Chapter 29

The Necromancer

The heat is just as I remember. The smell. The black sand and endless sea of blood. The towering mountain, too.

But now the chains that once held Hel lie broken on the beach. Their giant manacles are left broken, and the markings no longer glow.

The Goddess is free. But where?

The souls are wading out of the water, and behind me, the gate hovers in the air several feet from the ground.

I have to get back.

Every inch of me is smothered in the blood of the humans sacrificed to open the gate between here and there.

And my head… the pain in my skull… It's unbearable.

I fall, my legs too weak to hold me and the world spinning too fast.

The groaning of the blood witch spirits becomes muffled as I try hard to stay awake. But I'm so drained. My magic feels empty, and my body is broken in a hundred different ways.

As I slump and my eyes close, I'm caught in a pair of arms and held close.

‘I've got you, Poppet Doll.'

‘You're here,' I whisper, falling into him. I'm too weak to lift my head or open my eyes, and even though his arms and body feel different, and even though he sounds like a demonic whisper, I know who has me. And I'm not afraid. ‘They said you were dead.'

‘Banished. Not dead,' Dorian replies. ‘I would never allow myself to be parted from you so permanently. Now, come on. Stay awake. We need to get back through the gate. The souls of the blood witches are getting closer, and they're all staring at you like you're their next meal.'

He's lethal and twisted. All of him. His aura is of pure malice, and a promise of death carries all around it.

But I know that for me, it means salvation.

My head tilts all the way back as I look up at him. The top of my head reaches the middle of his stomach. He's fucking huge and as far from human as could be!

His entire form is that of a robed man. He has a veiled cloak covering his head and two wings at his back, slowly beating. His clothing is smoke but solid. He's of an ancient magic. Of legend. I thought he was powerful before. This is something I could never have imagined.

He scoops me up and spreads his wings. The sound of the blood witch spirits chasing us makes me shudder. Their gurgling and harrowing wails. The sound of the blood dripping to the sand and sizzling on impact. And their high-pitched demonic screech that never ends.

They don't take a breath. They just go on and on.

My body becomes unresponsive. Darkness rolls around me, and I know that it is him.

It's the Shadow Master in his primitive form.

We reach the gate, and he wastes no time before flying through. The blood smothers me once more as he pins me to his chest. And the next breath I take is of icy cold air filled with falling snow.

I land in a soft blanket of white. I must have been gone a while as several inches of snow now coats the ground. All of which become red as I touch it.

Pushing myself up, I don't see Dorian. I came through alone.

‘Pixie!' Shaw screams my name.

There's a low giggle in my mind. It starts to come out of my mouth. My body convulses, and a surge of powerful magic explodes from my body.

I'm free, Hel whispers. Thank you… "Pixie".

Everything goes a blinding white.