Chapter 2

CHAPTER TWO

I whirled, my heart leaping into my throat as I found myself nose-to-nose with Maci. Her eyes gleamed with triumph, shadows swirling in their depths. Before I could blink, she moved with impossible speed, her form blurring into darkness. The crown vanished from my grasp.

"Damon!" I shouted.

My brother burst forward, his gun already raised. "Get away from her, you black-scaled bitch!" he snarled, firing off two rapid shots.

The bullets passed harmlessly through Maci's shadowy form, pinging off the stone wall behind her. She laughed, the sound echoing eerily around us. "Is that the best you can do, little hunter?"

Pain exploded through my body as Maci's powerful shove sent me flying. The world spun, and I smashed into the altar with a sickening crunch.

"Sawyer!" Brody's voice rang out. I looked up to see him charging toward Maci, moving with his enhanced speed and strength. Yet even his finely honed reflexes weren't enough. Maci melted into the shadows, reappearing behind him and raking her claws across his back.

Brody stumbled, gritting his teeth against the pain. "Damn it," he growled. "How do we fight something we can't touch?"

"I've got an idea," Zara called. Her hands moved in intricate patterns, a faint glow emanating from her fingertips. " Luminos revelare! " she shouted, her voice ringing with power.

A brilliant light bathed the chamber. Maci hissed in pain, her shadowy form becoming more solid. However, the effect lasted only seconds before the shadows rushed back in.

"Nice try, little witch," Maci sneered. "But you'll need more than parlor tricks to defeat me."

A roar of fury shook the chamber. Justice burst in, his eyes blazing with protective rage. "Release her, Maci!" he demanded. "This isn't you!"

Maci hesitated for a split second as something flickered in her eyes. Then, her expression hardened. "You're too late, Justice. I've made my choice."

I struggled to my feet, every movement sending waves of pain through my body. Damon was at my side in an instant to support me. "Any bright ideas?" he muttered.

"We need to get that crown," I gasped, my eyes fixed on the gleaming object in Maci's claws.

Brody nodded, falling into a fighting stance. "Distract her. I'll make a grab for it."

Damon raised his gun again and fired several more shots. Zara began another incantation. Justice moved forward, still trying to reason with his former friend.

I gritted my teeth against the pain and feinted to the left before diving right, hoping to catch her off guard. For a heartbeat, I thought it had worked. My fingers brushed against the cool metal of the crown. But then Maci's other clawed hand shot out, closing around my throat with terrifying strength.

She lifted me off my feet as if I weighed nothing, her scales rough against my skin as I clawed desperately at her grip. Black spots danced at the edges of my vision as I struggled to breathe.

Brody rushed her, but her tail whipped around, catching him in the midsection and dropping him.

"Enough games," Maci snarled as she abruptly dropped me. The shadows in the room seemed to deepen, swirling around her like a living cloak. With a gesture, tendrils of darkness lashed out, wrapping around each of us.

I struggled against the shadowy bonds, but it was like fighting smoke. Beside me, I saw the others similarly restrained, even Brody's enhanced strength useless against this supernatural force.

Maci's triumphant laughter echoed through the chamber as the shadows tightened, squeezing the breath from our lungs. The last thing I saw before darkness claimed me was the glint of the crown as Maci vanished into the shadows, taking our prize—and our last hope—with her.

Through blurred vision, I saw the serpent lunging toward Lisa. A black, smoky hand emerged from the shadows and grabbed the witch's hand, yanking her away before the snake's fangs could sink into her flesh.

Lisa's eyes met mine. Sorrow and desperation swam in their depths.

"She promised to take me to my phoenix," Lisa's words rushed out like a speeding locomotive. "I had no choice."

In a blink, Lisa was pulled into the shadows and vanished, leaving us alone with the enraged Aegis serpent. The chamber filled with the serpent's furious hisses. As I struggled to my feet, pain lancing my body, the magnitude of our failure threatened to overwhelm me. We had come so far, faced so much, only to have victory snatched away at the last moment.

The bitter taste of betrayal mixed with the metallic tang of blood in my mouth. We had lost the Crown of Envy.

Betrayed by a friend.

