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THE GOLD LIQUID SPREAD over the witch’s face, rapidly encompassing her entire body as the enchantment went to work. Her reaper writhed in pain as her screams picked up in volume and intensity. The army she’d gathered went berserk and redoubled their efforts to protect her, but it was too late. Little by little, the reaper was being drawn out of her.
“It’s working,” Von Hades breathed in awe as the dragon blood drew Death out of the witch. I didn’t know how he could see the reaper. The druids must have cast spells that allowed them all to. Struggling against the spell, the reaper dropped his scythe and desperately tried to grasp Morgwen’s other shoulder. His hand just slipped off her like it was covered in oil. He was her servant and had no choice but to try to remain bound to her.
“Don’t leave me!” Morgwen cried in despair. Falling to her knees, she held her hand out to the specter beseechingly as his hand was ejected from her back and he snapped free.
“Harrow!” Spencer shouted.
The demon waved a hand and I felt a barrier inside his butler fall. Finally able to cast magic again, the Grand Druid lifted his hands and chanted a spell. A shimmering barrier enclosed the Grim Reaper before he could snatch up his scythe and use it on the witch he’d been bound to for four millennia. Death howled and struck the barrier with both skeletal hands, but it had no effect on the shield. His magic had been nullified and he was trapped.
Without her reaper to boost her power, Morgwen lost her hold over her allies from another dimension. The black doorway inside the portal winked out, leaving it inert once more. The Dread Wraiths and pony-sized cats milled in confusion, then began streaming away from the battle they no longer cared about. Still loyal to her due to their blood link with their creator, the vampires remained, but the zombies fell to the ground, reduced to unmoving corpses again. She no longer had enough power to keep them animated. I was shocked to realize I had more raw strength than she did. Even if I hadn’t had Greg bound to me, I still would have been stronger than her.
Looking at me through eyes that streamed with tears, Morgwen shook her head in despair. “You do not realize what you have done. That monster will ruin this world. You will rue the day you became his slave.”
“Enough,” Von Hades said and clicked his fingers imperiously at his number one minion.
Harrow glided forwards, suddenly seeming much younger than he appeared. Chanting a spell, he conjured up chains and wrapped them around the witch. Together, demon and servant hauled their captive to her feet and dragged her over to the altar. Heaving her onto it, the chains shifted around the stone to hold her in place. Harrow waved his hand over her and placed a barrier inside her that locked away her power.
Sobbing and futilely trying to cast a counter spell, the witch went still when she sensed someone new arriving. Lifting her head, her already pale face lost even more color. “Alakay,” she whispered in fear that was mixed with hope. “Free me, my servant and I will make you a king again. We will rule this world together.”
Holding his hand up, he showed her the ring. “I don’t think so, foul witch,” he said coldly. “I am protected from your control.”
“I made you,” she hissed. “Our blood link ensures that you must obey me!”
“Yours isn’t the only blood that he’s ingested,” Spencer said slyly.
Despair washed through her when she realized what he’d done. “You made him your thrall.”
“So I did,” Von Hades said gleefully. “I also promised him that he would have the revenge he’s been craving for the past four thousand years.”
The master vampire glided forward and placed his hand on her leg. Sliding it up her thigh, he took her dress with it. Tearing it down the middle, she was naked beneath it. A memory of a vision I’d had of her bound naked to the altar surfaced, then flitted away again. His gaze moved over her delicately lovely form before settling on her face. “Remove the curse you laid upon me,” he commanded. It was obvious what he intended to do the moment his curse was gone.
Flinching, she looked away from him, tears spilling from her eyes. “You deserved to be punished for what you and your men did to me,” she said. My heart lurched for her as she suddenly seemed like a vulnerable young woman who had been horribly abused and mistreated.
“That may be so,” the leech admitted. “Now it is your turn to be punished if you do not do as I command. Release me from the curse and I will kill you quickly. If you do not,” he cast a significant look at the hybrid monsters that were battling the shifters. “We will use you to breed more of these creatures.”
Horror stole over her and she closed her eyes in capitulation. “I will need to be able to cast a spell,” she said in a dull tone. At Spencer’s nod, Harrow released the barrier he’d placed inside her, but he was ready to call it back at a moment’s notice. “Come closer,” she said to her creation.
Alakay leaned down expectantly until their faces were only inches apart. “Free me from my long eons of torment,” he ordered, staring into her eyes.
“As you wish,” she replied, then I felt her drawing something out of him. His eyes bulged as the death magic that animated him began to stream out through his orifices. Morgwen shrieked in triumphant laughter, but it was choked off as his hand closed around her throat. He squeezed with all his might, crushing her bones and breaking her neck. Lifeless blue eyes gazed upwards as he staggered away.
Falling to his knees, Alakay clawed at his neck, then threw his head back. Gangrenous green, death magic poured out of him, drawing out the vampirism he’d been infected with. He fell to the ground and painfully rolled over onto his back. Cracks appeared in his face, then he began to age. Like a time lapse movie, he rapidly became a withered old man, then his body decayed until his skeleton was revealed. Even that broke down to dust, leaving nothing of the first master vampire behind.
“Well,” Spencer said in an annoyingly jolly tone. “I didn’t see that coming.”
“It was a fitting end for them both, I thought,” Harrow said as he joined us.
With their creator dead, the vampires went insane with grief. Even the masters were wailing in torment. Many left the pathways and were lost to the enchanted labyrinth. They would wander around in here forever, growing weaker and weaker until they would eventually die from starvation. The strongest masters fled from the battle, crafty enough to remain on the pathways. The enchantment would keep them trapped here just as effectively as their kin who had become lost in the trees.
Turning to contemplate me, Von Hades gave me a short bow. “None of this would have been possible without you, Ms. Austin. You not only retrieved the relic from the Deadworld, you also assisted me to destroy my greatest nemesis. Morgwen was the only one who might have had the ability to defeat me. Now that she is gone, I am free to ascend to my rightful place.”
Drained from keeping the spell active, I groped for the shifters to steal some of their energy.
“Oh, no you don’t, miss,” Harrow said, shaking his finger at me admonishingly. He cast the same spell around me that surrounded the reaper. He was far stronger than I’d expected and I was ensnared and utterly unable to cast magic of any kind. “You’ll want to watch this,” he said in glee, then turned to his master expectantly.
Trapped inside the spell with me, Greg hissed when the demon approached his brother. “He would not dare!” he said in a low voice that held a hint of panic.
“He’s not going to do what I think he’s going to do, is he?” I asked uneasily.
Connor strode over to me and placed his hand against the barrier. I reached out and put my hand over his. We were so close, yet we were separated by magic that I couldn’t break through. “Can you get out of this?” my mate asked.
I shook my head, then turned my attention back to the demon. “Something bad is about to happen,” I told him unhappily.
“What’s he going to do?” Jonah asked as he joined us. He tried to pass through the barrier, but was repelled.
“He’s going to assimilate a new type of energy so he can activate the mask,” I replied, then pointed at the trapped reaper. “He’s going to become the new master of Death.”
“This is not going to end well,” Mirra predicted. I exchanged a look with Jonah, but we were too frightened to burst into sniggers.
