Chapter 19

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Brody, Damon, and I stood at the long castle window, the first rays of dawn creeping over the Scottish hills. The morning should have been beautiful, with golden light touching the ancient stones, making the dew sparkle on the manicured lawns. Instead, it was a nightmare painted in sun-drenched colors.

Behind us, Lisa and Zara’s voices wove together in an ancient language, the protection spell building with agonizing slowness. Each second felt like an eternity. I felt Damon’s growing tension, his fingers drumming restlessly against his thigh - a nervous habit from childhood.

The minute we stepped out onto that terrace, they would swarm us. Maci’s human form rippled at the edges, her shadow dragon nature bleeding through. Justice’s eyes burned with Rage’s fire, and the demon armies waited with inhuman patience.

It was a suicide mission. Five of us against what looked like hundreds. The odds made my chest tight, my hands clutching the harp like a lifeline.

Then, the light hit them fully, and my blood turned to ice. Whether it was Maci’s magic or some strange quality of the Scottish sun, their true forms emerged like a nightmare made real. Horns curved from distorted heads, wings of rotted leather, teeth too sharp and numerous to be natural. The pristine suits melted away, revealing grotesque bodies twisted by centuries of evil.

“Well,” Damon muttered roughly. “Guess we don’t have to worry about telling the demons apart from the tourists anymore.”

Brody shifted closer to the window, his shoulders rigid. Even our unshakeable soldier looked disturbed. “This has to be Maci’s doing. She’s trying to break our resolve before we even step outside.”

“It’s working,” I whispered, unable to tear my gaze from the horror show. One of the Pride demons turned its head toward our window, multiple eyes blinking in sequence along its elongated face. The sight made my stomach lurch.

The harp thrummed against my chest, where I’d tied it with a makeshift strap. Its warmth felt like the only real thing in this twisted morning. Outside, Justice paced closer to the castle, his movements jerky and predatory. The demon army parted for him like a dark sea. Even they feared Rage’s vessel.

“Any time now with that spell,” Damon called over his shoulder. “Because I’m pretty sure Ugly out there is about to get a whole lot uglier.” He was trying for humor, but I heard the edge of fear. Not for himself, never for himself, but for me. For all of us.

The air crackled with Lisa and Zara’s magic, the temperature in the room dropping as their power built. Would it be enough? Could any spell protect us from what waited outside?

A sudden movement caught my eye as the phoenix, who’d perched silently on Brody’s shoulder, spread its magnificent wings. They stretched wider than seemed possible, shimmering with colors I had no names for, like fire made liquid. Then, to my amazement, it began to sing.

The sound was unlike anything I’d ever heard. Not quite music, not quite birdsong, but something ancient and pure. It rang through the castle’s stone walls, cutting through the cold dread in my chest. Each note felt like a sunrise after the longest night, like hope refusing to die. The room filled with radiant light that pulsed in time with the phoenix’s song, making the demons’ twisted forms outside seem less substantial, less terrifying.

I hadn’t even known a phoenix could sing. The creature’s eyes met mine, filled with an intelligence that seemed to say, “There is still light in the darkest places.” The harp hummed against my chest, resonating with the phoenix’s song as if they were speaking to each other in a language older than words.

For the first time since seeing the demon army, I felt something other than despair. Maybe we weren’t as outnumbered as I’d thought. We had things they could never understand. Hope, love, and now, the song of a phoenix.

The demons recoiled from the window, their grotesque forms shrinking back as if the phoenix’s song physically hurt them. Even Justice faltered in his pacing as something flickered across his face, a glimpse of the man he used to be breaking through Rage’s control. The shadow around Maci writhed, her dragon nature fighting her human form as the pure notes pierced the air.

Lisa and Zara’s spellcasting grew stronger, their voices harmonizing with the phoenix’s song. The protection spell’s blue light twined with the phoenix’s radiance, creating patterns of gold and azure that danced across the castle walls.

“Well, would you look at that?” A hint of Damon’s bravado returned. “Guess we’ve got our own supernatural light show.”

Brody stood straighter, the phoenix’s song reinforcing his natural authority. “The demons aren’t the only ones with power on their side.”

