Chapter Thirty-Nine

I stared out across the open field that surrounded the watch tower, toward the village of Fress. In the other direction was another village—Hardris. But it was Fress I was worried about. Its residents and the humans on duty at the tower.

We couldn't send all the humans home as I wanted to. It would make Death suspicious. We needed at least a handful to make an appearance on the walls. But we did warn them what was coming and offered to fade half the crew to their homes. I assured them that they would be observers only, remaining safe within the ward. The Wraith Lords would be fighting the battle. Half of the assigned watchers were from Fress, and they didn't hesitate to say they'd stay. The group from Hardris took a little longer to decide, but in the end, there was no reason for them to leave. They wouldn't be in any danger. In fact, they'd be safer than the people outside the tower.

That's the part I especially didn't like. Not that the soldiers would be safe, but that the nearby villages might be put in jeopardy. But we had warned them too, and in Fress, Nex and Evina were hunkered down with the villagers in the orphanage, all the windows barricaded. And there was nowhere else that I'd visit alone. It had to be here. This tower. These people. Me. Alone.

Even though I was without my team, I wasn't really alone. I had Gray, and he was an impressive fighter even without magic. And even though the bonds between my lovers and I were stretched thin—too thin for me to draw power from—I still got comfort from knowing we were connected. I could feel them through our bonds when I closed my eyes and focused.

And there, just a little further away, was a spider-silk thread that clung tenaciously to my heart.

With a soft sigh, I felt Ara's love shimmer down that fragile line of magic. Tears slipped out between my shut lids to trickle down my cheeks. I sent my love back to him and willed him to be strong. Soon. Just a little longer, my love.

Drawing my attention back to my current environment, something occurred to me. My bonds to my team thinned with distance. We could only empower each other when we were physically close. So maybe my bond with Aranren was stronger than I thought. It could be distance thinning it in addition to whatever Ara had done in his attempt to destroy it.

I tried to remember the last battle. No. That hope was false. Even standing before Ara, the thread had been thin. So it wasn't distance weakening our connection. But that could be a good thing. A stronger bond would have caught Death's attention.

“Hey,” Graysen said as he joined me on the lookout walk that circled the top of the tower. “We're supposed to be hanging out, doing friend shit.”

I chuckled. “What exactly is friend shit?”

“It's friendship but with a T.”

I burst out laughing. “Shit instead of ship, eh? It doesn't float and it stinks.”

We laughed together.

Then Gray sighed and leaned on the stone wall. He looked across the treetops as if he could see through them. “You've been here a day, and he hasn't shown up yet. Do you think he knows you're here?”

“Oh, he knows. The ward around the tower prevents him from entering or sensing what's inside, but he can see who comes and goes. If he couldn't, I would have brought my lovers with me and just hidden them in the tower. But Death can see us fade. Or maybe he just senses the fading. Whatever it is, he knows I'm here. But he's biding his time, waiting for me to leave the tower. That's why I'm going out there today. I just need to decide on what ruse to use for going beyond the ward.”

“We could take a walk to Fress,” Gray suggested. “Visit the kids.”

I grimaced. “I don't want to put them in danger.”

“All right. Then just a walk in the woods. You know, stretch our legs together. All that friend shit.”

“That would work.” I glanced at the position of the sun. “We can take some lunch with us.”

“A picnic?” Gray grinned. “How romantic. You're not trying to seduce me, are you? You slut!”

“Fuck off! I'm committed to the men I love.”

“Yeah all five thousand of them.”

“All five of them,” I corrected. “And it's my divinely sanctioned duty. A sacrifice, if you will.” I lifted my chin and sniffed importantly. “I do it for the world.”

“You do it for the orgasms, just like the rest of us.” Gray snorted and punched my arm. “Come on, Slut of the Goddess. Let's get that lunch.”

