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MY FRIENDS GATHERED around my magical cage as the battle raged on. Vampires were attacking anything they saw, still traumatized by their creator’s death. Dread Wraiths and undead felines were streaming from the area. They would no doubt begin to wipe out the civilians who lived in Rosethorn before moving on elsewhere. Druids, hybrids, hellhounds and gargoyles fought our shifters and the vampires. The belts I’d crafted had kept our allies safe from the wraiths, but they couldn’t block magic, fangs or claws. Hundreds had fallen on both sides, but I had a feeling a lot more would soon be joining them.
Von Hades strode over to the reaper and held the mask up. “I have waited four thousand years for this,” he said. “The druid I took possession of when I was drawn to this world intended to control me. He hoped that having a demon inside him would give him the strength to use the mask once it had been retrieved. Instead, I squashed his mind and took control of his body. Everyone has followed my plans perfectly and I now have the final piece of the puzzle within my reach.”
“I do wish he’d get to the point,” Winston said crankily and Jonah had to bite his lips to hold in a bark of laughter. My heart was lodged in my throat, rendering me incapable of finding any humor right now.
Spencer nodded at Harrow. With a few short words, the Grand Druid dropped the barrier that had encased the Grim Reaper. Before his captive could escape, he bound him with a magical rope. “Hurry, master,” he urged. “I can’t hold him for long.”
Von Hades edged closer to the struggling reaper and gingerly reached out with the mask. Death tried to twist away, but the magical ropes reeled him in. Hollow eye sockets fixed on the wooden object, he resisted to the bitter end, but couldn’t stop the inevitable. The moment the mask touched the reaper, he let out a despairing howl as he was sucked inside it. After four long millennia of servitude to Morgwen, he’d been free for only a brief time and now he was bound again.
Even with the barrier around me, I had to lift my hand to shield my eyes from the blinding flash of green light that flared when the last scrap of the reaper vanished inside the mask. Spencer’s hand shook when he lifted it up. The empty eyeholes glowed green, infused with death magic from the reaper and the souls of thousands of humans.
We collectively held our breath and the battle paused as he lifted the mask upwards. With a look of insane reverence, Von Hades settled the object over his face. It snapped into place as if being drawn to him like a magnet. His body shook and his arms flailed as an internal magical tornado swept through him. He fell to his hands and knees and shrieked so loudly that even Mirra and the other sirens winced in pain. Everyone with supernatural hearing clapped their hands over their ears, me included.
When his screams finally ceased, the silence was profound. Spencer looked up and I watched in trepidation as the mask and the reaper sank into his skin, becoming absorbed into him. His eyes glowed green as he pushed himself to his feet. Walking over to the spectral scythe the reaper had dropped, he bent and picked it up. A black robe appeared and settled around his shoulders, but the hood didn’t cover his face. “Bow to your new master,” he said in a hollow voice that sounded as if it had come from the far end of a long tunnel.
“Bow to this, demon,” one of the werewolves said and fired a blessed bullet at him. Von Hades vanished before it could hit him and he reappeared behind the alpha. Sweeping his scythe at the unaware shifter, he severed his soul. With a cry of despair, the werewolf fell, instantly dead. His soul stared mournfully at its body before drifting away into the trees.
“Holy crap,” Jonah said in a harsh whisper that carried to everyone. “Spencer has become Death!”
Raising his scythe, Spencer circled it in the air. “Return to me!” he intoned, sending out a blend of demonic and death magic. It swept through the druidic woods, seeking the allies Morgwen had brought through the portal with her. “Obey me!” he shouted.
“We need to get out of here,” Quin said as the Dread Wraiths and their animal sidekicks began slinking back into the clearing. The vampires began to snap out of their grief-stricken mania as he took control of them as well.
“I’m kind of stuck here,” I said, trying not to give into panic. From the glances the demon was sending my way, I was next on his hitlist.
“Can you do anything to help her, Rudy?” Jake asked. From the dread in his dark blue eyes, he knew what the answer would be.
Putting his hand on the magical cage, the leprechaun regretfully shook his head. “It’s based on the magic the trolls use. I can’t break through it.”
“Go,” I said, trying to control my panic. “Leave before he kills you all.”
“We’re not going anywhere, darlin’,” my foster father said grimly. “We’re not leaving you trapped here.”
Harrow was staring at his master in something close to awe. Von Hades had ascended to something that had never been seen before. He was more than just a demon now. He also possessed death magic that was so strong he was even more powerful than Morgwen had been.
Spencer circled his scythe in the air again, then pointed it at the army of shifters. “Kill them,” he ordered.
Still in their animal forms, true shapeshifters battled the felines while the were-creatures fended off the Dread Wraiths. Their protective belts were keeping them from dying at a mere touch, but the vampires and druids also resumed their attacks. Hellhounds and gargoyles added to the melee.
Grinning at me with malicious intent, Von Hades started in our direction. Shifters moved to intercept him, but he cut them down with a casual sweep of his scythe. Harrow scurried along behind him, anticipation quickening his steps.
Dread held me in its clutches and Greg’s hand tightened on my shoulder. “He cannot kill you,” he reminded me in a low voice. “Nothing can kill you while you are bound to me.”
“He can kill my friends,” I said, tears spilling over. “He can kill everyone I love and there’s nothing I can do to stop him.”
A ball of light caught my eye and I turned to see dozens of pixies racing towards me. Hope blossomed when they spread out and pressed their tiny hands against the barrier. Strange magic poured over the cage and they beat their wings to cause a flurry of pixie dust. Nikitira let out a shrill command in his own language, then the barrier winked out.
Harrow gasped in shock and darted a look at his master. “The pixies have broken the covenant,” he said.
Spencer came to a stop, warily eyeing the sprites. “You would endanger your entire species by breaking our deal?” he asked in a dangerous, hollow tone.
“You no longer hold power over us, demon,” Nikitira said in shrill triumph. “Our bargain is null and void.”
“We shall see about that,” Von Hades intoned, then began circling his scythe in the air. Death and demonic magic became combined, but the pixies weren’t waiting around to see what the demon had in store for us. Hundreds of tiny lights appeared as the rest of the sprites flocked to us. Their magic welled up, then our army was transported elsewhere.
“Where are we?” Brandi asked, looking around wildly. We were in a meadow somewhere far away from the druidic woods.
“We are in Scotland, not far from the Archives,” Nikitira said.
“Why did you help us?” Rudy demanded rudely. “Pixies never become involved in the affairs of others.”
“We don’t want to see this world ruled by a demon,” the pixie said. “We have given you a chance to survive. I suggest you don’t waste it. Find a way to remove the mask from the demon, or all will surely be lost.” With that dire warning, the pixies vanished.
“So,” Jonah said into the deep silence. “Does anyone have any ideas?” He looked around, saw our blank expressions and sighed. “I thought not.”
