Chapter 27

Murky gloom appeared first at the four entrances at the arena floor, creeping in like smoke that grew denser and denser. It filled the arena as if Lilith had bidden it to come for a visit. Circling the perimeter, it rose into the sky and covered spectators. In minutes, thick, impenetrable blackness settled over the entire amphitheater like a heavy blanket. It rose, obscuring daylight and ushering in an untimely, starless midnight.

Silence arrived with it.

As if to mock the evil darkness, radiance that covered Maura and Rory suddenly multiplied. Luminous towers formed around first one person, then another and another. They appeared as spotlights throughout the crowd, each one clothed in a glowing shelter. Magi were there. They’d come.

Lilith commanded the priests to continue their dark arts. Her rant grew desperate when fire that once blazed in the censers smoldered as though doused in water. Solitary columns of light appeared throughout the stadium, signaling a greater Magi presence. Had they been there all along? Or had some unseen communication drawn them.

Maura held Rory tightly and scanned the arena, longing for Aiden. It felt like she was peering from a fully lit room into a night illumined by countless stars.

Rory pointed at something that moved toward them from the dividing wall. Moments later, Nona sprinted, swerving in and out among the luminaries until she reached them.

Maura released Rory, and he ran into Nona’s open arms. The boy whispered in his grandmother’s ear and ran back to Maura. He reached up and kissed her forehead.

He returned to Nona, and together they angled back through the amphitheater amid gleaming Magi.

At least he was safe. At least Maura had done that.

While she’d been ensuring Rory was safe, Lilith had gathered her entourage, though her bravado was gone. So was the scorn that made her refuse to have anyone at her side. Now, she was flanked by Anton, the Council members, and the priests.

Maura was an open target. The light she carried made her visible to the enemy. Just like in her dream.

“Enough! Enough of your incompetence.” Lilith screamed.

The priests formed a tight battalion around the pit. Anton and the Council members followed Lilith in formation toward Maura.

“No Rory? Ah, well, then you will have to do,” she said through clenched teeth. “You and I knew all along that this pit was prepared for you, Maura O’Donnell.”

At her words, Magi became a shimmering wave that rushed to Maura’s side.

Priests scattered, and Council members froze.

From his throne-turned-prison, Sir Taylor watched.

“Kill them,” Lilith shouted in a shrill command. “Extinguish their light.”

The priest’s magical arts stopped working, as though their fuel was gone. Their hoods fell away in a gust of wind, exposing fear etched on each face. Like wind that separated chaff from wheat, it swirled around their robes, pulling away and exposing them as old, frail and all alone.

Magi stood firm as everyone around them struggled against what became a gale-force wind.

Wispy black smoke formed at the base of Lilith’s gown, reminding Maura of when Lilith had joined the serpent in a devilish twirl. Only this time, the tendrils whirled madly and spun around her feet. A smoldering cloud lifted the woman into the air. Shadows engulfed her body and grew into an ebony wall cloud that boiled and spewed stabs of lightning.

Torrential rain stung Maura’s skin and drenched her clothing.

Council members drew ceremonial hoods over their heads against fierce winds.

Spectators covered themselves with arms, clothing, whatever they could find.

Lightning slashed from the storm cloud and struck the earth with such intensity that Maura felt electricity buzz throughout her body.

An inverted cone-shaped cloud dropped from the storm. It grew wider, larger, as it snaked above, then descended as a funnel to the amphitheater. Except for Magi who stood as solitary candles, the crowd became a jumble of bodies that pressed together, crushing each other in the narrow exits. Doors that should have opened appeared to be locked. Like animals, the people turned on each other. Piles of trampled bodies lay near the exits, and cries became howls as people realized there was no escape.

The funnel churned downward, hurling debris—tree branches, carriage wheels, and shards of this and that stripped from the area around the Hall of Justice. A child’s toy was held aloft and twirled as if by a puppet’s wire. Rain turned to icy hail that peppered Maura’s skin. A voice cried out of thunder, resounding with earth-shaking force.

“Forsaken no more. Forsaken no more.”