The Phoinix: Age of Demigods (52 page)

Overwhelmed with a mix of
his emotions and hers, Bre could
no
longer
tell
them
apart.
It no longer
mattered
;
she
needed to save him.

Think,
Breanna
.
You are
my daughter. Daughter of Strategy. Think quick and efficient. What
is the first thing you need to do?
Remus’
voice whispered in her head.

Keep my emotions in
check
, Bre mentally answered.
Leora, I need you. Build a wall in my head while
I beat this demon bitch.

Leora purred loudly in the
cave and Bre’s emotions dulled
. They
weren’t
completely gone
,
but turned down
enough for Bre
to
concentrate
.
Her
head
cleared and she
cunningly smiled at Elpis then disappeared in a flash of
lightning.

“Oh no you don’t!” Elpis yelled
out.

With a second crash of
lightning, Bre reappeared behind where Elpis used to be standing.
Bre
frantically
searched for Eoghan
. A whistle drew
her attention to
the back of the
cave,
where Elpis held
Eoghan on his knees in front of her. The sickening sound of
torture once again filled air as a crippling jolt of pain stabbed
Breanna in the chest. However, it was not Bre’s screams of agony
that echoed in the cave.

Elpis stood behind Eoghan
as he knelt in front of her
, and
she slowly pushed the dagger with the string of
The Power into Eoghan’s chest.

Bre shared Eoghan’s
agonizing torture as the dagger slowly cut through his muscles, the
crunch of his
ribs
splitting as the metal broke through bone, and then finally
the tearing of muscle as the blade
pierced
his heart. The Power surged
through him with every beat his injured heart could manage.
Disturbingly, she also shared Elpis’ pleasurable high in
torturing
them.

“
Noo,” Bre said
breathlessly as she hit her knees, holding her throbbing
chest.

“Oh, Yes, Princess,” Elpis
said with a huge grin. “If The Power is removed
,
it will split his soul in
two
,
and he will
die just like your parents and Anath. The ultimate victory here is
that you will never be able to fulfill your precious destiny as The
Queen without every inch of The Power. Moreover, you are no match
for my skills with half of The Power. In order to kill me, you will
have to kill Eoghan.”

Elpis ripped the dagger
from Eoghan’s chest and tossed him against the wall, smashing his
head off a rock. “Now you will feel the heartaches of love
that
I have had to
endure,” Elpis said coldly
.
Her evil smile turned into a distant scowl as
memories
of heartbreak
flooded her mind.

Breanna crawled over to
Eoghan. She rolled him over expecting to see a bleeding wound on
his chest
,
but it
was in perfect shape as she ran her fingers over his smooth
muscles. Bre put his head on her lap
and
held her hand over his
head,
keeping
one
hand over his heart. In seconds, a blue light healed his head
injury and Eoghan woke up.

“Pathetic
girl
.
Love will
get everyone you care about killed. It is a weakness that I will
not yield to again,” Elpis said disappointed as if hoping Bre would
make a better decision. She turned her back on the couple and left
the cave. With a wave of her hand, she put up a barrier charm,
locking them behind a wall of orange light.

“I’m so sorry. I failed you all,”
Breanna whimpered as she held Eoghan’s face in her
hands.

“Pull yourself together,
woman. We have a war to win,” Eoghan said as he stood, yanking
Breanna to her feet. He pulled the completed wolf
pendant
out of his
pocket and laid it around her neck. “Don’t lose this again, or else
I think your Uncle Romulus will kill us both.” Eoghan smiled at the
teary-eyed princess.

Bre held the
pendant
in her hand and
her father
reappeared in its
reflection
. He mouthed the word ‘Think’ to
her as he tapped the side of his head and blew her a kiss. She
breathed a small laugh as a tear splattered against the glossy
metal, washing away the image of Remus.

“We need to get that dagger. It is the
only way to kill her. I’m going to enjoy ripping her soul in half.”
Breanna said as she cracked her knuckles.

Bre’s appearance changed
from the black
,
strapless dress to a silk
,
crimson dress with gold leaves holding the pieces
together over her shoulders. Her father’s sword hung from her hip
and glowed red in the dim light of the cave. Her eyes turned silver
with flecks of green, ready for an epic battle.

Meanwhile
,
Eoghan
didn’t notice
Bre’s change
of
appearance,
as he had
been trying
to put his own ripped shirt
back together
. Finally, he
discovered his newly acquired powers
and
a yellow
spark
flew out of his
fingertip
,
magically
sewing his shirt
back together.

“Well I could get
used
to this,” Eoghan
said
,
amazed and
chuckled.

“You’re going to have to,
otherwise you die
.”
Bre did not smile back. She clenched her fists, furious with
Elpis as a flame flickered in her pupil. “Since you have a portion
of her power
,
her
power isn’t as strong as mine. She may have more skill with her
portion of The Power
,
but I own more of it. She cannot defend against my
power
,
so if I am
able to conjure up a strong spell, it may weaken her enough
so
that
she
cannot defend the dagger. I can finally end this. I just need to
catch her off guard.”

“That’s good and all, but how are we
getting out of here?” Eoghan pointed to the wall of orange
light.

