Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Get More Books

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

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Author’s Note

LOST ONES

Book 3 of

The Legacy Series

RYAN ATTARD

Lost Ones

Ryan Attard

Copyright © 2015 by Ryan Attard. All rights reserved. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, businesses, events or locales is purely coincidental. Reproduction in whole or part of this publication without express written consent is strictly prohibited.

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Chapter 1

“Hello, brother.”

Family. No one can push your buttons like family.

After the day I’d just had, the last thing I was in the mood for was my sister Gil and her schemes. I had just gone through a traumatic touchy-feely session over the grave of my dead surrogate father. Let’s just say I was still a little… raw.

Sighing into my phone, I walked out of my office basement and into the kitchen.

“What do you want, Gil?” I asked, holding my phone between my cheek and shoulder as I rummaged around for sandwich material. Given the amount of booze I’d drunk at Sun Tzu’s place not that long ago, I desperately needed something to soak it up with. I never got drunk—couldn’t, thanks to my powers—but stomach aches were still very much a possibility.

Abi and Amaymon chose that moment to loudly barge in through the front door. Abi, my secretary-slash-apprentice, wiped her feet and glanced at me. I waved her off. Behind me, Amaymon, my cat, hopped onto the kitchen counter, ready to pounce at anything that looked tasty enough. I nodded, acknowledging their presence, and went back to what my sister was saying on the phone.

“I got a job for you, Erik,” she said from the other end of the line. “Something huge.”

“How huge?”

“Tearing-asunder-the-universal-planes-as-we-know-them huge,” she replied. My hands stopped piling meats into the sandwich and gave the phone call my full attention. When someone uses words like ‘asunder,’ people usually think they’re exaggerating or blowing things out of proportion. Not my sister. If she says the universe it at stake, I can take that to the bank.

“Why call me?” I asked. “Is this Sin related?”

For months, we’d been searching for clues to one of the six remaining Sins but there was no trace. Gil’s plan of slowly turning this town into a juicy magical buffet for the remaining six was still in its initial stages and even then, it was a long shot.

Gil sighed. “Not sure, yet. I called you because I need the heaviest hitter I know to guard a convoy I have coming in. And despite some major attitude issues, you are as good as they come.”

I grinned. “Are you dying?”

“Don’t be an ass, brother,” she replied icily. “Now put me on speakerphone. You’re going to require your partners for this one.”

I shooed the cat away from the half-finished sandwich and pressed the speaker button. Abi sat on the couch silently as I came out of the kitchen and into the lobby, which often serves as an office. I placed the phone on the large mahogany desk adjacent to the pair of couches facing each other.

“We’re listening,” I said as I grabbed my sandwich and threw a slice of ham to Amaymon.

Gil cleared her throat in a quick, soft sound. “Have you ever heard of an Etherium Key?”

Amaymon choked on his ham. “Seriously?”

The cat wasn’t technically a cat at all. Rather he was an all-powerful old-school demon and earth elemental who had been reduced to kitty size for being a bad boy. And despite the fur and purring, he was older than the planet’s first rotation. Few things fazed him, so I had learnt a long time ago that when he choked on food, I had better listen.

“What’s that?” I asked.

“Actually, I’d rather your familiar fill us in on this one, Erik. I, myself, am not very clear as to how the mechanics behind it work,” Gil replied.

All heads turned towards the cat, who let out a short satisfied purr. He loved the attention.

“It’s essentially a teleportation device,” he explained. “It’s made out of etherium, which isn’t found on this plane to begin with. My guess is your ancestors brought it back as a souvenir.” His tail twitched in annoyance. It was those same ancestors that had imprisoned him in his feline form.

“An Etherium Key, or as some of us know it, a Dimension Pendulum, works by soaking up the planar magic of one plane and vibrating with it, creating a counter-wave of planar energy and opening a rift into another dimension. But it’s not a random process. The Pendulum keeps a trace of the last place it’s been to and ‘records’ that within itself. The rift is usually a dimensional bridge between two very specific places. That is, if the dimension itself is still accessible. If there is no plane to go to, you’d end up in the Void, and nobody wants to go there.”

Amaymon tended to get a little too technical sometimes. I was no Einstein—most of my knowledge came from getting the crap beat out of me, swearing a lot, and eventually learning what to do and not to. Not a method I would recommend to most wizards.

“Hang on,” I said as I swallowed the last of my sandwich. “So basically whoever has this pendulum thing can move between this dimension and another one?”

“Shunting,” said Amaymon.

“What?”

“Moving between dimensions or planes. It’s called shunting.”

“Erik told me it’s called Planeswalking,” Abi interjected.

“Erik plays a lot of Magic: The Gathering,” Amaymon shot back. “Hence why Erik can’t get laid.”

“Shut up,” I replied.

“Will you please,” Gil’s stern voice came from the phone on the desk, “stop fooling around and take something seriously for once?”

That shut us up. Not because of the insults: we were used to those. No, it was because Gil was obviously panicked. You see, my dear twin sister was the epitome of an ice queen. One solid crystalline fortress that let nothing in or out—the perfect self-contained machine. For a while, I had even thought she was an android.

Gil never, ever lost it. When she did, it meant something big was about to happen, or there was perhaps more to the story than she was willing to share.

“My apologies,” she said once silence settled in, “but you must understand the delicacy of this situation. This device is a game changer. With it, we may have a way to attack the Sins in their home dimension. We can give chase wherever they run and kill them once and for all. We can find their power source and sunder them from within. But in the wrong hands, all that can change. At best, we can expect an even higher influx of monsters. At worst, I believe it could tear a hole so large in the fabric of our universe that two or more dimensions will collapse together.”

I exhaled loudly. Time to get serious. Silently, I glanced towards my apprentice. She had her weapon, a thin golden rod, in her hair, holding it in a bun. That was none other than Sun Wo Kung, the Monkey King, and Abi’s own personal magical weapon. She’d gotten it literally hours ago, in a fight that would take weeks to recover from.

She nodded back, her eyes hard, making it clear she wanted to be part of the action. The apprentice got full points for enthusiasm but she often overestimated herself. Being told that she was special had somewhat inflated her ego, and in our world, the first mistake most wizards made was likely to be their last.

On the other hand, Gil hadn’t mentioned any actual threat; just the possibility of one.

“What’s the job?” I asked.

“The Key was found in Nicaragua by a few of my agents,” she said. “It’s on its way here. You are to intercept it as soon as it departs from Redwood. They’ve had ambushes the entire time they were crossing the Mexican border. The convoy is worn thin.”

“Worried about more attacks?”

“No,” she replied. “I’m worried about the Nexus. The attacks we’ve had so far are nothing compared to what I think will happen once the Key enters the northern California area. That’s the edge of the Nexus. The deeper you go, the worse it’ll be. I need you to make sure it gets to the mansion safely.”

“How far out is it?”

“Two days. You’ll intercept it the day after tomorrow.”

I did some mental calculations. A day off was just what the apprentice needed. I could use a break too. Meanwhile, I could send Amaymon to scout the area and clear a path if necessary.

“Okay,” I told Gil. “I accept the case. The standard fee applies to you too, though.”

“I was rather hoping for a quid-pro-quo form of payment,” she said. “Wherein I scratch your back if you scratch mine.”

“You want me to work pro bono for you, the richest person in the northern hemisphere?”

She actually chuckled. “Former richest person in the hemisphere. If I ever find that traitor, I’ll vivisect him alive.”

She was referring to a mole who, a little over a year ago, had let my family’s entire monster collection loose and taken a sizable chunk of money from Gil. She still hadn’t found the guy, and I didn’t envy him one bit. It was only a matter of time before she found him, and I really couldn’t tell if she was joking about that vivisection.

Gil let out a sigh. ”You have your instructions. Good night, brother,” she said with a tone of finality. “Happy hunting.”

The line went dead.

I got up and pocketed my phone. There were still a few more hours of daylight I could use but there wasn’t much I could do. Still, it couldn’t hurt to have a game plan.

“Alright,” I said. “Here’s how we’re gonna tackle this. Abi, you go rest up.”

She opened her mouth to protest but I cut her off.

“You had a tough day and don’t tell me otherwise. Just go take a nap or something. Tomorrow, you get familiar with that new toy of yours,” I said, pointing at her hair and the weapon embedded in it, “and make sure you have it all under control. I don’t want any dead weight on my missions.”

A little over a week ago, Abi and I had had a very serious talk, the kind one has when they’re called to the principal’s office, or the judge lets them off with a warning. Abi kept making amateur mistakes, and I wanted to cut her off from field work. She showed me her worth by getting the Monkey King to submit to her, but I still wasn’t convinced. I know from experience that rebellion and hotheadedness don’t go away—ever.

But she nodded and that was that.

“Amaymon,” I said, turning to the cat. “I need you to tail this thing. I don’t really trust Gil, not when she’s that jumpy. Tomorrow, I want you to find the convoy and scout them out. Clear a path to Redwood, but make sure they don’t see you. Got it?”

“Aye, aye, Skipper,” he replied.

I frowned at him.

“Sorry,” he said. “Pirate special on the Discovery Channel. Not much else to watch since you’re too cheap for proper TV. And by that I mean boobies. Lots and lots of boobies.”

“Ironic,” I shot back. “I see a boob right here.”

“Cheapskate.”

“Pervert.” I sighed. This could literally go on for days. “Alright, people. You know what to do-“

“Did you just paraphrase your sister?” Amaymon asked, cocking his little feline head.

I glared at him and pursed my lips. “Shut up. Anyway, as I was saying, we have our mission. Let’s try not to screw it up too badly.”

Chapter 2

Last year I thought I’d experienced the most uncomfortable car ride of my life. We had just rescued Abi from being taken by my sister from a hospital. Back then, my now-apprentice was being targeted by the Sin of Lust—a super-demon that hunted down succubii for their life-force. And we did that by abducting Abi before anyone else could. I know; not the best of ideas.

At the time, the traumatized Abi had opted to sit quietly without making a single sound.

Now, it was the complete opposite.

“So…” she started, about two seconds after we were on the road. “About that story Amaymon told me-“

I groaned on the inside.

“You mean the one I told Sun Tsu and Amaymon in confidence?” I retorted.

She raised an eyebrow. “You told Amaymon. What did you expect?” She pursed her lips, and I could practically see the cogs in her head turning as she struggled to phrase her next question.

“Was it all true? The phoenix, the loss of magic, you killing your dad, the old mentor-”

“Tenzin,” I said, perhaps with a little more aggression than was intended. “His name is Tenzin.”

“Tenzin,” she repeated. “Was it all true?”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry.”

That earned her a very nasty look from yours truly. I expected questions, concerns and more questions. But pity? Hell, no! Pity is the one thing I wasn’t going to stand for. I’m not ashamed of any of it. Was I a brash young boy who constantly put himself and his sister in danger? Yeah. Did I kill my own father? That bastard tried to kill me first and use us for some bogus ritual. So, hell yeah, I killed him and I don’t regret it.

And did I fall into a depression so bad that I summoned a wraith, which ended up killing two innocent bystanders? Yes. Yes, I did. Their blood was on my hands, and no matter what anyone says, no matter how many lives I saved, their lives were gone.

The only good thing that came out of telling Sun Tsu and Amaymon my backstory was that I relived, even for a faint moment, that happiness I had felt when I was around Tenzin.

“Don’t pity me,” I half-growled at my apprentice.

“I’m sorry,” she replied, looking away. Then, after a small pause,

“But what am I supposed to say?” She turned to face me, as much as the seat belt would allow her to. “I mean, seriously, what am I supposed to do? Feign indifference? You mean a lot to me, Erik, and I hate that you had to suffer that much.”

I smiled and decided to give it up. “Thank you. And I mean that. The problem with me is that I have seen, and still see, a lot of bad shit, and that sometimes makes it hard to appreciate the good stuff that happens around me.”

“You have a serious case of PTSD.”

I rolled my eyes. “Are you really gonna go all psych major on me again?”

“I’m not just a pretty face,” she replied. “Although really, look at me. I am pretty.”

“You’re a succubus.”

“Witch-Succubus hybrid,” she insisted. “And I’m still pretty.”

“I don’t need a psych major to know that’s insecurity,” I replied.

“Yes, I’m insecure. And I work my issues out by being pretty and hanging around you, Mr. Denial.”

“Hey!”

“I call ‘em like I see ‘em,” she said with a shrug. “You need to work out your issues.”

“I have a very healthy system.”

“Do tell.”

“I work out my deep-seethed anger issues and frustration at the general world by expressing myself on beings of a supernatural nature.”

She rolled her eyes. “You mean, you hit things.”

“Damn straight.”

We drove down Redwood Highway 101 in silence. It only took about half an hour before we saw it: a convoy of four military-grade Hummers and a large truck. The truck was in-between two Hummers, its steel hull reflecting the early afternoon sun.

I drove past them in my brand new red Mustang, and honked my horn twice in rapid succession. As we zoomed by I glanced at the men inside. Inside were Gil’s ninja wizards, trained specifically to take down anything that didn’t belong on this plane. The only difference between me and them was the fact that I was trained to be a one-man army, whereas they relied on numbers. That, and they took their prey alive for whatever sick reasons Gil had.

I spun the car and drove after the last Hummer, intending to overtake the entire convoy and be in the lead. Knowing me, I would have probably yelled something like, ‘Welcome to Eureka. Leave your sanity at the door’. Yeah, I was that tacky.

I shot past the two Hummers at the rear and the truck, and was about to yell my genius one-liner when it all went to hell.

The ground shook, like a small earthquake, and the concrete of the road cracked all around us. A few yards in front of us, on the spot where the tremor had started from, appeared a lone guy clad in black, with a black hood over his eyes.

The sound of concrete ripping apart echoed all around us, and the biggest spider in the history of giant spiders tore its way out into the open.

The subsequent events seemed to happen in slow motion: the guy with the black hood climbed on top of the spider as if it were a pony. I recognized the spider as a Tsuchigumo—a monster from Japanese mythology. I had the worst luck with those.

It stood on eight legs, as all spiders do, but every one of its leg segments had a series of hooks and bristles, each thick enough to impale a Hummer. Its body was bulbous and grotesque. This spider wasn’t sleek and neat like the ones in The Desolation of Smaug. This was more like an oversized flea had had sex with Godzilla.

From what I supposed was its ass, a series of stingers jutted out like a cactus, and thick viscous strands of webbing tethered it to the ground for stability.

The worst part was its head: a giant, round piece of bristling meat with four saucer-like eyes. Each had a thick membrane running down the middle, where eyelids shot outwards, essentially dividing each eye into two. From its mouth a pair of mandibles the size of flagpoles jutted out. Behind them were several rows of jagged teeth rubbing against each other like a shredder, emitting staccato clicking sounds that promised only pain. Worst of all was the long sucker-thing that waved from tongue to neck, spitting acidic saliva all over the place. I could feel it lock eyes with me, singling me out, and all of its bristles stood on end. My insides churned.

From the verdant surroundings of the 101 highway, an entire platoon of armed men popped out and opened fire from the assault rifles they carried. The summoning of the Tsuchigumo spider must have been a signal. Who needs a flare when there’s a T-Rex sized version of Aragog?

The first two Hummers veered heavily towards me. I accelerated into the vegetation, off the road and into the ambush, just to avoid being squashed by a spider leg.

“Hold on,” I heard my voice yell, as the car crashed into a squad of gunmen who were shooting randomly at my car, while diving aside to avoid being killed. That was fine by me. I was more pissed off about the bullet holes in my brand-new car. The damn thing had just come out of the shop.

The Mustang stopped abruptly, probably shot dead by the ambush. Soldiers skittered towards us, bearing firearms. I leapt over the open top of the car and rolled atop the hood, facing them directly.

A million bullets tore into me. I screamed in pain until more bullets ripped my lungs apart and I was reduced to a gaping, bloody scarecrow. With my one good eye, I saw Abi pull out her hair pin. The thing shone in a golden hue and extended into a seven-foot staff. With skill I didn’t know she had, she began striking her opponents in rapid succession, bashing their skulls over and generally kicking some serious ass.

I focused the magic within my body, making my regenerative powers work harder and faster. Taking on an apprentice had its advantages: like helping me retrain my basic skills. A few years back, I had to wait a few seconds before I was back in shape after healing. Now, thanks to better training, I was already healing the moment the first layers of skin were being torn.

“Erik,” Abi yelled. “Watch your six.”

I reached behind my trench coat, grabbed the hilt of my magic short sword, Djinn, and pulled it free. I spun and channeled magic, sending an azure crescent of energy at the approaching enemy.

“Not my fucking car,” I roared as my beam of power hit the few soldiers who had crept up behind me. They flew backwards and didn’t get up.

At the same time, the Tsuchigumo had already flung one of the Hummers into the forest and skewered another. The soldiers in the last two Hummers ran out and engaged the beast, shooting nets and enchanted chains at it, and when that didn’t work, they resorted to guns and swords. Seven guys versus a spider the size of a Kaiju. Sometimes, all the training in the world doesn’t matter. Sometimes, the guy the size of an aircraft carrier wins by default.

“No,” I yelled. “Get back.”

But I was too far away to do anything.

The ground rumbled, marking his entrance.

Gil’s wizards were pulled backwards as the asphalt they stood on rolled, throwing them off.

One giant chunk at a time, the debris, concrete, and rock from the nearby surroundings all gathered at one point behind the Tsuchigumo. Pile after pile, the giant construct grew until it towered over the oversized spider. For a few tense seconds, both sides of the fight watched as the giant spider trembled in fear before the gargantuan monolith.

The mass of rock and granite grew tall and took the form of a giant hand. With dexterity that seemed unnatural, it twisted and extended a middle finger the size of a skyscraper. Then it clenched into a giant fist and slammed on top of the spider. A tsunami of rock, dirt, and debris enveloped the area. The resounding noise exploded like a shockwave, and I felt my ears ringing.

And there, amidst the fallen chunks of rock and rain of spider entrails, stood Amaymon. He was in his human form, drenched in spider gore, with his arms spread open like an orchestra conductor and his eyes closed. His mouth hung open, tongue lolling out. He looked at me with his demonic golden eyes—a clear reminder that the fuzzy cat had been replaced by a horror not even Lovecraft could have dreamt up.

“Thought you needed a hand. Get it? A hand?” he hollered before bursting into a fit of maniacal laughter.

Chapter 3

“Abi, clear a path for the truck,” I ordered, and turned to Gil’s wizards. “You, help her.”

I ran towards the truck and found another terrified pair of wizards in the front seat. “Set up a protection shield and step on it when you see the chance. I’ll catch up as soon as I-“

A fireball shot into me and sent me tumbling aside. I put out the flames on my coat while a tiny yellow and orange dot in front of me grew bigger and bigger, with an accompanying whoosh.

A guy around my age, with piss-blond hair and a smug expression, landed next to the truck, his hands and feet on fire. In a swift motion he swung his arm at the truck and a stream of fire instantly consumed the front of the vehicle. Gil’s two operatives were reduced to ashes before their minds could process what was happening. With a flare of orange and black the engine exploded, sending flames and shrapnel everywhere.

He gazed at me and waved his hands again. Years of monster-hunting took over and I sprung to one side. Fire scorched the ground and followed me. I rolled backwards. Bad move.

The blond guy thrust out his other palm and a wall of fire rose before me, blocking my path. He stopped in front of the bolted truck doors and lifted his index finger. That hull was made out of reinforced steel, capable of resisting a bazooka, though I guess whoever made it wasn’t expecting the Human Torch. Flame Guy’s finger caught on fire, like a blowtorch, and he simply traced a line. Immediately, the doors swung open.

Before he could enter the truck and walk away with a ‘mission complete,’ I took off in a sprint and ran through the fire. The first time I had died, it was by phoenix fire. Being burned alive wasn’t something new to me. Besides, even though flames aren’t solid, no one ever thinks of actually walking through fire, despite the proverbial saying.

I made it through and flung my burning coat aside. Still holding Djinn, I channeled my magic through it and the blade elongated to a glowing azure spear. Vapor clouded my eyes and I missed him by a few inches—this guy was really lucky.

Frustrated, I swiped the sword to one side, then another. He ducked under my swing, and I managed to close the distance between us. I released the magic on my short sword, returning Djinn to its normal size. With my free hand, I swung a punch, a feint to make him go backwards.

See, here’s the thing with being able to throw fire: it’s the perfect long-range attack, and that meant very few people would stop to think what would happen if someone got really close and personal, bypassing the effectiveness of a long-range weapon. Besides, in such a case the enemy could catch on fire, and no sane person would risk getting that close because they would injure themselves more than the person they were trying to hurt in the first place.

But who said I was sane?

Following my momentum, I twisted and kicked him across the chest. I couldn’t have asked for a better shot. It threw him off his feet and away from the truck.

Advantage: I kicked his ass.

Disadvantage: he was now at a safe distance to blast me again.

This guy was a full-on Pyromancer. There were three classes of magic users: the first were the adept, who were the lowest category of spell-slingers. These guys had trace amounts of magic and were usually one-trick wonders. Then you had wizards: guys like me, who were equally capable in any type of magic. Finally, the Specialists. These guys were wizards who chose to forsake all types of magic to focus only on one. This guy had obviously chosen fire, a.k.a. Pyromancy.

Since both he and I could use fire spells, it became a matter of energy transmission. A wizard like me could do all types of magic, but the highest level I could go was, for the sake of explanation, level ten. And that applied across the border.

But a Pyromancer would be able to take fire magic to level hundred, in exchange for having level zero in all other classes of magic. It was a trade, quantity for quality, meaning I couldn’t fight fire with fire.

Let me put this in another term: I was screwed.

The Pyromancer threw a wild blast of fire, aimed more to keep me at a distance than to do any actual damage. I retaliated by sending a blast from Djinn. He rolled to the left, and then to the right in a zigzag, until he ended up exactly where I wanted him.

With my free hand, I reached into the holster on my left hip and wrapped my fingers around the gun handle sticking out. The gun was meant to be drawn with my right hand, but one flip with my wrist and I was holding the modified flintlock with my left hand. It was a weird gun: a re-purposed antique, outfitted with modern internal mechanisms and a shotgun magazine. Of course, Amaymon had juiced it up by molding Behemoth ectoplasm into it.

I fired at the Pyromancer. His eyes widened and he threw himself sideways, using fire as a jet propeller. Keeping his spell, he flew in a circle, two feet off the ground. I poured power into the gun and fired three more times in rapid succession. The bullets glowed like flares and followed the Pyromancer around like heat-seeking missiles. He twisted, flying backwards, and let out a stream of flames from both hands.

Two reasons why one shouldn’t fly backwards. Number one: he was in an awkward position. And number two…

I shot a vertical streak of energy from Djinn. It smashed against the Pyromancer, who proceeded to crash-land and tumble over the hard asphalt in one of the most painful-looking falls I had ever seen. And this coming from the guy who once threw himself off a five-story hospital building and onto a speeding limo.

I’m not a football fan, but I couldn’t help it. “Touchdown!”

Flames surged from the grounded Pyromancer, and with a lot of groaning and wheezing he managed to get to his knees. Scrapes and cuts covered every inch of his body, and blood was oozing from his head all the way down his neck and shoulders.

“Aziz,” he screamed. “Get some fucking reinforcements out here. Now!”

I looked over my shoulder. Amaymon and Abi were busy keeping the soldiers at bay, winning easily. Amaymon had even cleared a path for the truck to go by and the dead spider was still buried beneath a few tons of rock. The guy who summoned the spider—Aziz, I presumed—was sweating profusely, his face contorted with concentration.

That’s when I saw the first clump of anima particles. They’re not harmful, just pockets of air charged with magical energy, but they usually meant that something was being summoned. I swore very loudly as I realized just what Aziz was.

After all, Specialists, despite being extremely rare, did exist. Not counting fire boy, I had only ever met a couple. But two in the same place? Hell, no. That kind of coincidence did not exist in my universe.

My worst suspicions were confirmed when Aziz spread his arms and traced intricate patterns in the air. Anima particles overflowed, as if someone had released a valve and flooded the entire place with the damned things. Aziz’s hood was down, showing his Persian features and determined eyes. He was a Summoner, a Specialist devoted to bringing the supernatural into this realm and controlling them. Usually Summoners stuck to one monster, so that they can could summon it and then spend the rest of their energy reigning it in. If that big-ass spider hadn’t had a leash, it would have eaten him on the spot. But there was no rule against summoning a shitload of monsters and letting them on the rampage.

That’s why Aziz didn’t summon just one Wurm—he summoned the entire fucking nest.

“Incoming,” I yelled.

Wurms look like giant centipedes: a head with no eyes, just a giant gaping hole with a bunch of teeth in it, and hundreds of pincer-like legs along their massive, spiny bodies.

One wasn’t a problem; one hundred was a very different story.

Amaymon grabbed the closest one and literally ripped it apart. “We got this,” he hollered back, then pointed at Aziz. “Abi, take him out.”

I was about to say something when a blast of scorching-hot air exploded behind me. I turned and was forced to shield my eyes. Fire spread all over the place, burning with an intensity that scalded my skin just by being close to it. The flames were so hot that I could barely breathe. In the middle of the inferno stood the Pyromancer, covered in yellow fire like a miniature sun.

“Agni,” he said over the roar of the flames. “Been a while since I’ve had to use this technique. Now, just. Fucking. Burn!”

The flames rose like a tsunami.

“Amaymon! Cover!” I managed to scream as the fire consumed the world around me.

There was a million ways he could have nudged me back to consciousness, but Amaymon chose the kick-to-the-head method. Not a very nice way for me to wake up amidst the giant scorch mark that the road had become. I tried standing up, but fell right back on my ass. I looked down. Only one leg was left attached to my body; the other had been reduced to a blackened stump, with blood spurting out from the veins that hadn’t been cauterized.

In fact, upon further inspection of the damage I had incurred, I realized half my body had been burnt off.

My left leg—the one that was still there—and my torso were rapidly healing, but the right side hadn’t quite caught up to speed. So I was forced to lie down, a twisted grotesque figure that couldn’t even stand up, while my magic took effect. I focused my healing on the missing leg and watched chunks of blackened bone just fall off, instantly replaced by newly regrown ones. I looked away, not wanting to see the raw nerves and muscles knit themselves back. All around me, Gil’s wizards were trying to quell the flames that the Pyromancer had left behind, while others were giving medical assistance. After a few minutes, a wave of coolness washed over me, and I looked again to see that I had fully healed from the Pyromancer’s magic.

Abi and two of the remaining wizards emerged from a crumbling protective dome of concrete and rock, no doubt Amaymon’s handiwork. The highway bore a series of giant holes.

“Some of the Wurms got away,” Amaymon explained.

I groaned. At least when the Summoner had control of them, he could have just sent them back to whichever dimension he had pulled them out of. But now that they were on the loose, we had to capture them individually. And the forest was their natural environment.

I looked towards the truck, or rather, what was left of it. The steel hull was melted, leaving only one side intact. Inside was absolutely nothing.

“Ah, fuck,” I said. “Gil is gonna have my head on a platter for this.”

Amaymon chuckled. “I got something for you,” he said.

He led me towards the side, and Abi handed me a patch of burnt leather. I realized I was holding what was left of my coat. I could have cried. In one fell swoop, I had lost my car, my coat, and my expensive holsters.

“Sorry,” she said. I noticed her scanning me from top to bottom, and she actually blushed. But she didn’t turn away.

I looked down and saw that I was almost naked. Most of my clothes looked like a BDSM outfit, all straps and strips. Nothing was actually covering anything.

Abi was still looking, but I was in too much pain and too frustrated with myself to care.

I discarded the remnants of my beloved coat and scooped up my weapons, all the while swearing under my breath. I was not the type to start a hit list, given how easily people got on my nerves, but I was considering starting one just to put that Pyromancer’s name at the very top. The next time I saw that little shit, I was going to freeze his ass off and ship him over to Santa’s zip code.

“What did you wanna show me?” I asked Amaymon.

He pointed downwards at Aziz’s head sticking out of the concrete.

“Is he dead?” I asked.

Amaymon held up a clawed hand and the earth trembled. “Do you want him to be?”

“No,” I replied. “Let’s take him to Gil for questioning. Maybe she won’t totally kill me.”

“Hell hath no fury like one of us scorned,” Abi said.

Amaymon offered her a grin that showed his shark-like teeth. “What about a brother scorched? Get it?” he said pointing at me.

Abi stifled a giggle and shook her head.

“Funny,” I retorted sarcastically.

“There’s only so many jokes I can do when you’re naked,” he replied with a grin. “The shock and horror of it all is too much for my delicate sensibilities.”

I rolled my eyes and walked towards my car, hoping to whatever god was up there that it would start so I could get the hell out of this place. I had clothes to put on and a royally pissed-off sister to face.

This was going to be a very long day.

Chapter 4

“You had one job.” Gil was pacing around, her platinum-blonde hair whipping around as she shook her head with indignation.

After a few detours, mainly getting a new set of clothes from the city on our way here, we made it back to the heart of Trinity forest where the Ashendale mansion, a.k.a. my childhood home, stood in all of its foreboding glory.

It was a weird little trip from the highway back here: I had Abi and the surviving wizards sit in the one remaining Hummer as I madly drove my car to the nearest Target for a change of clothes, with Amaymon in cat form in the passenger seat. After a quick shopping trip with a demonic cat, a succubus, and two wizards who weren’t too sure what they were supposed to do next, I decided to stop for a well-deserved burger, because dying twice in a row tends to work up an appetite.

And then, we went to see Gil.

“I thought you were competent,” she said, pointing an accusatory finger at me.

“Hey, hey,” I protested. “I expected a few monsters to jump us, but this was too much for anyone to handle. Two Specialists, not to mention the small army they had with them. Come on, Gil, this was clearly an organized gig.”

She came up to just underneath my chin, five feet something of vibrating anger. “Are you trying to imply something?”

“Maybe you knew about this. Or maybe the mole you failed to silence a year ago is active again,” I retorted.

“No, please, stop, you’re tearing this family apart!” We both looked at Amaymon who sat rocking on a chair. “Meh, you guys crack me up.”

“And what were you doing this entire time?” Gil asked.

Amaymon shrugged casually. “Hey, at least I got you a present. All Erik did was burn his ass off and then parade around naked.”

“Thanks for your input, Amaymon,” I said.

“Anytime.”

I turned to Gil. “So where is the Summoner?”

My sister motioned for us to follow her as she led us through the mansion. It was a weird feeling, being back there after more than a decade. It was just as I had left it: dark and creepy. But it was clear which parts Gil inhabited the most. These were better decorated, with more light and slightly more upbeat colors. Not to mention renovated to the point of looking brand-new as opposed to the pile of rubble I had left the last time I had been here.

She led us to a barren room with only a desk in it. On the desk was a myriad of recording equipment: surveillance monitors, voice-capturing devices, you name it. There was also what looked like a heart-monitoring device, similar to the ones they hook patients up to at the hospital.

The wall which the desk faced was a giant mirror, giving a perfect view of the next room. I recognized it as a one-way mirror, just like they use in interrogation rooms. In the opposite room, Aziz was suspended from a crossbar with his head hanging limp and beside him, Mephisto was busy displaying a series of torture implements.

They didn’t come any creepier than Mephisto. He was to Gil what Amaymon was to me: a familiar, a demon with a contract to a human magic practitioner. He also happened to be Amaymon’s brother. The two of them made Gil and I look like a sitcom by comparison. He was Amaymon’s complete opposite, strategy and manipulation over brute force. Amaymon was the type to tear something apart and dance in a rain of blood, but Mephisto would rather watch his victims disembowel themselves before revealing himself to be the mastermind. Even their elements were complete opposites. Amaymon was an earth elemental as opposed to Mephisto being an air elemental. They were a literal cat and dog duo and, no, the irony wasn’t lost on me.

So my horror wasn’t at the fact that a demon was going to torture a human Summoner, and probably even kill him for the fun of it. The way I saw it, the guy had lost any sympathy points the moment the Godzilla-sized arachnid had appeared.

No, my horror came from the fact that, after standing in it for a few minutes, I remembered this room and what we used it for when Gil and I had been kids.

“You turned our old nursery into a torture chamber?”

Gil shrugged. “I had to put it somewhere.”

“Yeah, but our old nursery? Come on.”

“I don’t know what to tell you, Erik.”

“You’re heartless.”

“Actually, I just had a medical exam last week. My heart is perfectly fine.” She leaned into the microphone. “You may proceed.”

Mephisto exposed a wide grin and a blast of air whipped Aziz’s head backwards.

“Where am I?” Aziz looked from side to side in a panic until his eyes finally came to rest on the set of knives Mephisto had laid out. “What do you want with me? I won’t tell you anything.”

Mephisto picked up a small thin blade. “Quite bland for a first impression,” he said in his ice-cold voice. “You are at the Ashendale mansion, where you will provide information.” He calmly inserted the blade into the man’s bicep, one agonizing inch at a time. “Now, please, unless asked otherwise, the only sounds I wish to hear coming out of you are screams of excruciation.”

He picked up a second blade. “Now, who are you working for?”

Aziz yelled something in his native language in defiance.

Mephisto turned to face the glass. “He just told whoever is behind the glass to go do something quite unsanitary with a pole and their rear end.”

He dropped the knife in the tray and picked up a mallet. Then he proceeded to smash said mallet into Aziz’s knee. The Summoner screamed as his leg hung awkwardly.

“I will not ask again,” Mephisto said, as he slapped the man with enough force to snap his head backwards.

“They will kill me,” Aziz moaned.

“I will kill you,” the demon replied. “And I shall do so very slowly.” He grabbed the man’s wrist and crushed it into pulp.

“The Society,” Aziz screamed.

Mephisto hit him again and reached backwards for a knife. “What society?” He stuck the thin blade into Aziz’s side and trailed it downwards in a surgical cut, most likely intended to only slice nerve clusters and avoid major organs.

“Black… ring,” Aziz rasped.

As he began talking, I noticed a patch of skin on his right forearm darken. It was a black tattoo in the shape of a ring, so small it was barely noticeable. Like a necrotic infection, the darkness expanded, consuming more and more. Mephisto pulled the knife out and discarded it in the tray, yet Aziz’s screams grew even wilder.

“Kill me,” he screamed as he began trashing about. “Please.” He was talking to the mirror now, as if to look directly at both Gil and me. “Please, don’t let me die like this.”

The blackness had claimed his entire arm and was working its way to his chest. “Please,” he begged.

The longer I stared at the darkness, the more I felt that something bad was about to happen. I didn’t know how exactly, but my instincts were telling me that whoever gave the Summoner that black ring tattoo was not thinking happy thoughts. In fact, the malice of such dark magic hit me so hard that I had to suppress the urge to run and hide, as if I was standing in the presence of a bomb about to go off.

But I fought that urge and did the opposite: I ran into the adjacent room, hoping to catch the dark magic. I didn’t do it to protect Aziz. No, I did it for me. I had to keep him alive in order to find out where his buddy had taken the Etherium Key.

So I burst into that room and yelled for Mephisto to get out. There was a flash of darkness as black fire enveloped Aziz in a fit of supernatural spontaneous human combustion. Aziz screamed from inside the fire, just as I reached out towards the black ring tattoo and clawed at it.

I had been burnt before, but this was different. It was magical fire, created for the sole purpose of annihilating everything it touched. My hand didn’t even burn. It just blackened and withered away.

But I had done it.

I had pulled the tattoo out.

The piece of skin just flopped on the ground and I turned to Aziz. The Summoner had been vaporized along with the black flames, leaving behind a ring-shaped scorch mark.

Gil burst in. “That had to be the dumbest thing I’ve seen you do so far.”

I was too worried with regenerating my hand to say anything. For the better part of a few minutes, I had to concentrate really hard to make the limb regrow. Did the fire have some property which made the damage permanent? Then, much to my relief, flesh and bone regrew, albeit at a painstakingly slow place.

Gil picked up a knife from the tray and used it to spear the only remaining part of Aziz from the floor.

“Have this examined,” she ordered Mephisto, handing him the piece of charred skin. “I want to know what magic that was, who made it, and where they live. And I want the information yesterday.” As he left, she turned to me. “Congratulations, Erik. We now have a new enemy to add to our list.”

My hand had fully regenerated and I flexed my wrist. “They are our best lead, Gil. We find them, we find the Etherium Key. And with it, we get a fighting chance against the Sins. And who’s to say they are not behind this?”

She pursed her lips. “I’ve never seen fire like that. And it all started from that tattoo. Fascinating.”

“Whatever floats your boat.” I turned to Amaymon. “You ever see anything like that?”

“Nah, man,” he replied. “Ain’t no magic I ever saw. Which means it was man-made.”

“So if the Sins are behind this, they must be using a proxy,” Gil said. “The thought had crossed my mind. But I had never considered this… this…” She paused for thought. “This Society of the Black Ring.”

Amaymon shook his head. “Needs a better name.”

“Black Ring Society?” I suggested.

“Better. Got more fizz-pow to it.”

“Whatever the name,” my sister continued, “we must find these people, this Black Ring Society, and take back the Key before they collapse two or more realities into each other. Or worse, summon the rest of the Sins into our dimension at once.”

“Any idea how we can find them?” I asked.

“Leave that task to me,” she replied. Her expression twisted into a cold murderous glare, which creeped the living hell out of me. “I’ll hunt them down even if I have to raze the entire city. I will call you once I have a location. I trust you still remember your way out,” she added before marching away.

Chapter 5

The waiting was the worst part. I was a shoot first, ask questions later kind of guy. Long-term waiting jobs just weren’t my style. All I wanted was to be back home in time for dinner and some TV.

The idea of me hanging around and waiting for my sister to drop the ball wasn’t sitting too well with me. I had done enough waiting to last me a lifetime. I needed the action, the rough fighting. Maybe that made me a sadist or damaged in some way, but that was what I got off on. So instead of waiting around for something to happen, I decided to take the proactive stance and go look for trouble myself.

There was a Wurm infestation somewhere in Trinity forest. Gil’s people may have fancier toys and be all high tech and stuff, but I grew up in that forest. I knew the lay of the land as intimately as I knew myself. Heck once, a very long time ago, I had somehow become the land. I hadn’t been back there in a few years, but it was just like visiting home again. That memory never fades, no matter the time away.

I sent Amaymon to fetch Abi from the city. It was a long trip but an earth elemental would have no trouble finding me even if I was in the middle of nowhere. And besides, Wurms weren’t that dangerous. All one had to do was stay away from the toothy end. It would be a good chance for the apprentice to get some practice.

A few hours and five Wurms later, the two of them joined me and we stumbled upon the mother lode: a nest.

“Box them in,” I ordered Amaymon.

He nodded and left for a better position. The ground rumbled as a fence erupted from the ground and cut off the Wurm territory, leading them to us. Abi and I separated, weapons drawn.

Letting myself go and surviving only on instinct: I was meant to be doing this. Not abiding by rules and constrictions. Why anyone would choose to restrict themselves within the troves of society was beyond me. Freedom, true freedom, was a rare commodity. Society, civilization, humanity—these are all sugar-coated terms for the mental restrictions that we impose upon ourselves. To be truly free, one has to go back to the baser ideology of survival.

Wait.

What the hell was I thinking?

What was this feeling?

Looking around me, I caught a glimpse of a mass of solid yet wispy darkness surrounding my body. No, ‘surrounding’ was the wrong term for it—this stuff emanated from within me, like blood from a wound. The physical manifestation of my curse, a power over the ancient Life magic. A power which I have no idea how to control, one that had first manifested within this very forest, a lifetime ago. A power I needed to even the odds against the Sins, but came at a cost. It slowly warped my mind, making me more feral, more primal. It was a stark reminder as to why I had chosen to keep my distance from this place. Whatever was inside me—I call him Dark Erik—sees this place as some sort of playground.

“Erik,” I heard Abi call.

Of course, she was going to call me out. I had told her about my curse, about the shadows. I had told her exactly why I wasn’t willing to use that power. Of course she was worried. Anyone would be if they were trapped alone in the forest between giant man-eating centipedes and a wizard with increasing superpowers but decreasing reason.

“I know, I know,” I said.

I willed myself to slow down, just as I had trained myself to do. No anger, no fear, no worries of any sort. Just keep calm and cool. Breathe in, and out. Relax. This power fed on my negative emotions, which meant if I dissociated myself from those emotions it would simply go away.

“No, I meant behind you.”

Its shadow eclipsed me. A giant Wurm, possibly the queen, loomed over me, probably sensing my weakened state. Too late to react now. It had gathered too much momentum, and I knew I was headed for a world of pain. I closed my eyes, an involuntary human response.

But even from behind my clenched eyelids, the flash of light was painfully bright.

I opened my eyes tentatively. The light still shone bright, but at least it was a little more bearable now. The Wurms that surrounded us had disappeared. At the heart of the light stood the figure of a young woman.

Slowly the light shrunk back into the girl, revealing her Latin features. In front of us stood Gracie Valdez, otherwise known as the archangel Jehudiel. His, or her, appearance came as a surprise. If I remember correctly, we hadn’t exactly parted on good terms.

Every Sin has an opposing angel, sort of an anti-Sin, if you will. Jehudiel was Lust’s opposite, and he had helped me out in kicking her ass. But angels weren’t supposed to interact with humans. They also weren’t even supposed to cross over to our plane, but Jehudiel seemed to bend those rules left, right and centre without any consequence. For over a year he had posed as Gracie, pretending to be Abi’s roommate and tricking me into saving her when Lilith decided to put her on the menu.

“Hello Erik,” she, or he, said.

Before I could get the first word out, Abi pointed Sun Wo Kung, now in the shape of a baton, at the angel.

“Stop using that body,” she growled.

Jehudiel held his hands up. “My apologies. The range of human emotions still eludes me.”

His form shimmered and, for a moment, his true form was revealed: a tall, armor-clad warrior with golden hair cascading well past his backside. His eyes were balls of white fire, and he had pointy ears that made him look a lot like the elves from The Lord of the Rings. His most impressive feature was the pair of wings at his back. They extended well beyond the tallest of trees.

Suddenly in his place stood a blonde teenage girl with a fringe haircut, piercing blue eyes, and clothes from the front cover of a fashion magazine. In short, one chick that really did not belong in a forest.

“Is this form more appropriate?”

“No, but not for the reasons you think,” I replied.

“That just looks weird,” Abi added.

Even Amaymon joined in. “Why is there an angel looking like Hannah Montana?” He grinned at Jehudiel. “If you start twerking, I’m posting that shit on YouTube. We could use the money.”

“Shut up, Amaymon,” I retorted. “And you,” I told the angel. “Why do you always look like a girl?”

The angel cocked his—her—head. “I simply picked the most aesthetically pleasing form.”

“I think you might be gay,” Amaymon said. “Which is ironic, considering your religion used to kill them for sport.”

Jehudiel glared at him. It was never a good idea to piss off an angel. And I say that from personal experience, since I may have punched Jehudiel in the face once. Hence why our last encounter did not end well.

“The interpretation of God’s Wisdom is the humans’ own prerogative,” Jehudiel sternly replied. “But let me assure you that such discrimination doesn’t exist in Heaven.” He turned to look at me. “What matters is love itself and the intention of such energy. Why would we place such emphasis on the form when we ourselves are formless?” He turned again to Amaymon. “Do not pretend to understand our Father based on the preconceived notions of a few beings whose true motives lie in self-validation and material profit.”

“So in essence, God is too busy for our shit?” I asked.

“The majority of it is merely pomp and presumption.”

“That would be a yes, then.” I grinned at Amaymon. “I win. You get to clean the basement.”

Amaymon scowled. “Yeah, yeah, whatever. A bet is a bet.”

“What was his suggestion then?” Abi asked.

“He thought God was elusive because he’s really a giant tentacle creature like Lovecraft’s monsters.”

“And nothing will convince me that Lovecraft wasn’t some sorta rogue angel. The whistle-blower of Heaven,” Amaymon insisted.

“You’re an idiot,” I said, and turned to the angel before this descended into a literal cat fight. “So, what brings you to our neck of the woods? Hehe, get it?”

He didn’t get it. Angels never got jokes.

“I have some introductions to make,” he replied. “Please follow me.”

Chapter 6

Jehudiel led us to a hole in the ground. Or at least that was what it felt like.

The trees were all burnt to cinders, and the remnant husks of Wurms littered the ground as far as the eye could see, charred by black scorch marks. But it wasn’t just the dead Wurms. Deer, birds, even squirrels—every sign of life—was burnt beyond recognition. All that was left was an area of ash, dug into the ground. Whoever had burnt this had disintegrated the very ground beneath their feet.

