Chapter 25

When the last word passed my lips, a lot of things happened.

Enraged by the truth, the dark wizard threw his hands forward, unleashing a torrent of spells at my circle. Power raged against the the invisible wall protecting me; power that would have shredded me to pieces had it struck its intended target.

The fires that had burned the circle into place had dissipated, leaving a scorched ring in the roof of the ancient building. It was along the surface of that ring that Salvago's power exploded, whipping back and forth in a desperate attempt to get at me. The air itself shrieked as sharp winds slashed like blades, glinting in the light of the torch as the spells spent themselves. Howling gusts tore at the pale stone roof around me, cutting deep furrows into the surface, each of which could cut me in half just as surely as Peña's sword. Thunder cracked as he threw walls of power at me, seeking to crush me beneath his magical will.

But despite the raging tempest all around me, I stood untouched within the circle.

Sensing its master's rage, the Hound leapt into action, tearing across the roof toward me. I flinched as the massive beast sprung into the air, but I was careful not to move beyond the circle. When the Hound reached it, I saw the powerful thing's body hammer into the invisible barrier like a freight train. The air within the circle seemed to reverberate from the force of the blow, and I felt the roof tremble beneath me.

But as the beast worked its way around, slashing and biting at the circle, I realized that the Hound's power was helpless against the empowered barrier. It would hold.

Salvago realized that as well, and his spells slowly tapered off. I looked out at him, wishing I could track both him and the Hound behind me. As the man's rage fled, an eerie stillness settled over the Lich's face as his cold calculation replaced his emotion. The wizard had to know that neither he nor the Hound could break through the barrier.

Which is why he turned to his last resource. His gaze turned, focusing on the only other person within the circle. "Kill him," he ordered.

Shuttering, Violet turned to obey.

When Q and our swartalf friend had crafted the spells in it, they'd included the empowered will spell as a last-ditch defense for me against supernatural things. Rather than having to resort to drawing a circle like many practitioners did, or trying to create one with my mind alone, the spear would create one for me. The short wall of fire burned the ring into the ground, and my will traveled down the length of the spear to empower it. It was much faster, and certainly more reliable, than carrying around a piece of chalk.

Q was particularly proud of the fact that the spell was so versatile. Rather than simply burning a circle in a pre-set width, the diameter could be controlled by the positioning of the spear itself. How far the spear extended from me determined the radius of the ring it would create. If I held it close to me, the circle would remain small. If I held it at full length, I could enclose others with me.

If I concentrated, I could extend it out even further using my will alone, which I'd done on at least one other occasion. But there on the roof, with Salvago and the Hound only a few paces away, I'd had to carefully position the spear to enclose only myself and Violet.

I'd succeeded, but that also meant that she was free to attack me. She might not have access to her full power, but she wouldn't need it. I couldn't put up much of a fight against a being such as her.

Not that I planned to.

"Violet," I said softly as the Lampad turned toward me. She raised the arm bearing her torch, and the flames flickered violently as her gaze darkened. "Violet, you can fight him."

The dark-robed figure strode forward, quickly closing the distance between us. As she came, I backed away as much as I could while remaining in the circle. There wasn't much room to work with, and I felt the ancient — and now acutely sagging — roof shift beneath my feet as the Hound thundered against the circle. I could hear its growl rumbling in my chest as I turned about the small space.

"Violet, you have to listen," I urged her, longing for any sign of the woman I loved. Hoping that my words could reach her.

"Kill him," Salvago repeated coldly.

"Whatever happened to taking me with you?" I asked quickly over my shoulder as Violet snapped her wrist, the flames of the torch thinning and cracking like a whip. "I thought you wanted my help."

"She will come around."

"Do you really want to—" I began, but the whip snapping out to wrap around my neck drew my words short. I reached for the whip by reflex, discarding my spear as both hands clutched at the solid flame holding me.

The bone-white ring I wore on my right hand prevented me from burning, but it didn't help me resist the nearly decapitating wrench of the whip as Violet pulled me toward her.

"Ack!" I gurgled as I fumbled to my knees before her, pulling at the flames encircling my neck. "Violet, stop."

