“What have you done?” the Corrupter screeched.
I had a feeling he wasn't talking to any of us. Nope, not even me.
Death had just sacrificed his neutrality. The Corrupter now knew what side he was on. I felt a surge of gratitude toward the entity and a bit of vindication that I had allied myself with someone who hadn't betrayed me.
With a snarl, the Corrupter jumped off the stage, flinging his hands in sweeping motions. Wraith Lords tumbled back under waves of magic. Metal clanged and men cursed, but they got up again fairly quickly. But the Corrupter didn't bother with them again. He was focused on me.
Snarling, the Corrupter launched his magic at my men and I. Meeting his snarl with a grin, I summoned a force of my own. I chanted the words of a spell under my breath, hoping my men wouldn't hear. But what did it matter? I needed to protect us. And it worked. The Corrupter went barreling backward.
Shouts came from all around. I glanced to the right and saw a rotting horde attack the outer line of Lords. The Lords closest to us had to abandon us to help the others before they were overwhelmed. Those with wings took to the air along with those who could control that element. Others just climbed the buildings or went through them to burst out windows and come at the dead from another way.
Fuck! I knew there was a reason I wasn't comfortable setting the ward to hold only the Corrupter. Anyone else could come through. And had. But it was all right. The Wraith Lords were trained for this, and I had always known I'd have to face the Corrupter with only my lovers beside me.
Hair whipping about him, Aranren got to his feet and bared his teeth at me. His face had gone skeletal, as it did when he used his Death Magic. All of his beauty vanished, revealing his true nature. For a second, I wondered if I looked like that. But I didn't have time to worry about my face. This was my chance to end the war.
Grabbing Rath and Xae's hands, I called for Kel. But he was already there, standing behind me. As soon as he laid his hands on my shoulders, I called upon my magic. Not Death, but Spirit. I used Spirit to unite the elements. They swirled together within me and then echoed through my lovers. The power built among us. Just as the Corrupter launched a blast of Death at us, light erupted from our chests and met it. Barreled through it. Impacted with him.
The Corrupter screamed.
I could sense the elements inside him. His life force. His death force. I knew exactly where to target him.
“That's right, motherfuckers!” Nex roared, his voice deeper than normal.
I glanced to my left and saw an awesome sight. A great golden dragon, its scales shining like armor—the armor of a god. The beast lifted its horned head and spread its wings. A pair of amber eyes as big as my head surveyed the scene below with scorn. Nex's eyes. Holy shit.
“Gaze upon my magnificence and marvel!” Nex declared. “Look upon me and fear, all you unfortunate dead. You will walk no more.”
Around Nex, Wraith Lords fought, but when he inhaled, they backed up as one—a trained movement. And above the dead, the sky cleared. I looked away just as Nex breathed fire upon the horde. I had my own target to roast.
I reached for the Corrupter's death force. So close. I could feel the tingle of it in my fingertips. Stretching myself, my magic, I snatched at it. He shuddered, face twisting with rage and fear. Sound went hollow. I dropped into a dark pit where there was only the Corrupter and me. Gone was the village. I was in a vast landscape of shadows capped by a dark sky. Only a few feet away, the Corrupter stared at me. No, he was the Corrupter no longer. It was Aranren I beheld.
Here, I saw him for all he was. His beauty shone, yes. Aranren was glorious. Hair like shafts of sunlight. Crystalline eyes of the purest blue. Skin that looked as if it had been polished by the hand of the Goddess. But atop that, hovering over his true being, was Death.
I couldn't move. Fear shot through me. Was this what I had been consorting with? But no. This was the magic, not the entity, and Aranren had made what he willed of it.
His will was evil.
That skeletal mask that fell over the Corrupter when he used Death Magic was here permanently. And it wasn't just skeletal. It was bones. Bleached bones that sucked up Aranren's glory and covered him like a cage. Not his bones, no. The magic's form. It gleamed with power, harder than steel. Holding him. Protecting him. Imprisoning him. And those beautiful eyes stared at me through the eye sockets of the skull, entreating.
Even more determined now, but not sure what I was determined to do, I grabbed the skull by its lower, gaping jaw and pulled.
Aranren grinned.
A bone-covered hand lifted, but it was his fleshy palm that pressed against my chest and pushed. Darkness flared between us, sending me shooting backward for miles. So far back that I landed in my body. Gasping, I blinked, my vision returning to the physical world.
The Corrupter stopped screaming.
I froze, the breath catching in my throat.
“Ember, watch out for—” Death's voice was suddenly cut off.
Grinning, the Corrupter straightened. His skeletal face turned the smile into a terrifying mask. “You truly thought you were strong enough to kill me? Me?!” He flung his hand backward, and the Emperor, who'd been gathering his magic to strike, went tumbling. Soldiers rushed to help him as Wraith Lords attacked.
And everything bounced off an invisible shield.
The Corrupter had cast a ward around us without my noticing. A shield that seemed to hold out even the consciousness of Death.
“So, you think you have stolen Death, do you?” the Corrupter came forward. “He was mine first and will be mine last. You've confused him, but he will soon see that I am the strongest of us.”
