43. Corvus

43

CORVUS

The world around us is utter chaos. The sky churns with a sickening combination of black and crimson, like a festering wound torn open across the sky. Massive obsidian pillars jut from the ground, their jagged surfaces reflecting the hellish light. The stench of brimstone and decay, and the wails of unearthly creatures fill the air.

But I barely register any of it. My entire focus is on Adelaide, lying motionless in my arms. Her skin is deathly pale, blood pouring from her nose and ears. "Come on, Dollie," I murmur, gently brushing a strand of sticky hair from her face. "Wake up. Please, wake up."

But she remains still, her chest barely rising with each shallow breath. Fear, cold and sharp, claws at my insides. I've never felt terror like this, and I hope to never again. The thought of losing her is unbearable.

Above us, Crimson's massive form looms, a titanic figure of swirling darkness and pulsing red energy. She's unresponsive, seemingly caught between our world and wherever she was meant to go. It's a small mercy, but one that won't last forever.

Zaiah kneels beside me, gently cupping her face. "Her life force is stable," he says, his voice tight with concern. "But it's different. It's not fully here."

"What does that mean?" I demand, unable to keep the edge of panic from my voice.

The djinn shakes his head, frustration filling his expression. "I don't know. It's like part of her is somewhere else. Trapped, maybe?"

Trapped. The word echoes in my mind. Trapped where I can't get to her. I've never felt so helpless.

A booming laugh cuts through my thoughts. I look up to see Malachar striding towards us. His face is split in a triumphant grin that makes my blood boil.

"An honoured sacrifice," he sneers, his eyes fixed on Adelaide's still form.

I gently lay Adelaide down and rise to my feet, positioning myself between her and Malachar. "Stay back," I growl, my fangs dropping.

Malachar's grin widens. "Or what, little vampire? You'll fang me to death? You're out of your depth here, boy. This is the dawn of a new age, and you're on the wrong side of history."

"The only thing dawning here is your downfall," Dad says, stepping up beside me, to my surprise. His face is a mask of fury as he faces his former ally. "This ends now, Malachar."

The Dark Fae King laughs again. The sound grates on my nerves. "Don't be an idiot, Alec. This is only the beginning."

He raises his hands, and shadows begin to swirl around him. Dark magick presses down on us, heavy like a wet blanket.

"Zaiah," I say, not taking my eyes off Malachar, "protect Adelaide. No matter what happens, keep her safe."

The djinn nods, and I know he will keep her from harm.

Just then, a familiar scent catches my attention. It's like someone lit the darkness on fire. I turn to see Zephyr and Ignatius materialising nearby, a leather-bound book clutched in Ignatius's hands.

"We got it," Zephyr calls out, his eyes widening as he takes in the scene before him.

Malachar's expression darkens. "No," he snarls. "I won't let you interfere."

He lashes out with tendrils of shadow, aiming for the book. Ignatius reacts instantly, a wall of flame erupting between us and Malachar. The shadows hiss and recoil from the heat, but more surge forward to take their place.

"Whatever you're going to do, do it fast," I shout to Zephyr and Ignatius as Dad and I move to engage Malachar.

Fighting a Dark Fae King is, in a word, suicide, even for an ancient vampire and his pretty powerful for his age son. Malachar's shadows are everywhere, lashing out like whips, trying to capture us. Dad and I dodge and weave, our vampire speed barely keeping us ahead of the onslaught.

I manage to get in close, my fist connecting with Malachar's jaw. The satisfying crunch of bone is short-lived as tendrils of pure night wrap around my arm, flinging me back. I hit the ground hard, rolling to my feet just in time to avoid a spike of darkness that erupts from the earth where I'd been lying.

Dad isn't faring much better. He's healing from several cuts, his clothes torn and singed from near misses with Malachar's attacks. But he isn't giving up. However fucked up this situation is, he is on our side.

For now.

Every instinct screams at me to go to Adelaide, to hold her, to somehow will her back to consciousness. But I know the best thing I can do for her right now is to keep Malachar occupied.

"Zephyr!" I shout, ducking under another shadow tendril. "Hurry the fuck up, would you?"

I risk a glance over my shoulder. Zephyr, Zaiah, and Ignatius are crouched over the book. Ignatius's hands glow with heat as he tries to dry out the sodden pages. Zaiah guards them and Adelaide, his form shimmering as he weaves protective magick around them.

"Almost there," Zephyr calls back, his voice strained.

Malachar lets out a roar of fury, realising what we're trying to do, which is pretty impressive, seeing as I don't have a fucking clue what we're supposed to be doing with this book. I'll leave that to the magick wielders of the group. I'm just fine being the muscle.

"You think you can stop this?" Malachar snarls. "You're nothing! Insects before the storm!"