She is lost, the torch sounded in my head. Light the Way.

"I'm… trying…" I gasped as Violet reached one hand out to my neck. As her fingers closed on my throat, the fires from the torch fell away. My relief was short-lived as Violet lifted me one-handed into the air. My hands wrapped around her wrist, but I was careful to cup my fingers. I didn't want to hurt her, even as she swung me toward the edge of the empowered circle.

As a supernatural being, Violet herself couldn't break the protective barrier around us. In theory, she couldn't break it by throwing something through it, either. But if she threw me into it, that'd probably do the trick.

And even if it remained up, I'd be outside of it, and within the reach of the Hound.

"Violet," I said as she strode toward the edge. "Don't make me do this."

"Kill him. Or throw him out," the Lich rasped.

Her dull gaze was unresponsive as she moved forward. I wanted to see how much room we had left, but I couldn't turn my head. Not in her iron grip.

Knowing I was out of time, and out of options, I pressed my fingers against her wrist. The silver steel ring I wore on my right hand touched against her skin, and I smelt as much as heard her skin as it began to blister and burn.

Violet's face grew pained as I touched the iron-based steel to her flesh. She wasn't Fae, so the reaction wasn't quite as acute as it was for Sal or Q. But there was some commonality between her and the other denizens of the Never-never, and it was enough to injure her. Enough to cause her to release her grip on me even as she flung me from the circle.

"Pel-forma!" I shouted as I began to pass through. The spear leapt to my hand at the command, and then I was twisting around in mid-air, swinging the pommel to the roof. "Rigil-mendë!" I added as it struck, and willed another empowered circle into existence.

The flames shout out quickly, forming a much tighter ring than the last. As it closed, the Hound thudded into it, a mere foot from where I landed. Enraged, the Hound raked at the barrier with its paw, his burning nails leaving streaks of light in the air. It started to circle around me, only to crash into the barrier at its side as well. I saw it snarl in confusion, before twisting in place, unable to escape.

"Heh," I gasped. "I wasn't sure that would work."

By default, the spell was supposed to enclose me within the protective barrier. But Q had said it was directed by will, which is how I was able to make it larger when needed. That had come in handy years earlier when I'd enclosed most of a large room in a circle to protect myself and several others from demons summoned to kill us.

But I'd never actually tried reversing the spell. Instead of enclosing myself, I'd focused on the flames encircling the Hound.

To my delighted surprise, it had worked. And now the supernatural beast was trapped.

Of course, I was still left facing Violet and Salvago.

"Likhiphe!" Salvago rasped, flicking a hand towards me. As he did, a series of howling winds tore through the air at me, similar to what I'd seen thrash against the previous barrier.

I rolled to one side, carefully avoiding the circle I'd just willed around the Hound. The roof burst under the force of the blast, and I saw it begin to crumble away in places. I kept rolling until I was on one knee, and then I was forced to leap to avoid another blast.

I felt the tail end of the spell tear at one of my borrowed boots. Had I been wearing my usual Balaur leather boots, I probably would have been fine. But they'd taken those away on my first visit to Anavatos, so I'd been given a loaner pair back in Chios Town.

The off-the-rack boots shredded beneath the force of the winds, and a burning sensation confirmed that I'd taken some damage. I rolled to a stop and glanced at my ankle, only to see a little blood pooling around my foot.

I looked up at Salvago, who was poised to unleash another blast. But I'd managed to position myself behind Violet. He seemed reluctant to harm her in the cross-fire, which I was grateful for on multiple levels. Taking the split second of protection I'd gained, I started in on my mantra, and felt power flow through me as I tapped into the wellspring provided by the apple-seed.

I could feel my foot and ankle preparing itself as the circle Nelson had drawn on my stomach worked its magic. But my respite was over just as it began, as Salvago started to step to one side. I forced myself into a standing position and began to swing the spear's pommel down again, hoping to shield myself.

Salvago saw it coming, and changed tactics in the blink of an eye. His fingers curled as he rotated one wrist, and I found myself flung through the air as he hissed, "Lingabuyela!"

