Heaven's Trumpet - 10. To Come True a Thing Must Come Second

[Chapter 10]

Unfortunately, I couldn’t stay unconscious forever. With a limp in my step, I walked through the mansion, or at least what was left of it. The Unrelenting had all but destroyed the house when they broke in. Furniture was torn and destroyed, walls had gaping holes, and paintings and keepsakes, lay broken and shredded across the scarred hardwood floor. Adam wrapped his arm around my waist, squeezing my side to gain my attention.

“They did a number on the place,” he said softly.

I snorted. “That’s an understatement, babe.”

We turned into the sunroom and it was just as bad as the rest of the house. Everyone was already there attempting to pick up what they could. Killian threw down a pillow that looked it been offered up as a tiger’s chew toy.

“Why are we even picking this crap up!” Killian glared around the room. “We’re all about to die anyway.”

Ryan placed a hand lightly on his arm, gray eyes touched with an almost tangible sadness. “Killer, don’t.”

“No!” Killian exclaimed, rubbing at his eyes hard. I pretended like I didn’t see the tears he wiped away. “They kicked our asses and they have two Keys. One more and we’re done. If the Elder Spawn doesn’t kill us then Heaven’s Trumpet will.”

I sympathized with what he was feeling. I just couldn’t say it out loud. Maybe if this was a year ago I would have joined him in the pity party. Now was a different story. I was prince and leader of this group, and like it or not, I had to be strong. If not for myself, then for them. Honestly, I was just as frightened, hello we just got our asses handed to us but I made my facial expression tough.

“We haven’t lost yet,” I said, staring directly into Killian’s eyes. “The Elder Spawn still has no body and Heaven’s Trumpet hasn’t been activated. That means until we’re dead, we are still going to keep fighting.”

Killian laughed bitterly. “Newsflash we just got our asses kicked.”

“I was there,” I countered, crossing my arms. “So what? You want to just give up now? Fine.” I matched his glare and meant it when I said, “We don’t need someone who wants to quit on the team. So just turn around, walk out that door, and leave.”

His glare softened until he dropped it, lowering his gaze. “Stop that. You know I wouldn’t leave you guys.”

I smiled softly. “We’re all in this together, Killian. Too many people are counting on us to lose faith in ourselves.”

Nathaniel nodded. “Well said.”

I shrugged with one shoulder. I really meant it. We had to keep going. Sure we had got beaten, but after some healing, we were all back on our feet and ready for whatever else stood in our way. Too bad the whatever else happened to be some of the biggest obstacles we’ve ever come up against.

Adam looked at me fully, turning a speculative stare on me. “You have a plan,” he said in realization.

I nodded, clapping him on the shoulder. “You bet your ass I do.”

Unconsciously I flicked my eyes to Celeste, wondering if she was bothered by the swearing. I don’t know how they rolled in Heaven. The angel wore a tiny smile on her face so I guess she didn’t take offense.

“So what’s the plan?” Ryan asked.

I licked my lips, taking a second to organize my thoughts. “Simple. We find the Unrelenting, take the Keys they have, and then get the hell out of Dodge.”

“That’s your plan,” Killian countered with disbelief, eyes as big as saucers.

I blinked. “What’s wrong it?”

Adam cleared his throat. “We don’t even know where the Keys are,” he said hesitantly.

“On the contrary...” interjected Celeste. All eyes turned to her as she explained, “Two instruments that control power and reality respectively are together in one location. They are practically leaking with power. I can taste it from here.”

I clapped my hands, mustering up a smile. “Great, we got ourselves a lead.”

“Slow down, Hardy Boy.” Adam placed a hand on the back of my neck. “There’s still a matter of getting past them.”

I waved off his concern. “These guys don’t hold a candle to us in a fight. We only lost because of sheer numbers. They overwhelmed us.”

“We’ve killed over a thousand of them today,” said Ryan slowly, agreeing. “They have to be hurting badly from their loss.”

Smacking a fist into my palm, I grinned savagely. “We can do this, guys. We can.” My grin wilted as the consequences hit home. “We don’t have much of a choice. We’re fucked whether do or don’t.”

Adam nodded, giving me a soft smile full of unwavering support. “I go wherever you go, Summers.”

“You lead and I’ll follow,” said Ryan, half smiling.

Killian smirked. “If we’re going down, I want to go down swinging. Let’s do this.”

“I’m going too,” Nathaniel announced.

I opened my mouth to reason with him, but he crossed his arms and gave me a determined look that stopped me cold. His expression was carefully blank and I knew it was useless to argue the point with him. He had made his decision.

“I won’t sit home idly waiting while everything hangs in the balance,” said Nathaniel, his tone holding a note of finality.

Chuckling, I shook my head. “If that’s what you want. We need all the firepower we can get.”

Celeste looked up at the ceiling and listened. After a moment’s pause she turned to us, resigned. “I’ve been ordered to return to Heaven. I am sorry that I cannot be with you in the fight to come.” She swept her gaze over us, finally setting her sights on Nathaniel. “I wish you well.”

Neither smiled as they held their stare, ignoring the rest of the world as they said all they needed to say with a look. I had to turn away, feeling like I was intruding on a private moment. It was anything but one, yet it felt intimate and too personal. Warm white light erupted around her body and then faded away, taking her with it.

I looked at them, grimly. “We leave as soon as we get a solid location.”

In the meantime, I was going to go say my prayers.

***

Damn. She was right. The map of Centennial filled the monitors in various shades of blue. A blinking red circle marked a location that was on the edge of downtown. I frowned at the energy emissions coming off the area. If I was closer no doubt I would be able to feel it. The Keys close proximity showed a fluctuating power rate. Given a length of time, it would destabilize the space around them as the universe bent to their power, reacting to the true natures of their core.

“Geez.” Adam stared at the screen in awe. “Those are some high readings.”

Ryan pushed up his glasses, gaping at the screen. “It’s enough to power over half the planet.”

“And that’s only from two Keys,” Killian said what we all were thinking. “Imagine if all three were together.”

I smiled without mirth, glancing at him from the corner of my eye. “We already know what happens then.”

