A monster roared, then toppled over, a dagger protruding from his eye. The demons began to fall, heads flying off and bloody wounds appearing on their chests.
It happened so fast that I had to assume Cade was using his super speed with deadly results, and Ana was hurling her trusty daggers. I was about to dive and fight, but they were so quick—and I didn’t want to get in the way—that I stayed hovering in the air.
Within a minute, the demons were all dead, their bodies disappearing back to the underworld.
Orcus stood on the steps, rage vibrating from him. The air around him shimmered, and he began to grow. His muscles bulged and rippled as they tore at his cloak. He grew, doubling in size until he dwarfed the large entryway to the temple.
Oh, crap.
Chapter Eleven
Orcus roared, and my heart beat against my ribs as fear shivered over my skin.
When he swept his hand through the air, and pain blasted through me, I doubled over, my wings losing their grip on the air. Visions of torture flashed through my mind—of me being torn apart by Orcus and consumed. Of Ana being devoured. Cade.
Was that what he’d do to us?
Yes.
I tumbled toward the ground, tears burning my eyes as agony tore through me. I could barely make out Ana, curled up on the ground, and Cade, who had gone to one knee. If I could see them, the pain had made me lose my control over my invisibility illusion.
Oh, this was bad.
I was only ten feet from crashing into the ground by the time my wings caught the air again. I managed to fly upward, wobbling and weak.
I needed to shock Orcus into dropping this torture spell. He couldn’t manage it forever or he’d have started with it. It must be costing him.
I envisioned flame ripping through the street, bright and orange. It popped to life, roaring toward him. I avoided Cade and Ana, just in case. I knew it wasn’t real flame, but no need to risk it. I still didn’t understand the extent of these powers.
Orcus dropped his arms and stepped backward.
Illusion was a much rarer gift than fire. He had no reason to think it wasn’t real.
To have any shot at defeating him, we had to attack as one.
As if he’d read my mind, Cade looked skyward and raised a fist, giving the signal for a unilateral attack.
Hey, maybe this fight training stuff with the Protectorate was as handy as Jude always said it was.
As the flames boxed Orcus against the wall of the temple, I flew down toward him, my sword ready. Ana and Cade raced for the wall of flame.
As they neared it, I allowed it to part in one small section. They raced through. Cade leapt high, his sword aiming for Orcus’s heart. The evil god swiped out with a large fist, but Cade dodged.
At the same time, I flew for his neck, narrowly avoiding his fist and plunging my blade in deep. Blood spurted.
Ana went for his legs, cutting them out from under him.
Orcus roared, his magic swelling on the air. The pain shot through me again, visions of me being dismembered tearing through my mind. Bile rose in my throat as I faltered, my blade pulling out of his neck. From down below, Ana screamed.
Orcus swayed, then fell, the wounds to his legs, chest, and neck enough to take him down. He fell with a crash, then disappeared in a blast of golden light.
I slammed to the ground, pain shooting through my shoulders and wings.
Ana and Cade were on the ground next to me, struggling to rise.
“Did we get him?” Ana asked.
“Aye,” Cade said. “If he survives, it will take him a long time to recover. I believe that golden light meant he was returning to his godly realm.”
“Like a super fancy transportation charm?”
“Aye.”
Aching, I managed to sit. My wings hurt like the devil. “Let’s go. I want to get through this temple before any other monsters show up.”
“Agreed. That was enough for tonight,” Ana said.
A small smile tugged at my lips, but somehow, I knew this wouldn’t be the last of the monsters.
I stood and then turned toward the entrance to the temple. I stepped through, my breath held.
When it didn’t suck me through to another realm, my shoulders dropped. “Not a portal.”
“Too easy,” Cade said.
“True. They wouldn’t make it easy for us.” Not that those demons had been easy, but still. “And it didn’t look like a portal.”
I inspected the interior of the huge building. Half the roof was still intact, which was incredible after three thousand years. The floor descended on three large levels, like giant stairs that were only a few feet lower than each other. In the center of the second level, a flame burned.
“The eternal flame,” Cade said. “Burned for Melqart.”
“Still, after all these years?” I asked.
“Belief is powerful. So is magic.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Ana said.
I inspected our surroundings, looking for any kind of clue. No fancy carvings or statues of gods here—just austere stone and hard angles. That didn’t leave us a lot to work with.
“There are doors down there.” Cade started toward them.
We followed, hurrying across the floor. We descended to the middle level and passed by the eternal flame. It drew my eye, but I kept going toward the doors.
When we reached them, we stopped.
There were seven, and each gleamed like a portal.
“This has to be it,” Ana said.
“I agree.” Cade approached and held out his hand to feel the magical signature. He frowned and withdrew his arm. “But which door?”
I approached one, wincing at the prickly feel of the magic. I stopped at each door. They all felt different, but none of them felt welcoming. Not that the proper door would.
“What about the windows above?” Ana pointed to the high windows that sat between each door. “Could the entrance be through one of those?”
“I’ll check.” I unfurled my wings, taking off into the air.
Every time, flying was a joy. But every time, it hurt.
I flew by each of the windows, holding out my hand. “Every single one feels terrible. They’re portals, too, but none of them is clearly the one we want.”
I landed.
“There must be a clue here,” Cade said. “Well, if we’re lucky, there is.”
“Spread out,” I said. “Let’s find it. I don’t want to pick at random. The odds are awful, and those portals feel even worse.”
“Agreed.” Ana nodded.
We split up, pacing through the building that sparked with magic.
There was nothing on the walls or floor, but the eternal flame drew me toward it.
I stepped to the edge, realizing that the flame burned from a pool of water. The base of the pool was an amazing mosaic. Firelight glinted off the many colored stones. The designs were strange, almost random.
I squinted at them, turning my head to the side. “Hey, guys, I think I found something.”
“Good,” Ana said. “Because I’ve got nothing.”
They joined me, leaning over to look into the water.
“What is it?” Kade asked.
I pointed at the weird little shapes made by the tiny tiled stones. “I think those are Phoenician letters. They may be telling us which door to take.”
“Can we send a picture to Florian?” Ana asked. “He could interpret it.”