A whirlwind erupted beneath me, and I spun about as it hurled me across the roof. I lost my grip on my staff as I went, and it crashed to the ground a good ten feet away. So that'swhat that feels like, I thought to myself, having used a whirlwind spell snap on an opponent or two over the years.

"Kude," Salvago snapped as I regained my balance, and a powerful gust of wind hit the spear to send it over the edge of the roof just as I extended a hand toward it and shouted, "Pel-forma!"

I slid into a crouched position as I did, but didn't look toward the spear. Instead, my left hand reached for my snap bracelet. I tore a small metal disk free, one capped with a ruby red crystal, and I flung it at the Lich with blinding speed. "Naur-luth!"

The fire snap crashed into an invisible wall of air a few feet short of the dark mage. A fireball erupted against it, swirling along the surface of the dome he'd created. I considered what other spells I had at my disposal, but quickly realized that none of them were going to penetrate his defensive barrier.

I turned to focus on my spear as I realized that I'd need to get my own version of a shield in place before Salvago attacked. But my eyes widened in surprise when I spotted the spear hovering in space a few feet away, vibrating softly against an invisible wall between us.

It seemed Salvago was much too proficient with making those damn walls of air. I turned to him, and saw the last remnants of smoke and fire swirl away from his shield as he flicked a wrist at me.

Once again I was sent flying, this time by a spell similar to that which had sent Moretti off the roof. I too hurtled out into the night, and unfortunately it wasn't in the direction of the town or lower buildings.

Instead, I tumbled out over the stark cliffs of Anavatos, falling helplessly toward a gruesome death.

The world blurred into spinning shadows as I fell. The light from Violet's torch disappeared all too quickly, and then there was nothing to see by. Nothing to show me the jagged outcroppings that would bring about my demise.

Nothing shone in the dark, save for two burning cinders of crimson that flew at me on silent shadowed wings.

I gasped as the Keres crashed into me, her arms of dark marble wrapping around chest. We twisted in something that resembled a controlled maneuver, spinning together as she snapped her wings out to either side. The blunt and harsh winds that tore at the mountainside caught beneath the glassy appendages. I felt a wrenching in my chest as gravity took one last stab at hurtling me into the rocks, and then we were soaring up.

"Nice catch!" I shouted into the wind. Crimson eyes turned toward me as floated upward, the steady beat of her wings the only answer to my comment. I couldn't be sure it was the same Keres that had saved me before, and then carried me to the mountaintop. But it looked like her.

I noted that she'd taken some wounds somewhere along the way. Several obsidian feathers were missing from where Katya had hit her earlier, and some gouges had been carved into her stony face and arms. None of the injuries seemed to have slowed her down though, as she let loose with a pleased screech.

As we went higher, I saw Violet's light re-appear on the distant roof. The Keres had carried me away from the building, far from Salvago's sight. I could barely make out the Lich as he studied my spear, which he'd retrieved once the spell drawing it to me had failed. I saw him turn, and start toward the still-pinned Hound that had all but set fire to the roof in its frustration.

"We need to stop him!" I informed the Keres. "Can you take me back—"

My words cut off as three more Keres appeared in the distance, flying low over the roof. They didn't grow too close to Salvago, for fear that he'd be able to seize them like he had Violet and the Hound. Instead, they flew just close enough to unleash their payloads.

A surprising relief flooded through me as Salvago found himself under siege by Sal, Anya, and a surprisingly not dead Moretti.

"Hey, you guys caught him, too!" I observed, but then I was screaming as my Keres shot toward the roof at breath-taking speed.

I braced myself just as we reached the building, and managed to roll as the Keres released me. A fierce and piercing cry erupted as she soared up into the clouds again, leaving me alone with the other combatants.

Anya and Moretti were working together against Salvago, who had discarded my spear in favor of his own. Summoning it on the wind, he bore it in one hand and his warden's sword in the other, fending off the attacks from the other two.

Moretti was all but dead on his feet, and Anya fought with what inner strength she had remaining after taking on nearly a hundred thralls and zombies by hand. Both fought with a cold determination, but neither was in well enough shape to face Salvago alone. Together they had him on his heels, and the night air was filled with the sounds of furious battle.