Beta Armageddon.

That was if there was no hope. Maybe if we stopped the Elder Spawn then Heaven’s Trumpet would sense there was no threat and deactivate. Knowing our luck it was a pipe dream.

The doors opened and Nathaniel entered the Operations room with a gleaming bronze bracelet on his left arm adorned by an emerald gem as a centerpiece. Gripped in his right hand was a bulky looking sword with a row of sharp looking teeth covering the blade’s edge.

I raised my eyebrow at Nathaniel. “Uh, I think it will take a lot more than that if you plan on keeping up with us.”

He didn’t say anything. Instead he grinned slyly and slapped the gem on the bracelet. A multi dimensional field flashed to life around him, unfolding matter around his body according to a predefined matrix. In this case that predefined matrix was the pinnacle of Atlantean Powered Field Plate armor. Angular silver armor covered him, gleaming in the artificial lighting. His neck up was left bare except for a solid black visor that wrapped around his eyes.

Ryan’s eyes widened. “I didn’t know you had power armor.” He shook his head, surprised. “I thought only the royal guard was assigned those.”

Nathaniel smirked. “My armor was the first one issued. I broke the bracelet years ago so I stashed it in subspace. Lan recently helped me fix it. It’s not as durable as your magical armor, but at least I won’t be a smear on the asphalt if I get smacked.”

“Well I hope that sword can handle-” I started to say, only to stop and stare.

Nathaniel hit a big black button at the base of the hilt. The shiny jagged teeth along the blade’s edge came to life in a roar of whirring steel. The torque caused his arm to jerk back, and he grabbed the sword handle with two hands. Our mouths dropped as our well mannered, sharp dressing advisor, presented a deadly sight that even made me back up.

“Chain sword,” Adam said wide eyed, recognizing the blade for what it was.

I had to give the man his dues. “I have to say I almost peed my pants a little.”

“So everybody ready for this?” Killian asked.

Adam shrugged. “If you mean are we a little bit terrified, then yeah. I’m about as ready as ever.”

I agreed wholeheartedly. “My life will be so much better if I never have to even glimpse the Elder Spawn in this lifetime. Let’s suit up.”

Once again we transformed into the chosen soldiers anointed by the divine gods. I breathed deeply as my power coursed through me in a familiar rush. It was warm and relaxing and I felt energized. I wasn’t up to top form but it would have to do. We had no time to waste anymore. We were so far behind it was a miracle we weren’t all dead yet.

Omega grabbed my wrist, pulling me to him until I was pressed against his chest. “Are you okay?”

I nodded against him, then turned my head to up into his worried eyes. “I feel a little shaky from the earlier overload, but I’m better.”

“What if-” Omega started to say, but I placed a finger against his lips.

“Hush, cowboy. I’ll be okay. I promise.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” he muttered, touching foreheads briefly before letting me go.

I glanced at the others, who thankfully let us be for our private moment, and said, “Let’s go.”

It was time we put an end to this.

***

The world was obscured by orange light as the scenery rushed by. Solaris directed his bubble over the city, carrying us over the busy streets full of people who had no idea the end of all life was so near. I didn’t need the Executioner to tell me we were near our destination as he tapped away at his phone. The power of the Keys hit me like a slap in the face. A buzzing energy crawled along my skin like a thousand ants.

“The Keys are too close together.” The Executioner frowned at the phone display. “The power hasn’t exploded outward yet and activated Heaven’s Trumpet. The third Key will act as a sort of catalyst with the added power boost, breaking the locks that hold back the weapon.”

Solaris cursed under his breath. “That thing is too fucking powerful. I mean, these keys hold the power of reality, power, time and space. All that mixed together is...”

My lips pursed as I nodded. “The ultimate weapon.”

Solaris shook his head and his jaw clenched tightly. “I was going to say overkill.”

He was right about that.

The bubble grew silent as we flew over downtown Centennial. There at the edges was a large warehouse. This part of downtown was past the entertainment venue, stores and trendy bars, so it was only sparsely crowded as we landed in the alley across the street. The bubble faded away and our feet touched solid ground.

“So that’s their headquarters?” Nathaniel asked skeptically.

I was a little puzzled myself. “I know. Downtown Centennial is not what I was expecting.”

Solaris shook his head. “Was anybody else thinking the sewers?”.

I snorted but then sobered up, getting serious. “We go in as quietly as possible. Grab the Keys and beat it. I’ll throw them in another dimension if I have to. Let’s just get them away from here.”

Nathaniel nodded. “Agreed.”

Everyone else was in agreement and I squared my shoulders. This was it then. Together we marched from the alleyway and into the street. People gawked as we crossed the intersection and we didn’t break our stride, ignoring their pointing or the phones aimed in our direction recording.

“Omega, take care of them,” I muttered under my breath.

In mid step he waved his hand and sent a wide telepathic signal. It wouldn’t affect anyone with a strong mind or training in the mental arts, but for normal everyday humans it was enough. Those watching unexpectedly found better places to be or things they forgot to do. His low telepathic command cleared the whole street up to two blocks.

It quickly grew empty and quiet as the pedestrians ignored us, unconsciously focused on getting away from the immediate area. It wouldn’t have any adverse effects and would wear off shortly, so we couldn’t linger for long.

“Great job,” I smiled.

He tipped his head with a half smile in answer. We crossed the parking lot and came upon the warehouse. Solaris grabbed at the bolted door and pulled. No surprise when it didn’t budge. He looked at our incredulous faces.

“What?” he asked defensively. “It was worth a shot.”

I didn’t expect guards posted at the door, this wasn’t the mob, but I figured they would employ the basic security measures of locking the door.

An idea came to me from left field. “How about we just go through the door?”

“Like blow it up?” asked the Executioner. He cracked his knuckles.

I blinked at the feverish glint in his eyes and backtracked. “Uh, no. I’m thinking I walk us through the wall itself.”

“You can do that?” Omega asked, surprised.

Nathaniel chuckled. “This is the same boy who can level a fourth of the city with a few words.”

“Well more than a few...” I muttered, flushing as they all shot me identical skeptical looks.

