This is hopeless. Whatever I do, I’m going to die here.
Raising my gaze, I stare numbly at my captor. I’m imprisoned inside a pillar of fire with Armageddon. How did it come to this? I close my eyes, calling out to the igni. Don’t leave me here. Fight on. They swirl and dive through the hellfire, refusing to disappear entirely.
My back teeth lock. What did I think would happen, taking on Armageddon with untested powers? I’m an eighteen-year old girl, he’s immortal evil personified. I’m a fool.
Armageddon chuckles. “I have a surprise for you as well.” A black pit opens in the sands between us. A spirit crawls up out of the darkness, her face bloated and covered in scars.
Unholy Hell. That’s the woman I saw in the Arena, the one who sacrificed herself to the Limus demon because she didn’t think she deserved Heaven. Now Armageddon will force me to watch as he consumes her soul. My throat chokes with silent sobs.
Armageddon paces before me, his small black eyes narrowing into slits. “I’ve been following you for some time. You stopped two of my evil souls from entering Heaven. No one gets in my way without paying a price.” He glares at the miserable spirit. “I noticed you wanted to save her, so I did. For a special occasion.” A grim smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. “Schemes within schemes. That’s why I’m King.”
Armageddon pauses before me, his body looming above mine. “You’ve archangel blood and the old Scala’s power. You’ve moved every other demon to Hell. Yet you’re too weak to touch me.” He grins. “Want to know why?”
My voice comes out a low whisper. “No.”
“I saw your mind. You wait for someone else to shoulder your burden. Someone smarter, stronger, better.”
My eyes sting. “Yes.” Maybe if that person were here, things would be different.
“I’ll let you in on a little secret, something only the King of Hell would know. Anyone seeking to become the Great Scala is evil. It’s more power than a good soul would want, or a bad soul should have. When the good take power, it’s always a service, a burden. And that makes them weak. Like you.”
Around me, the igni all but disappear. The fiery bindings on my body flare hotter. He’s right. I am weak. I can’t do this.
Armageddon snaps his fingers once more. The spirit crawls forward until she reaches the feet of the King of Hell. I see her face. Bloated. Red-eyed. Tear-streaked.
I choke back a wave of nausea. Armageddon set this soul aside so one day he could force me to watch her demise. With such evil in the realms, what can anyone really do?
Armageddon raises his pointer finger, smiles right at me, and then slowly lowers his hand toward the woman’s shoulder. Tears roll down her scarred cheeks as he touches her exposed skin. She screams as her spirit-body begins to fray and fade.
Watching her shriek, something inside me finally snaps. A realization knocks into me with a wallop. There’s no one smarter or better coming. It’s me and this poor woman and, so help me, we aren’t dying here. I don’t care about the consequences. I don’t mind the burden. I am fighting.
I raise my hand through a break in my bindings. Fresh igni swirl about my palm.
Armageddon arches his eyebrow. “You won’t win.”
“Then I’ll go down fighting.”
Armageddon’s eyes sparkle. “It’s your death, Myla.” Beside him, the woman’s body all but disappears.
“No, Myla is already gone.” I call more igni to me. They arc and dive about my arm, loosening my bindings. “I’m the Great Scala.”
Whatever I feel, whatever powers are within me, I throw it all at Armageddon. I save no corner of my soul for trips to magic users who may strip my igni powers, for becoming the old Arena fighter again, or for a future where I’m anything but the Great Scala. I am this fight.
I call to the igni, and they careen down from the clouds in a great flood, wiping away Armageddon’s column of hellfire. My bindings disappear. The ghostly woman falls free to the ground. White lightning bolts envelop the King of Hell, pulling him down the very pit he created by my feet. Armageddon claws at the sand as his body is yanked away. His eyes glow bright red as he disappears into the darkness.
He’s gone. I sent Armageddon to Hell. My body hums with excitement. I turn to the miserable spirit, ordering the igni to guide her soul. They swirl and dive in a great mass as they wrap about her, carrying her into the clouds and Heaven. Their child-like laughter rings in my ears. After that, everything turns silent.
I find myself back at the Gray Sea, standing on the top ridge above the bunker entrance. One thought ricochets through mind: Armageddon is gone.
I let out a long breath. My arms drop to my sides. The desert wind whips through my hair. Above me, harmless gray smog replaces the angry storm clouds. My legs turn boneless beneath me. I’m dimly aware that Cissy, Zeke, Mom, and Xavier stand nearby. I wobble in place. It’s over. Lincoln’s arms wrap about me as I collapse. All becomes darkness.