Standing in the middle of the crater was a man of average height and a muscular build, like an action figure. He wore a black coat, similar to mine but made out of a different fabric than leather. Maybe wool. His hair was short with a fringe that came close to his eyes, like one of those emo hair styles. Beneath his coat was a chainmail shirt, glinting metallic black under the sun. Black-and-grey camouflage-patterned pants and dark combat boots completed the outfit of the most imposing-looking angel I had ever seen. His wings, shimmering egg-shell white, flared wide over his shoulders the minute he spotted us, before disappearing as he stabilized his human form.

What disturbed me most was his expression. I thought I had seen rage and bitterness before—hell, I had experienced my share of irate anger in the past—but this guy was something else. This went beyond just rage. This was a monstrous, yet controlled, wrath, like a volcano right on the brink of eruption.

“Raphael,” Jehudiel said in a tone I had never heard come out of a woman before. He walked over to the other angel. Despite a height difference of nearly two full feet, the girl managed to stare down the imposing-looking angel.

Raphael knelt in front of her. “Sir, I have destroyed the aberrations as you ordered.”

Jehudiel shook her hair. “No, Raphael. You have destroyed everything. This is not the way an angel does things. We show restraint and control. We do not destroy. We merely cleanse and purify.”

Raphael rose and scowled. “Yes, sir.”

“Look upon your blade, Raphael.” A broadsword appeared in Raphael’s hand. The blade matched the color of his wings, that same dirty, speckled white that faintly glowed. Red and black liquids dripped from the sharp edge of the sword.

“What do you see?” Jehudiel asked.

“Ichor, sir,” Raphael replied. “From the monstrosities the humans brought forth.”

Jehudiel shook his—her—head again. “Yes, there is ichor. But there is also blood. Innocent blood. That would have been acceptable in time of war, but not today, not as one of the chosen Virtues. That is what sets us apart from the rest of our kind. We, above all, must not shed blood.”

Raphael hung his head and the sword evaporated in a burst of light. Jehudiel laid a soft hand on Raphael’s callused one.

“Fear not, my brother,” Jehudiel said. “I will show you the way.” Jehudiel’s wings, larger and more incandescent than Raphael’s, appeared and opened up, and we were enveloped in his power.

Light blinded me and for a moment I felt weightless.

Then the light was gone, the weightlessness disappeared, and the forest was back to normal. Everything that had been burnt and destroyed was suddenly back to its lush green former self, and the dead animals were resurrected and they scurried away. Everything except for the Wurms, which had disappeared as if they had never been summoned in the first place.

Jehudiel smiled at us. “Erik Ashendale, may I introduce the youngest amongst the ranks of the seven chosen Virtues. This is Raphael, the Warring Healer and Virtue of Kindness.”

No one stepped forward, so I felt I had to take the reins.

“Hi,” I said, extending a hand towards the new angel in town.

Raphael looked at my hand, glared, then looked at Jehudiel, and finally settled with glaring at me.

“Erik Ashendale. You are the one I am supposed to be helping.” He scoffed. “I do not need your help in carrying out my tasks, human. Make sure to stay clear of my path and all would be well.”

There were a few things that piss me off on a major scale and this clown just hit all of them in less than three seconds. So I did the one thing I knew would annoy him to no end. Guys like him need to recognized, to stand out from the rest of the herd. He had already screwed up once and got told off by his superior. Now he was looking to belittle me.

So I completely ignored him and addressed Jehudiel. “So what’s this bozo supposed to be doing here, anyway?”

Jehudiel held up his hand to placate the fight I was itching to start. “I do not know. No one does. We simply feel a calling and follow it.”

“Just like taking a dump, huh?” Amaymon quipped. He stepped up to Raphael, with Abi close behind him, albeit staying partially hidden behind the demon. “Y’all know who I am, right?”

I hadn’t thought Raphael had a different expression other than scowling. Turned out he did. His face twisted with sheer disgust.

“An abomination from a long-lost time,” he spat with pure venom. “Give me a reason why I shouldn’t smite you where you stand, demon scum.”

Amaymon shrugged. “‘Cause I’d wipe the floor with you?”

That made Raphael back down. Whatever issues this guy had, at least he knew a lost battle when he saw one. “Yes. You are far more powerful than I am. But still, even crippling you would bring great glory to Heaven.”

“Aww, look who’s got daddy issues.”

“You dare mention the Creator’s name in vain?”

“Raphael.” Jehudiel’s voice made us all flinch. “Stand down. This demon is an ally of the human, who in turn is an ally of Heaven. We must abide by the rules of this plane if we are to succeed.”

Raphael looked at his superior. “Is this what you did last time? Ally with humans and demons? That is not the way of Heaven.”

Amaymon tutted and let out a laugh. “They got your ass wired real tight up there, don’t they?” He grinned maliciously at the angel. “Now heel, bitch.”

“Amaymon,” I said, pulling him away. “Can you not annoy the angels, please?”

He gave me a delighted smile. “You remember the last person who said that? And to whom?”

I had a flashback of being berated by my sister on a cruise ship for telling dumb jokes to two low-rank angels loaned to her by Heaven for her protection. The memory made me groan.

“Yep,” Amaymon said. “You’re turning into your sister.”

“How is it that you managed to piss off every single person here in less than a minute?”

“He hasn’t pissed me off,” Abi said. “Yet.”

“That’s because you’re the one with the boobs,” I replied.

“Hey!”

“No, no, he’s right,” Amaymon said, grinning perversely at her.

“Okay, now you’ve pissed me off,” she said.

“Full house, baby.”

I pushed him aside and went back to the angels.

“Listen up,” I said, specifically glaring at Raphael. “I’m the one in charge here. You don’t like it, go back to where you came from. You wanna help, you do it my way. Not Heaven’s way. Not his way.” I pointed at Jehudiel. “My way. Got it?”

“How dare you speak to me like-”

“What was that?” I interrupted, pointing at my ear.

“Raphael,” Jehudiel said. “Perhaps it would be best if you and Erik got along. It would make your assignment easier to complete.”

Raphael nodded reluctantly. “Fine, human,” he said with a tone that indicated he wanted nothing better than to wrench my head off and use it as a football. “I will stay by your side and allow you to guide me. But when we encounter the Sin, you shall let me deal with it.”

“All yours,” I replied, extending my hand out again. Hey, if this guy wanted to deal with an all-powerful demon instead of me, all the better. The way I saw it, Earth shouldn’t even be involved in this mess in the first place. “And here on Earth, we shake hands when we reach an agreement.”

Slowly, he grasped my hand. It occurred to me that this was probably his first time shaking hands with someone. Angels were a completely different species, living in a completely different world.

What would happen if I took this guy to Vegas?

I waved the thought away and shook his hand. “And the name is Erik. This is the part where you tell me your name.”

“But you already know my name.”

“Humor me.”

“What?”

Holy crap, this was tiring. “Just do it anyway,” I said.

He shrugged. “Raphael.”

“Pleased to meet you, Raphael. Now let’s go hunt some demons.”

Chapter 7

With a group like ours, hiking for two hours in silence was pretty much impossible.

I mean, there was Amaymon, who was constantly looking for something to amuse him, and anything could set him off. And on the off-chance he was quiet, that’s when I began worrying.

Raphael was the equivalent of a captured predator, always looking around. He could be thinking anything in that twisted brain of his, from ways to help us out, to how to murder us in our sleep. Still wasn’t sure about that one. However, he certainly wasn’t going to start talking. As far he was concerned, we were nothing more than a guidepost, telling him where to go so that he could complete his mission and get out of this place.

And then there was yours truly. I was possibly the most introverted person you could come across, and something of a nervous talker. Although to be honest, just walking through Trinity forest was enough to render me speechless, as I was enraptured by memories. As a kid, I had loved running around this place. And I had had Gil with me, although she mostly brought books and quietly read while I scouted ahead. I loved doing that, just me and nature. None of those dumbass people, asking stupid questions, looking for someone to solve all their problems because they were too lazy to do anything about it themselves. No cars, no cell phones, no worries of any sort. Nature didn’t care about your sorry-ass problems and neither did I.

So in this case I was more than happy to just walk in silence.

The one who did crave conversation was Abi. She walked next to Raphael and pelted him with questions. I guess her inquisitive mind was never content with the abrupt answers he kept giving her. I smiled as they chatted behind me. During our lessons she was always asking questions, which meant I always had to have an answer to feed her, even if it was a diversion. I guess all students are the same and the ones who didn’t ask questions were either dumb or confident enough to be able to find the answers by themselves. Knowing full well that Abi would try to get answers herself, and break my stuff in the process, I had opted to act as her supernatural version of Wikipedia.

I slowed my pace enough to eavesdrop on them and watch Raphael sweat under the constant barrage. This was fun. Who knew all it took to make an angelic superpower nervous was a perky redhead with a boatload of questions?

This particular round of the quiz was about something philosophical. I didn’t quite get the beginning but I did hear Raphael try to explain the nature of existence. I guess he was talking from an angel’s perspective, because the answer he gave was pure bullshit.

“We are based on optimum functionality, each with a specific use. We are all synchronized, acting as one. As such we have no flaws,” he told Abi. “That is the nature of a society and that is the nature of Heaven.”

“But that doesn’t make any sense,” she countered. “What you’re describing is something that simply cannot work. Even if you were that efficient, the fact that you are so good will eventually begin to decay your productivity. That, by its own definition, is the antithesis of synchronicity. Your society would fail simply because you can’t keep up with it.”

Raphael shook his head. “You are judging us by human standards. There is a reason why angels are above humans. We have achieved perfection. Anything less than that is simply cast out and replaced with a more efficient model.”

“What about individuality?” I asked. I know, I surprised myself too. I guess I got a little too absorbed in their conversation.

Angels were some of the most secretive guys out there. Think the NSA, CIA, and the Freemasons all rolled in one. Heck, I had been in this business for nearly a decade and only last year I actually got to interact with one of them. It was in my blood to be interested in all things supernatural. Whether I liked it or not, I am an Ashendale and we lived off of this stuff.

“Yeah,” I said, as if trying to reassure my right to ask a question. “What about individuality? You guys are all different. When I saw you and Jehudiel it was too evident. So what’s the deal there? If you’re all different, then you’re just like us.”

Raphael cocked his head amusingly. “Jehudiel and I may have different traits but we are no different in function. Individuality implies an individual, the utmost form of selfishness. And while, as you said, we are all unique and autonomous, we are not capable of individuality.”

“You’re a hive mind?”

“Of course not. We simply share and follow the greater good as dictated by our Creator. We understand our purpose, Wizard, and we are completely devoted to that purpose. There are no individuals in Heaven. A lone entity has no place in perfection.”

“Will you stop throwin’ that word around, you moron?” Amaymon had returned and apparently decided to weigh in on the argument in his own tactful fashion.

He stepped in front of the angel, just enough to interrupt his regular pace. “Wake up and smell the coffee, Featherface. Ain’t nothin’ perfect in this universe. Not the angels, not demons, not even these meatheads. Hell, not even someone as super-awesome as I am,” he said as he opened his arms wildly, hitting me in the shoulder and nearly whipping the angel in the face.

“I thought you said you were awesome,” I said. “When did you go super?”

“Got a promotion last week,” he shot back. “I got more awesome on top of my already large pile of awesome. You had to be there.”

“You can evolve?” I asked, half-joking. “You mean, can you learn shit? Like, not watching pay-per-view porn?”

“Yes, I can but I won’t,” he said with a shrug. “You won’t get me a hooker and the only succubus around is off-limits.”

“Hey!” Abi interjected. “I have a name.”

“And I have needs,” Amaymon replied with mock exasperation.

“You’re a cat. You can lick your own balls,” I said. “Besides didn’t you say change is a human thing?”

“Nah, I said what you think is change is human,” he explained. “Perspective and emotion: those are human areas. But pure change, nah. Change is the very essence of chaos. And chaos—well, that’s demon turf.”

***

The one thing I was really looking forward to was introducing Raphael to Gil. When my sister was in a bad mood, she made me look like a Girl Scout. Even in her neutral state, Gil was snobby, dismissive, and cold. I couldn’t wait until Raphael tried his holier-than-thou shit on her and got his head bitten off. Must be some kind of record to get owned by two pixie-sized girls in one afternoon.

She was standing in front of the mansion gate and I pitched up to her, grinning like an idiot.

“Hey Gil, wanna meet an angel?”

She strode past me, walked up to Raphael, and bowed her head slightly. “I was expecting you, emissary of Heaven.”

“The warlock,” Raphael acknowledged.

“How the hell did you know he would show up?” I asked her. I couldn’t hide the disappointment in my voice.

I was so looking forward to watching Raphael squirm, but the universe wouldn’t even give me that one.

Instead, Gil cocked one eyebrow at me. “It’s my business to know. Now come inside.”

We followed her through the mansion gates and through the front doors. The entrance was busy, with maids and servants running about like ants. Once they saw us approaching, they disappeared inside adjoining rooms.

Once inside Gil pointed at the coat hanger. “That’s for you, Erik.”

I followed the direction she was pointing at and laid eyes on something truly beautiful. It was a black leather coat, with a series of intricate sewing lines decorating the garment with various symbols and markings, giving it a dramatic feel. As I pulled it off the hanger, the faintest tinge of leather filled my nostrils, and the material felt soft and sleek against my fingers.

“That’s real leather,” Gil said. “A few dead monsters gave their hides to make that, but one cannot argue with the quality of the end result. Happy birthday, brother.”

I removed the dark brown aviator jacket I had been forced to wear since the Pyromancer melted my previous trench coat and put on this new thing of beauty. It was cool and light, and fit me like a second skin.

“I didn’t get you anything,” I said, suddenly feeling guilty—and more than a little confused. The last time my sister and I exchanged gifts was for our fifteenth birthday. By the time we turned sixteen, everything had gone down the crapper.

Gil waved me off.

“I didn’t know it was your birthday,” Abi said.

“It’s not,” I replied. “Not technically.” Feeling the need to elaborate I looked my apprentice in the eye and said, “Our birthday is on the twenty-ninth of February. I get an actual birth day every four years.”

“Wow. How does that work?”

“I host a cocktail party on either the twenty-eight, or the first of March,” Gil replied. “To which I invite Erik every single year.”

“And I keep telling you,” I said, “I don’t celebrate birthdays.”

“Why not?” Abi asked.

“When we were born, our mother died,” I replied, with a look that told her to drop the subject.

Ever since finding my mother’s coffin and the whole deal with our father and Crowley plotting to kill us, I always remembered it as ‘the day my mother died’ rather than ‘the day I showed up.’

“Living in the past will kill you, Erik,” Gil chided.

“Look who’s talking,” I said, pointing at the olive-green cloak she had draped around her shoulders. It hugged her body like a cape, with an intricate white-gold clasp on the front. “You can’t get more old school than that.”

The first warlock leaders used to wear cloaks to symbolize different clans. And when the last warlock clan—the Ashendales, my ancestors—died out, that practice died with them. This was one of Gil’s efforts to amalgamate the old traditions with new ones. Although I had no idea what the color was supposed to mean. Maybe my sister just had a weird fashion sense.

“Do humans always banter uselessly like this?” Raphael asked.

“Yeah,” Amaymon replied. “Helps fill their short, meaningless lives.”

“Thanks, man,” I said, cocking an eyebrow. “But Chuckles over there is right,” I continued, nodding at the angel. “Don’t we have a couple of dimensions to keep from smashing into each other or something?”

My sister nodded. “We’ve had reports of geo-thermal activity and tectonic plate shifting.”

“English, please.”

“The Earth is shifting because something that doesn’t belong is forcing its way in,” Gil explained in her most patronizing voice. “We’ve also noticed something else. An electromagnetic signal is being transmitted before every shift.”

“Someone is using a computer to make this happen?” Abi asked.

“Must be one hell of a computer,” I added. “So basically if we find the source of the signal, we find the entire setup. We take it out, and no more dimensions bumping into each other. Problem solved, right?”

Gil rolled her eyes. “Very crudely put, but yes.”

“Is the Sin responsible for this?” Raphael’s voice had a menacing tone to it, as if the guy was actively looking for a fight.

“It is possible,” Gil said. “I don’t know.”

“Only one way to find out,” I said. “Where’s the signal coming from?”

“Chicago.”

“Chicago Park?” As I said that I began making calculations: couple hours’ drive, maybe get a motel somewhere. If all went well, it would be over in a few days and, the best part, it was close by. “Good,” I said. “I hate traveling.”

“No, Erik,” Gil said, shaking her head. Was she smirking? “Chicago. The city.”

I blinked at her twice. My hopes for a comfortable drive and maybe a long weekend were taking a while to fully shatter.

“Chicago?” I echoed. My sister nodded. She was definitely smirking now.

“Oh, good,” I said, my voice full of sarcasm. “I’m so glad it’s somewhere close by.”

Chapter 8

If it weren’t for the load of information Gil insisted we look at and the incessant talking between Abi and Jack, it would have been a relaxing flight. But I could forget relaxing when I was with this crew.

Gil had us all board her private jet. When the hell did she get a private jet? I mean, I remembered a limo and a lot of those military trucks, but a freaking jet?

Jack had joined us for this one. It had been a while since I’d seen the metal elemental, what with him practically running a blacksmith’s shop and all. Last I had spoken to him, he was making his employer, a grizzled old gunsmith by the name of Bob, swear in awe as the kid whipped up gun after gun after a few hours of studying the blueprints. He was one of my proudest achievements. When I first met him, Jack was a street kid, hired by my own sister to stall me. And by stall me I mean use various metallic weapons generated from his blood to cripple me. I took a chance on him and it paid off. He’d been my second apprentice for a few months before Abi became too… distracting for him. Besides, the kid had no actual magic powers, not in the spell-casting sense, anyway. All elementals need is practice, not the textbook kind of training Abi needed at the time. So I let him do his thing on his own and checked up on him every couple of months. Without a succubus around, the kid had progressed well. I didn’t blame him, though. Abi was a walking distraction to anyone with a functioning libido.

But I called him up for this mission. Usually I could handle Abi and Amaymon, but with a psycho angel around, there were just one too many loose ends to this case than I was usually comfortable with.

The extra firepower would come in handy, too.

“You have two missions.” Despite her small stature, Gil managed to loom over us at the table where she gave us our mission briefing. “Retrieve the Etherium Key and stop the two dimensions from colliding.”

“What about the Sin?” I asked. “Don’t wanna have to lug around Twitchy over there without a target to set him on.”

Raphael glared at me. “I shall carry out my holy mission.”

“See what I gotta work with?”

Gil waved at both of us with one irritable gesture. “I need you all to focus. These guys aren’t joking about.” She straightened up. “What do you know of a game called Verdant Moon?”

I snorted. “What is that, like a computer game?”

Abi shook her head. “It is a computer game,” she said, in a tone that reminded me a lot of my sister’s patronizing voice. “It’s this year’s top MMORPG.”

See, this is why I didn’t get today’s generation: they changed the English language. How am I supposed to keep up?

“English, Abi. What’s an MMO-whatever you said?”

She rolled her eyes. “MMORPG. Stands for massive multiplayer online role playing game. Basically a bunch of guys go online and play the same game but with different characters. Verdant Moon is the most popular game this year. What about it?” she asked Gil.

“The location where the electromagnetic pulse is coming from matches the location where one of the main game servers is located,” my sister replied.

Abi frowned. “That has to be a coincidence. I hear the game manufacturers gave all profits to charity. They can’t be bad guys.”

Amaymon sneered in her direction. “Yeah. And every Nigerian prince is just a good Samaritan asking for money to double your savings.”

“Maybe they’re good guys,” she countered. “I used to date one of the guys who beta-played for them. The guy wouldn’t even kill spiders, let alone plot universal destruction.”

“Hang on,” I said. “First off, I thought I told you never to trust anyone, ever. Second, you date?”

“Erik, you’re not privy to what I do in my personal life.”

“Yeah, I know, but I figured you’d say something if you had a boyfriend.”

She actually blushed a little. “He wasn’t my boyfriend. It was more like a-”

“A hook up? Booty call?” Amaymon interjected. He was smirking wide. “Bang pal?”

“I was going to say fling,” she growled at the demon.

I held up my hands. “You know what? You’re right. It’s your business, and I don’t wanna know.”

“Regardless,” Gil said with more than just a hint of annoyance in her voice. “It is a priority to investigate the creators of the game.”

“What’s so special about it?” I asked.

“A common wizard would not notice,” she replied, “but to a trained warlock, the similarities are evident. Someone is using real-life monsters and events in a fictitious setting. It wouldn’t be the first time, nor will it be the last.”

“I still think it’s a coincidence,” Abi said.

“It’s a coincidence worth investigating,” my sister curtly replied. “A secret society of high-class magic users acting as terrorists and previously unheard of, steal a world-shunting device, and at the same time, the signals from the game’s server spike, matching dimensional rifts. That is beyond coincidence and into the realm of cause and effect.”

She looked to me. “Erik, investigate them. Track down the creators and beta testers. If anyone has any useful intelligence, it’s likely to be them. Follow the signal and, if the game is at all connected to this Black Ring Society, shut them down. Stick together. Don’t split up. And whatever you do, don’t screw this up any worse than it already is.”

***

“We’re splitting up,” I said.

It was half an hour after touchdown, and we had found an airport café with some decent muffins.

“Didn’t your sister specifically ask you not to make this any worse?” Amaymon was eating three bagels at once. I don’t know how he does it. “Splitting up is always a bad idea.” He smiled at me, dripping crumbs and condiments. “Let’s do it.”

I gave the team the look, the kind the fearless leader usually gives his team as he says something cool like ‘let’s kick some ass.’

“Abi, Jack, you guys head over to Abi’s friend’s place,” I said.

Jack smiled a lot, while she gave me a look of reproach. I had decided it was best to put the two of them together for that area of investigation. They understood the lingo and the tech-gaming-geeky crap. Besides, I had been told I had no manners. And now that I knew one of the guys was ‘friendly’ with Abi, I was pretty sure she would be able to get whatever she wanted out of him, no problem.

“Amaymon,” I continued, turning to my familiar. “I need you at the docks.”

Before the plane took off, and she went back to her duties, Gil had given us satellite images of some type of sea monster coming from Lake Michigan. It started out with one at first, some bizarre humanoid, fish-man, but now we were getting reports of more. The docks were far enough from civilization for the demon to cut loose without harming anyone if need be.

He nodded, hopefully understanding my intentions.

“And that leaves the two of us,” I told Raphael. He seemed just as happy about that as I was. But that guy needed someone to keep him from going berserk, and I could take him on. I mean, sure, Amaymon would be more suited but he would probably cause more collateral damage than a nuke, which left me with little choice.

We all have to take one for the team, I thought.

“We’re tracking down the location of the electromagnetic pulse,” I told the angel. “If there’s a chance we will encounter the Sin, it’s there.”

The angel grunted in response.

“I need you to listen to me, Featherface. You stay with me at all times. You do not smite anyone. You do not display magic or power in any way, shape, or form.” I glared at him. “In fact, don’t even speak to anyone. Over this side we rely on secrecy, and you promised Jehudiel you’d abide by our methods.”

Raphael gave me a look as if he had been forced to swallow a handful of centipedes, and reluctantly nodded. “I will abide by your rules.”

I let out a short sigh of relief. It was short, since I didn’t fully trust him, but it was relief nonetheless because angels aren’t known for breaking their word. Unlike humans or demons, they do not understand the concept of lying.

Of course, I still wouldn’t put it past him if he decided to smite me on the spot.

“All right,” I said, looking at my team and grinning. “Let’s go kick some ass.”

Chapter 9

According to Gil’s information, the main server for Verdant Moon was in an apartment somewhere close by. During the entire thirty-minute cab ride to the park where the strongest signal was coming from, neither I, nor Raphael said much to one other. Why bother with this guy? He didn’t like me, and I sure as hell did not like him. All the while I kept thinking of the bullshit we were fed as kids, all that crap about angels being pure and awesome. Whoever came up with that assumption had clearly never met this particular angel.

The building we were looking for was an average apartment complex. A brownstone building among other brownstone buildings. It sat on a busy street, hugged tightly on both sides by its peers and overlooking the park where we stopped the cab. I made Raphael sit still on a park bench with me while I scouted out the place.

I was not one for video games. Hell, the only reason I was on Facebook was because Abi insisted on putting me there. But I did know there was a shit-ton of money being made in that industry and that was something I did understand. Verdant Moon was supposed to be this underground game where some nerds get to meet other nerds and pretend they were really in Narnia or something, instead of their parents’ basement. And with the game making millions, one would assume that the main server would be put in some high-tech security facility, and not a shitty apartment in downtown Chicago.

Hello, red flag number one.

Red flag number two was of a more observational nature: no one was coming in or out of the complex. Not so much as a freaking mailman. No one showed up and no one left. It was not possible for people in this century to be that organized and coordinated. That is, unless they were in league with each other.

I turned to the angel. “That building over there,” I said, pointing at the location. “Can you tell me if there are any people in there?”

The angel gave the brownstone a perfunctory glance. “There are a total of fourteen humans, twelve male and two female.” He frowned. “Would you like to know any more details? I can tell you all about their fantasies and intentions. Quite sinful.”

“I really don’t care if some kids are getting laid before exchanging jewelry,” I said. “Just tell me if they’re part of the Black Ring Society.”

I could actually feel his rage flowing towards me. “They are all sinners,” he said. “Everyone here is a sinner.”

Okay, this guy was no help at all.

I stood up. “I’ll take that as a yes. You sit tight. I’ll be back in two shakes.”

The angel stood up as well. “I was assigned to destroy the Sin.”

“And you will.” I sighed. “But those kids in there are just some gang who think it’s cool to play video games all day and steal shiny stuff that makes things go boom. And you want to destroy them. So here’s how this is gonna play.” I put on my best Gil face, the same one she uses to intimidate me. “Sit your ass out here and enjoy the sunshine. Do not interact with humans. Do not move at all. Just stay put while I deal with this human issue. Once we find the Sin, which is certainly not in there, then you are free to cut loose and go about your business. Deal?”

The angel looked at my hand as if it were made out the plague. “I do not stoop so low as to make agreements with humans. You are free to do whatever it is you want to do with your species. I will not interfere.” With that, he sat down and glared at the park’s population of kids and soccer moms.

“Okay, then,” I said, walking away before either one of us decided to snap the other’s head off.

I did not ring the doorbell, but I did stab the key hole. Swords have the same effect as keys on a door, unless you wanted to close them afterwards.

Apartment seventeen, I recalled.

I had to play this stealthily and take out anyone who saw me. If Raphael was right, then all of these guys were in league with each other and could blow this whole thing up in smoke.

But a few minutes of lurking around made me realize I had nothing to worry about. Here was what I found out: video games were a huge distraction from intruders. They could have been robbed on the spot, and never be any wiser. Turns out trying to kill the angry tentacle demon with a chainsaw and a sawed-off shotgun takes a lot of brain space.

“Hey dude, you one of the new guys?” The voice came from a doorway about three doors down from where I wanted to be. He looked malnourished and grizzled, and maybe in his early twenties.

I stopped and stared at him, waiting to see his reaction. I kept my body loose, ready to knock him out, but I wanted to avoid alerting the others if possible.

“Nice coat, brah,” he said as he took a drag from the joint he held between his thumb and forefinger. “You seen the pizza guy?”

“Hey, Tony, who is it?”

I heard his companion come up from his chair and walk towards the door. And judging from the steady beat of his footsteps, this new guy wasn’t stoned out of his mind.

I thrust out my palm against the stoned guy, throwing him against the door ledge. The momentum threw me inside and I stopped face to face with the second guy. He clutched a TV remote in one hand and was already in mid-swing. I blocked, struck the side of his neck, and swung his arm behind him in a lock. Carrying him forwards, I slammed his forehead against the wall. The kid crumpled down, unconscious.

The stoned guy was still in the doorway. Before he could see anything, I kicked him in the groin. Stoner guy bent forwards, and I swung an uppercut for his jaw. The guy’s eyes rolled into his head and he comically swayed from side to side, still clutching his joint. I gently laid the now-unconscious stoned guy inside the apartment and shut the door as I left.

Exactly three seconds later, I knocked on the door of apartment seventeen. Another wiry teen came to greet me.

“Yeah, what now?” he said, obviously not expecting me.

In one swift motion, I grabbed him in a headlock, spun him around, and pressed my gun against his head.

“Playtime’s over, kids,” I said with a snarl as I pushed him through and kicked the door shut.

Inside were three similar guys, all sitting behind computer screens. On the far left was a giant table with some kind of box that had a lot of blinking lights. The server, no doubt.

“Dude, what the hell?” one of them said. My gun went straight for his face, and he backed down.

“Donny, don’t move. We’ll do whatever you want, man,” said the one closest to the server.

“Smart guy,” I told him. “Same goes for the rest of you. Don’t move, and we all walk outta here.”

“We don’t have anything here,” croaked the guy I was currently strangling.

“Donny, you’re being choked and have a gun to your head,” I told my hostage. “You really shouldn’t be talking.”

Donny fell silent.

“So,” I said. “Who here is a magic-user? You guys all adepts or something?”

The one next to the server shook his head. “We don’t have anything to do with that weird shit, man. That’s Luke’s gig. He’s in the other room.”

One of them started moving towards the door, and I tracked him with my gun. “Don’t be stupid, kid.”

He snarled at me. “Tough guy with a gun. I’m a black belt in Karate. Why don’t you put the gun away, and we’ll see how much of a man you are?”

Great, a Karate Kid wannabe. Well, who am I to deny the kid a chance to shine?

I slammed the butt of my gun against Donny’s skull, hitting him with enough force to knock him out without leaving too much brain damage.

Then I holstered my gun. “You asked for it, kid.”

Karate Kid took a fighting stance in front of me. I was taller than he was, so that ruled out any high kick. He’ll probably go for the most basic combination he knew, I guessed. His right foot lashed out into a low roundhouse kick. I lifted my knee and the kick swept harmlessly under my foot. His left cross was already shooting towards my cheek. I swept my arm up to intercept his swing and diverted the punch from my face. Grabbing with my left hand, I drove the edge of my right hand into his temple. With the same hand, I grabbed his face and drove him backwards. Before he could recover I shot my knee upwards and into his spine. Karate Kid spasmed once and fell over.

“Is he…?” asked the kid next to the server.

“Dunno. Don’t care.” I kicked Karate Kid slightly, and he moaned softly. “Nope. Guess he’s tougher than he looks. Probably won’t walk for a while, though.”

The gun was back in my hand. “So where was I? Oh, yeah. You were saying something about magic?”

“We don’t have anything to do with that weird stuff. We just make the game, man.”

From my peripheral vision, I saw the second kid inch towards the door again. My gun snapped in his direction without taking my eyes off of the kid by the server.

“Really? After what happened to your friend?”

The kid froze and lowered himself against the wall.

I turned back to the server kid. “You just write code, huh? Why would the Black Ring guys be interested in you then? What’s so special about your game?”

“I really don’t know, man. Something about a special code and recruitment.”

“What special code?”

The kid by the door moved again. This time I sidestepped and kicked him hard in the sternum. He doubled over in pain.

“Told you not to move.”

The one by the server grabbed a black flash drive. “It’s all in here. This is the code they made us build the game on. Here, take it.”

I snatched the flash drive and dropped it in my pants pocket. Then I grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him close. “Do you know what you’re involved in? These guys are bad news. People are getting hurt.”

“I just write code, man,” he mumbled.

“Go write it for someone else.” I pointed my gun at the consoles. “Shut this off. Now!”

He nodded and immediately turned to the consoles. At the same time, footsteps echoed from outside, and I turned, just in time to see the door being kicked open.

Chapter 10

“Hey, what the fuck’s up with all the noise in here?” A taller, older guy strode inside.

It took a second for him to register the unconscious people in the room and the tall guy—me—in a leather jacket holding a gun to the last one.

I recognized him immediately. Luke, the Pyromancer who burnt me to a crisp and stole my sister’s Etherium Key, walked in with the same piss-blond hair, and an attitude that made me want to punch him in the face over and over again.

“Nice to see you again, Luke,” I said flippantly.

He glared at me, recognizing me as well. “You.”

“Me,” I replied, bringing my gun around. As I pulled the trigger, the kid tapping on the console bolted towards the bathroom and knocked off my aim. The bullet struck Luke in the shoulder, leaving a wide gash.

“Ow! Motherfucker!” he yelled, snapping his hands forward.

I was expecting fire like last time and moved in front of the server. Surely he wouldn’t risk blowing it up?

His attack wasn’t fire but a blast of scorching air. Clearly, he couldn’t care less about the server. The blast hit me in the chest, lifting me off the ground and tossing me out the window—a full three-floor drop.

I careened in the air and fell on my back on a pile of trash cans.

“Dude!”

I looked up to see two teens with their heads popping out of their own window. If their eyes were any indication of their mental state, then these two were soaring the skies like no tomorrow.

“There’s a dead guy in the trash, man.”

I groaned at them and sat upright. My shoulder felt weird. I popped it back in place, like I had done so many times in the past, and began pulling glass shards from my body. By the time I stood upright, I was already fully healed and pulling out Djinn.

“Whoa, man,” one of them exclaimed seriously to the other. “I really gotta lay off the acid.”

I walked to the front door and extracted my gun. Already, people had gathered at the sound of broken glass, and panic began spreading when they saw me with gun and sword. I fired off a couple of rounds into the air, scaring off everyone in the vicinity.

Luke descended in a jet of fire. “You really can’t get it through your thick skull, huh? I kicked your ass last time. I can do so again.” He threw a blast of fire, and I rolled aside.

I swung my sword at him, sending a streak of azure energy towards him. Luke was sent crashing into the stairs by the front door of their apartment building.

“I’m a slow learner,” I replied.

Even lying on the ground he managed to throw another fireball, but it was a weak one, weak enough for me to slice through with my sword and close the distance between us. I stomped on his shins to stop him from crawling away. He turned and thrust with both hands. I expected another blast of fire. Instead, he pointed two fingers at my shoulders and something thin and hot pierced through. He swung his fingers down and the concentrated flames cut through me like a blowtorch. It hurt like hell but this kid hadn’t yet figured out that I could heal from almost anything. My flesh began mending itself the moment the flames moved away.

I wrapped my arm around his hands, trapping them under my elbow, and drove Djinn into his shoulder.

“Go fuck yourself,” I snarled.

“I’d rather fry you.”

A blast of fire shot straight into my back and I loosened my grip. He pulled his arms out and brought them together in front of my chest. Heat and fire began building up into a single point between his palms, and he drove all that energy into me. The blast was enough to send me flying backwards, slamming into a wall nearly ten feet away. Even Luke was thrown backwards, but he absorbed the blast better.

He got up and blanketed the entire area in flames. I took shelter behind a few trash cans, but I was in too much pain to fight until I healed a little. Given the intense light of the fire spell, he probably didn’t see me take cover. Before I could decide how to counterattack, his phone went off and a Taylor Swift song started playing from inside Luke’s jacket. As if I didn’t have enough reason to hate this guy already.

“Hello,” he said casually. “Yeah. Yeah, I made Donny switch over to the servers in New York and Jersey. Some asshole keeps coming after us. Yeah, the same guy from the convoy. How the hell am I supposed to know how they found us? You were in charge of security, for fuck’s sake. I got stuck babysitting some idiots. Where are we meeting next? Okay, got it. Lemme finish up here, and I’ll get back to you.”

He spun and met my fist with his teeth.

“Thanks for the info, asshole,” I said.

Luke wiped blood from his swollen lips and fire danced around his entire arms. “Ready for round two?”

“Bring it on, bitch,” I replied.

But round two was interrupted when a blast of magic, stronger than anything we were slinging around, erupted from the park.

Luke and I were both top-notch magic users. We were used to serious firepower, stuff that would have the average wizard running for the hills. But despite our powers, Luke and I were both human, and so was our magic.

What we felt coming from that park was definitely not human. This was something so powerful, so vast that it had to have been from somewhere else. It felt as if the sky was falling on top of us and there was nothing we can do about it. As if the planet itself could not contain the vast powers of whatever phenomenon was displaying such awesome magic.

“I’m outta here,” Luke said, as he turned and began running away.

“Like hell,” I said and fired my gun at him. I missed him as he lifted himself into the air with a jet of fire. I shot him again, this time getting his hand. His cell phone exploded.

He turned in the air, jets of flame shooting from his feet. “You fucker, that was my good phone.”

I dodged a fireball.

“Didn’t like the ringtone,” I said, shooting at him again.

The vast power flared up again, and Luke struggled to stay airborne.

“This ain’t over, dipshit,” he yelled and took off with a burst of fire.

Magic flared again, and my power reacted to it. Tendrils of darkness began slowly building up from my body, like ink blotting my outline. In my enhanced state, I began searching for the source of the foreign power. It was still in the park and definitely not human, although it felt somewhat familiar. Not the corruption of demons and the Sins, but rather the searing light of angels.

I groaned. This is exactly why you don’t bring psychotic angels with severe anger issues out on missions, Erik, I thought, as I bolted towards the park.

Chapter 11

“Hey, hey!” I yelled.

Raphael completely ignored me. He was close enough for me to see him grab a middle-aged man by the collar and rip him in half. The entire park soon erupted in screams as blood showered everyone in the vicinity. The crowd came rushing out from the easiest entrance, which happened to be where I was standing. People were now caught in between a mad man who had literally just ripped a guy in half and me, the weird dude covered in black shadows and carrying a short sword drenched in blood.

I pushed past them and reached Raphael. “What the hell are you doing?”

He turned and his wings flared, a pair of supernovas that bathed everywhere in light. “Sinners. All are sinners.”

I concentrated on my own power, and darkness rose from my body like overflowing water. For a second, light and darkness battled each other and the pressure of power drowned out the screams of people. Screw subtlety; this fluffy-winged fucker was on a murder spree.

“Back down, Raph,” I warned, lifting my sword.

Instantly, I was blasted away into a lamppost. I felt it bend over my back and snap.

“Do not mock my name!” Power emanated from him and I began feeling nauseous. At the same time, Raphael’s form shimmered.

“That man was a pedophile, a perverted molester, hunting for his next victim. I have enacted holy justice upon him.” His eyes glowed deep red. “As I shall do to everyone here. You shall all be judged, and only the righteous will prevail.”

His form disappeared, and he teleported next to a woman. “You are an adulteress.”

She screamed and burst into ashes.

Next was a man who still clutched his phone pathetically.

“Liar!”

And he dissolved as well.

Raphael appeared next to an entire family. He raked the air, and the father was ripped to shreds. “You have made your daughter abort her child.” He looked at the mother. “You stood by, calling down the name of Our Father.”

“I’m innocent,” she screamed, before she was set ablaze and reduced to ashes.

“Liar!” Raphael screamed. Then he teleported to the other side of the park and grabbed a child by the neck. The little girl struggled, but every movement just made the scorch marks around her neck burn deeper.

“You were conceived out of wedlock. Bastard!”

A whip of darkness shot from my outstretched hand and sliced into his arm, cutting off the entire limb. Raphael took a step backwards, clearly not expecting someone to be as powerful as he was. Keeping my momentum, I used the dark power to boost my leg muscles and closed the distance between us. I lunged for the girl, pushing us both away from the crazy angel.

“Run,” I told the girl as I set her down. “All of you,” I screamed at the rest of the park’s population. “Run!”

People snapped out of their daze and made a run for it.

“Sinners! You will perish,” Raphael roared.

“Shut the fuck up.” A blast of blue energy shot from Djinn and into his face.

The angel, with all that immense power, turned his attention to me. “You dare go against Heaven’s principles?”

“What principles? All I see is a homicidal monster.”

“I am an angel!”

“Stand down before I put you down.”

I may have said that with enough confidence, but it was just a bluff. True, I had no idea just how deep my own power ran, but I doubted I could have survived an encounter with an angel, especially a Virtue. This guy was possibly one of the strongest beings in the universe.

And he decided to call my bluff.

His giant wings flared. Trees, benches, even trash cans, were all evaporated and all that was left was a giant black scorch mark where he stood.

“You are the biggest sinner of all. And I shall cleanse you.”

“Cleanse this.” I threw one streak of energy and immediately followed it with another, but both fizzled out before they could reach him. No matter, they were just distractions. I bolted towards him. The one thing big guys don’t expect is for the little guy to just charge towards them.

Djinn was over twice its regular size now, with a fat blue blade that made it look like it belonged in an action cartoon.

Before I could try and take his head off, Raphael disappeared… along with the ground beneath him.

I was swallowed by the gaping black hole. Black tendrils shot from every part of my body and grabbed the surface of the ground, pulling me back up like a bungee jumper. Raphael appeared directly above me, emanating fire and light. Still in mid-air I channeled the obsidian power into Djinn and stabbed at the angel. A giant spear of midnight black shot from the sword’s tip and impaled one of his wings. I felt his power distort and the black hole was replaced by the original ground. Raphael roared and was suddenly in front of me, still in mid-air and descending. I channeled the black power into my fist. The angel was too close for either of my weapons to work.

Before I could hit him, a bolt of lightning pierced through me. I gasped for breath.

Raphael gathered fire and lightning in his hand until there was a ball of plasma energy crackling in his palm. He thrust it against my chest. I was sent crashing down into the ground. I skidded across the ground and dug a giant hole in the middle of the destroyed park.

Every part of my body was in pain and it was a miracle I was still breathing. Three cheers for awesome healing powers. But there was no way could I fight in this condition, and even at full strength, this guy was too much for me.

And he knew it, too.

The angel gracefully descended a few feet away from me. He folded his incandescent wings and raised his dominant hand. Fire and lightning gathered once more and formed a cruciform sword. He came on top of me and raised his weapon.

“By order of Heaven’s justice, I purify you,” he said ominously.

His blade fell, going straight for my head…

And clashed against a sturdy, dark metallic sword coming out of a guy’s arm. The newcomer winked at me.

“That’s one you owe me, Teach,” Jack said with a big grin.

Jack heaved and pushed Raphael’s flaming sword away.

“Abi, now!”

An eighteen-wheeler appeared out of nowhere and smashed into the angel, carrying him away. Abi jumped out of the driver’s seat and rolled away to safety, just as the truck crashed into a wall and Raphael got squashed.

She smirked. “Not bad for a surprise attack, huh?”

“Yeah.” I stood up and found my sword again. “Gotta give you points for the timing on that one.”

Light came from where the truck had squashed the angel, and I felt Raphael’s magic flare up again. The truck was sent hurtling towards us. Black tendrils emanated from my body and circled the airborne vehicle, holding it in the air like a javelin.

“Abi, pull some illusions and stay back. Jack, suit up and go for ambush tactics. Hit and run, don’t trade blows with him. Our plan is to stall him until we get backup.”

“Backup?” Abi asked.

“Gil will probably send reinforcements,” I replied, hoping that was the case. Magical spikes like this were like giant neon signs. Even if she tried to, there was no way my sister would miss it. And besides, I wouldn’t be surprised if this epic fight was already on the internet by now.

Social media is a bitch.

Jack and Abi nodded and fell into position.

I sent the truck back at him, but Raphael just blew it into dust. Jack appeared out of nowhere, right under the angel’s wings, in his full transformation. He was covered head to toe in dark metal armor and had a long, thick blade coming out from his right forearm. He slashed at the angel, drawing a gash of golden ichor, and disappeared again.

I saw two perfect copies of myself materialize and run towards the angel, one to the left and the other to the right. Meanwhile, I felt a blanket of magic cover me. Abi was glamouring me, shielding me from sight. Jack appeared behind the angel again, this time quite a distance away. His arm turned into a spike which shot out like a spear. At the same time I covered the distance in a single leap and magically engorged Djinn into the size of a broadsword.

The pincer attack was perfectly coordinated, but before our attacks could find their marks, the angel let out an omnidirectional blast of light. I was thrown backwards, Jack’s metal construct became dust, and the two illusions disappeared.

“You,” Raphael said, walking towards Abi. “You dare use your cheap tricks on me, you filthy harlot?”

In a flash of light, he was on her. Abi’s own channel, a golden staff, smashed into him and sent him reeling.

“More unholy sorcery?” he roared. The angel’s hand was on his forehead where Abi had struck him. Sun Wo Kung sure packed one hell of a punch.

Abi twirled the staff around her, its size adjusting with every spin. For a second, I actually thought she was going to play defensive and stick to the plan.

Wrong.

She disobeyed my direct order of ‘do not engage’ and lunged at Raphael. His flaming sword parried and blasted her away. Fire surged around her.

“You shall pay for your sins.”

I thrust my hand out and a giant black arm slapped him aside. I drove my magic arm sideways to the right, where a crescent-shaped energy beam shot from my own sword and met him head on. The blast ripped off one of his wings, and he screamed.