It was more than just foolish words and some hand waving when it came to using power like that. It took emotion, intent, will and enough focus to utilize the amount of power to work a feat like that. Nathaniel understood the basics, but he was a wizard. His power was based mostly only enchanted items with a strong grounding in physics. My magic was like a sentient tool that relied more on mysticism and a connection to the universe through my celestial bindings.

I closed my eyes and I touched upon my power, stretching it out and wrapping it around them with my mind eye. With a whisper of an ancient word between my lips, and a bit of will, I slowly opened my eyes. Our forms glowed pale violet and after a small nod from me, we stepped forward as one through the wall. There was a moment of vision filled with drab gray as we moved through solid matter.

Then it was gone and our bodies were tangible once more. I looked around at our surroundings. The interior was barely lit, hiding much of the space in shadow. And there was so much space. Instead of the empty warehouse I expected, we stood inside a factory. I frowned at the enormous space, taking in the distant sound of machinery and hollow noises drifting through the air. This wasn’t the same place. It was impossible. It didn’t match the outside at all. What happened? Was the door some type of portal to another place?

The Executioner already had his phone out and running scans before we even realized. “Fascinating.”

“What readings are you getting?” Nathaniel asked, glancing around.

We were alert and tense, watching the area around us for any signs of the Unrelenting. So far so good, but that didn’t mean much. The Executioner made another noise of surprise and the finally looked up.

“From the data I’m getting we aren’t in a different location,” he explained. “But in a transcendental dimension. Incredible. Somehow they’ve managed to fit a localized fourth dimension within these walls. This is beyond even Atlantean science! Relatively we’re still in the same point in space, but locally I would say that a tesseract effect is taki-”

“Can someone explain in english please?” I cut in before he got even more into the technobabble.

Omega smiled with his eyes and simply replied, “The inside is bigger than the outside.”

“Oh.” Solaris grinned at his boyfriend. “You have to dumb it down for us folk with IQ’s less than 130.”

I took point and the Executioner was at our rear to cover our backs. The facility was bigger than I initially assumed. We walked for over ten minutes and still hadn’t run across anyone. We came out of a corridor and immediately were overwhelmed by cold misty fog. It covered the floor, rolling throughout the room in a thick sheet of light gray. We looked wide-eyed at the rows and rows of tables lined in columns. Naked men lay on the tables seemingly asleep and their rising and falling chests was the only signal that they were even alive.

“What the hell is this?” I gasped, staring.

Nathaniel shook his head, completely baffled. “There has to be over thousands...”

“Three thousand, four hundred and forty eight,” the Executioner corrected, eyes glued to the phone display.

We walked further into the room. I went to the nearest man. He looked like he was in a deep sleep. His toned chest was smooth and it rose and fell slowly. His brown hair looked darker as it lay wet across his forehead and his eyelids twitched every so often like he was in the middle of dreaming. I reached out and placed my hand on his shoulder.

“Sir, are you okay?” I said softly, speaking close to his face.

Eyes snapped open at my touch and his hand shot out, grabbing my wrist in a vice like grip. I shouted and it mingled with the yells of the rest of my teammates, as they all were caught in an identical situation. Sonofabitch.

Abruptly the man’s blank brown eyes widened and his body began to shake as if electricity jolted straight down his spine. His shaking grew uncontrollable, then suddenly he went still and his body fell apart. Not exploded, but fell apart. If I blinked I would have missed it. His body rapidly morphed into green slime and fell, splashing on the table.

I wiped slime off my gloves and flicked off a piece that hung on the end of my nose. Gross. Gross. Gross. I screamed silently staring at the goo with horror. My eye twitching, I turned to the others to see them in similar states of distress.

Solaris was mortified. “What the hell was that!”

Nathaniel stepped away from his table, flinging goo off his breastplate. “That was horrifying.”

“They’re clones,” said the Executioner, frowning at his phone readings. “We must have interrupted the process and the bodies destabilized.”

Omega snapped his fingers, his eyes bright with realization. “It’s how they have so many skinwalkers. They’re all clones!”

Clarity rang in my mind like a clear bell. It made so much sense now. The way they moved as one at times, their blank expressions and their enormous numbers, all of it made so much sense with this revelation.

“I knew the Elder Spawn couldn’t possibly have so many worshippers,” Solaris said, sounding distinctly pleased with himself. “The fucking Order has been growing them.”

I nodded decisively. “Well this means we’ll just have to torch them. All of them, before they can become a threat.”

Nathaniel and I stood side by side and in our palms flames gathered. My fire was bright red and orange and Nathaniel’s was a cool blue. We raised our arms preparing to throw when chanting reached our ears. Flames vanished as we dropped our arms, listening.

“It’s coming from the room up ahead,” said the Executioner.

We creped forward moving silently into the room beyond. It opened into a circular chamber and the ground floor had to be reached by going down a long set of winding steps. We stood on the railway looking down into the floor below as the chanting drifted up, echoing off the walls, making the droning voices louder and unfortunately more imposing. The Order of the Dying Star was in session.

The Unrelenting gathered below us in a mix of gray and purple robes. Their hoods were pulled up as they stood in loose circle around symbols into the floor, drawn in blood. Even this high I recognized the dark reddish brown substance staining the floor. In the middle of the intertwining symbols was the red gem I recognized as the Key of Power, its flawless red facets shined deep scarlet. Next to the stone was an ax-hammer, both hammerhead and blade glowed, radiating a mystifying cerulean light. Power swelled between the two artifacts, jumping in the space between, amplifying and feeding off each other.

A door opened below and the Black Pope swept into the room, his dark cape billowing behind him. He marched onto a raised platform and his hell red eyes fell upon his followers. Their chanting continued as he raised his hands for their attention, but now it was like soft background noise within the chamber.

“Our time is coming, brothers.” The Black Pope sounded too delighted, almost scarily ecstatic. “We will use Heaven’s weapon and all will be set right.”

“Fev’o’Rex-lell,” the voices chanted at once.

I stumbled back, clutching my heart as an awful, gathering power grew. Omega supported me as an abominating presence filled the room like a cold wind, sucking what little heat existed in the chamber. The Black Pope grinned savagely, satisfied and joyful, drunk on the power.

