Figures moved between the large blocks of grayish marble that had once held a legendary and downright majestic building. Tales of the temple’s grandeur had been passed down across generations, mentioned in historians’ scrolls and ancient poems. I could only imagine what it must’ve looked like in its heyday—but I was pretty sure it didn’t include the two dozen Cerixian cult members who walked toward us, a little too casually for my taste.
Black silk robes and porcelain masks. Hands glowing green and white. They were borrowing elemental energy from Leb and Sebbi, this time. “I think Inalia cut them off,” I whispered to Raphael. “They can’t use fire on us anymore.”
“Chances are they can’t use water, either,” Eira replied, glowering at the cult members, who stopped just twenty feet from us.
“Yeah, well, the problem is that someone or something tampered with our invisibility spell, and they can see us!” Herakles snapped.
Taeral raised the scythe again. We could all hear it, now. I recognized the hum as it resonated deep inside me. I didn’t need to be a Reaper to understand what it was saying. The thoughts grew in my head, until I knew, with the same certainty as Taeral himself when he said it. “Eirexis is somewhere below this temple.”
“Sorry, you’re not allowed to go through,” one of the cultists replied, his voice skewed by the mask on his face. “Medina sends her regards, though.”
Taeral smirked. “Yeah, figured she had to be in on it.”
“Word of advice? You people really need to up your game,” Raphael said. “We could see through Medina’s lies from a mile away.”
“I’ve had enough of this crap,” Riza spat, drawing her pulverizer weapon. “Let’s get this over with.”
The cultists stilled. Something told me they hadn’t seen this coming. They had no idea what our weapons could do, and the mere thought filled me with so much self-confidence that my fingers were itching to pull the trigger. I took out my own pulverizer weapon and aimed it at the cultist who’d first spoken.
“The Hermessi can keep sending their underlings after us. It won’t stop us,” I said. “You all need to get something through your thick, brainwashed heads.” I fired the first shot and turned the cultist into a cloud of ashes. It startled the others, prompting them to step back. “No amount of Hermessi crap will stop us now!”
They tried to use their air and earth elemental abilities against us, but the crew and I were quick and merciless. Pop, pop, pop, it went, and they were all reduced to ashes, thanks to our pulverizer pellets. The mountaintop roared as the battle continued to rage between Inalia and Acquis, and Leb and Sebbi. But we’d just gotten ourselves one step closer to Eirexis. I could almost feel it within my reach.
We moved past the gates, analyzing the tomb-like silence of the place. Yes, we’d just killed two dozen Cerixian cult members in less than a minute, but still… there was something else going on.
“This feels too easy,” Raphael muttered, taking the blasted words right out of my mouth.
“Dammit, don’t jinx it!” Herakles shot back with a low hiss.
We moved between the stone blocks, looking for a way down. There had to be a tunnel opening or something. Varga used his True Sight to scan the ground, searching for it. Fallon gasped and cursed under his breath. That was enough to get my adrenaline pumping, because I knew it didn’t mean anything good, given his history thus far.
“Hermessi…” he managed, the veins throbbing and bulging on his neck. He sucked in a breath and closed his eyes for a moment, working on his self-control. “She’s trying to come in.”
“She?” I asked. “Oh, sh—”
“I don’t really need to, these days, but I was hoping I’d make a more memorable statement if I tore you apart from the inside,” Brendel’s voice shot across the temple ruins. “Then again, I can still rip your limbs off like this, too.”
A fiery figure emerged from behind a cluster of tall stone blocks. Brendel herself had come here to stop us from touching Eirexis, and we’d known this would happen. We’d naïvely hoped it wouldn’t, but this moment had been inevitable from the moment Death had put us on this path. I’d tried to avoid the thought as much as I could, but my brain had already prepared me for this encounter.
The dread wasn’t as powerful as the determination I felt, knowing that Thieron’s handle was literally within our reach, now. Looking at the rest of my crew, I could tell that we all felt the same. A thousand Brendels could come here, and we’d still stop at nothing in order to get what we’d come for.
Eva
There was so much anger inside me, so much fury at how the world had been turning out, that I couldn’t even quiver in terror before Brendel. Not this time. Nethissis was paler than a sheet of paper and barely standing on her own. We’d had all kinds of monstrosities coming at us, from the moment we’d set foot on Cerix—Medina included. That was a bitch I looked forward to obliterating, provided we survived this.
In a way, we’d come with our minds at peace. We understood what was at stake, and we more or less knew what to expect. Granted, those poisonous bugs had been a nasty surprise, but not entirely shocking. As long as they had access to the pink waters, the Hermessi could use them against us.
Taeral stepped forward, pointing his scythe at Brendel. The blade sang, a gentle hum that fueled us to keep fighting and not back down. We were too close now. “I used this to hurt a Fire Hermessi on Hellym. I’m pretty sure I can use it to hurt you, as well,” he said, his voice smooth and calm.