Damon swore under his breath, anger brewing in his eyes. Tears streamed down Zara's cheeks, which were as red as her fiery hair. Brody shook his head and kept staring into the dark cave. Justice gazed at me with a sweaty brow and sunken cheeks. His vampire strength was losing the battle against the spell.

As I looked at my team's stunned faces, one thought echoed in my mind. What do we do now?

The question was answered for me.

The serpent hissed again, its scales scraping against stone as it reared up. Its eyes turned molten gold with rage and locked onto mine. I felt pinned in place, my breath catching in my throat as its forked tongue flicked out.

"You betrayed me," it snarled, a guttural rumble that shook loose pebbles from the ceiling. "Now, you will all perish."

The serpent whipped its massive tail upward, striking the cavern roof with a thunderous crack. My ears rang from the impact as rocks and stones rained down, pummeling us like nature's fury unleashed.

"It's a cave-in!" Brody's voice cut through the chaos. "Everyone out!"

I caught a glimpse of his muscled arms wrapping around Zara's waist. She released a startled yelp as he hurled her through the opening, her form disappearing into the dim light beyond.

A shadow loomed overhead. My heart leaped into my throat as I looked up to see a boulder easily the size of a small car plummeting toward me. Time seemed to slow as I braced for impact, the acrid taste of fear flooding my mouth.

But the crushing blow never came. Brody's massive frame appeared, his arms straining upward. The veins in his neck bulged as he caught the immense rock, his legs trembling with effort. The ground beneath his feet cracked and splintered.

"Justice!" he roared. Sweat poured down his face in rivulets, his skin flushed deep red with exertion.

Justice stepped forward, his hand outstretched. "I can help?—"

"Get Sawyer and everyone else out of here now," Brody cut him off, forcing the words between ragged breaths. His arms quivered violently, threatening to give way at any moment.

"Brody, no!" I screamed, and my throat constricted as realization dawned. "We can't leave him!" I lunged forward, but Justice's iron grip closed around my arm, yanking me back. His other hand latched onto Damon. With a powerful heave, he threw us both toward the exit.

I hit the ground hard, the impact knocking the wind from my lungs. I gasped, rolled over, and saw Brody still in the cavern. "No!"

Time seemed to slow as I watched him straining against the falling debris, his muscles bulging with effort. Our gazes locked one last time, and I saw fear and resolve in his eyes.

"Go!" he mouthed as the cavern gave way.

The sickening crunch of bone and rock melded with the roar of the collapsing cavern. As the dust settled, an eerie silence fell, broken only by the plink of smaller stones finding their resting place.

"Brody?" I whispered.

No response.

"Brody!" I screamed, my voice echoing off the jagged walls.

I scrambled over the debris, ignoring the sharp edges that cut into my palms and knees. My heart pounded in my chest, a frantic rhythm that seemed to mock the stillness around me.

Then I saw him.

Brody lay motionless, half-buried under a pile of rocks. His face was pale and still. Too still.

"No, no, no," I muttered, clawing at the rocks covering him. "Don't you dare do this, Brody. Don't you dare leave us."

As I pulled away the last stone, overwhelming sorrow smashed into me. Brody's chest wasn't moving. His eyes stared blankly at the cavern ceiling.

I had seen people die before, but not a friend.

A raw, primal scream tore from my throat. It echoed through the cavern, a sound of pure anguish that seemed to go on forever.

Rage boiled up inside me, a molten fury directed at the serpent, at the unfairness of it all, at my own helplessness to save him.

"You didn't have to do that," I choked out, my voice breaking. "We could have found another way."

Tears streamed down my face, cutting tracks through the dust and grime, but I barely felt them. All I could feel was the burning in my chest, the hollow ache where my heart should be.

I reached out with a trembling hand and gently closed Brody's eyes. "Thank you," I whispered. "You saved us all. I swear, your sacrifice won't be in vain."

Justice knelt beside me and put his hands on my shoulders. "I'm sorry, Sawyer. He's gone. We have to get out of here before more of us die."

I nodded numbly. Grief threatened to crush me, but I forced it down. There would be time for mourning later. Right now, I had to honor Brody's last act.

I allowed Justice to pull me to my feet on shaking legs. Brody had given everything to keep us safe, and I would make damn sure we finished what we started.