, picking off the
stragglers.

"That's it for
explosives," Pearson shouted. His voice was barely audible over the
crackling fire, screams of Twisted, and rattle of gunfire. "Either the girl
destroys the Dark, or we die defending this summit!"

"He's seems like a gentle
human," Urilian remarked.

A large movement caught Wolf's
eyes, and he scanned the Dark through the smoke. What he saw caused him to rise
to his feet.

"Captain?" Peterson asked.

"We used the explosives too
soon," Wolf said.

"We were about to be
overrun," Wilson said.

"No . . .," Wolf said
as they stepped from the Dark.

Huge leviathans advanced into
view alongside dozens of elephants, tigers, and wolves. Bears filled in the gaps
with a trio of lions. With tens of thousands of smaller Twisted, they
surrounded the summit and issued a collective roar. Soldiers, mages, and dark
elves alike sucked in their breath as they realized the truth. The Twisted had
waited until they had expended their greatest defenses.

"Now we're about to
be overrun," Wolf said.

Then Knisenik appeared. Carving
his way through the smaller Twisted, it nicked the leg of one of the
leviathans. Then it darted back and took a bite out of the wound. Urilian
smiled in anticipation.

"Black reavers absorb the
power of their victims through their blood," he told the SEALs.

"What does that mean?"
Wilson asked.

Urilian flashed him a look.
"He's gaining the leviathan’s strength."

As the line of larger creatures
surged into a charge, the black reaver seemed to swell with power. Its flesh
glowed with magic, and it released a roar of triumph. Then it burst into
motion. Tearing one of the spikes from its back, it turned and hurled it at the
leviathan.

The spike went through the
leviathan's skull, killing it in a single blow. Without a sound the great
creature collapsed, flattening its smaller companions. By then the black reaver
had begun its rampage.

Its strength magnified to that of
a Dark-empowered leviathan, it ripped a serrated tusk from an elephant and
impaled the owner. Then it dove into a trio of bears. They went down in
seconds, as did the pack of Twisted wolves beside it.

Greater fiends and smaller fiends
alike were slaughtered. Frightening and awesome in its intensity, the black
reaver killed without mercy, until every greater fiend had been decimated. Then
it charged up the mountain, making for the summit. Abruptly it slipped on the
bloodied ground and went down. It slid to a stop and did not rise, its chest
heaving from the exertion.

"What's happening?"
Wolf asked.

"The effect is
temporary," Urilian said. "And the greater the power absorbed, the
greater the ensuing weakness."

Howling at the slaughter of their
companions, the ranks of smaller Twisted poured toward the downed reaver. Its
strength gone, the reaver remained where it was. Wolf didn't hesitate.
Gathering his gear, he leapt over the barrier.

"Captain!" Pearson
roared, but Wolf was already gone.

Before he'd slid ten feet his
team had joined him, and to his surprise, the dark elves as well. Urilian
flashed him a smile and twirled his sword.

"You humans are
exciting!"

Wolf opened fire on the Twisted,
cutting the first rank down. Then the team reached the reaver and took up
positions around it.

"Formation Delta! Covering
fire! Urilian, right flank!"

The SEALs fanned out, cutting the
ranks of Twisted down before they could reach the reaver. His cheek to his
weapon, Wolf did not retreat as the ranks of Twisted thickened.

"Get up," he
growled.

As if it had heard him, the
reaver stumbled to its feet. Its pace unsteady and weak, it began to walk up
the slope. Retreating under fire, the SEALs targeted and killed with flawless
accuracy, taking their foes down in controlled bursts. On the opposite flank
the dark elves fought with equal precision, their swords blurring into flesh as
they killed the Twisted.

One of the elves was caught and
dragged away, and Wilson was nearly mauled. He fell to the ground and kept
firing until Wolf leaned down and yanked him up. Step by agonizing step, the
group retreated up the slope.

Wolf expended every grenade and
bullet in his arsenal by the time the reaver dragged itself over the wall.
Gasping from the effort, Wolf sat against a crate and slid to the ground. Then
Pearson was in his face.

"You almost got yourself
killed! What were you thinking?"

"We don't leave a man
behind," Wolf said wearily.

"That's not one of your—"

Wolf forced himself to his feet.
"Yes, he is."

Pearson's mouth closed with a
snap. Then he issued a grunt and stalked away. "Don't break the line
again, Captain."

Wolf nodded. "Yes,
sir."

A low rumble drew his gaze to the
reaver, who was eyeing him as it rested. This doesn't mean I won't kill you.

Startled by the words, Wolf
issued a quiet laugh. "Or I you."

Its reply could have been a snarl
or a laugh, and Wolf hoped it was the latter. Reloading his weapon, he returned
to the wall. Just as he was about to open fire, the Arc warmed to fire again.
Inwardly he smiled. The tactic to destroy the Arc had failed. Then suddenly the
Arc dimmed, drawing all eyes to it.

"Think it broke?"
Wilson asked.

Wolf shook his head, his thoughts
leaping to Auroraq. If the enemy truly wanted to destroy the Halo, why
eliminate the Arcs? Why not hit the source? Wolf swallowed his fear. Whatever
the reason, they were now surrounded by the Dark with nothing to defend.

They were trapped.

Chapter 40: A General's Might

Weary from using so much magic,
Tess Gated to Siarra's refuge. Siarra stepped out to join her, and they exited
into the morning light. Then they rose into the air together. As they glided
over Tryton's, her gaze fell upon the school.

Her memories flooded her. She'd
started as an anonymous student, which had been the best gift Hawk could have
given her. When her identity had become known, the school's populace had
focused on her with curiosity, and at times, fear. Throughout it all Tess had
dealt with the ever-increasing threat of the Harbingers.

What would it have been like if
Alice had not unleashed the Dark? She imagined herself going to class with her
friends and spending time with Derek. She could have listened to the professors
out of a desire to learn, instead of a desire to survive. Would she still have
known Hawk? What would their training have been like without the oppressive
weight of the Harbingers? She thought of Tempest, and how much fun it had been
to fly on the air board when all that mattered was the score. Would she have
made more friends?

She wondered if Tryton's had
dances like normal schools. Perhaps Derek would have taken her, and they would
have danced under the stars amidst breathtaking magic. She'd come into Tryton's
with a sense of wonder. Magic had been intoxicating with its potential. Along
the way Alice had sullied it. Now magic was merely a weapon to wage war, not a
tool to build and uplift.

For the first time she considered
what would happen if she actually stopped the Dark. What would the nations of
Earth do? What would she do? She released a slow breath and reminded
herself that Alice stood on the verge of victory. If Alice did win, what would
she do with Tess?

Or would she be dead?

She shivered and forced the
thoughts from her mind. Her pace driven by her worry, she accelerated toward
the Spirus. Then Siarra spoke.

"The battle draws to a
close. We must find the final talisman."

Tess looked to her as they landed
on a balcony of the Spirus. "I don't think it's what we thought," she
said, and shared Derek's theory of it being a fixed location.

Siarra came to a dead stop.
"The Forge of Light," she breathed.

"The what?" Tess came
to a stop. Why did that sound familiar? Then she remembered that the
Ironguard had once said that the 'Forge of Light illuminates all'.

Siarra's expression was still of
shock. "The Forge of Light is an ancient tale. It is referred to in
several tomes, but little was known even in my day. The tale spoke of an
ancient machine on a mountain, one that was built during the Dawn of
Magic."

"Can it stop the Dark?"

"That was not its
purpose," Siarra replied. "But apparently my mother thought it
could."

"I don't understand,"
Tess said. "What will it do?"

"The better question is,
what did it do?" Siarra said, and her eyes connected with Tess.
"If the tale is to be believed, the Forge of Light is the cause of magic
on this world."

Tess's breath caught in her
throat as she realized what Siarra was saying. "You mean that the Forge of
Light . . ."

Siarra gave a solemn nod.
"Is what gave mankind magic."

"What happens if we activate
it?"

"We have already been
touched by magic," Siarra said, "but it might still create the beacon
of light."

"It is the
location," Tess said, and felt a sudden urgency. "Where do we find
it? Can we use the compass—"

"No." Siarra shook her
head. "We don't have time to follow it to the Forge. We require a
destination first, and I believe you have a friend who has proven adept at such
matters."

"Iris," Tess said, and
entered the Spirus through a shattered window. Speeding down the hall, she came
to a stop in the command center.

Generals rushed to carry out
their orders, their movements frantic as they spoke with harried techno mages.
Soldiers and healers were still caring for the dead and injured that had fallen
during Varson's attack. Through the tumult Tess spotted her friend.

Iris stood in the center of the
broken map, a vortex of purple threads swirling around her. Sparks and purple
lightning ignited the air in her presence, and glowed across her eyes and skin.
The expression of pain on her features sent a shiver of foreboding into Tess's
gut.

Iris, what have you done?

Iris's lips twitched, but she
responded in kind. Given you time. The threads from here were shredded. It
was the only way we could still fight. For now I can order every unit in the
defenses.

Tess cringed at the sound of
Iris's voice. It was like hearing a thousand people repeating the same words at
the same time, creating an echo of her real voice.

For now?

I'm organizing the Earth Army
so it can endure after I'm gone.

Instinctively Tess took a step
toward her.

Don't! Iris warned. I'm
lazed into millions of threads. Try to move me and they will collapse onto my
mind.

What can I do?

Win this war, Iris
responded. And tell Derek I'm sorry. He was right about our mother. I'm just
glad she chose us in the end.

Iris sent the image of Trina's
death into Tess's mind, and Tess's chest tightened in anger. I'm sorry,
Iris. Your mom deserved better.

We all deserve better.

I can't lose you, Iris, not
after my dad . . .

It's too late, Iris said
quietly. There's no way I can disconnect from here without it killing me.
It's up to you now.

Tess fought the welling of fury
rising within her. First her dad, and now Iris? Over the last year Iris had
become more than friend. To have her die was something she refused to accept.

I'm not going to let you do
this, Tess said.

You have to, Iris replied.
You have to find the Forge of Light and end this. I'm trying to locate it
now.

Tess shouldn't have been
surprised that she already knew about the Forge, but she was. You're my
sister, Iris, she pleaded. I can't let you die.

You have no choice . . .

Tess ground her teeth together
and spoke aloud. "Iris, I'm not leaving you—"

Brace yourselves! Iris's
scream touched every mind in the Spirus, causing soldier and civilian alike to
flinch.

"What's happening?"
Tess demanded.

The Spirus rocked to the side.
Tess caught herself against the wall, her eyes darting to Iris for an answer.
Iris spoke as the Spirus floor righted itself.

The Aspect is here.

Tess stared at Iris, and then
bolted back down the hall. With Siarra at her side she flew out the window and
turned her gaze downward. Her heart sank as she saw the Aspect of Justice
returning for another pass.

Twenty feet tall and resembling
an angel, it struck the Spirus with its shimmering blade. Bits of protective
magic broke off and cascaded away from the impact, allowing the blade to slice
deep into the superstructure. The Spirus reeled back like a struck boxer. Just
as it righted itself the Aspect struck again.

"It's made of white
magic," Siarra said.

Tess heard recognition in her
voice, and she turned to her. "It was enchanted by the oracle of
Atlantis," Tess said.

"Only white magic can cause
it harm," Siarra said, and threw her a look. "We must not allow it to
escape."

The Aspect struck the base of the
building again, and this time its intention was made clear. Walls and supports
shattered under its furious assault, creating a gap large enough for it to
enter. Then it disappeared toward the Shield of Auroraq office.

Tess and Siarra dived over the
side, and Tess began to summon white magic. With her mind weighed by the last
few hours, the energy was slow to come. Siarra crafted a shining white sword,
so she did the same. Flowing the white into a blade, she cast it into solid.

They reached the ground and
banked into the hole the Aspect had made. Magic shield charms and stone columns
had been decimated by the white sentient's passage, and Tess's heart leapt into
her throat. After their earlier effort to remove Tryton's Sword and the
Aspect's entry, little remained of the Recollection.

The entrance to the subterranean
levels had been opened like a can of soup. Tess and Siarra dived through the
gaping hole and found the Aspect raising its ten-foot sword at the top of the
spiraling wind lift. It plunged it into the casually swirling wind and the
enchantment cracked. Twice more the Aspect raised its sword and struck, and on
the third blow the wind lift disintegrated.

