“Is there something you’re not telling me?” Dash asked, and I quickly shook my head.
“Nope. I just want to have some peace of mind going into this battle. You guys all have each other, but Harley doesn’t have anyone in her corner.”
Dash frowned, but slowly nodded his head. “Yeah, sure. I’ll look out for her.”
“You promise?” I asked, a note of desperation leaking into my voice.
“Yes, Tatum. I promise. You don’t have to worry.”
Sweet relief rushed through me and I smiled, thankful for Dash.
I made a fist in lieu of a hug and he grinned, bumping his with mine.
We rejoined the group just as Skye and Aurum appeared, and a grin spread across my face.
My guardian and ghost bestie were in full battle armor and looked ready to throw down. Without a word, Aurum came over to stand at my side and tipped his head in greeting. I was about to say hi to them but Theo and Aurelia jogged over to us, looking out of breath and disheveled.
“Demons and Shades are attacking the Lumen Compound as we speak, trying to take down the wards,” Theo informed us.
“We can’t wait anymore,” Aurelia said, giving me a meaningful look. “It’s time.”
I looked over at Harley, and she nodded back at me. Our plan was that Harley would give me a sign if her power was waning and I’d juice her up like I did last time. Harley’s magic was explosive and potent, but of the two of us I seemed to have a deeper well of power.
Harley and I stepped closer to the onyx cube, separating ourselves from everyone else. Our friends and a group of master Lumen circled us, knowing their primary job at this point was to protect Harley and me. Theo yelled directions to the portion of the Lumen army that was in Tartarus, and they too stood in formation, in rings around us.
Grasping her talisman, Harley wasted no time shooting a beam of her magic up into the sky. Green sparks rained down on us when her power hit Apollyon’s concealment spell, but even from far below I could see that it was working. The lattice of black magic doming Tartarus started to burn off from the point of impact.
As minutes ticked by, I noticed Harley looking strained. A bead of sweat trickled down the side of her face as she clenched her teeth, and her outstretched arms started to shake.
“Harley,” I called to her, “I’m going to give you some of my power.”
She shook her head. “No. I’ve got this.”
It was true that she was doing it, there was a giant round hole in the concealment spell in the sky above us, but it was obviously costing her. She was the most stubborn woman I’d ever met. This time I wasn’t asking Harley’s permission, I was telling her.
Ignoring her, I stoked my magic, reaching deep down inside of myself and igniting the power that was there, growing it and then bringing it forth. When purple magic covered my fingers, I reached out and put a hand on Harley’s shoulder, willing my power to fill her.
The moment I touched her, I felt a zing like an electric shock run down my arm and through my body. Purple energy wove its way around the beam of green magic shooting from Harley’s talisman, amplifying her power. The black-webbed concealment spell started to really disappear quickly then.
Harley glanced over at me with wide eyes.
“Whoa,” she said.
“Shadowlings are more powerful together,” I reminded her.
We kept at it, and as more and more of Tartarus’s clear sky was revealed I started to get excited. We were doing it!Take that, Apollyon!
Boom!
There was a loud explosion. I looked over and in the distance saw smoke funneling from the portal that Aurelia had made that led to the Lumen Compound. A few Lumens staggered out, covering their faces and coughing.
Startled, I pulled my hand away from Harley. The moment I did she staggered and her magic sputtered out.
“Shoot. Sorry,” I said. “I think they need help.”
Harley glanced over at the portal and then back at me, and together we started forward. Harley looked tired but moved with confident steps. We didn’t get very far before Drea and Gage stopped us.
“No.” Drea shook her head, her braids swinging with the force of the movement. “You guys need to concentrate on getting that spell fully down. Look,” she said, pointing toward the giant hole in the black lattice we’d already made, and for some reason it looked like it was reforming.