The harp’s warmth spread through my chest. Seven magical artifacts. The harp, the hourglass, the mirror, the balance, the crown, phoenix grass, phoenix feather, and now this magnificent creature. Maybe Queen Charlotte had known all along what we would face. Maybe this was why each piece had found its way to us.

Lisa and Zara approached us, their faces gleaming with sweat. In their upturned palms, they held what looked like captured starlight, burning white orbs that pulsed with raw power. The air around them crackled, making the hair on my arms stand up. Even Damon, usually skeptical of witch magic, took a step back.

“This is the protection spell.” Lisa’s voice strained with the effort of containing such power. The orb in her palm cast strange shadows across her face, making her look otherworldly. “When the door is opened, we will throw them out there. An invisible force field will form.”

Zara’s hands trembled as she held her orb. “It should hold long enough for you to use the hourglass to get us to Rosslyn Chapel.”

I slipped the harp off my chest, my fingers lingering on its golden frame for a moment before carefully placing it in my backpack. The weight of it settled between my shoulder blades like a reminder of everything at stake. With shaking hands, I pulled out the hourglass. I couldn’t risk trying to hold both artifacts during the fight. One slip, one moment of weakness, and we could lose them to the demons.

The phoenix’s song strengthened as if understanding the gravity of what we were about to attempt. It faded to a soft hum as Brody stepped forward. “All right, team. We need to move with precision. Sawyer, you take point with the hourglass. Lisa, Zara, the moment those doors open, launch the spell. Damon and I will guard the rear.”

His blue eyes swept over us. “We’re not running from those demons. We’re making a strategic advancement toward our goal. Every step brings us closer to ending this. Remember what we’re fighting for.” He placed a strong hand on my shoulder. “Each of us has a part to play in this. Together, we can turn the tide. Are you ready?”

I met his gaze, drawing strength from his steady confidence, but my focus was drawn inevitably to Justice. My heart twisted. “We need to be careful, Brody. It’s not only the demons and Maci who will attack us.” My voice caught. The man I loved was out there, transformed into something that wanted to destroy us. The thought of anyone hurting him, even in self-defense, made me sick.

Brody looked out the window at Justice, who stood like a dark sentinel, his posture rigid with barely contained violence. Nothing remained of his gentle smile, his quiet strength. He waited like a predator, daring us to step outside. Rage’s power rolled off him in visible waves.

“I know,” Brody replied. Those two words carried volumes. He knew what Justice meant to me, knew the impossible position we were in. He would try to protect both of us, even from each other.

“Sawyer,” Damon called. “We’re not going to kill him. But if he comes at us…” He ran a hand through his hair, frustrated. “Look, sometimes you have to hurt someone to save them. You know that better than anyone.” His eyes met mine, full of memories of all the times we’d had to make impossible choices. “We’ll do what we have to in order to keep you alive long enough to save him. That’s the deal, okay?”

His words hit me like a physical blow, but I forced myself to nod. My vision blurred with tears that I refused to let fall. “You’re right,” I managed to whisper. “Just…try not to hurt him too badly.”

I looked back at Justice, remembering all the times he’d protected me, fought beside me. Now, here we were, about to face him as an enemy. My fingers curled around the hourglass, its cool surface grounding me in the moment. Sometimes, love meant making the hardest choices. Sometimes, it meant hurting someone to save them.

I gripped the hourglass tighter. “I’m ready. I won’t let anyone die or leave anyone behind. Ready?”

Everyone nodded, their faces set with grim determination.

Brody and Damon took their positions on either side of the glass doors, muscles tensed like coiled springs. The dawn light caught their shadows, stretching them across the castle floor.

“When we open this, they’ll attack,” Brody cautioned. “Be ready.”

Lisa and Zara stood on either side of me, palming their magical orbs. Above us, the phoenix flapped its magnificent wings. Its radiance pushed back the darkness, making the demons beyond the glass writhe and hiss.

I drew a deep breath, feeling the weight of the backpack against my back, the cool glass of the hourglass in my hand, and the warmth of my team around me. “Open the door,” I announced. “It’s time.”