“Our master has been waiting in the void far too long,” said the Red Eyed Man. “Now is the coming of the Elder Spawn, oldest of the old, the ruin of a thousand galaxies. Blood will rain from the sky, my brothers!”

“Fev’o’Rex-lell!” they screamed as one.

The presence slithered over my skin, swelling in the room, a great malevolent force of perversion and destruction. The symbols on the ground flared. The Keys reacted glowing brighter, but they couldn’t execute their true purpose without the third Key. I swallowed trying to clear my throat that had gone suddenly tight.

“We can’t let this go on any longer,” I muttered after finding my voice.

“He will reward his faithful and those loyal.” The Black Pope raised his arms toward the ceiling. “And we shall bask in his beautiful glory.”

“Fev’o’Rex-lell!”

The cold in the room intensified and the sense of power grew more deadly, as the damned ranks spoke a name that should never be uttered aloud. The Abomination that was the Elder Spawn was a creature so old that his name had a power of its own. Those who sought such darkness opened a door into their heart, letting the evil in, twisting their souls into a mockery of what it once was.

“We have to get down there and grab the Keys,” Nathaniel whispered. I couldn’t see his eyes but his lips were turned down in a harsh frown.

“Not just yet.”

We spun around as from the dark of the corridor behind us stepped Ian and Isabella. Shock permeated deep in my veins at the sight, freezing my body. I glanced at the others and they looked just as surprised, but each tried to hide our shock before it could give us away. The redheads were in all black regular clothes, green eyes bright against pale skin.

Ian smirked. “What? Surprised to see us?”

“Ian, stop,” said Isabella, her smooth voice sent me further into shock. The bitch could talk! She looked at me apologetically. “You have to come with us, Chad. Otherwise you’re all going to die.”

I fought through my shock to get a word in. She and Ian moved and I fell into a defensive stance instinctively, as we all formed a united front. They clasped hands tightly and then simultaneously snapped their fingers. The world twisted in a whirlwind of color, spinning us through a vortex of muted sound. Just as suddenly the world returned to normal and our feet touched concrete.

The blue sky was above u, and I took a deep breath of the autumn wind. We stood on the rooftop of a building less than a quarter of a mile away from the warehouse. From the view I could see the warehouse and the rest of Centennial stretched out before us.

“How do you know who I am?” I glared at the siblings. “Who or what are you really?”

“He’s with the Order,” Solaris spat, staring hard at Ian with undisguised loathing. “Why else would they be there? I say we pour plasma down their throats.” His hand erupted with a painfully bright yellow light

Nathaniel cleared his throat. “Maybe we should hear them out.”

“I agree,” muttered the Executioner.

Isabella looked at the ground and then looked at us, almost shyly. “We know who you all are.”

Omega grinned wolfishly. “Oh, good.” He strode forward with two quick, purposeful steps. He reached back and his fist connected solidly with Ian’s nose.

“What the fuck!” Ian screamed, clutching his bleeding nose. He stumbled back and fell on his ass. Blood fell down in thick streams, smearing across the lower half of his face as he glared up at Omega with pained eyes. “What was that for?”

Omega glared down at him, hazel eyes turning brown with restrained anger. “That’s for kissing my boyfriend, asshole.” He clenched his fists tightly, taking a step backward. “If I didn’t want to hear what you had to say I would throw you off this building.”

“That’s what I’m talking about,” Solaris cheered, laughing.

I grabbed Omega’s arm pulling him back near me. A little part of me was touched that he did that for me. Another part was worried he may have hurt him too much. The bigger part of me was more than a little turned on. Jealous Adam really kind of did it for me, but I ignored all of that, focusing on the here and now.

“You have a right to be angry over what my brother did.” Isabella glanced at Ian, who was wiping at the blood on his face. “I was furious when I found out.”

I shook my head. “So this whole time you could talk?” I pointed my finger at her. “Did you transfer to our school to spy on us for the Order?”

“We aren’t part of the Order of the Dying Star,” Ian denied, still holding his nose. “I didn’t even know you were Chosen until a few days ago.”

Omega raised an eyebrow. “Are we supposed to believe you? We thought she was mute and look at how that turned out.”

“I’m sorry for the deception,” Isabella said and she sounded truly remorseful. “It’s a lie I’ve been using my entire life. The only person who knew I could talk was Ian. Not even our father knows.”

I was actually curious about that fact. “Why not?”

They shared a look and it was Ian who spoke this time. “We have to be very careful around our dad.”

“Why?” I asked, tipping my head. “He seemed alright when I met him.”

Ian snorted, shaking his head. “You didn’t really meet him then. You might better know him as the Black Pope of Damnation.”

“No way,” Solaris said in a breathy whisper.

We all stared at them as if they had two heads. This was becoming too much. It was just so much information too quickly. I shook my head trying to clear up some of the thoughts that cycled through my head in an endless loop. Mr. Graison, with his kind eyes and polite manners, was the evil jackass who got off on worshipping ancient entities? Oh hell no. It sounded insane, but it explained their presence in the warehouse.

I rubbed my temples, trying to stop a headache that was forming. “Okay, start from the beginning. This isn’t making sense.”

“Our father has worshipped the Elder Spawn like his father, and his father before him who first read the sacred text in the abomination’s forgotten temple, Al’kanesh,” said Isabella, stopping to glance at the warehouse on the horizon. “Our mother was a runaway faerie princess, who grew tired of Sidhe politics and court life and wanted to live amongst humans.”

I almost stopped her story right there. Faeries? Yeah right. I opened my mouth to tell her to shove the story up her ass, when a clear memory of beautiful, shining people filled my vision, stirring forth buried knowledge. They lived in seclusion in their pocket dimensions, but they had been a wondrous people who were friendly to the Atlanteans, even though the two peoples were completely different. While the Sidhe didn’t have any advanced technology, their harmony with nature and unique magic made them a marvelous race of people.

Not Homo sapiens, my mind whispered, but Homo arcanus.