A massive wave of darkness surges towards us. Dad and I brace ourselves, knowing we can't outrun it. But before it can reach us, a blinding flash of light erupts between us and Malachar.

I blink, spots dancing in my vision. As my sight clears, I see a figure standing there - a woman who looks so much like Adelaide, it's shocking.

"Enough," she says, her voice ringing with power.

Malachar freezes but doesn't lower his offensive stance. "You," he hisses. "You dare interfere?"

The woman's gaze is hard as fuck as she regards the Dark Fae King. "I dare to protect my daughter, Malachar, like you were assigned to do so many years ago. You have overstepped, and you know it."

Daughter? Adelaide's mother. The celestial being Blackthorn spoke about.

She turns to us, her expression softening. "Protect my daughter," she says. "The rest, I'll handle."

With that, she faces Malachar again, light beginning to swirl around her as she prepares to engage the Dark Fae King.

I don't wait to see what happens next. I rush back to Adelaide's side, gathering her in my arms again. "Come on, Dollie," I murmur. "We need you. I need you. Please, wake up."

Zephyr and Ignatius join us, the book open between them. "We think we've found something," Zephyr says, his finger tracing lines of text. "A way to contain Crimson's essence without harming Adelaide."

Hope snaps into place, misguided or not, I guess we will find out. "Contain her where?"

Zaiah takes the book and holds it up. "In here."

"Oh shit," I mutter as I take in the extremely cautious faces of my friends. My brothers from different species but it makes it no less true.

"Do it," Dad says, stepping up next to him. "Do it and do it now."

Zaiah glares at him, clearly not taking orders from him.

"Zaiah," I snap. "Whatever it takes, just bring her back to us."

He nods, his expression grim as flashes of bright white light hit my sensitive senses.

He and Zephyr begin to chant, their voices rising and falling in a melodic cadence that is drowned out by Malachar's furious yells of frustration.

My skin tingles as the magick whips into action.

I hold Adelaide close, willing every ounce of strength I have into her. "Fight, Addy," I whisper. "Whatever's happening in there, whatever you're facing, fight it. Come back to us. Come back to me. I love you. We all love you. We can't do this life without you. Do you know this? Do you know we are nothing without you?"

As the chant reaches a crescendo, the massive form of Crimson above us begins to writhe and twist. A keening wail fills the air, making my ears ring. The obsidian pillars around us start to crumble, the ground shaking beneath our feet.

"It's working!" Ignatius shouts over the din.

But something feels wrong. Adelaide's body goes rigid in my arms, her back arching as if in pain. A scream tears from her throat, a sound of such agony that it feels like my heart is being ripped out.

"Stop!" I yell. "You're hurting her!"

Zephyr hesitates, his eyes wide with panic. "If we stop now?—"

"I don't care!" I roar. "We're not losing her!"

Suddenly, a blinding light erupts from Adelaide's chest, scorching my skin and forcing me to shield my eyes. When I look back, my heart stops. "No," I whisper, horror crawling up my throat. "No, no, no!"

The light intensifies, and I feel Adelaide's body shake uncontrollably. I try to hold on, but it's like trying to grasp smoke. She slips through my fingers as she rises off the ground.

"Adelaide!" I yell, reaching for her even as she floats horizontally above the ground.

Dad and Adelaide's mother have stopped their battle with Malachar, and he with them, all of them staring in disbelief at the scene unfolding in front of us.

Adelaide's unconscious form hovers, and the energy that was Crimson suddenly seep through the air towards Adelaide. She is suspended in a cocoon of swirling energy. We watch, helpless and horrified.

"We have to do something!" I yell, my voice cracking with desperation.

But before anyone can move, the tendrils make contact with Adelaide's floating form. The moment they touch her, a shockwave of power explodes outward, knocking us all off backwards.

As I struggle to rise in the twister around us, I see something that turns my blood to ice. She is being filled with swirling darkness through her eyes, her nose, her mouth, and her ears.

"What's happening to her?" I choke out, sheer terror clawing at my insides.

Zephyr's voice is hollow with dread as he answers. "I think we fucked up."

"You think?" I snarl, shoving my hands into my hair.

If Crimson is trying to possess her again, this isn't like before. This is something much, much worse.

As the darkness continues to trickle into Addy, her body begins to change. Her skin pales to an almost translucent white, and when her eyes snap open, they're completely, utterly black. Endless pits that swallow all light.

"What the fuck is this?" I stare up at the floating form of the woman I love, now transformed into something I don't recognise, filled with a bone-deep dread.

We haven't just failed to stop Crimson. We've created something far, far worse.

As the world crumbles around us, as the lines between realms blur and break, I can only ask myself one question. How the hell do we stop this?

Then, to my and everyone else's shock, it speaks. The voice is like gravel in a blender and sets my nerves on edge.

"You cannot stop us. We are the Void."