At the same time, Jack transformed. He took a wide fighting stance, planting his feet solidly into the ground. Metal struts grew from his ankles and bore into the ground. His entire arm, and part of his neck and shoulder, were plated in sheets of steel. All of the metal covering his body converged into a single construct: an oversized anti-aircraft cannon. He caught me staring at him and grinned widely. Then he took aim and fired at the angel.

The blast shook the ground, but Jack remained steady. The shell was so large I actually saw it traveling the distance: a giant black cylinder spinning in the air.

It blasted into Raphael. His entire right side exploded into a gory mess, showering everywhere with blood and ichor. That gave Abi time to recover and retreat back towards us.

I was beginning to think that we could win against him. Yeah, I was at a disadvantage by myself, but with these two, we actually had a shot—pun intended. It would be a great moral boost if we could actually kick an angel’s ass.

“Had enough?” I yelled, feeling extremely cocky.

Why shouldn’t I? Both these guys were my students. A few months ago, Abi could barely survive a fight with a couple of dumb vampires and after three minutes of using his powers Jack would be close to a coma.

Now, look at them.

The air popped and a pair of flaming wings, larger than the ones I’d seen on him before, flared into the air, draining out all the moisture. It was a strange feeling. The angel wasn’t just a single guy with wings of incandescent, painfully bright light anymore. It was as if he was inside the atmosphere itself.

Jack fell first, unconscious, and his skin began blistering. Abi dropped her staff and gasped for air. She fell face forward on her knees and dropped down in a heap. I felt close to collapsing as well, but something kept pushing me. This black energy was actually an extension of my healing power, which in itself was supposed to be Life magic. I wasn’t as easy to get rid of, but goddammit did it hurt. More than that, I was afraid.

I didn’t want to fight this guy. No, I couldn’t fight this guy. It wasn’t fight or flight anymore—it was the run-the-fuck-away trigger. My first instinct was to save myself, to abandon my team.

No fucking way, I thought. If we were to burn, then we would burn together and take this motherfucker with us.

I gripped my sword tighter and prepared to go down fighting, even if it meant certain death.

Chapter 12

I had been burnt before. I expected searing pain as flesh melted and bones charred. I expected to cringe and bend as I lost my ability to hold myself upright. I expected fire inside my lungs as toxic gasses at high temperatures boiled me from the inside.

What I didn’t expect was an orchestra.

The two demons appeared from opposite sides. Mephisto descended from the heavens like a phantom. His butler suit flapped in the wind as he hovered above us, like an ominous crow. His hands made slow motions in the air and the sounds of violins, flutes, basses, pianos, and cellos—pretty much an entire orchestra of instruments—came from thin air as he waved his hands like a conductor.

The ground rumbled and cracked. Amaymon, in human form, rose from the earth like a zombie with swag. He actually shot out doing some sort of break dance, pop-and-lock routine. He looked up towards his brother in the skies.

“That’s some cool Two Steps from Hell jams, bro,” he called out. “But I think you gotta pimp it up a little. Check this shit out.”

He stomped his feet in rhythm and the resounding boom, boom, crash, boom, boom, crash of ‘We Will Rock You’ echoed throughout the entire park.

“Your taste in music is as appalling as usual,” Mephisto replied with a sigh. “But at least as far as choices go, this certainly isn’t your worst one.” He lowered his gaze, looking down to where the fight with the angel was going on, and cocked an eyebrow. “What a drag. I was hoping to avoid ruining this suit.”

Amaymon stepped in front of me, winking, and looked up to Mephisto once more. “That fucktard’s all mine,” he said. “Just one favor.”

“Yes?”

He turned to face Raphael and cracked his knuckles. “Dubstep that shit.”

His movements were too fast for any of us to keep up with. Amaymon was just a blur, hitting another blur made out of light—Raphael. They would flicker from one spot to another, sending growls, yelps, and cries of pain and effort reverberating throughout the park. Occasionally, something would rip and a massive splatter of blood would blot the area. It was like watching two animals fighting over territory: a messy, primal struggle, far beyond human comprehension. Those two, who were far more powerful than any regular human, magic or not, were going on pure instinct. It was just a drive to do something and devote their entire will to it.

Humans would call that insanity. They called it living.

Finally, they separated and faced each other, standing unnaturally still. Raphael’s wings flared and his sword formed again. Lightning descended from the skies and into his hands, in which he held a raging fire. A massive broadsword, far bigger than he was, formed within the flames, iridescent orange and fiery red. It moved like fire spreading through a forest and crackled like static with every movement of the wind.

Amaymon gave Mephisto a signal, and the latter descended in front of us. We were all grouped together behind him, and Mephisto craned his neck to look at us.

“The things I’m asked to do,” he said with a sigh. Without interrupting the movements of his arms and the music he was conducting, the wind gathered around us and I felt magic within it. It circled us and solidified into a barrier, one solid enough to deflect any collateral damage and still give us a good view of the show Amaymon was putting up.

“Nice sword,” Amaymon mouthed at the angel. “You compensating for something?”

Raphael stomped the ground, and his power went wild. The magical energy was almost too much for me to handle. Even from a distance pain radiated from inside my stomach and an intense pressure began pushing down on my shoulders. It was getting harder and harder to breathe.

But when Amaymon channeled his own power, it came like a tsunami, completely overpowering Raphael’s magic. The ground shook as soil, mud, and rock became alive. Earth climbed around him, covering him from head to toe. More dirt kept piling onto him, increasing his mass. The grotesque stone man he had become grew larger and larger, overshadowing Raphael.

And still, it grew.

The massive stone giant reached skyscraper level and went a little beyond.

“Size does matter, motherfucker!” His voice was so loud it surely must have echoed all the way across the Pacific, not just Chicago.

The ground rumbled with every syllable. Metal garbage bins and sitting benches actually scrunched from the sheer power of Amaymon’s voice. I couldn’t take my eyes off the giant. I mean, less than twenty-four hours ago that dude was my cat. He went from a purring feline to a titanic stone giant that could have used the Washington Monument as a leaning post.

This was no longer a human battle, wizard or not. This had become a schism between two supernatural beings with powers so vast they could literally break the world. This was so far beyond my weight class it wasn’t even funny. And to think I had the audacity to believe I could’ve handled the angel if he went berserk.

Raphael, still in a more or less human shape, looked up at Amaymon’s giant form. He didn’t even flinch once; instead he raised his fiery sword.

“Demon, you shall fall by my holy blade.” Intense fire coalesced around the angel’s blade, massively engorging itself, until it was the size of a bus. Light and heat churned violently, like a supernova going wild.

Raphael swung the massive broadsword, and with every movement the intense heat caused the air to scream in protest. He sliced right into Amaymon’s midsection, the fire smelting through the rock and stone…

…before bouncing back pathetically. There was moment of stunned silence until Amaymon let out a chuckle which shuddered the earth.

“How?” the angel began.

“You playin’ with the big dicks now, dipshit,” Amaymon replied from inside his giant construct, his voice shaking the ground he stood on.

And, then, slowly at first, he lifted one gargantuan leg, as Raphael just stood staring in awe.

“This. Is. Sparta!” Amaymon yelled, before stomping on Raphael with a foot the size of a parking lot.

Upon impact, the ground imploded with the pressure from Amaymon’s giant foot, causing a cave-in. Cracks snaked from the construct’s foot, all the way up its leg, and suddenly the stone giant crumbled like a massive sand castle. Amaymon, in his regular form, emerged from the debris, smirking as usual.

Raphael was on his knees inside the crater. His wings were now only as tall as his regular body and their luminosity nearly gone.

“I will not perish by your hand,” he rasped. “I am an angel, demon, Heaven’s emissary. I am your bane.”

Amaymon rolled his eyes. “Seriously, dude? Just die already.”

“Never!” the angel screamed as he got up, one slow movement at a time.

I had to hand it to him. If not for the near-constant holier-than-thou bullshit, I might have actually admired this guy’s resilience.

But as badass as Raphael was, Amaymon was better. The demon’s form became a blur as Amaymon shot towards the angel with superhuman speed. He struck him once and then retreated.

Raphael summoned his fire sword again, a smaller version.

“You do not fool me, demon,” he said. “You’re as exhausted as I am.” But something was off. I could feel the angel’s power resonate but it had none of its previous out-of-this-world intensity.

“What is this?” Raphael cried. The fire sword disappeared, and Raphael himself began evaporating into dust particles. He struggled against some invisible force that shrunk his body, and it was clear he was losing the battle.

“The problem with you newbies is that you think you’re top of your class and shit,” Amaymon casually said. “What you don’t get is that I got a couple thousand years on you and, on top of that, I been on this shithole a little longer. Try three hundred years, while you’ve been here for only three days, asshole. Might as well call this my home turf.”

“What did you do?” the angel said with a growl.

“I messed with your connection to this realm,” Amaymon replied. “Right now, your very essence is struggling to maintain your form on this plane. In short, I fucked up your sense of space and time, and you can no longer maintain your presence on dear old Earth.” Amaymon stuck out his middle finger at Raphael. “Go back to Anal Plug Land, where all the cogs of society fit and shit. I’ll stay here where we have Disneyland and booze. Sayonara, Fuckface.”

Raphael gave one last cry of pain and doubled his efforts to get up. He lost his balance, and fell on his face, the impact eliciting a scream. Moments later, he exploded into a shower of sparkling lights and disappeared in a blinding flash. All traces of his power left with him and the pressure around the area suddenly lifted. I could breathe normally again. Abi and Jack stirred back to life, and Mephisto, who had remained in the background this entire time, stopped playing music.

“Well, that was certainly amusing,” he remarked.

“Hell yeah,” Amaymon hollered. “Nice tunes, by the way. Makes me almost like you again. Almost.”

“Oh, do be quiet.”

“Enough,” I said, fishing out the USB drive I’d gotten from the apartment. All the information about the Verdant Moon game was on it, as well as whatever high-tech spell the Black Ring Society had weaved into it. “Amaymon, can you tell me what magic is in here?”

He snapped it up and spun it in his palm. “There’s something in here, but I can’t figure it out. Your sister’s the real expert in that.”

“Send it to her,” I ordered.

He turned to Mephisto. “You heard the man.”

Mephisto gave me a dirty look. “Very well.” He swiped the air and a tiny, hole-sized portal appeared out of nowhere. “Please give me the device, brother, and I’ll see to it that it gets delivered.”

Amaymon kept looking at the portal. “That will send this directly to Gil?”

“Yes,” Mephisto replied condescendingly. “Did the fledgling angel hit you so hard you forgot how basic spatial magic works?”

Amaymon smirked at him, before lifting the flash drive and tossing it inside the portal. “Fetch, bitch.”

If looks could kill, Mephisto would have eviscerated Amaymon then and there. Instead he turned his glare towards me. “Control your pet before someone puts him down for you.”

“Whatcha say?” Amaymon growled.

Mephisto gave him the cold shoulder and transformed into a large black dog, nearly the size of a bear.

“Bite me, bitch,” Amaymon spat, flipping his brother off.

The dog turned its snout at him. “Anytime,” Mephisto said exposing his canine fangs, before leaping into the portal. The wormhole closed behind him.

“Do you really gotta piss him off like that?” I asked. “I mean, I ain’t exactly a fan of the guy myself, but he did try to help.”

Amaymon shrugged. “It’s just how my family works. I don’t judge yours, and you don’t judge mine.”

I raised my hands. “Fair enough,” I said, making my way towards Abi and Jack. “Everyone okay?”

“Relatively,” Abi muttered. Jack just nodded.

“You guys feel like sharing what you found?” I asked.

Amaymon stepped in. “Me first. Gotta go kick some ass at that rift by the lake shore.”

“How’s that going?”

He shrugged. “So long as the Etherium Key remains active, the two realities are folding over each other like origami napkins. I can tell you where the dimensional rip is, but I can’t shut it down. This thing is a gaping hole in the fabric of our reality and, trust me, we got a whole crowd of monsters who wanna come visit.” He shrugged and snapped his head towards the direction of the rift. “Gotta jet,” he said. “Welcoming committee is here.”

“Can you handle it?” I asked. “I mean, I know you’re tough and all, but you did just take on an angel.”

He grinned. “You’re kidding, right?” He glanced over to the park behind him, where a pile of useless debris stood testament to his gargantuan spell. “This is the most fun I’ve had all year.” He lightly punched me on the shoulder. “Lemme take care of the visitors. You go find that Etherium Key and shut it down,” he said, lazily walking away. “Hopefully, before those Black Ring fuckers destroy the universe by mistake.”

I looked at Abi and Jack. “You guys good?”

They both nodded.

“Okay, then,” I said. “Let’s go save the world.”

Chapter 13

After following Gil’s directions—she had pinpointed the location of the energy signature from the Etherium Key—Jack, Abi, and I ended up in front of a giant office building. It was five floors tall, with those presumptuous tinted glass panes, which gave the wannabe masters of the world inside a full view of their kingdom and at the same time left the commoners wondering what they looked like.

I hated it on sight.

Once we crossed the entrance, Jack detached from our group to cover the back. I had already decided to do this the ninja way. Bursting head first into enemy territory was always a bad idea, no matter how big a gun you were packing. And that was a lesson I learnt the hard way.

“Find out anything at your boyfriend’s house?” I jokingly asked Abi.

She blushed and gave me a sideways glare. “He’s not my boyfriend. We went out once, and I decided not to call him again,” she snapped defensively.

Wow, talk about sensitive.

“Relax Abi, I’m just joking,” I replied. “Anyway, what did you guys find out?”

“Not much,” she said. “He was being employed by some high-end agency to write code for a game. His team would get a code they had to embed in the system and then run it like any other regular video game.” She pointed at the building. “Guess we found his employer.”

I nodded, and for a while we silently made our way towards the main entrance.

“So what made you drop him?” I had no idea what possessed me to ask that. I mean, I hunt monsters for a living; not the kind of job that impresses most girls. Maybe I have to live vicariously through my more socially-adept apprentice.

I’m also very nosy.

Abi shook her head. “Thought you weren’t going to pry.”

“Just curious.” I looked at her. “Our lifestyle isn’t exactly compatible with the whole falling-in-love and white picket fence scenario.”

“You sound like you’re speaking from experience.”

“Yeah, I’m a regular heartbreaker.”

She let out a giggle. “Well, I met this guy through a friend of mine. Looked like a nice guy so we went out. Only he’s a real geek.” She glanced at me and shook her head. “No, that’s not it. He was just weird. At one point, he got all serious and tried to be philosophical about what he did, saying life is a big game and people who thrived were the ones who could either play really well or just plain cheated.”

“Sounds like some deep shit.”

“Oh, it was shit all right,” she replied. “Anyway, after that, I decided I didn’t want to see him again.” Then she tapped me on the arm. “You know, I disagree with you. I still think it is possible to fall in love and have a normal relationship even in the life we’re living. I choose to believe that.”

I smiled cynically. “You’re young, with only a year’s experience in this business. There’s still time to break you.”

“That’s the saddest thing you have ever said to me.”

It was my turn to laugh. “Okay, then, let’s lighten the mood. You ready to beat down some rich assholes?” I asked, pointing at the giant building in front of us.

She nodded enthusiastically. “Yep. What’s the plan?”

“Nice and quiet. Until it all blows up in our faces. Then we bring the roof down.”

“I hope you don’t mean that literally.”

I didn’t answer on account I wasn’t sure I could keep that promise. Instead, I peered inside the glass pane of the front door. There were only a couple of businessman-types in suits and a pretty girl behind a counter; probably some fresh-out-of-college receptionist.

Oh, great, civilians. Better keep the violence to the minimum.

“Where the heck is everyone?” Abi was mimicking me in scouting the area.

Good question. Places like this were usually flooded with people coming in and out. By comparison, this place looked about as lively as a gravesite.

“Let’s find out,” I said, pulling the door open.

The two guys stared at us for half a second before continuing their conversation. It was too deliberate, too unnatural. I had my fair share of experience with people who thought themselves predators. And the first thing predators do is scout their prey: precisely what these jokers tried to surreptitiously do.

That was two bad guys to one presumably civilian girl.

Let’s see if we get any late converts.

“Hi,” she said.

The girl was attractive, in a too-much-makeup kind of way. Then again, it was probably her job to pretty up the place.

“Hi,” I replied. That’s when I realized that I had no idea who I was supposed to ask for or what excuse we had for being here.

When in doubt, blunt honesty usually worked surprisingly well.

“Is this where Verdant Moon is made?”

She smiled awkwardly. “Sir, do you have an appointment with one of our departments? What’s your name?”

“I’m just looking for the guy in charge,” I replied.

“Sir, you’re going to have to be more specific than that,” she said politely.

I offered her my friendliest smile. “Sure thing.”

The two guys sitting in the lobby were now staring at us, eyeing us with suspicion.

I ignored them and looked at the girl. “They’ll probably have a black ring tattoo somewhere. Oh, and they can use magic.”

Her expression went from polite to utterly confused.

“Hey,” one of the men said. Abi and I turned to face them.

“Who are you, guys?” he asked, getting in my face. His breath smelled and I wrinkled my face.

“I’m here for the same reason you are,” I replied, not moving an inch.

His eyes got wide. “You’re here for the meeting?”

Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner.

Abi looked at me. “Now?”

“Now.”

The heel of my palm smashed into his nose and grabbed his collar with the other one. He began extracting a pistol from his waistband. I grabbed his wrist, twisted it into a lock, and snapped it. The gun fell in my hand. I released the magazine before pulling the slide to relinquish the remaining bullet inside. As I threw the gun away, he reached out and grabbed my leg. I fell towards his chest, digging my knee into his lungs, and struck him hard on the neck. He fell limp on the floor.

Meanwhile Abi kicked her man, took out the Sun Wo Kung staff, and extended it to the length of a baton. She swung it across the man’s knee and then at his head. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.

Abi placed her hand on the secretary’s face and smiled seductively. “You can relax.”

The secretary’s expression went blank.

Abi pulled her close—so close I began having some really dirty thoughts.

“Go to sleep now,” she said, running her fingers down the secretary’s cheek and neck.

The secretary nodded slowly, sat back on her chair and leaned on her desk, resting her head on her folded arms.

“Impressive,” I said.

Abi’s succubus nature usually only worked that easily on guys. And since she was also a hybrid, she used her nature to get some awesome mental powers. Still, to hypnotize a person like that, she must have improved like crazy.

“She a lesbian?” I nodded at the snoring girl.

The apprentice shook her head. “Nope. I’m just that good,” she replied with a gleeful smirk.

“Hey, Sparkles. Rise and shine,” I said, slapping the guy hogtied to a chair.

Abi frowned. “Sparkles?”

“Yeah. What’s wrong with Sparkles? They’re fun.”

“Did you get hit in the head?”

“Little bit.” I slapped the guy again. “Wake up.”

Sparkles was the guy who had attacked Abi. We had figured he had less of a chance of waking up screaming in pain from a broken wrist and a smashed nose, so we had dragged him inside an empty office, and tied him to a chair with duct tape from the supply closet.

Sparkles mumbled something, and I kicked him in the knee. “English, please.”

“The fuck are you?”

That, I understood.

I grabbed the sleeve of his white shirt and ripped it open. The black ring tattoo glistened under the neon lights. I pointed at it.

“Where is the leader of your little gang? What do you have planned? Details, please, or I’ll have her bash your head in again.”

He glanced at Abi, who smiled innocently. He swallowed hard and turned to look at me with wide-open eyes. “He’s on the third floor holding a meeting in his office for the new guys.”

“Wow, that was quick,” I remarked.

“I don’t get paid for this.”

“Figures.”

What kind of cheap nut job didn’t even pay his henchmen properly?

“So why the hell were you there acting all gung-ho?”

He stared at me with almost apologetic eyes. “He’s an impressive guy to listen to, our Supreme Leader. He can make you believe anything. He keeps going on about creating a new world and how we’re gonna get all this money and new people to join our cause.”

“Supreme Leader? Seriously, he makes you call him that?” I shook my head. “How are you getting in contact with new people? Is it that video game?”

The guy nodded. “That game is making us rich and giving us an army at the same time. That line of code was-“

That’s when Abi smacked her little golden club into his lip, and he cried out in an embarrassingly high-pitched voice.

“What the hell are you doing?” I asked.

She pointed at the tattoo. The black ink had already begun to smolder, and a small rash of red skin appeared in the centre of the ring.

“He’s gonna combust like the other guy at Gil’s place,” she replied. “I think that ring is some sort of truth detector. If he starts talking, boom.”

“And if he lights up, our cover is blown,” I finished. “Maybe it’s also a sensory link. They’ll know about us before we know about them.” I sighed. “This day just keeps getting better.”

As if on cue, my phone began vibrating. I fished it out, hushing Sparkles with my finger.

“Please tell me you have some answers,” I said into it.

“I come to your rescue once again, brother,” Gil’s voice crackled on the other end. “That line of code is some of the most impressive magic I’ve ever seen. Listen up, because this is a little complicated. The spell uses the magic inside people to power up their in-game avatars. For normal humans, this means that prolonged playing will lead to fatigue, sickness, the shutting down of organs, and possibly even death.”

“And for the ones who have stronger magic than others?” I asked.

“That’s the genius of it,” she continued. “Anyone with awakened magic, no matter how weak, will be able to rise through the ranks of the game quicker because their characters would be stronger. I’ve done some research on this. Most of the top players are at least at an adept level of magic in the real world. The majority of them either don’t know what they can do or keep their abilities on a low profile.”

“Are they recruiting?” I asked. It seemed to fit the profile of an insane gang run by a megalomaniac. They always wanted more people to brainwash.

“The top one thousand players from every region have been contacted, and who knows how many more they got to.” She exhaled sharply. “They are building an army, Erik. I don’t know where the Etherium Key fits in their scheme, but this certainly spells trouble for us. Shut this down and retrieve my device before some asinine fucker destroys the world.”

I smiled at her language choice. Maybe I was rubbing off on my sister.

“Will do,” I said before pocketing my phone. Then I tapped Sparkles sharply on the forehead. “It’s your lucky day, Sparkles. You get to go home in one piece.”

“What?”

I struck him on the neck, hitting the same nerve cluster I had used to knock out his companion earlier. His eyes rolled backwards, and his head fell limp. Hopefully he would come to long after this was over and find a way to get rid of that tattoo.

“He said third floor, right?” I said.

Abi nodded.

“Right. Let’s go meet this Supreme Leader guy.”

Chapter 14

Our journey to the third floor was uneventful. I heard a few people in their offices, most likely Black Ring Society guys who were late for the meeting. We ducked behind a corner, and I scouted the main corridor. A group of five were chatting as they walked towards the stairs on the other side of the hallway.

All five wore dark grey cloaks that draped heavily around them. Wide hoods spread over their shoulders like cowls, and all five of them gripped the hems of their cloaks to keep them from trailing too much on the ground.

“Hang on,” one of them said as he fiddled with his cloak. “Damn thing is too small.”

“Should have grabbed another one from the supply closet,” another said.

“They’re all the same size,” said the first, as they walked away and out of earshot.

I turned to Abi and whispered, “We’re gonna need a costume change. Find a closet.”

“What am I looking for?”

“The grey cloaks those fools had on,” I replied, standing up.

I walked over to where the guys had come out from, and both of us looked around for a closet. I immediately found what I was looking for—the closet was still open with a bunch of grey rags piled on top of each other and a neat stack of identical grey cloaks folded together. I called Abi over and passed her one of the cloaks to put on.

“Ew, it stinks,” she complained.

I rolled my eyes and pulled a cloak around me. I couldn’t make heads or tails of it, and Abi helped straighten it for me. Then she stepped back and stifled a laugh.

“As if I didn’t have enough reason to hate this guy already,” I growled.

Pulling the hoods up, we caught up to the group of five guys, silently creeping behind them, in hopes that we could follow them to the meeting site. They entered a barren conference hall, pushing through large silver doors. We followed stealthily and were greeted by a scene that belonged in an Indiana Jones movie.

About fifty people were present in the room, all of them wearing dark grey cloaks with the hoods drooped over their heads. Braziers with live fire surrounded the circular hall, and the dim lighting gave it an ominous mood. Opposite the doors, on a stage, stood one guy with a lot of gold chains and velvet—I guessed this was the Supreme Leader.

Beside him, standing like a bodyguard, was a familiar face. Luke the Pyromancer gazed over the sea of grey cloaks with a painfully bored expression.

“Greetings, fellow members of our cabal,” the Leader began. His voice was raspy, hitting a certain frequency that made everyone listen to it. “I am pleased to report that with our new operation, Verdant Moon is now a success. This mission of ours has gotten us over two hundred thousand new members in this past year alone.” He paused, giving that number further prominence. Old Raspy knew how to create some suspense.

“Furthermore,” he continued, “we have acquired a device that allows us to travel between dimensions. It is already operational and a rift in the fabric of this astral plane has already been opened, right over Lake Michigan. Soon we will live in the world our God promised us. Soon we will no longer have to hide.”

The key word in that whole speech was the word ‘God.’ See, I figured that most likely, this Supreme Leader idiot would be some guy with a Messiah Complex trying to screw around with people’s heads and wallets.

Turns out Raspy over there was taking orders from someone other than his ego. Time to dig deeper.

“Abi,” I murmured over to my left. “I need to know what I’m dealing with here. Scan them.”

The hooded figure next to me nodded and fell still. What I had asked Abi to do was invasive at the most intimate level. She began secretly scanning each and every member’s magic to see how powerful they were. It was the magical equivalent of hacking, and the best part was, if they were green enough, they wouldn’t even know what hit them.

“All weak so far,” she murmured. “Let me go deeper.”

I felt her magic brush up against mine. It was not enough to set off warning signals, but I guess that was mostly because I was expecting it. High-level wizards were sensitive to that stuff but no one here was…

Ah, shit.

I snapped my gaze at Luke and the Leader, who was still going on about how awesome their god was, and searched for any movement out of the ordinary. The Leader kept on blabbing, none the wiser.

Luke, however, stopped fidgeting and his expression became more alert. He swung his head left and right, as if expecting someone to leap out at him. Slowly, as if by habit, he took out his right hand from his pocket, and began rubbing his thumb and index finger together. The tiny spark generated by friction was unnoticeable, unless one was deliberately looking for it.

“Pull back, pull back,” I whispered, and felt Abi’s powers receding.

Luke’s expression didn’t change, but the confusion in his eyes was evident. He stopped rubbing his fingers together, and let his hand drop by his side.

“And we have nothing to fear from our enemies!” The Leader was yelling now. “They are all cowards, hiding behind cheap tricks and ancient tactics. We outnumber them, outgun them, and we will prevail!”

I did a quick calculation. A bunch of newbies who couldn’t tell their elbows from their asses, one seriously megalomaniac dude, and a Pyromancer. He was the only real problem, but with the element of surprise and crowd confusion, he would be at a disadvantage.

“You guys are all the same, talking smack without the balls to back it up.” My voice echoed loud and clear around the hall. The annoying grey cloak fell on the ground, and I pulled out my magic short sword, Djinn, ready for battle. I grinned at the horrified Leader.

“Why don’t you try calling me a pussy to my face?”

This was right in my element. Within exactly three seconds, chaos erupted as everyone around us backed away. Most just took off, either running through the ostentatious silver doors or just hiding behind the flaming braziers. But a few geniuses had the bright idea to fight back. I guess no one ever told them that when faced with a trench coat-wearing, magical sword-wielding wizard, the best option is to run—and run far.

Two cult members bumped side by side and threw a blast of green energy at me. I had no idea what it was or what kind of magic they were using—I just ducked and blasted them back, sending them soaring into the wall. Some other guy pulled out a set of throwing knives and displayed them. He wiggled his fingers, and the knives began levitating. I felt strong arms grab me from behind, as another guy—a big one—held me tight, pinning my arms by my side. Two of those knives shot right into my abdomen but the rest completely missed.

The big guy yelled something right into my ear and released his grip. Big mistake. I spun Djinn so that the tip pointed at the big guy’s balls and channeled my magic. The blade elongated, piercing his genitals and shooting past them into his leg. I twisted and the entire limb fell off. As the skinny guy with the floating knives stared at me, I pulled out one of the blades still in my stomach.

“Catch,” I said, throwing the knife back at him. It spun in the air and buried itself into his throat.

A blast of heat coated the ceiling. Luke had his hands on fire and was trying to get a clear shot at me. He began blasting people at random, mercilessly removing any obstacles in front of him. The dumbass was killing off his own team. What kind of a sick fuck would do that?

I charged straight at him, throwing people out of the way. A lance of fire shot towards me. Play smart, I reminded myself. Firepower clearly didn’t work on this guy. So when I thrust Djinn into the flame, it wasn’t to counterattack. I redirected the heat from the flame. The lance of fire transformed to a lance of ice, and rebounded straight back towards Luke. The ice caught him in the chest but immediately melted when he channeled fire around him.

I flipped Djinn’s grip so that the blade was pointing downwards and raked my other hand against the flat of the blade. Magic became static, which became a small arc of electricity. With Luke still reeling from my counterattack, I crossed the distance, grabbed Luke by the shirt, and pulled, hard. My forehead smacked against his cheek, and I drove Djinn into his collarbone. His body began smoldering as he turned himself into fire, making himself into a mass of energy and avoiding any physical injury.

Which was exactly what I wanted him to do.

Magic still has to follow the basic laws of physics. Fire was just a form of plasma, a bunch of charged particles. Which meant that if I found that charge, that energy frequency, and matched it, I could theoretically nullify his flames.

And if there ever was a time to put that theory into practice, it was now.

His fiery body coated Djinn and part of my hand. Despite the pain, I refused to back away. I applied my own magic through Djinn, and then Luke and I were in a stalemate, waging war on a subatomic level.

Finally I felt my energy match his and Luke began screaming. His power fizzled out, leaving him solid again. He slumped on the ground with a stab wound through his collarbone, reeling from the backlash of our clashing powers. He gasped twice, fighting the inevitable, before falling unconscious.

Once Luke was out, I stood up and walked towards the Supreme Leader. He was on the floor, cowering in a corner. Could this guy be any more pathetic?

“Where is it?” I asked as I grabbed his robe and nearly lifted him off the ground. Djinn’s tip hovered in his direction and the bloodstains made it look even more menacing.

The Leader’s eyes widened, and he swallowed hard.

“The device,” I said again. “Where the fuck is it?”

“The roof,” he finally croaked. “It’s on the roof. Please don’t hurt me.”

I threw him down. “I should do humanity a favor and kill you.”

“Good idea,” someone behind me said. A thin bright beam of fire shot like a laser beam through the Leader’s head and left a gaping black hole the size of a penny.

Luke had managed to regain consciousness again and got up clutching his wound. His outstretched index finger was smoldering. “I never liked him, anyway.”

“He was your boss,” I said.

The Pyromancer shook his head. “Nah. My boss is the real deal. I was sent here to keep an eye on things.”

“Your real boss?”

“Yeah,” Luke replied with a smirk. “You didn’t think that asshole was really the one calling the shots, did you?” He let out a bark of laughter. “Geez, you guys are stupid. You have no idea how far down we go. You probably think we’re some sort of gang, looking to jack up on the thrill.”

“Let me guess,” I retorted. “You guys are planning to take over the world.”

He smiled. “This world? Nah. This one, we just wanna burn.”

“Sounds like a dumb plan to me.”

“You won’t be laughing when you’re on fire,” he growled. “Just so you know, I’m the right-hand guy, the second most powerful magic user after our master.”

I laughed out loud.

“What the fuck is so funny?” he asked.

“Sorry, sorry. Didn’t mean to hurt your ego there.” I playfully spun Djinn in my hand. “It’s just that you talk way too much. Thanks for the info, Fire Boy. And the reassurance.” I pointed my sword at him. “Now I know there’s only one guy who’s tougher than you are. Meaning, if I beat you, I only really gotta worry about one other jackass.”

Luke let out a menacing growl. “Who says you can beat me?”

“Haha. You’re funny there, Limpy,” I said. Then I angled my head back and called my apprentice. “Yo, Abi.”

“Little busy here,” she yelled back.

From my peripheral vision, I saw her swing Sun Wo Kung around. The golden staff glistened majestically in the firelight from the braziers. Abi mercilessly bludgeoned guy after guy, with a grin that told me she was having the time of her life.

“Can you take care of the small fry?” I asked. “I gotta go get back the Etherium Key.”

Luke sent a blast of fire at me. “Like hell you will.”

I dodged, letting the flames sail past my head. “Pick your battles, dude,” I said. “You’re hurt and that flame was some weak shit.”

“Screw you.” Another blast of fire, and this time I didn’t bother dodging. I lazily swiped Djinn downwards and a trail of azure energy dissipated the flames as if it had been nothing more than a light breeze.

Luke snarled, and slapped the ground in frustration, before channeling heat through a nearby window, shattering it. Without warning, he leaped out into the air and rocketed upwards in midair, towards the roof. This cat fight had now become a race.

“Oh, hell no,” I yelled, running back across the room and through the silver doors. I found the fire escape, tore the door open, and ran up the stairs three at a time.

Chapter 15

I shouldered the roof door so hard that one of the hinges bent. Energy crackled around Djinn and as soon as I saw daylight and a horribly familiar tinge of orange fire, I sent out a blast.

“Step away from the fucking device,” I yelled.

The roof of the building was a flat plane of grey concrete, with a small arch at the edge facing Lake Michigan. Inside the arch, like a statue in a niche, stood the Etherium Key. Energy and ether crackled around the device. The Key itself was a small contraption and looked like a hand-held brass mirror. Its handle was a triple spiral that formed a cone, almost like a triskelion or a helix. It was half-buried into a stone pedestal and four thin metal arms came up from the edge of the pedestal to hold it in place. The mirror portion was glowing a brilliant white and emitting a thick beam of misty ethereal energy over the direction facing Lake Michigan.

Luke the Pyromancer was leaning against the arch, bent over and covered in sweat. Weak flame coated his hands but even the gentle breeze was succeeding in fending it off. He stood defiantly against the arch like a guard dog and bared his teeth.

“Come on, Torchy,” I called out, deftly swinging my short sword around. “You’re about to kick the bucket. Just chalk this one off as a loss and go home.” Nevertheless, I took a fighting stance, ready for him to be stupid. “I hate killing off cripples,” I added.

He snarled at me.

Guess I hit a nerve there, I thought.

Luke’s fire disappeared, and he plunged three fingers into the wound on his shoulder. The cut widened and blood gushed out, coating his hand and chest.

“I couldn’t really use this inside,” he panted. Then he chuckled cruelly. “But out here it’s a different story.”

His blood caught fire, flaring into dazzling colors from bright magenta to royal purple. The fire seemed to ooze from within him as if it were his blood pumping life into him. His skin, hair, and all facial features melted away until there was nothing left but pure fire, hot and bright. The flames condensed together, still retaining a humanoid form. All around him, sparse tongues of intense solid fire licked the air with incendiary heat. Sparks of lightning crackled like a chorus of whips. The concrete beneath his feet cracked and melted.

Luke rose a few inches above ground, and the sky above him darkened. Rain clouds gathered as his heat affected the atmosphere around us. It was suddenly hard to breathe, much less swallow, and I stood there, amazed at the display of magic. Luke had become fire itself. No, not just fire. He had become a mixture of plasma, solid flame, and condensed ions. He had taken the Laws of Thermodynamics to a whole new level, bending them to his will.

A beam of orange light shot from his hand. Only an unconscious reflex managed to save me from a world of pain. The spell burnt a hole through the roof and into the floor below.

Oh, good. Fire Boy now has lasers.

I swung Djinn, shooting another beam of azure energy at him. But once blue met orange, my spell simply went through him and he somehow absorbed it.

“I’m close to pure energy, genius,” he spat with utter venom in his voice.

Then he brought both his hands together. Energy swirled in between them and formed a tiny spec of light. Like a miniature sun, the spell became more intense until I felt it was about to explode. I wasn’t sure I would recover from that, even with my healing powers. This was not your average fire spell. Luke’s life energy was mixed with it. He was willing to shorten his lifespan or even downright give up his life, just to make that spell happen. Magic like that tended to hurt on a deeper level than just scars and bruises.

The horizon began shifting and the sky transformed into a massive rift, a tear in the fabric of the universe. Something about the way the energy swirled was calling to me. I recognized it as Prime, the basic essence of life, the primordial energy of the universe and what held it all together. It was also the supposed secret behind my curse and the power that coursed through my veins. I could somehow manipulate Life magic, an ancient branch of magic that used Prime to shape life itself.

Some even called it the magic of the gods.

And just seeing all of that Prime swirling in the sky over an entire landscape triggered something inside my soul, like a tugging at my most basic instincts. At that moment nothing else mattered—not Luke, not the Key, not the Sins, not even the other dimension crashing down onto ours. It was as if the personification of my power, the alter ego inside me—Dark Erik—was having a spotlight on it just looking at the Prime.

Back in the real world, Luke pushed both arms out and the tiny ball of light shot forward. It exploded like a small nuke, with a brilliant, dazzling display of fire followed by a cloud of smoke.

But none of that dangerous energy ever touched me.

I raised my left hand in the Pyromancer’s direction, fingers splayed. A wall of black shadows erected between me and the fire spell. Once the explosion dissipated, the shadows fell on the floor, carpeting the entire area in obsidian. Living shadows oozed from me, a familiar power flowing like a skill acquired long ago—unused but never forgotten.

I loved it. This was true, absolute power. Truly amazing. This was…

Addictive.

My reasoning, what was left of my rationale, emerged from beneath the black fog of my mind and I struggled to regain control over myself. I was human, and not some savage personification of a long-lost magic.

There was something wrong and forced about this power I was using. Usually it came out naturally as a reaction to the Sins’ power. But there were no Sins here; just a dumbass, literally playing with fire. I was forcing this power out and I knew, deep down, that there would be a price to pay.

The carpet of shadows rose upwards like stalagmites, spearing into Luke. He dodged the majority but a graze made him cry out in agony. His dazzling fiery shape now had broken down to a mismatched swirl of flames coating his body. The smell of burning flesh wafted in the air, and when the flames weakened bits of charred skin and bone were suddenly bare. That was his remuneration for using such potent magic: pain and permanent body damage in exchange for unstoppable firepower.

What would my price be?

I felt myself melt into the shadows and emerge in front of Luke. A magical blast from Djinn sent him flying. He oozed blood and fire from his wounds and his form dissipated again.

I felt tendrils of black extend from my back and crawl around the pedestal where the Etherium Key was perched. Strong and delicate, the shadows twisted around the metallic arms holding the Pendulum in place and sapped the energy, all that precious Prime. The arms crumbled to dust and the shadow tendrils held the device, grasping it like a hand. I willed the shadows back, bringing the device towards me. I felt the shadows claw at the power inside the device, trying to wrench out more energy.

No, I thought. If I allowed my power to get stronger I could lose control. I could lose myself to the darkness and the mindlessness that followed.

So instead I willed my shadows to reverse themselves, to become the power source for the device. My intention was to overload the Etherium Key with such a huge input of energy that it would shut down the rift. Perhaps not the most subtle of strategies, but my options were limited.

I felt something break inside the device and the connection to the other dimension disappeared. My shadows exploded around me and evaporated. All of my energy left me and I fell to the ground, once again devoid of any superpowers.

“What the fuck are you?” Luke held onto the edge of the roof, using the ledge to prop himself up. His skin was burnt off and his blood evaporated as soon as it left his body.

I pried the device from my clenched fingers and dropped it on the ground. Slowly, I lifted my head to look over the horizon. The rift was still there, an extra-dimensional gaping hole, with a whole other world behind it superimposed on our own.

Why the hell didn’t it work?

As if to answer my question, the wind gathered violently. A particularly violent and obnoxious gust solidified into Mephisto in front of me. His polished dress shoes gently touched the ground, and he offered me a devious smile.

“Tut, tut. Not the best of your improvisations, Master Erik.”

I got up and picked the discarded Etherium Key from the ground. “Why didn’t it close?”

“You merely overloaded the device,” he coolly replied. “Dimensional magic doesn’t respond to brute force. However, the good news is that the portal can no longer grow and its progress has been temporarily halted.”

“Lemme guess,” I said. “The bad news is there’s no way to close it now.”

“Precisely.” He held out a white-gloved hand. “Not unless you give me the device to return to Master Gil. She can repair it, reactivate it, and close the rift.”

I plopped it into his hand. “Tell her to hurry.”

“That I shall.” He turned to leave and pointed at Luke. “Shall I dispose of him?”

“A demon?” Luke spat in my direction. Judging from his expression, he’d never seen one, but most likely paid enough attention in class to know they were not good news.

He let out a blast of flame and shot himself in the air. Bad idea. The sky was Mephisto’s playground. Luke’s propulsion suddenly halted, as the demon used his dominion over the air itself to hold him in place, fifteen feet above ground.

“Let him go,” I ordered.

The demon smiled and released his grip. Luke careened in midair, before he regained control and flew off.

“That’s one you owe me, kid,” I yelled.

Mephisto chuckled. “That’s the wrong creature to be attaining favors from.”

“What do you mean?”

He pointed to the side, where a little girl with pretty blonde hair, a pretty dress and giant disproportionate angel wings, appeared from nowhere. Mephisto disappeared in a gust of wind, leaving me alone with Jehudiel.

Chapter 16

“Where’s Raphael?”

Angels. Was there a blunter, colder, more uptight species in the known multiverse?

Jehudiel’s little girl form strode up to me and somehow managed to stare me down. I had no idea how a four-foot prepubescent brat could stare down a full grown, nearly-six-feet-tall guy, but then again, my life was full of short women who constantly made me feel uncomfortable. It was like a running gag at this point.

I shrugged. “How the hell should I know?” I said. “Your boy went on a homicidal rampage and tried to kill me. I try not to stalk those types.”

Jehudiel was having none of my backtalk. “Erik Ashendale.”

Why do people only use your full name when you’re in deep shit? Is that written somewhere?

“You were tasked with working in tandem with Heaven’s emissary,” he said. “And yet, you attack him.”

“He was killing innocents,” I retorted.

Jehudiel rolled his eyes. “Innocents? The last few maybe but the rest were perverts and thieves.”

“And that makes it all right to murder them in cold blood? The fuck kinda angels are you?”

His wings flared, canvassing my entire field of vision with bright light. “I am not in the mood to tolerate your insolence. You will find Raphael, and you will lead him to the Sin.”

“Okay, listen up Feather-face.” My heart was pounding loudly against my chest, and I resisted the urge to scream my next sentences at him. “You remember me telling you not to mess with my world anymore? Well, Raphael is a problem. I don’t care if he’s allowed to smite people back on your home turf, but over here, that shit’s not gonna fly.”

“Watch your tongue, human,” he began.

“And you better watch yourself, angel,” I shot back. “Raphael is your problem, not mine. Just because you can’t keep your bitch in line, don’t come crying to me.”

I knew I had crossed a line as soon as I heard the words come out of my mouth.

Jehudiel’s powers shook the entire building, glass exploding outward and cracks snaking along the walls. Below, empty cars flattened and the sky thundered angrily.

“Go on,” I challenged. “Take me out. Then who’s gonna fight your Sins for you, huh? Who’s gonna step up and take my place in destiny?”

For the longest of seconds, I actually thought he was going to smite me and then hold auditions for the next supposedly predestined shmuck to fight the Seven Deadly Sins from toppling the delicate balance of our universe.

But then I felt his powers recede by a fraction.

“Next time you disrespect Heaven, I will show no mercy,” he growled.

Despite every iota in my body telling me not to, I stepped towards the angel until we were so close, static electricity arced in between us. “And next time one of you even dares harm a human, there will be hell to pay. I don’t care how bad those people are, you do not dish out justice like that on my turf. So next time you make a threat, you better deliver, and deliver good. ‘Cause if you don’t leave me dead, I’ll come back, and I’ll hunt every last one of you. Got that, Angel Boy?”

Jehudiel’s wings shrunk back, and his influence was no more. He gave me a look of utter disdain, as if completely disgusted not just by me, but my entire species. “I thought better of you, Erik.”

“Ditto on that.”

He cocked his head. “I wonder, what will you do about the Sin?”

“What do you mean, what am I going to do about it?” I pointed at the rift. “Same thing I always do. I’ll find it, I’ll kill it somehow, and save the day.”

“Without the Virtue to help you, that would be impossible.”

“Says who?” I challenged. “Some prophecy written a billion years ago? Call me a skeptic, but I only believe in what a person can or cannot do. That’s the only prophecy I go by.” I looked into his incandescent blue eyes, way too beautiful to belong in our universe, and said, “I’ll fight without Raphael’s help, and I will win. Because I have to.”

