I bite my lip, remembering the words of Armageddon in my vision: ‘I’ll drag you to hell to suffer.’ Honestly, if daddy Armageddon were beating down MY door, I’d beg for death too.
Lincoln shakes his head from side to side. “No, brother.” He turns away. The old man grabs a dagger from a holster on Lincoln’s thigh. Fast as a heartbeat, the ancient thrax buries the blade into his own chest, stabbing himself through his heart. His white cloak blooms red with blood.
Holy crap.
I’ve seen my share of blood on the Arena floor. Matches don’t always have a happy ending. A familiar set of emotions sweep through me: shock, pity, grief. But this time, those feelings are amplified by the tiny voices in my heart and mind. Igni mourn their friend’s injury with a child-like intensity. I bite into my knuckle, trying to stifle the sobs that swell in my throat.
Cissy’s the first to speak. “Lincoln! The Scala!”
Spinning about, Lincoln leans over the thrax, inspecting the wound. “No, brother!” The old man’s chest heaves and falls silent. His wrinkled hand tumbles off the stretcher.
Lincoln sets his fingertips on the old man’s neck. “He’s gone.”
The igni’s weeping grows louder in my mind. My legs go wobbly beneath me. He was all they knew for a thousand years.
The Oligarchy’s eyes blaze blood-red. “Traitors! Murderers! You’ve killed our–” The dead Scala moves. The Oligarchy shut their mouths.
One by one, the igni seep from the Scala’s lifeless form and swirl around his body. He begins to breathe again. The dead man opens his eyes; both glow bright blue. Around him, the tiny igni multiply into a wide column of light. Inside my mind, their little voices turn silent. The quiet’s unnerving; I gnaw my lower lip.
Something is coming. Something big.
The dead man points to me. His movements are jerky and odd. “I give my powers to the new Scala.”
There’s a millisecond that lasts a million years where I flat-out panic. Can’t we get someone else to do this job? Maybe I can go back to being Myla Lewis, human paramecium and Arena fighter extraordinaire. Forget my father, forget my new powers, and forget the millions of souls that need transport to Heaven or Hell. I know who I am and want no part of it. Let me go.
Then, the igni burst into a song that only I can hear. There are no words this time, only gentle voices and sweet music, enveloping me in a blanket of calm. My heart rate slows to almost zero. My breath all but disappears. The world around me fades until there’s only their lovely music. A column of ingi slowly swirls across the bunker floor, heading straight for me.
‘It’s alright,’ they seem to say. ‘It will be over quickly.’ Their music’s like a drug, drowning out all the terror I felt before. My brain floats in strange bliss as the igni-whirlwind slams into me.
That’s when the fear comes barreling back. What the Hell is happening? I howl as a shock of energy zooms down my spine, igniting every nerve ending in my body. Thousands of tiny lightning bolts attach themselves to my flesh, burning as they slide inside my skin. It’s excruciating.
I gasp for breath, and slap at my arms and legs, trying to knock off the igni. I don’t want this. I don’t want any of this. Find someone else! It doesn’t do any good. The tiny bolts pass into me, unstoppable.
The dead thrax leans back on his stretcher. His eyes close. His breathing slows. “Esme. I come to you. At last. Esme.” He smiles and falls silent. His chest ceases to move. This time, he really is gone.
A new sensation rushes over me, something beyond emotion or words. I am everyone and no one. I am all places and the void. I sense every emotion in the universe, yet am empty of feeling. My tail relaxes. My eyes roll back into my skull. Power floods my body.
I am changing.
Visions appear in my mind’s eye: Manus demons tearing down the doors to my high school…Rows of mansions in Upper Purgatory burning in a long line of flame…Crini demons smashing the empty cottages of the thrax compound…And Armageddon leaning against a wall of black stone in the middle of the Gray Sea, his great mouth coiling with a satisfied smile.
More igni slip under my skin. The column of Scala power dims and thins. Every cell in my body vibrates with energy. A jolt of realization hits me. The demon invasion, Armageddon, and Purgatory; I know precisely what I need to do next.
If only I have the strength to do it.
I still don’t want this power. Refuse to accept it as my future. But right now, at this moment, I know it’s the only way to save those I love. I will have to try.
The last of the igni enter my body. The room becomes dead quiet. I scan the faces around me: Zeke and Cissy stand stock-still. Adair sits curled against the wall, immobile. I’m not even sure if they’re breathing. Lincoln and Walker smile. Mom’s brown eyes bulge in a look that hovers somewhere between terror and pride.