White vapor filled the large
shaft as the solid wind evaporated. Standing at the top and wreathed in light,
the Aspect spread its wings and dropped from the ledge—and they struck from behind.

Tess had little experience with a
sword, but her weapon was more an extension of her will than a normal blade.
Leading with the tip, she slammed into the Aspect's wing, cutting a furrow from
the top of the wing to the bottom. Opposite her, Siarra stabbed her weapon deep
into the Aspect's side.

Unprepared for the attack, the
Aspect dropped like a stone and slammed into the bottom of the shaft. It rose
to face the hovering oracles, its hood lifting until Tess could almost see its
eyes. For the first time it issued a sound.

The hideous bellow rocked Tess
further up the shaft and made the hair across her arms rise. As white ichor
seeped from the wounds, the Aspect of Justice swung its sword and launched
itself at them.

Tess had just enough time to wrap
herself in a gravity bubble before it backhanded her. She crunched into the
stone wall of the shaft. Her gravity bubble crumbled from the impact and she
struggled to keep her wits. As her vision swam she witnessed Siarra's assault.

Flitting like a hummingbird from
one side to the other, Siarra deflected the much larger blade with the skill of
a trained swordsman. She bounced off the wall a half second before the Aspect's
sword gouged a line through her position, and nicked its arm as she spun into a
dive. The Aspect whirled to face her, its white sword blurring as it twirled.

Siarra dipped and dodged and
deflected the strikes that came too close. The Aspect abruptly drove forward,
attempting to crush Siarra against the wall. She Gated and reappeared at its
back, raking her sword across its spine before dodging away. The retaliating
strike nearly cleaved her in two.

In spite of Siarra's skill, the
wounds on the Aspect remained superficial. Evidently recognizing the truth, Siarra
switched tactics. Rising into the shaft, she conjured a barrage of white
arrows. The Aspect whipped its sword to deflect them, but two got through. They
sank into its shoulder and chest, drawing more of its glowing blood.

Seeing a chance to re-engage,
Tess dropped to the bottom of the shaft and struck at its leg. With its
attention up, it did not notice Tess until too late. Tess's blade plunged into
the back of its leg. Releasing another thundering bellow, the Aspect did what
Tess least expected. It leapt halfway up the shaft and dived to the side.

Plunging its sword into the wall
of the shaft, it shattered a gaping hole and glided through. The movement was
so swift that Tess lost her sword. To her dismay it disintegrated out of her
hands. Casting another, she leapt in pursuit. Just as Siarra and Tess alighted
at the edge of the hole the Aspect's intention was made clear.

The Aspect had broken through the
Shield of Auroraq office, swinging its sword at thin air. Confused, Tess
blinked into her magesight—and
her heart stopped in her chest. The Aspect was not interested in fighting them
because it had another goal. With its mighty sword swinging through walls like
they were made of cardboard, the Aspect began severing thousands of gravity
charms . . .

And the floor began to sink. Like
an old elevator lurching downward, the floor dropped beneath them. Tess's eyes
widened in horror as she realized why the Aspect of Justice had been sent.

To knock Auroraq out of the sky.

Chapter 41: Plummet

Its mission completed, the Aspect
turned to face them. It sword spun in a lazy circle as if declaring an
invitation. Tess did not advance. As the gravity spells that held it aloft
dissipated, Auroraq would accelerate faster and faster toward the Earth. Its
impact would flatten everything—and
everyone—on the city.

The ground settled beneath her
feet, causing her heart to rise. "We have to help evacuate the city,"
she said. "There's not enough time for them to get out without help."

Siarra's expression was so
intense it bordered on madness. Her posture screamed her desire to punish the
Aspect. Afraid that the magic would get the best of Siarra, Tess gingerly
touched her arm.

"We need to save the
others," Tess said urgently. "They are the leaders of our army. If
they die our defense falls apart."

Siarra closed her eyes and drew
in a breath. When she opened them again her gaze was clear. "You speak
with wisdom, young one, but there is insufficient time to gather them. We will
have to Gate them out one by one."

Tess's gut tightened, but she
nodded. "We can take them to Oakridge." She touched Siarra's temple
and passed an image of the destination.

Siarra cast a look of longing at
the Aspect, and then nodded. "I'll take the west and east. You take the
school. We'll do the Spirus together."

Tess nodded and reached for the
right energy. As if sensing their departure, the Aspect surged into a sprint.
Its sword passed through thin air as they disappeared. Left to its own devices,
it whipped its sword upward and continued its destruction.

Tess reappeared above the school.
Spotting Professor Lerik floating above the gravity school, she Gated to her
side. Lerik jerked back at her sudden appearance, but Tess caught her arm and
Gated to Oakridge. Depositing her on the cobblestone road, she Gated back to
Tryton's and sought another.

She found Agent Bracken next.
He'd been walking to the earth school when the ground sank beneath him. His
eyes were wide with alarm as he spoke into his radio. Tess appeared at his side
and Gated him out.

"—city is going down!" He finished his
statement in Oakridge.

Tess caught a glimpse of his look
of astonishment before she Gated again. She found two soldiers on the edge of
Tryton's, and caught them both together. Depositing them next to the growing
crowd, she returned.

In the span of seconds the wind
around Auroraq had picked up. Her fear mounting, she tried not to think about
what it heralded and kept going. One by one she caught and emptied Tryton's of
people.

After ten she returned to find a
small group forming on the school. Led by the rock troll, Kellon, they were
forming into groups of two to make it easier for her to Gate them out. Tess
threw him a look of gratitude and took the two beside him. Their looks of shock
and terror hammered home what was happening. The mounting whine as the school
continued to accelerate had even more impact.

Her heart beat in her chest as
she caught the next two, and the next two. Each time she returned she found
more, and her heart sank. Could she rescue them all in time? Or would they be
crushed to powder when Auroraq struck the ground?

The next time she came back she
found the city had begun to lean. Those needing rescue clung to trees bending
from the rising wind, and reached their hands out at her appearance. Her heart
rent as she saw their frightened faces. Then Iris's voice spoke into her mind.
Caught between the Gates, the phrase came in a burst of words.

I'm moving the city east—

To avoid the Stacks—

And gathering everyone—

In the Spirus—

To this floor—

Tess sped up. Risking fatigue,
she caught them in groups of three or four and brought them to Oakridge.
Finally the group began to diminish, until only Kellon remained. Having avoided
her grasp until he was last, he reached to her.

Her breath coming in ragged
gasps, she sank her hand into his huge grip and tried to Gate the rock troll
out—but nothing
happened. Tess tried again, but again the Gate would not open large enough for
both of them. At twice her height and three times her weight, he was too large
to pull through a hasty spell. Kellon pulled his hand free.

"Get the others," he
said easily.

A burst of anger filled Tess, and
she snatched his hand. Without a word she forced several specks of Gate energy
together. A white circle rippled around them, swallowing them and depositing
them in Oakridge.

"I'm not leaving anyone
behind," Tess snapped to the startled Kellon, and then Gated to the
Spirus.

She sucked in her breath as she
appeared inside the command center, and saw the hundreds of people facing her.
At a glance she realized that many faces were not present, but guessed that
Iris had sent them all to Sundrops or the Terminous launchers. Gritting her
teeth, she caught the Japanese generals nearest her and Gated out. She appeared
a moment later and picked up the soldiers next to them.

On the next trip she spotted her
mother against the rear wall. She was on her knees with her hand on the
blanket-shrouded body of her father. Her heart thudded in her chest as she
caught them both.

Each time she returned the scene
became more chaotic. Like strobes of light, she caught the images in snatches
as she flitted in and out. Wind shrieked and howled, indicating that Auroraq
gravity charms had finally failed. Men and women huddled on the floor. Air
coursed through any openings in the windows, whipping their clothing and hair
into a frenzy. They grasped anything they could and looked with hope each time
she or Siarra appeared.

Thirty seconds—

Iris's voice sounded even more
distorted, as if she were trying to hold the city aloft by sheer force of will.
Each time Tess returned she saw Iris standing in her vortex of purple magic,
her face chalk white and her body trembling with fatigue.

Tess and Siarra sped up. Winking
in and out of the room, they pulled mages, soldiers, and others into the
appearing Gates. Spotting Quad and the president holding the wall, she took
them next. In the distance Tess caught sight of Sundrops streaking away, and
Terminous launchers casting glass orbs into the sky. Each was packed with
people fleeing the dying city.

As the crowd dwindled Tess heard
another sound. The Aspect of Justice had not been content below. It's sword
swinging with frenzied anger, it bored through the Spirus like a mole through
the dirt.

Men screamed as the floor gave
way beneath their feet. Before Tess could catch them they were crushed as
blocks of white granite fell on top of them. Cringing, Tess caught a woman who
hung from the edge, and came back for more. When she reappeared the hole
extended up for several floors, and she caught a glimpse of the Aspect
continuing upward.

Five seconds—

Iris's voice sounded distant and
fading, prompting Tess to drive herself even faster. She knew that Iris needed
time, but she wasn't about to leave her behind. Tess Gated in and caught two
while Siarra grabbed Gerik and his companions. They appeared in Oakridge
simultaneously.

Tess didn't wait. Snatching a speck
of Gate energy, she appeared beside Iris and wrapped her arms around her
friend. They screamed together as millions of threads cut into her mind and
flesh.

Tess, don't—

—The
city struck the ground with the force of a meteor. Bound by fading magic, much
of the city shattered. Great buildings enchanted by mighty mages flattened in
an instant. Hundred foot trees snapped like dead sticks and collapsed to the
ground.

The Spirus crumpled. Folding in
half, the sixty-three floors disintegrated into dust and bits of rubble. At the
summit of it all, the Halo of Dawn was torn apart, its magic destroyed, never
to fire again.

Tess hovered in the air above
Oakridge, hugging Iris to her and praying she was alive. Her fear of the answer
bound her, until finally she could bear it no longer. Leaning her head back,
she watched Iris's head flop to the side, and her heart cracked in two. Then
Tess saw a flutter in her eyelids.

"Iris?" Tess asked, her
voice barely above a whisper.

"I told you not to touch
me," Iris mumbled.

Tears blossomed in Tess's eyes
and she embraced her with a fierceness that drew a complaint.

"I feel like half my brain
was ripped out by fishhooks," Iris said, and her eyes opened. "Can
you take it easy?"

Overcome with emotion, Tess could
only shake her head. Iris flashed a faint smile, and then her gaze was drawn to
the devastated city of Auroraq.  Her features tightened.

"Did you get everyone
out?"

"As many as I could,"
Tess said.

"Yes, Uri, I'm fine—and stop complaining Jason,
you weren't the hub. Yes, I know it hurt. I was in the middle of it. Selina,
connect to whatever threads are still active. It's not over yet . . ."

A smile spread on Tess’s
features. Iris had been an inch from death and was already stepping back into
her magic as if falling from the sky was a daily occurrence. Relief flooded
her, so intense her vision swam. Then she lowered them to the Oakridge street
and set Iris gently on a bench. In spite of Iris's bravado, her body trembled from
weakness.

The moment she landed they were
bombarded with those Tess and Siarra had saved. Before Tess could extricate
herself, the president and Gerik caught Iris and asked for a status. Iris
turned to Tess before joining them.

"I found the Forge of Light,"
she said.

Tess and Siarra leaned in,
causing her to smile.

"Where?" Tess asked.

"You said it was on a
mountain, and in your vision you saw the summit above the Dark. There are only
so many mountains higher than twenty thousand feet, and I cross-referenced them
with myths and legends. One is called Chomolungma by the natives, and means
Mother Goddess of the Earth. In older dialects it appears as a different
meaning, Mother of Life."

"So where is this
mountain?" Tess asked.

Iris raised an eyebrow. "It
straddles the border between Nepal and Tibet. Most people know it as—"

"—Mt. Everest," Tess finished. Understanding
washed over her, sending a chill across her skin. "The Forge of Light is
on the tallest mountain on Earth."

Chapter 42: A New Target

"Here!" the Swordsman
called, drawing Robar and Indigo to him.

After fighting the entities of
luck, they had returned to the tower in search of a way back. To their dismay
they found it sealed. Only when the sun had risen did the Swordsman locate a
secret niche with a rune that unsealed the door.

The barrier flickered and
evaporated, allowing them inside. Pushing past the destruction from the
conflict, they checked each room, hoping for a route to Auroraq. Then the Swordsman
found the world chamber.