I blinked and the vision faded. Well wasn’t this just a day full of surprises. All that was left was a daytime talk show host to pop out and claim I was the baby’s father and the surprise-a-thon would be concluded.

“...she thought he was just a gifted sorcerer and fell in love with him. She didn’t learn the truth until almost five years after we were born when she found the ancient texts. Then she knew what father really was.”

Isabella was getting a little worked up, so Ian continued. “She tried to take us and run, but our dad killed her. Before she died she used every bit of magic she had left to bind our powers.”

“Or at least that’s what it looked like to father,” added Isabella with a small sad smile. “Any trace of magic or capacity of magic was masked. Even if you were to actively look for traces of magic in us you would find none.”

I nodded, understanding now. “Faerie glamour. A strong one too.”

“Exactly,” Isabella admitted.

Nathaniel tipped his head. “What kind of powers do you have?” he asked, watching them appraisingly.

“Together we can teleport ourselves and others,” began Ian. “Like how we got here.”

Isabella looked at us through her eyelashes, bashfully. “I have the power to know the entire history of anything I touch. It’s part of the reason why I pretend to be mute. It prevents me from slipping up and letting on that I know too much of what I shouldn’t.” She looked at me, suddenly serious. “It’s how I knew you were Chosen. When I bumped into you and dropped my books, I got a read off you.”

“You’ve known all this time.” I was stunned. That had been almost a month ago. “Why didn’t you tell your father?”

Ian laughed and I wanted to hit him. When I caught sight of his face all my irritation died. He looked bitter but beyond that, there was a desperate sadness that caught my breath.

“We hate him,” he said tonelessly. “The fucked up part is he doesn’t even know. He and his entire cult are psychos and I would love nothing more than to watch them burn. He took our mother from us and now he wants to take away the world we live in. I’ll never forgive him.”

“So you two decided to Wonder Twin it and fight the forces of dear old dad?” I asked skeptically.

They did that thing where they traded looks again and Isabella replied, “We only recently decided to strike out against father. When you left our house so quickly the other day I figured Ian had done something to you.” Ian rolled his eyes and made a sound in the back of his throat. She continued, not bothered by it. “He confirmed it when he told me what you did. I had kept your secret about being Chosen, but he knew you were different when you resisted his kiss.”

Omega narrowed his eyes. “Was he supposed to fall in love with one kiss?” he asked with a dangerous edge to his tone.

Ian scrutinized him, measuring him with his stare. “Not in love. In lust.” He moved his stare to me. “My power is to draw lust in a person with a kiss.”

That was a faerie power alright. I don’t know much about modern fey society, but back in Prince Emrys’ day, they were particularly fond of their inborn powers at seduction that rivaled the unnatural beauty that graced all their kind. The full implications of what he said caught up to me.

“You tried to whammy me?” I snapped, glaring. Anger pounded deep in my gut like a second heart. “What makes you think I won’t melt you on the spot?”

Ian raised an eyebrow, looking extremely satisfied. “We did just save your lives,” he said smugly.

The Executioner straightened to his full height, tall, dangerous, and intimidating, showing exactly how he got his name. He turned cool gray eyes on the redhead who tried to meet his stare but had to glance away as those predator eyes assessed him like he was prey.

“I don’t recall being in danger,” replied the champion of soul coolly. His voice caused Ian to shiver on the spot, almost shrinking into himself.

It wasn’t just an intimidation thing, like he was scared. It was more than that. As the champion of soul, Ryan had a slight power of empathy, and the ability to him project feelings with careful manipulation of his voice. It wasn’t something he talked about or even employed often, but when he did he could make a grown man cry. It wasn’t a strong power now, but in time it would be a powerful ability on its own.

Isabella answered for her brother, “It wasn’t a threat. Our father was in the middle of preparing for phase two of their mission.”

“What was phase one?” I asked frowning.

“Gather at least two Keys,” answered Ian. “They have that so now they can start the next part of dear old dad’s master plan.”

A thunderous noise sounded through the air and I snapped my head to the warehouse in the distance. The door blew open and from it streamed the Unrelenting. The skinwalkers marched forth from the doors in a flood of gray. I sucked in a breath as they ran into the street, constantly pouring from the building in a never-ending stream.

People screamed as the skinwalkers overwhelmed the streets, stopping traffic and sending pedestrians scattering. Flashes of light and explosions sent people in a blind panic, as the Unrelenting began ripping into people with magic and their bare hands. Everyone in their path fell to their murderous rampage. It was a bloodbath.

“They’re killing people!” Solaris screamed.

Gritting my teeth, I turned to the siblings and hissed, “Is this phase two?”

They nodded solemnly. “They’ve awakened all of the clones,” stated Isabella. “With only one Key left to find they want to offer up death and chaos as a tribute to the Elder Spawn.”

The Unrelenting blew apart buildings and savagely ripped into people with brutal displays of magic. In the span of four minutes, Madison through 7th street looked like a hurricane had touched down.

“Ahh!” Omega screamed, grabbing his head. He fell against me, his face pinched in pain. “So many people are screaming out. It hurts...”

“Adam,” I whispered into his ear, biting my lower lip worriedly.

He shook against me. “I can hear them crying out in my head,” he said softly, pain clear in his voice.

Something inside me broke hearing him in pain. It struck my heart like a blow and I clenched my teeth seeing him close his eyes, fighting back agony. My fingers ran through his hair and he leaned into the touch breathing out a soft sigh.

“I will kill them all.”

They all looked at me as I glared at the spectacle below. “What are you going to do?” asked Ian.

I turned my glare on him. “I’m going to do what needs to be done.” I could feel power leak out and imagined my eyes were glowing blue, as magic ignited within my veins. “I already owe you pain. Don’t stand in my way.”

“Whatever,” Ian muttered, holding up his hands and surrendering.

Nathaniel gently took Omega from my arms and stepped back. “What are you planning, Chad?” he asked.

I looked at him and declared, “I’m going to bring the rain.”

“Uh oh,” said the Executioner under his breath.

