Hopeless Magic (42 page)

"Are you the one causing so much trouble?" he growled in a dementedly-amused voice.

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"You're going to want to get out of my way," I threatened, finding myself severely irritated with the interruption.

Deep, rumbling laughter filled the white void, causing my skin to crawl and my stomach to churn. And before I could react he had sent me flying across the driveway and into the frozen garden. I landed deep inside the snow, my muscles and bones jarred from the impact with the arctic ground.

I took a moment to recover and it was a moment too long. The Titan was on top of me again sending the full force of his magic raining down. I screamed out, writhing in agony.

My pain only encouraged the Titan and he pressed his magic down harder. I screamed again, only with magic behind it, and the Titan was pushed back several feet. I stood up, the weight of his electricity still oppressive, but lessened.

I reached my hand out in front of me, and forced my magic to resurface. I sent the man to the ground with a forceful blow, calling upon dozens 654/711

of stolen magics. Surprised, the man looked up at me, but the advantage was already mine. With one hand pinning him to the ground, I used the other to pull his magic, claiming it as my own.

The process was slow. He was a fighter and had no intention of losing to me. I was growing impatient. The longer I stood there with that man, the longer Avalon had to fight alone. Finally, the last drops of electricity were gone from the arrogant Titan's blood and I moved on, already forgetting about my discarded enemy.

I ran into the barn, my high heel boots skidding across the wet concrete floor. I stopped, afraid to move, afraid to go forward. Amory and Lucan faced off amid the turmoil that was once an organized meeting place. Back and forth went their magic, from king to oracle, from ancient to tyrant.

I didn't know whether to jump into the fight, or continue on and find Avalon. Amory could surely take care of himself. But Lucan looked determined to do what no other Immortal had yet been 655/711

able to, to kill him. I couldn't make myself move forward, this fight would decide all of the others.

"Give up, old man!" Lucan shouted from across the barn.

"Will you finally put me out of my misery?"

Amory asked, his voice full of dark amusement.

"I'd be glad to," Lucan smirked, a purely evil version of Kiran's. He sent a burst of magic towards Amory that exploded at his feet, a trick I had yet to learn. Amory walked out of the smoke, unharmed, sending one back at Lucan that landed just to the right of him. "Think of it this way; if I get your ancient magic, there will be no need for me to sacrifice your grandson."

"There would be no need, but that won't stop you from murdering him anyway," Amory accused, the humor gone from his voice.

"You're probably right about that," Lucan agreed.

"And the rest of your family, for that matter."

"Not Eden," Amory reminded him. "Eden is safe."

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Lucan didn't respond verbally, but a flash of hatred turned his expression from carefully entertained to menacingly hostile. In response, Amory stood up taller and took a step forward.

They fired more magic simultaneously, and the electricity met in mid air. The two streams of magic became palpable energy fields caught in a road block in the middle of the room. Their energy fields popped and crackled the longer they stood locked together, growing stronger with more force fed to them with each passing moment.

I decided to join the battle. If I knocked Lucan off balance for even a moment Amory would be able take the advantage. I stepped forward, raising my hand strategically and building my magic in order to strike.

A blast to my back destroyed all hope of taking the upper hand, however. I had been paying too close of attention to Lucan and left myself vulnerable from behind. I stumbled forward, 657/711

catching myself with my hands on the smooth concrete floor.

I rolled over, throwing out my electricity before I could even see who had attacked me. My magic found its mark on a tall, dark-haired Titan who fell to the ground equally as surprised as I was. I was to my feet and over him before he could recover. I didn't even bother with the pretense of extending my hand and just started extracting his magic before he knew what was happening.

A man's deep, savage scream from behind me, distracted me and when I whirled around hoping Amory had finally dealt Lucan a death blow, I was devastated to see the scenario I had imagined, reversed.

Lucan stood triumphantly over Amory, a sinister victory grin twisting his lips, his eyes wild and drunk with power. He was draining Amory of his magic. He was taking the original life blood of this race and grafting it to his own corrupt and prejudice bloodline.