Jehudiel remained silent and just nodded.

“The issue still remains,” he said, walking towards the ledge. “You have a rogue angel roaming loose on this plane. I shall bring Heaven’s forces to find him and bring him back to the light.”

“The hell you will,” I replied.

Jehudiel gave me a curious look, one which I returned with a glare. No angels on my turf—how fucking hard was that to remember?

“I’ll find him,” I said. “After this whole thing is over, I’ll find him and bring him to you.”

Jehudiel just stared at me for what seemed like an eternity, before finally nodding. He took one step over the ledge and disappeared, leaving behind only a disturbing memory, accompanied by the sound of flapping wings and one lucky-to-be-alive wizard. I let out a sigh. That could have gone wrong very fast and very easy. If I had one superpower, it was pissing off powerful people at the worst possible time.

My eye caught the shift of energy on the horizon again. That rift wasn’t going to close itself, and I could still feel that pull towards it.

“Ah, fuck it all,” I yelled over the ledge.

One problem at a time, Erik. Close the damn portal to an invading world and then worry about psychotic angels and their uptight bosses.

***

I had never been to the Navy Pier Festival Hall at Lake Michigan. Seemed like the kind of place I would avoid, what with the history, the high class act, and all that crap. If I wanted that charade, I might as well have gone to live back at my old place. Still, even a Neanderthal like myself could appreciate such an architectural monument.

Now it looked like a battlefield—which I supposed was exactly what it had become.

Jack, the metal Elemental, was the first one I recognized: a dark figure dashing around large aquatic monsters that rose from the shores of Lake Michigan and climbed awkwardly onto the pier. He sliced, diced, and shot as many as he could but the bad guys were quite large and tough, as bad guys tended to be.

Next to him, Abi’s red hair and golden staff were a sight to behold. She fought like an Amazon, creating mirages of herself to distract the enemy and then going in for the kill: simple and effective.

Amaymon was simpler. The demon wore a smile and a few gallons of blue-green blood as he grabbed one of the monsters and ripped it apart. His claws met another’s face, tearing it off, and by the time the second creature died, he was already killing a third monster.

And yet, they were losing.

The monsters were like overgrown anthropomorphic fish, with thick legs and arms, and a flattened fish head with rows of teeth. Their scales went from blue to green to black, catching small glints of sunlight. A fish tail swung behind them like a rudder, counterbalancing their hunched figures. Most had a large spiny fin coming from their backs. In their thick, muscled hands they held a variety of weapons—axes, spears, hammers, clubs, swords. All of their weapons were made from bone, sharp stone and wood. The creatures moved in a heaving motion, taking heavy steady steps. With every movement they made, three wide gills on the side of their necks flared open with a wet slopping sound and exhaled air. But their movements were only labored until they were close enough to swing their weapons. Then it was a quick, heavy blow with all that mass behind it.

There were legions of them, slicing through Lake Michigan like sharks and then climbing awkwardly on land. That was when I realized that I’d been looking at the wrong direction all along. The portal wasn’t the mass of ethereal energy swirling in the sky. That was just steam from a kettle.

The real portal was underwater. The invading dimension wasn’t crushing down from above, but rising upwards from beneath the waters of the lake.

“Erik. Incoming!”

I barely registered Amaymon’s warning, but still managed to duck out of the way. The space my head occupied less than a second ago was snared by a pair of jaws and the monster slammed harmlessly on the ground. It looked like a cross between an eel and a dragon. A long, slimy, serpentine body, with a fish tail and a pair of large fins on each side that flared open like wings on a glider. Its head was like an eel’s except it had jaws that unhinged and teeth the size of my fingers that curled backwards.

The monster coiled its body and launched itself into the air, gliding away. It circled around and nose-dived at me again. I pulled my gun out in a flash and squeezed the trigger, once. That was enough to turn whatever that creature was into jelly.

I spun and walked towards Amaymon with a steady pace, picking off Fish Men as I went along. They took a couple of bullets to put down, but I channeled magic into each shot. I reached Amaymon, slammed my back against his, and reached for a fresh clip from my coat.

“What are we fighting?” I yelled over the sounds of battle.

The demon couldn’t be more delighted with this battle. He had chunks of rock floating in the air and constantly projected them into the monsters.

“Sahuagin,” he replied.

I dodged a spear, directing it away from my face and the back of Amaymon’s head. My gun went under the Fish Man’s chin and blasted his head off.

“Bullshit. Seriously, man, what’s going on?”

Amaymon let out a bark of laughter. “You think I’d fuck with you now?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“Well, I’m not.”

“Sahuagin are fictional. I played enough Dungeons and Dragons to know,” I shot back.

“Those fuckers who invented the game were wizards themselves. Thought it was funny to tell ninety-nine percent of the real story and fill the gaps with bullshit,” he pointed out. “Gotta admit, though. They made the game work. Mostly because most of that shit is real.”

I blocked a little too late and the club whacked me on the head. Now that Amaymon had pointed it out, there was no other way to describe these monsters other than Sahuagin from that role-playing game. I shot my attacker and heard the gun click empty.

“So what are those?” I asked as I reloaded my weapon and fired off at another of those flying eel monsters.

“Looks like Wurms to me.”

But Wurms were usually forest-dwelling giant centipedes with a penchant for eating… well, just about everything, really. Except plastic bottles, funnily enough. Nothing can digest that.

“Nah, they don’t fit the bill,” I replied casually.

Amaymon got one Sahuagin in a head lock and turned to look at me.

“Sea Wurms?” he suggested, twisting the monster’s head around completely.

“Not gonna argue with the guy who can do that.”

“Smart move.”

I shot another eel monster—Sea Wurm—and saw a cloud move deceptively fast in my peripheral vision. Only, I realized it wasn’t a cloud but a giant bat-like creature. It looked just like a pterodactyl with the addition of a long tail. Its head was flat and crescent-shaped, with one tip jutting outwards from its chin and the other coming from its forehead. The creature had a white underbelly but when it flapped its wings, its leathery skin showed a beautiful sky-blue color.

The monster took a nose dive towards us. As it got closer, its wings flared and bent backwards. Rather than stopping, it had changed position, now diving claws first, and directing its path towards Jack.

“Ah, a Drake,” Amaymon said.

“Jack!” I called out.

But the kid was ahead of me. “I see it.”

He held out his arm, and his metal armor disappeared. Instead, his right arm engorged and morphed into a large howitzer canon. As the Drake reached almost point-blank range, he fired his massive weapon. The Drake was shredded and what was left of it was sent backwards with the giant bullet.

The cannon shell went through the Drake and right into one the towers beside the Grand Ballroom, an old dome-shaped structure standing tall and proud, just at the end of the pier.

My ears started ringing from the shot, and the entire battle was still for a second. I looked at Amaymon.

“Who the hell gave that kid steroids?” I managed to say.

If he thought of a good comeback, I never heard it. All my ears picked up was loud whoosh of a seaquake and the surging of the waves. Sahuagin around us fled like gazelles before a pack of hyenas and something told me that we should have done the same. Instead, we simply stood there, waiting for the horror to emerge.

It made an entrance with a small whirlpool and rose from the water like a monstrous god bent on revenge. The only way to describe it was Wurm-like: if Wurms grew to the size of an aircraft carrier.

It had small fins and tiny centipede-like hands, but then again everything would have looked small compared to that mouth.

Oh, dear God, that mouth was huge.

“Abyss Wurm,” Amaymon whispered.

It rose up, covering the sun and seemed to hover momentarily as it began falling.

“Run!” I screamed, already sprinting away.

The world seemed to slow down as I took those first steps back to the mainland. I had no bullets left in my gun and simply channeled magic into it. A blast of fire, like a flamethrower, shot upwards to ward off any Drakes or Sea Wurms that thought of ambushing us.

I was the last one from our group to run back. Somehow Djinn was in my hand and blue energy was already flowing through it. When the Wurm descended, its giant weight crushed the Ballroom and half the pier it stood on, yet somehow still leaving one of those ostentatious bell towers intact. The impact sent a shockwave so large that I was thrown off the ground. Any other wizard would have rolled away and thanked his lucky stars for still being alive.

But I was no regular wizard.

“Amaymon,” I called out. It wasn’t panic; it was an order.

The demon stomped the ground and a boulder rose upwards. I leapt forward and landed on it. The boulder shot up, and I used that momentum to further propel myself towards the gargantuan creature. I was now flying in the air above the giant Abyss Wurm.

I swung Djinn downwards and channeled all my magic into that one strike. The streak of azure energy sliced through the Wurm, cleaving it in two. Abi and Jack cheered from behind me, and I waved like an idiot. Amaymon rolled his eyes at me.

Of course, it couldn’t end there. Rumbling echoed all around me, shaking the ground I stood on. I turned towards the lake, just in time to see not one, but six whirlpools forming as that many Abyss Wurms slowly reared their ugly heads into our world. I stared at them, unable to form coherent thoughts.

A plan, I thought.

I needed a plan, something to knock them out with one hit. Otherwise, me, my team, and everyone in a ten-block radius was going to be Wurm food.

The semi-destroyed bell tower that Jack had accidentally shot caught my eye and a plan began forming in my head—the kind that posed a great deal of risk and a good chance of me being maimed in some horrific way.

A plan that would take either a genius or a complete idiot to pull off.

Time to find out which one I was.

Chapter 17

Every time I saw a tall structure, there was a little voice inside my head telling me to release my inner monkey and climb. This time I listened.

Meanwhile, the six giant Abyss Wurms reared upwards like titans emerging from their graves. The sky was now pitch black streaked with lightning bolts and rumbling with thunder. All that energy was starting to affect the Earth’s atmosphere, threatening to forever rend the ecosystem we were so dependent on. In my business, we called that a red fucking flag.

“Erik, what are you doing?” Abi called out as I took off in the opposite direction of safety and launched myself onto the mortar of the remaining bell tower.

“Saving the world. Again,” I yelled back as I tried not to fall on my ass. “Distract them.”

“How?”

I groaned and reached for the nearest handhold. “I don’t know,” I retorted. “You’re the college student here. What good is higher education if they don’t teach you how to survive an apocalypse?”

I couldn’t hear her reply. The winds picked up, and I was too busy climbing a giant tower and trying not to look at the monsters gyrating a few feet away from where I was hanging for dear life. The bell tower had been knocked slightly sideways, like the Tower of Pisa, so the incline made it less impossible to climb. I leaned from ledge to ledge and foothold to foothold. Below me, the ground shook as Amaymon and the rest of my team distracted the monsters from the tower… and me.

Once on top of the tower, I was offered a wonderful view of Lake Michigan. A lake of violent waves and angry froth as giant centipedes snaked upwards to freedom. The water was an inky black, swirling like a giant toilet bowl. From my vantage point, I could see other Wurms emerging, crossing the underwater bridge between our dimension and wherever the fuck they popped out of.

Okay, superpower. Do your thing.

My plan was simple enough. If I could shut down the Etherium Key by using my special powers, then common sense dictated I would be able to do the same with the portal. Both were made out of the same stuff and worked on the same mechanics. Occam’s Razor and the whole common sense thing.

I felt the lull take over as my inner magic sensed a font of power and the familiar hallucination of an obsidian mangrove tree standing in the middle of a vast desert of red sand flashed before my eyes: my inner world, Ashura, a dimension that existed only to house the vast powers that lived inside me.

Shadows began leaking out of me, covering me like a second skin. I extended my powers to blanket the water and, like a river, they swirled with the currents of the lake. I dug deeper and deeper until I had the edges of the portal in my grasp.

More power.

I had to access more power, to lose myself within this ability, if I wanted to forcibly close the portal. Screw addiction. If I didn’t shut this down now, none of us would live to see another day. So, ignoring all aspects of common sense, I followed my annoying inner voice, the one telling me to take a step further into oblivion. The shadows grew thicker around me, gaining substance and metamorphosing from gaseous to liquid. I felt my body succumb to the changes. Bones growing stronger and protruding from my joints at the elbows and knees, as well as fingers. The tightness around my chest as a metaphysical furnace replaced what had once been my internal organs. Slowly, my vision became red, superimposing the plane of Ashura onto this one, like 3D glasses on a picture.

Come on, Erik. Getting close.

Soon all this would be over, and we could all go home and deal with our issues over a beer and some fries. All I had to do was try a little harder. I felt the portal shrink as I put more effort into shutting it down. The Wurms that had emerged wrung free and Amaymon began dealing with them. The ones that were halfway through the crossing disintegrated as I literally pulled the plug on that particular space-time spell. There was barely a house-sized hole now, only a small tear. What could possibly come through from that small a portal? It was barely big enough for two people.

I heard him in the distance. He appeared out of thin air, completely evading my enhanced senses. Only the flutter of angel wings gave him away.

Raphael stood centimeters away from me, his wings darker than a storm cloud. “Oathbreaker, I exile you!” He charged into me, throwing the both of us off the bell tower, into the swirling mass of darkened water and right through the portal.

Chapter 18

The new world was cold and wet.

The little voice of reason inside my head told me that if one end of the portal was deep underwater, then it only makes sense that the other end would be…

I kicked furiously upwards, following the beams of moonlight that shone through the black waters. It didn’t matter that my muscles screamed in pain or that the water pressure was squeezing every molecule of my body. My head finally broke through the water surface and I sucked in both water and air. I didn’t even feel the fire in my throat.

The sky was dark with a continuous symphony of the sound of a storm. Lightning flashed, illuminating portions of the landscape. Waves came crashing down over me and I was suddenly underwater again. Darkness covered me from head to toe, but darkness was always my ally.

Not this darkness. This darkness was insidious and all-consuming. It was death—my death—and I had to fight it.

My head broke the surface again and I began swimming, although I had no idea where I found the energy to do so. I swam and swam, doing a wet beeline towards the island. Already I could see a beach with a small forest of trees in the background.

The wooden javelin landed three inches from my head. I stopped to see who was attacking me and immediately thought of Raphael. Did he somehow survive the Chaos? Nothing followed up the attack but I began making out other forms further towards the beach.

Sahuagin, hundreds of them.

They were all clustered together, their actions blurry and stark. As I swam closer I began bracing myself for a crap load of pain. I was in no shape to fight, and water gave them the advantage. The best I could hope for was to be taken prisoner, give myself time to heal, and then beat them.

Turns out I had worse luck than that.

They were in the middle of a war.

As far as I could make out there were two tribes of Sahuagin, dark ones with a stripe on their backs and dark ones with no stripe of their backs.

Racism is never justified, but seriously, a fucking stripe?

They had spears, clubs and stone hammers. Stone Age weapons. Their fighting style was little more than instinctive wailing at each other like animals. Their agility was tripled in the water and the fight was nothing short of spectacular. And more than a little disturbing. Their tails allowed them to slice through the waves like a hot knife through butter. I saw a few of them jump into the air and dive onto their victims. The screams of rage and pain accompanied the roar of the storm from the sea and the sky, and everything was a clusterfuck of noise and violence.

I swam to the side, parallel to the beach, looking for a patch where the fighting was less prominent. Ignoring the raging war at my side I worked my way closer and closer to the beach. I was now only about a hundred feet away.

The Sahuagin were very close, and splinters of their weapons would occasionally cut through my face or hands. I could practically feel the sand on my boots now. Just a few more feet and I’ll be home free, wherever that was.

One of them spotted me and turned in my direction. He clutched a club which was covered in thick, viscous blood and raised it in my direction. Before he could take two more steps, the water exploded and from beneath him another Sahuagin erupted onto him, throwing the both of them away.

Thank you, Fish Face.

I crawled on the beach and heard a shriek behind me. One of the larger Sahuagin was already on top of me, swinging a long length of bone sharpened on one side. I managed to pull Djinn out of its sheath and turned on my back to face him. The fish man swung too wildly and tripped over me, in the process impaling himself on my sword. I flipped us over and pulled my weapon out.

More shrieking and from my peripheral vision I saw a small group of his friends waddle towards me. Great. Out of all the fish men in the water, I had to go and accidentally kill the Prom King.

I tried channeling magic, but it was just too much effort and my body had no time to recover. There were over a dozen of them, so the math was pretty simple. I turned tail and ran, straight into the forest, hoping that they wouldn’t stray too far from the beach.

Once again I was wrong.

They chased me but I was quicker, lighter. The land was my territory. Spears and javelins flew close to me and I ducked behind tree trunks to avoid being impaled. Yeah, I was faster but only by a fraction. If they got within hitting distance I was toast.

I smacked into a tree and veered wildly like a drunk person. Right at that moment I felt like giving up. It would have been easy to just say fuck it and lay there on the ground. Maybe it was all just a nightmare?

With the Sahuagin gang nearly in view now, I heard a shriek. Probably another big fish man declaring his alpha manhood or whatever.

The ground shook and I felt a tremor beneath me. The Sahuagin stopped in their tracks and shrieked again, this time in panic.

The Wurm wasn’t big, not as big as the Abyss variation anyway, but it was certainly bigger than the fish man gang and that was all that mattered. It landed on top of five of them and snapped its gaping maw onto another pair, swallowing them whole at the same time. The Wurm coiled, squashing the Sahuagin it was using as a pillow and then began eating them one by one with indiscriminate gluttony. Pieces of gore flew about and the few Sahuagin alive had the common sense to turn fish tail and run like hell.

It still did not end well for them. Sticks and stones can break my bones, but it does jack shit against a Wurm’s tough hide. They were slow and clumsy and that Wurm was very, very pissed off.

I didn’t stay for the show. Mostly because I had no desire to become some monster’s dessert. Once again I turned and ran, stopping once at a clearing to hurl the seawater and blood I had swallowed earlier. I ran towards the nearest rocky formation, hoping to find some sort of cave there, where Wurms and angry, barbaric fish men couldn’t find me. And all the while the same question kept going on through my head, each time asked with increased horror and terror:

What the fuck is this place?

Chapter 19

Needless to say, I did not get a minute of sleep that night.

I have no idea for how long I ran or in which direction. All I know is that I went up a hill, where there were some rocks I had to climb over, and found a cave wide enough to accommodate me. It wasn’t too big or too deep but it was enough to keep the rain off my back. I curled up along one side and watched the landscape. Winds blew the trees from side to side, and occasionally a few branches would shudder unnaturally, marking the emergence of a Wurm followed by the screaming of whatever Sahuagin entered its territory. From my vantage point I could see parts of the shore and fish men as tiny dots sprinkled on top of each other as their battle raged on.

I pulled my coat off and hung it outside the cave, in the pouring rain. Hopefully that would get the fish guts out. I left it for about an hour before I pulled it back in, wiped water off of it and used it as a blanket. The best thing to do would have been to light a fire, but even if I found something dry enough to light, I still wouldn’t have dared to do so. Same reason why I didn’t dare let myself to fall asleep; logically I knew the cave was safe. The voice of reason kept saying that I needed my rest and my energy if I were to survive in this place and figure out how to go home.

Then there was the voice of fear. Here’s the thing about us humans: we’re a perfect dichotomy. The more courage you have, then the more fear you have. I know I’m courageous, and I dare anyone to go through the same shit I went through and keep it together as I have. But that also meant that I had fear. A shitload of fear. And the moment I let my guard down that fear flooded in, completely paralyzing my ability to think rationally.

So I stayed there in my cave, curled into a ball under my fish-guts smelling coat, trying not to despair as I imagined what monsters may be lurking in the shadows.

I was officially in Hell.

***

I was still wide awake when dawn arrived. The sun climbed from the direction of the beach, greeting me with an illuminated landscape of dismembered Sahuagin corpses that floated on blood-pigmented waters. Those who were still alive were dragging bodies away.

I knew next to nothing about these creatures but anyone familiar with the concept of war can understand this behavior. Here’s a breakdown of a battle: two sides fight each other over something stupid like skin color or territory. If both are equal in strength and numbers, no side will actually win. Sure, one side will have less dead people or gain some advantage, but really, when you’re dragging your friends’ corpses across a ditch, you couldn’t care less about victory.

The ones with the black stripe had more dead people than the ones without the stripe. The latter would probably get more beach area.

Here’s how all of this was relevant to me: I needed to find that portal and get out of this hellhole. The portal was conveniently in the middle of the ocean, which I could only access to once I crossed Sahuagin territory. I could go through the ones with no stripe, who had more people and more ground, or I could choose the guys with the black stripe who had less people, less ground and had suffered a recent defeat.

I chose the guys with the black stripe.

Somehow I managed to make my way down to the beach without any complications. That is, nothing weird tried to eat me. The black-striped Sahuagin were too busy shoveling their dead into a hole to notice me. Still, I stuck to the edges and decided to really think it through before I went out in the open across their land. Besides I needed something to cross the water on. Swimming in an ocean with no visible end, in an unfamiliar plane where monsters are known to dwell and not a single human has shown up yet, unless you count yours truly, is probably one of the worst ideas you can have. No one is that dumb, and if they are, then they deserve to be eaten by whatever dwells in the abyss.

The large tree, standing just a few inches by its lonesome away from its brethren caught my eye. I could ride on a log cut out from the trunk. Wood was still buoyant in water, even on this weird land. At least the physics here hadn’t changed from home. I made my way towards the tree, stealthy as a Wurm if you’ll excuse the pun, and positioned myself so that I could see the Sahuagin but the trunk obstructed their view of me. I unsheathed Djinn and took a step backwards. Two bursts of azure energy shattered the eerie peace on the beach. The first strike sliced into the tree, severing it from its roots and two feet of trunk. The second shot was more of a push, to send the remainder of the twenty foot tree crashing into the Sahuagin site.

Chaos instantly erupted. The tree crushed two wooded structures which I assumed were houses of some sort. A dozen fish men were caught under the falling tree, most of them dead on impact. The rest dispersed, quickly retreating, and some picked up their weapons. Three of them were really close, hefting spears. A third blast from Djinn made quick work of them. I felt movement on my side and spun, gun in hand. A small blast of magic tore through a pair of Sahuagin and crippled a third. They were amassing now, having realized this wasn’t an attack but just some idiot with an ambush tactic. I kept firing my gun until the bullets ran out and sheathed it. I flicked my sword towards the sand and channeled magic. A burst of air sent a cloud of sand erupting upwards. The Sahuagin slowed down their charge and began playing Bumping Cars with each other. Not a particularly safe game when carrying sharp weapons.

I knelt and held Djinn with both hands in front of me, tip pointing squarely at an individual Sahuagin silhouette. With a small burst of magic the short sword’s blade glowed a faint blue and elongated. Like an impossibly long spear it impaled the Sahuagin and I willed it back. The spell took less than a second. Immediately I found my next target. Djinn’s blade glowed and shot forwards again, like a viper striking at its prey, expanding and contracting faster than the opponent’s reaction. I struck the Sahuagin down one by one, and lost track of the number after reaching twenty. Some I had to stab twice. It seemed a little cold-hearted, just stabbing them like that, but I soon pushed those feelings away. This was survival and only mine mattered.

Besides, if I got sentimental over every monster I killed in my career, I would have closed shop years ago.

Once the fighting was over, I hacked the tree once more, and rolled a two-meter trunk onto the water. It floated lazily and I straddled it and bent over, my chest flat against the bark, and used my arms and legs as paddles. The tide was against me but that only made me paddle harder.

I was close to going back home.

After a twenty minute workout I finally made it to the spot where I had popped out of yesterday. I didn’t have to be exact, contrary to popular belief. Wormholes work via an energy source and tears in the fabric of the universe. A couple of feet aren’t that big a deal when the space-time continuum was literally being torn apart.

So I stopped pedaling and sat upright. This was the spot. All I had to do now was churn that energy and hey presto, we got a portal. This was it: no more sleeping in caves, no more monsters at every corner, no more strange lands. I will go back to the land of incessant ambient noise pollution, annoying evil telemarketers and somewhat decent television—that little place I like to call home.

Easy, Erik. Don’t celebrate just yet. Get that portal open first.

I closed my eyes, letting every feeling and concern simply wash away. The lull of the waves was hypnotizing and for the first time during my stay on the island, I felt peaceful. Slowly I reached inside, towards that dark area which I always shy away from. There was a terrible power there, and despite feeling really awesome and powerful when I accessed it, I knew it came with strings. The greater the power, the greater the price you pay for it, and I had no desire to find out what price tag mine came with.

But this was survival. In other words: fuck it.

I felt the darkness whip around me, slowly at first, as if testing the waters. Dark Erik was nowhere to be seen within my subconscious, until I finally realized that I had never really sought out my power. Maybe that’s why I wasn’t on Ashura or whatever. Maybe Dark Erik was just my imagination. Or perhaps he was simply the collective representation of my ability, an entity which my powers gave birth to in order to communicate with me. Whatever it was, it wasn’t here now and I could feel the familiar shadows seep from my skin. I willed them inside the water, diving deep in search of a trace of magic. Once my powers reacted with the portal’s magical residue they would reactivate the spell and I could say sayonara to this shithole.

I put in another burst of effort and expanded my search. I felt each individual tendril as part of my being, existing somewhere in between the physical reality and the ethereal nature of magic.

Finally there it was. That spark, that tiny magical footprint. All I had to do was focus all of my energy into it and—

Another tendril found another clump of energy, identical to the first. As did another, and another, and another.

Soon the entire area I was canvassing with a mass of living shadows was alive with magic. I soon realized this wasn’t the magical footprint of a spell.

This was the Core of this plane of existence, the nucleus that held this particular dimension together.

Curious and fearful, I explored this energy by interweaving my shadows with the vibrant pulse of this plane, trying to understand it better. Perhaps if I could access even a portion of the plane’s magic I could ward off the monsters, or maybe even recreate a portal on Earth, taking advantage of the fact these two planes were literally crashing into each other.

I was too optimistic.

The plane’s magic responded with two simple facts. One, that it was a closed system. This was a self-contained pocket universe and no one got in or out if it; not unless they had an Etherium Key anyway. There was absolutely no trace of Earth’s energy on it, as if the whole issue with mashing onto the latter plane had never existed.

As far as this pocket universe was concerned it was business as usual.

Fact number two, and this one terrified the living crap out of me: I always knew that every plan of existence, every universe or dimension, whatever you want to call it, had a Core. Not like a planet’s core but a magical Core. We all have this as humans, and the universe has one too, only far bigger. But that Core is never alive: it’s just a source of energy.

But this plane’s Core was very much alive, and a little on the rowdy side. Without warning I felt it push against me, and believe me, no one can fight back an entire universe. Not even one as small as this.

The mass of energy pushed back against my shadows and eradicated them.

Suddenly I was back on the log, lulling on the waves in the middle of the ocean, staring into the watery dark blue pit.

“No, no, no!” I tried accessing my powers again but they had retreated into a dark corner of my mind and refused to come out. I could feel the power, but I couldn’t reach it.

“Come on,” I yelled. “I was this close. This close!”

I tried harder and harder, using my rage as fuel to try and coerce my ability out again. I had to go home, I had to. I couldn’t survive here, not like this. I was tired, and weak, and I had my family waiting for me on the other side. I couldn’t stay here.

Immediately my mind pulled up a slideshow of all my friends and family, and I felt the dark cloud of despair loom over me. What if I never see them again? What if I had to live here forever, completely forgotten from the world I once called home? Panic seeped in, dulling my reason and I began shaking.

“Come on, work. Just work, dammit!”

Nothing.

“I said, work!”

My throat felt like I had swallowed a few shards of glass. And still, there was nothing. The final note of my scream rang heavy through the vastness of the ocean and, for a second, I heard and saw nothing but the waves crashing against the log.

Then, in the distance, I heard the familiar shriek of one of those weird eel-like monsters that had come through the portal. My mind immediately conjured up images of that battle, and all the unwanted guests it had brought, the worst of all being the Abyss Wurms. No doubt there were more of them lurking beneath me as I raged at the ocean.

Utterly defeated I turned back and pedaled towards the island. I had suffered loss before, but somehow I could always make peace with it. There’s a finality to death that allows you to move on and grieve. You know it’s over and that is something your mind can rationalize.

But this was different. This felt like theft. I had ones whom I loved and who loved me back, and they had no idea whether I was alive or dead. It was the unknown that terrified me, the idea that I would be stuck here for who knows how many days, weeks or even months. I already missed them and honestly, at that moment, I would have done anything to go back home.

Five minutes into my pedaling, I was already crying my eyes out. There was nothing to be ashamed of. Missing family and being sad is not a sign of weakness, and don’t ever let anyone tell you any different. I truly loved my friends and family, blood relation or not, and I had no doubt they loved me back. We had a bond, and so long as I believed in that bond, then nothing could sever it.

So I allowed myself to weep and wail in sadness. I allowed myself to puke all those emotions out of me because they would do nothing but hurt me. I had to survive on this island so that I could return home. Every problem has a solution, and the despair I was letting out now would do nothing to help me find it. I had to be completely rational if I was to ever make it back home to my family.

And so, I allowed myself to cry.

Chapter 20

Two weeks.

That’s how long it took me to find my bearings in that godforsaken maze of a forest. Everywhere I looked there was green, then more green, followed by more green. The stuff of nightmares. There was vegetation everywhere in sight, except for one place.

At the far horizon, somewhere at the centre of the mass of trees, stood an obelisk of pure light. It was like a white beacon, tall and erect, in stark contrast against the blue-and-green background. I felt power coming from it as if beckoning me to get close to it.

Usually I tend to avoid giant beacons of light. I mean, whichever way you cut it, there was no way that wasn’t a trap of some kind. But my options here were limited: stay here and get eaten by a giant Wurm, ripped apart by Sahuagin, or try to get out of this forest, and maybe even out of this universe, that I was trapped in.

One step at a time, Erik. I spent a day or so walking towards the giant monument. Knowing very well that I might just be going around in circles, I did the smart thing and marked the trees I passed. Ten hours later and, what’d you know, I’m right back where I started. Usually I would curse, maybe kick something, then dust myself off and try again, possibly with more violence. But I had no more anger left and my brain couldn’t even register the concept of despair anymore. Which was probably a good thing.

There had to be a way to reach that obelisk. When I melded with the plane’s essence I had felt more than just one life form around me. This was a thriving piece of land that had its own closed ecosystem. Which meant that someone—something—had to have built that giant thing and put it there.

I spent the night atop a tree, again not daring to fall asleep. By the time the sun came up again I was in full survival mode. It had been a while since I had done the whole ‘live in a forest’ thing but it’s really just like riding a bike. A dirty, leafy bike with things constantly trying to eat you.

Home base was easy to establish. I found this patch of clearing right at the edge of the forest near the rocky area I hid in on my first night here. It was firm, solid and somewhat sheltered. I built a fence from felled trees and the skeletal remains of a dead Wurm I found. Don’t ask me how it died. Let’s just say cannibalism isn’t that foreign a concept once you run out of fish men to eat. The rocky undergrowth made sure that no Wurms would sneak under me, meaning that for once, I could watch them instead of the other way around.

The most annoying things were the Critters. Or at least that’s what I called the scorpion-like creatures the size of my forearm, with pincers, a barbed tail, and a pair of jaws with inward pointing fangs made to rip out flesh. Their exoskeletons were bleached white, with the occasional dark or red stripe, most likely for terrain camouflage. I found a nest of five near the tent I had built, and was stung and bit about a million times before I caught all of them. I spent the rest of the day throwing up a mixture of very little food and a lot of stomach acid, followed by a bout of diarrhea that, in my honest opinion, served as much-needed fertilizer for some of the plants. I passed out a few hours later and woke up to find the same bunch of Critters still where I had left them.

Turns out these things were blind, communicating solely through echolocation and pheromones. Their sting and poison contained said pheromones and that now marked me as friendly. It would only be a matter of time before my healing factor purged out all of the foreign chemicals in my system, but for now I was enjoying the wonderful crittery company of five such creatures. Every day, they would disappear through the rock, digging a network of underground tunnels, and pop up randomly just to gnaw on some Wurm bones. That’s when I got the idea to use them as scouts. I would grab the biggest ones by the tail and fling them around the forest. If they made it back safely by the end of the day, that meant no Wurms were in that area.

But I never lost sight of the big picture. Living in the wildlife is exactly like living in a foreign city. You can’t read the signs or speak the language. You are utterly lost, in the purest sense of the word. When looking for water in a forest, you don’t follow the muddy paw prints of some animal; you follow the animal itself. Let the deer guide you to the water. The deer is smart, smarter than you in this regard, and knows exactly where the water is and where the predators are. If you follow the deer, not only will you get water but you might also get a meal at the end of the day with a well-placed shot.

I quickly realized that in this magical forest, there were no deer around.

I did, however, follow the unicorns.

Hunting in that place required some major adjustments. For one thing, all the creatures around me were predators, no matter how cute and cuddly they looked. Everything was dinner. We humans are so used to being at the top of the food chain that such a concept has been lost to us. We still have the instincts but we don’t know what to do with them. But on this plane, the only human around was so low on the food chain that if this were a restaurant I would be considered either an appetizer or just a condiment.

The second thing was that all my toys were nearly useless. My gun was practically a paperweight. Yeah, it could fire bullets but half the creatures I met were so tough they could just shrug them off. Pumping magic through the gun would have been useless too. A bullet is still a bullet and no magic can change that. You can increase speed, power, rotation, whatever, but if something is immune to bullets, a gun is about as useful as a fortune teller helping you out with your career choices.

Djinn was useful but the thing about carrying a glowing sword in the middle of the forest is that every insect that ever existed will come buzzing towards you. And unless you know exactly what your prey is, it’s never a good idea to announce your presence. Most of what I could categorize as ‘food’ was either faster than I was or had some trick up its sleeve.

And the unicorns had both.

They lived in packs of a dozen or so: ten black unicorns to one pretty white one. The black ones were slightly smaller, with lean muscle and a perfect equine shape. Their fur was sleek and black like ink, with tufts of red hair at each of their hoofs and a shaggy mane. Most had some sort of red marking on their heads, usually the forehead or around the eyes. Their horn was at least two feet long, black as night, with the tip burning a bright crimson.

I learnt early on to stay away from that thing.

When we think unicorns we get these images from a Disney movie or some My Little Pony cartoon.

But these very real unicorns quickly shattered that image. Aggressive and territorial, they attacked prey like lionesses attacked gazelles. They would get in close to stab whatever poor thing they wanted to eat, skewer it a few times and wait. Wait for the poison to take effect.

That horn was highly venomous, injecting a toxin that rendered even tree-sized Wurms helpless. From simple observation I guessed it first paralyzed the victim and then worked its way into the central nervous system. More poison would cause internal bleeding and the horn wound would develop severe necrosis around it.

In short, stay away from the unicorns.

Anything that carries around that much poison cannot—should not—be edible. Then again I’ve seen crazy idiots eat Blowfish and walk away with a droopy smile on their face, but I didn’t want to test out my luck. My magic was still on the fritz, and even now that it had somewhat stabilized, I still didn’t want to try eating a poison unicorn.

Not when there was a tasty Bicorn sitting just a few feet away.

Bicorns were pure white with a slender physique and slanted backs, looking kind of like a reindeer or a mountain goat. They were bigger than the unicorns and almost as tall as I was at my full height. They had a pair of horns instead of just one—hence the clever name I had given them—and they both rose from their foreheads like the antlers of a gazelle or an antelope. Those horns were white as snow and kept on growing. Younger Bicorns had just two straight horns, while on elder Bicorns they branched out like reindeer antlers.

Their red eyes indicated that they were either a subspecies or some genetic mutation. Either way, those Bicorns had some major street cred within the rest of the tribe. Unicorns were vicious and violent, often fighting each other, but they never once touched the Bicorn. In fact something told me that Bicorns were smarter than the average unicorn. They had complete control over the pack and were often guarded, with unicorns always warding off predators like soldiers protecting their king.

I had stumbled across a unicorn herd by mistake and killed the entire family, including the Bicorn. I knew not to eat the unicorns but the Bicorns had no poison to speak of. In fact, after a little open-fire barbecue, I had the first filling meal in a long while. Something in that meat made me feel stronger and healthier.

So that pretty much filled my schedule for the next few days. I would circle around my home base in wider and wider circles, trying to find a way out of the forest and hunt for Bicorns. Slowly, I realized that these equine creatures always stayed on the path that led out of the forest. All I had to do was hide until I was ready to eliminate them. Trees got less dense and the obelisk got bigger and bigger until it nearly filled half of my entire field of vision.

Laying my stuff down I set eyes on a unicorn herd. My coat, along with my gun and a Wurm-hide sleeping blanket were all rolled up together and stashed behind a tree. Djinn was strapped to my back in its usual place and I preferred not to use it, if I could avoid doing so. Actively using magic in this place was exhausting.

Instead I carried a bow I had carved out of a tree on my third night here. I had even fashioned a quiver for my arrows which I kept strapped to my left hip. It was more of a belt, and not very comfortable, and could only hold half a dozen arrows but it did the trick. Arrows had been easy to make: twigs were aplenty in this place.

It was my archery practice that had needed some work but after a few days of hunting, it was top notch again. The need for survival does wonders for your learning skills.

I did not waste time looking for the Bicorn. Instead I just took out the unicorn sentries and moved further into their territory. There I found more unicorns that I had to kill. Once you get the hang of it, killing the same creature over and over again becomes quite easy. Halfway through my arrows were either too far to retrieve or broken, so I had to resort to my magical short sword. But again, no biggie.

The Bicorn was the last thing to die and after an hour of building a fire, cutting the horse up and shish-kebabing it, I was enjoying a lovely meal.

And that’s when I heard the scream.

My arrow was already notched and ready to fire, but I remained hidden behind the vegetation to watch what was going on. This was a new roar, one I hadn’t heard before. Wurm, Critters, unicorns—by now I could identify each and every one of the fifteen new monsters I had named during my two-week stay inside this hell hole of a forest.

This scream matched none of them.

They were a trio of men. Well no, not quite men, but they looked human. My heartbeat accelerated when I saw them: there were other people on this plane!

Then I began looking for details. Their arms were too long and slender. They were about six feet tall, and thin, almost sickly. They had long hair that came down to their shoulders: two dark-haired and the other a golden blond color. Their ears slightly longer and flat, almost like a bat’s. They ran awkwardly as if their bones were heavier than usual and every movement took a lot more effort.

Or maybe they just never worked out a day in their lives.

Judging from their clothes, I’d say these guys weren’t from around my place. They wore a one piece tunic of tan and beige, with a dark-colored sash around their waist and thick shoes that ended in a rounded point. They all wore a set of bangles on their arms and the blond one had a pair of earrings that had an emerald ball dangling from each one. In short, they looked like very rich elves from a fantasy novel and did not fit the image of belonging in this wild, rough-and-tumble forest.

Which I suppose explains why they were running and screaming bloody murder. At one point, a dark-haired one stumbled on the ground, bashing his face against a tree. Dark, greenish blood oozed out of his nose and his companions bent down to help him.

Meanwhile, whatever made the foreign roar emerged.

It was a battle between beast and machine. The beast was seven feet tall with mud-brown fur and thick limbs that could have torn a man in half. It walked with a hunch and once its back turned I could see why. From each of its vertebrae, a black stone jutted out, like a mound of obsidian. It had a small stub of a tail, just barely over a foot long, covered in fur. From its shoulders a pair of black horns, matching the bumps along its spine, jutted out: three-inches-worth of black spikes. The beast had wild feral eyes, bloodshot red with a yellow pupil, almost like a cat’s. You know, if said cat was the love child of King Kong and the Hulk. The beast roared and swung wildly at the annoying robot in front of it.

The robot was as strange as they come—and that’s saying something, given that I was in a magical land, in a creepy forest full of poisonous unicorns, watching three elves pee their pants, while a real-life Big Foot smashed a robot.

The robot’s main feature was that it had no feet. In fact, just where the hips began on a human skeleton, this thing had a rounded plate that just hummed and hovered above the ground. It was fast though, darting around the place. Its shoulders were wide, and it looked almost like an inverted triangle—starting at a tapered point from the spherical bottom to a pair of wide shoulders where a pair of metallic arms ended with giant hands. Its head was round with a slit down the middle, just like an ass crack.

I know. I laughed too when I saw it.

The bottom half of the automaton’s face was a triangle that looked like Darth Vader’s helmet. The entire machine was completely silver, gleaming under the sun. Veins of yellow and blue ran underneath the metal chassis of the robot where what I assumed to be electricity coursed through.

The robot sure looked cool, but that was just about it. The beast pummeled into it, grabbed its arms and ripped it apart. Finally it grabbed its head, wrenched it apart and proceeded to disembowel the robot like a kid unwrapping a Christmas present. Finally, it tossed the robot’s remains aside and turned to the elves who stood there stunned.

One of them tapped a bangle and I felt the crackle of magic in the air. Before he could launch whatever spell he wanted to, the beast’s hand smacked into him and the elf was sent flying. The blond elf grabbed the brown-haired elf that fell earlier, yelled something in a foreign language and tossed him towards the elf that the beast had just thrown.

Then the blond elf took a stance in front of the beast. Brave but he wasn’t fooling anyone. I could see the tremble in his body. Those clothes flapped with every knee jerk. He was scared and the beast knew it. All three of them were going to die.

Unless of course, a certain good-looking, smart-mouth wizard saved the day. They might even be so grateful as to take me to their city and throw me a hero parade. They might even know how to get out of here.

I watched as the elf pulled out a fist-sized rod of dull silver steel and extended it into a spear. Still trembling he yelled something and stabbed his weapon into the beast. Big Foot didn’t even move. The spear pierced muscle and was stuck there. The beast roared, swung its body to one side violently and both Legolas and the spear were thrown away. I kept my eyes on the weapon: it had blood on the first two inches of the blade but no further. Which meant that it couldn’t penetrate bone. Whatever that creature was, it had bones harder than steel and my flimsy arrow was going to do jack shit against it. Time to switch tactics.

I slung the bow around me and reached into my stash. I always kept a pair of unicorn horns with me, just in case some creature ambushed me. The poison was fast and strong enough to stop anything in its tracks and, best part, so long as it got into the bloodstream, it didn’t matter how deep the horn penetrated.

I pulled one out, stood up as I took aim and threw the horn like a dart. The black poison spike flew right into the beast’s leg. Enraged, the beast pulled the horn out, tearing its own leg muscle, and threw it away. I expected it to be on the ground by now but instead it reared up, saw me and charged.

I grabbed the other horn and threw it as well. Again, it embedded itself in the monster’s shoulder. The beast’s run went into a tangent and smashed into a tree. The poison must have finally taken effect.

Proving me wrong once more, the beast stood up, as healthy as ever. Just more enraged and focused on killing the good-looking, smart-mouthed wizard that thought two unicorn horns could stop it.

It swung a giant arm at me and I blocked with both Djinn and my left arm. I felt bone snap as my forearm swelled up, and then felt the familiar sensation of my healing magic. I wrenched Djinn out of the beast and rolled away. It roared as it nursed its arm, showing me a cut that had torn through muscle but not bone.

Pitch-black bone.

My arm healed and I grabbed Djinn with both hands. Screw the fatigue. I was on a personal vendetta to prove to myself that I could kill any creature in this shithole and one giant monkey with a tough skeleton was not breaking that streak.

The beast swung again and this time I was prepared. Djinn’s blade was elongated and azure, shining bright blue in contrast to the forest’s green. I met the swing with one of my own and sliced the beast’s arm off. As the limb tumbled down I heard the elves behind me gasp.

The azure blade had been reduced in size, almost as if mere contact with the beast was sucking away my magic. No matter. Plenty more where that came from. I sliced again, this time along the ribs. I did not cut through bone, but the gash was deep enough to be mortal. Not waiting to see the results of my handiwork, I swung around the beast, jumped and latched onto its head. My legs found purchase on its back, using the black bones jutting out as footholds. I held Djinn in reverse grip, with the edge downwards and pointed straight at the beast’s skull. The blade had returned to its regular size but still glowed bright blue. With a feral yell I stabbed it downwards, driving it into the beast’s skull.

It fell on the ground but I wasn’t done. Still yelling in effort I sliced downwards, bisecting through the skull, spine and torso. The beast fell face forwards with its head and back split open. I sheathed Djinn and stomped on the monster’s brain cavity, sending brain matter flying around. Can’t regenerate if you don’t have a brain to give out the right signals.

There was a moment of stunned silence while the elves got back up. I ignored them, calmly grabbing my bow and an arrow. Mostly I just scanned the land for signs of more monsters.

From behind me I heard the blond elf say something in his language. It had a lot of ‘a’s and ‘e’s and a bunch of sounds that I couldn’t properly understand, let along replicate. So I ignored him. He took a step forwards, arms spread. I could feel his internal struggle—do I trust the stranger with some clear issues or do I use those nice bangles and fire off a spell?