He and Solaris took a collective step back next to Nathaniel. The siblings frowned at their worried faces and hastily followed their actions. I closed my eyes taking a deep breath, reaching and touching that part of my core that I usually didn’t access. It was the darker parts of my being that took joy in revenge and festered anger. It was the primal part of the soul that everyone carried, but ignored due to societal constraints. For the spell I was about to use it needed those darker, base emotions to feed upon as I readied myself to touch chaos.

"Darkness against the moonlight,
Blight in the souls of all men,
In the heart of the universe
is where all great Power breeds."

The words fell from my lips, sounding like a hundred voices speaking as one. Red and black light began sliding up from a circle around my feet, rising into my hands that pointed toward the ground.

"I feed to you my word of honor,
that the bounty bestowed to me,
is paid in blood and devastation."

A geyser of wind erupted around me, blowing back my hair with brutal force. The power slid into my hands forming a sphere of tightly coiled black and red light. One stray thought, one mispronounced word, and we were all dead. The dark god of destruction I was calling upon didn’t take such things lightly. His power was a dangerous and powerful one that few dared to harness because of the devastating consequences of a mistake.

"Destruction is what I pledge to reap
upon my enemies, that beholds the power
invested in me. In thy great name. Amen."

I grimaced as the foreign power licked at my soul like a cold flame. My feet left the ground as gravity nullified in the circle of power surrounding me. Slowly I raised my arms, twisting my wrist, letting the globe of power grow stable. The energy jumped sharply in both hands and my eyes snapped open.

“HELL GROUND ZERO!”

Instead of throwing it like a grenade and letting the disbursement of energy level half of downtown, I gradually released the power. The ray of light stabbed through the air in a twisting multicolored column of thick light. It slammed into the mass of skinwalkers like a sunray, as wide as a city street, obliterating them before they could scream. They ripped apart under the intense ray of dark magic.

I dragged the beam wide and it slid up the street in a focused ray, annihilating the clone army. It was almost like taking a magnifying lens to ants from up here. The street tore up as the beam dug into the concrete, throwing up stone and dust, burning through cars, and killing anything alive in its path.

They didn’t stand a shot even with a defense. Their shields, no matter how well constructed, fell under the attack. Parts of buildings melted off as the beam cut too close. Still I poured more power into it, imagining my boyfriend’s pained face in my mind pushed me to go harder. With a yell the beam doubled and moving faster it mowed through the skinwalkers like a super powered laser until there was nothing left.

I cut the attack off, releasing the power back to the borrowed source and observed what my actions had wrought. The resulting devastation was enormous. The attack carved so deeply into the street that it revealed the innards of the levels below the sewers. The building faces too close to the beam still glowed red hot from being superheated.

A tired sigh left my lips and I stumbled back a step. I fell into a pair of waiting arms and looked up into Omega’s soft warm gaze. He brushed the hair away from my forehead, placing a gentle kiss between my eyebrows.

“Are you okay?”

I managed a jerky nod. “I’m fine. Just a bit tired. I have to give a little of myself in exchange for that type of power.”

“You’re going to drain yourself with these heavy spells you keep using today,” chided Omega, softly speaking into my ear.

Isabella shook her head and she looked at me with a wondrous smile. For a split second when the light caught her just right, she almost glowed. At that moment I could see the influence of faerie blood in her veins.

“You killed them all,” she said incredulously.

Ian mirrored her amazement. “It took dad a better part of a year to grow those clones.”

Omega’s arms slid around my waist, pulling me back into his chest. His embrace was warm and chased away the lingering coldness in my veins. I sighed and shot him a thankful smile.

“Are you two always so Disney cute?” Ian crossed his arms with a derisive curl of his lip.

“Do you want round two to start already?” Omega retorted with a frosty chill coating his voice.

Ian’s eyes went blank as he wiped the scornful expression off his face. He shrugged, turning his head and dismissing us with an eye roll. I refrained from pointing out to him that the threat was very real, and Adam meant every word he said.

“What do we do now?” Solaris asked, surveying the destroyed areas of the city.

“I just dealt with their army so I say let’s go in and grab the Keys,” I replied, pulling away from Omega. “We’ve crippled them. They can’t complete the rest of their plans now.”

The Executioner nodded. “We’ll have to go in and strike hard and fast.”

“Then let’s go,” agreed Omega. “The longer they have two Keys in their possession the worse our odds are.”

Without warning pale lightning split the air and slammed into all of us, throwing us into the ground. I fell over on my back screaming as the lightning hit my chest in an unyielding current of agony. The screams of the others were just as loud and pain filled. I struggled to open my eyes, watching dizzily as the Black Pope appeared on the rooftop.

“You dare destroy my army?” he asked as if he couldn’t believe I had the audacity to do such a thing. “They hadn’t even served their true purpose.”

The streaming lightning stopped and the Executioner rose to his feet with a cry of fury, promising retribution. The Black Pope snapped his fingers and arcane symbols blazed to life upon the ground around us. The Executioner smacked against a barrier that suddenly appeared. There was a flash of light and he cried out, skidding back as sparks of turquoise light jumped off his skin.

Solaris ran to the edge of the barrier, his hands full of liquid plasma blazing furious gold. He threw the balls of plasma forward and they rebounded off the entrapment, striking him low in the gut. He fell in a rolling heap near the Executioner with thick black smoke rising off his suit.

“What is this?” I spat, glaring at the smirking man.

The Black Pope gestured grandly with his hands. “Oh, this? I’m sure you of all people have heard of a Saint’s Cage.”

Nathaniel shook his head and said, “That’s impossible. You just can’t conjure a Saint’s Trap. It takes preparation. The symbols alone take almost a half hour of chanting over in Latin.”

I knew what a Saint’s Cage was, but I didn’t know how to make one. I didn’t want to know either. It was a piece of magic that I didn’t want to have any knowledge of. I had been under the effects of one last year when a shapeshifter had posed as a cat and infiltrated my home. The creature had stolen me from my bedroom, and trapped me in Saint’s Cage right in my own backyard. It stopped humans from getting in or out and harmed the caster if magic is used. If Adam hadn’t rescued me there was no way I would have escaped. And this time Adam was in the trap with me.

