Using the power that streamed into me from my lovers, I pushed the Elements into my wraith and dove into Ara. As my wraith flew to Ara's soul, I was pulled along with it, emerging in the astral plane.
I stood before Ara's caged soul once more, staring into pale blue eyes that glowed behind the sockets of Death's skull. The astral plane was a vast nothingness around us, and yet it churned with clouds of multicolored energy. In place of my lovers stood the Elements, their metaphysical hands on me.
“So, you are not alone,” Death's voice came from everywhere.
I ignored him. The time for banter was done. The need for delicacy and subtlety passed. I slammed power into the bones holding my lover. So much power that they didn't just break—they turned to dust. Yeah, we'd tweaked our attack a bit, using the information the Elements had gathered during our last attempt.
A terrible shrieking came as the bone dust blasted away from Aranren. Instead of waiting for him to come to me, I ran to him. Ara stumbled but righted himself and reached for me. It felt as if I were about to repeat my failure, but this time I had more strength at my call. I wouldn't fail. Couldn't. I took Aranren's hand and our bond burst into light, repaired and refueled. Back to the thick cord it had originally been.
“Ara!” I cried and hugged him.
“Ember,” Ara whispered. “Oh, Ember. You did it. You—”
Horrific laughter circled us along with a whirlwind of bone dust. It fell on our skin and wherever it touched, I burned.Ara and I fell to the ground, clutching at each other and screaming.
“Ember!” Air shouted and blustered just beyond the dust.
“Ember,” Ara echoed him in a whisper, but his voice was just as terrified as Air's.
“Hold on to me, Ara,” I said and lifted my wraith, full of magic and power, to shield us. It glowed around us—a dome of white light. Yes, it was my bonding wraith, not my freeing one.
“Did you think you were stalling me, Ember?” Death asked, his tone scathing. “Iwas stallingyou. Aranren didn't lie when he said he was destroying the Emperor's ward. It just wasn't the tower ward he was weakening.”
I looked at Ara.
“I'm so sorry,” Ara said. “Oh, Ember. He's attacking the citadel.”
“What?” I gasped.
“It's down! The ward is down!” Fire shrieked. “An army of the Corrupted and the dead are attacking the Wraith Lord Citadel. They can't come to help you.”
“Oh, dear Goddess,” I whispered.
“I've been distracting you,” Death said. “And I know the Elements are here too. I can't see them or hear them, but I know they're with you. They can't help you now either. You failed to think of the most important part of binding magic.” He paused, the bone dust coating my wraith and pushing in, eating at it like acid. Specks of dust began to filter through. As it began to sting my skin, he said, “It works both ways.”
I screamed as Death reached through Ara and slid into me, the evil tainting my wraith even as it was wounded by the bone dust. The cage I was constructing, the one to trap Death, still hovered outside my wraith, waiting for me to pull it in. But it shuddered and shimmered, growing thin.
“I've pulled you across the ward,” Death went on. “Even now, you and Aranren are barricaded within my army, and your lovers battle to reach you. They will not. Not in time, at least. Kill him, Aranren.”
I looked at Ara. I'd been holding onto him so tightly that I hadn't noticed the bones reforming over him. As I watched, they grew over his face, forming a mask around his eyes. He looked wicked, his stare glacial. Aranren lifted a hand and reached for my throat.
“Ara, no,” I pleaded. “Fight him.”
I drew back my wraith—it was barely shielding us anyway—but it was so depleted that I didn't have the strength to push Ara away. I stared into my lover's cold eyes and didn't just see Death in them. I sawmydeath.
I took a deep breath, let it out, and said, “I love you.” Then I lifted my chin, baring my throat in surrender to that love. Trusting it and Ara.
Aranren screamed as he slammed his hand down. Not around my throat but on my chest. He shoved me away as he shot upward, his stare on something off to the side. Something I couldn't see. But the eyes within the bone mask were all his for a moment and they were full of grim determination.
And then he vanished.
Death screamed. It was far worse than before. The astral plane trembled with it. And with that trembling came a rush of magic. Pure power.
“Now, Ember! All of Death is here!” Earth roared. “Close the cage!”
I didn't know what was happening, but the Elements had stood with me, guarding that gathered spell. It had grown weak but remained, and with the new rush of energy, I was able to refuel it. Arms spread to either side, I cast my spell to catch Death, then reeled it in like a fishing net.
Within the elemental lines fused by Spirit, the Consciousness of Death continued to scream. I saw him then. Not an avatar like the Elements created. Just pure energy. Indigo, purple, and black clouds that sparked with magic. Death condensed as my net turned into a cage. Smaller and smaller it got, forcing that energy into a box the size of my palm. Seamless and stone-like, the box hovered before me and then it too vanished. As soon as it was gone, I left the astral plane as well.