Varga and I exchanged glances, silently promising one another that we’d find a way to get through this, or at least die trying. Glancing around, I noticed the same determination on everyone else in our crew, including Fallon and Nethissis. Good. Strength of mind is greater than strength of elements.
“The best you could do with that toothpick is scratch me, Taeral,” Brendel replied dryly. “That aside, did you really think I wouldn’t try and stop you? I’m frankly surprised you didn’t realize I’m the one who tampered with your invisibility just now. I’m the only one powerful enough to mess with swamp witch magic.”
Well, at least we’d cleared up that little cloud.
Taeral grinned. “Oh, I knew you were coming.”
We stayed close to one another, ready to link hands at a moment’s notice. We’d gone through every possible scenario already, and, as the seconds went by, I felt better prepared than five minutes ago. Confidence was weird and sexy. A smile tried my lips.
“And did you think I would only rely on those four stooges up there?” Brendel replied, pointing a fiery finger at the elemental war that had engulfed the top half of White Peak. If they didn’t stop soon, the entire mountain would eventually come down.
More Hermessi shot down from the sky, landing with violent and flashy thuds. Their figures burned orange, white, blue, and green—elements from all over the In-Between and the Supernatural Dimension. Dozens of them, bright and angry and equally determined to stop us from reaching Eirexis. We’d seen this coming, too, and despite the pang in my heart, I kept my chin up. We were ready for this.
The air buzzed around us. The ground trembled beneath. The woods howled. The nearby ocean groaned. The whole of Cerix was reacting to this frightening gathering of Hermessi—elements of nature poised to commit the most horrifying and unnatural act. The destruction of all living things, simply because they could. How petty and insane…
Taeral measured each of the Hermessi from head to toe and smiled again. “Is this what we’ve come to, Brendel? How is this, in any way, natural and normal?”
“I say what’s natural, you fire-wielding worm,” Brendel said. There was irritation in her tone. She’d probably hoped to see us cowering and quivering before her. Tough luck, Flamey.
“You bring shame upon this universe,” Lumi cut in. “The Word does not condone your actions, and neither does Death.”
Brendel chuckled. “And yet, here we are, with Word and Death wholly out of the picture and unable to stop us. I care very little for the concept of ‘shame,’ swamp witch. It’s your construct, not ours.”
“I’m getting Eirexis back, one way or another,” Taeral said.
“For a moment, I was actually inclined to let you try it, but you’ve made a habit of surprising me in the least pleasant manner,” Brendel replied. “I’d rather not risk it. I’ve looked into you and your family line, worm. It’s an impressive heritage, I’ll admit. But it ends for you today.”
Taeral scoffed. “I can’t die, Brendel. You can’t kill me.”
I frowned, remembering Taeral’s account of his conversation with Death, and how she’d marked him, Eira and Lumi with indisputable immortality until they got Thieron back. It had left us somewhat vulnerable, but it didn’t stop us from wanting to do the right thing.
Brendel didn’t immediately respond, leaving a tense silence between us, which thickened and became toxic, making it harder for me to stand still. I fought warily against the urge to point my pulverizer weapon at her. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t do anything against an elemental. But the idea did feel comforting, for the better part of a minute. I wondered if Brendel had known, as well, somehow—if she hadn’t, well, she certainly knew now, and it couldn’t possibly sit well with her.
“I will wipe this entire place off the map,” Brendel finally said. “You will not touch Eirexis, I guarantee it.”
“Don’t you see, Brendel? The universe is working in our favor. It doesn’t want you doing this!” Taeral replied. “Try all you want, but one way or another, I will find Eirexis, and I will take it.”
Brendel dashed forward, reaching Taeral in the blink of an eye. My first instinct was to move back, but Varga’s hand gripped me tight, his fingers constricted around my wrist. He gave me a brief nod, as if telling me that we’d be okay. But Brendel was too close for me to believe that.
She stood mere inches from Taeral, her big orange fire figure significantly taller, prompting Taeral to tilt his head back so he could look at her. “You’re slightly delusional, worm,” she said, her voice low and cold.
Fallon chuckled by my side. “Actually, the kid’s on to something, and you know it,” he said, his voice rough and much louder than usual. He glanced at us as Brendel froze and recognized the emerald fires burning in his eyes.
“Kabbah…” she murmured.
Taeral looked back over his shoulder, gawking at Fallon, whose hands had begun to glow green, tiny threads of electricity sparkling across his body. It looked as though Kabbah was drawing energy from the air around him, increasing his elemental manifestation through Fallon. I wondered if the vampire-fae had summoned him or just let him in.
“I’ve been on the sidelines for too long, sister. It’s time you and I had a chat. Heart-to-heart, family style,” Fallon-Kabbah said.