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"No!" I screamed, forgetting about the half-drained Titan laying on the ground and racing at Lucan, pushing him with my bare hands but finding him unmoving.

I looked down at the anguished, onyx eyes of my grandfather and lost myself in despair.

"Get away from him!" I screamed again, sending my magic full force at Lucan, but not even phasing him.

"He was trying to save you," Lucan laughed out loud; a dark, haunting laugh that would cloud my nightmares for the rest of my life.

"Eden...." Amory whispered through clenched teeth. I knelt at his side, taking his hand in mine, not knowing what else to do.

Suddenly and quite surprisingly, a sharp stream of electricity began flowing through our grasped palms. I tried to jerk away, overcome by the force of magic. Amory gripped my hand tighter, pulling me with unexpected strength back to the floor.

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I looked up at him, into his black endless eyes and realized he was giving me his magic. Lucan was taking what he could, but Amory was still in control of his destiny.

I pressed my palm tighter into his and braced myself against the force of Amory's electricity rushing into my blood. His magic was different than mine: lighter, deeper, older. His was the first magic. The ancient magic and it fused with mine in a jolting and exhausting cataclysm.

Sweat poured from my forehead, and my arms and legs began to tremble violently. Amory had more magic than anyone I had ever encountered or taken from. His magic seemed endless, filling my blood for what seemed well beyond the capacity I would be able to hold.

Lucan stood above us in arrogant triumph.

Whether he knew Amory was splitting his magic or not I didn't know, but either way the evil king was pleased to finally end the long life of the last Oracle.

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The flow of magic slowed and Amory leaned his head back against the cold, hard floor with a peaceful sigh. I held tightly to his hand, hoping to give him back his magic, to revive him and help him fight again.

Lucan stumbled backwards, drunk with power and unstable from Amory's magic. I, too, felt wobbly and dazed.

"It is finished, Eden," Amory whispered, closing his eyes when I tried to return his magic and nothing happened. "It's time, my child. It's time for me to go home," he smiled peacefully, and his face relaxed into the ancient man that had lived the kind of life that was happy to end. "Carry on, Eden. Carry on and finish the task." And then he was gone.

44.

"No!" I screamed, over and over again, banging my fist against Amory's chest, refusing to give up, refusing to believe that he was dead.

Tears streamed in unrelenting waves of desperate emotion. I laid my head against his chest, hoping for the faint sound of a heart beating for survival but there was nothing, not even the echo of a life once lived. I kept my head against Amory's still warm body, breathing him in one more time.

"Eden, Love, it's time to go," Kiran called to me from above, in his soft, accented voice.

I looked up at him, confused for a moment. The world around me spun and I caught myself against the cold concrete, afraid I would vomit.

Kiran held out a hand to me, as if offering help.

"No," I whispered hoarsely back.

"Eden, they are waiting. It's time to go," Kiran was calm and patient, waiting for me to reach for him, waiting for me to let him take me away.

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Talbott stood by his side protectively, but quietly.

He was bruised and unkempt, his clothes torn and hair messy, signs of the fight.

I stood up slowly, without his help. I took in my surroundings painfully. The battle was over and from where I stood inside the barn it looked as if the snow had stopped blowing as well. The Titans, hundreds of them, surrounded what was left of the Resistance, loading them into armored vehicles.

I searched slowly for Avalon, letting my gaze fall on every single member of the rebellion, on Lilly, on Jericho, on Roxie, promising each one of them silently that I would give them retribution for my betrayal. That I would see them again. And that I would save them.

Finally, my eyes found Avalon. He was beaten and bloodied almost beyond recognition. His face was swollen and one shoulder hung awkwardly lower than his other one. He was surrounded by two dozen guards and isolated from the rest of the captured.

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He was watching me, his face expressionless and his eyes cold. I stared at him, wanting something, needing something. Hatred. Hurt. Hope.

Something.

"I am not going anywhere with you," I growled, my tone acid.

"Eden," Kiran's voice broke and he reached out to me again.

Slowly, but steadily more guards started to surround the two of us. Soon we were standing in the middle of two dozen Guard, watching us carefully.