Dominating two floors near the
middle of the tower, the chamber held a giant, glowing sphere. Continents and
oceans were displayed on its surface, their detail and movement sufficient to
indicate a current connection.

Like a dying flashlight in the
night, the center of North America stood against the Dark. A thin mist of blue
marked the location of every member of the Earth Army, while a larger mass
huddled in the Stacks at the center. Surrounding the beleaguered army, the section
inside the cloud brimmed with green. The mass of Twisted was so thick it spread
for thousands of miles in every direction.

Indigo flew to stand beside him
with Robar only a step behind. "I had no idea there were so many
Twisted," she breathed.

Robar pointed to the map.
"Look at the gaps in the Earth Army. They're already pushing through the
defenses."

They fell silent, the truth of
what they were witnessing settling on them. Minute by minute the green forces
were overwhelming the blue. Holes were being forced open, and any moment now it
would become a rout. Alice was likely minutes from declaring victory, and the
only thing holding her triumph at bay was the Halo of Dawn.

Auroraq floated high above the
Earth's surface. As the trio watched, the Halo of Dawn fired, and a tiny ball
of fire disappeared into a Gate. A split second later it reappeared above
Colorado and slammed into the green forces exiting there. Thousands of the
figures went dim, but it was like removing a pail of sand from a beach.

"What are we supposed to do
now?" Robar asked, and stabbed a finger at the map. "Alice left
because she's about to win. Even if we had killed her, I doubt it would have
stopped this."

"We have to get back,"
the Swordsman said. "We need to keep looking."

Indigo caught his arm. "And
what are we going to do? There are trillions of Twisted. I don't think
it matters who we target. One kill isn't going to make a difference."

"I'm not going to sit back
and do nothing," the Swordsman said.

Robar shook his head, his expression
resigned. "I hate to say it, but she's right. It's over."

"I refuse to accept
that," the Swordsman snapped.

"Why?" Indigo said.

"Because there's no place in
Alice's world for us." The Swordsman rounded on her. "And I'm not
going to lose either one of you."

"I know, but what can we do
. . ." Robar's voice trailed off, and the Swordsman looked at him. Robar's
forehead was creased in confusion as he stared at the map. Following his gaze,
the Swordsman saw what he was looking at.

"What's happening to
Auroraq?" Robar asked.

As the seconds passed the
Swordsman realized that Auroraq had begun to drift. He felt a cold fear seep
into his gut as he realized it had taken a distinct tilt, and continued to sink
toward the Earth. There was only one explanation.

"It's falling," he
said.

"But how?" Indigo
asked. Abruptly she launched herself into the air and came to a stop in front
of it. Her eyes widened. "One of Alice's army is inside the city, but it's
different than the others. From what we've heard I'd say it's—"

"The Aspect of
Justice." The Swordsman straightened. "One of the two generals of
Alice's army," A grim smile spread on his features. "And our new
target."

"You can't be serious,"
Indigo said, and dropped to the ground next to him.

"One kill matters," he
said. "You taught me that." He turned on his heel and strode to the
door.

Robar threw Indigo a glance, but
shrugged. "Let's find ourselves an exit."

The Swordsman cast speed and
raced upward. Kicking the doors in, he searched for any hint of a way out.
Robar checked the opposite side of the tower, while Indigo flew to the top and
worked her way down. Thirty seconds later her voice drew them to her.

"A Gate," the Swordsman
said as he slid to a stop. "She must have set this up when she had control
of Auroraq. Think it still works?"

Robar rounded the corner and came
to a halt. "Think it will work on me?"

"One way to find out,"
the Swordsman said.

"Wait," Indigo said.
"The city is falling from the sky, and you want to Gate inside it?"

"Yes," the Swordsman
said, and turned the rune key that connected to Auroraq.

The mirror shimmered, indicating
it had connected. Indigo darted forward before the Swordsman could stop her,
and disappeared into the mirror.

"No sense in me breaking it
before you," Robar said.

The Swordsman hesitated and then
stepped through. He exited into a maelstrom of sound and wind. On instinct he
dropped to the floor, seeking for something to hold onto, but the floor was
dropping beneath him. Indigo was hovering off the floor at a huge gap in the
outside wall. Her eyes widened as she saw something outside his vision. Then
she turned back to him.

"Thirty seconds to
impact!" she shouted.

Then a loud grinding noise ended
with a body colliding with the Swordsman, sending him tumbling forward.

"Took a running start,"
Robar shouted in apology. "What's going on?"

Indigo appeared as they
disentangled themselves, and the look on her face sent a spike of ice into the
Swordsman's gut.

"The Spirus is
crumbling," she said in a rush. "We have to get out of here."

The Swordsman climbed up the
tilted floor and grasped the open door. Reaching back, he cast strength and
helped Robar up the slope. Then they pushed their way through while Indigo
floated beside them.

The offices that ringed the high
council chamber had begun to disintegrate, allowing the howling wind to enter.
Chairs and other furniture were knocked around and sent tumbling down the
tilted floor. Outside the shattered windows the Swordsman caught a glimpse of
rushing air—and the
Aspect of Justice streaking past. Its sword sliced through the exterior wall
and the protective charms, sending sparks and fire igniting on the interior.

"I'll go back through,"
Robar shouted. "Take the Gate with you!"

"Twenty seconds!"
Indigo yelled. "Go now—"

The Aspect of Justice exploded
through the ceiling and into the floor, leaving a gaping hole in its wake. The
already weakened floor collapsed into the hole, taking the three of them with
it. The Swordsman rolled away from the falling debris and leapt into the air. Activating
his air board, he dodged a chunk of granite. Then he saw his brother.

Robar had slid to the hole before
he managed to catch himself. Dangling over the edge, he fought to hold on. The
Swordsman's gaze connected with him. The Swordsman was on the other side of the
chamber, and Indigo was out of reach. There was nowhere for Robar to go, and no
magic was going to help.

Then his gaze fell on the Gate.
The mirror had fallen and slid into a teetering wall. It remained intact, but
not for long. Banking his air board, the Swordsman dodged debris and shards of
solid magic raining down from the ceiling. Spinning in a tight barrel roll, he
scraped past the falling wall and snagged the edge of the mirror, yanking it
out of harm’s way.

Blocks of granite rained down on
him before rolling toward the hole. Counting the seconds, the Swordsman
dismissed his air board and activated agility. Leaping over a fallen pillar, he
tossed the mirror into the air and slid under a gap. As it collapsed into his
shadow, he leapt high and caught the mirror. Through the curtain of debris and
haze of dust, he spotted Indigo streaking to the opposite side.

"Slide it!" she
shouted.

Ducking low, he threw the mirror
along the floor. It skipped like a stone on water, barely missing a falling
statue. The illuminated figurine shattered and went dark just inches from the
mirror. Then the Gate slid off the edge and fell into the hole directly
opposite Robar.

Robar kicked off the ledge and
let go. Then he pulled his hands and arms in and slipped into the Gate. Indigo
followed the mirror down and caught it just before it struck, and then bolted
out of the Spirus.

The Swordsman exited three floors
above her, and felt a wave of relief when he saw her with the mirror in tow.
Then his vision expanded to include the ground below. Even as he registered the
impending impact, he stomped on his board and rocketed upward, willing it to go
faster.

—The
city smashed into the ground with a titanic boom. Exploding upward, the
dust cloud swallowed them in its gritty embrace. The Swordsman shielded his
eyes with one hand and headed east. Coughing on the clogged air, he strove
forward until he burst into the open. Then he spun and waited for Indigo. His
heart rising in his chest, he hovered until she emerged nearby.

Relief flooded him, and The
Swordsman motioned her down. Blinking the dust clear, they dropped toward the
rows of shipping containers that represented the western edge of the Stacks,
alighting together. He turned the rune key that would allow Robar to return.
The magic ground like steel on steel as it struggled to combat Robar's
immunity, and then he appeared.

Robar blew out his breath.
"Thanks for the save."

The Swordsman issued a grunt of
relief. "I'm not used to saving lives."

Robar flashed a grateful grin and
pointed to the sky. "Then how about we take his?"

Indigo and the Swordsman turned
together, their eyes drawn to the object floating above the rubble of Auroraq.
The Aspect's white, translucent wings floated away from its body as it held the
shining sword at its side. Immovable above the dust cloud, it surveyed the
destruction it had wrought.

Anger filled the Swordsman.
Pooling in his gut like acid, it caused him to reach up and draw his sword. His
fingers tightened on the grip.

"You sure you want to do
this?" Indigo asked.

"If we can't kill Alice, the
least we can do is eliminate one of her generals."

"What's the plan?"
Robar asked as he checked his ammunition. "I've got a few mags and
grenades, but nothing else."

The Swordsman offered a grim
smile. "Alice may have been immune, but the Aspect was made by an oracle,
and we know your immunity affected Tess. Go to ground and stay out of sight. If
it finds out you are the one making it vulnerable, you will become its
target."

"What are you going to
do?" Robar asked.

"Knock it from the
sky," the Swordsman said.

Just as they separated, the
Aspect of Justice began to move. Its work completed, it soared east. The
Swordsman and Indigo launched themselves in pursuit. Rising into the sky, the
Swordsman fixed his gaze on the Aspect.

Built to destroy armies, it had
single-handedly razed Auroraq. To defeat it would require much more than skill
with a sword. For the first time in his life, he cast the most dangerous charm
in his arsenal. In a flood of images, the remorian charm empowered his memory.

The magic opened his mind,
allowing him to remember every combat and fight in his life. Exploding across
his recollection, he recalled even the first tumbles with his brother as a
child. Armed with the knowledge of thousands of conflicts, he prepared himself
for the fight of his life.

Chapter 43: The Aspect of Justice

The Swordsman glided behind the
Aspect and activated the fire in his blade. Then he streaked into the Aspect's
back and slammed his sword into the joint of one wing. To his dismay, his sword
bounced away as if he'd struck solid steel. Spinning in the air, the Aspect
swung its weapon like it was wiping a bug off its boot. The Swordsman deflected
the blow with his own blade and rolled away.

The Aspect attacked with a
vengeance, and in spite of the Swordsman's augmented body he was nearly cleaved
in two. Spinning and dipping, he deflected a blade that was three times the
size of his own. Then Indigo took advantage of the Aspect's focus.

Casting a gravity net, she
attached it to the current of air she'd redirected. In an instant the Aspect
was yanked downward. Like a hammer had struck it from the sky, the Aspect fell
a thousand feet and smashed into the containers at the edge of the Stacks.
Steel crumpled from the blow, and the Aspect crushed all three containers on
its way to the ground.

Women and children fled,
screaming as the Aspect rose to its feet. A flick of its sword shredded the
gravity net. Then it crouched and launched into the sky—but wavered as Robar appeared below him. As if
it had struck an invisible wall, it stumbled and went down, knocking another
stack to the ground.

Plummeting from the sky, the
Swordsman dismissed his board and slammed into the dirt. They rose and faced
each other, twenty-foot angel of white magic, and assassin of the guild. The
Aspect of Justice flicked its sword—and
then charged.

Just as fast, the Swordsman
sidestepped, allowing the shimmering white blade to pass in front of his face.
Then he darted in. Rolling past its leg, he struck with all the force his
amplified body could muster.

Satiny white skin split from the
blade, the cut shallow yet painful. White ichor flowed from the wound as the
Swordsman ducked the retaliating strike and skipped out of reach. The Aspect
paused, and lowered its head to look at the shallow wound. Its grip tightened
on the massive blade. Then it attacked with a fury.

The Swordsman dropped to the
ground and rolled as the white blade streaked by. Then he rose and braced for
the reverse. The Aspect flipped the blade over and swung back. The contact slid
the Swordsman back several feet. The moment he stopped, he rolled up the blade
and struck the Aspect's forearm, again drawing blood.

This time the Aspect was
prepared. Yanking its sword arm back, it reached down and backhanded the
Swordsman, sending him flying. He landed in a roll that returned him to his
feet and raised his weapon to block. The Aspect had leapt high and brought his
sword down upon the Swordsman. The impact slammed him to his knee, cracking his
kneecap.

Growling through clenched teeth,
he angled his sword, deflecting the Aspect's weapon to the side. As the
Aspect's blade sank into the earth, the Swordsman yanked his crossbow free. The
ethereal weapon erupted from the stock, and he sent two exploding bolts into
its face.

