The roar of battle surrounds me. I can’t let it derail my focus, though. Closing my eyes, I call out to my igni once more, making sure to speak in a full voice so Lincoln knows my plans. “Little ones, I need you to send Armageddon and his demons to Hell. You must form soul columns around the demons. Here’s the tricky part. At the same time, I need you to keep the protection and tethers in place between Lincoln, me, my father and Lucas.”
The igni instantly shift to form swirling pillars of light around Armageddon and every one of his demons. Pillars of brightness dot the massive Chapel floor. The fighting ends, which is good. All the wedding guests freeze in place. That part isn’t as good. At least, the igni did heed my bidding about the tether stuff. A thin shield of igni remains around Lincoln, me, my father and Lucas.
So far, so good.
I lift my arms. “Move them!”
The soul columns grow brighter as they drag the demons back toward the gurgling pit. The igni’s song rockets through my mind at an ear-splitting volume. One by one, the bright soul columns reach the pit. Flares of pure white brightness erupt as each demon disappears. The soul columns won’t let them go until they’re back in Hell.
While the other demons are moving along nicely, things with Armageddon’s soul column aren’t going so well. As the massive pillar of igni surrounds him, the King of Hell snaps his fingers, summoning his own hell fire to slow the igni down. Crimson light mixes with the pure white brightness of the igni. Their small bodies, once swimming quickly in the column shape, become sluggish and dim. While the other demons still get moved to the pit with ease, Armageddon doesn’t budge.
As each demon moves, more power rushes through my nervous system. My mind fogs over with energy. My bones feel like they’re twisting inside me. I grit my teeth and stay the course. There simply is no other choice.
Dad marches up to Armageddon. My father can change into his armor with merely a thought. Right now, he’s wearing his formal golden stuff, and it gleams in the igni’s brightness. He pauses before Armageddon’s soul column. “My daughter said it’s time to leave.” My father raises his arm, palm forward, and begins one of his own spells. The white flames of angelfire pour from his hand and into the soul column that surrounds Armageddon. The red hell fire begins to fade. Armageddon’s soul column slowly moves across the floor. It’s not fast enough, though.
My limbs tremble with the power rushing through them. Even when I move billions of souls at once, I don’t process this much energy. My soul columns send the last of the demons back into the pit. However, that leaves the worst one still around.
Armageddon.
Through my mental fog, I hear Lincoln calling to Lucas. “Get over here! Help Xavier!”
The Earl of Striga rushes out from the crowd, his long purple robes billowing behind him. Not sure what he was doing before, but if I know Lucas, he was most likely healing those hurt in battle.
Now Lucas stops to stand beside my father. The senior wizard then summons shifting hoops of power that loop around the King of Hell. The soul column around Armageddon grows a little stronger. He moves a little faster. It’s not enough, though. At this rate, it will still take hours to get Armageddon into that pit, and I don’t have that kind of time. As more energy flows through me, my mind becomes little more than a haze of igni voices. Power tears through every cell in my body. My legs turn watery beneath me.
This isn’t working. I can’t move Armageddon.
“Myla,” Lincoln’s calm voice breaks through my cluttered thoughts. “Put every igni you have left to Armageddon’s soul column.”
I try to focus on him. Unfortunately, the igni seem to coat my vision as well as my body. He’s a hazy form and a loving voice, nothing more.
“I can’t risk it. Lady Daria—”
“You can’t hold out much longer and you know it. Ask your igni to protect you and only you. The rest of us will be fine. You need every bit of power to get rid of Armageddon.”
I nod, sadly. I hate to admit this, but Lincoln’s right. Pulling in a ragged breath, I command to my igni. “Listen, my little ones. You must send Armageddon back to Hell. If that means you stop protecting Lincoln, Lucas, my father, or even me, that’s what you have to do. Do you understand?”
In reply, lightning bolts pour down from the ceiling of the Chapel, encasing Armageddon in a fiery ring. Fresh power zooms through me. Even when I first took Scala energy into my soul, I never felt such a rush. With all my will, I send every ounce of that power at Armageddon and the pit to Hell. Long lightning bolts wind across my arms. My teeth vibrate in my skull as I call to my igni one more time: “Get that bastard out of here!”
A blinding flash of light fills the Chapel. At last, the soul column around Armageddon breaks free from its sluggish pace and whirls toward the opened pit. With one final burst of red brightness, Armageddon descends into the bubbling muck. Although he’s surrounded by igni, I can still see him howling with rage.
Good.
“That’s it.” My voice comes out as a harsh croak. “We’re done.”