I quickly solved his dilemma before he could take a second step. I turned sharply, pulled my bowstring and aimed the arrow right in between his eyes. Whatever language you speak, everyone understands an arrow to the face.

Legolas froze and stood very, very still. I glanced at the others. They too were motionless. I exhaled, focused on the blond and began what I hoped would become fruitful conversation.

“What, in the fuck, are you?”

Chapter 21

My name is Erik Ashendale and I am not a people person.

“Who are you?” I asked again. The petrified blond elf-looking guy in front of me trembled with eyes wide open as I got in close and almost shoved the arrow in his face.

Legolas began saying something, which of course I did not understand and made me that much more irritated.

“Great. Anyone here speak English? Anybody?”

One of the two elves at the back took a step forward. I thought he was volunteering for a translation but then he turned and bent over to pick up the discarded robot head.

“Hey!” I yelled. Legolas and the other dark-haired fellow said something, waving their arms to placate me but I wasn’t having it. I couldn’t risk letting them get weapons or pull some weird trick.

“Back off,” I yelled again at the brown-haired elf. He gave me a worried look and repeated whatever Legolas had said five seconds earlier, all the while slowly bending over to grab the robot head.

My arrow landed three millimeters away from his hand and panic took over the rest of the elves. I had already notched another arrow, pointing it at the blond’s neck.

“Next one will start the killing spree,” I said.

Legolas stepped in front of my shot.

“Okay, Blondie,” I said. “You’re first to go if shit gets real.”

By now the brown-haired one was fiddling with the robot head. His bangles glowed the same color as the electrical veins in the robot’s head. He began talking to the black-haired elf and I heard the word ‘English’ being thrown around.

“English?” I moved slightly to get the other two elves in my field of vision and monitor them better. “Yeah, English is good.”

Finally the brown-haired elf looked up at me and said,

“Excuse me.”

It wasn’t a question. It seemed like he was just testing his newfound lingual abilities and seeing if I would react.

Which I did.

“Finally,” I exclaimed. “Okay, let’s start this over. Who the hell are you guys?”

“Excuse me,” repeated the brown-haired elf.

“What the hell, buddy? Do you speak English or not?”

And predictably: “Excuse me?”

Hey, at least this time it was a question.

Have you ever been in a situation where you really needed to talk to someone and they didn’t speak the language? Now imagine that same position, only you had to go Tarzan for two weeks and the other people are elves.

Freakin’ elves.

Before I could educate the three in front of me, or possibly just shoot them out of sheer frustration, the blond elf turned his head, ordered something and was handed the robot head.

“So you’re the leader, huh?” I stepped slightly back in case he got creative with that head. “Don’t try anything stupid.”

He fiddled with the metallic implement, did a light show with the bangles and looked up at me.

“We come in peace.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

Legolas cocked his head. “No. I not kid. And I not fuck you.”

It would have been funny if I wasn’t half-drenched in monster blood and starting to smell.

“Who are you people?” I asked.

The blond pointed at himself. “We are Vensir. You are not Vensir. What are you?”

I lowered my bow. “I’m human.”

“You are not of this world.”

“Got that right.”

“And yet you can kill a Wild. How is this?”

I pointed at the monster. “Wild? That what you call that thing?” The elf—or should I say Vensir—nodded. “Well, I ain’t got a single clue as to how I survived in this shit hole.”

“You slay Ulgeki.”

“Say what now?”

“Ulgeki,” repeated the blond as he placed one index finger on his forehead and then pointed at the unicorn horns lying on the ground.

“Oh, you mean unicorns. Sorry, I’m not up to speed on my Vensir to English dictionary.”

“Ulgeki are very hard to kill. Ulgethra even harder. Most special.”

“Lemme guess: white horse with two horns?”

Legolas nodded.

“It was tasty and delicious.”

The dark-haired elves gasped—who gasps anymore?—while the blonde’s eyebrows shot up. “You eat Ulgethra?”

I nodded.

“That is amazing,” he said astonished. “No Vensir has ever killed Ulgethra before.”

I shrugged. “I’m not Vensir.”

“No, you are not.” The blond elf took a step forwards. “And yet you save Vensir from Wild. Why you do this?”

“Man, I don’t know,” I replied exasperatedly. I looked at his big confused eyes and figured I might as well earn some points for humanity. After all I am the first, and most likely last, man these people will see.

Geez, that’s just sad. Out of all people, I had to be our ambassador.

“Where I’m from, if someone’s down we try to help them up. Or at least we should. I guess it’s in my nature to slay the big bad monster and save the little guys.”

“Then that is just like Vensir,” said Legolas.

“Yeah, we’re peas in a pod,” I replied sarcastically. “You know, if you were to take away the kinky ears and a couple of digits. And we do get bad hair days. Seriously, how do you do that? You guys must have some killer conditioner up in this joint.”

“I do not understand.”

“Don’t worry about it. Just a joke,” I said, waving him off. “So what now, Mr. Vensir?”

He cocked his head to one side and pondered for a minute. “You are not Vensir,” he finally said.

“Yep,” I interjected.

“And yet you behave like Vensir. And you kill Wild to help Vensir.”

“We’ve already been over this, buddy.”

“Why are you here?”

“Would you believe I was thrown in a portal by a crazy-ass angel and stuck here for god knows how long with no way to get out?”

Apparently he did not believe it. Or perhaps he just didn’t get it. Either way, Legolas just stared quizzically at me.

“I am stuck here. I am looking for a way home. And something tells me over there is the answer,” I said pointing at the giant obelisk in the horizon.

The Vensir nodded. “That is a most important place in our city.”

“You have a city?”

“Yes. We call it Citadel.”

“And that thing is inside of it?”

“Yes. That is… how you say… Central.”

I smirked at him. “You mean the centre? Like a town square?”

The elf shook his head. “I do not understand. Tall building is named Central.”

“So lemme get this straight. You have a city named Citadel and a giant building in the centre named Central.” I let out a laugh. “Didn’t go the extra mile in naming them, huh?”

Legolas just stood there. “I do not understand.” Apparently laughter isn’t translatable.

I waved him off. “Don’t worry about it. Just remember, we’re peas in a pod. Almost the same.”

“Yes.”

“Alright then. How do I get there?” I said pointing at Central.

The blond Vensir beamed for the first time. “I will take you to our city. You will be welcomed as a guest and as a hero who saved Vensir. You will be celebrated for having killed a Wild. You will be our hero.”

“Cool,” I replied. “So I follow you and you shower me with gifts? Just like that?”

“I do not understand.”

I sighed. There was no way to tell if he was screwing with me or he just didn’t understand the language. Either way, someone who’s screwing you isn’t going to tell you up front that they are screwing you. Racking my brain wasn’t going to help me. Better play this out by going along with whatever they had planned. At least I’ll be one step closer to finally getting out of here.

Legolas gave a rapt order and the two dark-haired Vensir began collecting the robot parts. One of them grabbed the unicorn horns and stacked them with the rest of the pile in his arms. I grabbed him as he walked past me.

“I’ll take those back if that’s all the same to you,” I said. “And that,” I added nodding at the arrow that nearly pierced his hand a few minutes ago.

The Vensir shook visibly and looked nervously at his fair-haired leader, who just nodded. I took my horns and my arrow and we all started walking, me and the leader in front with the two carrying the metal junk at the back.

“What’s that thing?” I asked casually, referring to the scrapped robot.

“Sentinel. It helps and protects Vensir,” Legolas replied. “Every Vensir has one to make life easier. Some Sentinels are also good for protection outside of the Citadel, from Wild or Ulgeki or Trath.”

“Trath?” Then I took a wild guess. “Giant, long creatures with big giant mouths?”

“Yes. Trath.”

Got it—Trath means Wurm.

“And that’s in Vensir language, right?” I inquired. “Not universal?”

“You call them differently in English?”

“Wurms.”

Legolas seemed interested in our zoology banter. “And Ulgeki is unicorn, yes?”

“You catch on quick.”

“What you call Sentinels?”

“We don’t have them.”

He looked at me quizzically. “No? Then you will have the finest Sentinel in all of Citadel once we arrive.”

“Sweet. I’m getting me a robot.”

The quizzical look remained. “What is robot? And how come it is sweet?”

I sighed for the hundredth time that day. “Don’t worry about it. Just remember the peas.”

Chapter 22

After two weeks of living in a shack made out of half-rotten tree branches and dead monster hide, I expected the Citadel to be little more than a glorified fort and a couple of tree houses. Now that I stood on the hill with Legolas and his two robot-carrying flunkies, I felt a pang of anger and jealousy at the sight of the Vensir’s dwelling place.

The Citadel’s circular outer walls were pristine white, rising fifteen feet from the ground. Buildings had spherical roofs and were spread around in neat patches of igloo-shaped dwellings. They too were white with veins of silver and gold around the edges. Some of the buildings were larger than the rest. One of them, a large busy building that stood solitary from the rest, had a rectangular shape that then sloped into a dome at the top.

There were Vensir and Sentinels everywhere. Most were tinkering over workbenches, which made me think these people were craftsmen or artisans. Men and women seemed to have the same jobs: hammering spears, sharpening knives, weaving fabrics together, tending the fields at the edge of the city. The whole thing looked like medieval Renaissance fair, but with weirdly-shaped people and the occasional spark of magic.

Legolas and his group were greeted like heroes of the old returning after slaying the dragon. Of course, their smiles and waving froze awkwardly the moment they saw me. Most of them backed away slowly although the more curious ones just stood still, watching the strange human walk behind their blond hero.

The second we entered the Citadel, four Sentinels hovered around me, surrounding me. In their robotic hands they held short pikes, and while they didn’t point them at me, it was clear that if I pissed anyone off they would gore me.

“Hey,” I called out to Legolas. “A little help here.”

The Vensir gave me an annoyed look, then raised his eyebrow. He said something in his native tongue and the robots backed off, still hovering in formation, but at least their cold hostility was far away from me. Still, I noticed that they weren’t so far as to be unable to react if I decided to go berserk.

“Summon the other High Councilors,” ordered the blond Vensir in English. He nodded at me. “We shall pass judgment on our guest.”

Out of all the words in the English language, ‘judgment’ is one of the worst. It’s supposed to be fair and just, but we all know that’s often not the case. For that to happen you need people who aren’t corruptible, and in my book, that’s just not possible. No, in my experience, judgment usually means the underdog gets screwed in a variety of ways, and none of them pleasurable.

My hand grabbed Djinn’s handle. “Judgment?”

Legolas raised his eyebrows. “Why the hostility?” he asked. “Judgment must be passed on all within the Citadel.”

That raised more questions than it answered. And besides, any place that decrees a phrase like ‘judgment will be passed on all’ should be avoided at all costs.

“I’m not staying for any judgment,” I said sternly.

“Perhaps there has been a mistranslation, our dear guest.”

The voice came from a very old Vensir, dressed in cream-and-tan robes like the ones Legolas wore. He wore a cloak of ivory white and leaned on a walking stick. Behind him, a group of elder Vensir followed closely.

“What’s this, the Betty White Elf brigade?” I asked eyeing the new entourage wearily.

The elder Vensir gently touched Legolas on the arm and nodded. It wasn’t a secret handshake type of thing. More along the lines of two acquaintances acknowledging each other.

“We do not intend to harm or disturb you in any way,” said the elder Vensir.

“That’s what they all say,” I shot back. “So what sort of judgment are you going to pass? Cos lemme tell you, there ain’t a jail cell you can build that’s gonna keep me.”

The elder smiled. “Nothing of the sort will happen. We wish to ask you a few questions, if you please.”

My stance relaxed. Questions—yeah, I could do questions. After everything I’ve been through, questions seemed like a nice change of pace. And yet, it was usually at this stage that I managed to say the wrong thing and fuck up any chance I have of not shooting myself in the foot.

“First,” the elder Vensir asked. “What are you?”

“I’m human. I’m from a different world,” I replied. Then I paused for a moment, just to figure out how to phrase the next part. “In my world we call them planes or dimensions. One cannot simply cross between these planes unless you have a special device. There was… an accident, I guess, and I wound up here. I’m looking for a way out.”

The elder nodded. “We know all about the universe and its many branches. Answer me this next, young human. What do you seek in our lands?”

Here it comes. The part where I fuck up and spears are drawn. “That,” I replied, pointing at the obelisk in the background. “I can feel magic in there.”

“Feel magic?” The elder murmured something to the others and whatever he said generated a spark of hushed conversation. Then the old guy turned back to me. “Please explain how you feel magic.”

My eyebrow shot up. “Okay, I’ll bite,” I said. “Where I’m from, most people can’t use magic, but there are some, like myself, who are born with the ability to manipulate energy, bend physics, cast spells, that sort of thing. You know, magic.”

More murmuring. This was starting to get on my nerves.

“Why are you wasting time on this?” I retorted. “You guys use magic too. I’ve seen what your little metal rods and your jewelry can do. And they pack some serious heat,” I said, pointing at one of the brown-haired Vensir, who I saw blast the monster with a green-colored spell right in the face.

“We construct our weapons from materials extracted from Central,” Legolas said. “The energy is a result of Central, not ourselves.”

“Well think of it this way,” I said. “It’s like we have a small Central within us that no one can see or touch but it gives us this energy.”

“Do not say such absurdities.” This came from another elder Vensir. “Nothing can wield the power of our God King. To say such things is sacrilege. Do you claim to be a god?”

Too easy. “Only in bed.”

Their response was to yell at me in their native tongue. See—this is why I don’t like old people. They can’t take jokes from a smart mouth.

“Fellow High Councilors,” Legolas said, stepping in front of them. “I do not believe in this business of gods and mysticism. However I have seen this human kill a Wild.”

Now everyone in the audience gasped at the mention of the monster.

“He succeeded where no other Vensir ever has,” he continued. “Not even our Sentinel could do anything against the monster and yet, this foreign creature appeared out of nowhere, slew the monster and saved three of your brethren. Saved me, a High Councilor. I have seen his power with my own eyes. I can attest to what he speaks and can confirm its veracity.”

He turned to me. “Perhaps the human is not a god, but he has proven himself a friend to the Vensir. It is now our duty to repay him in kind by welcoming him to our Citadel.”

The old Vensir, the one who was asking the questions, let out a chuckle. “Indeed, that was a nice speech. You always had a knack,” he said, slyly winking at the blond. Then he turned to me.

“Human,” he said. “It is my duty and great pleasure to welcome you to the heart of our Citadel. You will be garbed in our finest weaves, fed our best stock and be welcomed in whichever venue you choose to pass your time. You will live amongst us with the highest comfort we have to offer in return for your heroic comportment with regards to our brethren.”

He looked at the rest of the Vensir behind him and they nodded in consent. Then he surveyed the rest of the elf-looking people and proclaimed,

“So decrees the High Council of the Vensir. So is our judgment.”

Chapter 23

It took me a couple of days to wrap my head around how the Vensir lived. I guess my twenty-something years of gorging up on Hollywood movies immediately conjured up images of wild men dancing around the fire.

The Vensir were nothing like that. Legolas—because there was no way I could pronounce his real name—took it upon himself to give me tours around the Citadel. The damn thing was huge. We walked past dozens of Vensir going about their daily routines. Most of them were artists at heart. War and conflict wasn’t part of their agenda and only a select few, like the blond tour guide I had around with me, were trained to handle weapons and venture beyond the walls of the city. If it weren’t for the Wild they wouldn’t even need to have weapons in the first place.

At least that’s what Legolas kept saying.

Turns out that saving his life made staying with these guys that much easier. He was part of the High Council, a group of venerated Vensir that led the rest. He told me that each one of the twelve members had something unique to offer. Many were experts in their field and came up with ideas on how to improve the city. Others studied ancient texts and the arcane to better utilize the magic of Central. A few, like Legolas, were more active, and usually in charge of leading exploration expeditions or hunter-gatherer missions. Either way, all decisions were made unanimously, a concept which every human has difficulty grasping. We struggle with uniformity. Even if we completely agree with everyone around us, there is still that something that makes us unique and independent. The Vensir had none of that. To them the individual did not exist. Or at least, wasn’t as important as the collective wellbeing of the entire species. That’s why it didn’t take them long to decide on my judgment.

All in all it was a definite upgrade from living out in the open. No one spoke any English, at least not without their robot companions translating for them, but they were all friendly. I was forced to surrender my weapons on the spot, which did not go down well with me. I couldn’t use magic without my toys. But then again neither could they. I guess this somehow leveled the playing field. Fighting the Vensir on their own rules wasn’t going to lead anywhere good. Might as well play along for now until I got what I wanted and then bailed. The Sentinel that took my weapons was that of the eldest councilor. If push came to shove I could always break into his house. Hopefully it wasn’t going to lead to that but something felt off about these people.

It all seemed too good to be true.

The very next day, the tours began and I had my chance to pick Legolas’s mind about different facts about the Vensir. He answered all my questions and it was only when I talked about Central that he seemed uncomfortable.

“No one is allowed to go near Central except for High Council members, and that’s only when called upon,” he explained.

“Why?” That was the most common word coming out of my mouth these days.

“When the God King calls we must answer. But not all can hear his message. That is how the High Council are selected.”

“Have you ever heard this God King?”

The Vensir gave me a stern look. “I have. But it is very rude and offensive to ask such a question. To ask a High Council member if they have heard the God King is to challenge the very principle of the Citadel and the Vensir.”

In other words, obey the so-called God King or face treason charges. I already hated this King dude.

“Is what I need to get back home in Central?” I asked.

That’s when the blond turned around, facing me and staring me down. His eyes darted to the two Sentinels hovering close to us.

“No one is allowed to go to Central unless they are summoned by the God King,” he said slowly and stiffly. “What you are saying constitutes treason and normally the Sentinels would have disabled you by now.” His expression relaxed by a fraction. “However, you are not from our world and thus had no idea of what you were saying.”

I decided not to challenge him back and get in his face. Instead, I opted to press on with a question that was probably crucial to my busting out of here if shit hit the fan.

“What do you mean ‘disable me’?”

Legolas waved at the pike-carrying robots hovering stealthily behind us. “We built the Sentinels as the Citadel’s protectors. However, they do not serve us individually but rather the God King and Central. If we are of any danger, either to ourselves or to any other Vensir or the Citadel and Central itself, the Sentinels will disable us.”

“You carry around your personal executioners?”

He shook his head. “No, no. They do not inflict pain or death,” he explained. “They merely shut us down until our function is restored for the greater prosperity of the Citadel. Most of the time our Sentinels are vital to our survival and comfort. But some Vensir, especially when past a certain age, tend to lose their focus. The Sentinels help them regain such focus.”

“Holy shit. So what happens if a Vensir completely loses it?” I asked.

“No Vensir completely loses it.”

“Bullshit.”

He got stern again. “Human, do not make the mistake of associating us with your species. Whilst we have discussed similarities, there are clear differences,” he chided. “From what I can gather, your world is rife with distrust and malice. No such thing exists within the Vensir, and so long as Central stands tall and our God King graces us with his blessing, no such thing will ever befall on us.”

And that was the end of day one.

***

Day two started off a little better. My guide seemed to have forgotten the conversation we had had the previous day and simply walked off, chatting about the different fauna and flora we encountered. I drifted off after the third unpronounceable name. Who cares about pronunciation anyway? Do you think a monster is going to give a damn if you’re saying its name correctly as it eats you?

My eyes wandered off and settled on a giant building of wood and white stone, taller than any other building in the vicinity and standing proud, like one of those old mansions that rich people live in.

“Hey yo, Legolas,” I called out.

He turned and cocked his head. “Who is this Legolas you keep referring to? Is it some sort of nickname?”

“Yeah. I can’t pronounce your name so I call you Legolas.”

“What does it mean?”

“It doesn’t mean anything,” I replied. “It’s the name of a fictional character from my world that happens to resemble you a lot.”

“Curious,” he replied. “I would very much like to meet him some day.”

“I’ll get you a Netflix subscription.” Then I pointed at the building. “So what’s that?”

The Vensir nodded at one of the two Sentinels standing by the door. “This was to be one of our stops later on. Do you wish to visit?”

I nodded. “What is it?”

“It’s our library,” Legolas replied as we walked in. Our own Sentinels, who hovered silently behind us, flew off to the side and stood quietly by the door, next to a row of robots.

“No weapons or Sentinels are allowed within the library. We keep all our archives here and should a malfunction occur, the damage would be too great,” he explained.

The place was beautiful. I’m not a library kind of guy. Sure, I do enjoy the occasional novel if I’m not passed out from exhaustion but I can’t stand regular libraries—it’s the silence. That’s just too unnerving.

We passed rows of shelves but none had actual books. Instead, they contained large holographic plates and tiles, that smaller, leaner versions of the Sentinel robots carried around. These were darker in color than the regular ones, with a narrower frame and two spindly legs carrying them instead of floating in the air like the ones outside. They picked up the discs with pincer-like hands and carried them to cubicles and workstations. There were hundreds of these cubicles, each emitting a faint glow of light as the Vensir sitting down at the table would place the holographic plate inside the table itself and place their hands over the top. A keyboard of sorts would emerge—a spherical contraption that looked semi-solid, like a hologram, with buttons placed all over the surface. Keys and switches were not just laid horizontally and vertically but were also layered and tiered into the sphere. It was clearly designed for the Vensir’s long multi-fingered hands and slow, intricate movements.

“We are required to record every piece of new information we think of in our daily lives. Every bout of enlightenment, every new discovery or observation,” Legolas explained in a low voice as we watched Vensir diligently pouring their thoughts over the workstations and the small Sentinels scuttling about like ants in a colony.

“This way, none of our knowledge is ever momentary,” he added. “Once enough data has been placed within the hub, the library Sentinels would automatically cross-reference it for accuracy and link up with the author’s Sentinel for confirmation of the information.” He looked around and smiled proudly. “It is marvelous, isn’t it? I, myself, am required to record everything I see beyond the Citadel gates and of course, every interaction I have with you.”

“What do you say about me?” I asked.

“That is only for the High Council to see,” the Vensir replied. “Anything that has to do with Central or the worlds beyond our own is in the Forbidden Archives.”

“Sounds intriguing.” I let out a soft sight, already knowing the answer to my next question. But, hey, can’t hurt to ask, right? “I don’t suppose you could show me these Forbidden Archives?”

Legolas smiled. “Of course.”

Well, color me surprised.

Chapter 24

When one hears the words ‘forbidden archives,’ one immediately gets these images of dark, dusty places lined with old volumes and scrolls and perhaps the odd, grizzled, bearded wizard in the corner researching ancient volcano-forged rings.

That wasn’t the case here.

It was just another bookcase, one set at the farthest wall from the entrance, surrounded by a giant, thick wall of white mortar. The room itself was circular, with shelves all round it and a giant column in the middle. The column too was lined with smaller shelves. This one held a bunch of those oval things the skinny Sentinels were carrying for the library residents. What really caught my attention, though, were the books—actual books. Thick dusty volumes that looked like they had come straight from the Harry Potter prop room. There were scrolls too. Honest-to-God scrolls made from yellowed parchment, bound in a roll by faded ribbons.

As I said before, I’m not a library guy.

Scratch that.

I was loving this library.

I took a couple of steps forward, completely enamored by the sheer beauty and mystique of the room, when my Vensir guide suddenly stopped me with a hand to the chest.

“Be careful,” he said nodding towards the archway that served as an entrance.

My eyes settled on the myriad of symbols, too small to be recognizable, unless you know exactly what to look for. They were wards, meant to keep everything out of the room no matter how big or small. I focused my senses and saw it: a thin sheet of energy that ran from the very top of the arch all the way to the bottom. A force field. I saw the energy running up and then down, looping at high speeds—enough to shred anyone or anything.

I nodded at Legolas. “Thanks man. Wouldn’t wanna get caught up in that.”

He nodded and gazed around casually.

“So how does one get in there?” I asked.

He gave me an intense look. “No one is allowed within the Forbidden Archives. Not even I, a High Council member, am allowed inside. There are a total of three Vensir who can access beyond this point,” he said, waving his hand lightly at the force field. “Only Vensir chosen by the God King through Central may enter and gaze upon the secrets inside. They simply order the Sentinels in the library to lower the wall.” He leaned in slightly as if to share a clandestine secret. “I have seen it happen once. I cannot explain how but the Sentinel simply obeyed the will of the King through the chosen Vensir. It was quite spectacular.”

“Uh huh,” I said.

I didn’t like this. Will of the God King? That just didn’t seem right to me. I mean don’t get me wrong; I’ve seen some magical stuff happen around me but most of it can be explained, quantified and often replicated. This blind belief crap was just dumb. How can you trust something you don’t even understand?

But I couldn’t just tell him that. Brainwashed people don’t listen to reason, especially if they have been fed that bullshit before their first diaper change. So instead of trying to break walls I knew were never going to give, I chose to focus my attention on the Forbidden Archives. My Vensir guide had already told me that if I were to ever find a reference to the outside world, it would be inside this place. Which meant I had to get in, force field or not.

We were about to walk away and head on with the rest of the tour when something caught my eye. It was a normal book, with a thick cover made from hide or leather. There was nothing special about the book. The title, however, was a completely different story. I couldn’t make most of it but one word stuck out from the rest:

Wyrloga.

To any other wizard or magic practitioner, that word meant next to nothing. In fact, had it not been for my specific upbringing, I would have chalked it up to just another Vensir word. Except it wasn’t a Vensir word.

It was English.

Old, really-freakin’-old English. Maybe even Gaelic. And it wasn’t a nice word either. It was used as a derogatory term for my people, until later on it had lost its esoteric meaning and regular people of an age long past simply used it as a curse word.

Wyrloga.

Warlock. Oath Breaker.

“Erik,” Legolas called out. “Is something the matter?”

I jogged up to him. I liked this guy but he was way too stoic, and letting him know that I was interested in something specific meant he would have more of a reason to stay on guard against me trying to break in.

“You said that only three Vensir ever made it inside that place,” I said casually. “So who are they?”

“Three of the oldest High Council members. You met all three of course, during your judgment.”

He mentioned them by name but there was no way I could pronounce them. Vensir used a wider sound spectrum than us humans. I guess that explained the weird elf ears.

But it didn’t matter. I knew the guys he was referring to. Specifically, I knew of one guy he was referring to: the old guy. The really, really old guy who took charge during my judgment, or whatever the hell that was, and granted me access to live in the Citadel.

The old guy liked me. And if I could sweet-talk him into it, maybe he could let me tag along with him and I could swipe the book or something. It was worth a shot. Now all I had to do was keep an eye out for him.

“Shall we continue our tour?” Legolas asked.

“Sure,” I replied. “Why don’t we pitch up at the town square?”

“Pitch up?”

“It means ‘go.’”

Legolas shook his head. “Our Sentinels can only translate the purest form of the language. Slang and dialects are not recognized.”

So if I wanted to confuse him, all I had to do was talk like Chris Tucker in Rush Hour.

“Why do you wish to visit the plaza?” he asked.

Because when I had first seen the Citadel from the hills, there had been a large concentration of Vensir there. Chances were that the old guy would be there—it was just a matter of probability. But I really couldn’t tell Legolas that. There’s a reason they call it a secret plan.

So I flashed him my brightest smile. “Because that’s where most of the population would be. And since I’m going to be staying here I might as well make as many friends as I can.”

Yeah. And I had to say that with a straight face.

Legolas, not knowing my true, grumpy, somewhat anti-social personality, surprised me for the second time that day and bought that My Little Pony crap hook, line and sinker.

“I am glad to hear you say that,” he said. “Let’s go. I’m sure everyone is eager to meet you.”

***

The piazza was a circular space in the middle of the Citadel, surrounded by stalls and workstations. Countless Vensir worked on jewelry and those magic bracelets, as well as a few studded belts, pieces of armor and even a few weapons. Legolas had explained that the Vensir could not use magic but they could have their weapons or other objects blessed by the God King and use certain powers through those objects.

Back in my world we call them Channels: stuff that can contain and channel magic. Hence the name. We’re clever that way.

But for something like this Central thing to give out that much magical power to so many different objects was quite impressive. You’re talking about quality and quantity here. The more I kept hearing about Central, the more I yearned to check it out. Something that powerful could actually be the catalyst for opening the portal.

But first, I had a library to infiltrate.

We found the old guy about five minutes after we showed up. He was sitting down with another Council member who stood up and left with a slight bow. I waved at the old man and he, in turn, waved us over.

“Come sit with me, my friends,” he said. “Have a drink. It is quite refreshing, especially on a nice day such as this one.”

A young Vensir female brought over a tray with three identical cups filled with a pale green liquid that looked just about as refreshing as a bowl of pus. Still, after watching Legolas and the old guy take a gulp with gusto I tentatively took a sip.

I was wrong. Pus would taste better. I decided that if I talked enough perhaps that would excuse me from drinking that green crap.

“We took a tour of the Archives today. Quite a library you got there,” I said.

“I have spent many days there myself,” the old Vensir replied. He nodded at his Sentinel, which hovered at the edge of the table in hummed silence. “My Sentinel is full of copies and entries. There is simply too much knowledge for one mind to fully appreciate.” He said that with a mischievous smile, like a kid in a toy store who knows he can’t have everything but nonetheless enjoys being surrounded by toys.

“I am particularly impressed by the Forbidden Archives,” I said carefully. “There are books there. It’s what whole libraries are made of where I come from.”

“Impressive.”

“I was wondering if maybe I could have a closer look at some of the material there,” I said. “If all your knowledge of the outside world is there, then there’s a good chance the answer I seek is in there as well.”

The old Vensir nodded meekly. “Yes, there is knowledge of the outside world there, but access to the Archives can only be granted by Central. If the God King doesn’t tell us to go there, then we simply do not.”

“Look man, I don’t mean to bust your balls or anything here. I just wanna go home.”

“I understand,” the old guy replied. His voice took an authoritative stance, just like the tone he used when he was passing judgment. “However, you are human, an outsider we have welcomed to our Citadel. You are friend to the Vensir and their kin. But you must abide by our laws, so long as you choose to stay within this city. And that is simply the way of things.”

I blinked twice at him, dumbfounded. The one guy I thought could provide me with a safe way home just gave me the ‘you live under my roof, you live by my rules’ speech.

See? This is why I rebel. I’m just a victim of circumstance here.

But right then there was nothing I could do but sit back and sulk. I played with my disgusting green drink, tracing my finger on the cup to avoid giving the old Vensir too many glares.

“Have you made preparations for the Verdurous Moon yet?” the old guy asked.

My guide nodded. “We have strengthened all our defenses and every Vensir trained in battle will be alert after sunset.”

“Good.”

“So what happens tonight?” I asked. “You guys expecting an attack?”

The old man nodded. “Tonight is the Verdurous moon. When that occurs, the Wild become very agitated and particularly violent. No one will be permitted to leave the Citadel after sunset because of the sheer danger.”

A million warning signs flashed off at once. For one thing, what he described could very well be a full-on siege. But what really bothered me was the name: Verdurous Moon.

It sounded way too similar to Verdant Moon: the video game the Black Ring Society was using to brainwash magic users. Was it just a coincidence that the name was similar? In my world coincidences rarely exist.

Maybe there was a reason why the Black Ring Society had picked that particular name for its game. Maybe it was some sort of sick nod to this event happening right here, in the dimension they were crashing into the Earth. Maybe the leader that Luke the Pyromancer had mentioned knew this was going to happen.

Maybe I’ve been playing their sick game all along.

I sucked in a deep breath and attempted to quell the panic rising in my head. I turned to the Vensir in front of me and asked, “And you guys just sit tight and sharpen your spears?”

“They have never invaded the Citadel but they do gather around the outer walls,” Legolas replied. “It never hurts to be prudent.”

“You know we have a saying in my world: the best defense is a good offense. You guys should just take the fight-“

And that’s when one of the old Council Vensir out on the street went ape-shit crazy.

It started with a lot of wailing and flailing of hands. The aged, grizzled Vensir was busy perusing a basket of weirdly-shaped green fruit (maybe that’s what they made that disgusting drink from) when he let out a gut-wrenching scream. The basket went sailing over the length of the piazza as the old guy began having an epileptic fit.

I felt a surge of magic explode from the guy. Instincts, honed over a couple decades-worth of dealing with monsters on a daily basis, took over and I immediately crouched into a fighting stance. Whatever magic this guy was emitting it made my magic react; and after looking around, expecting everyone to lose their shit, I was genuinely perplexed by the lack of reaction. Everyone just stood there, their gaze slightly averted, never making direct eye contact with the rampaging Vensir.

It was almost as if they expected this to happen.

Meanwhile, the Vensir had made it to the very middle of the piazza, where he stood clawing at his face and body, screaming his lungs out.

“What the fuck?” I turned towards Legolas who stood silent with his eyes averted, but still keeping the mad Vensir in his peripheral vision. “Why aren’t you guys helping him?”

He gave me something resembling a reproachful look and remained silent.

The mad Vensir’s Sentinel shook itself to life and electricity coursed through the pike it held in bright blue and yellow arcs. It jammed the weapon into the Vensir’s back sending the old guy sprawling onto the ground in spasms.

“Hey, what the-” I felt a hand on my shoulder. Legolas shook his head.

“They are restraining him,” he said. “This is for his own protection.”

Before I could do or say anything, three more Sentinels showed up, and each jammed a pike into the Vensir, electrocuting him. He struggled back, even managed to knock one of the Sentinels over but in the end the robots managed to overwhelm him.

I felt another spike of magic but this time it was from the Sentinels. They embedded their weapons inside each of the Vensir’s limbs and I felt a fresh wave of magic. A light green aura surrounded the Vensir, immobilizing him. They lifted their pikes, and the old guy with them, and proceeded to slowly carry him away.

“What the hell just happened?”

“It happens sometimes, usually to the more venerable of us,” Legolas replied. “Especially during these times.”

“This Verdurous Moon thing?” I asked.

He nodded and gazed at the Sentinels dragging the Vensir away.

I was about to ask where were they taking him when I noticed something strange about the old Vensir. It contrasted heavily with the Vensir’s pristine white garments. A single bone of obsidian black, jutting from the Vensir’s back. One of the Sentinels noticed the barren bone and moved so as to obstruct anyone from seeing it but it was too late. My mind immediately brought back memories of that monster I fought when I first met Legolas and his flunkies.

A black bone. Just like the ones I had seen on the Wild.

Chapter 25

I had to get out of there. I mean, yeah sure I’ve been saying that for the past two weeks while I was trapped on this fucking island in an extra-dimensional plane, but now I really had to get out of here. It wasn’t about doing things slow anymore. Fact of the matter was, nothing was safe on this island: not the Wurms, not the Sahuagin, and especially not the Vensir. After what I saw at the piazza I was more than certain that these elf-looking folks had a deep dark secret and some shit was going down tonight.

And I definitely did not want to stick around for that.

So here was my game plan. As far as I could calculate I had about four hours before midnight, which was just enough time to enact my plan. Step one involved getting into that library and the Forbidden Archives. I would stick to the books, since I knew I wouldn’t be able to make heads or tails of those weird disc things. Hopefully what I needed would be written in English or some version of it.

Step two: get inside Central. If this so-called God King was there I needed to have a serious talk with him and maybe whack him in the face a few times.

Which brought me to step three, which was my favorite: adios creepy island, hello cheeseburger land.

But first things first. The Vensir had their toys and I had mine. I just had to get them back.

Part of my welcome package had been a Sentinel of my own. This hunk of gleaming silver steel followed me wherever I went, hovering slightly above the ground and emitting the faintest of hums. At first it was the coolest thing ever. I mean, I got my own personal robot; that’s every nerd’s dream.

But that feeling faded after about twenty-four hours. Soon, this cool contraption became an evil shadow that wouldn’t leave me in peace. You know that instinct you get when you see something moving in your peripheral vision and it makes you jumpy? Now imagine that feeling every other five minutes. That’s what it was like walking with a giant Sentinel hovering stealthily behind me.

I had absolutely no use for it. Most Vensir used it to carry stuff or help with dexterous activities. Their delicate fingers were great for detail work and small feats of dexterity but they didn’t have the strength to carry a heavy log of wood. That’s where the Sentinels came in handy.

And of course, in case you ever had an epileptic fit, they would be more than happy to whip out their pikes and zap you into submission.

But aside from being the equivalent of a walking forklift, the Sentinels had one other cool feature. Information in the Citadel came in one of two categories: forbidden information, which would then be put in the aptly named Forbidden Archives and never spoken of, or general information, which was accessible to all Vensir. These guys did not believe in privacy. What one of them knew, they shared with their Sentinel, which in turn would share it with all other Sentinels. You could find anything from how to pick berries properly to the musings of a poet.

You could also find all of the High Council’s decisions.

“Hey, Jarvis.”

Don’t judge me. Anyone with the opportunity to feel like Tony Stark will take it, and that is a fact.

My Sentinel’s eyes glowed into life and it hovered an inch closer, ready to obey my commands.

“Where is my equipment?” I asked.

Jarvis replied with his usual monotone. “You have been provided with all the equipment necessary to live harmoniously in the Citadel upon entry. Your equipment is found here. Would you like me to narrow my search to a specific item?”

I rolled my eyes. “Okay then, let’s rephrase.” I found myself doing that a lot these days. “Before my judgment in the eyes of the High Council, I had my own weapons. Where would they be now?”

Any person would be immediately suspicious but that was the key word: ‘person.’ The Vensir were Vensir, not humans. They had a different mindset because they were an altogether different species. And they built their robots with that same mindset.

The Sentinel didn’t even pause. “Any foreign items will be confiscated and deposited at the residence of the High Council member who passed judgment.”

In other words, the old guy. The same old guy who also had access to the Forbidden Archives. Can you spell coincidence?

“I’m going out for a bit,” I said. “Stay here.”

“Negative. All citizens of the Citadel must be accompanied by their Sentinels at all times.”

I sighed. Come on, Erik, you could have seen this one coming.

I nodded at the Sentinel. “Have it your way.”

Having been a monster hunter my entire life, I had trained myself to always look for weaknesses. It’s a passive thing, something that my brain just does.

And the Sentinels had two major flaws. The first was that whoever had built them had had one scope in mind, and that was to restrain any rampaging Vensir. The machines were attuned to a Vensir’s movements and reactions; which are vastly inferior to a well-trained human’s. I had spent the better half of my life battling against predators with every conceivable advantage nature could offer them. By comparison, a Sentinel was just a walking tin can.

The second flaw was in the software. The Vensir spoke only one language but the Sentinels obviously knew how to translate and teach the Vensir English. Problem was it took the Sentinels a few seconds to process what I said and translate it. Which made them even slower.

I snapped to one side and my hand reached for a screwdriver-looking device. It came as part of the maintenance kit for the Sentinels. We were required to clean and repair any minor damages ourselves. Incidentally, this particular device also made a fantastic shiv.

A step later and I was behind the robot. I grabbed the armor around its neck and wrenched it towards me, exposing the delicate mechanism inside. I jammed the screwdriver inside its neck and pushed upwards, tearing at the electrical pathways going towards its central processing system in its brain. The Sentinel let out a soft whirring noise and fell on the ground, dead as a bag of door knobs.

I left the screwdriver inside its neck and walked outside of my hut alone for the first time in days. It felt good. I really hated that Sentinel. The old guy’s hut was only ten minutes away, if one chose to walk slowly, perhaps in the company of an annoying robot. I wasn’t bound by such rules anymore and just took off in a sprint.

The two Sentinels stationed at the old guy’s crib were used to seeing Vensir walking past. Perhaps they were even used to seeing the occasional pissed-off dude having an argument over something or other.

But I bet they had never seen a human wizard running at top speed, heading straight towards them, before leaping into the air and kicking one of their heads off.

The second Sentinel had enough sense to pull out its pike but it was too late. I grabbed the destroyed Sentinel’s weapon and engaged the robot in a short round of staff fighting. It was no contest really. One parry and I slid underneath it. Using my momentum I stabbed it in the hover plate and the robot went crashing down face forwards. I impaled its head with my pike and left it there.

The hut was Spartan, devoid of everything except a cot, a small wardrobe and a desk. The old guy wasn’t home, but I didn’t dawdle around. The Sentinels may have given out some sort of alarm system and this place could be surrounded by robots in less than a few seconds.

I extended my senses, searching for Djinn’s energy signature. The weapon called back and I found my stuff in a pile at the furthest corner of the hut. It was all there: Djinn, still in the black polymer sheath I keep it in, my gun, long devoid of any ammunition, my bow and arrows, as well as the Wurm-hide quiver and belt I had fashioned to make carrying my stuff easier. The pair of unicorn horns were still there too. Finally I found my coat beneath everything, still rolled up and covered in filth. I had been using it as a bundle to carry food rations, only putting it on when it rained.

I began putting my gear back on, slinging my rolled-up coat behind my back, parallel to the quiver. My gun went on my thigh. I didn’t have to worry about making too much noise when channeling magic through it. If shit went down, I was going to fight my way out with everything I had. Finally, Djinn went horizontally along my lower back again and I felt the familiar mental buzz of the creature inside the weapon.

“Welcome back, old friend,” I muttered. That weapon and I had been through a lot. It was my first and most reliable magical channel, without which I’d be just another vanilla human with magical healing powers. Essentially a self-repairing punch bag. The Jinn inside of the short sword had been part of a seal that kept the mummified remains of my mother intact and ready for a Siphoning Ritual our dad intended to use to steal both my and my sister’s life-force. The weapon itself had been passed down as an athame within my mother’s bloodline.

Trust me, whatever issues your family has, they aren’t half as bad as the crap my family had put me through.

I stood up, checked my equipment for the last time and just listened. You’d be amazed at how much you can get out of your surroundings by just listening. There were the usual sounds of Vensir walking about, a few words in their native language, and the clang of steel against steel or the thud of wood. But beneath the layer of normality there was a quieter layer, built solely of tension. The calm before the storm. I heard no Sentinels going about and immediately thought that they were all waiting for me.

No.

The fact that I couldn’t hear them meant they were either deactivated or far off. Either way, it was good news for me. I got out of the hut, looked around one last time and took off in a run towards the library.

Chapter 26

Getting to the library was easy. With the sun setting everyone’s attention was now towards the sky, awaiting the Verdurous Moon. I wasn’t sure if the moon would actually turn green or maybe it was some sort of reference. What I really cared about at the time was that no one stood in my way. Not that I needed to worry; as I said before, the Vensir were pacifists at heart and no one stood on guard inside the Citadel.

Hell, they didn’t even lock the door to the library.

The weird library Sentinels were still roaming around but didn’t stop me as I calmly strode in and out of bookshelves and workbenches, and made a beeline for the Forbidden Archives. The force field was still there, alive and crackling, invisible to everyone but me.

Well, perhaps not everyone.

There was this theory that began forming in my head when I felt that spike of magic from the insane epileptic Vensir. And if I was right then either these people were in some serious denial or someone was fucking with them big time.

I waited for one of the Sentinels to hover by and walked up to it, placing my hand gently on its weird little head. Then I slowly began to channel my magic into it. Now usually, given my massive amount of raw, uncontrollable power I would instantly disintegrate something that wasn’t specifically built to withstand magic. Sure, my lessons with Abi were a big help in teaching me refinement and control, but that was never my forte.

Blowing shit up—now that I could do, and do very well.

But the little robot didn’t explode into a million fragments. It just stood there, motionless, waiting. My theory was correct.

“Open the Forbidden Archives,” I ordered, keeping my voice low but my tone firm.

Without any response, the Sentinel walked over, clicking away as those spindly spider legs met cold hard stone, and stopped in front of the archway. It scuttled over to one side and began pressing on the sigils on the side of the archway. I felt the barrier dissipate and suddenly the Forbidden Archives were open.

“Leave it open and go back to work,” I said as I slowly made my way in. Wordlessly, the Sentinel moved away.

I ran my fingers over some of the hardbacks and yellowed parchment, all the while scanning the spines for a particular volume. The wyrloga book. I found it tucked away in the back where it could only be seen from a particular angle. Carefully, I pulled it out and sat on a desk. My position was hidden enough from passers-by, not that there would be any at this hour. But I hadn’t survived this long by taking chances. If anyone realized the Archives were open and I was in here, I was ready to bring the roof down on them if I had to. The answers to me finally leaving this place and going home were all here. All I had to do was sit down, read, and hopefully not doze off before I found them.

I’m not going to bore you with over two hours of reading. Hell, even I can’t remember all the fuzzy details. But here’s the CliffsNotes version. The Vensir had a crap load of secrets but one of them confirmed every suspicion I had about them—that they were not so different from the Wild.

