Chapter Thirty Three

 

Floating in perfection, body infused with balanced power, I felt the Node embrace me, its curiosity about me as it studied me carefully and accepted who I was, who Theridialis and Tara were, welcoming me home as though I were a monitor. Until it jerked in pain, its agony my agony, slicing through the magical connection formed from Theridialis's magic and Tara's.

Ameline. I focused on her name and felt myself slide through the light, thrown headfirst at a blackened blob tainting the center of the Node. Threads of sickly gray and red branched out from her, as though she wore a cloak of fiber-thin roots digging their way through the heart of the Node, infecting it. I dove for her, hands outstretched, power gathering, only to feel the Node shudder from me as well, watch more of the taint slide from my fingertips.

Right. No magic against her power.

This was very bad.

Ameline saw me coming, her huge amber eyes fixed on mine, filled with madness as she slung herself forward, the Dead Stone in her right hand. I spun at the last minute, ending up feet out in the thick air/membrane/support of the Node, heavy boots impacting the side of Ameline's jaw before she could correct herself. The Node shook like a quivering drop of water waiting to fall as the blow sent Ameline spinning away, trailing her dirty magic with her. I had no choice but to use magic to stop myself and push me forward again, though I knew doing so did more damage.

No choices.

The song of the Node swelled around me, once sweet and pure, now so discordant it felt like my head would explode from the pressure of the sound, the rush of my blood heating in answer to the harsh tune.

Ameline's burbling laughter drove my anger out to the surface as she spread her arms wide.

You can't stop me, she sent. All the power of the Node will be mine, will transform me into a demon more powerful than anyone has ever known. And I will watch these planes break apart with great satisfaction, knowing I've hurt you, Sydlynn Hayle.

Thought it wasn't about me, I sent as I half-swam, half-glided toward her.

A snarl replaced her laugh. We could share this, she sent. I'd heard that argument before. She'd offered help in return for half of the vampire inside me.

You're so original, I sent. Try another one.

Ameline shook her head, hair rippling around her as the Dead Stone pulsed in her hand, pulling in power as her taint grew, the Node's song worsening by the second. Who cares if a self-destructive race falls? They will wipe each other out eventually anyway. And we have a bigger enemy to fight. Sister.

Shudder. I can handle the Brotherhood, I sent. Without you and your misguided attempt to become maji.

She shot power at me, absorbed instantly by the Node, but not to good effect. The whole thing shook again and I knew I had only seconds left before this was all over.

The Dead Stone. It was key, had to be. Begging the Node to hold it together just a little longer, I shielded a blast of demon power, Ahbi's magic eager to do the job, and whipped it out toward Ameline's hand.

She tried to dodge, saw it coming, but the thickened gray she'd created seemed to solidify as she did. It slowed her down, almost hardening around her as Ahbi's magic snapped over Ameline's wrist and sent the Dead Stone flying.

I dove for it immediately, the pressure of the flow of energy shifting to deliver the Stone to my hand. It glowed beyond its black heart, a beating thing in my fist as I faced Ameline.

She clutched her wrist, writhing in the confines of the hardened toxins she'd dumped into the Node. Caught by her own greed, Ameline howled her fury at me while I threw a shield around her so she couldn't do any more damage.

Earth magic wrapped around air drove her free of the taint she'd made, green and blue power rolling through the Node. Which bucked like a green-broke horse and began a slow, inevitable tilt to one side. The terror in Ameline's face would have been priceless if my own hadn't matched it. My shield slipped as I released her to reach out to the Node, trying to support it even as Ameline ripped open the veil right there, in the middle of the center of Demonicon's power, and dove for safety, shedding demon magic as she went.

I know about Liam, she sent just as the fissure snapped shut behind her, leaving me with even more fear and a massive mess on my hands.

The Node failed, its slow collapse pressing down on me as the power tilted softly, its song digging holes in my brain, making it hard to concentrate.

I had to save it.

The Dead Stone pulsed in my hand, its heartbeat off tune with the Node's. I reached for it on impulse, feeling the power it absorbed attuned to its new rhythm and let it channel through me, feeding into the stuttering heart of the Node. It seemed nothing happened as I hovered there, heart in my throat, the oozing fall of the Node pulling me sideways.

Sydlynhamitra. Ahbi's voice, soft in my head. You must find the heart.

I stopped. Fought to concentrate, feeling at last as the Node beckoned me deeper. I dove down in desperate hope, the Dead Stone held out in front of me, black taint pulled from the white and into the heart of the failing Node, a cloud of gray and red following me down, down into the very core of Demonicon's power.

I bobbed to a stop, the weight of the Node's energy pressing against my body so tightly I feared I'd be crushed to death, but out of choices and time. I called on all of my magic to stabilize the Node, using Theridialis's power, Tara's, and Ahbi's as well as my witch magic and the call of the Sidhe. Only my vampire held back, whispering in my head even as the Node shuddered at the presence of my magic and began to fail again.

Sydlynn, Ahbi whispered. Foreign magic is illegal on Demonicon for a reason.

Right. Idiot. I jerked my other powers back, slamming them behind shields, pouring everything I had into the demon magicks inside me.

Better, she sent, the sigh of her voice a mere echo of who she had been.

What do I do now? I reached for her, desperate, hoping she knew because I was barely holding things together.

You must let me go. Ahbi's power pulsed, sliding from me toward the Dead Stone. A sacrifice must be made. And I'm the one to make it, dear granddaughter.

Why did I resist all of a sudden? Will you be all right? What a stupid, stupid question. She was dead already, wasn't she? And here I was, floating in the heart of the Node keeping Demonicon's planes in balance, talking to her spirit.

Ahbi's power chuckled. Of all of them, she sent, I adored you the most.

My chest clenched as I released her, Ahbi's power instantly sliding inside the Dead Stone. It blazed with light, the terrible blackness of it shattering apart, flashing it into tiny fragments, exploding, little falling stars, absorbed by the Node.

The heart embraced me as the remains of the Dead Stone and my grandmother's power merged with it, quivered in delight and flooded with brightness. I felt the body of the teardrop solidifying around me, strengthening as the pulse of the core steadied and settled into a slow, heavy beat.

Living. Breathing. Spinning softly and more powerfully than ever, the Node gently thanked me in a murmur of magic. I slid out, deposited on the chamber floor. A further soul joined mine as the energy of the boy, Todd, nestled into my magic, safe and sound.

I looked around to see I was surrounded by people, monitors with wide eyes, reaching out to touch me, gaping at the Node as though a miracle occurred. And maybe it had. I turned and looked up at it with a smile on my face. I may not have captured Ameline, but I saved the day.

Hell, yeah.

As I spun back to accept the accolades of who had to be eternally grateful demon monitors, something sharp pierced the skin of my neck and, for the second time since I found myself on Demonicon, my vision went fuzzy and slid sideways into darkness while I sighed deeply in understanding at the last second.

Here we go again.

 

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