“Yeah, of course I remember that,” I said slowly, not sure where this conversation was going, but suddenly feeling a little nervous.
“It suppresses Shade magic. Of course it’s not powerful enough to hold Apollyon right now, but Aurelia is going to get some Lumens to fortify it so it can hold him at least for a little while. Then she’ll open a portal from the battlefield to it and have you and Harley help get Apollyon inside. Once he’s trapped, Aurelia, Aurum, and I will kill him,” Gage said boldly.
“No way!” I shouted.
Kill him?Was that even possible? Apollyon was so powerful I wasn’t even sure how I’d be able to kill him. My mom had tried and failed, so what if Aurelia, Aurum, and a super juiced-up Gage weren’t strong enough?
“He’ll kill all three of you,” Drea added, and I nodded.
“We don’t know that,” Aurelia said. “If I can wear the Diadem of Avalon and access Apollyon’s mind, I could subdue him long enough for Aurum and Gage to take him out. Not to mention the cell would keep him from using his power on us.”
Drea gasped as I stood and spun, facing them all. “No. Read my lips. N. O. I’m not having him kill three people I love and care about.”
“Tatum.” Aurelia crossed the room to lay her hands on my shoulders. “I don’t want to scare you, but have you really thought this through?”
I swallowed. What did she mean?
“Have you thought about Apollyon’s reaction once he realizes you’ve stolen his food and energy source, broken his magical cube, and destroyed his world?”
He’ll be livid. He’ll try to find me and Harley and gobble up our souls just for funsies.
Harley.
Dread settled deep in my gut. I couldn’t let that happen to her.
“If Apollyon goes after Harley and tries to kill her, what will you do?” Aurelia asked.
“I’ll rip his head off,” I growled.
Aurelia nodded. “And then the curse will be activated and you’ll die.”
Gage stood. “And we aren’t going to let that happen.”
Crap.They were right. We needed a plan, and maybe this strategy wasn’t so bad. I mean, Aurum did have eye lasers. That cell kept Harley from using her powers, so maybe if it was fortified, it would keep Apollyon at bay too. Just long enough for my super strong boyfriend to rip him apart.
“Aurum thinks it’s possible?” I asked.
Aurelia nodded, but a flicker of doubt washed over her face.
“Mom.” Drea’s voice was weak and filled with fear. “If you connect with Apollyon’s mind, it could be too dark. He could—”
Aurelia grasped her daughter’s hand. “There is no one on this Earth more capable of working with the Diadem of Avalon than I am. I can do this. If it feels too dangerous, I’ll back out.”
Gage fist pumped. “While I turn into Hulk and rip him limb from limb.”
“That was graphic,” Drea said, but I could tell she felt lighter about the idea.
Maybe they could do it…
“Okay, it’s worth a try. The second Apollyon shows up, Aurelia will create the portal into the cell in the armory and I’ll chuck him inside,” I said.
This was all assuming I had enough power to force Apollyon through the portal on top of bringing all the souls back to Tartarus from the Netherworld and healing them on the way—which was probably why Aurelia was offering to make the portal. It would help me conserve energy.
Okay, this was happening, this was really happening.
“I should check on Harley. She needs to bring down that concealment spell, but if she’s not feeling better by the morning…” I feared that without that entire spell down, the souls might not be able to come back through the cube. It all felt connected.
“Right. Take two healers with you,” Aurelia said. “Keep her in the Netherworld until the last possible second. We don’t want Apollyon finding her or you before our big move.”