The Aspect rocked back from the
small explosions but recovered quickly. By then Indigo had arrived. She slammed
into the Aspect's back with a gravity boulder, yanking it to the Earth. The
Swordsman darted in, aiming for its neck—but
the Aspect flexed its winged shoulders, snapping free of the restraints.

Diving under the wing, the
Swordsman attempted to slice his sword across the hamstring, but once again his
blade barely cut the skin. As he rolled away he noticed the gaping wound on the
calf. After two decades of fighting with a sword, he knew how to recognize an
injury from one. But what material could penetrate so deep?

He once again darted out of
reach. This time beset by two foes, the Aspect fought with an even greater
skill. Its huge sword spun as fast as the light from the morning sky,
decimating Indigo's attacks and keeping the Swordsman at bay.

As he fought, the Swordsman
noticed the Aspect favoring the uninjured leg. Now that he knew what to look
for, he began to notice other injuries, each similar to the first. Then he had
an idea.

Drawing his crossbow again, he
darted in. The Aspect reached out to catch him, but the Swordsman leapt into a
high, rolling flip that carried him over its searching hand. He bounced off the
ground and jumped again, this time for its side. As he passed one of the
wounds, he placed his crossbow against the injury and fired another exploding
bolt.

White ichor flowed more freely as
the explosion knocked the Aspect to the side. It struck an orange shipping container
hard enough that the ones above it rocked. The Aspect righted itself in time to
block the Swordsman's second bolt.

"Aim for the wounds!"
the Swordsman shouted, and pressed the attack.

Across from him, Indigo cast a
fire lance and launched it into the calf wound. It too detonated, causing the
Aspect to fall to its knees. The Swordsman attacked in a blazing combination,
driving through the hasty attempt to stop him and leaping high. Roaring his
anger, he raised his sword and plunged his blade into the largest wound, the
one in its side.

The Aspect issued its first
sound, but it was not of pain. The Swordsman was already turning to jump away,
but even his magically amplified body could not escape the Aspect's trap.
Catching the Swordsman around the chest, it turned and hurled him away. Then it
charged Indigo. In a flurry of blinding strikes, it decimated her defenses and
cut her down.  She screamed as the blade crushed her gravity shield and nearly
severed her leg. She too was slapped away.

The Swordsman skipped down the
alley between containers and slammed into the one at the end. He cried out as
his spine snapped, and the feeling from his legs evaporated. With blood
dripping from the wound in his forehead and fighting to breathe, he couldn't
warn Robar.

"He's trying . . . to
draw . . . you out . . ."

The words came out in a pained
rasp, but never reached his brother's ears. As the Aspect glided toward the
Swordsman, Robar stepped into view and opened fire, raking its flank with
controlled bursts. Issuing a rumble of triumph, the Aspect turned to him. Robar
darted away as it lunged.

The Swordsman screamed as his
healing spell reconnected his spine, and the pain from his legs reached his
brain. He fell to the ground and tried to crawl after the Aspect, knowing in
his gut it was too late.

How had he not seen it? The
Aspect had recognized the presence of a weakening agent, and from the beginning
of the fight sought to draw it out. Every feint, every move, had been to create
an opportunity to strike. And the Swordsman had taken the bait. With his
remorian charm active he should have seen it.

Now he saw the conflict from the
Aspect's side. It had allowed the Swordsman close so he could see the wound,
and then slowed a fraction so he could strike the wound with his crossbow. Then
it had stumbled, leaving an opening the Swordsman would not be able to resist.
All had been a ruse to draw Robar out of hiding.

And it had worked.

Agony lanced through the
Swordsman's body as he dragged himself after the Aspect. The healing spell
gradually took affect, but the Swordsman knew it would be too late. Hissing
through his teeth, he grasped the edge of a container and forced himself to his
feet. Then he caught up his sword and activated his air board.

The board ground into the dirt as
it expanded, but it carried him into the air. He bit his lip to keep from
crying out from the pressure on his legs and accelerated after the conflict.
Robar had led the Aspect out of sight, but it was easy to follow the trail of
destruction.

Two-ton shipping containers had
been sliced like bread, and the pieces had been ripped apart as the Aspect
searched for Robar. Civilian bodies littered the ground, their postures
indicating they had been watching the battle and had been too slow to flee.

The Swordsman streaked over the
dead until he saw the Aspect. By then the pain in his body had been reduced to
a stabbing ache, allowing room for fear and anger. He gripped his sword and
accelerated toward the battle.

Caught in a corner between stacks
of containers, Robar had nowhere else to go. Stalking through the hail of
gunfire, the Aspect raised its sword and struck with a lightning blow, sending
Robar to the ground. The Aspect flicked its blade, and the light emanating from
it seemed to swell with victory. Then it turned and glided away.

Weak and trembling, Robar's arm
raised and threw a small object at the Aspect. Just as the angel lifted off the
ground, the C4 detonated. The Aspect briefly disappeared in a ball of fire, and
then crashed into a container from the concussive blast. The large dent caused
the ones above it to collapse downward. Metal rang out in a cacophony of
grinding screeches as the containers landed on top of the Aspect.

The Swordsman arced around the
blast as a surge of heated air washed over him. Then he slid to a stop against
his brother and fell to his knees. His sword slipped from his numb fingers as
he witnessed the extent of the wound. His face white and spattered with blood,
Robar forced a weak smile.

"I'm sorry," he
mumbled.

The Swordsman removed his cloak
and placed it on the enormous gash. Then he put pressure on it. The blood
welled up beneath, soaking through the material. Anger surged through the
Swordsman.

"I told you to stay out of
sight."

"I couldn't let him have
you," Robar said. "You're my brother." He reached a trembling
hand up, and the Swordsman took it.

The Swordsman felt the fading
strength in his fingers, and a helpless rage engulfed him. Like a caged animal,
it roared inside him. In silence he watched his brother take his last breaths
and knew there was nothing that could save him. Magic would have no affect, and
no surgeon could repair what the Aspect had done.

Indigo alighted next to him and
slid down the container wall. Her hands joined his as they put pressure on the
soaked cloak. Her eyes met the Swordsman's, and his heart broke. Her face was a
mask of blood and dirt, and her clothes were rent and torn. The Swordsman had
chosen the target, and this was his fault.

"Robar . . ." the
Swordsman's throat tightened, and he couldn't finish.

Robar shook his head. "Not
anymore. I found my home . . . and my family. I want to die as Robert."

Then Robert released his hand and
touched the Swordsman's blade. "Give me your sword," he whispered.

The Swordsman lifted the hilt,
and Robert weakly nudged the cloak aside. He placed his hand in his own seeping
blood and then lifted it to the Swordsman's weapon. With his last remaining
strength, he coated the blade.

"This is what I was born
for," he whispered. "To help you finish this. My blood . . . and your
blade . . ."

Overcome with emotion, the
Swordsman nodded, and Robert's gaze lifted to Indigo. "Take care of him
for me."

"I promise," Indigo
murmured, her voice filled with anger and regret.

As the light faded, he smiled,
"I never stopped missing you . . ."

His eyes closed, and the tension
in his body relaxed. The Swordsman stared at the body of his brother, fighting
the hurricane of emotions. Lost and then found, Robert had been the only family
the Swordsman ever cared about.

Indigo touched his arm, and the
Swordsman's eyes flicked to meet hers. "It may have the name . . . but you
are the Aspect of Justice," she said. "Don't let it kill any more
innocents."

Guilt, anger, and grief all
fought for prominence, but ultimately rage burnt the others to oblivion.
Gripping his sword, he rose to his feet and turned to the Aspect. It had lifted
the containers off, and was now climbing free. The Swordsman began to advance.

"What are you going to
do?" Indigo called.

"I'm going to kill it,"
the Swordsman growled, and cast every spell in his arsenal.

He gritted his teeth against the
magic exploding across his frame. Strength, speed, and agility filled his limbs
until they trembled with power. His senses magnified, and his reflexes became
augmented. His natural healing ability spiked, sealing his lingering wounds.
Then he surged into motion.

Racing even faster than he could
fly, the Swordsman reached the downed container and leapt. Sprinting up its
angled side, he reached the top and lunged. Just as the Aspect glided past, the
Swordsman brought his sword down with all his might—severing one of the Aspect's wings from its
body.

Releasing a bone-chilling cry of
pain and surprise, the Aspect tumbled away and slammed into the dirt. Before it
could recover the Swordsman closed. His blood-coated blade blurred into motion,
driving past even the Aspect's skilled defense. Time and again the Aspect
bellowed, unable to escape the Swordsman's wrath.

Their battle spilled to the side,
and the Swordsman pursued with relentless fury. Bounding into the air, the
Swordsman glided to the top of a container and leapt the thirty-foot gap to the
next stack. He rolled as he landed, and then jumped again.

His bloodied sword came down
again, and the Aspect lost its other wing. Shrieking its rage, the Aspect
turned on the Swordsman and attacked with unmatched skill and power. Its sword
chipped the Swordsman's blade with every contact as it drove him back. Then the
Swordsman felt his back touch the container, and the Aspect lunged.

Its blade streaked toward the
assassin's heart—but
the Swordsman was no longer there. This time the Aspect had fallen for his
trap, and its massive blade pierced the container's wall. The Swordsman darted
forward. With both hands on the hilt, he released a mighty roar and swung his
into the Aspect's wrist.

With the blood of his fallen brother,
the Swordsman's blade cut deep, nearly severing the Aspect's hand. Its fingers
went limp and it stumbled back with a shrieking hiss. The Swordsman dropped his
sword and yanked the Aspect's blade from the container. In a screech of metal
on magic it came free, and then the Swordsman attacked.

Dragging the white blade, he took
four steps and swung. As the Aspect fell backward, the Swordsman activated his
board and drove between its arms. The colossal sword pierced its chest and sank
deep, pinning it to the container behind.

The Aspect went rigid. Like a
roaring hurricane, it released a cry of ultimate pain—and then began to fade. Its magic unsealed, the
Aspect of Justice lost the light that had been its life. Its white satiny skin
turned to sickly gray, and it's now tattered cloak turned to ash. Its hood
turned translucent as it evaporated, revealing features contorted with shock.
Its face blackening, it no longer resembled an angel. Only the sword remained
bright, and held the darkened angel pinned to the steel container as the
Swordsman retrieved his own sword. Its mighty power gone, the war ender
disintegrated.

Chapter 44: Into the Dark

"Come on, Iris,"
Tess said. "We need someone who has been there."

"I'm working on it,"
Iris said, her tone annoyed. "There are more than 3,500 people who've made
it to the top of Mt. Everest, and the Dark has killed most of them. Scott, have
you tracked down the list I sent you—fine,
get working on these—Uri,
are you sure—Well where
is this Pearson . . . ?"

"I should contact
Derek," Tess said. "He might know the answer—"

"No," Iris said
suddenly, and caught her arm.

The sharpness to her tone caused
Tess to look at her. "Iris? What aren't you telling me?"

Iris grimaced. "I can't find
him. He's just gone."

"What do you mean, he's
gone?"

"He disappeared a few hours
ago. Brody and the others can't find him either."

Tess closed her eyes, her gut
tightening with worry. Where could he be?

Then Iris jerked her head.
"He's where?"

"You found Derek?" Tess
asked in a rush.

Iris shook her head.
"Captain Pearson. He got trapped defending the Arc. They didn't make it
out."

"The summit will have
changed since we built the Arc," Siarra said, "so we cannot go on
memory. We will have to use its Halo Gate as an exit."

"What about Derek?"
Tess asked.

"I'll find him," Iris
said. "Now go."

Tess nodded to her friend and did
her best to set aside her worry. Connecting to the Arc Gate, Tess and Siarra
opened the portal in unison. An instant later they burst through a large white
Gate above the Arc. Walls of Dark rose up on all sides, allowing only a column
of sunlight to shine down on the summit.

Soldiers and mages fought the
frenzied horde in a brutal battle that had spilled past the line. Bodies of men
and Twisted littered the summit. The defenders that remained were fighting for
their lives as the Dark continued to draw closer. Gunfire, screams, and howls
washed over the summit in a cacophony of sound.

Tess and Siarra dropped into the
fray. Casting a wall of fire, they poured magic into it until it lined the
circumference of the summit. Men jerked back as the inferno shredded their
foes. As one they turned on the Twisted that were inside the fire ring. Howling
in fury, the remaining Twisted went down under a hail of bullets and blazing
swords. Then the blood spattered soldiers turned to Tess and Siarra.

