My mom’s eyes flashed, and a look of guilt swept over her face before she cleared her expression. “As long as you leave now and never return, that won’t happen.”
“Yes, I know. BecauseI’myour talisman,” I said boldly.
My mom gasped and brought a hand to her throat. Her head bobbed up and down a few times before she found her voice. “How did you find out?”
“It’s a long story. We have a lot to fill each other in on, but that will have to wait until we’re somewhere safe.”
A bolt of lightning cracked somewhere outside, and I glanced over my shoulder toward the balcony opening. Dark clouds had formed in the distance, they sizzled with red fire, rolling and undulating as they headed straight for us.
“He’s coming,” my mom said, a wild look in her eye. She dragged her gaze off the sky and pinned me with it. “You have to leave.Now.”
She’d told me to leave without her once before, and I regretted doing so. I wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.
“No. I’m not leaving without you.” I just needed to figure this spell thing out.
My mom shook her head so violently that loose hair smacked her cheeks. “If he captures you, you’ll never escape this place. We’ll both die.”
Right, I’d never escape because Daddy Dearest wanted to slurp my soul down like a smoothie. Revulsion rolled in my gut over the atrocities Apollyon was willing to commit to gain power.
“Then I guess that’s our cue to blow this popsicle stand.” I glanced down again at the smoky chain hooked to my mother’s ankle, momentarily wondering how it connected her to Apollyon. It was obviously some sort of black magic, because the chain remained even when Apollyon wasn’t near my mom. I remembered how she’d used it to yank Apollyon back into the Netherworld right before I ascended to Avalon.
“It’s time to break some chains,” I muttered as I slapped a hand to my bicep and peeled a long light sword off my arm. The handle was heavy in my grip as the blade separated from my arm and elongated. Light pulsed from the sword, but I didn’t think that a light weapon would be enough to break the length of inky links that slithered across the ground. If I wanted to be sure I could sever the connection between my mom and Apollyon, I would have to useallmy power.
Grasping the sword in both hands, I reached deep, plunging straight into the wellspring of power inside of me and called it forth. Not only was I blessed with powers from Avalon, but I was also my mom’s talisman, which meant somewhere inside of me was the key to breaking this spell.
In an instant, purple fire erupted on my arms and ran down them, twisting and licking over my blade from hilt to tip, casting the room in a lavender glow. These flames were slightly different though, they were black at the tips.
My mom’s eyes widened as I continued to unleash my power, creating my own spinning tornado as I pumped more and more into the blade, not willing to take the chance that I’d come up short.
“Tatum, no!” my mom yelled. “You’ll be giving Apollyon just what he wants. Right now I pull on his power. If you break this bond, he’ll be unstoppable.”
I gritted my teeth, not bothering to argue with her. She’d done the best she could to help protect me from my father, but I was past caring if Apollyon became more powerful. That was an issue for another day. This was a no-win situation. If I left without her, he would just hunt me down eventually and kill both of us. Right now I just wanted my mother back, and I wasn’t leaving this place without her.
The purple light built so strong that my eyes watered from the intensity of it.
Suck it, Apollyon.
With a warrior cry, I swung the sword down, arching it toward the smoky chain in front of me. When the blade connected with the black links, it caused a detonation from the point of impact, and I was tossed backward. My back smashed into the rough stone wall, the wind knocked from my chest, and I fell to the floor in a heap.
Coughing, I struggled to my feet and felt the tower shudder. In fact, it felt like theentireNetherworld shook in that moment. The ground beneath me swayed and quaked. I didn’t know if that was from the spell being broken, or if Apollyon was here and flexing his restored powers, but I wasn’t going to stay and find out.
A maniacal scream echoed all around me and my blood ran cold.
Apollyon.
I searched the room and found my mom crumpled on the other side, her black cloak spread out underneath her like a blanket, her blonde hair tossed over her face. My gaze fell to her skinny ankles and relief poured through me.
They were chainless.
My excitement was short lived, since she was unconscious.
Sprinting to her side, I fell on my knees next to her. After quickly brushing her hair back, I ran my fingers over her throat, searching for a pulse. My own heart rate kicked up as the moments passed and I couldn’t detect a steady beat. Then, finally, I felt a small flutter under my fingertips. It was weak, but it was there.
“Mom…” I tried to gently shake her awake, but it was useless. She was out cold.
Calling upon my power once again, I held my hand up in the direction of the middle of the room. I imagined the courtyard in the middle of the Lumen Compound and released my magic. Purple fire shot from my palm, and ten feet away a rift appeared in the air and a portal began to open. A few seconds later, I could see the sanctuary sitting in the middle of the manicured lawn inside the round opening.
A guard inside of the Lumen Compound spotted the portal and left his post and jogged toward me, his face lined with concern.