What Nathaniel said made sense. How had the Black Pope trapped us? It shouldn’t’ have been possible. He had only just arrived. It took time to prepare a Saint’s Cage. More than that, our teleporting here had been completely random. Ian and Isabella had-

My head whipped around to glare at the siblings, who stood outside the Saint’s Cage. Fire gushed up from deep in my stomach filling my body with an instant rage that built up as furious as a monsoon.

“You traitorous bastards!” I yelled at the redheads. “You tricked us the whole time!”

Ian shook his head wildly, his eyes wide with palpable confusion. “It’s not like that, I swear I didn’t know!” He glared at his smirking father with and spat, “How?”

“I’ve known your true loyalties for some time now.” The Black Pope surveyed his son dispassionately. “I’ve known that the champion of magic was an acquaintance of yours since he visited our home. When he bumped into me, I could practically feel his power burn against my skin like the brightest stars in the night.”

I recalled bumping into him and my heart sunk with the recollection. My shields were strong enough to hide my power from an active scan, but if someone with preternatural abilities touched me then I had no control over what they would sense. Frankly, I was too powerful to ever come off as truly human. And now it had come back to bite me in the ass.

“When I felt his power I knew Chad Summers wasn’t the human he pretended to be. I went to your sister and rolled her mind to figure out what she knew. Imagine my shock when I found out what my dear children have been hiding from me.”

Ian touched Isabella’s arm, gently. “Izzy?” he asked softly, concerned.

“Don’t bother.” The Black Pope laughed. “She’s my thrall now, just a mindless slave to my will like a good girl.”

Tears trickled down Ian’s face as he stared at Isabella’s face that was blank as a canvas. Her eyes were dark and unseeing, as she stared straight ahead at nothing. Her mind was wrapped tightly around the mental fingers of her father and I knew she wouldn’t move until she got a command from her new master.

“You took away our mother,” Ian hissed. His face was fixed with so much rage. “Now you would do this to your only daughter. I’ll kill you.”

The Black Pope moved with a liquid quickness. His arm shot forward before I even registered the movement. There was a sickening sucking sound, and his hand shot out of Ian’s back dripping blood and thick inside parts. Ian made a choking sound and blood gurgled from his mouth dark red, almost black. His pleading pained eyes moved from his father and fell on me.

He dropped to the ground with a gaping hole in his sternum. The Black Pope snapped his hand, flinging blood along the cooling body. He shook his head at his dead son, kicking at the body.

“Pity,” the Pope muttered. “There was so much potential for you, son.”

Isabella seemed to break free from whatever spell her father had her under, as she suddenly blinked and screamed, dropping down next her brother’s body. She wailed, heartbroken and full of despair, rocking Ian’s head in her lap as the blood spread around her kneeling form. A tear fell from my eye and I wiped it away quickly, flicking my eyes away from the heart wrenching scene.

The Black Pope sighed. “How can you two be my own flesh and blood?”

He lifted his hand and a thin laser like beam shot from his finger. Her head snapped back and her mouth fell open, as a thin line of blood trailed down a hole drilled clean through her forehead. She was already dead before she fell, slumped over Ian.

Dimly I heard Nathaniel say a prayer behind me. Everything seemed to be happening in another world, not right here in front of me. It was all going to hell. Everything. I was starting to shake with reaction, shock. My mind went numb like I was in the middle of a snowstorm, slowing freezing to death. Maybe I was.

My voice squeezed out between my teeth, shaky and tight. “You killed them. Your own children.”

He stared down at me on my knees and laughed, uncaringly and detached. “They were a disgrace to the blood that ran in their veins.” He sneered at their bodies. “I should’ve killed them when they were babies.”

Omega blinked at him, his stare full of fresh horror. “You’re a monster.”

A slow smile spread across his face and he tipped his head. “Thank you.” He clapped his hands and trained those demonic red eyes on us. “Since phase two is shot, looks like we’ll have to just start phase three ahead of schedule.”

Ripples in the air appeared near him, depositing three yellow robed Unrelenting from the warped space. Their hooded faces were shadowed beneath the folds of fabric. They were still and silent as they took places behind the Black Pope. With the curling smoke from the destroyed parts of the city drifting behind them, they looked like a painting of Hell come to life. The fabric shifted around their hands and my heartbeat went into overtime when I saw the Keys in their hands. We jumped to our feet and I winced as the Saint’s Cage pulsed in warning.

“You can’t activate Heaven’s Trumpet!” shouted Solaris, almost pleadingly. “It will kill us all if it senses the Elder Spawn.”

The Black Pope cocked his head. “Our lord is stronger than you can perceive. A tool of Heaven will never be his end.”

I stared at him through narrowed eyes. He had us right where he wanted and there was not a damn thing we could do about it from in here. He could break us and we couldn’t do a thing to protect ourselves.

“It’s time,” he said in a voice that sent a shiver down my spine.

The skinwalkers moved. The two holding the Key of Power and the Key of Reality shifted positions, so they stood at least fifteen feet apart. The third Unrelenting moved away from them, closer to the Black Pope. The blood red diamond and the hammer-ax began to pulse, their pale white glow growing brighter like the revving of an engine and intensifying with each pulse.

“What are you doing?” demanded Nathaniel. “You can’t hope to accomplish anything with only two of the Keys.”

He laughed again, wild and pure, sickening delight carrying the sound through the air. If I hadn’t been so out of it, emotions whirling, I would have spit in his face.

“Who says I don’t have three Keys?” The Black Pope stepped forward.

I jerked under an invisible force that pulled me against the barrier. The others moved to grab me and they fell to their knees, as the same forced brought them to heel. I fought against whatever the force was, but it moved against my efforts like putty. Taking in power I pounded against it, only to have it mold itself just that much more around my body, holding me in place. I fell to my knees like the others, gritting my teeth to choke back my outrage.

The Black Pope’s robes flowed around him like living water. He bent at the waist so he could look me in the eyes. “Even you can’t stop what’s coming, Prince Emrys.”

My head snapped up, surprise stealing the breath from my body. “You say that like you know me.”