"Tess?" Wolf asked.
"What are you doing here?" He dropped the magazine from his weapon
and loaded a second. If he was aware of the blood on his uniform and bite marks
on his arm he gave no sign.

"I need to speak with
Pearson," she said in a rush.

Wolf jerked his head to the Arc,
where a number of injured lay. One man stood out and had been placed against
it. The injuries on his body were significant, and his eyes were glazed. Tess
and Siarra crouched on either side of him, and Tess touched his arm. She winced
when she saw the extent of the damage, and her eyes connected with Siarra’s.
Her eyes tight, Siarra shook her head and cast a spell that would ease the
pain.

Pearson sighed in relief, and
looked to Tess. "Oliver? I'm glad you're here. I need a
sharpshooter."

"Who's Oliver?" Siarra
asked.

"It's my mother," Tess
said in surprise. Then she realized who the man was. "He served with her
in the Marines."

"I need you on the western
flank," he said, and his arm twitched that way.

"He's been out of it for a
while," Wolf said. "He got taken down in the second wave, along with
the healing mages."

"Pearson," Tess said,
her throat tight with emotion. "I need you to remember when you climbed
Mt. Everest."

"Changed your mind, have
you?" Pearson said, and issued a gurgling laugh. "I invited you to
come, but I suppose you had a baby to take care of . . ."

"What was the summit
like?" Tess asked. "May I see what you saw?"

Pearson's gaze saw only memories.
"It was like we were standing in heaven, and the entire world stretched
away from us. I've never seen anything so beautiful . . ."

Tess reached up and touched the
man's temple, drawing on the memory. The image of Pearson standing on the
summit of the highest mountain in the world filled her vision. Then Pearson
blinked and his eyes cleared. He smiled.

"You must be Kate's little
girl," he said quietly.

"I am," Tess said.

Pearson smiled faintly. "I
know she's not your birth mother, but you've grown to look like her. She should
have been a recon soldier . . ."

Pearson's eyes closed, and Tess
stood. Feeling oddly hollow, she turned to find Wolf at her side. His eyes were
full of understanding.

"It's time for you to end
this, Tess," he said.

"I'm not leaving you
here," Tess said. "Not like this."

"Hold this end open,"
Siarra said, and Gated away. A moment later the exiting halo burst into view
above, and Tess leapt to catch it as Siarra reappeared. Together they drew it
down to Wolf.

"It won't last long,"
Siarra said.

Wolf nodded in gratitude, and
turned to the dark elves, soldiers, and mages around him. "You heard her,
gather the wounded and get through the Gate."

As he spoke the firewall began to
fade, and Twisted burst through. Wolf raised his gun to fire, and picked off
the first few with precision shots. Tess hesitated, unwilling to leave them
behind. Seeing her pause, Wolf jerked his head.

"Go!" he shouted.
"We can handle things here."

Tess swallowed and reached out to
Siarra. Gathering Gate energy in her hand, she closed her eyes and focused on
Pearson's memory. Her next breath sucked ice into her throat. Coughing, she
cast warming and breathing charms. Then she looked out and her eyes widened.

Lit by the bright moon and
millions of stars, the Dark stretched away from her in an endless expanse. A
handful of mountain peaks pierced its surface, rising above twenty thousand
feet. Groups of white clouds lingered in the startlingly clear sky, while the
whistling wind carried wisps of snow into the air. In spite of her ability to
fly, she felt a hesitation to do so.

"Never have I seen such a
vista," Siarra breathed.

Tess turned a slow circle,
feeling like her eyes lacked the capacity to see it all. She had crossed the
world in a single step, and now stood on the summit of the tallest mountain on
Earth. Her awe faded into resolve, and she withdrew the compass from her pocket
and peered at its face.

"We need to find the
Forge."

Praying it would work, she
touched the rune on the compass and it glowed to life. Willing it to point
toward the Forge, she released a breath and then looked. The needle in the
center spun several times, but slowed to a stop and pointed down the slope.
Rising into the air, Tess and Siarra glided over the ice-encrusted snow. After
twenty paces the needle pulled her arm down, and she came to a stop. As she did
all four points on the compass glowed to life.

"I don't see anything."
Tess let out the breath she'd been holding. "There's nothing here."

Siarra raised her hands.
"Let's shift this snow," she said. "Perhaps it's—."

"You have surprised me,
Oracle."

Cold dread filled Tess and she
turned to find Alice standing a hundred yards from them. In spite of the bitter
cold, she stood calm and resolute. At the sight of their adversary, Siarra
drifted away from Tess.

"How did you find me?"
Tess asked.

"How does anyone reach this
place?" Alice responded. "I had a guide." She motioned to the
side, drawing Tess's gaze. Bound and hovering above a ten thousand foot drop,
Derek’s eyes were wide with anger and fear. Tess's fingers tightened into a
ball, and fire burst up her arm. Alice merely smiled.

"I learned of your
companion," she said. Her gaze flicked to Siarra before returning to Tess.
"I thought it prudent I bring someone to force you to listen."

"If you truly know who I
am," Siarra said, "then you should fear what I will do to you."

Alice turned to face her, and her
lips curled into a sneer. "The ancient oracle of Lumineia, Siarra
Elseerian. You should have died in your own time."

"I will make certain you die
in yours."

Siarra's response caused Alice to
shake her head and turn back to Tess."Whatever you seek here," she
said, "it will not matter. My army has breached your line. The slaughter
among the women and children has begun. It is over. I await their
surrender."

Conscious of Derek hanging over a
fall into the Dark, Tess shook her head. "How can you slaughter so many
innocents?"

"No one is innocent,"
Alice snapped. "Selfish parents fail their children, and entitled children
fail their parents. It won't end until morality is enforced by absolute
law."

"You can't believe
that," Siarra said, and Tess noticed that she'd drifted closer to Alice.
"Have you no faith in mankind?"

"Only a fool has faith in
men," Alice said with sudden vehemence. "My father taught me that
lesson with every undeserved blow. Children should be allowed to live without
fear of the world they were born into."

"Is that why you are
here?" Tess asked. "To show them you aren't afraid?"

"I already did," Alice
said softly. "I discovered my luck magic at the age of nine, and soon
after my parents died in a car accident—because
I wished to punish them."

"They didn't deserve
that," Tess said.

Alice's expression darkened.
"They deserved their fate, just as you deserve yours. You've made it clear
you do not want to live in the world I have created. I am here to ensure you
don't survive to see it."

Before Tess could stop her, she
reached out and released the magic holding Derek aloft. Without a sound, he
plummeted toward the Dark far below.

"Derek!" Tess screamed,
and leapt after him.

"Tess!" Siarra yelled.
"It's what she wants!"

Tess ignored her. Casting a
tornado charm, she exploded away. Siarra leapt to engage Alice, and magic
erupted as they dueled. Tess caught a glimpse of Siarra's fury before they
disappeared from view. Then she accelerated after Derek's falling form. Pouring
every bit of magic into her wake, she sped so fast that snow peeled off the mountain
at her side.

All thought of the war, the dead,
and the Forge had been discarded in a heartbeat of pure terror. Compelled to
act, she raced down the mountain and reached Derek a thousand feet above the
Dark. His lips bound, he jerked his head as if to motion her away. Then she
noticed why. He wasn't falling into the Dark. He was being pulled.

A thread of luck had wrapped
around his waist, and was pulling him down so fast she could barely keep up.
This was what Alice intended. She knew Tess would do anything to save Derek,
even go into the Dark. Derek's brown eyes bored into hers, and a wealth of
emotion passed between them. Then he pulled a leg up and kicked her.

Startled, she lost her grip and
fell behind. Before she could catch up, the Dark rose up and swallowed him.
With the wind tearing at her clothing and hair, Tess slowed to a stop. Rage
filled her as she gazed on the spot where Derek had disappeared.

Disbelief froze her motion, and
she held her breath as if it would bring him back. Then anger surged to the
fore, exploding out of her in untamed magic. The sudden blast cracked the stone
of the cliff beside her. Ice and snow burst into steam from the contact. Then
grief engulfed her to the point of agony, and she almost fell into the Dark.

In a single, blinding point of
clarity she saw herself return and fight Alice. In victory or defeat, she would
never feel whole. Even if the world won, she would have lost. Her fingers
tightened into fists.

She loved Derek and would not let
him die as a Twisted. She had lost her father, friends, and countless others.
She refused to lose Derek. Her entire frame rigid with resolve, she descended
into the Dark.

And allowed it to claim her.

Chapter 45: An Oracle's Will

Siarra blocked Alice's attack
with a white shield and retaliated by whipping the snow into a pair of ice
entities. Her expression a mask of fury, Alice struck them down and then lifted
her own entity. The luck fox darted toward Siarra. Instead of striking it, Siarra
cracked the stone beneath it. Like a sled sliding down a hill, the section of
rock slipped away, taking the entity over the cliff. Alice sneered at her.

"Even you cannot fight
luck."

Fighting her madness and her fear
for Tess, Siarra laughed. "Fortune is made by those who fight for
it."

Alice shifted the snow beneath
Siarra, but she stepped into the air. Then she struck back with a cyclone
charm. In spite of Alice's luck the wind tore into her clothing and lashed her
skin. Alice's eyes burned with hatred.

"With you and my insolent
daughter dead, nothing will stop me. Even fate will have no hold on me."

"Not without the Immortalian
. . ."

Alice's smile evaporated, and her
eyes widened in sudden fear. "What have you done?"

Siarra began to laugh, and the sound
echoed across the summit like a victory cry. Instead of fighting the madness,
she welcomed it, and lunged at her enemy. Magic erupted from her fingers and
struck Alice.

Off balance and distracted, Alice
nearly went down. Then her rage returned, and the two locked in mortal combat.
Beasts and dragons appeared as entities and were destroyed in seconds. Shards
of energy streaked between them, seeking to impale hearts and minds. Through it
all Siarra cast her senses down, seeking for Tess.

But felt nothing.

***

The whispers stabbed at Tess's
ears and mind, digging into her thoughts. She gritted her teeth and fought,
willing herself to ignore them. The voices of the Dark became a barrage of
shrieks and forced their way into her mind.

View what you have wrought . .
.

You have allowed so many to be
slaughtered . . .

The very Earth will perish
from your pride . . .

Tess clenched her eyes shut and
focused on Derek. With all her might she forced her doubt aside and reached out
to him with her mind. The weight of the Dark pushed against her skin,
oppressive and sinister. She felt nothing from Derek. Suppressing the surge of
panic, she fought to touch his consciousness.

. . . I did not kill her!

Derek's thought was a roar in the
night, and Tess latched onto it. The moment she did, his thoughts expanded to
include her. Terrifying and relentless, the Dark's attempt to subvert Derek
swelled to include her.

Derek held Tess as tears streamed
down his face. Her corpse lay bloodied and broken, and the Dark proclaimed him
the killer. He jerked his head, struggling to discard the idea, but the Dark
latched onto his doubt and sought to expand it.

Release the agony that binds
you . . .

Its voice had hooked into his
thoughts and dug deeper. Sensing its impending victory, Tess's fear spiked—and the Dark seeped into her
mind. In a flash of images, she witnessed her failures . . .

She had sought to stop Ranson in
the rock troll village, but the Harbinger leader had escaped with the Sword of
Elseerian. Her desperate effort to close the portal had succeeded, but only
staved off the inevitable . . .

She had failed to recognize her
mother for who she was, and allowed her to fester inside Hawk's Guild. Tess's
failure had led to the events on Mt. Elbrus. Caged and helpless, Tess had stood
by while the Dark had been unleashed. Her attempt to reveal magic to the world
had been a pathetic attempt to stop Alice, and once again she had failed . . .

As the Dark began its advance,
Tess had squandered her time. She'd founded a meaningless Order of White that
ultimately succeeded only in stripping a minor foe of his magic. Desperate to
save her parents, she had allowed Alice to strike her down. She had fallen to
the Dark in disgrace . . .

With everyone believing her dead,
Tess had been given her greatest chance—but
it too had failed. Her triumphant return to Auroraq had cost Hawk his life.
Tess hadn't closed the portal to the Dark in time, sealing her defeat . . .

