Page 49 of Frosty and the Reaper
So, there was no use prolonging the inevitable.
Famine stood looking out over the water with his hands clasped behind his back. While the pose might have looked relaxed, there was no doubt he was ready for Zander’s arrival. He joined him by the water’s edge, leaving several feet between them. With their enhanced hearing, the distance wasn’t an issue.
Without looking over at him, Famine said, “You destroyed my skeleton army.”
“And you destroyed a lot of lives,” Zander countered.
“So, there is still no way you will join me?”
“And cause the apocalypse? None.”
“Then, we are at an impasse again.” Famine sighed and finally turned to face him, conjuring a black sword in his hand that was covered with devil fire. “I will miss you, brother. I am so much stronger than I was a few centuries ago. You should have—”
Before Famine could even finish speaking, Zander had already reacted. In one smooth, practiced motion, he let his physical form dissolve into swirling smoke. Then, he surged forward, moving with supernatural speed and precision.
Slipping through Famine’s defenses before the other man could register what was happening, Zander ripped his soul out as he passed through his body. In the space of a heartbeat, it was done. Zander reformed several paces away, the glowing orb of Famine’s soul in his hand. As he crushed the soul, he didn’t even bother to glance back to watch Famine’s body dissolve into nothing.
“I was always stronger,” Zander said softly. “And I always will be.”
It had been a thousand times harder to remove Famine’s soul than a normal supernatural, but Zander had been preparing for this moment for centuries. As all the magic Famine had stolen over the years flowed into the mark on Zander’s palm, it burned. He simply ignored the pain, though.
“I didn’t know you could do that,” Devlin said soberly.
Zander had sensed his arrival with Braxton and Devon. He was glad that they had hung back and let the events play out.
Turning, he smiled. “Neither did he.”
“While I’m very grateful I won’t have to process Famine’s soul, does this mean you have to pick a new Famine now?” Braxton asked.
“I guess the source will choose one,” Devlin said.
Zander pulled out a small knife and scored a cut across his palm, then held the blade out to Devlin. “We can use blood magic to break through Famine’s wards now that he’s gone.”
“Good idea.” Devlin made a cut on his own palm, then hesitated briefly before holding it out to Braxton.
“What? Why me?”
“If you are now Death, blood from the three of us will void whatever magic Famine has done,” Zander explained.
With a shrug, Braxton cut his own palm, then held it out. They held their palms up so they were all facing each other, forming a triangle. Zander murmured a quick spell, and a triangle of intense light appeared, surrounding them. When the light shot out and expanded, the ground shook. As soon as Zander felt the wards break, he teleported them down to the chamber where the seal was located.
The first thing Zander saw upon arriving in the chamber was Raziel, barely recognizable beneath the grime and blood, curled protectively around Lia as the two lay motionless on the cold stone floor. Leaving them in the care of the others, Zander spun around to search for his mate.
His breath caught as he spotted Kami sprawled across the intricate tiles of the mosaic, her figure unnaturally still. The fear that gripped Zander was immediate and overwhelming. For a split second, he thought she might be lost to him forever. Racing over to her, he knelt beside her and wanted to sob with relief when he found her still breathing. Although the bleeding from her wrists had stopped, the vivid crimson light of her blood illuminated the lines on a portion of the mosaic.
Thankfully, the seal had not been broken.
When Zander reached for her, an unseen force repelled his hand. A surge of energy hummed in the air between them. He instinctively drew back, alarm surging through him as Kami’sbody was suddenly enveloped in a radiant flood of source magic. The glow intensified, becoming so brilliant that Zander was forced to shield his eyes. The magic pulsed with a life of its own, swirling around Kami in waves of color and power, filling the room with a sense of ancient, elemental energy.
When the light faded, Kami lay there fully healed, her skin glowing with vitality, and her eyes clear and luminous. In that moment, he knew she had been chosen.
“Greetings, Keeper of the Seal.”
When she smiled up at him, he marveled at the miracle before him. Gathering her into his arms like the precious gem she was, he rocked her gently. She reached up to stroke his cheek in a soothing gesture.
“You came back to me,” she said softly.
“Always,” he swore. “I will always return to your side.”