Paden cried out in pain. His eyes turned black.
As did his hair.
“What do we do?” Will asked.
Bart unsheathed his sword. “Stab him while we’re able!”
Belle grabbed his hand and stopped him. “You can’t do that! He’s one of us.”
“Was.” Bart gestured at him. “Look at him now. He’s turning to the Iri. He’ll destroy us all.”
As Bart went to make the killing blow, Paden caught his arm and wrenched it hard. “I’m not against you, you fool!”
Before they could ask what he meant, the doors splintered open to show Cameron.
Only Thorn had never seen her look like this before.…
She was glittering white. A pure perfection that seemed ethereal and unreal.
Unnatural.
Except for her wings, which were a vibrant red. At first glance, they appeared to be bleeding, but the illusion was caused by her motion of flight as she flew toward Devyl.
“They took Kalder!”
“They?” Mara asked.
Her lips trembled. “The Malachai. He’s intending to march on Azmodea and slay his masters so that he can absorb their powers, and then take down the light gods—Verlyn, Rezar, and Cam.”
Thorn felt his legs go weak at the news. That would have the Malachai with the power of all the original Source gods.
Except one.
The mother of the Malachai. But given that he was her son, he already carried a great deal of hers to begin with.
Were he to combine that with the others…
The Malachai would rule all worlds.
“Can they do that?” Devyl turned to face him.
Avoiding the question, Acheron cut a nervous stare toward Thorn. “Do they know where Cam and Rezar are?”
Thorn’s stomach twisted with fear. “They could use Verlyn to find them. Even Seth could track Rezar, if needs be.”
Mara scowled. “Seth?”
“Nothing.” Thorn cleared his throat. “How did they get Kalder?”
Fury darkened her cheeks. “The ring he was given wasn’t truly his mother’s. It was asubjicible krogu.”
Thorn growled at the ancient term used for a Simeon Mage’s mastery ring. Though rare, they’d been created to bind a demon’s powers and enslave the creature to whomever had bespelled it.
Total subjugation.
Once activated, the wearer had no mind or will of their own, other than what their masters gave them.
It was an insidious device that had been denounced by the wizards as unethical centuries ago. Banned by their council, who feared what the demons might do to them in retaliation for creating such a thing, the rings had been ordered gathered up and destroyed.