Even now with the greatest of
ancient oracles at her side, she had failed to destroy the Dark. Billions of
the aurens had perished, and the survivors stood on the brink of defeat. Tess
had been born to unite the races, but had merely killed them. Her attempt to
gather the talismans had resulted in the legendary sword of King Tryton being destroyed—

Tess blinked through her tears,
her mind rejecting the Dark's insinuations as another thought latched onto her
focus. The Sword of King Tryton had been imbued with the magic of honor—and there was only one
source it could have drawn from.

The whole of mankind.

Defiant in the face of Alice, the
combined nations of Earth had demonstrated a united courage, fueling Tryton's
Sword until it had surpassed even Siarra’s ability to control it. Derek was
right. Tess did not need to wield the sword. She had needed to see it destroyed
in order to realize the power of magic from emotion.

Understanding blossomed within
her, filling her frame with absolute certainty. The voices of the supreme Dark
faded into silence as Tess saw the same events of the last year, and the true
purpose for her enduring them.

Every conflict, every attempt to
control her, all had driven her to master her magic. The failures had not
defeated her. They had hardened a willpower that could stand unbroken even
against the almighty Dark. She hadn't been born to stop the Dark . . .

She had been forged to.

Doubt and despair fled her mind
and were replaced with an unfamiliar power. With startling clarity she realized
it to be the magic of supreme will. She opened her eyes to find the face of the
Dark before her. Lit by the blinding blue light cascading off Tess's form, it
looked down upon her with unblinking eyes. Forced to retreat from Tess, the
Dark had formed a dome over her.

You will not stop us from
conquering your world . . .

For the first time, the Dark's
whispers had distilled into a single voice. Magnified by the Dark's titanic
will, the words beat upon her with monumental force. They crashed over her like
a wave smashing into a lighthouse, only to retreat and leave her standing.

"This is a world of
light," Tess said. "There is no place for you here."

All life will submit to our will,
the Dark replied, its voice rising in fury. Races greater than yours have
fallen, and worlds brighter have seen their light extinguished.

"Not this one," Tess
said.

Catching sight of Derek at the
edge of the clearing, she strode to his side. Weak but alive, Derek lay in the
freezing snow, his skin blistering. She healed the wounds at a touch, and his
eyes opened to hers.

"I'm sorry, Tess. She meant
for you to die here with me."

"She failed," Tess
said, and a smile spread on her face.

His eyes widened as he saw the
blue light emanating from her, and how it repelled the Dark. "How are you
doing this?"

"The magic of will,"
Tess said.

He flashed his crooked grin.
"Do you ever stop being amazing?"

"I expect you to remember
that."

Drawing on her magic, she lifted
the two of them into the air. The Dark roiled at the extent of her will,
churning like a furious storm intent on destroying the island at its center.
The face of the Dark contorted with rage, and it launched itself at Tess.

Her eyes fixed upward, she glided
past the attempts. Like the soft patter of rain on the roof, the Dark's fury
could not touch her. Then Tess and Derek broke free of the surface and rose
into the night. Beneath them, the Dark heaved and climbed, seeking to reach
her. Threads streaked up, only to be stopped by the blue light still emanating
from Tess. Their futile efforts fell behind and Tess did not look back.

She alighted on the summit of Mt.
Everest, drawing the gaze of the two combatants. Alice's eyes flicked to her—and widened in shock.
Siarra's expression lit with relief and joy. Setting Derek down away from the
cliff, Tess strode through the devastation of their duel.

Snow and ice had been burned
away, leaving gaping scars littering the area. The stone underneath had been
rent, rising in the crumbled remains of golems, giants, and other entities.
Whole sections of rock had been sheered off, left to fall while Siarra and
Alice continued to battle.

Her hair in disarray, her clothes
torn from the battle with Siarra, Alice no longer appeared in control.
Apparently she had found her match in the ancient oracle, and neither had
emerged victorious.

"This is not possible!"
Alice screamed. "I destroyed you!"

"You failed," Tess
said, and continued to stalk forward.

Alice struck with a massive
current of luck, but Tess did not deviate. The magic of luck split against her
will and fell away to either side, evaporating into nothingness. Alice froze,
her eyes widening in horror. She struck again, and then again. Each desperate
attempt dissipated against Tess's will.

"Luck has no weakness!"
Alice shrieked.

Tess closed to twenty feet, and
Alice stumbled backward. "Luck runs out," Tess replied. "Those
who refuse to yield are those who ultimately claim victory."

Her face rigid with disbelief,
Alice struck with other types of magic. Tess deflected each, and continued to
close the gap between them. Realizing her helplessness, Alice frantically leapt
into the air. Tess cast a gravity well and laced it with will. Alice struck the
barrier and crashed into the snow.

Before Alice could rise, Tess
cast a second spell that lifted Alice to her. Bound with her arms spread wide,
Alice came to a stop in front of Tess. Alice's gaze burned with shock as she
struggled to break free from the immovable bonds.

"I am the Master!" she
screamed. "You cannot kill me!"

"I should," Tess said,
and she thought of her father. Her will wavered, and Alice's arms moved an
inch. Then Tess regained control. "But I'm not like you."

Tess brought her hands together
and closed her eyes. Recalling the feel and touch of the horrending dagger, she
shaped her magic into an ethereal blade. When she opened her eyes, a long smoky
knife had filled her hand.

"No," Alice fought her
bonds. "This cannot be."

Tess cast the charms she'd
learned when taking Drake's magic, and yellow light spilled from Alice's body.
Drops squeezed from her skin and coursed away, pooling into an orb between
them. It continued to swell as Tess drew every bit of luck magic from Alice.

"You don't have the magic of
luck," Alice growled, but her voice had gotten weak. "You don't have
the power to take a magic you lack."

"Even if I can't wield them,
I still have all magics," Tess said, "for I am the Oracle of
Lumineia." The strain of holding the magic of will was taking its toll,
and she sensed it would falter soon.

"I made you," Alice
said in sudden vehemence.

"No, Alice," Tess said,
and stepped close.  "My parents did." Then she plunged the horrending
dagger into Alice’s chest and cast the hex.

Alice screamed as her body sealed
against the magic it had once contained. Anti-magic and memory charms pierced
her flesh, forever erasing her magic. The yellow sphere of luck fell to the
stone and shattered.  In seconds it faded into nothing. Alice fell to her knees
as Tess's magic weakened, and Tess let her power fade. A wave of weakness
washed over her, but she managed to keep her feet.

"Do you know what you have
done?" Alice said, and raised an accusing glare to her. "My generals
are dead. Without my power The Dark and its army have no leash. They will not
stop until every soul on this planet is slaughtered."

Alice's searing gaze condemned
Tess. "You have doomed us all."

Chapter 46: Dying

Wolf pulled the pin on a grenade
and tossed it out. "Frag out!" he shouted. Then he picked up an M60
and its belt. "Get them out!"

Of the ten thousand soldiers
tasked with guarding the Arc, less than five hundred remained alive. Men and
women hustled through the shrinking Gate carrying the wounded. The SEALs, dark
elves, and the German team had formed a line of flesh, fighting to keep the
horde of Twisted at bay. The Dark had reached the summit, allowing its army to
flow right onto the peak. Each man that went through the Gate was one more
saved—but one less to
help them fight.

Wolf kept firing—but the next bullet failed.
After millions of rounds passing through the barrel, the weapon had given out.
Cursing the manufacturer, he leapt backward and pulled the assault rifle from
his back. Whirling to the horde, he fired the 40mm grenade launcher into the
teeth of his foe. The blast was so close it rippled the skin on his face.

He ejected the shell and slammed
another grenade into the smoking breach. "Five steps!" he bellowed.

In unison, the perimeter
retreated five steps, closing the gaps against the losses and drawing closer to
the Arc. Wolf fired his assault rifle as fast as he could empty the magazine,
but the Twisted were climbing over each other in their haste to reach him. Then
Knisenik appeared.

Driving through the writhing
horde like a snow plow, the black reaver knocked them aside. The spikes across
his body were covered in the blood of his foes, but his body was equally
covered in wounds. Even with the power of his enemies within him, Knisenik was
on his last legs. His breath came in ragged gasps, and foam dripped from his
maw.

"Peterson!" Wolf
shouted over his shoulder. "Status!"

"Wounded are out," came
the reply. "Thirty of us left!"

Wolf spared him a glance.
"Five seconds to evac!" he roared.

The allied army leapt through the
Gate at Peterson's direction, and Wolf retreated until he felt the Arc at his
back. Then he issued his order.

"Linda, get down here!
Everyone else, GO!"

He kept firing as the last two
members of his SEAL team dived through the shrinking hole. Urilian was quick to
follow, and the other dark elves leapt behind him. The last was caught by a
Primate and dragged out of sight. His scream was abruptly cut off.

Linda landed next to Wolf and he
bellowed for the black reaver. "Knisenik!"

With their backs to the Arc and
the Gate flickering, they blasted the crowd of Twisted with everything they
had. Then Knisenik raced to answer Wolf’s call. Twisted were launched into the
air as it charged for the Gate, their bodies shredded. As it closed to ten feet
Wolf prepared himself to dive through the Gate . . .

—with
the sound of a balloon popping, the Gate disintegrated. Knisenik unleashed a
bellow and skidded to a stop, tearing the soil as it slid. His chest crushed
with despair, Wolf felt Linda pick him up and carry him to the top of the Arc.
From there he opened fire.

Wolf stood beside Linda, firing
down on the Twisted as they attempted to clamber up to them. Linda's tiny
gravity shield shuddered as bats struck them from above, and Knisenik cut
through the throng around the base of the Arc. Alone, they defended the last
sliver of light as the Dark crept closer.

***

With his sword in his hand, the
Swordsman stood at the edge of the Stacks and fought for his life. At his side
Indigo spread fire and gravity, preventing the Twisted from entering the gap
between shipping containers and reaching Robar's body.

Every second the Swordsman
expected to be overrun. Even if they could hold this gap forever, the soldiers
holding the other openings could not. The wall of Dark had approached to within
a mile of the Stacks, and many Twisted had penetrated to the center. Amidst the
screams of women and wails of children at his back, it was the snarls of
Twisted that the Swordsman heard. Each reminded him of Robar, spurring him to
ever increasing fury.

Without thought, without care,
the Swordsman buried his blade in the endless swarm of Twisted and unleashed
his hatred for what their general had done. Bloodied and cut in a dozen places,
he sought to quench the loss by the death of his enemy. He knew they would
eventually overwhelm him, but for now he did not care.

***

Holding the hands of her boys,
Rivena pushed her way through the mob of terrified civilians. Her container had
been struck by a swarm of bats, forcing her to abandon it. Racing toward the
center of the Stacks, she sought for a place of refuge for her children. Her
desperation mounted when she found none. Then the Twisted appeared.

Having broken through the
barriers around the Stacks, the trio of primates opened their fanged jaws and
released a primal roar of victory. Then they lunged at the civilians. The old
mage that had guarded their quad cast a fire hydra that burned one to ash, and
then he was torn apart by another. It tossed the corpse away and then caught
sight of Rivena. Slamming its fist down, it lunged into a charge.

Rivena raced to the side—but it proved to be a dead
end. Releasing her boys, she whirled and called on her magic. Water deep in the
earth lifted up and pierced the dirt in a ten foot shard of ice. The primate
struggled to stop, but its momentum drove its body onto the spike. The primate
issued a strangled cry as the ice impaled him. The ice broke from the force,
and the dying beast tumbled to a stop.

Rivena heard a thud, and
spun again, her heart in her throat. To her surprise the third primate lay dead
on the ground, killed by her boys as it was about to jump down on her. She
yanked them away before they could climb onto its body, and they howled in
protest. She froze as she exited the dead end, and saw that hundreds of Twisted
now filled the alleys of the Stacks. Her boys finally fell silent, and that
hammered her fear home . . .

***

Iris stood in Oakridge, casting
curses as fast as her mind could conceive them. After Tess had Gated them out,
they had been left without a place of retreat. Every second that passed the
Dark continued to surround them, closing off their route to the Stacks.

In the back of her mind she felt
the threads cut as the members of her army were killed. The distractions that
she had come to know gradually went dark as radios, computers, and people died.
She felt her magic weaken as the very threads were exterminated.

Barricaded inside the Terminous
launcher, the mages and soldiers stood on the wall that ringed the launcher,
firing at the Twisted that had gathered around them. With Kate at her side,
Iris stood among them, forcing her magic to shock the Twisted climbing up to
her. The horde of Twisted terrified her, but she fought anyway. Part of her
mind watched Tess through a satellite on Mt. Everest, and willed her to succeed
. . .

