He swung his head toward me. “The one thing left remaining? It’s this, deathborn.”
It happened too fast then.
His magic sparked on his hand.
He broke Ryker’s bindings.
And then the Spiral Thorn materialized in his right hand, he yanked Dad up close, then drove it deep into his chest.
“No!”
That scream of pain and terror, I realized was mine.
As everything came to a standstill in my mind.
As agony tore through me.
As it all fell down.
Dad choked, spluttering up blood.
Ruxnoth smirked. “I have a blood connection to your son, so it will override your necromantic protections against suffering such a mundane death.”
No. No.
“Fuck!” Kai yelled, then turned to Ryker, “Get Ari. Now. Her True Celestial power could—”
“That wound is fatal, fools,” Ruxnoth rumbled. He yanked out the blade, then kicked Dad away, making me scream.
Before he hit the ground, a blur cut across the area, and then Pops was there.
“No,” he cried, catching Dad in his arms and cradling him. “Fuck, no. No, it’s okay, you’ll be okay,” he started uttering frantically.
I went to burst forward, but Vax snatched me back, his insane perception registering a magical bind lashing out from Ruxnoth.
“Winter,” he uttered, stroking my hair, my face, trying to comfort me.
“Go! Get him out of here,” Mom told Vax. “Please, baby boy,” she urged to me directly when I struggled to get to Dad who was bleeding everywhere and choking.
Dying.
He was dying.
Pops was distraught and couldn’t keep it in check, something I was right there with him on, only Vax’s touches grounding me even a little, when even that shouldn’t have been possible.
“Velra,” Pops gasped, staring out at Mom, tears streaming down his face. His gaze flicked to me, and he closed his mouth, then squeezed his eyes shut.
“He’s… is he…” I rasped. “Pops? Is Dad… is…”
“His heart has stopped.”
Father burst forward, while Ryker moved into his place to allow Kai to channel him and continue the spell.
Father skidded to his knees beside Dad and started shocking him with his white power.
Over and over and over.
Nothing… nothing happened.
