“No!” I bellowed.
Arron grinned down at me from the lofty ceiling and laughed. “Watch as I rip her apart. You might even be able to catch some of her falling limbs. If you’d only cooperated, I would have made it quick. A stab through the heart was all I had intended, but you just had to go and make it so much worse for her…”
Sofia flailed in his grasp, her claws extended and trying to lash out at him. But she had no chance. He was a bird of prey and Sofia a snake in his talons.
I considered directing more fire toward him, but he deliberately held Sofia in such a position that the flames would completely engulf her before they even reached him.
“Derek! Help me!” Sofia screamed again. Arron had started running his sharp beak along the length of her shoulder blades, making his first mark on her. Etching out his first cut. Terror filled me as a few drops of her blood splashed onto the floor just a couple of feet away from where I stood.
Is this where our journey ends, Sofia?
After all that we survived together, all that we fought for?
Like this?
“Return the girl to the ground.”
A silky voice boomed through the room and echoed off the walls. Even Arron looked bewildered.
The witch with long silvery hair stood at the entrance of the chamber. The witch I had already sworn would never be welcome in my life.
Arron’s expression was of shock, but it turned to fury. “You dare give me orders, witch?”
“You heard me, Hawk. Bring her to me.”
“Has a fit of madness overcome you? Since when did a Hawk obey a witch’s command?”
The witch kept her steely glare on Arron.
“Since today. Return her to the ground. Or I will wipe out the final gate to Aviary myself.”
A deathly silence fell over the chamber. Both Arron and Sofia’s faces exuded the same astonishment. It was as though neither Arron or the Elder had ever seen a witch take a stand in this way.
The witches are giving up their neutral ground. There will be no going back for them now. This means outright war between all the realms.
The Ageless moved closer to the hole as if to signal that this was no bluff. Arron’s face contorted with rage, but he did as the witch asked. He soared back down and dropped Sofia to the floor.
The moment Sofia landed with a thud, she scrambled up on all fours and started crawling feverishly toward the gate. This time it was me who grabbed her before she could reach her destination. She howled, trying to maim me with her claws and dig her teeth into my skin, but I held on tight. I gazed up at the witch with desperate eyes.
The witch nodded, as if she’d read my mind. She held out her palms. A strong gust of wind rushed past my body and settled over Sofia beneath me.
“No! No, Derek! Don’t let her do this to me! Take me away from this place!’’ Sofia’s eyes were lit with anguish and I knew then that the Elder realized what was coming. She turned her face toward the Ageless. Her eyeballs turned black as night and her voice transformed into a hiss. “Exorcise this vessel, witch, and Cruor will not spare you. We will never stop until we have infected your entire realm and inhabited each and every one of your bodies like carnivorous worms—”
“You can loosen your grip on her,” the witch said, maintaining eye contact with me and ignoring the Elder’s horrifying threats. “I now have control over her limbs.”
I let go of Sofia and stood up, praying that the witch knew what she was doing. I willed all the heat I possessed in my body to well up beneath my fingertips. Sofia hissed and squirmed on the floor, still refusing giving up the fight. As soon as the witch began muttering beneath her breath, I knew that it was time.
I unleashed the fire all at once. It wrapped itself around Sofia’s body, engulfing her in a tornado of flames. Her screams could be heard for several minutes. Those minutes were the most torturous of my life—not knowing how many of those screams were Sofia’s.
Eventually she fell silent. Her body became motionless and the Ageless nodded at me, indicating that it was safe to relinquish the flames.
Beneath the billows of dark smoke lay Sofia’s worn body. She looked so fragile I was afraid that just picking her up would cause her to fall to pieces. I immediately ran to her side, showered her face with frantic kisses, and eased her into my arms.
Emergency room. I have to get to the emergency room.
I needed to see her eyes open again soon, or I wasn’t sure my heart could take it anymore. What if Arron spoke the truth that Sofia’s body is spent now? I placed my ear against her chest. Thank God there is a small heartbeat, however faint.
“You can ruin this gate, witch.” Arron’s eyes glinted dangerously in the dim lighting. “Just remember that Aviary doesn’t forget. And Aviary doesn’t forgive.”
Then without another word, he dove through the hole in the floor. After he’d vanished from sight, the Ageless stared down at the gate and began muttering to herself.
Ruin the gate… but… my son…
“Wait!” I shouted. “Arron said that my son is in Aviary.”
“He had every reason to lie to you about that,” she snapped.
“I know. But it’s the only straw I have to cling to. We’ve hit dead end after dead end trying to locate my son. Even if there’s one millionth of a chance that Arron could have spoken truth, it’s the only lead I have.” Balancing Sofia over my shoulder with one hand, I grabbed the witch’s arm with the other and pulled her back from the edge of the gate.
“This is against the agreement I discussed with my council. They would never approve of this. Keeping this gate jeopardizes our entire strategy. I can’t, Derek. I’m sorry.”
“Please.” My eyes blazed into hers. “Please.”
From the Ageless’ impatient expression, I was sure that she was about to destroy the gate. But then her eyes softened.
“Go now, then,” she said. “You have four hours. I’ll eliminate the gate on the strike of the hour whether you have returned or not.”
“But I can’t leave Sofia in this state. Please, just give me a few days…”
“Out of the question! I’ve just offered you four hours. Take it or leave it.”
The choice was clear: act on the slight chance that I’d be able to locate my son in four hours, or tend to my wife. Leaving Sofia at this critical hour might mean leaving her forever. Even if I managed to return unscathed through the gate, Sofia might have passed away by then without me at her side.