Thankful for the distraction, I ran for Violet, who stood idly by while the Lich fought for his un-life. I wondered if that meant she was resisting all but the most direct of commands, or if there was nothing left of her to think for herself.

Hoping it was the former, I approached somewhat cautiously. After all, the last command Salvago had given was to kill me.

"Violet," I whispered, daring to seize her by the shoulders and wrench her around. She moved laconically, and her eyes were unfocused as I held her head up towards mine. "Violet, please. Please."

I wasn't sure what to say. Now that I was there, and had her in my arms, I wasn't sure what to do. How could I get through to her? If the others could defeat Salvago, perhaps she'd be free of his control.

But from what the wizards had said about Liches, it was a safe bet it wouldn't be quite that easy. After all, you had to destroy all of the horcruxes before you could destroy the dark wizard. Assuming those books were anywhere close to accurate.

What I needed was a way to draw out the piece of Salvago that he'd placed into her.

How was I supposed to do that?

Light the Way, the voice sounded in my head. Shepherd the souls.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked the seemingly inanimate object in Violet's grasp. I assumed it was being vague so that Salvago didn't figure out what it was talking about, but I was a little too slow to do so myself.

The flames danced atop the torch, and I got the impression the thing was frustrated with me. The Torchbearer commands the souls.

"Just tell me!" I growled in reply, even as an explosive sound behind me drew my eyes away. When I turned, I saw the remnants of the roof where the Hound had been trapped. The thing had burned away the stone beneath it, and disappeared into the building.

Which meant it was free from the circle.

"Shit!" I shouted as the roof nearby exploded in smoke and flame. From the depths of the building the Hound emerged, its dark muscles rippling across its skin as it sought out its master. When he saw the steel-armed wizard, the beast disappeared into a dark blur as it tore across the roof, making a b-line for Moretti.

As fast as it moved, it wasn't fast enough. A fiery red comet met it halfway across the roof, and a Salamander the size of a grizzly bear left a streak of light in its wake as it slammed into the Hound.

"Sal?" I said, somewhat stupefied. I blinked as I saw the familiar — but much larger than normal — form of my friend rocket battle with the dark beast. The red-eyed Hound had turned at Sal's approach, and I saw the two tumble across the roof in a ferocious fight to the death, snapping and tearing at each other with tooth and claw.

And suddenly I understood what he'd been whispering in Rose's ear.

The little bugger had made a deal for power.

Torchbearer, the voice continued, trying to draw my attention back.

"Right," I said dumbly, still watching as Sal stood seemingly on equal footing with the Hound that had tossed him aside like a rag doll a mere day ago.

Soulbearer, the torch said, and I swear I could hear it grinding its non-existent teeth at me.

"Okay, okay, I get it," I said, tearing my eyes away from the wizards and beasts. "A Lampad can remove souls. So a Lampad could remove the piece of Salvago from Violet. But they won't get anywhere near him," I added as I looked to where Salvago fought with two feet standing in open air. I blinked, understanding on some level that it wasn't flight or levitation. That it was just him standing on one of those same walls of air that had held me above the roof earlier.

But I'll be damned if it didn't look like the man was disobeying the laws of physics as he unleashed hurricane winds at the other two. Moretti held his ground by sinking his steel fist into the roof, while Anya slid a few feet before copying the steel-armed wizard. She drove a sword into the roof and leaned into the gale-force winds like a dancing gangster in the Smooth Criminal video.

I unconsciously grabbed at Violet's arms as the wind buffeted me even from over a dozen feet away. The fires from the torch whipped in the winds, but the fuel that kept the flames alive were stronger than anything the Lich could extinguish.

Torchbearer, the thing repeated, and this time flicked a trail of fire towards me. Despite years of possessing the bone-white ring, I flinched as the flames trailed over me. But neither pain nor heat registered as it came and went, and I finally realized what the torch was telling me.

"You mean me," I said mutely. "You mean if I take you up… I could cure her…"

Light the Way.