We went down the curving stairs that spiraled along the tower wall, following the arrow slits, and came out into the armory. Through there, we went into the main living quarters. Another set of stairs led to the bedrooms upstairs but the bottom floor housed a small kitchen and dining space as well as a communal room for relaxing. There were no windows in the tower beyond those arrow slits made for defense. It wasn't a place to take a vacation. The tower was built to serve as a lookout and to protect those inside.

After packing some food and a bottle of brandy in Gray's satchel, we let the others know what we were doing. A couple of them went to take our places on watch while the rest prepared—mainly to summon the Wraith Lords. Then Gray and I slapped on some grins and ventured out of the tower.

Just before we left the protection of the ward, I stopped him. “If the Corrupter shows up, I'll fade us back to this side of the ward. So, don't leave my side.”

“Got it,” Gray said.

“And if we do get separated, don't try to fight him. Just run.”

“Hey, I'm not an idiot. I know what I can handle and it's not the fucking Corrupter. I'll run.”

“And we are watching over you,” Air added.

“Good. Thank you.” I let out a sigh, then stepped past the ward.

I felt a shimmer of magic, but I doubted Gray felt anything. The ward had been cast by the Emperor himself—one of his many gifts to the people of Fress for all they had endured for him. And for producing his beloved Sally. And me. So, the ward was powerful and subtle. Someone without magic wouldn't notice it. But those it kept out would notice. It would be impossible for them to not notice the invisible wall that they couldn't get past.

We found a secluded spot in the woods with a nice mossy log to sit on and unpacked our lunch, setting the simple fare of bread, cheese, apples, and cold roasted chicken out on a linen napkin. In addition to the brandy, I'd brought a jug of water, and I took a swig from it before anything else.

“So, tell me about the new guy,” Gray said.

“Vexen.” I grinned. “You know about him. He's the one who wrote me love letters.”

“Right. The one who got you captured.”

“He didn't get me captured. That was my fault. I fell for Death's lies.”

“Incoming!” Fire shouted.

I grabbed Graysen's hand, but he was already reaching for me, having heard Fire too. I assumed Death hadn't heard her though, because a second later, Aranren—no, the Corrupter—stood before us. He reached for me. I immediately faded Gray behind the ward. But not inside the tower. I didn't want Death to leave, after all.

I let go of Gray and faced the Corrupter through the invisible barrier. “Ara,” I said. “I know you're in there. Fight him.”

This was all an act, of course. I knew Aranren was already fighting Death as much as he could. And I knew that only I could free him. But only if I managed to make Death believe I wasn't going anywhere. That I was staying for Ara. Alone.

Meanwhile, Gray ran into the tower to summon the Wraith Lords—if they hadn't already been summoned by the watch. The first summoning would bring my lovers to the tower, so I could use their power to trap the Corrupter. The second would bring the rest of the lords, but only after the Corrupter was caught. We didn't want Death retreating before I caged him.

The Corrupter cocked his head. He was Aranren but not. Not a shell exactly, but a twisted version of the man I loved, his mind infected by Death. Death controlled Ara, but not in the way that the Corrupter controlled the Corrupted. At least, not usually.

From personal experience, I knew there were levels of influence. Death could twist your thoughts or take complete control of them. I wasn't sure what level he was at with Ara currently. But I wanted to force him to take full control. It would mean more of Death in Ara and would make it easier for me to pull the rest of him into Aranren's body.

This would be a complicated and delicate dance. I had to hold Aranren here while not using my full power. Just enough to make Death think he needed to put more of himself into Aranren, but not so much that Death would know he was in danger.

Thank the Goddess I had the Elements with me.

“Hello, my love,” the Corrupter said as he laid a hand on the ward.

The magic reacted violently, coalescing beneath Ara's palm in bursts of purple and bolts of bright white. The Corrupter chuckled as he drew his hand downward, drawing the chaos in his wake like static over skin.

“Ara,” I said softly and placed my hand over his, directly in the mini storm. I ignored the sting of magic and fought the urge to weave my fingers with his. “I love you.”

“Do you?” the Corrupter drawled. “I know you've taken another lover. How many do you have now? Six?”