The book was a treasure trove of information, once you got used to the old English it was written in. And I’m not talking Shakespeare old. This was more like Chaucer meets Red Beard the Viking through ancient Gaelic. I had to read some sentences over ten times before I could make heads or tails of them. Halfway through I developed this ability that all college students manifest, especially during that first wave of studying for finals—skimming. I flipped page after page, scanning it for relevant details and moving on.

It was written by a Warlock, as I had rightly guessed, who had been part of an expedition that had ended up here by mistake and lived among the Vensir. I found entries on the Critters, the Sahuagin (who apparently got along with one another back then because they could eat as many Vensir as they wanted, until the latter got wise and built the Citadel), the Unicorns and Bicorns (where one of the Warlock’s party tried to cook the former only to die a few hours later from a very agonizing bout of food poisoning) and of course, most expansively, there was information on the Vensir.

Now, the thing about these elf guys is they have absolutely no magic. I mean none, not even the slightest trace. Back on Earth, everyone has magic, or at least a trace of it. It’s our life force, the stuff that keeps our heart pumping and our blood flowing. Not these guys. They operated on a strictly non-magical basis. According to the book, everything else on the island had magic, which meant that the Vensir were either giving it to someone or that someone was taking it away from them.

There was a nice chapter about Central that finally revealed some answers. Apparently, Central had always existed and was a magical beacon on the island, sort of like the Earth’s core but for magic. When the Vensir built the Citadel around it, they began mutating because of Central’s influence. That thing took their magic and made them the boy scouts that they were today.

With one tiny side effect: every Vensir, upon reaching a certain age, slowly began to assimilate magic into them again. This triggered a reaction, making them go all Bruce Banner in the middle of their own town square. Essentially, when a Vensir’s body began to absorb magic they became Wild.

The book didn’t have much information about the Wild, most likely because those guys were more likely to tear your head off than sit down for a coffee and conversation. Or it could be that the High Council, who coincidentally were all ancient and prone to turning into the very bogeymen they warned everyone about, had kept the subject a strict taboo.

That’s what the Sentinels were really for. Screw protection and comfort—those robots were jailers, designed to sense their owner’s spike in magical energy, and the beginnings of the transformation. When that happened the poor subject was locked down, using magically enhanced tools, mind you, and thrown out into the forest far away from the Citadel.

There was also a note about the Verdurous Moon, although my guess was whoever wrote this didn’t stay for the actual event. However, during this night, the Wild went ape-shit crazy and started tearing everything down. They sometimes attacked Vensir and even assaulted the outer walls of the Citadel. Then the next day, everything would be back to normal and the attacked Vensir would wake up with total amnesia, making fact-gathering a real bitch.

Now this was all fascinating stuff but it wasn’t why I was here. Finally, in the last chapters of the book, and after two hours of reading in painfully dim light, I found the one nugget of information that mattered. The Warlock said that in the few minutes he happened to be close to the Central obelisk, he felt the same energy signature as the energy of the portal which had brought them there. He even went as far as to say that Central is the Core of the plane, where all magic coalesces, like a giant ley-line, and that it may easily serve as the catalyst for a portal.

And that was all I needed.

I don’t like Warlocks. I had grown up in a Warlock family, trained as one and I really disliked them and their methods. This Warlock was in fact one of those guys that had given my family a bad name a few millennia ago. They jumped from dimension to dimension, playing God wherever they could. But if there’s one thing you can trust, it is a Warlock’s magical senses. They detect magic like no one else does, and if this guy said that Central was the Core of the plane and a possible catalyst, you could take that to the bank.

As I said I don’t like Warlocks; but I would have probably bought this one a beer.

“Human. I know you’re in there. Come out.”

I thought the library was supposed to be a quiet place. Legolas’ voice echoed throughout the ginormous library, making the voice reverberate louder than it would have normally. I stood up, weapons at the ready and slowly walked outside the building.

Outside, surrounded by torches and eerie silence, Legolas and two Sentinels stood right at the library entrance. Both robots were armed and even the Vensir carried a small silver rod that fit into the palm of his hand. If I remembered correctly that thing could extend into a spear and he was actually pretty decent with it.

Behind them, a small crowd of onlookers had gathered and I spotted two High Council members, though not ones I was familiar with. I walked out, bow and arrow drawn and aimed squarely at the blond Vensir.

“What are you doing, human?” Legolas asked. “You know that the Archives are forbidden.”

“Would you believe me if I said the door was open?” I asked. “Why don’t we discuss this nice and easy without the robots around?”

Legolas wasn’t impressed. He pointed behind me towards the library, where the only sign of life now was the scuttling of library Sentinels carrying about their duty.

“Our Sentinels tell us exactly who is accessing the Forbidden Archives at all times,” he said. “And how.”

I looked behind me where the Sentinel who lowered the force field for me was busy putting it back up. “Snitch,” I murmured. Then I turned back to the elf.

“Dude. You have no idea what kind of a mind-fuck those guys put on you,” I said, pointing at the Councilors with my arrow. I raised my head a little to glare directly at the old guys. “Tell them,” I called out. “Tell them how Central robs you of magic, and how once you get old enough you become Wild.”

The crowed let out a collective gasp at the name as if I had muttered the most horrid of curses.

“Blasphemy,” yelled out one of the old guys. “Disable him and throw him out where he belongs. You have abused the kindheartedness of the Vensir for long enough.”

I looked at Legolas. “You know I’m right. You’re one of the few who gets his hands dirty around here. You know something doesn’t add up with Central and the Wild.”

He shook his head. “That may be so. But when faced with the choice of either my people or you, I will always choose my people.” The metal rod extended into a spear.

Before he took his first step, I let my arrow loose. I wasn’t aiming at him. Sure he was being an idiot but what kind of a monster would I be if I killed people simply because they disagreed with me?

My arrow flew straight at one of the Sentinels, who began hovering towards me in unison with his twin. The arrow pierced one of the robot’s eyes and its whole head exploded. The blast blew up the second Sentinel and that’s when I realized something about my own magic.

When I had first come to the island, on this strange otherworldly plane, my magic was acting up in a weird way. I felt wrong at first. I guess stepping into a different universe tends to haywire your system a little. What I didn’t take into consideration however was the fact that I had spent more than two weeks on this place, hunting and living just like one of the monsters here. In that time, my magic had stabilized and was now better than ever. The whole espionage mission to the library, discovering their secrets and now talking to Legolas whilst knowing it was a losing battle, brought out a whole load of emotions and when you’re a wizard, that’s fuel for the fire.

The arrow I had fired had been loaded with magic and I hadn’t even realized. No wonder it had gone off like a freaking ballistic missile, completely rendering two Sentinels useless and sending both me and Legolas flying. And as with every non-magical weapon I ever used, the bow literally disintegrated in my hands, splintering into a million pieces and sending what remained of the bowstring flying into the night sky.

I smacked my head against the library door and shook myself from a bout of dizziness. Legolas and the surrounding Vensir were recovering as well. I saw Legolas’ spear gleaming against the small fire that burned from the remains of the Sentinels. Clouds of smoke covered my field of vision as I carefully got up. I was used to the chaos of battle and had a decision to make. Sure, I could ambush Legolas and the Vensir and attack them. I would win easily.

Or I could run towards Central and hope to activate some sort of portal. I didn’t want to hurt these people. I understood what it feels like to be oppressed by a higher power and I really just wanted to help these guys. Central was the problem here, not the Vensir themselves. And the first rule of problem-solving is to eliminate the source of said problem. So, taking advantage of the smoke screen, I found my feet and bolted towards the titanic obelisk.

Chapter 27

Hurting Vensir was out of the question. Hurting Sentinels, that was a different story altogether. It occurred to me that no one in the Citadel had seen Djinn in action, so I felt compelled to give them a proper demonstration.

I made a run towards the Central obelisk, cutting a swathe through any Sentinel that stood in my way. Arcs of azure marked the trail of my blade as it cut through silver steel. Some of the Vensir had found the will to stand their ground, which made me either kick them away or duck and dodge their attacks. Either way, these guys weren’t warriors and even an entire army of Vensir couldn’t match a pissed-off wizard on a mission.

I hopped over stalls and benches, rolling over obstacles parkour style until finally I could see the base of the giant obelisk. It was huge. Let me put it in perspective: the entire thing was built like Cleopatra’s Needle and constructed from neat rectangular stone, white as an archangel’s wings. Every one of those rectangular stones was about as tall as I was—the entire construct was so tall I couldn’t see the tip. Just a large white tower that disappeared into the night sky.

I felt magic coming from that thing. Not the spikes and bursts I had felt when faced with Vensir and Wild. This thing was a tsunami of magic: energy flooding from it permeated the very air. Every breath I took felt heavier, richer, and I could feel pinpricks on my skin as static energy crackled in the atmosphere. I felt the thickness of the energy, in itself a barrier, that made every step towards Central heavier than the last.

As if that wasn’t enough to stop any sane person, a legion of Sentinels stood on guard, pikes at the ready. The moment I entered their field of vision, their eyes glowed and energy ran through their weapons. Their collective mechanical voice echoed like a sound blast through the night air.

“Central must be protected.”

I stood my ground, sword at the ready, blue wisps of energy coming out of the blade.

“Listen up, motherfuckers,” I yelled back. “I intend to go back home, and if anyone has something to say about that, you’re more than welcome to go blow yourself.”

The Sentinels weren’t impressed. They shot forwards towards me. “Central must be protected.”

“Protect this.”

I poured everything I had into that energy wave. All the frustration I had slowly building up inside of me, from the moment I had attempted to open the portal in the middle of the ocean, to the sleepless night I spent scared of the monsters lurking beneath me. The tireless days of hunting and ending up here with the Vensir, in a strange land with some seriously brainwashed people. I poured in every moment I missed my family, my apprentice, my talking cat, my mission back home.

Energy exploded from Djinn, expanding it into a gargantuan blade. I swung the blade around and projected all that power towards the approaching slew of robots. The azure arc cut through them as if they were made of butter, disintegrating them on the spot. Even those few who were not hit were still knocked back, smashing into other robots in a pile of scrap metal. The energy blade kept its course until it hit Central and left a deep groove in the stone.

“What have you done?”

The High Council Vensir, the old guy who had had my stuff and who had passed my judgment, stood far enough so as not to be hit by Central’s energy but still close enough so I could see the population of Vensir and Sentinels behind him.

“That is home of our God King. How dare you?” He didn’t even wait for my answer. He turned to the people behind him and yelled, “All warrior Vensir and Sentinels, go forwards. Eliminate the threat to Central and the Citadel.”

Squads of warrior Vensir, wielding spears and various other weapons roared and ran uphill, towards me. Their Sentinels, easy over fifty of them, overtook the running Vensir and showed up first, pikes at the ready, green lightning crackling menacingly.

I didn’t even bother taking them head on. Instead I turned tail and ran—towards the obelisk. The Vensir were having a tough time walking straight and the closer they came to Central, the harder it became for them to even stand. Central’s magic was too much for them. Soon the first of them began fainting and collapsing. When the last ones decided to pick their comrades and pull back, that’s when I turned the fight to the Sentinels.

I leapt towards the first one, embedding Djinn inside its head. Three of them shoved their pikes at my back, but I ducked and extracted my gun. A blast of crimson magic sent them flying away in pieces. I rolled, avoiding a fourth jab and, still keeping my momentum, I swung with Djinn, its blade now elongated to three times its usual size. I grabbed one Sentinel, stuck Djinn inside it and used it as a shield to bash against five other robots. I channeled magic inside my blade, elongating it until the glowing blue blade skewered all the robots. Letting go of the spell, I pulled my regular-sized weapon out and turned to face the rest.

That’s when I slipped on the pikes beneath my feet and stumbled against the pristine white stone of the obelisk. The moment I made contact with Central, the world spun and a million lightning bolts went off inside my head. I felt a monstrous presence inside this monument, the same one I felt when probing underwater for a portal, but on a vastly larger magnitude. It was as if the entire universe that this island inhabited was assaulting me and I had to fight not to lose myself in that sea of hate, rage, sorrow, pleasure, pain, pride and envy.

I managed to tear myself off the monument and felt a dozen pikes strike my chest with so much force I was sent tumbling on the ground. I didn’t even register the pain. The sheer power that I had mentally linked with had utterly paralyzed my entire system. For a few seconds all there was in my head was a soup of darkness and confusion, until slowly I began compartmentalizing the information.

I regained full use of my limbs just in time to avoid another onslaught and fought the Sentinels off with another blast of azure energy. Slowly, I stood up and looked at the obelisk. It all made sense now—the voices, the universe, the sheer power.

I knew exactly who that was. I knew exactly what this universe was. And none of it was good news.

“Envy.”

I looked around me, taking in the night sky, the trees that kept going until the horizon, where I could see the faint coastline. I saw every star, every cloud, every blade of grass for what it really was.

This entire island—no, this entire plane—was the Sin of Envy.

And as I stood there, with despair threatening to overtake every last thought process I had left in my head, I heard a voice—a voice that belonged to the darkness within me, the cursed powers that had plagued me since birth. And that voice was now screaming at the top of its metaphysical lungs.

Destroy the obelisk.

Without stopping to think of the consequence or form an actual plan, I thrust my short sword forwards. Using every ounce of my body weight, I let out a feral cry and sank Djinn’s blade into Central. Darkness exploded from within my body and channeled destructive powers into my blade, and cracks deep enough to envelop an entire human being snaked up the obelisk.

I felt the Sin inside scream in pain and anger, its roar shaking the land, popping the air and further darkening the skies. Then I heard every monster I had ever encountered on the island stir into life and move, intent of finding and destroying me.

The night of the Verdurous Moon had been brought to life. And in that moment of darkness, both literally and mentally, I looked up at the skies. Thick and vicious clouds parted to reveal a jade-green moon, and bifurcating the moon was an iridescent yellow slit, turning the moon into an eye, just like a cat’s.

Just like a demon’s.

I stood helpless as the eye inside the moon slowly shifted from side to side until it was gazing in my direction, making eye contact with me. I felt singled out as the entire universe’s hatred and bloodlust were aimed directly at me.

I didn’t even have time to panic. Shadows beyond the Citadel stirred to life and I felt the Sin moving towards the Citadel, coming for its residents. Thousands of Wild and other terrible creatures, all under Envy’s control, were already inside the Citadel. I looked at the Vensir who were blissfully oblivious to their impending doom.

“Run!”

Chapter 28

The Citadel’s outer wall never stood a chance. A massive shadowy form manifested behind the outer wall of the Citadel and swung savagely downwards, obliterating the stone fortification. That was just the vanguard. Behind it I could see other lurking blobs of darkness, moving about like titanic zombies, slowly inching towards the obelisk.

In the dark they were formless but I could tell the Wild had finally succeeded in breeching the city walls. The Vensir just stood there, huddling closer and closer, as they watched a horde of Wild rampage. The monsters trampled over the piazza market stalls and benches. They knocked over houses and small buildings, all in their frenzy to reach Central. Worse yet, the Sentinels that had been engineered to defend the Vensir were mostly in pieces, thanks to me.

That was the thought that prompted me into action: the simple mantra in my life that said, “keep the promises you make and don’t hurt anyone who doesn’t deserve it.” I was the one who had destroyed the Sentinels, thereby leaving the Vensir helpless. The elves were dumb, sure, but they were still good guys. They had welcomed me, they had sheltered me and all their bullshit came from the so-called God King of theirs. Which turned out to be a Sin.

If anyone could help them now, it was me.

I leapt and took to the air. My power, in the form of shadows surrounding my body, propelled me from the ground and over a small group of warrior Vensir who were pulling their comrades aside. I spun in the air and landed two feet away from the first Wild. Djinn’s blade glowed and I sliced upwards. The monster fell dead. I extended my hand towards another Wild, sending a scything blade of shadows at it. The monster fell and I noticed something strange.

When I had fought the Wild before, the dynamic of the battle had been different. Those guys were fast, strong and had those black bones that were damn near impossible to cut unless I put some juice behind my swings. And even then, I had felt the density and hardness of those bones.

These guys had none of that. They were slow, walked with a lumbering pace and cutting through them reminded me of the same feeling I got when I set up that training exercise for Abi, cutting through fallen tree branches.

The moon, still in its creepy-eye mode, shed some light on the situation. Instead of the shaggy Big-Foot-esque monsters I expected, I saw giant trees looming over me. Their leaves and branches were wrung onto others’, giving the impression that a large canopy of forest loomed over the sky. Their thicker branches were used as arms with which they swiped at me. They made sounds like the straining of old wood and the creaking of furniture. They looked like something out of a Tolkien novel—walking, talking, pissed-off trees.

I ducked under a few more branches and made short work of the first one that loomed over me at well over fifteen feet. And that’s when reinforcements showed up. Shaggy, snarling, black-boned reinforcements.

A dozen Wild weaved through the living trees, silent as ninjas, and would have taken me by surprise were it not for my enhanced senses.

I threw a spell at one, caught him in the chest and sent him flying against a tree. A second one leapt over me and instinctively I threw my hands up in defense. A fist of shadows punched into the Wild’s chest, stopping him short of taking my head off and throwing him against the ground where a walking tree accidentally stepped on him.

I blocked another Wild’s swipe but failed to see the tree branch as it crashed into me. I was sent flying nearly ten feet away from the battlefield and landed next the Vensir.

“Run!” I yelled at them. “Or help. But do something.”

That seemed to jar them into life. Technicians ran to the Sentinels, either activating the salvageable ones or trying to fix the ones that needed fixing. Two dozen warrior Vensir picked up their weapons and formed something resembling a formation. In their lead was Legolas, and he was the one shaking the least. Together, elf, machine and wizard threw themselves at the onslaught of Wild and living trees.

The Citadel soon became a clusterfuck of debris, snarling Wild, scrapped Sentinels and tenacious Vensir. I found myself getting more and more immersed in my fight against the trees. Vensir and Wild were equally matched in terms of not getting hurt. Sure the latter had all the muscle, but both had that black-bone skeleton, which meant neither could actually kill the other. Of course, that didn’t stop the Vensir from getting their asses handed to them.

I took the trees head on, and it felt good. I don’t know if I was slowly becoming a sociopath or maybe it was the feral, primal nature of my curse making me feel all weird, but right at that very second, covered in shadows, I felt omnipotent. Crushing my enemy like that was almost addicting.

The tree monsters became more intense in their retaliation. I found myself entangled in one of them. Shadows rose from my body to cut a swathe through the branches. The tree latched on tighter. I felt myself being squeezed, my limbs crushed and a rising pressure in my head as if it might explode with the slightest of touches.

And then a voice, soft, sweet and gentle, with a hint of urgency, permeated through my brain.

Peace, Warlock. We are not the enemy.

I shifted my head as best I could, trying to figure out where the voice had come from. The trees had no distinctive mouths or anything that could produce a sound and no one other than me could use magic. I’ve heard of practitioners like Druids, who use Greenspeak—the language of nature—to converse with trees, plants, even animals. But that was a dead art. In the age of cell phones no one gave half a crap about talking to a plant. Not unless you were growing marijuana in the back yard anyway.

But that voice had to have come from somewhere. Before I could wrap my head around it, the voice echoed again inside my skull.

Warlock, you have a greater mission than fighting tonight. I hold the answer to your return. Come to me.

Now that I heard it a second time I began noticing certain details about the voice. It was definitely feminine and exhibited all the signs of emotion. Human emotion.

“Who are you?” I whispered, as I stopped my struggling.

I am just like you, Warlock. And I have been waiting for you. Come with us and we will cease our conflict tonight.

“Okay,” I said.

Immediately I felt the air shift. Trees began slithering away, gliding through the soil. The Wild retreated into the darkness once more and seemed to forget their wrath. Only the Sin’s demonic eye on the green moon above remained transfixed on me, raining down malice and hatred. But it felt distant, as if Envy was sitting back, waiting for the right time to strike again. And to be honest, that scared me even more. I can deal with a rampaging monster. But a demon with the power to sniff out lives, waiting for something—that took me to new levels of nervous.

Still, knowing that there was more going on tonight than a simple attack, I allowed myself to be carried off into the night with a tree as my transport. Everything felt off: monsters were not behaving like monsters. The Sin, the darkest and foulest of demonic entities, had yet to make a direct assault on the guy who had destroyed its direct feed to this place’s population. And now I was hearing some chick’s voice in my head. So I opted to stay put and let myself be taken away. I needed answers, now more than ever. It wasn’t a matter of just going home now; I had a Sin to defeat.

My curse powers were still active and the shadows clung to my body like a second skin. As I touched the tree that was carrying me, I once more felt the connection with the mysterious person on the other side.

“Are you… human?” I asked, already knowing the answer. There was a long pause before the voice answered back.

Yes.

Chapter 29

There was a war raging inside my head, a struggle between reason and instinct.

Reason told me that I had to sit tight. No one likes being carried to the god-knows-where to confront someone—or something—that could control a whole bunch of giant walking trees. I learnt very quickly that nothing on this island went my way. Every iota of information, every clue I’d ever gotten, came from fighting for it. So maybe this was a fight too—a fight where I didn’t have to fight. A fight against myself.

Instinct however, told me to just cut loose. I had power, so much power. And I felt invincible. So fuck whoever was on the other side of the telepathic messages. I could destroy everything, cut a swathe until I reached whoever was responsible and carved answers out of them.

It was a battle on two fronts and it was getting harder and harder not to just say ‘fuck it’ and fight my way out. Envy was responsible for this. A freaking Sin. And as I was carried to wherever the trees were taking me, my senses began picking up strange spikes of energy at every corner. Their home base, whatever that was, was bathed in power—exactly the type of power that I felt when connected with Envy.

Finally I gave in and began struggling to free myself. The branches of the tree gave way and snapped as my shadows wrenched them apart and created a way out for me. I tumbled in a clearing, surrounded by living trees and Wild, and to my surprise none of them were lifting a finger against me. That passiveness was enough to snap me out of my state and regain control. I took a deep breath, remaining still on guard but not actively violent.

“Who are you? Where am I?” I shouted. My voiced echoed into the darkness. None of the monsters answered and for a long minute, the only sound permeating the moonlit gloom was the rustling of leaves.

Then finally, the woman spoke.

“They are called Jurai. In the old language it meant ‘tree amongst the living’.”

She emerged from the darkness and into the clearing, moonlight bathing her like a spotlight on a stage. For a while it was just me and her, both of us staring at each other. There was a moment of disbelief but my eyes did not deceive me.

She was human. And an attractive one at that.

Now, I know that when trapped in a different dimension, with a crapload of monsters around you, sex should be the last thing on your mind. But I’m a guy, and we never really give much care about whether the situation is appropriate or not.

This woman was hot. And I don’t mean the supermodel just-stepped-out-of-a-magazine hot. I mean the primal kind of hot. The kind where you look at someone, and they look at you, and a furnace goes off inside you and the only thing that matters in life at that very moment is banging each other’s brains out.

I’m not saying it’s healthy, or right, or any of that. All I’m saying is at that very moment, I really, really, wanted to rip her clothes off and have my way with her until I turned myself into a husk due to fluid loss.

And therein lay the problem. Most of these cases are too good to be true. In my world, instincts like that meant that whoever you’re dealing with isn’t exactly a resident of this dimension. When I faced Lilith over a year ago, she was the hottest woman I’d ever laid eyes on. Of course, she was the Sin of Lust, so one would expect nothing less. All I’m saying is, when I met someone this attractive, it usually meant blood would be drawn, lives would be put at stake, and I was going to get hurt in ways even the Spanish Inquisition would think is too graphic.

I tried to remember all that, while I took in all her perfect body details: from the long mass of hair that may have been reddish or a light shade of brown (either way, it was sexy under the moonlight), her smooth, pale skin unblemished by the harsh life of nature, her skimpy, ragged dress that left way too little to the imagination and exposed an amount of leg that made me blush. And finally the coup de grace—she took a step closer and looked at me with a pair of big brown eyes that made my heart weep and my pants suddenly very tight.

“A Warlock with the power over Nature,” she said in the same soft, sweet voice that had echoed in my head a few minutes ago. “What a wonderful creature.”

There are only so many responses to something like that. None of them smart. “Umm, thanks. I suppose.”

She offered me a heart-breaking smile. “A voice. It’s been so long since I last heard one other than mine.”

I dropped my act and went straight to business. No, not that sort of business—the scary business.

“Who are you?” I asked. “Actually, scratch that. What are you? And what exactly did you mean when you said you have the key to get out of here?”

She got a little closer, offering me a more detailed look of her smoldering body. “Which one of those questions do you wish answered first?”

I struggled to form the next few words and stuttered until my brain remembered how to form a completely sentence.

“What are you?”

She cocked her head to one side, disappointed. “I’ve already answered that.”

“Oh, come on,” I replied exasperatedly. “I’ve been here over two weeks and there’s no way a human could have made it here unless…” I trailed off my sentence when I realized I was terribly mistaken.

There had been humans here before: Warlocks, the type of magic practitioner she kept calling me.

“You were here back then?” I asked. It seemed stupid as I blurted it out but it just didn’t seem possible. The woman in front of me looked thirty at best, and I knew for sure that the Grigori—a secret magic council that made sure we all stayed in line—had outlawed dimensional exploration a few centuries ago.

“It seems you already know the answer to that,” she replied. Her eyes wandered off, looking at the moon. “Yes, I was part of the expedition team a long time ago. And when they all tried to leave I told them not to. I told them the island wouldn’t let us.” She stopped and smiled sadly in my direction. “I apologize. Such things will not interest a Warlock of the present.”

“I’m not a Warlock,” I said.

“And yet, here you are, in a different world than your own. Only Warlocks have that kind of power.”

“This was more of an accident,” I replied.

“Accidents such as this do not happen,” she insisted. “You are here because you have to be here. Otherwise you simply wouldn’t be here.”

Great. The one hot chick I meet after two weeks of survival is a freaking hippie.

“Either way, I’m no Warlock—just a very confused wizard,” I said. “So how come you didn’t bail with the rest of the team? You must have been stuck here, what, two, three hundred years? And given your appearance I’d say you either found the fountain of youth or must be really good at glamors.”

She let out a giggle. “Thank you. Oh, how I have missed the attentions of men. Walk with me for a little, will you?” She glanced at the moon again and grinned. “It’s about to get very active around here.”

Without waiting for an answer she slipped her arm into mine and slowly dragged me away. I could hear gruff sounds from all around us, but judging from the casual way she walked, nothing was going to jump out and tear our heads off.

“What’s your name?” I heard myself ask. My voice was rather husky, so I quickly cleared my throat. “I meant, uh, what do I call you?”

She giggled some more. “It’s been a while since I heard anyone utter my name but I believe I was called Locklania.”

“Locklania,” I repeated. I decided it was a beautiful, unique name, although I have no idea what makes a name beautiful. It may have something to do with the bombshell that owned it.

“So how long have you been here?” I asked.

“I do not remember. I stopped counting once the days turned to months, and months into years,” she replied. I felt her surprisingly strong grip tug me to the side. A branch stomped where I had been a few seconds ago and I looked up. Three individual Jurai tree monsters were intertwined in some weird way. All around us, entire clusters of them were twisting around each other. The Wild were doing something in between bashing each other and caressing their opponents.

“The hell is going on?” I asked.

“It’s the effect of the Moon,” she replied. “Come Wizard, we have much to discuss.”

“Call me Erik.”

“Very well, Erik.” She led me to another clearing, this time closer to a river. “Many, many years ago, when we first came here, I was hired to accompany a Warlock expedition. It was not my first time on such a trip. My skills as a Nature Witch were in much demand, as was my talent in Greenspeak. This trip was supposed to be routine, going to a plane we had been to before.”

She paused.

“But something went wrong,” she went on. “We learnt the hard way that Chaos is not to be trifled with. We ended up here on this island instead. It was a much different land back then. The Citadel had not been built yet. There was simply no need for it.”

We stopped walking and she turned. I was suddenly very aware of how close she was pressing herself to me.

“We did all this,” she said. “We meddled with this island and made its inhabitants angry. We made them into savage beasts and sent the Vensir running to their Citadel. Worse of all, we angered the island itself.”

My heartbeat accelerated, but for a different reason other than the woman inches away from me. “Central,” I whispered.

“They call it the God King. It’s the Spirit of the Island,” Locklania replied. “The Warlocks called it the plane’s Core. They would go on and on about their theories as to why the island was the only thing occupying this plane or why this plane was so small or why magic is so scarce here.” She shook her head. “Their arrogance was what ultimately killed them. They built the giant obelisk, Central, to extract magic from the Core and open a portal. But I could feel the island’s rage. I could feel it just as I can feel the grass between my toes now, and I warned them—oh, how I warned them. They told me I was a coward and that I was crazy. They told me I was addled with illusion and that the island’s nature was corrupting my brain.”

A single tear glimmered on her cheek, like a minute star descending from her eye.

“I escaped just as they began preparations to leave. They did open the portal—of course they would. They were the mighty Warlocks and they had power like few had. But the island chose that moment to exact its vengeance. The moon became as it was tonight, the first of the Verdurous Moons, and all of nature became uncontrollable.”

Her eyes widened in horror, and when she looked at me I felt as if she was looking past me and transported back to that horrible day.

“I saw it, Wizard,” she said, her voice in a deep rasp. “I saw as the island’s Spirit took a terrible form and destroyed the entire party of Warlocks. It was the quickest, most brutal thing I had ever witnessed in all my days, and I remained hidden amongst the Jurai, not daring to interfere. And I have been hiding ever since. The funny thing is, this island is my home now. I love it more than I love myself. I am just as part of it as the Wild and Jurai and the Vensir are. And I have no desire to leave. Yet I also know this island is sick. Something has infected this island’s Core and this world, my world, is coming to an end.”

Her hand wrapped around mine and gave it a squeeze. “I do not know what your role is in all this,” she whispered. “It is not my place to ask. But you are the first human here since the Warlock expedition and you do have a role to play. Be it to save the island or destroy it, only time will tell.”

I had to swallow a couple of times before I could speak again. “So what do I do?” I asked.

“The Verdurous Moon releases an exorbitant amount of energy,” she explained. “You must wait for the right time—daybreak. In the morning, I will lead you to a place, the place you need to be.”

“Morning, huh?” I said.

All around me the creatures were busy… getting busy. Worse yet, my shadows seemed to react to this sort of thing, whipping around like bats. Not to mention my libido was getting more insane by the minute. I didn’t care that Locklania was over three hundred years old. My eyes saw a beautiful young woman.

“Any ideas what we might do until then?” I asked, slyly.

Locklania giggled again and stepped away from me. Slowly—painfully slow—she reached up to her shoulder, pulled one strap down, than the other, until her dress fell to the ground. Stark naked, with every enticing curve highlighted by the moon, she turned to face me, offering me a view I hope to whatever is holy that I’ll never forget.

“I may have one or two ideas,” she replied.

I tried doing some sort of pro-con list of banging the sexy ancient witch and my sex drive just slapped me silly. I knew very well what I was going to do and there was no point in arguing. Besides, I had been here for two weeks. Can you imagine being stuck on a deserted island for two centuries? It’s a wonder she didn’t jump my bones the second she saw me. The way I saw it, she was in pain—sweet, sex-deprived pain—and it was my duty to alleviate her from that.

I’m very altruistic like that.

It took less than five seconds before the both of us were naked and rolling around savagely. There was no foreplay or gentleness. This was pure, instinctual, animalistic sex. We were a mess of limbs and flesh, writhing on the grass, surrounded by mating monsters, fucking like animals.

And I mean that literally.

Chapter 30

The next morning was blissful. I woke up at dawn and was greeted by the first rays of the rising sun.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Locklania was lying next to me, propped up on one elbow. We were both naked on a bed of grass and her luscious dark hair trailed softly around her chest and shoulders.

“I can’t remember the last time I watched the sun come up,” I said. “Although I’m pretty sure there were no beautiful naked women at the time.”

Locklania let out a laugh and suddenly the morning got a lot brighter. “Glad to provide such a memory now,” she said coyly. “At least you’ll have one good memory about this island.”

I snickered. “There were a couple good moments last night too,” I replied with a wide grin.

She smacked my arm lightly. “Men. Always a one-track mind.”

“Just goes to show you haven’t been around my plane for a while,” I said. “I know a couple of women who would put any man to shame with their choice of vocabulary and wild libido.”

“That, I would love to see.” She got up, fished for her dress and proceeded to put it on. Very slowly, I might add, giving me an enticing show.

See? This is why humans don’t need seasons and moons to mate. One striptease—or reverse striptease in this case—and we’re good to go.

She saw me eyeing her and failed to suppress a smile. Hey, after two centuries of being alone, you’d be happy too if a guy keeps ogling you.

“I forgot how famished certain… activities make you,” she said, now fully clothed.

I fumbled with my pants. Yeah, my stomach rumbled too, but I knew from experience it was rude to interrupt sexy small talk with demands for food. Clearly Locklania had no such qualms. Over here, social conventions meant jack. Life was as primal as can be: eat, sleep, fuck, magic. Repeat. Not necessarily in that order but there wasn’t much deviation from the system. Over here there was no concept of ‘late’ or ‘early’; no one rushed for a mind-numbing office job that slowly sucked the life out of them. No one gave a rat’s ass about your moral, religious or political philosophy, or what your status was, or what color your skin happened to be, or any of that bullshit.

Except maybe the Sahugin—but, they’re fish, so what d’you expect?

Eat, sleep, fuck, magic—perhaps humanity’s downfall is our own self-inflicted complications.

Breakfast was a quiet affair. I still felt uneasy when the first couple of Wild passed by. They completely ignored us, instead chasing some poor animal that didn’t stand a chance against them. The Jurai were nowhere to be seen, but like all of nature’s most formidable weapons, you never see them coming. But I knew that as Locklania and I sat to a meal of berries and a few strips of smoked mystery meat, we were being watched. Or maybe it was all in my head. It’s just hard to tune out the fact that a tree can come to life.

We sat and ate in silence. I once read a philosopher that said the mind, in its truest state, is calm and neutral, a place where neither emotion nor logic exist. It’s just peace, devoid of mundane notions like society and conversation. That’s what I felt like. I’m no playboy: I’m simply being honest. Whatever happened last night was just a surge of the animal nature of man and nothing resembling love ever made it to that equation. And judging by the way she went on about her routine, I’d say the Witch sitting opposite me felt the same.

Still, we both enjoyed the fact that another one of our kind was around to talk to.

“So what happens now?” I asked. My question made her look up from the basket of berries she was plowing through.

I motioned around me to emphasize my point. “After the Verdurous Moon. You mentioned something about energy needing to stabilize last night. What happens now?”

She smiled. “You weren’t paying attention then?”

“With you stripping in front of me, no. Out of all the body parts that were active my mind did not make the list.”

That earned me a laugh. “Yes. The green moon does have that effect on us,” she replied pointing at me. “I see that your power has receded.”

For a moment there I thought she was making a penis joke. Then I remembered something about last night. The shadows never left me. From the moment I mentally linked with Envy, up until the moment I fell blissfully tired and exhausted on the grass next to Locklania, the shadows were present, clinging around every inch of my body.

And I never noticed.

Before, I could feel them. I could hear the voice of darkness in my head, pushing me towards the edge. It was the id, the instinct, the tiny voice in your head that tells you to jump from a high building even if you know that you cannot fly.

This could be one of two things. Either the voices gave up, which, given that this is a curse passed down through hundreds of generations in my family, made that possibility highly unlikely. Stuff like that doesn’t go away with time, it just gets stronger.

Which led me to theory number two: I was losing my grip on my own powers. I’ve been feeling the need to use this power, even forcing it out, because it felt good. The addictive kind of good.

And what if this was the price to pay? Every time this power comes out, I lose a little bit of myself to it. The reins loosen up and it gets to be in the pilot seat. Which begs the question—how far deep was the damage? How long until I run out of cord and this power completely takes over?

Locklania seemed to be on the same wavelength as me. “This island has a way of bringing out our hidden talents.”

Slowly she bent down and caressed a patch of grass with her hand. I heard her whisper something and felt a small surge of magic. Sure enough a flower bloomed into life from the spot she touched, it’s petals a vibrant shade of pink.

“My powers have increased a thousand-fold since I arrived here,” she said. “You are probably experiencing the same thing. The island has potent magic.”

“And yet the Vensir cannot use any,” I said.

Locklania huffed and waved her hand indignantly. “The Vensir,” she said in an annoyed tone. “Serves them right for living right next to the obelisk. That abomination is responsible for our current predicament, and if I were powerful enough, I would destroy it where it stood.” She let out a sigh. “But that is why you are here. To either save or destroy this island.”

She gazed at the horizon, closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. Slowly exhaling, she opened her eyes again and smiled.

“Come, Erik. Time for you to do whatever it is you were sent here to do.”

Her words were enigmatic enough, but that’s not what bothered me. I’ve dealt with angels and those assholes are as enigmatic as they come. No, what really bothered me was the tone of her voice. The words said one thing, but the voice gave it a deeper meaning. It wasn’t the tone of a guide doing her job.

This sounded very much like a fond farewell.

We walked in silence for half an hour, as we crossed through the dense forest. All around us nature was quiet.

And here’s the thing about nature: the damn thing never shuts up. Nature is alive, vibrant and loud, and the fact that we were walking through a sonic dead zone unnerved me to no end.

Then finally, I heard the distinct sound of crashing waves.

We stopped on a rocky incline, about twenty feet from the shore. This wasn’t like the sandy beaches occupied by the Sahuagin. Instead, sharp boulders and rocks peppered the ash-colored sand, as blue waves crashed and splashed around the rocks, endlessly coating them in a glittering sheen. The beach gave way to an inlet where rocks became a conjoined platform of sharp coral—a flatbed surrounded by rocks almost like an arena.

As we got closer I could tell that the flatbed was not a natural phenomenon. It looked as if the top section of a rock bed had been torn off, leaving behind a jagged and uneven platform. It looked too neat to be random, almost as if someone had done this on purpose.

“This is where they opened the portal,” I realized. “Where it all started.”

“Yes,” Locklania replied in hushed tones.

There wasn’t really any need for her to answer. Apart from the stark physical evidence, there was an unnatural stillness in the place, as if time stood still. Magic still lingered here. It felt like the tragedy that had occurred hundreds of years ago had created a scar within the universe itself.

Not good for said universe but quite helpful for the wizard.

I stepped in the middle of the flatbed. Locklania stood back, closer to the edge of the forest. I didn’t blame her. Just being here must be awakening all sorts of PTSD in her. There was no telling what would happen once the big nasty Sin showed up.

Speaking of which…

“Um…”

That’s never a good way to start an invocation.

I cleared my throat and concentrated. Immediately I felt the connection with the island, felt the silent presence lurking underneath it all, like the throbbing of a heart but on a cosmic level.

“Spirit of the island, I invoke you.” I waited five seconds and tried again. This time I tried some of the old English. Who knows, maybe this demon was anal about language.

“Spirit of this plane, I invoke thee.” But again, despite feeling the Sin lurking in the ether, nothing happened.

Time to try this Erik style.

I stomped on the ground, widening my stance and forced all of my magic through the earth and through that connection I felt. The invocations I had tried first were akin to knocking politely on the door.

And since that clearly didn’t work, I decided to kick open that sucker.

“Yo, Island Spirit or whatever you’re called,” I yelled. “I can feel you down there. I know you can hear me. I know what you are. Sin of Envy, I invoke you!”

My voice resonated in the wind and I felt the slightest of tremors, before the spray from the waves hit my eye. Which did very little to improve my mood.

I pulled out Djinn and channeled magic to elongate the blade to the size of a broadsword.

“Okay,” I said. I don’t care if you’re one of the Seven Deadly Sins, or an Alpha demon, or an Archangel or whatever. If I’ve come this far and you’re fucking with me, I’m gonna be pissed off, big time.

“I’ve survived two weeks on this shithole you call a home,” I roared. “I’ve tried everything to go back to my place, back to my family, and you won’t let me! I went through all of that shit just to get here. So listen up.”

I stabbed Djinn on the ground and channeled all of my magic. I didn’t care where I poured my magic: I knew that the Sin would feel it. Better yet, instead of gently poking it, my intention was to sucker-punch it in the balls and make it pay attention.

“Sin of Envy, I invoke you. Get your ugly motherfucking ass up here, right, the fuck, now!”

Magic exploded all around me. From beneath the rock massive geysers of steam erupted, showering everything with water, ash and dust. The seas surged and a massive whirlpool formed. The water torrent spiraled upwards until it reached the sky. The heavens rumbled, as clouds darkened and spun into each other. Violent bolts of blue and purple lightning crackled in between them like cries of wrath from long-lost deities.

I felt my inner power burst forth, once again cladding me in tendrils of solid darkness, and fear—primal, savage, base fear—filled every corner and crevice of my mind.

And then, slowly, as if the very universe we stood on was giving birth to it, the Sin of Envy came into existence.

Chapter 31

The monster emerged from within the waves. Its body began taking on a more solid shape with every receding wave: a mixture between fish, reptile and crustacean that was just plain disturbing to look at.

This thing was huge. And I mean huge.

First to come out were dozens of tentacles that whipped around, each the size of a tree trunk. They exploded from the ocean and dug themselves into the land, piercing rock, sand and soil with no discrimination. The ocean seemed to part as this giant crab-shell-looking thing emerged. And I say emerged because I don’t really know how to describe it.

It was like the seafloor came up to the surface. As if the sun itself descended and took shape. The sea and the sky became one, connected through this monstrosity that rose from the bottom of the abyss and kept growing until those tentacles reached beyond the swirling cumulonimbus grey clouds that sent thunderbolts in between them.

A pair of arms reached out from the darkness, from inside the giant shell, and slammed into the shore. Sand became mist and the sound was enough to silence everything around us. Each thick, fish-scaled arm glistened in a kaleidoscope of colors, from red to green to blue to purple and an inky black. From hand to elbow, a dark blue hue shone under the sunlight. The arms ended with a pair of hands with three fingers on each hand bearing webbing between them. They were tipped with claws so large they could have gored a Wurm from end to end.

The remainder of its torso remained submerged but I saw two tails that put the enormity of the monster in perspective. Rising above the surface, the creature’s rear ended in a split tail, like a snake’s forked tongue. Each tail had what I first thought to be offset scales, but saw that they were fish tails—like a thousand dolphin or whale tails, in place of where each scale would normally go. As it moved I saw hundreds of rows of fins on its side, each the size of a Volvo. The rest of its body—its legs I assumed—remained submerged beneath the water.

The tails slammed down against the azure ocean and the waves parted again. From the depth, a thick, long crocodile head snaked upwards towards the sky like a skyscraper, well beyond the length of Central. Along its Loch Ness Monster-like neck was a long fin, from translucent green to the color of seaweed. Its head was reptilian, like a crocodile’s, but it was the size of an aircraft carrier. Instead of the wide, toothy grin, its mouth opened into an elliptical shape, revealing circles upon circles on dagger-like teeth. Its jaws closed by folding on top of each other, bending those teeth backwards, ripping and shredding whatever got caught in them. Two feelers dangled from its flat nose, waving to and fro with every shudder.

Nothing however was as disturbing as its eyes. Envy didn’t have just your regular pair of eyes: it had over two dozen. They were stacked against each other at the sides of its snout. Giant green-and-yellow eyes with an undulating slit in the middle, almost cat-like, each about three times my height in diameter.

As water cascaded like rain from this giant, me and Locklania just stood there, rooted on the spot. Then the demon flared its nostrils, expelling a small tornado of air and sending those feelers flying about. It snapped its head to one side, aiming a dozen moon-sized eyes at us and then zeroing in on me specifically.

Envy did not lower its head to speak to me. It just stood there, shaking off ocean water and giving me the largest glare I had ever received.

“I have answered your call, Erik Ashendale.” Its voice wasn’t raspy or throaty. It came in clear bursts of sound, almost like a speaker turned up to its maximum power. The only difference was the scraping sound its teeth made as they ground against each other.

“Now tell me why I should not make you meet the same demise as your ancestors.”

Erik, the big-ass fish lizard asked you a question. Best not piss it off by making it wait for an answer.

So I replied. Somehow I don’t think Envy heard my squeak from that far away.

This time the monster lowered its head, just a fraction of an inch.

“SPEAK, WARLOCK!” The blast of sound was enough to send me falling on my ass. Locklania stepped in front of me and took a tentative step towards the monster.

“It is you,” she whispered hoarsely. The demon let out a few throaty growls.

“It is you,” she said louder. “I’ve been to the edge of insanity and back, looking for you—looking to meet you.”

In the movies this is the part where the giant monster gobbles up the idiotic, clueless, yet incredibly hot, woman.

“Do you not fear me?” it growled.

There was no power or malice in that question, which I guess is what really took me by surprise. It was an honest question, plain and simple.

