Chapter 41

CHAPTER 41

" I t's a trap," Phrixius points out.

"Definitely." I nod. "But we have no choice. If we don't stop him now, he won't just end up claiming this city—he will devour everything until there is nothing left of the world." I blow back my hair in annoyance, and Adder is suddenly there, his deft fingers working on tying it back for me. "It's now or never."

"We're probably going to die," Adder comments conversationally.

"Maybe," I agree.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Sha asks.

Laughing, I turn when Adder steps back, eyeing myself in the mirror. Today, I'm dressed for business. Gone is the flowy dress, and in its place are skin-tight, black trousers. My boots are to my knees, with a dagger in each, and my hair is plaited up in horns to match Adder's. When I look at my men, I see them nodding, also ready.

We know what awaits us and that we might not make it out alive, but it's a risk we have to take.

"We are like the A-Team." Adder grins. "Or Suicide Squad, just hotter."

Smirking, I hold out my hand. "Let's end this differently than they did. Either we all make it back or we die trying."

"I still think this is a bad idea." Phrixius sighs, but he lays his hand in mine. "But I'm with you."

"Until the end." Sha nods, placing his hand over ours, and Adder covers them all.

"Let's go kick some necro ass!"

Without another word, I conjure a portal and push us through since I was the one who saw him—we don't need Phrixius's magic this time. When we step from it, we stand in the middle of an empty, deserted street. The sun is high in the sky, the usually bustling cityscape around us devoid of life and sound. Cars lie on their sides or are smashed together, their doors open as if people just got out and walked away.

Lights flicker from green to red, sidewalks remain empty, and food, bags, and even coats just lie where they fell.

There isn't a body in sight.

"This is not creepy at all," Adder whispers. "I'm pretty sure this is how all horror games I play start."

"Where are all the bodies?" I murmur, and then realisation hits me. "He's gathering them."

Rolling my shoulders back, I search inside myself for the pull, my eyes turning upwards. There, in the heart of the city, I see a silhouette upon a roof.

He's tired of waiting. He wants to end this now.

"Welp, let's do it, I guess." Adder takes my hand and swings it back and forth as we start to walk towards the centre of the city. More signs of abandoned personal effects litter every street, and there still isn't a body in sight.

It sends a shiver down my spine, and trepidation washes down my body. Whatever he did will not be good.

When we turn the last corner, reaching the road leading right to the skyscraper he's on, we see them.

Like a blockade, facing every available street surrounding the building, are thousands of bodies.

The sun blazes down on them. Some are missing shoes and clothes, and others still have leashes and folders in their hands, as if they stopped in the middle of whatever they were doing and marched here .

We all stop, eyeing the massive crowd as a dog races past us, barking at a woman with a leash. It tugs at her, barking and nipping at her leg, but she completely ignores it, frozen bar his tugging.

"So creepy, yet I have the urge to run at them like a human bowling ball," Adder whispers, and then the air fills with magic.

Dark magic . . .

Every single eye turns to us, but this time, they are filled with life.

"We have a big fucking problem," I snap. "Those aren't just resurrected?—"

"They are stolen." Phrixius glances at me. "This was his plan all along. He has broken the mask and freed the trapped souls of the necromancers within. They have taken over the bodies. He built an army of them and was waiting for us."

"Really?" Adder groans. "Like one wasn't bad enough, now there are hundreds of these fuckers?"

"You handle him while we handle those." Phrixius sighs. "If we stop him, then we might be able to stop everything. They have taken over, but without his powers keeping those bodies alive, they are nothing. They are wandering souls with nothing to inhabit."

"Easy-peasy," I whisper, my eyes turning up to the roof where he is waiting. "I guess I'll see you on the other side."

My gaze lands on all three of them, standing tall and strong at my side. They watch me back, and Adder grips me, kissing me hard. "We'll clear a path for you. Do not fucking die, do you hear me?"

"I won't," I promise.

"You better not, little witch. Your soul is mine, remember that," he says before letting me go, only for Sha to pull me into a sweeping kiss. No words are needed, as he gives me all of his emotions in that one move.

Nodding, I kiss his forehead and turn to Phrixius.