Bre called up every ounce
of power she had and pushed it to her fist. A white light covered
her arm
and
pulsated with Power. She slammed her fist into the ground and
cracks spread
through
the floor, causing larger cracks to travel up the walls. The
orange light fell as the cave walls crumbled.

* * *

After locking Bre and Eoghan in the
cave, Elpis enjoyed the harmonious ballad of spells whistling
through the air and clanging of swords crashing against each other.
She walked through the battle with her own sword, slashing through
soldiers with ease. Her sword glowed a dark-green light. As she
swung her blade through men, they disintegrated and left nothing
but a pile of ash on the ground.

“Eversor?” Elpis called as she
continued her deadly parade through the battle.

“I’m here, my sweet,”
Eversor appeared next to his wife and
hugged
her in the middle of the
battle. He squeezed her tight and cradled her head against
his
neck lovingly, but
Elpis simply patted his back in return.

“You’ve
won
.
You
destroyed the Phoenicians. Tell me, sweetheart, how does victorious
revenge feel?”

“Empty.” Elpis
said
,
void of
emotion as she pushed herself away from Eversor. “Our mission is
far from over.” Elpis yawned. “I’m tired of this. I want the other
pantheons dead. I must destroy the gates of Olympus that
they
pitifully hide
behind
,” Elpis yelled up to the heavens.
“They act like the gates have stopped me before. Simpletons, the
lot of them.”

“We will, but first I have a vendetta
with the o’Conaill brothers. Let me abolish their bloodline and we
will go.” Eversor spotted Brian and Cailean fighting his
clones.

Eversor smiled at his wife and sweetly
kissed her forehead.

Elpis reached a hand up
and adoringly cupped the side of his face. “Oh, my love, you
misheard me. I said
I
must storm the gates of Olympus. Do not worry. Your powers
will play a part in that massacre.”

Elpis stabbed her husband in the chest
with the enchanted dagger he once used to kill her.

As Eversor gasped for air,
black light traveled out from his chest, through the blade, up
Elpis’ arm and into the nape of her neck. Her skin absorbed his
powers and her eyes turned black as night. All around
her
,
puffs of
black smoke where clones used to be filled the air, leaving
confused soldiers looking for their foes.

“Why?” Eversor asked his
wife.

Elpis looked at her dying
husband with cold black eyes
and
said,
“Because you are my weakness. Your
mind was weak all those years ago, poisoned by the will of the
gods. Our love has destroyed me once before
.
I will not let it happen
again.”

An explosion of rocks
burst out into the battlefield. Walking out of the rock dust, Bre
and Eoghan aimed their swords at Elpis. They expected to walk into
a raging battle, but instead
witnessed
Elpis pulling the dagger
out of Eversor’s chest
,
his lifeless body
crumbling
to the ground.

You are too late to save
anyone here, Princess,
Elpis whispered in
Bre’s mind.

The dagger in Elpis’ hand
grew into a sword. Elpis slowly inhaled through her nose as her
body seemingly recharged itself from the power she stole from
Eversor. Her sword glowed white as heat radiated off the blade.
Bre, standing at least a hundred feet away from
Elpis
, felt the heat vibrate on her
face. Bre read Elpis’ mind and saw she was planning to incinerate
everyone in the pass.

With a wave of Bre’s hand,
all the soldiers, Lupa, and her uncle disappeared from the
battlefield. All that remained were the
members
of her intimate group, the
people who began this journey with her.

“No! How?” Bre glared at Elpis. She
meant to send Eoghan, Lysandros, and the o’Conaills with
Romulus.

“A simple transference spell?
Honestly, Princess, you need to get better with your magic. Be
original with them. It is not hard to interfere with simplicity,”
Elpis scolded Breanna.

Elpis had a wicked smile
and pulled a closed fist to her chest. With a quick jerk of her
wrist, Eoghan knelt in front of Elpis again
, but
this time his hands
were
tied behind his
back. Elpis pulled her sword back, aimed at his heart, about to
reclaim The Power.

To Bre, everything
appeared in slow motion. Cailean and Lysandros sprinted forward to
grab Eoghan, while vines sprung out
from
Brian’s palm to restrain Elpis.
Off to the side, Andraste stood in
the
entrance of one of the caves. In
her hand burned a small bird made of orange and red
flames.

Breanna nodded, understanding what
must happen. “The Phoinix must burn.” Andraste bowed her head
apologetically and disappeared.

Help me one last
time,
Bre sent a message to her
animals.

Of
course
, Leora replied.

It was a good
run
, Whisper answered with a nod of his
head.

This is not the end, My
Queen
, Aurora responded, followed by a
purr.

We gladly follow
you
, Clover howled in the now silent
pass.

Bre smiled appreciatively as a blue
light radiated out from her and the animals, freezing time in the
pass.

Bre glided gracefully towards Elpis,
silently saying her goodbyes to Cailean, Lysandros, and Brian as
she walked past them. They were so fierce and dedicated in this
fight. They fought valiantly; she would not let any more harm come
to them.

A trail of white roses followed Bre as
her tears of farewell fell to the ground.

When Bre arrived in front
of Elpis,
she expected
anger or fear on Eoghan’s face
.
Instead,
he gazed at
her
with the loving look he always
had for her. He knew without a doubt that one day Bre would find a
way to bring him back.