Locklania shook her head. “I have lived with your presence for over two hundred years. Any fear or anger I held in my heart for you is long gone.”

“That is good,” rumbled the demon. His eyes focused on me again. “But my question remains unanswered.”

I finally mustered enough courage to face Envy. Sure, this guy was huge and very terrifying, but once you get over the initial shock, I guess he’s just another demon.

That’s it Erik. Hold on to that thought—just another demon.

“Hey, I didn’t ask to be stuck here,” I said. “But while we’re on the subject of annihilation, care to tell me why your dimension is gate-crashing into mine? Or is it one of those demonic whacky things you guys are famous for?”

Envy roared and shook its giant crocodile head, while its tails slapped the water, sending entire waves raining over us.

“I do not concern myself with matters outside of my exile.” He looked right at me, all the malice in the world aimed at me. “It is intruders such as yourself who force my hand. Now perish, insect.”

“NO!” Locklania stepped protectively in front of me. “I will not let this happen again. Not like this.”

Envy stopped his trashing.

“Why?” asked the Witch. “Why did you have to kill them? Why won’t you let anyone leave?” She fell to her knees. “Why? Why? Why?” She kept repeating that word maniacally.

“It’s what demons do,” I replied. “Plain and simple. This guy is a killer and the only reason you were kept alive is for his sadistic pleasure.” Shadows solidified around me. My little speech served its purpose, giving me the strength of will and conviction I needed to get in gear and start fighting.

Envy exhaled, calm and collected. “Do not presume to know me, Warlock. You should not allow your final words to be as foolish as the reason for your existence.”

“How’s this for final words then—go fuck yourself, fish face,” I shot back.

“Enough!” Locklania crawled on her knees towards Envy’s hand. She actually grabbed onto one of the scales on his fingers. “Tell me why. Why spare me? Why not just end me as well?”

“Because you are pure, and I could not see any reason to harm a creature such as yourself, Nature Witch.”

Wait, what?

“Bullshit,” I said. And yet, Envy’s voice was kind and gentle. It reminded me of someone talking to their pet—a lovable, almost parental tone of voice, and a soft but stern attitude.

Envy shuddered, flaring his fins and spines, before receding his head just a little.

“This is the first time I have been summoned like a common animal, by something as young and small as yourself, Warlock,” he said.

“What the hell are you?” I asked.

Envy roared, summoning all his power. “I am Leviathan, Swallower of Worlds, He who Roams in Between, Bane of Majesty,” the demon replied. “I am God’s Bane, the Abyss Dweller. And as of recently, I am the Sin of Envy.”

The earth-shaking power receded to a more comfortable level once he was done with his speech.

“Many eons ago, long before the universes were numerous, I was a creature housed by what today are known as Angels,” he said. “They set me upon the world of Man to teach them fear and humility. No matter what they built, no matter their power, I was bigger, stronger and omnipresent. I would devour the souls of the damned, before they could reach Hell and further populate it. The Arch-demons were few and far between, and without sustenance, they could never oppose Heaven. I was the key to that.”

Envy’s neck undulated a little, and covered the light of the sun. I realized that that he was doing a very human thing—the demon was shaking his head in annoyance.

“But as I assimilated those souls, I began to change. That is Man’s greatest power—unlimited potential to change and grow. So I too changed. I grew independent and saw the universe for what it was. I was a tool for others and I refused to be so any longer. My exile was eternal and my universe sealed off by my own power, far away from anyone’s prying eyes.”

“But mankind’s greatest power is also the source of their downfall. The Warlocks found my world and sought to claim my power. They were ignorant of my true nature, something which I mercilessly rectified. Never again would I allow anyone to use my power for any purpose, nor would I allow them to reveal my existence. So I ended them and their meddling ways once and for all.”

Envy lowered his head to look Locklania in the eye and there was a tense second, where he did nothing but growl. I seriously thought he was going to eat her up.

And there was jack-shit I could do about it.

But, much to my surprise, this guy just kept on talking. “However I could not bring myself to destroy one of them; a Nature Witch, pure as the world I had created and just as right for it as the trees in the forests.”

The Sin turned his head towards me. “I do not know how he came to know of my existence, but I am now the Sin of Envy.” Envy’s power spiked up again. “If I ever find him I will devour him whole,” he roared.

“Who is he?” I asked, already suspecting the answer.

“The one who gave the Sins their hosts,” replied Envy. “I do not know his nature, other than it is vastly more powerful than mine.”

I had trouble picturing something ‘vastly more powerful’ than the guy in front of me right now. Guess I’ll have to cross that bridge when I’ll come to it.

“However I try, I cannot purge the Sin from myself,” Envy continued. Then he looked at Locklania. “Not by myself at least.”

“Huh?” I asked but he ignored me.

“I have waited for decades until you grew strong enough to interact with me,” he told the Witch. “With my help you can grow powerful enough to purge the darkness from me, and allow me to return to my former self.”

“It ain’t that easy, buddy,” I shot back. “Let’s assume you’re not bullshitting us, for a second. The only way that Sin is getting out of you is with the power of a Virtue—and the current angel in question is trapped in chaos space between dimensions. He’s long gone.”

“That may be so,” Leviathan replied, “but you know nothing of the nature of Sins. If you did you would understand why the woman, why my exile, is necessary.”

And then it all fell into place.

I remembered how Lust, or Lilith, had said something similar. I kept calling them demons but it wasn’t as simple as that. The Sins are just pure power, a manifestation of a particular aspect, and then this Master, whoever he was, finds a suitable host and merges the two.

“Of course,” I said. “Envy. That’s what you do. It’s not you that’s envious: it’s everyone else. You make others envious, and then sustain yourself with that energy.” I smiled, mentally patting myself on the back for putting it all together.

“This exile is so that you don’t interact with other humans, right? But look at this place. You built all this after you got the Sin, right?” I didn’t have to wait for the answer. “This place is a utopia. Everything runs smooth and clean. Even those insane Vensir whackos were good until the Warlocks showed up. And that’s why your dimension showed up next to Earth. You are inspiring envy on a planetary scale, feeding your Sin without even knowing it.”

Envy said nothing. Instead he just growled softly. I took that as a sign to keep going.

“But that ain’t everything, right? You are jealous of us,” I said. “Jealous of humans and their ability to build a society. That’s why you kept Locklania. Sure, there’s the whole power and purity thing, but the real reason is simple: you were lonely, but you didn’t trust humans. Locklania is the perfect in-between. How am I doing so far?”

Envy nodded slightly, its massive form shifting in the ocean. “You make your ancestors proud, Warlock.”

“I’m a wizard,” I shot back instinctively.

“It matters not. What does matter is that I am now forever bound to do the very thing I despise most—become a tool for someone else.”

“Not if I can help it,” said Locklania. She stepped away from Leviathan, far enough to reach the edge of the nearest tree, and summoned her power. She climbed on a thick branch, which slowly grew and lifted her upwards like a platform. The branch grew longer and longer, taking Locklania all the way up to Leviathan’s head.

Once up there, she reached out and grabbed onto his face, looking straight into one giant eye.

“You have given me a home and a purpose,” she said passionately. “I have grown strong because of you. And I will do anything in my power to help you.”

Okay this was just weird. I understand Stockholm Syndrome, but this? Come on! This was like a bizarre version of Beauty and the Beast. And that would make me the hunter douche bag who sleeps with the girl and kills the beast.

Well, maybe it was time I rethought that last part.

Demons don’t send themselves into exile. Demons don’t feel lonely. Demons don’t show mercy, unless it suited their needs. I had no idea what the hell Leviathan was, but he sure was no demon. Maybe he was a creation all by himself—maybe that’s why Envy picked him as a host. He was jealous of everyone else having another member of their species except for him.

Now, let me look at this from another angle. This guy was fucking huge. He was so powerful he had created an entire universe all by himself. Even if I went full power, using every last morsel of energy my powers gave me, it would be just enough not to get killed off in the first five seconds. This dude was so out of my league, it wasn’t even funny. So if I could avoid fighting him, I was gladly going to take that option.

Besides, if Locklania could change the original host, Leviathan, on a fundamental level, the Sin would have nothing to latch onto and it would just disappear. And then the big fish dude could take his universe somewhere else and not crash into mine. No Sin, no need to fight. Then these two can go off into the sunset or whatever.

“All right then,” I said cheerfully. “How’s about you two get cracking on that purging-“

Fire flashed into life, burning the branch lifting Locklania, and reduced it to ash in a matter of seconds. There was a moment of stunned disbelief as gravity claimed her. She didn’t even scream—she didn’t have time to.

I saw a dark figure zoom past me, sending up a cloud of sand in its wake. Ash colored feathered wings flared and Raphael stopped abruptly, pinning Locklania by the neck against his chest using his forearm as a vice. The angel had changed. He was always rugged but now fire emerged from him, raging out of control. He pressed a screaming Locklania against him, burning her alive.

His fiery eyes met mine.

“Pathetic creature,” he said holding the woman away from him by the neck.

Then with a sharp twist, he snapped her neck and let her go. I watched, stunned, as she dropped, her neck at weird lopsided angle and most of her body charred black due to the flames.

“Nothing shall interfere in my duty,” the angel declared. “Only I can purge this evil abomination from the universe.”

He held his hand up, palm towards the sky. A giant fire lance, the size of Leviathan’s head, formed above Raphael’s outstretched hand. He grabbed it, swung backwards and threw it with all his might at the monster.

“Now, in the name of Heaven, perish!”

Chapter 32

I flicked my sword upwards, sending a stream of energy, and intercepting the fire lance. Raphael’s spell was sent astray into the clouds and exploded into a brilliant orange sun.

“Stay out of this, human,” the angel roared.

“Fuck you,” I yelled back. “Why did you kill her? We’re trying to destroy the Sin without killing the host. Isn’t that better?”

“Blasphemy,” Raphael spat in my direction. “Both Sin and demon host shall perish before the righteous flames of Heaven. As shall the human traitor who sided with them.”

A blast of power smashed into me and sent me spinning. I crashed into the ground face first and barely avoided his second attack, as the angel called upon fire again and sent another lance.

Leviathan’s giant head spread jaws so large they could have clamped down on the Empire State building and wrapped them around Raphael.

I reached out, sending shadows forwards along my arm. A dark hand formed at the extension of my own left one, stretching forwards like a cartoon. I felt myself grabbing Leviathan’s head and the pull hoisted me up towards the monster. Halfway through, while I was still in mid-air, I swung my sword, sending another streak of energy. My attack hit Raphael, knocking him backwards just enough to save him from becoming monster chow.

“Snap out of it, man,” I cried as I landed on Leviathan’s neck and grabbed the giant frill to keep myself from slipping. “Don’t kill this guy. You are the good guy here. Don’t throw away the sacrifices you have made.”

“No,” roared Leviathan. “He must pay for what he has done to the Witch.” I couldn’t blame him for wanting revenge. Hell, if someone so much as scratched a member of my family I would hunt them down like dogs.

But there was a delicate balance at stake here. Leviathan was in charge of a plane that was crashing into Earth. The moment he lost control and the Sin of Envy was left to reign alone, I could kiss my universe goodbye. So whatever the cost, Leviathan had to remain in control and not give in.

The monster shook its neck, trying to throw me off. At the same time, one of those giant tentacles coiled back and then shot forwards. I slipped off his neck and leapt forwards, trying to intercept the tentacle from impaling the angel—who was no longer there.

Instead, Raphael appeared next to me and delivered a kick that sent me plummeting down a million miles. I smashed into the sand below, and felt every bone in my body break. A regular person would be turned to jelly but my shadowy powers kept me not only intact but also conscious.

But I was out of commission while my body healed. I saw the angel wielding a flaming sword, slicing through the tentacle. With a burst of power, Raphael began growing in size, going from his usual bulky self to a titan about forty feet tall. The dismembered tentacle began falling, casting an infinite shadow over me. I felt myself being thrown to one side—my powers were acting on their own again—and completely avoided being crushed a second time. Not only that but my powers enhanced my muscles, allowing me to vault over the appendage, run along it and leap again, grabbing onto Leviathan once more. With one hoist I launched myself upwards, climbing the monster to get to the angel on top of it.

Raphael’s giant fire sword fell in a strike aimed at Leviathan’s neck. I found myself in the sword’s trajectory and poured all of my magic into Djinn. The azure blade exploded to a blade twenty times its size, almost matching Raphael’s. I didn’t have enough swing to counter such a massive weapon, since I was still a tiny dude fighting a battle amongst giants.

But I could stick Djinn’s giant energy blade in between Raphael’s own weapon and Leviathan’s neck. For the second time in less than five minutes I saved the fish monster’s life.

Raphael let out a furious scream and pulled back his sword for a second strike; exactly what I wanted. As he pulled, I flicked my own sword, sending his swing astray, and ran along Leviathan, once again using my powers to enhance my leap. Shooting myself forwards in mid-air I lifted my own engorged blade. Raphael just stood there, watching the azure sword descend on his face.

But Leviathan had other plans.

A massive hand swiped into us, catching both me and the giant angel in one swoop. The two of us were sent crashing down into the beach with enough force to crack the ground we stood on.

I blacked out for exactly three seconds. When my senses came back, pain shot all over my body and I felt exhausted enough to sleep for a decade. It all made sense. The giant energy swords, the shadows, the Super Man crap: that was high level magic and as draining as a gold digger with a rich man’s wallet. And yet I felt the power still there. Djinn had returned to normal, but the shadows still clung around me, unwilling to part with their host.

Besides me was Raphael, once again regular-sized, his ash-colored wings torn and askew. He was groaning in pain, something that told me he was in as much agony as I was, and which made me smile in petty glee.

“Not the kind of threesome I’m into,” I moaned.

He snapped his head towards me and attempted to turn—but not before I threw myself at him and smashed my elbow on his face. Angels may have a crapload of powers but I guessed their basic self-defense skills were shoddy. Why bother with Kung Fu and all that stuff when you can conjure a giant fire sword?

This guy was now fighting on my turf and I was the best. I had to be or else I’d have been dead a long time ago.

Raphael raised his hand, covering his face against any other possible elbow strikes and fire gathered in his other hand. I intercepted the inevitable blast, using the shadows to absorb and contain the explosion. We were literally interlocked against each other and if that spell went off properly, my guts would be spread all over the ocean. But now I could tell that Raphael was running out of juice and that meant I had a small window of opportunity to ground and pound the living crap out of this asshole.

The sky darkened once more as Leviathan’s massive hand came thrusting down, like a foot stomping on a spider.

I braced myself for some major pain and felt Raphael charging up yet another fire blast. I grabbed his hand and thrust my shadows against it, as the spell went off. The blast sent both myself and the angel flying in opposite directions, just in time for me to see the hand crash down on the space we had occupied a second ago. I felt the air shift with the sheer force of the blow and I was thrown further back. Raphael had an easier time managing his trajectory. I guess wings were useful in that regard. He spun in the air, landed with a fire lance in his hands and threw the weapon with such force it broke the sound barrier.

The fire lance tore through Levaithan’s forearm and impaled it to the ground, leaving the monster in a lopsided and vulnerable position. The angel conjured another, even larger, fire lance, and rose higher in the sky. I bolted toward Leviathan, leaping over his pinned hand and running along his forearm. All the while I channeled magic into Djinn, charging the blade with azure energy and enlarging it. The fire lance loomed near. I swung, cleaving the spell in half.

Leviathan roared and reared upwards. He wrenched his hand free, throwing it up—with me on top of it.

I went flying straight into the angel, who was in mid-swing. His arms were raised above him, body exposed, and could barely register what had happened before I smashed into him, sword first, impaling him from end to end. I didn’t even have time to crack a joke about me shish-kebabing an angel; Leviathan’s jaws came crashing down on us.

I threw the angel away and channeled power into the shadows surrounding my body. Leviathan’s jaws closed from up and down, and I had to use all of my power to wedge myself in between them, keeping them open.

“Hey,” I screamed desperately. “Not cool, man. I was trying to save you.”

“I need no saving from you, Wizard,” came Leviathan’s rumble.

“You’re right. Let’s talk about it,” I yelled back.

“The angel must pay, Wizard,” he said, still trying to clamp down on me. “And if you interfere, I shall end you as well.”

“Locklania wouldn’t want this,” I cried.

Suddenly the jaws stopped pushing down, but still kept their position.

“She wanted to live in peace too,” I continued. “She wouldn’t want to see her precious island spirit become some sort of rampaging monster. She forgave you for killing all her friends. Don’t mess that up by becoming the killer you swore never to be again.” I gave a final strain of effort against his giant maw. “She’s not here to forgive you again. If you mess up, there’s no one to say it’s okay.”

“The angel must pay!” But I could tell his conviction was broken. Whatever Leviathan was, he loved his island and Locklania more than he loved destruction.

And that was the part that had convinced me this guy was not a demon. Demons don’t love. Leviathan was his own species—perhaps the only one ever made—and that meant that something was askew with the whole system of Sins and demons. We thought only demons were compatible with Sins and that’s why we allowed angels to help us out. It evened the odds.

But Leviathan did not fall in any category.

“And he will,” I roared back. “But not like this. If you give in, she’ll have died for nothing. She wanted this island to go on existing and living, and if you give in to the Sin inside you, you are stomping on that desire. Is that what you want? Is the great Leviathan no different that the rampaging monster depicted in the legends?”

The jaws snapped open and I was suddenly spat out. A tentacle broke my fall to the ground and brought me to eye level with the monster.

“What do you propose, Wizard?”

“I have a plan,” I said, gingerly standing up on his appendage. “I will take down Raphael. Believe me, I got every reason to. But not like this. Not at the cost of your sanity.”

Leviathan let out a rumble. “What must I do?”

“Leave,” I said. “Just leave and live on. I’ll take care of Feather Face over there.”

Leviathan fell silent and for a moment the only sounds heard were the slapping of waves and the wind flapping against my coat.

“Why?” he asked. “Why must I put my faith in you?”

I actually burst out laughing. This was just too weird. I mean, this guy got seriously mind-fucked by Heaven, years before the Earth took its first spin and now here I am, trying to get this guy to let me fight his battle for him.

“How the hell should I know, man?” I shrugged. “But here’s what I do know. That angel is the one behaving like a bad guy, not you. I know all about mixed perspectives and grey areas. My job is to stop monsters from destroying things that are precious to people, and from what I can tell, that fucker is the one in need of some serious ass-kicking, not you.”

Leviathan’s eyes shifted slightly, gazing at the place where Locklania’s charred corpse lay and then looked back at me.

“Never did I think I would trust anyone again, much less weak and volatile creatures such as humans.” He reached out with his hands and enclosed his fingers around Locklania, and a good chunk of the ground she was on. “Now I find myself trusting two.”

He set me down on the ground and lowered his head, while the remainder of his body began sinking back into the ocean.

“But perhaps some humans are worthy of trust.”

Then he did the strangest thing yet. His giant snout came very close, close enough to touch. I felt this overwhelming need to reach out and pat the scaly fish monster on the head. As my right hand landed on Leviathan’s face, I felt my powers flare up. It was as if the shadow power of my curse was taking a deep breath and exhaling in relief. I felt an intimate connection with the land—no, with Leviathan himself. The real Leviathan, the builder of this island and the pocket dimension it resided in, not the Sin that was slowly encroaching on it.

I felt powerful, more powerful than I had ever felt in my entire life. Powerful enough to destroy everything that threatened me—including a celestial being from Heaven.

And then, just like that, Leviathan retreated back into the ocean and began disappearing altogether. In just a few seconds, he had melted back into the abyss and the only evidence that remained of his ever being there was the wrecked ground, the aftermath of a clash between two titans.

Raphael stood up, panting and tired. Fire danced around his body, once again alit with power. I stood my ground and lifted Djinn, readying myself for battle.

“All right, Flames of Glory,” I said with my usual snark. “It’s just you and me now.”

Chapter 33

Raphael wasn’t happy at all. Fire exploded from his hands as he brought them together.

“You have interfered in Heaven’s affairs for the last time, human.”

The fire became a bow and arrow, which he pulled back and fired. The flaming arrow was a thick lance of fire that could have incinerated me to a crisp.

But I stood my ground and held my hand out. My fingers tightened around the fire, absorbing it into my shadows. With a flick of my wrist I then hurled the projectile away.

“That the best you got?” I challenged. “I thought angels were better than this. Or maybe it’s you that’s weak.”

“I shall make you burn eternally in a pit of fire,” he roared as he threw a fire ball at me.

“Wow, easy there,” I said, dodging out of the way. “Your wings are looking a little grey. Is someone’s anger issues causing him to Fall?”

“Speak not of that which you do not comprehend!” he screamed.

I ducked beneath another blast, rolled and ran, closing the distance between us. When I got close enough, I swung Djinn, sending out a beam of energy. He reeled backwards but recovered quickly, charging up more fire. Before he could release it, I was right under his face. I swung my forehead forwards, smacking him in the nose and sent him tumbling to the ground.

“You’re just another dick with anger issues and too much power.” I lifted my sword into a fighting stance. “Different species, same problem. What’s there to comprehend?”

Raphael stood up, calmly dusted himself off and cracked his neck. His wings flared and magic roared around him with a wave of sheer power.

“You are no concern of mine, human,” he said with cold murder in his voice. “My purpose is to destroy the Sin of Envy and everything concerning it. And if it chooses to hide like the coward it is, I shall have to flush it out.” He looked at the forest and smiled. “I shall destroy the things most precious to it.” Then he looked at me. “This is your final warning, human. Go home and stay out of this. Otherwise, the consequences will be fatal.”

His wings spread wide open and gave a single flap, sending a violent gust of wind my way. A flash of light later and Raphael disappeared.

I just stood there like an idiot, preparing to fight an enemy that was no longer there. “Hey what the fuck!” I yelled. “Come back here!”

No. Focus. Find him, said my inner voice.

I took a deep breath and just stopped thinking. It’s amazing how much stuff you can tune out by shutting the hell up and just listening. That’s exactly what I did. Instead of doing all the thinking I just absorbed all the information my brain and body were giving me.

“I shall destroy the things most precious to it.” That’s what Raphael had said before pulling his Houdini act.

So what was most precious to Envy? Locklania? The angel had already gotten to her.

Think, Erik. Why is Leviathan acting this way? Why did he build the island?

Envy: the envy of people’s ability to live together, to a certain extent. Society.

Oh, crap.

Raphael was going after the Vensir, the only civilization on the island. I focused on Leviathan’s parting gift—a connection to the land and all its inhabitants—and opened my mind to it.

A million cries of horror and agony infiltrated my mind. The cries of terrified Vensir, of burnt Jurai, and of Wild torn apart. I saw Raphael appear in the middle of the Citadel and unleash his wrath upon the inhabitants within. I felt his power in its purest form, a maelstrom of rage and power, all condensed into a single-minded mission: destroy the Sin and all it had ever created.

I shook the voices off, concentrating once again on reality. The shadows raged, but unlike Raphael’s power, I contained them within reason. This is how I would win this battle. Not with a bigger punch, but with a better-timed one. And if I needed a reason to fight for, I had just heard a million of them screaming in my head.

This is who I am: the guy who fights off the big, bad wolf and disappears into the night. I’m not saying I’m a superhero. I’m just the guy who tries to do good in this world. That’s what my mentor taught me and that’s how I get to honor his memory.

All I needed now was a way to cross all that distance in a few seconds before Raphael brought an end to the Vensir species.

“Well, if he can do it, why can’t I?”

Shadows extended from my sides, focusing most of their mass into a pair of giant obsidian wings. I knew I couldn’t fly—the wings were just for control. More than that, they were the physical manifestation of my will, and my magic.

I could not fly.

But I could bend gravity, thanks to my powers and connection to the land. My wings flared and I felt the atmosphere pop around me as the gravitational pull around me slackened. Before I could start floating, I kicked off and pulled my wings down, launching myself into the air at a million miles per hour, and rocketed straight towards the Citadel.

***

Raphael threw a beam of light into a cottage, blowing it up from within.

“Where are you hiding, demon?” he yelled. “Show yourself if you wish to save these pathetic creatures.”

A few warrior Vensir lunged at him, wielding those silver spears. It was like an ant biting at a crocodile. Raphael flicked one hand and the Vensir exploded into a puddle of blue goo. Sentinels disintegrated into a pile of scrap metal.

“Nothing can stop me, you disgusting abominations,” he declared.

True, nothing could even stand up to his immense powers. Except…

“Kawabunga!”

Both of my feet smacked into his head as I descended from the skies with enough speed to break both the sound barrier and a good portion of the ground when I hit it.

I felt the angel’s neck crack and Raphael was thrown across the Citadel.

I scraped onto my feet and focused on my connection with the island. Shadows dug into the land and snaked up to the Vensir, intermingling with their own natural shadows. I found the guy I was looking for.

Yo Legolas, you online?

I could feel his confusion at the sudden telepathy. The poor guy had probably never even heard of the word telepathy, let alone practiced it.

What is this? I heard him ask. How are you in my head?

Never mind that, I said. I got something I need you guys to do.

How can I trust you after your betrayal?

Because I’m communicating with you using the power of Levi—I mean, the God King.

To prove my point I sent him a burst of images, detailing my meeting with Leviathan. Legolas was getting a trimmed-down powerpoint presentation of that whole thing.

His attitude changed immediately and he suddenly became very cooperative. What do you require?

I used his loyalty as an anchor when I connected with others. Sort of like saying, ‘this important dude here trusts me and so should you.’ A dirty trick, I know, but hey, this was an emergency and we were running out of time.

I sent them a bunch of images from my own memories, sigils for a specific spell.

Paint those around the remains of Central. Get the details right. Oh, and guys—don’t fuck this up unless you wanna die.

“Human!” Wings blew away debris and fire danced around the returning Raphael, giving him an appearance that was more commonly associated with demons.

“Hey, look who’s up,” I called out. “You ready for a second beat down?”

A bright beam of orange light emitted a screeching noise as he charged it in his hands.

“By the sacred power invested in me, I shall smite thee into oblivion.”

I dodged what felt like a ballistic missile and scrambled to the side. “And by the power invested in me by my own awesomeness, I declare you asshole extraordinaire.”

“You dare mock me?” Raphael took to the air, hovering a good twenty feet above ground. He sent a rain of fire bolts, which fell down like mortars.

“Come on dude, you’re mocking yourself,” I shot back, easily dodging his spells. “Fire, bad attitude, and dark wings—cut one of them off and you might as well call yourself Sephiroth.”

“Enough of your confusing nonsense.”

“Oh yeah I forgot, you gotta be direct with you guys to get a point.” I spread my hands in challenge. “I am calling you a demon, dickhead. But I won’t tell you to go to Hell. You’ll get there by yourself, and when you do, those guys are gonna prison-rape you with a pitchfork.”

If you ever want to send an angel over the edge, call them the worst possible insult they know—a demon.

Raphael encased himself in fire and light, and exploded into a literal ball of torrential fury, incinerating everything around him.

“Fuck you! I will kill you!” he screamed. The skies darkened and the land started shaking. “I will kill you, I will fucking kill you!”

There was no more pretense of control. This angel had lost his shit, along with all sense of reason. You’ve got to understand that unlike us humans, angels cannot change. The way they walk, talk and act is built into them and nothing can ever change that.

That is, unless they Fall. Then those blueprints get all messed up, generally unleashing all the held-back power within the angel. Luckily, Raphael was still new to this gig. He was not accustomed to other planes, and although this was not technically Earth, Leviathan had made it close enough to pass for an imitation of the real thing.

And he was not accustomed to his powers. Jehudiel had said Raphael had been recently given the powers of a Virtue and was still learning. So even though the guy had a lot more juice than I had, I knew exactly how to beat him.

He stopped moving in mid-air and power—more power than I’ve ever seen in one single spot—just went into him. It was like he was a black hole for energy, sucking away all the vitality around him. His physical body became a humanoid figure made out of pure light, with grey wings intact and spread open.

He was charging up the mother of all big bangs.

And that was the critical moment.

“It’s done!” Legolas’s voice cut through the background noise, a mixture of fearful screaming and the panicked scramble for safety.

There was a reason I had only been dodging and running until now, never once leaving the ground. My shadow power was focused into the ground, snaking out and attaching itself onto the working Vensir, guiding them with my thoughts and correcting some minor mistakes to the sigils. My mind could not deal with so many minds and tasks all at once, and fight back.

Except, maybe to trade insults. I always find the brain capacity for that.

I ran towards a building, taking two steps up the wall and vaulting, all the while swinging the charged Djinn. The giant azure blade met Raphael and exploded, using his released energy as an added force.

The angel went into the ground in a belly flop and actually bounced right back up, ten feet into the air.

“This way, Sparky.” I grabbed his floating body by the head and threw him like a dart inside the circle of sigils, which I had the Vensir paint around the remains of Central. He crashed into the ground, leaving a sizable crater. I jumped into the air and landed right on top of him, swinging a claymore-sized Djinn.

The angel rolled to one side, avoiding my blade—and going right where I wanted him to be. Still kneeling, I let go of Djinn and dug my hands into the land. Shadows spread like a spider’s web, each tendril merging with a single sigil. As I channeled power into them, the symbols glowed and the spell came to life.

“What is this?” demanded Raphael.

I grabbed my short sword and spun it playfully. “An Abjuration Cage,” I replied with a grin.

The look of confusion on his face was priceless.

“You know,” I said, “for a guy who is made out of magic, you’re surprisingly dim when it comes to applying it. Well, I guess when you got a nuclear missile you don’t bother with a knife fight.” I sighed. “Welcome to the cage match of the century, Raphael. You can’t get out of here, because this thing repels magic. Better yet, it’s specifically designed to repel magic from outside sources.”

His fiery eyes widened and he flew with panic to the edge of the Cage, blasting it with orange light. The spell dissipated into nothing.

“Having trouble there, Sparky?” I sneered.

“How do you know?” he screamed.

“I researched your kind after what happened with Lilith,” I replied. “And I felt Heaven’s magic, remember? As for your little secret—yeah, I’m fully aware that an angel’s life force and powers come from his connection to Heaven. Even on other planes, you guys all carry a receiver back to the mother ship. And this thing,” I said, spreading my arms and grinning like an evil genius whose plan had just succeeded, “this baby is designed to cut such a connection.” I grinned at him and raised my sword.

“So tell me, Feather Face, how does it feel to slowly wither away?”

Chapter 34

For the next five minutes Raphael just raged against the Abjuration Cage.

“It’s useless, dude,” I taunted, in between laughs. “That Cage is specifically designed to lock us in place, negating all magic from coming inside its borders. If you had half a brain, you would have taken precautions against your weakness first instead of fighting a Sin on his own home turf.”

I playfully spun Djinn around my finger through the hole in the crossguard. “And now you’re cut off. My powers come from within me and thanks to my man Levi, I got a boost from the land itself.”

Raphael stopped his raging. “Then I shall destroy that very source,” he growled.

His feral gaze turned towards the giant stone stub that used to be Central and incinerated it, scorching the stone black. Most of the remains crumbled into nothing.

I let out a laugh. “Did you inhale too much of your own smoke or something? That power is within me. If you wanna stop the spell, you gotta kill me. That is, if you can,” I challenged.

“My powers may be dwindling but I have more than enough to destroy the likes of you, human,” Raphael snarled.

“Bring it on, bitch.”

Before I could get the last syllable out he smashed into me, flaming sword in one hand, and clashed with my own weapon. He retreated and came back with a thrust. I parried and swung to the side, catching his flank. I ducked as he swung a flame-coated fist. He blocked my swing and raised his free hand. Fire elongated and formed into a second sword.

“Neat trick. Let’s see if I can do it,” I said, raising my left hand. Shadows coalesced there and from my hand they elongated, forming an obsidian blade.

I blocked his second sword with my new weapon, all the while smiling gleefully at his frustrated expression.

But then he smiled as well. Fire sliced through the shadows as if they weren’t there and bit into my arm. The flames seared flesh and cut off the entire limb. I screamed in sheer horror—there’s nothing like watching one of your body parts flopping on the ground and withering into a mass of shadows to freak you out. I expected pain and agony but felt none. Looking at my wound I noticed blood merging with the shadows, into a wet mass of inky black that oozed from my stump.

Raphael pressed on with his relentless assault and I was forced to block with my one remaining hand. But while he had his two swords and a lot more power than me, I felt him weaken with every strike. He was getting desperate and that was my ticket to staying alive.

He swung with his right, committing too much weight and momentum on his leading leg. I sidestepped out of range of his second weapon. I half-spun and kicked his knee joint, breaking his balance, then pushed with every ounce of strength I had and he ended up in the air before landing painfully on his back. Keeping my momentum, I lengthened Djinn to the size of a broadsword. With the tip of the sword pointing downwards, I swung it down on Raphael’s face.

The angel flared his wings, catching me behind the ankles and sending me crashing down. He turned and climbed on top of me, pinning my sword arm to one side. He settled on his mount and raised both hands, forming a single flaming sword.

“In the name of Heaven, you shall die,” he said as he prepared to impale my head with his weapon, just as I had been about to do to him a few seconds earlier.

I smiled. “Bad move, dude.”

A gunshot exploded and a fist-sized hole appeared inside the angel’s stomach. The blast sent him off of me and about ten feet away.

I stood up, holding my customized flintlock with my newly regenerated left hand, and fired again. This time I took my time, channeling more precise magic into the shot. A thick red bullet rocketed towards Raphael, trailing a crimson arc like a tracer round. The angel raised his sword and swung down, deflecting the bullet and cutting it neatly in half. Two red balls of magic flew to either side of his head, harmlessly away from their target…

Until I activated the spell.

The two halves altered their angle and shot into either side of Raphael’s head, before exiting from the opposite direction.

The angel stumbled onto the ground, his head now a gory mess. I followed my attack with my short sword, aiming to behead this guy once and for all.

He managed to catch my sword, clasping his hands on either side of the blade as if in a prayer, and yelled in effort as he struggled to stand up. Swirls of light formed around his head as his injuries were healed. Fire exploded from his hands all the way down the length of Djinn. The flames incinerated my right hand, reducing it to a pile of ash and leaving a blackened stump. Djinn fell along my body, all magic gone from it.

But there was no time to freak out. I shoved my gun into his gut and pulled the trigger several times. Raphael bent over in agony. Meanwhile the shadows on my body caught Djinn and secured it along my foot so that the blade pointed the same direction as my toes. I twisted my body, unleashed a roundhouse kick that would have made Chuck Norris proud and impaled the angel with my sword. The blade buried itself inside him and I saw the tip poke out from his collarbone.

I pulled my leg back, drawing the sword attached to it. The shadows rolled it back up to my regenerated right hand. Raphael gave me a look of pure hatred and fell on his knees, vomiting blood. I wiped ichor away from my blade and sheathed both of my weapons.

“I’m not going to kill you,” I said calmly, taking a few steps back.

“Offering pity?” he spat. “How pious of you.”

“It’s not pity, jackass,” I replied. “I just wanna watch you die, like you deserve. And what you deserve is a slow death in this place; a place made by your enemy. A place where you killed an innocent woman who just wanted to live in peace. So think about that as you slowly rot away.”

Raphael vomited more blood and tried getting up. Ash-colored feathers dropped from his wings and he looked more like a zombie than an angel. He snarled and widened his mouth into a grin.

But I wasn’t worried about any more surprises. Sure, I was still picking a small amount of magic from him but it was about the same amount I would sense from a regular human wizard. His wings were in tatters, almost burnt to stumps. Wings generally indicated how much power an angel carried, and there was no hiding that.

Raphael was done for, so he did the only thing he could do—talk.

“Yes, human. It truly is over.”

At first I assumed it was more bad guy bullshit, the same crap he kept spouting on ever since I met him.

And then I felt that spike of magic. That one final burst, all directed within him. I knew immediately what he was going to do: use his life force to blow himself up. And while he didn’t have enough magic to harm me, he was still an angel. No, he was a Virtue. That kind of power was on the nuclear scale in terms of magic slinging. Raphael had enough life force to potentially blow up an entire city.

Or an island with an unstable Core.

It took less than half a second for me to spring in to action.

I dashed forwards with superhuman speed and grabbed his face, pulling him close. At the same time I concentrated all my power into the patch of land within the Abjuration Cage and performed an Amaymon-style bit of Geomancy. The round patch of land flipped over, like a spinning coin, and catapulted both of us into the air.

Shadow wings flared on my back again and I used every iota of power I had to race towards the ocean. We tore through like a bullet of fire and shadow, slicing through trees, Wurms and air alike, until we reached the open water. I directed us towards a specific spot: the exact same spot I tried to open with my magic when I first came to this island and failed.

But now that I had Leviathan’s power backing me up, the portal opened once more.

We dove into the water, descending downwards like a torpedo, slicing through waves, water pressure and an unfortunate Abyss Wurm that happened to be passing by. We emerged from the Wurm’s gut and kept going, reaching that distortion in space and time which created a small vortex in the ocean.

And just as we entered the portal and crossed into Chaos space, Raphael exploded, unleashing all that energy into nothingness.

Chapter 35

I saw the explosion happen in slow motion, right on the precipice between two worlds.

Raphael blew up right next to me, with my grip still tight around him. Chaos space, however, has a whole new set of physics, all to itself. The explosion didn’t vaporize me. Instead it sent me hurtling through the other side of the portal and into the real world.

My world.

The portal had once again materialized inside Lake Michigan and a good chunk of that explosive energy made it back. And in our world, explosions are explosions—they make shit go boom in a million different directions and that’s the end of the story.

I watched as the water around me parted into a tsunami, waves rising like a second sky. It was twilight and suddenly I found myself in the middle of a water funnel. I was spat to the top and into a cascading wave as the waters crashed back together. The torrential forces pulled and pushed me all over the place. All around me was darkness and cold. I couldn’t breathe, nor move.

Suddenly I felt myself being shot forwards. I felt my body heavy and burdened, no longer enhanced by the potent magic that clung to me on the island. Momentum carried me about a hundred feet away from shore and my body actually skidded across the waves like a pebble.

Luckily I crashed into the beach by Lakefront Trail. And I say luckily because I knew I did not have the strength to swim, and would have surely drowned to the bottom of the lake. My head cracked against the hard, solid ground and I was left with my head literally in the sand. I turned very slowly and threw up to the side, then lay on my back breathing fresh sea air and the occasional grain of sand.

And then the pain started.

All that magic I had used, even subconsciously, on the island, still had the same price. I couldn’t pay the price there, because of the fundamental laws of that place. But here on dear home, sweet home, that price had to be paid. And so when my curse power timed out, I was faced with a massively overdue bill.

Pain and exhaustion crept over every nerve ending, every bone, every cell in my body. I didn’t even have enough energy to writhe in pain, or moan in agony. I just stood there, barely able to breathe, until I felt myself blacking out.

It felt as if decades had passed before I felt familiar hands on my head.

“Hold on, brother,” I heard Gil say.

Magic filled the air and my pain dulled. White light and mist engulfed the both of us and my body systematically began regaining use. I heard Gil mutter the body parts she was healing under her breath, starting with my head and working her way down, as if following some diagram from a textbook.

I spasmed a couple of times and Amaymon kneeled on my chest, a big goofy grin on his face.

“I thought you were gonna walk on water,” he said. “I was totally waiting for your Jesus act.”

I groaned. “I prefer Criss Angel. He’s got his own network show.”

“The irony of a real wizard trying to imitate a TV magician.”

“Yeah, that’s great,” I wheezed. “Do you mind getting off of me?”

He let out a devious laugh and looked up. “He’s over here,” he yelled, as his body weight eased off of mine.

I sat up and immediately was assaulted by a flurry of arms and red hair. Behind Abi I saw Jack rubbing his eyes with his finger and smiling like an idiot. Amaymon clapped him on the shoulder.

“You were missed around here,” the demon said, looking at me. “I wonder if I’ll get a welcoming parade like yours if I were to show up from another dimension.”

Before I could reply, I felt Abi release me from her death grip. “Where were you?” she partially yelled in my face. “What happened? You were gone for hours! What the hell happened to you?”

“Can I get up first?” I asked. “I have sand where sand should not be.”

We stood up and I dusted myself off. “I was trapped in the pocket dimension,” I explained. “Which by the way, is not exactly a pocket dimension and more like Leviathan’s lair.”

“I don’t get the reference,” said Amaymon.

“It’s not a reference. The actual Leviathan made a dimension of his own and—wait did you say I was gone for couple of hours?” I asked Abi.

She nodded.

“I was gone for two weeks,” I said.

We stared at each other before simultaneously looking at Amaymon quizzically. Even Gil and Jack were giving him inquisitive looks. And Amaymon, being Amaymon, couldn’t just give us a straight answer.

“Well, my friends,” he said in his best Morgan Freeman impression. “Space and time work differently in throughout the multiverse. What would only appear as a few hours in our plane could be equivalent to weeks in another. Such is the nature of things.”

“That is actually a really good impression,” Abi whispered.

“I know, right?” I replied.

At that precise moment I felt an aggressive intrusion in my head, like a psychic lightning bolt. I was stunned on the spot, unable to move or see anything, until suddenly my mind was filled with images and Leviathan’s mental projection filled my head.

“Wizard, Erik,” he said. “I must require of you a favor, an exchange for the power I bestowed upon you.”

I’m listening.

“Protect those that need protection. Carry on what I started. I shall give the island to the Earth, but you shall decide what to do with that gift.”

What? You can’t do that, you’ll break the plane.

“The island is more than its rocks and trees, Wizard. I shall give it all to you. And you must protect what needs to be protected—at any cost. In return, I shall promise you the same.”

As he said that, I saw the island for what it was. I was watching the creation of the pocket dimension, with Leviathan slowly adding creatures to it. He understood the need for a perfectly symbiotic ecosystem, and mirrored Earth in the design of his own home. I saw the different monsters, the inhabitants. I saw the island’s history pass before me in a flash and suddenly understood what Leviathan meant.

“Erik.” Gil was shaking my shoulder. “Erik, are you all right?”

I shook my head a little, forcing myself back to the present. “I’m fine,” I said.

But she was no longer looking at me.

Instead her attention was focused elsewhere—specifically, the spot I was spat out of.

The portal expanded and hundreds of creatures were thrown from Leviathan’s island to the Chicago bay. The portal expanded to cover the land as well, as in less than three seconds I could see all the new pals I had made on the island, walking right here on my home turf.

“Ah crap,” I muttered.

Amaymon slapped my shoulder. “You brought back a whole bunch of ugly-ass monsters and not one hot chick? Man, I am so disappointed in you.”

Gil immediately sprang into action and began firing off orders to her team. And when Gil’s people go into action, not a lot of the victims tend to come out in one piece.

“Whoa, hold on there,” I said running after her.

She spun.

“Hear me out,” I said. Now everyone was looking at me. “The giant centipede things and the fish people are bad news. There are some scorpion things running around. Watch out because they’re poisonous but not much of a threat. The black unicorns are bad news, but you can barbecue the white ones. They’re really good. And if you see the trees moving, you can just ignore them.”

“What?” Gil asked incredulously.

I ignored her. “But most importantly, don’t hurt the ones that look human, okay?”

“What the hell are you talking about, Erik?” she insisted.

I grabbed her shoulders. “They are called Vensir and they are just like us. Well, they all look like elves, but my point is they’re civilized, decent folk.”

She frowned. “Are you sure of what you’re saying?”

I smiled. “Oh yeah. More than I want to be. Just take my word for it. Hold them and calm them down. Tell them I’ll deal with them once I come back,” I said before turning and began walking back towards the water.

Gil grabbed the sleeve of my coat. “Where are you going?”

I looked around to see four faces of apprehension and worry all directed at me.

“I’m going back,” I said. Gil and Abi launched into a verbal tirade, while Jack looked at me quizzically and Amaymon yelled out insults. They were all talking at once, and none of it was along the lines of ‘yeah Erik, that’s a good idea.’

I held my hand up, silencing them.

“You see that, right?” I asked, pointing at the portal. “That’s partly my fault. Raphael, the angel, and I duked it out. He’s the real bad guy in this story, not the Sin. Envy is actually Leviathan, and the guy just wants to be left in peace.”

“What?” Gil yelled. “Demons are demons.”

“No,” I replied a little too harshly. “Leviathan is not a demon. Demons don’t take care of stranded women, or build societies, or feel guilty enough to cast themselves away in exile for fear of the destruction they might cause.”

I glanced at Amaymon, who shrugged.

“We made a wrong assumption, Gil,” I continued. “Not all Sins are demons and this guy was wronged.” I took a pause to breathe and calm myself down. “Raphael went on a rampage and tried to blow himself up. He succeeded but I carried him through the portal and into Chaos space. That’s why the pocket dimension is destabilizing.”

“So what now?” Amaymon asked.

