Page 107

Chapter

Seventy-Two

The Ikhor

T his is my body!

The girl’s presence in my head was a nuisance, but I would squash her shortly. I was finally gaining enough power to hold this body as my own.

Rem had vanished before I could punish him, but I sensed the dark beast’s physical presence in the next room. It would be my next target. I would return to my full strength and claim the world, and then I would find Rem.

Don’t you dare hurt Brekt .

I pushed open the chamber door, and she fought me the entire time, dragging her feet to hold us back. Her will was impressive, and I knew I had chosen the right body. Though it had taken months to find a weak spot in her will, I was proud of the little mortal I had chosen.

The girl had been dying when I found her in that faraway place, a perfect host to embed myself into.

Her mind, her heart, was that of a warrior—and she could have been, had she shed her doubts.

Her life had broken her, but not completely.

She had learnt to remake herself—and what a fighter she had become.

It wasn’t Rem who brought me to these lands?

Rem, I could laugh. Rem didn’t have power like mine. Maybe once, for a moment in time.

No, mortal. I am the magic stolen. I am the definition of power.

I grew stronger with each rebirth, grew one step closer to becoming whole.

I yearned to be more than incorporeal magic.

I would become permanent. I only needed the right host to do my bidding, and I chose each host for their willpower.

I believed the girl would be no different, but she had full control over her anger.

It was through her fear I finally gained access when she had heard her little friend screaming.

Her body and mind would serve me well, and I used her determination as my own—it powered me to stalk from the chamber and find my prey.

Her heart still controlled part of her body, and it ached when she saw two men on their knees. No matter—the one on the right was my target. She could only fight me for so long.

I used her anger to fuel me. She had built up so much of it over the years from the wrongdoing of others. I almost pitied her—such a bright soul beaten down by a cruel world.

She fought against every laboured step I took.

A man shouted, his voice ringing with magic. He stood in the middle of the room, a descendant of the god of Day. Another lay, near to death, at his feet. The one standing shouted an order, and a loud bang sent something flying and into the body of a kneeling man—a legacy of Sea.

Some of Mayra’s children remained on land. Interesting.

He didn’t feel it at first, but the blood running down the side of his chest made the spirit of the girl go wild.

“Nuo!” She took over our voice long enough to shout his name. Her spirit rebelled against me to go to him.

Stop it, mortal. Your time here is done.

No! They are my friends. You must save them, she demanded.

I have not waited thousands of years to save one man.

He is not one man. He is my friend!

No.

The bleeding child of Mayra’s face contorted in pain, turning his anger on me. “Kill the bastards,” he said, and I could not agree more.

He collapsed, sending a wave of agony through my body.

But it was not my rage nor my revenge that took root.

It was hers which powered me, bringing my magic to life.

It washed through us, glowing, its power so strong it lifted us from the floor to hover in the air.

We saw the mortals on the balconies and the ones on the ground below us. Light flared as we laughed.

Her rage was powerful and beautiful. She thought of strange things— Keepers, Day-leg, Aethar, burning fields . This mortal had dark memories that she wished to unleash on the world.

With our magic, our beautiful beast reacted. It sprung from the host, rising into the air and tearing apart what little roof remained of the sea shrine. It rose into the sky, sending debris raining down on those below.

Shots fired in my direction and bounced off my magic.

I tsked. “Witless mortals. You were not my target. But it seems you will pay. When you die, know it is her pain that killed you. You should have never touched her little friend.”

Fire spread across the ground, and the vibrations in the air tickled me from her head to toe. “What is this?”

The magic was not mine, but a weak imitation. I searched for the source. There were so many legacies, but I found it. The golden man was conjuring fire. The son of Rem had power.

“Look! The Ikhor is attacking,” he shouted. “It’s setting fire to Mayra’s shrine. Fire at will.”

People in black yelled back and forth, and more weapons pointed at me.

I tilted her head—clever boy, blaming me so he could mask his treachery.