“Yes, if you include yourself.”

The Corrupter's ice-blue eyes went even colder. “I do not.”

“Yes, you do,” I said gently. “Our love is blessed by the Goddess.”

“The Goddess,” he scoffed. “Where is she now? You need her, Ember.” He leaned forward and smiled maliciously. “Even now, I'm working my way through the Emperor's ward.”

I blinked. Now, that I didn't think was possible. Because it wasn't. He was bluffing. I would have sensed it if Death were weakening the ward. That was the great thing about wards—if you were allowed through, so was your magic. Mine could cross the barrier, but the Corrupter's couldn't.

And then I felt them—my lovers. They had arrived. Their strength flowed to me. But they didn't show themselves. We would hide what we were doing for as long as possible.

“And yet, she's not here,” the Corrupter went on. “It's just you and me.”

“And Death,” I said as I eased my magic down the line between us. Just a trickle.

“Yes, he's here too. But he's staying out of this.”

“Right. He's staying out of this while he's inside you. Corrupting you.”

The Corrupter's eyes twitched and a hint of Ara peeped through. I wasn't sure if he had felt my magic enter him or if my words had gotten through to him. Whatever it was, he'd been shaken by it. Death's hold loosened just a little.

I pushed more magic through the ward, gathering it around the Corrupter as well as inside him.

“We're with you,” Air said. “You're doing well, Spark of the Goddess. Keep it slow. Death hasn't shown any hint of suspicion yet.”

“Keep him talking,” Fire said.

It's difficult to focus on casting a spell while speaking, but I had trained for this. The spell was as familiar as breathing now. So, I sent a bit more of myself into the Corrupter as I said, “You know he wants to kill me. Is that what you want?”

The Corrupter flinched. Again, I wasn't sure what it was in response to, but if it was my gathering spell, it was perfect timing. Hopefully, Death would assume Ara had been affected by my words and nothing more.

The Corrupter straightened. “Death doesn't want you dead. He still has hope that you will join us.”

I laughed. “No, he doesn't.” I pulled more power from my lovers. “He knows that I can end this war.”

“Yes, by joining us.” He held out his arms to either side, and an army of the Corrupted stepped forward, appearing from among the trees. The ward was right at the edge of the clearing around the tower, so they couldn't reveal their full ranks, but it was enough to tell me that the Corrupter had backup.

“What happened to it being just you and me?” I asked.

“They don't count.” The Corrupter smirked. “They are only weapons. You have yours, and I have mine.”

Speaking of which, I gathered mine.

“Now!” Air shouted.

My lovers appeared around me and laid their hands on my shoulders and back. With their increased proximity, our bonds widened, more power flowing down them to me.

I sent Spirit shooting down the line between Ara and me, a dark ghost puffing from my chest and into the Corrupter's. He bowed back as it hit, but it wasn't an attack. Not exactly. Spirit joined the hovering elements, churning them into a solid mass that covered the Corrupter in a second, then hardened, turning him into a statue. But that was only to physically keep Aranren there. The real work happened on a deeper level.

Using the power that streamed into me from my lovers, I pushed the Elements into my wraith and dove into Ara. As my wraith flew to Ara's soul, I was pulled along with it, emerging in the astral plane.

I stood before Ara's caged soul once more, staring into pale blue eyes that glowed behind the sockets of Death's skull. The astral plane was a vast nothingness around us, and yet it churned with clouds of multicolored energy. In place of my lovers stood the Elements, their metaphysical hands on me.

“So, you are not alone,” Death's voice came from everywhere.

I ignored him. The time for banter was done. The need for delicacy and subtlety passed. I slammed power into the bones holding my lover. So much power that they didn't just break—they turned to dust. Yeah, we'd tweaked our attack a bit, using the information the Elements had gathered during our last attempt.