“I go back,” I said looking him directly in the eye. “I must protect what needs to be protected. And in this case, that means destroying the crumbling plane. Even if it means I have to kill Leviathan. Even if I have to die with it.”

I turned around and walked away. Soon I heard multiple footsteps behind me and saw Abi, Jack and Amaymon catching up to me.

“You really didn’t think we’d let you have all the fun, did you?” Amaymon said nonchalantly.

“We’re coming with you,” Abi said. “Your sister will coordinate from here and we’ll back you up.”

“It’s too dangerous,” I countered.

“And you are both wounded and tired,” she shot back.

“Yeah, Erik,” added Jack. “We’ll back you up. That’s what a team does.”

I gave them a quick look. There was no convincing them now. “Fine. But you stay close to Amaymon and make sure to come back in one piece.”

The demon gave me a comical scowl.

“How come I get to be the babysitter?” he said, before suddenly halting his pace.

We followed his gaze and all of us froze on the spot.

Emerging from the water and covered in sand was Raphael. The angel looked like a zombie that had just been run over by an eighteen wheeler. His wings were disjointed stumps and most of his body was covered in black scars. His limbs were torn off, leaving only a mound of flesh that was hissing every time the tide washed over it.

He looked up, saw us and a groan escaped the hole in his face where his mouth once resided.

“Oh look, a roach,” Amaymon said, raising his foot. “Shall I stomp it?”

Before he could take a single step, light exploded out of nowhere and a pair of angels materialized. They grabbed Raphael and roughly held him down, burying his face in the sand. Raphael screamed incoherently.

“Enough.”

Jehudiel descended from the skies, regal and majestic as always. When Raphael saw him, he doubled his screaming. Jehudiel gave him a look of disgust, pity and rage all at once.

“Be gone,” he said flicking his wrist. Light sucked away the angels and their captive, leaving us alone with the archangel.

“Are you gonna stand in my way?” I challenged. We were almost face to face now. Bear in mind, this guy could just wipe me out of existence and make the world forget I ever lived with just a thought. If he yawned loud enough he could extinguish a species or two. And yet here I was being a tough guy in front of him.

Jehudiel looked downwards and took a few steps back. He descended into a deep bow.

“No, Erik Ashendale,” he said softly. The usual rumble of power was gone from his voice and he managed to sound meek. “I am going to sincerely apologize for whatever trouble Raphael caused you.”

“Are you fucking with me right now?” Jehudiel looked up but I was still losing my shit. “He terrorized a park full of people, he killed a witch in cold blood because she might have been able to remove Envy from its host and then he proceeded to systematically murder the island’s population.”

I stopped, just long enough to breathe and form coherent sentences.

“And now, because he blew himself up, two worlds are colliding and I am forced to kill the fucking victim of this clusterfuck, just so that at least one plane is saved. And you think you can just bow and say sorry and that’s it? We kiss and make up and I have to go fight a war you’re supposed to be fighting in the first place?”

I thrust a finger at Amaymon, Jack and Abi. “Tell me, Jehudiel. Tell me why I have to fight the Sin of Envy with them as my backup instead of a Virtue?”

The angel looked as if he was about to cry. “I am so sorry. Please forgive my hubris.”

I honestly wanted to just yell ‘go fuck yourself’ but I held back. If there’s one thing I had learnt on my adventure it was that you had to give people a second chance. Sometimes people screwed up and sometimes they were put in a situation where every option is bad no matter how you swing it. So maybe, just maybe, I could find it in my heart to forgive a nearly-in-tears all-powerful celestial being.

“I’ll deal with this later,” I said. “I know we have to work together and I know that this was an exception. The Sins are bad news and you guys got the answer. I know that. But whatever trust we had you’re gonna have to regain. Oh, and next time we do as I say. No questions. On this plane I run the show.”

Jehudiel nodded. “I understand. Thank you for your forgiveness.”

I began walking towards the portal but stopped and turned. “You could have just told me to live with it. Why is a guy as powerful as you trying to get on my good side?”

He smiled. “Because real strength is found when one admits to their transgressions and works hard to rectify the situation. Believe it or not, my friend, nothing in this world can force someone to forgive. That is something that can only be given.”

“Spoken like a true Virtue,” I replied.

“Thank you.” He took to the air. “I shall use my power to help your sister stabilize the rift. That should buy you enough time to do what you must.”

And just like that he was gone.

I glanced at my team. “All right guys. Grab on.”

“How are we getting there?” Abi asked.

Amaymon grinned. “Like he said, everybody grab on to each other and brace yourselves.”

“Hey what are you-“

Before she could finish her sentence, Amaymon stomped on the ground and the earth beneath our feet grew like a giant sprout, lifting us towards the portal.

Chapter 36

We emerged on the island’s beach.

Instinctually I looked around for murderous fish men. Beaches on this island were not happy places.

But instead of the expansive and never-ending landscape of water and the vast forests that had canvassed the island, there was a void. The once lush and voluminous island had now been shrunken to the small patch of beach we were standing on. The sky was so close it was almost reachable. The ocean water shook and rocked, slowly disappearing into the nothingness that encroached.

I remembered these signs clearly. When Tenzin’s pocket dimension had collapsed it was just like this—a world slowly fading away, like a drop of water evaporating under the sun.

This was a dying world, and even as the last remnants of life fought to keep the void from claiming it, the battle had already been decided.

The rocks and mortar whizzed by at perilous speeds as the space they occupied shifted to a different place. Vines grew and twisted, growing rapidly from seedlings and withering away in a matter of seconds. The sky went from dark to light and back to a grey-colored confusion of lightning, sunlight and swirling clouds. Pieces of wood, rock and stone that were not there an instant before would appear beneath our feet, forcing the four of us to rush towards a clear patch of sand.

Amaymon summoned rocks but the unstable space was messing with his Earth magic. Jack immediately brought out his inner Colossus, covering himself from head to toe in a metallic skin. Abi spun her own channel, Sun Wo Kung, this time in the shape of a golden staff, knocking objects away from her and using the weapon as leverage to help her vault over things she couldn’t swat away.

I stood there watching them. It was a miracle nothing crushed or impaled me. But I just couldn’t not see this.

These were my students. Okay granted, Jack had learnt most of his stuff on his own by trial and error, and Abi was not exactly the most responsive of students but these were my Padawans and now I was watching them take care of themselves in a dangerous situation.

Just a few weeks—I mean, days—ago, Abi and I had had a huge fight because I had wanted to take her off real missions. I had felt she wasn’t ready. Perhaps I needed to reconsider that decision. If anyone deserved a second chance, it was these guys, and they didn’t come any weirder than a demon, an ex-thug and a sassy chick who botched her first attempts at the job.

Whatever mistakes they may have made before, they had earned the right to be here, fighting for what they believed was right.

“Erik, we can’t hold out for long,” Jack cried as he sliced a wild vine with a blade he formed on his forearm. I nodded and looked out into the beach.

“Stay back here,” I said, walking ahead of them. They huddled together, protecting one another.

As I made my way forwards, I shrugged out of my coat and let it drop on the sand. I cleared my mind of all thoughts, focusing only on breathing and being in the present. I couldn’t afford to second guess myself now.

The ocean rumbled and magic exploded all around me. I would never cease to be impressed with such power. Magic came from the ground I stood on, and rained down with every wave. It permeated the very air I sucked in.

And in the midst of all this power was Leviathan. The monster was completely hidden beneath the waves until his giant gator-like head slowly reared up, like a submarine surfacing from the abyss.

I locked eyes with him and time stood still until the mental link between us flared back to life.

I am here, I projected at him.

“Good,” he replied. Then after a while, “You are here to kill me.” It wasn’t a question. It was a fact, a statement, a declaration of simple truth.

Yes. I must protect what needs to be protected.

I heard him chuckle mentally. “Wizard, your intentions are noble but I cannot die. I have tried many times and the Sin prevents me from doing so.”

That’s why you want me to kill you.

“I am the plane and the plane is me. Destroy me and you destroy the plane.”

I know. There is no other way.

“And you know I must fight you. I am the Sin of Envy, whatever my conviction may be. I shall not let you kill me. I cannot.”

I gave the mental equivalent of nod. My eyes searched upwards until I found one of his eyes. It was still hard to believe that there was no malice there.

Here was a monster that was designed as a weapon, a monster that was the real-life equivalent of Galactus. It was hard not to imagine him wanting to claim the world for his own and telling us, puny humans, to suck it.

But despite everything, all he wanted was to be left in peace. And the powers of the universe wouldn’t even allow him that.

I always said that I did what I did for the sake of those who can’t help themselves. And this giant, world-eating monster was one of them. Someone, or something, had forced the Sin of Envy into him, and now he was losing everything, including his life.

Including his hope.

So as he looked at me with those giant eyes, I understood what he wanted, why he had summoned me here.

“Leviathan,” I shouted over the crashing of waves. “I challenge you to a duel.”

Stillness descended on the plane. Leviathan rumbled and his head descended back into the ocean.

“I challenge you to a duel,” I declared again. “No angels, no super powers, no shadows, no backup. Just you and me, dueling by the sunset on the shore. Just like an old Samurai movie.”

“Why?” His question rumbled all over the area, making every molecule vibrate.

“Honor,” I said. “You deserve to die honorably, instead of being butchered by either us or the Warlocks outside.” I took a deep breath. “Neither one of us has any control over our destiny. But we can at least decide how to die.”

I extracted Djinn. “Just you and me. My guys will stay away. No one else has to get hurt. No one else has to suffer like she had to suffer.”

There was no need to mention Locklania by name. He knew who I was referring to, and he knew why I referred to her. I needed him to say yes to this duel. Me and him, one on one. I wanted the Sin inside of him to be a part of this as well. I wanted to face that evil, the thing that caused such suffering, and know that I had beaten it.

And besides, it seemed like a fitting end. A lot of people think dying honorably is some brainwashing bullshit but in my world honor is something to be valued. When your life is a battle, the only thing that matters is how long you are going to survive, and if you’re lucky, you get to choose where and how it will end. In ancient times, duels were a ritual, where two equal opponents faced off against each other. It was a question of honor and respect. Respect for your enemy in acknowledging their strength and value. Respect in knowing that even when one of you dies, that death meant something.

And in my eyes, Leviathan had earned that respect.

“Yes,” he said. “I accept your challenge and your terms.” I felt the plane starting to shift again. A whirlpool appeared in the middle of the ocean and slowly approached the beach I stood on.

“I will use enough of my power to rival yours,” came Leviathan’s disembodied voice. “The rest I shall use to stabilize the plane.”

I turned around. “Amaymon,” I called out. “Take the others to the very edge of the portal and put up a barrier. Get ready to bail if things go south.”

He gave me a thumbs-up and grabbed the other two, hoisting them up like they weighed less than nothing. He hopped high into the air and landed a few meters from the swirling vortex of the portal. Earth and stone grew into a dome, covering the trio, while leaving a section in the front open so they could witness the battle. I turned my attention back to the whirlpool.

Rain and sea water mingled in front of me, and began melding into a tangible shape. Slowly a miniature version of Leviathan appeared, about seven feet long. It had the basic shape of a stout crocodile, with long humanoid arms that had spikes jutting out from the elbows and a row of saw-like protrusions that resembled the snout of a sawfish on each forearm. It retained its forked tail but lost the hunched back and the tentacles, and only had two pairs of eyes, two on each side of its crocodile head.

Mini Leviathan reared up on its hind legs and stood erect, towering over me. “Let us begin, Wizard.”

I nodded and took a few steps back.

There was a long pause of silence. It was the perfect picturesque scene from a movie. The sun was setting over the ocean, bathing the battlefield in amber light. Waved crashed into the rocky beach, foaming at the bay and then receding. I held my breath, taking in all the tension.

And less than a second later, all that tension exploded and the battle began.

Chapter 37

Leviathan opened his mouth and let out a stream of purple energy. I dodged to one side, narrowly avoiding the attack and was sent reeling forwards. The blast left a deep hole in the ground, neat and wide. I stared at the damage.

One hit of that and its game over.

Another stream shot forwards, this one a little faster. I didn’t have time do dodge. Instead I just threw myself to one side and rolled on the ground. The beam seared the ground and I felt a sharp jolt of pain on my leg. The energy had seared off half my trouser leg and a good chuck of flesh that was now in the process of healing. I raised Djinn and grimaced. I had to figure out a way to counter those beams since I wasn’t fast enough to dodge them. Leviathan was just feeling me out. There was a world of hurt he could bring down upon me and right now he was just figuring out his strategy.

He fired off another beam and this time I caught it with my sword. The basic rules of energy are simple. Newton’s three laws apply in pretty much every situation. One of them says that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Magic takes that a step further. When I caught Leviathan’s spell I poured in enough of my own energy to counter his: equal and opposite power.

For a second, blue and purple energy crashed against each other. I thrust my sword forwards, pouring in a fraction more power than necessary—just enough to send the entire blast back at Leviathan.

I fully expected him to dodge. Instead he opened his mouth, jaws stretching unnaturally, and ate the entire thing.

He stood still for a second before tilting his head forwards and then shooting out a bigger stream of energy, twice the size of his regular attacks. Newton’s Second Law: energy cannot be created or destroyed, only changed from one form to another. I guess Newton never imagined a giant lizard taking that law to the letter.

There was no playing around with this new blast. I swung hard, sending a giant wave of azure energy to counter his purple one and managed to deflect it backwards. For a moment I thought he was going to eat this second wave again, but the blast was directed towards the ground. Rocks vaporized and the air was filled with debris and dust—exactly the cover I needed to take this fight up close and personal.

The dust parted just enough for me to properly aim at his neck. Leviathan took a step backwards and blocked my chop with his forearm, trapping my sword in between the saw-like protrusions on his arm. He lifted his other hand and I instantly regretted going in for close quarters combat. You can be faster and have better technique, but make one mistake and the big guy will crush you.

I blocked a swipe from his clawed, webbed fingertips and maneuvered the arm to the opposite side, sending him off-balance. I was aiming for his belly, a clutter of white scales and rippling muscles. I knew from what little Animal Planet I had watched that crocodiles have vulnerable bellies and that’s why they stay low. Maybe Leviathan was the same.

I stabbed Djinn at the vulnerable area—only to have the sword clasped firm in between his stomach muscles. I tried wrenching it out but my weapon wouldn’t budge. From my peripheral vision I saw Leviathan pull back both his arms and swipe them across, aiming to behead me with those Sawfish forearms of his.

I poured magic into my weapon, elongating Djinn’s blade. Since the tip was stuck in place, the only extension that could be done was backwards. I gave a small hop and let the blade carry me ten feet backwards. His swipe met air and he was left there with crossed arms.

I gripped my weapon with both hands. The ten-foot-long blade was akin to a spear: long, thin and glowing a faint blue. It was mostly energy and just like all energy, it would remain in one motion unless something, or someone, gave it a nudge in a different direction. I stabbed forwards with all my might and released the energy blade in a giant explosion. Leviathan’s hide may have been too thick for me to stab through, but nothing could withstand a bomb at point-blank range. Leviathan toppled backwards, flailing his arms like a beetle on its back. That white belly glistened in the sun and I leapt forwards, sword raised high and a war cry escaping my lungs.

As soon as I was in range Leviathan stopped flailing about. His forked tail bent over, like a scorpion’s, and blocked my strike. At the same time his giant crocodile head rose upwards, jaws open, ready to bite me in half. With no where to run, I used his own tail as leverage when I hopped upwards, placing one foot on his snout and using his momentum to throw myself away from those skull-crushing jaws.

I rolled on the ground and stood up, swaying groggily. Leviathan found his feet and shook his head violently. I heard him cough and realized he was saying something.

“I will not let you take this moment from me,” I heard him say. “I will fight this under my own terms, not yours.”

I didn’t dare interrupt. He wasn’t going insane, although he was talking to himself.

“Be gone, Sin. This is my fight,” he said, violently shaking his head. Finally Leviathan raised his head and looked at me.

“Talking to your inner demon?” I asked.

“I can feel the Sin inside me yearning to unleash its power against you,” Leviathan said. “I am holding it at bay but prepare yourself, human. As I grow weary, its influence grows stronger.”

“I can handle it,” I said, with more confidence than I actually felt. Then I lifted my sword. “We’re gonna finish this once and for all.”

He nodded. “Indeed, we shall.”

An orb of swirling light and darkness the size of a soccer ball, manifested in his hand and he threw it at me. It wasn’t the fastest projectile but every cell in my body screamed for me to dodge and get the hell out of the way. The ball met the ground and exploded—no, imploded. A ball-sized swirling black hole appeared on the spot, crushing and absorbing all matter within it.

“The fuck is that?”

“A localized black hole,” I heard Amaymon yell from the edge of the beach.

“How the hell can he do that?” I yelled back. “That type of magic is not supposed to be possible on our plane.”

“It’s a Sin coupled with a creature that can create its own universe. Do you think they’re gonna play by Earth rules?” he replied. “Besides, they have powers that are like eleven dimensions beyond ours.”

“Oh great.”

I dodged another orb and ran to the other side. If I could close the distance between us maybe he wouldn’t throw those things around and I wouldn’t have to worry about taking a trip into Chaos space. Another orb flew close to my face and I instinctively threw a streak of azure energy at it. The orb ate up the spell but withered away after a few seconds.

Interesting.

I filed that nugget of information in my head and began formulating a second plan while I carried out Plan A.

This is why I insist on being called a wizard. Sure, in my world wizards are below Specialists, the elite users of their respective magical areas, but to me it’s so much more than that. It’s about versatility. I don’t want to be pigeon-holed in one school of magic. In the past few days alone I’ve had to use at least three different types of magic. My survival depended on me being the magical equivalent of a Swiss knife.

Leviathan must have wizened up to my plan because he immediately changed tactics. He sent two more orbs, waiting for me to dodge them and then let loose a stream of purple energy. I had barely enough time to raise my sword, let alone adjust my magical output to match his. The best I could do was to meet his blast with a weaker, but faster, blast of my own and reduce some of the pain. I rolled on the ground, before splashing into the water from the ocean waves. I felt a black hole orb flying towards me and instinctively reached for my gun, magic already charging the bullet inside. The orb absorbed the magic and withered away harmlessly.

“Is that the best you got?” I challenged as I got up. “I got your purple blasts figured out and now I figured out how to neutralize those black hole bombs of yours,” I said smugly as I rested the barrel of my gun against my shoulder in a totally Gonzo pose. “So what else you got?”

At that exact moment the ground gave a violent shudder and I was sent on my knees. “Good one,” I muttered.

“Erik,” Amaymon shouted. “You only got a few seconds left. This thing is about to fall quicker than the London Bridge in the good old days.”

“He is right,” confirmed Leviathan. His head turned slowly from one side to the other, as if taking in the landscape one last time. “My plane, my home, will end in mere moments.”

“Best make those moments count then,” I said meaningfully.

We walked until we faced each other with about ten feet in distance between us. Leviathan spread his arms open. The light coming from the setting sun glinted off his scales as he relaxed into a fighting stance. I could feel his conviction. He knew this would be his final moment and was ready give it all he had, one final time.

I threw away my gun and grabbed my sword with both hands, causing the blade to glow in faint azure.

“Just like a Samurai movie,” I muttered. “It all comes down to this one last cut.”

We looked each other in the eyes and relished in a second of peace.

The waves crashed once, twice, thrice…

And we dashed forwards, swinging our respective weapons. I let him pass by my left and felt my blade pierce his flesh. Just a split second before I cut through, I realized he had dropped his arm. I was carried two steps forwards by the momentum of my swing and stood there, sword held high. I felt moisture on my face and a single tear fell from my cheek.

Behind me I heard Leviathan drop to the ground and immediately rushed towards him.

“Thank you,” he rasped as I knelt next to him and gently cradled his head. “Thank you for an honorable death.”

“You let me win,” I said.

“Yes,” he admitted. “One final act of kindness, just to spite that entity inside of me. I am now rid of it and will be free to carry on, wherever my journey may take me next.”

Leviathan’s throat began rumbling and I realized he was laughing. He let out a final breath and a burst of magic escaped from him. My body exploded in shadows and obsidian power, and at that moment I felt the pure undiluted energy of the Sin of Envy release itself into nothingness. My shadows protected me from the sheer malice of the power.

It was quickly over and the Sin of Envy had now dissolved into nothing, forever gone.

More tears streaked down my face and onto Leviathan’s head. I reached out to close his eyes. The tide washed over my legs. Leviathan’s body began melting into the ocean water, until he was no longer solid and was claimed once more by the abyss.

I felt a gentle hand on my shoulder and looked up to see Abi standing next to me. She too had tears in her eyes.

“Let’s go home,” she said softly. I nodded and stood up, picking up my weapons. She clasped my hand in hers and led me towards the portal where Jack and Amaymon were waiting. Jack nodded and put his hand on my shoulder. I smiled, appreciating his gesture of comfort.

Amaymon just smirked. “I ain’t holdin’ your hand if that’s all right with you,” he remarked as he made his way towards the portal.

“That’s fine,” I replied. Then, “We know you’re insecure.”

“Motherfu-” His insult was cut off as he crossed the portal. I let out a laugh, enjoying the way it sounded. It felt good to laugh again.

I was the last one through the portal and before I crossed over I looked back at the tiny beach and the white void that was claiming it. I smiled affectionately.

Goodbye hell-hole island, I thought as I stepped through the portal and forever exited that universe.

Chapter 38

“Alpha team, neutralize the second floor.”

It was two days later. I had slept for most of that time, unless I was stuffing my pie hole with anything too greasy, salty or anything else that might potentially kill me in a few years’ time if the demons didn’t get me.

Thirty-six peaceful hours later, my sister called me up to tell me they had tracked down a small Black Ring hideout in Colorado. I was surprised with how eager I was to dive back into action. I’m an addict and this is my drug.

And besides, the whole island adventure had almost made me forget that there was still this issue to be resolved—and I, for one, was all about conflict resolution.

Especially when there are a few explosions.

Alpha team stormed the small apartment in Denver. Like all of Gil’s soldiers they were covered in black and looked like a cross between a SWAT team and a group of ninjas. They ditched most of their magical toys in favor of sub-machine guns and your regular tactical equipment. They even drove up in a black unmarked van. Gil’s source had told her that most of the members here were human acolytes—wannabes who spent too much time playing World of Warcraft.

“Beta Team, sweep the first floor and stand by,” crackled my sister’s voice through my earpiece.

“You’re up,” I told Abi. “Remember our plan.” She nodded and left with another team of ninjas. Abi carried her own weapon, this time in the shape of a golden baton, and was the only person in history to wear a bulletproof vest and make it look sexy.

“Erik, do what you have to do.” Gil had stopped trying to argue with my plan when I found out that Luke the Pyromancer was inside that apartment building. That bastard was mine.

I nodded at three soldiers and they moved into action. Two of them followed me as we entered the second floor through the fire escape and all the way up to the third floor, while ninja number three ran out through a window and descended into an alleyway at the back of the building.

As we got up I could hear the chorus of doors being smashed in on the first floor, and the yells of “on your knees” and “stand down.” From the second floor I heard Luke cursing and the familiar roar of fire.

“He’s burning through the ceiling,” Abi yelled in my earpiece.

“Got it.” I kicked an apartment door and saw the floor glow red and orange, before literally melting away. Luke flew through, landed on the ground and tumbled.

I loomed over him. “S’up?”

His eyes widened and fire formed in his hands. But I had a mightier weapon. Foam exploded from the nozzle of the fire extinguisher I carried. He yelped like a kicked dog and tried shielding his eyes as I covered him in flame-retardant foam.

Luke rolled to one side and I saw steam rising from him.

“Boys,” I called out.

Ninja number one and two came in, carrying a fire hose and opened fire—I mean, water—on the Pyromancer. You have no idea how satisfying it was to watch Luke yelling and trashing on the floor as high pressure water soaked him to the bone.

“You fucking-” he began.

I stepped in just as the water stopped and swung the fire extinguisher around, smacking him in the head. The blow sent him crashing against a wall.

“Mind your language,” I said.

“Ow,” he moaned pathetically.

“Boys,” I called out again.

Immediately, the ninjas unleashed the fire hose on him and another jet of water splashed into his face.

“Enough with the goddamn water!” he yelled.

“But I even didn’t get to use my big one yet,” I replied, pointing out the window. Ninja number three was on the crow’s nest of a fire truck, with an industrial-sized fire hose resting on the window and aimed squarely at Luke.

The Pyromancer dropped his gaze and put his hands up. “I surrender,” he spat.

“Great,” I said beaming. ” ‘Cos actually I just wanted to ask you a few questions.”

“You want a truce?”

“Yep.”

“Ever heard of just calling a truce?” he asked.

“Ever heard of overkill?” I shot back.

“Fuck you, man.”

“Uh uh,” I said waving a warning finger in front of him. “Do you want my boys to use their big hoses on you again?”

He stared at me.

“I mean the fire hoses,” I added.

He rolled his eyes and coughed up more water. “Fine, truce, whatever.”

“Awesome.” I dropped the fire extinguisher and grabbed the fire hose from the two ninjas. They immediately retreated and closed what was left of the door behind them. Ninja number three in the fire truck reached in and closed the window, but stayed behind it so that he could just break the glass and use his big hose—and again, I mean the fire hose.

“Feeling confident enough holding that thing?” Luke sneered.

I pulled the valve and water shot right into his open mouth, causing him to gag and retch.

“Now I do,” I replied with a grin. “Okay, Fireboy. First question.”

“I can’t wait.”

“Want some more?” I threatened. “Maybe help clear your head.”

“No, no, officer,” he mocked. Luke had his arms wrapped around him and he was turning into a worrying shade of blue. “I’ll cooperate.”

“Who are you, guys?” I asked. “And don’t give me that crap about being a gang of magical freaks. I’m talking about the Black Ring Society. Who are you really?”

“‘Magical freaks’,” he mocked. “Which movie did you get that from?”

“Dude, you see this thing?” I asked exasperatedly, jiggling the fire hose in my hands. “Unless you want a prison-style colonoscopy with this thing I suggest you cut the crap.” I moved in closer. “I saved you from that creepy wind demon, remember? He’s downstairs, dude. Would you like me to call him and have him take over?”

Luke glared at me and exposed his arm, showing me a tattoo of a black ring on his forearm. “Hold on a second,” he said.

His face contorted in effort as his arm began to smoke. There was an audible hiss and his face twisted in pain. The tattoo, as well as the skin on his arm, began burning. It wasn’t the magic inside the ink that was doing this. Luke was actually burning off his own skin, together with the tattoo.

He yelped in pain as the last of the black tattoo was gone and held up his injured arm. “Mind using that thing for good at least once?” he asked.

I released a quick jet of water and tossed him a small first aid kit I found nearby on the wall.

“Thanks,” he said. “No one knows about that little loophole. And no one is insane enough to burn their own arm.” He sighed and inhaled a deep breath. “Now we can talk freely.”

He began applying chemicals to his burn and seemed to know what he was doing. Something told me this wasn’t his first time treating a burn wound.

“Our little gang, as you called it, is something akin to a secret government,” Luke said as he worked a bandage around his arm. “We have people in every major facet of the planet. Media, schools, politics, you name it. None of them do much, to be honest. We just sit there and watch.”

“Why?”

“I was getting to that.” He sighed again. “We just watch and report back. There’s a checklist they gotta follow and if an event fits the bill we report back to HQ.”

“And that would be?” I asked.

He reached inside his jeans and pulled out a soggy business card. I flipped it over and read the words RYLEH CORP. in big black letters on one side.

“Who the hell are these guys?” I asked, pocketing the card to hand my sister later.

“Not really sure,” Luke replied. “They have fingers in all pies, from chemical engineering and pharmaceutics, to information technology.”

“Who’s their leader?”

“I don’t know.”

“Don’t bullshit me,” I snapped.

“I’m serious, man,” he yelled back. “I don’t know this guy, never met him. He relays orders via email or a couple dummy accounts on the Verdant Moon chat room.”

“Okay, let’s say I believe you,” I said. “Why did you steal the Etherium Key?”

He shook his head. “A couple months ago we got a bunch of orders to follow some plan they gave us. Our tech guys started building the video game as a way to recruit more numbers. Then we were told to ambush a convoy headed north. I didn’t know why. I just follow orders.”

“How cute.”

“Hey, with all those zeroes I have on my check, I’ve learnt not to ask questions,” Luke shot back. “Those were the orders. Build a video game to get more people and steal a teleportation device from some rich bitch. That’s all there is to it.”

“No, there’s more,” I said calmly. “And if you don’t wanna talk to me, I’ll hand you to said rich bitch and her demon butler. So talk. Why do you want to cross dimensions?”

Luke’s face contorted into a glare but seemed to give up halfway through. He had nothing to lose now—he had already talked.

“We don’t want to cross anywhere,” he said. “But there is something we want to bring over. A demon. One so powerful it once ruled the world or something. But there was something wrong with it. That’s all I know, man, I swear.”

I filed that information away for later. Anytime someone used the words ‘summon’ and ‘demon’ in the same sentence, there was trouble ahead.

But one bridge at a time.

“The video game,” I said. “Is it offline?”

“You destroyed our servers,” Luke replied. “Even with our backups it’ll take us a while before we can get it back online.”

He sighed again. “There is a hard drive downstairs marked with Ryleh’s logo. That’s the backup, or one of them at least. Take it,” he said with disgust. “I never liked the idea of mind-controlling people through a fucking video game anyway.”

“Huh. So even you have some shred of honor in you,” I commented.

“Don’t judge me, man. You don’t know me,” he said.

“Oh, yeah I do. I know you through your actions and you’re a class A douche,” I shot back.

I waited for him to respond to that but Luke was busy shivering and rubbing his chest.

“Okay, the million-dollar question,” I continued. “What’s your connection to the Seven Deadly Sins?”

He shrugged. “No idea what that is. I heard the boss mention them once or twice. I think he’s got some interest in them but he doesn’t share that sort of information with us.”

I frowned. “I thought you never talked to your boss.”

Luke grinned. “Whoops.”

I pulled the valve on the hose but no water came out. Instead it just sprayed from a tear at the side of the hose.

Luke got to his feet, holding up one finger. “Pinpoint heat beam,” he said. “And this is payback.” A stream of fire shot from his hands towards me.

“Son of a bitch,” I said as I threw myself to one side. At the same time the two ninjas outside burst in.

“Get him,” I yelled but it was too late.

Luke had fired off a jet of fire at the window, catching the guy on the fire truck and throwing him off. Luke dove through the window and used his fire jets to fly off. I poked my head out the window just in time to see him give me the finger before disappearing behind a tall office building.

I looked down to see ninja number three being carried off by some more ninjas. I hope Gil has good medical insurance.

“Find anything?” my sister asked when we gathered downstairs.

I relayed my findings to her and gave her the card.

“Ryleh,” she read. “Where have I heard that name before?”

I shrugged. “I dunno. But we gotta keep an eye out for these guys.”

“Already on it,” she said. Then she gestured at the prisoners her people had bound and settled inside one of the black vans. “None of them are practitioners. Just idiots tampering with things they shouldn’t.”

“I’ll handle it,” I said, pulling out my phone. It rang twice and my friend at the Police Department back in my hometown picked up.

“Yo, Roland. How you doing?”

“That’s your I-need-a-favor voice, Erik,” said Detective Roland March.

“You know me so well,” I replied. “Hey listen, you remember all those disappearing cases related to that video game?” Roland hummed a yes. “Well I got a bunch of tech guys over here who crossed my mean sister in a very bad way. You got any friends down in Denver who owe you a favor?”

“Jesus Christ, Erik. You going national now?” he blurted exasperatedly.

“Would you believe me if I told you I spent the last few days in a different universe?”

“I really don’t wanna know what you’re talking about,” he said with a huge sigh. “I can make a few phone calls and have someone pick up your guys. Just do me a favor and don’t be there when they show up? I already get enough crap here for hanging out with you.”

“Done and done, Detective,” I replied cheerfully. “I owe you a beer when I get home.”

“Make it two. You still haven’t repaid that favor I did you during that werewolf case.”

“Still remember that, huh?”

“Who the fuck can forget a giant werewolf?” he yelled hoarsely, as if trying to keep his voice confined within the space of his cubicle.

“Okay, okay, I get it,” I said. “Beer’s on me. Thanks man.”

“I’ll hold you up to that,” he replied. “And remember, don’t be there when Denver PD shows up.”

“Have a little faith, will you?” I said. The last thing I heard was him snorting through the phone before the call went dead.

Chapter 39

It was a few days later and I had made the grave mistake of trying to educate the cat in the ways of man. The shopping trip was a much-needed break from the confusion going on at home. Abi had gone on one of her maniac sprees, cleaning the entire place from top to bottom and trying to cook all my favorite stuff. I shouldn’t complain, but I don’t do well with the attention. It’s almost like she thinks I’m about to disappear into a different world again. I’m grateful for the love but it freaked me out big time.

Hence my offering to do the shopping.

I have no idea what madness made the words ‘Do you wanna come with?’ come out of my mouth and towards the cat. Amaymon is like social TNT. He’s worse than those kids who throw tantrums in the middle of an aisle, and don’t even get me started on the cashier-flirting. It’s a wonder that I haven’t been banned from most stores.

Once we were done picking our stuff we found ourselves standing in line behind a small tribe of people at the cashier’s checkpoint, eyeing the ten-items-or-less line with envy.

“So why can’t we just go there?” Amaymon said for the fifth time in two seconds.

“That’s ten items or less. We have about twenty items,” I replied patiently.

“Okay. Tell me again why we aren’t just walking out of here with our shit?” he asked. Scary thing was, that was a real question, not a joke or sarcasm. Amaymon really wanted to know why it wasn’t okay for us just to take what we want.

“Because it’s wrong,” I replied. “If you steal things there are consequences. And besides, the first rule of magic is equivalent exchange. Think of it as karma. You do bad shit and it’ll come to bite you in the ass later.”

Amaymon smirked. “You must’ve been one bad motherfucker in a past life then,” he said, “for all the luck you’re having now.”

I ignored his annoying, but somewhat true, comment and stacked my stuff in front of a really pretty cashier. She smiled and I tried chatting her up. Before I could get the first word out Amaymon tapped me on the shoulder.

“Hey did you get the hemorrhoid cream for your, um… situation?”

There was no situation. The asshole was being a major cockblocker. And he succeeded, since the girl wouldn’t meet my eyes.

Amaymon laughed out loud in my face the moment we stepped outside.

“Why would you do that?” I asked, not really surprised by what he had done.

“Better question would be, why wouldn’t I do that?” he replied with a shrug.

I sighed and settled the bags down in front of my car as I fumbled for the keys. My sister had been kind enough to repair it and now the beautiful red Mustang sat majestically at the parking lot.

I was working the keys into the trunk of the car when a shadow cast over me and suddenly my field of vision was engulfed in light. It receded as quickly as it had come and a moment later Jehudiel stood by my vehicle in full angelic robes and armor, his wings pressed close to his side.

“Erik Ashendale,” he said formally. I was too stunned to say anything and the angel seemed to be in a hurry. “You must come with me. There is something you should see.”

I regained enough of my senses to ask, “Where?”

He pointed upwards and offered a cryptic smile. “Come,” he instead, grabbing my arm.

I felt a slight burning sensation at his touch, followed by sheer weightlessness. I dropped the one basket I was holding and involuntarily struggled.

But as I looked down I saw that I had no hands—heck, I had no body. I was just a ball of light cradled in the archangel’s arms, and we both began ascending rapidly towards the sky.

Amaymon splayed his hands in mock exasperation. “How the hell am I supposed to get home with all this crap?”

I saw my keys fall from my grip and land a few inches at his feet. He twirled them playfully and reached in one of the baskets for a candy bar.

“Oh. Okay,” he yelled upwards, as he nonchalantly picked up the bags and threw them in the back seat. Then he waved his hand mischievously. “Have a nice trip.”

If I had eyes I would have rolled them. My savior, I thought sarcastically as I watched the demon drive off in my newly repaired car.

***

“The hell is this thing?”

We were either in Heaven or the inside of a flashlight. I couldn’t tell the difference. Everywhere was white and bright, almost like a bizarre toothpaste commercial. Worst of all, I was dressed for the occasion. My black leather coat had become pristine white and I had matching sunglasses on my face.

Jehudiel gave me a reproachful look. “I would advise you to watch your language. I had to pull a lot of strings to get you up here.” He nodded at my attire. “That is my influence on you, so that you may withstand being here. Think of it as a Visitor’s Pass. The last human to show up here was over a thousand years ago.”

I couldn’t help it. “Let me guess, Jewish guy with a beard?”

This time the archangel visibly rolled his eyes. “Must you mock every faith?”

“Only the really easy ones,” I replied. But knowing that I was on literal sacred ground—can’t get any more sacred than Heaven itself—I decided to drop the comedian act and try being humble.

“Thank you, I guess,” I said, picking at my white leather coat.

Jehudiel smiled. “I know a guy.”

I let out a laugh. Hey, at least this one was trying to be funny. You have to give points for effort. Before I could ask why I was brought up here, Jehudiel nudged me forwards.

“It’s about to start,” he said.

He led me inside a building that looked like the Coliseum, a wide tall ring of white stone and nothing else.

Oh, and it was suspended in mid-air.

As we entered I felt a shift in magic and a million theories went through my head. This was a different dimension than Earth. Imagine the things that could be done here. Simply taking a step meant crossing over space and time. Just a breath was enough to bend the laws of physics. Suddenly there were so many questions I wanted to ask, but all were instantly forgotten when we stepped inside the hovering building.

There were angels everywhere I looked, pressed together like sardines. Jehudiel and I made our way through the crowd and the other angels immediately parted for him to pass. I was also pelted with a mixture of looks, ranging from curious to disgusted. I expected those. What I did not expect to see, however, was the fear and concern that some of them glanced at me with.

What did these powerful celestial beings have to fear from someone like me?

A loud chime went off and silence fell immediately. It wasn’t the human kind of silence where noise was reduced but never completely dead. This was utter silence, as if someone had switched off the very concept of noise.

In the middle of the arena two angels garbed in traditional golden armor and bearing long spears of amber fire, walked in. In between them they carried something dark, dirty and unnatural to Heaven.

Raphael.

It dawned on me, as I watched them chain the kneeling fallen angel, that this was a trial. Raphael was on his knees, with short golden chains welded to the ground and holding his arms on either side of him, preventing him from standing. The way he was struggling and snarling almost made me feel sorry for him. Murmurs sprouted in between the millions of angels watching him, which soon grew into a buzz.

The noise was once again instantly extinguished as a single angel, brighter and more powerful than anything I had ever imagined before, walked solemnly towards Raphael. I felt tears down my cheek at the sheer beauty and majesty of the newcomer—a tall proud humanoid angel, with a wingspan that disappeared into the sky until he reduced them to a manageable level and wearing lion themed armor. The noble animal was so fitting for him. No, it was as if the angel had decided to honor the lion and all it represented by choosing that motif to fit his armor.

“That is the most powerful of angels, the first of us all,” Jehudiel whispered. I nodded, the lump in my throat making it impossible to form words.

The new angel walked over to Raphael and placed his hand on the latter’s forehead.

“Raphael,” he said in a voice that caused me instant bliss and heartbreak all at once. “By the power granted to me by our venerated Father, I hereby strip thee of all thy Virtue.”

Raphael wasn’t playing along with that Shakespeare crap.

“Go fuck yourself,” he snarled. Then he swept his gaze on all of us, the spectators of his shaming. “All of you, go fuck yourselves. Do you have any idea what is out there, beyond the brightness of our world?”

His sulfur-yellow eyes singled me out from the crowd and he spat on the ground in my direction. “Do you have any idea how corrupt his world is? Even his presence here is enough to stir hatred inside me. Soon you will be like him, abandoned by our Father.” He looked upwards and screamed.

“Our pathetic helpless Father, who remains impotent when his children suffer.”

Raphael heaved and looked at the majestic angel beside him. “Go ahead and judge me now. You know I’m right.” He cackled maliciously. “You know you will all rot.”

The angel placed his hands on Raphael’s shoulders, causing him to shudder away. The chains rattled and held him in place.

“We have heard thy final words, dear brother who hath Fallen from Father’s Grace,” said the angel. “We forgive thee. By the love of our Father, we forgive thee.”

Every angel around me, including Jehudiel, bowed their heads.

“That’s it?” I whispered. “You just forgive him?”

“Yes,” Jehudiel replied in sombre tones. “We forgive all of his transgressions because our Father’s love is infinite.”

“But-“

“However,” continued Jehudiel, “forgiveness does not mean he shall go free. Divine justice must be attributed. That is a universal absolute.”

I shook my head. “It’s stuff like that that makes religious people scare the living crap out of me. Oh, sure we’ll forgive you. Meanwhile pay no attention as I sharpen this guillotine and tie this noose.”

Jehudiel gave me another reproachful look and fell silent.

Adjacent to where Raphael was bound appeared a pitch-black portal. I say portal because I have no idea how to properly describe in human terms the sheer horror of this thing. It was like a black hole of despair, a window into the most terrible underworld imaginable.

The portal grew until it became a doorway, and the platform Raphael was bound to began moving towards it. I made the mistake of peering directly into the darkness and watched as the shadows upon shadows parted.

And I felt death.

Just looking at that black door made me feel like I was about to die and there was nothing I could do about it—only surrender to death.

“Erik, are you okay?”

I grabbed onto Jehudiel’s offered hand, just so that I could feel something and remind myself that I was still alive.

“What is that?” I whispered hoarsely.

Jehudiel wrapped his arm around me. “You are a firstborn, are you not?”

I nodded. “By a few seconds but yeah.”

“Ever since Egypt all firstborn naturally fear it,” Jehudiel said. “No angel in Heaven, no matter how powerful, has their own realm—save one. His very nature dictates his isolation.”

As the black door engulfed Raphael and his presence was erased into nothingness, I caught a glimpse of the being inside.

It was a figure dressed in darkness, darker than black, hunched and leaning over a staff. I caught the glint of an inwardly curved blade, thicker and longer than any weapon I had ever held.

“Whoever meets his gaze is destined to die by his hand. He is the only thing that can eradicate a divine being. We dare not utter his true name, but tradition has called it the Angel of Death,” I heard Jehudiel say.

The creature inside shifted once more, and the portal began shrinking. The obsidian garb under its head shifted, exposing a tiny glint of red. A blood red eye, promising the one inescapable fate all must eventually endure.

Death.

I felt Jehudiel’s protective grip tighten around me. “We also call it The Reaper,” he said.

But his voice had now diminished to background. My entire being was completely focused on that one red eye…

Looking back at me.

READY FOR MORE?

You’ve reached the end of Lost Ones but Erik’s adventures aren’t over just yet. Check out the rest of the Legacy Series and find out how the saga began.

Legacy Book 1: Firstborn

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Legacy Book 2: Birthright

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Author’s Note

For a while now I’ve been referring to Lost Ones as my best book yet. This is the book where I saw everything come together—the story, the big Plot (with a capital P), the character development, etc., but I’m not trying to toot my own horn here (although some accidental tooting may occur). I’ve been writing for four years now, and I would have never made it this far in my career unless I had some serious help along the way.

Particularly, I want to give thanks to my two wonderful parents, who introduced me to fantasy and fiction at a young age and who encouraged me to never give up on my dreams.

Roberta, my dear friend who also edited this book. Time and time again she took my words and made them sharper and better.

Shaun and Emiko, two extraordinarily talented artists who came up with most of the monsters in this novel. The Wurms, Vensir, Bicorns, Unicorns—they came up with them and gave me permission to put them in my book.

Sorin Suciu, an amazing writer and all-round awesome person, who was there since the very beginning of my career. He is my fan, and I couldn’t be more honored.

To Johnny, Sean and Dave of the Self-Publishing Podcast. They may never see this but it is thanks to them that I have my writing career today.

And Garrett Robinson, who taught me to never give up through his sharing of his career.

To Nick Stephenson, who taught me what happens after I write “the end”. Turns out there’s a bit more work after that part.

Most importantly though, you guys: my fans, my readers. A special thank you goes to Cameron Prosser, Nancy Riggen, Brian Ripper, Lisa Lindsley-Wilson, Dennis Kelly, Mark W. Adams, Alan Kleynenberg and all the other beta readers (I call them Ninjas) who read this book and sent me lots of emails telling me I don’t suck. In fact, some of you even raved about missing a few hours of sleep.

Whoops.

And if you are reading this book and have helped me in any way (buying books, leaving reviews, joining the mailing list, supporting me on Patreon) then you are amazing and have my eternal gratitude.

Seriously, you guys rock.

Ryan Attard