Chapter 47: The Forge of Light

"Where is it?"

Tess ground the words out as she
searched the endless snow and ice. The compass had helped them find the
location, but not what they were looking for. Beneath the thick snow and ice
there was only endless rock.

Tess and Siarra split the snow
and shoved it off the cliff, clearing the rocky summit of the great mountain.
The huge piles of ice crashed into the slopes below, setting off avalanches
that rolled into the Dark and caused the mountain to tremble.

"What are we even looking
for?" Derek asked. He was on his knees and touching the stone. Even with
Tess's protective charms, his hands were shaking from the cold.

"We're running out of
time," Siarra said.

"You have killed us
all," Alice shouted at her. "You and your defiance has—"

Siarra stabbed a finger at her,
and Alice's mouth locked shut. Feeling the weight of millions of desperate
lives, Tess heaved the snow clear until the top of the mountain was exposed to
the night. The icy wind howled around her, cutting into the charms that kept
her warm.

"Here!" Derek's voice
barely reached Tess through the wind.

Darting into the air, she raced
to his side, and found him kneeling against the rock. Activating her magesight,
she peered into the frozen mountain, searching for what he'd seen.

Her breath caught as she saw it.
Leaping away, she streaked a hundred yards up from the pinnacle and turned
back. Her eyes widened as she realized the truth. The Forge of Light wasn't on
the mountain.

It was the mountain.

Embedded in the greatest mountain
on Earth, a massive, triangular crystal lay hidden inside an enormous cavern.
Each of the three sides matched the three faces of Everest, while the top and
bottom came to a sharpened point. Siarra's expression revealed her own
surprise, and she flew up to join her.

"You didn't know?" Tess
asked.

Siarra's gaze did not leave the
mountain. "The Forge has lain dormant for forty thousand years, forgotten.
You know as much as I."

"Does it work?" Derek
asked.

"We're about to find
out," Tess said.

Then Tess noticed that the top of
Everest bore an almost invisible outline in the stone. Partially obscured by
the snow and the damage from Siarra's duel, the lines formed a sprawling rune
that covered the entire summit.

"What is that?"

Siarra let out a breath.
"That's an eyenis rune. It activates in the presence of magic."

Tess flew down with Siarra and
together they placed their hands on the gigantic rune. It glowed to life. Tess
retreated as a series of lines flickered to life around the summit of Everest,
burning the lingering snow as they traced a symbol on the three sides of the
peak. Then the rock began to shift.

The three sides of Mt. Everest
split open, cracking from the summit to the enormous base. Thousands of feet
wide, the trio of openings began to sink into the earth, revealing the hollow
nature of the mountain. Snow and rock clattered off the opening doors and fell
away into the Dark, causing a tremendous avalanche. Roaring down the slopes,
the wave of snow crashed out of sight. In its wake the rune glowed brighter and
expanded across the breadth of the mountain. Then the summit itself began to
lower.

Tess caught Alice and pulled her
to the group. The peak retracted like the doors on a hanger, lowering them into
the enormous cavern. Where they stood became a platform that separated from the
retracting peak and gradually extending toward the center of the cavern. Then
they passed the top of the crystal, and Tess sucked in her breath.

Thirty thousand feet tall and
several thousand wide, the Forge commanded attention. Its surface appeared
translucent and smooth, reflecting the moonlight with subtle power. Its top
sharpened into a point that had lain hidden beneath the peak. The three ridges
that had led to the summit remained, arching upward in huge curving spires.

The lowering doors passed the
threshold of the Dark, and the cloud poured into the gap. It quickly filled the
base of the Forge, pooling until it reached its upper threshold. Still
extending to the crystal, their platform joined with two matching platforms to
become a ring that surrounded the Forge. Then it came to a grinding halt and
everything fell silent.

"I can't believe it,"
Siarra breathed. She advanced and touched the crystal. Her eyes widened.
"It's unlike anything I've ever seen—energy
or material."

Tess joined her, and hesitantly
reached out to it. To her surprise the crystal was not solid, and she pressed
her fingers into it. It felt like the weight of water, but her hand came out
dry.

"How do we activate
it?" Derek asked.

Tess opened her mouth to respond,
but a high keen drew her gaze down. The sound rose until it became deafening,
and she instinctively knew its source. She darted to the edge of the platform
and looked down. Her eyes adjusted to the night—and
then she saw it. The Dark was climbing up the crystal. Swelling like the ocean
rising up, the Dark crept upward, intent on reaching them.

Patches of Dark turned gray as
the altitude began to kill the cloud, but it kept rising as if it sensed Tess's
effort to activate the Forge. Then Tess saw movement within the Dark. The
leading edge churned with flesh as the Dark lifted up millions of Twisted.
Rising like flotsam on a wave, the horde neared their platform, their
collective growls joining the Dark's cry of rage.

"It knows why we're
here," Derek said from her side.

Tess darted to Siarra.
"Whatever we're going to do, we'd better do it fast."

"I think it requires magic
to activate," Siarra said.

On impulse, Tess reached out and
sent a thread of white magic into the ethereal crystal. It brightened
instantly, and a faint rumbling emanated from the crystal. Tess pulled back,
and the Forge returned to normal. Her gaze connected with Siarra's, and
together they reached out their hands to pour magic into the Forge.

The light coming from the crystal
brightened, reflecting off the trio of spires and shining out into the night.
Tess struggled to keep it up, but her fatigue overpowered her, and she slumped
to the platform.

Gasping for breath, she looked at
Siarra, who had stumbled back as well. "I don't understand," Tess
said. "Why isn't it working?"

"We're running out of
time," Derek said in a rising voice.

Alice struggled in her bonds, as
if she too sensed the end. Her gaze locked on Tess and conveyed only blame.
Tess turned away from her and returned to Siarra. Then she had an idea.
Reaching out to the Forge, she thrust her hand into it, and ignited a tiny
flame of white magic inside. The burst of light forced her to clench her eyes
shut, and she withdrew her hand.

"It had to be done from
inside," Tess said, and her heart sank in her chest. She knew what was
required to activate the Forge.

A sacrifice.

Siarra touched her arm, drawing
her gaze. Siarra bore a soft smile on her face.

"It's me, Tess," she
said. "I'm the second talisman."

"But the compass—"

"Was part of it," Siarra
said, "but not the whole. Jack stole me as well. My mother foresaw the
need for an oracle's sacrifice, and knew I would become a guardian. "

"It will consume you,"
Tess said, her voice strangled. "I can't let you do it."

"The madness of the guardian
magic is growing, Tess. Even now it presses against my thoughts, stripping me
of my will. This is my purpose, Tess. This is why I waited eons of time, so I
could die here."

Tess met the gaze of her ancestor
and saw the truth in her eyes. Tess's hands shook as she reached out and
embraced her. When they parted Siarra touched the pendent on Tess's neck.

"I am still in the Book of
Oracles," she said and then smiled. "Goodbye, young one. In the wake
of this war mankind will need you. Do not fail them."

Her throat too tight to speak,
Tess gave a nod, and Siarra stepped into the air. Drawing a breath, she glided
into the Forge. Her smile did not waver as she drifted down and out of sight.
Struggling with her emotions, Tess turned to find Derek standing beside her and
allowed him to fold her into his arms.

"Goodbye, Siarra," she
whispered.

From deep in the crystal, Siarra
spread her arms out and allowed her magic to flow. The crystal brightened until
it rivaled the sun, forcing Tess and Derek to shield their eyes. Still more
light came, until the Forge released a sound. The tone of power grew louder and
louder—until suddenly
it reached a climax.

Light exploded from the Forge,
erasing the Dark and the Twisted ascending to the platform. It passed out of
the mountain and streaked outward, expanding with the speed of thought, erasing
the Dark with its passage. Billions of Twisted disappeared as the Dark recoiled
and sought to flee. There was nowhere to go, and the Forge's power spread
across the continent in an enormous ripple.

Its brightness surpassed
daylight, yet the magic did not burn. It flowed over the landscape in a tidal
wave of pure light, devouring the Dark that had blotted out the sun. The wave
reached to the atmosphere, and touched every inch of the Earth.

The light flowed into buildings
and cars, eradicating the Dark and moving on. In its wake the moonlight touched
the ground for the first time in weeks, and stars twinkled over the empty expanse.

It reached the ocean and kept
going. Asia, Europe, and Africa were left free of the Dark, and still the wave
of light advanced. In less than a minute it reached the shores of North America
and closed on the final shred of the once mighty Dark . . .

Chapter 48: Daybreak

Wolf fired his last round. Then
he used the stock to bash the Twisted climbing up to him. A primate reached up
and yanked the gun from his fingers, forcing him to draw his knife. Linda
fought beside him, grasping her stomach as she held the gravity shield
together. The primates climbed up the Arc, tearing great scratches in it with
their claws, drawing closer by the second.

Twisted had finally gotten past
Knisenik. In a frenzy, the black reaver surged through the horde but was barely
visible beneath them. Second by second he was slowing down, and when he came to
a stop even he would be slain.

Wolf wanted to be angry, but
there was no anger left in him. Instead it was regret that welled inside his
chest, regret at losing his men, regret for his family, but most of all regret
for Linda. His face etched in sadness, he cast his eyes up at the sliver of
light coming from the sky and wished he had more time . . .

The wind picked up, howling and
rising into a hurricane of sound—and
the light burst across them, washing over them in a blinding flash. The Dark
was consumed, erased in the span of a second.

Wolf 's vision returned to see
the hills and valleys below. Stretching away from the broken mountain, the
forest stood green and lush. Above it all, the midday sun shone, bright and
inviting. Dead or alive, the Twisted had been taken with the light, leaving the
shattered defenses devoid of foes.

Wolf's heart swelled with
emotion, and his hand instinctively sought Linda's. In silence, they watched
the wave continue west.

***

The Swordsman dug his blade into
a Twisted and then whipped it free to kill another. With expert skill he killed
any who tried to breach the gap in the Stacks. Then suddenly the Twisted were
no longer attacking.

Nearly knocking him down in their
haste, the creatures raced through the alleys. The Swordsman raised his
crossbow, but the Twisted made no attempt to harm anyone. The entire Dark army
charged forward, intent on escaping.

"Look!" Indigo shouted.

Following her arm, the Swordsman
lifted his gaze to the wall of Dark in the northeast. Light rose above the top
as if the sun was rising—but
the sun was already in the sky. Then the light exploded through the wall of
Dark.

Consumed by the blinding light,
the Dark was swallowed and erased in seconds. He shielded his gaze as the light
reached them. Warmth filled him as the light passed over, and when his sight
returned every single Twisted was gone. Indigo lowered her hand and looked at
him, her expression bright with hope.

"The oracle," she said
simply.

He nodded, his throat too tight
to speak. Good girl.

***

Iris felt it coming through the
threads and turned to the east. In the midst of fleeing Twisted, she raised her
arms to the side and basked in the cleansing passage of the wave of light. It
washed over her, purifying Oakridge and continuing on through the mountains. At
its touch the Dark was eradicated and the stain of the Twisted erased.

As the wave passed over the
mountains, Iris was left with the survivors of Auroraq. Kate stood up beside
her, and tears flowed from her eyes. Her gun fell to her feet, and she sank to
her knees.

"She did it, Jack,"
Kate said, her voice thick with emotion.

Quad took Iris's hand and pulled
her to him. "I'm not going to ask," he said with a grin,
"because you already gave me permission." Then he kissed her soundly.

Heat rushed to her lips and
tingled across her body, and she wrapped her arms around him. For one long
blissful moment, she folded against him and released her magic. Then the
threads began to call for her, and she irritably pulled away. Still holding
Quad's hand, she scolded her army for interrupting her.

Her smile spreading on her face,
she tipped her head back and closed her eyes, basking in the full light of day.
Lazing to the auren satellite threads, she watched with intense satisfaction as
the wave closed on the last shred of Dark off the coast of South America.

In a constricting band, the wave
of light tightened on the Dark. Heaving in a monumental quake, the face of the
Dark pressed toward the sky at the epicenter, attempting to break free of its
impending death. Jaws opened in a hideous shriek, its features contorted in
agony. Black turned to gray as the Dark attempted to flee into the upper
atmosphere. Hands stretched forth, clawing at the clouds in vain.

