In a single-file line, we moved together, Hawk behind me and my father behind him, walking down the mountainside and then reaching the forest, all the trees jagged and dead, ominous in the shadows. Callum seemed to know the way without taking the path, careful with the torch not to set everything on fire.
My father and I were the only ones who’d been there before, but I wondered if he’d ever entered the forest. Since we’d never really spoken about his time in the underworld, he hadn’t shared much with me.
Finally, the castle came into view, lit by the torches along the walls and outside the enormous double doors. Once we left the tree line, we would be in the open until we reached the castle, which was already plagued by creatures.
Callum came to a stop then turned to the rest of us. “We wait here. He’ll appear after he’s finished with the Covenant.”
“You know this for certain?” Dad asked.
“No, but I can surmise. I served him for a short period of time.”
In silence, we stood there at the tree line, Callum’s torch the only source of illumination in the darkness. We all watched the castle, watched servants and monsters come and go with their activities.
My eyes anxiously searched for him, desperate to find him, wanting to strike while the iron was hot, wanting to rush into battle while the adrenaline strengthened my muscles.
“Do you have a plan?” Dad asked.
“Yes,” Callum said. “When I see him, I’ll approach. Distract him while Lily makes her move.” He turned to him. “Impale his neck where he’s most exposed. His armor is strong, strong enough to rival the strength of dragon scales. If you can’t sink your blade, then the rest of us will try to chip at his armor.”
I nodded in agreement.
We continued to wait, and then minutes later, he appeared, emerging from nothingness on to the castle grounds, handsome in his human form with his dark cape behind him.
My heart gave a lurch of fear…because this was it.
Callum turned to me. “I know you can do this,Xivin.”
I held his gaze longer than I should have before I gave a nod.
Then Callum left, tossing the torch aside and stomping it out with his boot before he continued forward, approaching the castle’s stone steps, his shoulders shifting and moving in the heavy armor that protected his mortal heart.
My father nodded in a different direction. “Hawk, Lily, and I will approach from the side. The rest of you approach from a different angle.” He moved through the dark, taking the lead for Hawk and me to follow. We made our way along the side of the castle, the wall slowly rising to where we’d have to climb to get to the scene.
We crossed the grass and approached, and that was when I heard Leviathan address Callum. “How admirable. You’re here to defeat me and stop me from taking the one thing that matters most to you. I’m afraid you’re too late, because even if you cut my head from my shoulders?—”
“I come here to warn you. Open the portal, and you’re doomed.”
My father offered his knee so I could use it as leverage to get myself up quickly.
I used it to push myself up and grab the wall before I pulled myself over, the weight of my armor making my muscles scream in protest.
Leviathan gave a quick chuckle, and then he was no longer human but the fiery demon I’d met before. “Thank you for your concern. I suppose after all the time you’ve spent here, you still have affection for your kind.”
Callum gave him a hard stare. “I’m not your kind. Not anymore.”
I stood upright and unsheathed my blade, prepared to cut this monster down and launch him into the void forever. Prepared to do whatever was necessary to protect my world and the people I loved so much.
I moved forward, and then there were screams.
The servants screeched like dogs that had been kicked, and the monsters that spotted me howled into the night, sounding the alarm.
Callum unsheathed his blade then launched his attack, but Leviathan unsheathed his blade at a speed quicker than the eye and blocked it before he shoved Callum hard and sent him flying back until he hit the stone wall.
I couldn’t think about Callum right now. I knew he would be okay.
Leviathan turned to look at me, an eight-foot demon with flames visible between his teeth, having a hard exoskeleton instead of armor, his black heart visible in the strange webbing over his body. Then his voice sounded directly into my mind.Lily Rothschild, welcome home.
The monsters that served Leviathan started to converge to attack, to protect their king.