My host screamed, trying to gain control. It was him! The fires—it was he who started them all! The burning fields, South Aspis, it was him! He must die first.

We would show him what magic looked like. I closed her eyes, feeling the earth sing, and I called to the sea that sat so close to the crumbling shrine.

The strain this woman had let her body endure to withhold me was admirable. I had slept so long that I had forgotten what walking in a mortal body felt like. They were all so different, each one a novel experience.

I let my magic spread, pulling the power of the sea on land until it reached the shrine.

Water pooled in from the prayer chambers.

Eddies swirled around one another as the sea answered my call and came to deliver my wrath on those who meant me harm.

The little Guardians ran for the second story.

The water caught a few mortal specks in its rage, and they screamed as others ran. I would drown them all.

Kill them all, she repeated. They hurt him. They hurt Nuo. Kill them all.

Usually, the mortals feared my power, but not my host. This girl feared a cage, something I understood well.

This time, we would both gain freedom. She was too young to be controlled and too stubborn to ever give up.

She welcomed my power now. Together, we controlled her hands, sending a wall of unbreakable water to the balconies.

More screams tore through the shrine. The little mortals slipped and fell, unable to swim against the power of the sea.

My host had controlled the magic a handful of times, using her emotions as a conduit. She was clever, but now that I controlled things, we no longer relied on such tactics. I thought, and the earth responded—just as it had millennium past.

Fire battled the water, failing and hissing as the weak magic turned to steam. I caught frightened golden eyes and smiled. I enjoyed their fear.

The son of Rem had grabbed the beaten, bloodied man at his feet, shoving others out of his way to flee the torrent coming for him. I tried to catch him with my waves, but the girl’s spirit concentrated on those below, those she cared for, making sure the water stayed far away from them.

They will not drown. Her compassion matched her fury.

Mayra’s son, shot, pushed himself to his feet below me, yet I felt his life force ebbing.

Another child of Rem, the one with blue skin and markings across her face, hid behind a boulder in safety. My host was protecting her, too.

Don’t you touch them!

I ignored her demands and found I had missed my chance to take down the magic-altered son of Rem, who commanded the Guardians. He was leaving the shrine, leaving his warriors to fight in his stead.

But I was not done.

I pulled her hands to make fists. What is this? Two fingers of her hand would not close. Our magic should heal.

The magic was too late. The Aspis got me.

How will I choke the life from their mortal bodies?

My hands are too small to choke anyone. Use our magic!

I lifted her hands to the forests beyond and commanded the earth. My host had such trouble with earth magic. She struggled to feel grounded, but no such insecurity held me back.

Vines sprung from the stone floors and reached for the mortals wearing black, tying them, holding them below water. I slung vines around their necks and lifted them to hang from the second story, cutting off their air.

I searched for my targets, her targets, the golden children of Rem. They were fleeing, and the girl’s anger intensified as she narrowed our attention on a female screaming at the man leaving.

“Aeden, don’t you leave without me!” the gold woman shouted.

Her brother turned, knocking others out of his way. “I will take care of Armel. You finish the other Guards off.”

The son of Rem gave orders to those standing, some of whom hesitated. He shot them down and issued his orders to the next ones he found. He was killing his own—the ones trying to escape the shrine.

He blocked the main doors, and a blue figure inched closer to the son of Rem, hiding behind a pillar.

Maev! My host screamed. She’s going to follow Aeden, no! I have to stop her.

No . I had more victims to deal with.

She thinks she’ll find Ollo.

My host’s voice grew smaller as I pushed her down.

I released the hold on the water, and it poured out of the doors and down the steps, leaving a dripping wet room.

The Guardians saw my smile and collectively held their breath in fear.

I changed the course of my thoughts and set fire to the walls, blocking their way to the doors. The legacies stopped, not daring to run past the fires, and spun to stare in horror. Some screamed for their leader to come help them. It was no use. The son of Rem was shooting at his own people.