Heedless of the Dark's attempt,
the wave of light tightened its grip, snuffing out the Dark and crashing upon
itself from all sides. The supreme power of the Forge came in contact with
itself and exploded upward, fusing into a column of light. The shaft pierced
the Dark face, eradicating it from existence before continuing into space. In
its wake the rays of the sun cascaded onto a free Earth.

For the first time in Iris's
life, the threads were stunned to silence. Every man, woman, and child stared
at the sky. Then the truth of their victory settled on them. Women in the
Stacks fell to their knees, holding their children to them as they cried.
Soldiers at broken barricades dropped guns from exhausted fingers and sank to
the earth. Mages allowed their magic to fade, their hands numb from the passage
of energy. As one people, the races of the Earth stood victorious.

The Dark was gone.

***

Tess stood with Derek on the
summit of Mt. Everest, her heart full of joy, regret, and relief. From their
vantage point they watched the doors to the Forge of light close, and the crystal
at its center go dark forever. Invisible behind miles of rock, the Forge of
Light had died with the Dark.

Tess remained rooted in place as
they were returned to the summit, the euphoria of their victory fading into
loss. Her father's face flashed across her mind, followed closely by Hawk's,
and then Siarra's. In quick succession she saw all those that had died in this
war. She knew it represented a small fraction of the dead. Tears dripped to her
cheeks as she recalled those that had perished.

She closed her eyes against the
tumultuous emotions, but let them flow. After all the loss, all the death and
destruction, the Dark War had been won. The people of Earth had defied Alice,
and refused to live without freedom.

"It's over," Derek
breathed.

She drew in a breath of the
frigid air, relishing the chill. "I can hardly believe it."

The silence stretched between
them until he issued a grunt. "You know, this is going to be tough to
beat."

"Beat what?" She turned
at his tone.

"We just destroyed a
worldwide threat, from the summit of the highest peak on the planet, with
forty-thousand-year-old magic." He flashed his lopsided grin. "How
can I top that on our next date?"

She couldn't stop it, she
laughed. The statement was so absurd—and
yet in a very convoluted way, true. Carried aloft by the wind, the sound of her
laughter eased the ache in her chest, and left her feeling better for the first
time in months. Pulling him to her, she leaned up and kissed him, soundly. When
they parted, she returned his smile.

"I'm sure you'll figure
something out."

He released a snort of disbelief
as she flew them to Alice. Tess slowed when they approached her, but realized
it was shock on her face, not anger. Alice's jaw worked, but no words came out.
Tess got the impression the sight of her greatest power being eradicated had
snapped something within her.

"What now?" Derek asked
as Tess lifted them off the ice encrusted rock.

"I guess we rebuild,"
Tess said with a shrug. "If we can."

"We will," Derek said,
his voice confident. "The animal mages can repopulate the wilds, and the
plant mages can regrow the forests. United with the aurens, I have no doubt we
can rebuild."

"You think we can stay
united?" Tess asked.

"Of course," he said.

"How can you be so
sure?"

His gaze met hers. "Because
we have you."

His answer reminded her that the
war had ended, but her role as oracle had not. The world would need her now
more than ever. It would take centuries to heal from the Dark War, and what she
did now would be the foundation of what was to come.

Her thoughts turned to Hawk and
how he had taught her. Even as young as she was, Hawk had allowed her to act
for herself and trained her to stand tall. Now empowered with the magic of
will, Tess knew that Hawk had understood even more than she had thought. For
the first time in her life she did not doubt herself. She was just grateful she
didn't have to do it alone. Her gaze settled on Derek, and she reached out to
clasp his hand.

And Gated them home.

Epilogue: Remembering

One
Year Later

Tess subconsciously rubbed her
eyes, too intent on the book in front of her to realize the hour. Engrossed in
the history of Lumineia, she did not hear Derek enter the room. His quiet cough
finally drew her gaze.

"Please don't tell me we're
late," she said.

"We're late."

She issued a grunt and shut the
tome. Then she exited Siarra's private study and walked with him. They used the
Gate to exit through the newly built fire school, and the Ironguard opened the
door for them. She touched the door as she passed, and the face smiled.

"Good luck, Master
Tess," it said in it's gravelly tone.

"Thank you," she
replied. Much to her joy, the entity that had protected the students of fire
had been one of the few things to survive the city's fall.

"Find anything new?"
Derek asked as they exited into the afternoon light.

Tess released a sigh and shook
her head. "Just obscure references. I still haven't found who built the
Forge."

"Why do you need to
know?" He asked. "You have many demands on your time. Why sacrifice
so much time delving through old books?"

She released a sigh. "You're
right. I should have been focusing on today."

"If you had, you would
notice that your clothes are rumpled."

His disapproving tone did not
match the smile on his face, causing her to grin in turn. She motioned to her
white clothing and removed the dirt that had stained her dress.

"Better?"

He pulled her to him and kissed
her. "Better."

She laughed and then lifted him
into the air. After months of flying with her, he'd grown comfortable with the
sensation, and his smile widened. As they ascended into the morning light, Tess
felt a cascade of different emotions strike her.

"I know it's been a
year," Tess said, "but I still feel like we lost."

"Six and a half billion
people died in a few weeks," Derek said. "We did lose."

"Do you think it will ever
get so bad again?"

"The Coalition is stronger
than ever," Derek said, "and I don't think it's going anywhere. For
the first time in history the people of Earth live under a single elected
government."

"I know," Tess said,
"but how long will it last? How long until one corrupt person with power
ends the peace?"

"The power resides with the
people, now," Derek replied. "The Jacob Law has made it possible for
the people to vote for the laws they will adhere to. Unless the majority of the
population turns against freedom, I think the Coalition will last until long
after we're dead. You just have to look at the city to see that." He
motioned beneath them.

Tess couldn't refute his words.
Rebuilt by the surviving mages, Auroraq had been expanded for its new purpose,
home of the Coalition. Aurens and mages would govern from it with an
unprecedented lack of power. As administrators of the people's will, their
service was a privilege, and a pledge.

Each of the four branches from
Sentre had been repaired—including
Northpoint. Tess's heart warmed as she saw the great petal-shaped expanse
extending outward. Hawk had died there, and it reminded Tess of him.

A great circle wrapped around the
circumference now, connecting the four points on the exterior and representing
the world's unity with the mages. At the center of the city, the newly
constructed Spirus was not alone. Six smaller towers surrounded it, making room
for the many offices the Coalition needed.

Gardens wound their way between
the seven towers of the Coalition, and water rose in great fountains. Turning
into aquaglass near the top, they supported the arched bridges that connected
the seven towers.

"We should go," Derek
said. "You don't want to be late to your own party."

Tess reluctantly turned away from
the view and met his smiling gaze. "I just wish my dad could have seen
this."

"He always saw what men
could be," Derek replied. "And what you could do."

She smiled at the truth of his
words and flew them to the Spirus. Rising to the top, she alighted at the edge
of the crowd that had formed around the monument. Her throat tightened at the
sight.

Crafted of black crystal and
anti-magic, the Dark War monument showed a glittering Earth at the center of a
whirlwind. Jaws of night were on the verge of swallowing the planet, but a
single figure stood against the endless night. Shaped to represent the whole of
mankind, the figure raised a hand to the jaws, defiant even in the face of defeat.

"I believe it's time we
begin," Gerik called as he caught sight of Tess.

She smiled and walked to join
him. As she turned to face the crowd, she fought the wave of emotion. For every
face she recognized there was one missing. As if they too sensed the absence of
those lost, the people subconsciously left small gaps where the fallen would
have stood.

Her mother, ever supportive and
strong, stood beside Iris. Resplendent in a bright purple dress, Iris appeared
both radiant and intimidating. Quad held her arm, undeterred that much of her
attention was elsewhere. There were twin holes next to them, spaces Jack and
Trina would have occupied.

Nearby, Shorn had his remaining
arm around Rox's waist. They stood with Rivena as she struggled to keep her
boys in place. There too, was a space. Slightly larger than the others, it
would have allowed Breaker to stand with his wife and daughter.

Wolf leaned against the wall at
the back, smiling at Linda's last comment. Beside him stood the only two
surviving members of his team, and Urilian. All three bore shallow cuts that
Tess recognized as the result of close proximity to a black reaver. Much to
Wolf’s surprise, Knisenik had stayed with Wolf and Linda since the war and only
left to search for a mate.

The queen of the dark elves stood
beside the SEALs, and her gaze connected with Tess. She smiled, and it was one
of true friendship. She had lost many of her people by coming to the surface,
but Tess had kept her word. The queen now had a seat on the Coalition and the dark
elves had joined the surface races. After they had saved so many, few had
spoken against them.

Jacob, former president of the
United States, spoke to the queen in an undertone. Also on the Coalition, he'd
spearheaded much of the legislation to form the new government. His arm hung
around his wife, but her features were tight with emotion. There was a gap next
to her for their son, who had not survived the final hours of the war.

Nearby stood Janson, new Prime
for the battlemage corps. His posture relaxed, he spoke with Leah, Ritsu, and
Ivan. Lance, Uri, and other surviving battlemages had joined them, and together
they remembered the ones they had lost.

On the opposite side of the
tower, the Swordsman and Indigo leaned out over the drop. After much effort,
Tess had convinced them to help enforce law, and they had taken to the role
with their customary skill—as
long as they were allowed to serve together. Next to them, the space would have
been filled by Robert.

The faces continued, each
remembering those who had given their lives for the freedom they now enjoyed.
Tess felt a chill cross her skin, wishing it could have been different. Then
she glanced to the side, and saw two more gaps next to her. Hawk and Siarra had
been from another time, yet they had been family to her. Her emotions welling
within her, she turned when Gerik began to speak.

"I welcome you, those here
and those watching through the memory threads across the world. Today we mark
our victory of the Dark War, a conflict which will never be forgotten. Each of
us retains the scars in our hearts and bodies, and it will take much more than
one year for them to heal.

"But as much as we have left
behind, we have also forged ahead. Our race has defied our own carnal and
fearful natures. We united instead of kneeling. Forevermore we take the fate of
our future into our own hands. As we spread across the globe, I urge us to
guard the sanctity of what we paid for in blood . . . our freedom."

"I now present to you the
individual elected to lead the Coalition, Tess Oliver."

Tess smiled and stepped forward.
Taking his place, she turned to the group. "At one time our world was
known as Lumineia, the land of light. Over time this light was leeched from
mankind by the corrupt. We were victorious against the Dark, and so we will
fight the darkness within us."

She offered a faint smile.
"One year ago I stood in front of the Dark. It was not magic or strategy
that saved me, it was my will. I see this same power reflected in each of you,
and it is my fervent hope that we will never forget the power we posses. This
city represents our will to stand as one."

She nodded to Iris, and Iris
activated the new shield of Auroraq office. The city quivered—and then began to lift off
the ground. Stray dirt and soil drifted off as the twenty-mile section of stone
glided upward.

One foot became a hundred, and
then a thousand, and still Auroraq climbed. Across the world, the people
cheered, for they had chosen for the city to rise once more. The inhabitants of
Earth had lost much in the war, but most of all they had lost their hatred for
each other. Men and women of every nation and creed, the people of Earth lived
in peace.

And the world was free.

The Chronicles of Lumineia

By Ben Hale

—The White Mage Saga—

Assassin's Blade
(Short story prequel)

The Last Oracle

The Sword of Elseerian

Descent Unto Dark

Impact of the Fallen

The Forge of Light

—The Second Draeken War—

Elseerian FREE

The Gathering

Seven Days

The List Unseen

Author Bio

Originally from Utah, Ben has
grown up with a passion for learning almost everything. Driven particularly to
reading caused him to be caught reading by flashlight under the covers at an
early age. While still young, he practiced various sports, became an Eagle
Scout, and taught himself to play the piano. This thirst for knowledge gained
him excellent grades and helped him graduate college with honors, as well as
become fluent in three languages after doing volunteer work in Brazil. After
school, he started and ran several successful businesses that gave him time to
work on his numerous writing projects. His greatest support and inspiration
comes from his wonderful wife and five beautiful children. Currently he resides
in Florida while working on his latest writing and business endeavors.

To contact the author, discover
more about Lumineia, or find out about the upcoming sequels, check out his
website at Lumineia.com. You can also follow
the author on twitter @ BenHale8 or Facebook.