We should be enemies, but as he pulls me close, I know we are anything but. We are just two beings who never should have been on the same side but are. His big hand wraps around my neck, pulling me close until our foreheads touch.

"Remember who you are, Freya. Remember your differences, not your similarities. His war is fought with hate, yours with love . . . . We will see you when this is over." His lips touch mine in a scalding kiss, and then he steps back. A change comes over him, shifting from my soft, loving Phrixius to the god of magic.

His hair glows with his power, and his skin shines like the sun is trapped within. Golden armour grows upon his skin, shimmering with runes and magic, and two giant swords unfurl in each hand, moving like snakes until they snap into wicked points. Sometimes it is easy to forget he is a god, but not in this moment, especially as he takes a step forward and starts to levitate.

I glance at Sha as he groans, and I see the change coming over him as well as they prepare to battle. His skin turns the colour of coal, and shadows wrap around him as he triples in size. His bright red eyes move farther apart and higher, slanting and turning devilish.

"Show-offs," Adder mutters, drawing my gaze to him. He winks when he catches me staring, and despite knowing him all my life, he shows me the truth behind the demon who follows me around like a lost puppy.

Fire crawls along his skin and up his horns, blazing between them. His nails lengthen into claws as long as daggers, his tail transforms so barbs slide out, glistening at the points, and his body bulges with power.

I gulp as I glance between them. They are facing an army . . . . Can they do it?

I have to trust in them the way they are trusting in me.

If I want to save them, then I need to end this.

"Go." Adder winks. "Let's finish this, little witch. Let's be the heroes for once."

Nodding, I steal one last look at them before turning to the unmoving army. Their dark eyes track our movements, but there are no expressions on their faces. For some reason, that bothers me most.

There are no more words. My guys surge past me with silent calculation, forming a line and heading straight for the waiting bodies.

Phrixius uses the air to his advantage, hitting bodies in the front line and sending them flying back. All of us know these people are dead, there is no saving them, but watching them be tossed like bowling pins still makes me wince and beg for forgiveness for their souls.

There is so much death, it horrifies me.

I have no time to linger on the pain, though, as Sha leaps into the air and lands farther into the crush, where I can only see his shadows. Adder simply disappears before the front line and appears within them, all of them focusing on the middle as they tear through the black-eyed soldiers with precision until an opening forms.

They are clearing a path for me just like they promised, and when Phrixius's eyes meet mine, I nod and burst into a sprint. I hurry into the clearing they made, not wanting to use my magic and touch the bodies here to move them in case it consumes me like before. They are right, I have to trust them in this.

Phrixius flies above me, using his magic to clear away as many as he can, even with soldiers clinging to his legs, trying to climb him.

Sha roars and bulldozes through more, knocking them down like bowling pins, his shadows consuming them as he goes.

Adder laughs ahead, his fire burning bright and hot as bodies fly through the air.

I hurry through the bodies, ignoring the way the eyes track me despite my men tearing into them. They do not react. They simply stand there until I'm over halfway through them, then suddenly, the path closes before me. I turn to see those behind me marching straight at my men, their eyes glinting with determination and power.

I want to shout a warning, but it's clear they already know. Still, I hesitate as they converge on the men I love.

Gritting my teeth, I turn back to the wall of black-eyed soldiers standing between me and the wide glass doors of the skyscraper. I don't wish to expose myself to the magic again and risk becoming consumed by them, but I have to choose.

Conjuring my power, I let it fill my palms as I walk towards them, knowing my hair is darkening and my eyes shine with magic. They do not react, not until they step back as I come towards them. I draw closer to the door, confusion swirling through me as my magic crawls up my arms, begging to be used.

The whispers of death on the air call to me, and I ignore it as best as I can, unwilling to let even one of the faceless people touch me. Who knows what would happen?

As I reach the door, the black eyes follow me. I expect them to stop me, and I prepare my magic, but they incline their heads and step back, forming a passage between them. I hesitate at that. Why would they let me pass?

They have to know why I am here.

As I reach the door, darkness falls around us, and I raise my gaze to the once bright sky to see shadows reaching up into it, blotting out the light.

The shadows obscure the sun, plummeting the whole city into darkness.

Taking a deep breath, I turn back to the door and push inside, ready to face death.