“I’ve been reading legends of you my whole life.” He pressed his face nearly into mine. I wanted to burn his skin, flay him alive. I didn’t want him to touch me. “I know you better than you realize.” His breath ghosted across my eyelashes. “The Key of Time and Space...” He ran his hand over the star pendant at the base of my neck. “Hidden in plain sight...”

I choked on a sudden gasp of air. “What?”

He said something that rang a distant chord in my soul. “...Gifted to the weapon’s heart to protect with love.”

He snatched the pendant from my cloak and I fell backward. The others picked me up, helping me to my feet. I barely registered their presence as my brain ran in an unending loop with thoughts, feelings and half formed memories.

My pendant was the Key of Time and Space. As if some geis had been lifted, it became the truth to my mind, and I knew it was so. It resonated strongly within my very being like a clear bell.

“Your pendant, Chad...”

I nodded at Nathaniel’s unformed query. “Yeah...The Key of Time and Space has been with me all this time since I was first Chosen in Atlantis.”

The third Unrelenting took my pendant from the Black Pope and with him joining the others, they formed a triangle shape with their bodies representing a point. The Keys hummed like a wind chime and that was all the warning we got. A bright light blasted to life, exploding into being before us, like a captive star. It was warm and white, a shining brilliance. It should have hurt my eyes to even look in the dazzling radiance, but instead warmed my heart and chased back the aches clawing at my soul.

The sound of the chime grew louder as the light grew brighter. Its radiance spread out like a shockwave, spreading its power throughout the world. I could feel that holy force travel the globe, many times the speed of light, like some mass broadcast wave. It humbled and left me in an almost blind awe that brought tears to my eyes, as something inside of my chest eased by seeing that powerful light.

Then all that mighty light sucked back in on itself. The three Keys glowed spectacularly and from the artifacts lines of power stretched out, connecting each Key, forming a glowing triangle. And all that light went into that triangle’s center in a swirling funnel of cosmic energy. Down, down, down the energy went, coalescing, forming into a shape. Then it blew up in an explosion of white light that washed over us in a shockwave of wind and tingly warm energy.

Stars dotted my eyes and I blinked hard to clear my vision. When I opened them the light in the triangle was gone. It was eerily silent as we all regained our senses to look upon the triangle’s center.

There was a frozen moment of time and then it moved slowly as shock moved through my body. It left me in a paralysis where all I could do was blink. Clothed in faded jeans and a long sleeved black shirt was Kevin. My Kevin. My best friend. His dark hair caught the wind and fell across his face. He blinked around his surroundings, brown eyes filled with stunned confusion that left him shaking.

“Prince Gaius,” Nathaniel said in a strangled whisper.

We all heard it but I was quicker with my vehement reply, “That’s Kevin, Nathaniel!”

No one could see his eyes behind the dark visor, but I could read the rest of his face. His expression went slack with surprise.

“Your Kevin,” he replied quickly. “The friend you’re always talking about?” He shook his head. “I have all my memories from Atlantis, and I’m telling you that is Prince Gaius. The Crown Prince. Your brother.”

Voices shouted around me from the Chosen and the chanting of the Unrelenting erupted to life. I processed all this distantly as the world around me crawled along at a snail’s pace. Time crawled by as the full weight pressed upon me. This was all wrong. Nathaniel had to be mistaken. He had to be! Kevin wasn’t involved in this. Not my Kevin. I swallowed and didn’t even notice moving as I struck against the barrier, pounding against the force and ignoring the pain feeding back into me.

I screamed Kevin’s name until my throat burned. All I knew was that I had to get him out of here. His safety was important. I would kill everyone on this roof if they hurt my brother. I stopped after that thought flashed across my mind.

I froze when Kevin looked across the distance separating us and met my eyes. He looked through the magic masking my appearance somehow, saw straight through the charms and into my true face.

His face flashed with a momentary confusion that was overwhelmed by relief, happiness, and hope as he saw me, truly saw me, as if the magic wasn’t even hiding my appearance. That’s when I knew it with crystal clarity. I could read his soul clear as day and the hidden truth washed through my mind like the opening of a door.

“Chad!” he screamed, fighting against the force holding him. “Chad!”

I fought off the shock, reaching out to him. “Kevin!”

The Black Pope joined his brethren in chanting while the Keys in their hands lifted into the air. They met in the middle of the triangle. Light flared around them in a blinding flash. The Keys disappeared and in their place was a long staff. It shined gold like the morning sun. Its top was a large ring inlaid at each cardinal location by a red stone. In the ring’s center supported by a rod was an even brighter stone, blood red, and radiating as brightly as the staff.

Kevin’s eyes strayed from my own and my heart pounded insanely hard in my chest, threatening to burst. Kevin looked up at the staff and some part of me knew that the end was here. He reached out and I screamed his name again as his hands closed around the middle of the long staff.

Light sparked at his fingers traveling down his arms. Where the light touched it changed him. His clothes morphed into an elaborate robe of shining white. The purity of it almost burned my eyes from its radiance. Gold trimmed the edges and two crisscrossing sashes went across his chest, tied around his waist with an equally gold belt. His whole body seemed to glow and a halo of light crowned his head like every picture of an angel I’ve ever seen.

His head lifted slowly and I sucked in a sharp breath. The normal spark of humor was gone from his honey brown eyes. They were dark and blank. I could read nothing in them. They went on and on with no visible emotion. I tried to meet his eyes but he looked at me, no, he looked through me. There wasn’t a spark of recognition or anything. He didn’t know me.

The Black Pope laughed triumphantly. “Heaven’s Trumpet!”

Blank brown eyes trailed over all present. “Why have I been awakened?”

Tears fell down my cheeks as the cold toneless voice reached my ears. I didn’t bother to wipe them away. Nothing was going to be okay. I was so stupid. We all were. How could we have not known? Kevin was Gaius all this time. I looked at the boy, my best friend, my brother, in front of me and fresh tears fell again. I choked back a sob as a tightness swelled in my gut. This shouldn’t have happened. Heaven’s Trumpet wasn’t a thing. It never had been. The ultimate weapon was Kevin.

Kevin was going to destroy us all.