A terrible shrieking came as the bone dust blasted away from Aranren. Instead of waiting for him to come to me, I ran to him. Ara stumbled but righted himself and reached for me. It felt as if I were about to repeat my failure, but this time I had more strength at my call. I wouldn't fail. Couldn't. I took Aranren's hand and our bond burst into light, repaired and refueled. Back to the thick cord it had originally been.

“Ara!” I cried and hugged him.

“Ember,” Ara whispered. “Oh, Ember. You did it. You—”

Horrific laughter circled us along with a whirlwind of bone dust. It fell on our skin and wherever it touched, I burned. Ara and I fell to the ground, clutching at each other and screaming.

“Ember!” Air shouted and blustered just beyond the dust.

“Ember,” Ara echoed him in a whisper, but his voice was just as terrified as Air's.

“Hold on to me, Ara,” I said and lifted my wraith, full of magic and power, to shield us. It glowed around us—a dome of white light. Yes, it was my bonding wraith, not my freeing one.

“Did you think you were stalling me, Ember?” Death asked, his tone scathing. “ I was stalling you . Aranren didn't lie when he said he was destroying the Emperor's ward. It just wasn't the tower ward he was weakening.”

I looked at Ara.

“I'm so sorry,” Ara said. “Oh, Ember. He's attacking the citadel.”

“What?” I gasped.

“It's down! The ward is down!” Fire shrieked. “An army of the Corrupted and the dead are attacking the Wraith Lord Citadel. They can't come to help you.”

“Oh, dear Goddess,” I whispered.

“I've been distracting you,” Death said. “And I know the Elements are here too. I can't see them or hear them, but I know they're with you. They can't help you now either. You failed to think of the most important part of binding magic.” He paused, the bone dust coating my wraith and pushing in, eating at it like acid. Specks of dust began to filter through. As it began to sting my skin, he said, “It works both ways.”

I screamed as Death reached through Ara and slid into me, the evil tainting my wraith even as it was wounded by the bone dust. The cage I was constructing, the one to trap Death, still hovered outside my wraith, waiting for me to pull it in. But it shuddered and shimmered, growing thin.

“I've pulled you across the ward,” Death went on. “Even now, you and Aranren are barricaded within my army, and your lovers battle to reach you. They will not. Not in time, at least. Kill him, Aranren.”

I looked at Ara. I'd been holding onto him so tightly that I hadn't noticed the bones reforming over him. As I watched, they grew over his face, forming a mask around his eyes. He looked wicked, his stare glacial. Aranren lifted a hand and reached for my throat.

“Ara, no,” I pleaded. “Fight him.”

I drew back my wraith—it was barely shielding us anyway—but it was so depleted that I didn't have the strength to push Ara away. I stared into my lover's cold eyes and didn't just see Death in them. I saw my death.

I took a deep breath, let it out, and said, “I love you.” Then I lifted my chin, baring my throat in surrender to that love. Trusting it and Ara.

Aranren screamed as he slammed his hand down. Not around my throat but on my chest. He shoved me away as he shot upward, his stare on something off to the side. Something I couldn't see. But the eyes within the bone mask were all his for a moment and they were full of grim determination.

And then he vanished.

Death screamed. It was far worse than before. The astral plane trembled with it. And with that trembling came a rush of magic. Pure power.

“Now, Ember! All of Death is here!” Earth roared. “Close the cage!”

I didn't know what was happening, but the Elements had stood with me, guarding that gathered spell. It had grown weak but remained, and with the new rush of energy, I was able to refuel it. Arms spread to either side, I cast my spell to catch Death, then reeled it in like a fishing net.

Within the elemental lines fused by Spirit, the Consciousness of Death continued to scream. I saw him then. Not an avatar like the Elements created. Just pure energy. Indigo, purple, and black clouds that sparked with magic. Death condensed as my net turned into a cage. Smaller and smaller it got, forcing that energy into a box the size of my palm. Seamless and stone-like, the box hovered before me and then it too vanished. As soon as it was gone, I left the astral plane as well.

And reappeared in a world I didn't recognize.