"But… but I can't," I replied, a slight desperation creeping into my voice. "I can't. The last time I held you…"

The last time I'd held Violet's torch, the thing had nearly driven me mad. It had already sent another poor soul into a tailspin of insanity, and when I'd taken it from him, I'd started down that same road. Bearing the torch of a Lampad was too much power for a mortal.

Only Sigrun Gard's timely intervention had separated me from the torch before I could try and burn Chicago to the ground. And if it hadn't been for Violet using her power on me, in gratitude for returning her lost torch to her, I still would have ended up in the loony bin.

Different, the torch said insistently. That was the hateful box.

"I remember," I assured it.

And I did. Whomever had stolen the torch from Violet in ages past had stored it in a magically crafted box. To hear Q and Gard tell it, the box had been an efficient torture chamber, twisting the lantern into something unnatural. Something dark and furious, driving the torch to its own sort of madness.

What purpose they could have had in mind, I could only guess at. Having seen what Salvago had used it for, I worried what a real necromancer might have done with direct access to the torch. What spirits and dead things they might have called up, with its power so attuned to hate and pain.

Different, the torch repeated.

"Alright," I said, even as part of the roof collapsed in the far corner. Moretti disappeared with it, leaving Anya alone against Salvago. "Alright, tell me what I have to do."

Torchbearer, the voice repeated. Light the Way.

"Remind me to sit you down with the Rosetta Stone program when all this is over," I mumbled as I reached for the torch.

The torch gave me its version of a disgruntled harrumph.

"NO!" Salvago screamed as he realized what was happening. "Kill him!"

Violet's eyes sparked with a misty emerald light as the Lich's control reasserted itself. I shouted in surprised as the torch was wrenched away from my grasp. I reached for it again, but Violet struck at me with her free hand, and sent me crashing to the roof with her strength.

Dazed, I managed to look up as she stepped toward me, the torch lifted as if she intended to smash it against my skull. Her face was twisted, a cascade of fear and hate and regret washing over her, fighting through the power Salvago had over her. She trembled as she fought him, her arm shaking helplessly as her mind was torn apart by the two thoughts fighting within her.

One voice telling her to kill me. One voice pleading not to.

She crashed to her knees beside me, her body spasming as if in a seizure. Her lips were pursed tightly as tears escaped her pained eyes. I saw a familiar flash of amaranthine light spark within the emerald haze.

"Woody…" she whispered harshly.

"Violet, I'm here," I said quickly as I rose to my knees. I reached out for her. "Violet, you can do it. You can fight him."

She cried out as if in pain as her eyes flared green, and the torch came around to plunge at me. The tip struck my chest, and amethyst fire washed over me.

Fire that burned.

"Violet!" I screamed as the flames licked at my exposed throat. The ring I wore should have kept me safe from them, but I knew from experience that Violet could burn me herself. She'd done so once before, when my reason had almost been overridden by White Court vampire venom. She'd burned me through the ring itself, if only to clear my head.

And now it seemed she was using her torch against me, and the ring I wore did nothing to stop the flames.

The Balaur leather was the only thing that prevented me from dying in that first moment. I could feel the flame lick at me, and had I been wearing conventional clothing, I'm sure it would have gone up. But the leather just smoked, and the duct tape holding it together began to disintegrate, as the Lampad I loved tried to kill me.

Despite the command given, I could tell she was still fighting. She was still in there, desperately resisting Salvago's orders. But she couldn't stop them outright. And neither could the torch. The flames atop it almost seemed to peel back, as if trying to avoid me. But it was a slave to its bearer, and could only do so much.

I suppose I could have tried escaping. Could have tried running from the flames. But that would mean leaving Violet. Giving up on her, and us. Letting Salvago have her.

That was something I wasn't willing to do.

"Violet," I managed through gritted teeth one last time as flames tore up across one side of my face, searing me. I reached for her, pulling her toward me as my hair caught fire. The torch pressed between us, and the purple flames of the Lampad roared up and over me as I brought her face to mine, pressing one last kiss to her lips.

She shuddered against me as I burned.

And then the flames spread across every inch of my body.