"You did this," I accused venomously, and Kiran dropped his hand to his side.

"Eden, my love, I had no other choice," his voice was full of emotion and behind his eyes, what I would have once considered tears.

I couldn't trust him now. I couldn't allow myself to believe his lies, or allow him to manipulate me again. Everything had been an evil deception.

Everything single thing and I had just paid the consequences, I wouldn't suffer anymore from 664/711

naivety. From this moment forward, every breath I took would be dedicated to destroying the Kendrick line. To finding justice for the lives lost here today. I was finished with Kiran, in every sense of the word.

"My grandfather is dead!" I screamed at him, stomping my foot, sending a ripple of magic shuttering across the smooth concrete floor. "My brother is in handcuffs!" I continued to yell, pointing a stiff finger at him. "You had a choice!

Damn it, Kiran, you had a choice."

"Not if I wanted to keep you safe, Eden!" he raised his voice at me, frustration reaching a boiling point. His face grew red and he took an angry step forward. "This was all for you! So that you could have a life. So that we could have a life together," he finished quietly.

"So you betrayed my trust and sacrificed the only family I have ever known, just so we could be together?" the pain evident in my voice was unforgivable, but I was desperate for a rational 665/711

explanation, for a reason for the chaos and shambles my life had been reduced to in a matter of hours.

"I had no other choice," Kiran said again with conviction. "When I realized there was another option, another sacrifice.... When it became clear that I could save you.... I had to," his voice broke again and he took another step forward. "And now we can have the life we dreamed of, we can be together now.... forever."

"You should be thankful, Eden," Lucan chastised me from outside the tightening circle of guards.

"My son paid a price for you, yes, but he saved you, didn't he? And isn't that the most important thing?" Lucan was relishing in Amory's stolen magic and I breathed deeply trying to hold myself together.

"No, it is not the most important thing!" I screamed, my voice echoing emptily in the rafters of the barn, my magic shaking the hard steel violently. "Why Avalon? Take me instead, 666/711

leave Avalon and take me," I demanded desperately.

"You don't get it child," Lucan broke through the Titans, facing me head on. "Kiran made his deal, he gave me Avalon for you. And as it turns out, because of your brother, I don't need you. So now, I have what I want. And my son has what he wants. And that is how this story ends," he finished coldly.

I swayed back and forth, feeling overwhelmingly sick. The ground was spinning and a high-pitched ringing sound was growing louder in my ears. I reached out, trying to balance myself and Kiran was at my side in a moment, steadying me, holding on to my waist.

"Do not touch me!" I shouted, finding my equilibrium and fleeing from Kiran's arms. I bounced off of a Titan and felt the world closing in around me.

"Eden, stop being ridiculous; it is time to go,"

Kiran reprimanded me like I was a small child, 667/711

but his patience was gone. Lucan looked on with unmasked amusement.

"I will never go anywhere with you," I spat back, hatred seeping from the deepest parts of my soul.

"You are being difficult. This is unnecessary," he took another step towards me, and I moved around in the circle, unwilling to ever touch him again. "I will take you with me, whether you want to go or not," he promised in a low, menacing voice.

"No," I said simply. "You have taken everything from me! Everything!" I shouted. "You don't get what you want anymore. You don't get me!"

"Get in the car Eden!" Kiran shouted back, and the floor trembled underneath the force of his magic.

"No," I whispered, my body shaking from rage.

"God, you are stubborn," Kiran collected himself, rolling his head casually, as if his neck was bothering him. He squinted his eyes at me, as if trying to read me, as if I wasn't being clear enough.

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"Guards," he commanded simply with a nod of his head in the direction of the armored cars.

In that one gesture of possession, I couldn't take it anymore. I rushed at him, intending to rip him apart if I had to. I felt insanity overcome me and I was blind with rage.

I didn't make it to him. The surrounding guards were on top of me sooner than I had anticipated they would be; Talbott stepped in front of Kiran, blocking my path. Six men grabbed hold of me with iron grips, holding me in the air. I kicked and screamed like a mad woman, shouting inco-herently and shaking my hair wildly out of its ponytail holder.