I laughed, layered and wicked. The mortals would be finished by me , and I welcomed the challenge.

My host welcomed it and threw her anger in one direction—the golden woman left behind the wall of fire. This daughter of Rem’s name was carved into a special place inside the girl’s chest.

“Falizha.”

She whipped her head my way when I called her name.

My vines spiralled toward her, blocking her escape and wrapped around her ankles, holding her in place as I floated on an invisible wind, creeping closer. “You will die, Falizha,” we said, setting fire to the vines at her feet.

“You will have to use more than fire to harm me, Ikhor.” Her fear was palpable, soaking the air.

Interesting. A first child. Fire magic would not work.

The girl’s will took over, speaking through us. “You haven’t been told Falizha?” Our head tilted at an unnatural angle, scaring the woman on the ground. “The Ikhor can do so much more than burn.”

I lifted my hands, ready to take out my revenge, the girl’s revenge, and claim my place in the world once more, but we were stopped when a man stood between us blocking the daughter of Day from my sight.

One of Mayra’s children dared to stop me. He held his side with a bloodied hand, leaning over in pain. He coughed, blood coming from the sides of his mouth.

Nuo. Her heart cried.

He was panting, holding a hand up to us. “Stop, Liv.”

“Stop?” we said in unison. “You wished us to kill them all. We were aligned in our vengeance.”

He nodded, hair falling in his face. “I did. And you have killed many. Falizha’s life is mine. The others are pleading for mercy. You will regret this, believe me.”

“You think to command the Ikhor?” My vines crept around his feet.

My host resisted—her screams were a nuisance, but her rage was young. Mine had existed for tens of thousands of years. Hundreds of thousands. I would find my revenge.

“I am not commanding the Ikhor,” Mayra’s son said, wincing from the pain in his side. “I am asking my friend Olivia to gain control and stop before she becomes something I can no longer protect.”

Damn mortal. Whatever he was doing, it was working on my host.

He saw my hesitation and forged on. “Olivia, if you are in there, please do me a favour and stop. Brekt asked me to protect you. You’re making that very hard for me right now.”

Brekt. Brekt. Brekt. Brekt.

No!

My mortal’s will flared, and I found that box inside her chest to shove her into.

You won’t control me. Listen to Nuo, he is my friend.

I fought against her, sending her into the darkness so I could finally take control.

But something happened. Another force inside her body took over, a willpower that was hers but not hers, strong as iron, seized a hold of our limbs. The power compelled us to stand tall.

This willpower was something I had not felt in a long time. It was soft, yet more powerful than any emotion she used to control the magic. It took hold of my host’s spirit and put a shield around it, protecting her.

My mother … she taught me to survive. I will survive you. The magic will be mine to control, as will my body!

With their combined will, they drove me to the ground. Our feet touched the stone, and I fought against their hold.

Mayra’s son cut through the vines. “I will get our friends out of here, BB. Leave the rest up to me.”

I screamed in my rage, shaking the foundation of the shrine. I would not let her take control.

But in my rage, I had forgotten the beast. The beast was physical prowess, something I should respect and be proud of. I was powerful, too, but my host’s body was not.

The Aspis tore through the roof, coming for me.

I sent a wave of magic to stop it, but I was not in control.

The girl held some of the power back, and the Aspis sucked the magic in, absorbing it, and barrelled right into us.

Its teeth tore into me, trapping me in its vicious jaw, taking away my power and flying us from the shrine.

We screamed as it carried us into the sky, thrashing against its hold and watching the ground disappear. I pushed at its teeth, larger than my host’s body, but the Aspis did not relent.

And it did not kill us.

Its intent was being controlled. I could feel it. The man, the host, was leading us away. He was playing hero. He absorbed just enough of our power to weaken me, letting the girl’s will take over.

I battled against her. But she had practiced forcing things down many times, and with the shield around her spirit, I could not gain control. She shoved me down, down, down until I could no longer see or feel. Caged once more.

Then she slammed the lid closed.