Xavier shot me a glance. He'd seen it, too.

  "Alyssa, you were right," he said, holding my arm again.

  He had let go of me too long. I felt the love in his grasp. Warmth. I let them flow into me, and I blinked. I dared to take off the sunglasses to get a better look around. We stood by a colorful water slide that rose above the foliage. The slide had a large, colorful statue of the War God at the top, watching over the park with an angry glare. Mars leaned on a flaming sword that, ironically, was lit up with an electric magenta glow.

  "Xavier, he looks like you," I said. There was something familiar and rebellious in the War God's glare. He had Xavier's chin and his nose. I was too far away to see if he had the same eyes, but I was willing to bet that the painter had taken orders to imitate those as well.

  "Alyssa. Wait. No."

  Xavier hadn't paid attention to my comment. He stared at me.

  "Huh?" I asked.

  "Your eyes. For a second they looked like they were back to normal. Well, for you." He squinted. "They're all black again and full of fire. Sorry. I might have been seeing things."

  "Wait," I said. "I had my old eyes for a second?" I blinked. Maybe my glamour was a bit better than I thought.

  "I thought they were," Xavier said. Disappointment washed over him, followed by hope. "Maybe you can fight this, Alyssa. There could be a way for you to suppress Thoreau's blood like before."

  "I still have some vampire traits," I said. "It could have just been that. I still feel sort of sick in the sun."

  The hope died. I felt it. Xavier's face fell.

  Janine paced nearby. She was listening. "There's something under here," Janine said. "I hear a man groaning and something trying to crack. I can't explain it, but we need to find a way down."

  "It makes sense that the War God would be here," George said. "We're on one of the star points right now. The sidewalk here literally ends in one."

  "I see it," Liliana said.

  I had already seen the map. I didn't have to look. "We need to find the way down," I said. I slipped the glasses on again, mainly because both George and Liliana stared at me with horror.

  Janine had to guide us. She squinted, doing her best in the light, and walked around the water slide. The designers had made it look like a Roman palace complete with columns. Water flowed inside and emerged from slides into a large pool. Janine kept her gaze trained on the ground. I hated that my hearing was useless in this case.

  I'd think about it later. Janine led us around the ride and finally stopped at the fence. Then she climbed the fence without a word and walked underneath the slide tubes.

  I followed. "Is there some underground entrance here?"

  "I think so," Janine said. "I hear chains rattling. I'm serious."

  A sense of dread rose inside of me. I kept the Blood Orb hugged to my side. This nightmare was almost over, provided we found the War God before Thoreau got here. Xavier followed and retook my hand. George and Liliana came up in the back.

  So far, so good.

  I followed Janine, and she walked around, listening, wandering deeper underneath the ride. The light dimmed. We were getting close.

  At last, she kneeled down in the stones.

  "There's a door here," Janine said.

  I took the sunglasses off again, knowing full well what the others had to see when I did. I kneeled down as well, thankful that Xavier had sprayed that stuff all over me. Janine struggled not to make a face. She was trying to be nice.

  But she was also right. There was green, metal door here that looked like nothing more than a panel in the concrete. It had a small handle and one of those electrical warning stickers. Janine knocked on the panel, and even I could hear the hollow sound that it made. "I think we have our way in," Janine told me. "There's no electrical stuff fizzling or any machinery."

  "Then let's pull this open," I said.

  The door was on tight. Thoreau didn't want any Normals getting down here. Even the employees of the Water Adventure probably hadn't come down here unless they were Bound. I had the feeling they might not even know about this. I hoped that Janine was right, that her senses had developed enough, or we were going to waste a bunch of time.

  It took Janine and I both to pry the door open. I still had incredible strength. George stood by, and a growl came from his throat. He was becoming downright hostile towards me. I understood why. He knew the pain of getting Turned into something that society hated, and now Janine was going through the same thing.

  Right now, I didn't care.

  "Wow," Janine said once we pried the cover off.

  There were no electrical wires at all--just a narrow stairway that led down, down into the earth. I couldn't see very well, but Janine leaned forward, peering into the pit.

  "There's light down there," she said. "It's the color of Xavier's magic."

  "Then we have our man," Xavier said. "Come on. Let's free Mars and break all of Thoreau's contracts. I'm ready to give him an unpleasant surprise when his army doesn't march."

  I thought of my father, now buried under a pile of guns.

  He must have no idea what was happening.

  Janine led the way into the pit. The stairway was only wide enough to allow one person down at a time. I had to hold my sword against me to keep it from hitting the wall or anyone else. There was also no way I could hold Xavier's hand.

  I would free the War God to get revenge on Thoreau and save my life. There was no choice about it.

  The walk down the spiral staircase didn't take that long. The five of us walked, single-file, about a hundred or so feet down. The walls turned from brick to solid stone. The place smelled of moisture at first, then dried out. I shuddered to think of what was underneath each section of this circle.

  The magenta light from below brightened. At last, we stepped off the stairs and into a large, stone chamber that arched overhead. The light came from everywhere and nowhere. No torches adorned the walls. It was as if the energy of the War God had filled the room. It felt warm here, even hot.

  Mars stood against the wall, chained in between two pillars with his arms over his head. He was the size of a Normal man, but a faint magenta glow surrounded him. He looked just like his statue, minus the sword, and he stared at the floor, unmoving. The chains holding him in place were thick and glowed with War Magic. His brush helmet pointed at us. I couldn't tell if the War God realized we were here.

  Xavier stood next to me, breathless.

  "This place is full of War Magic," he said. "I've never felt so much of it. We have to get him out."

  A sense of dread filled me again.

  I had seen something like this in a nightmare.

  "Xavier, you need to go," I said.

  "Why?" He faced me. "Do you know something that I don't?"

  "Just get back up those stairs and run." I hadn't told him about the part where I had found him chained. This situation looked too much like it.

  "I'm not leaving you," he said.

  Mars lifted his gaze. He had pure magenta irises. The energy in the room intensified. He said something in what might be Latin. His voice boomed through the chamber, and the light brightened. The god pulled at his binds, rattling the chains, but they refused to break. What kind of chains could hold a deity? Mars had a ripped body. He was every inch pure strength and muscle. The magic coming from him threatened to burn my skin.

  Xavier didn't listen to me. He let go of me walked up to Mars, tensing under the immense energy. He stared for a long moment.

  The War God's stare met Xavier's, and the two of them looked at each other for a long moment. Just like the statue, he did have Xavier's chin and cheekbones.

  A look of pride came over the god's face. He shot Xavier a grin but didn't speak. The resemblance was uncanny. The War God looked like an older version of Xavier, but he had that same rebellious streak in his eyes. Could it be that--

  "How do we free him?" Xavier asked, facing me. "We can't leave him here."

  I waited for Mars to say something, but maybe he didn't understand the language of today. Maybe he only spoke Latin. I held up the Blood Orb. The god glared at it in recognition and pulled at his chains with such force that dust rose from the stone wall.

  Janine and Liliana jumped. George growled again.

  "It's okay," Xavier said. "If he's going to kill anyone, it's going to be Thoreau. Alyssa, can you melt the wall that's holding these chains? I don't think fire is going to bother a god."

  "I can try," I said, stepping forward. I didn't want to get closer.

  "Alyssa," George said. "I don't think he likes you."

  The War God glared at me with hatred. I held the Orb that enslaved him, after all, and I had black eyes that looked like Thoreau's. He must even be able to see through the glasses. This creature could roast me, but Thoreau must have ordered him not to. Xavier stood between him and me and held up a hand. I raised the Orb and made a motion like I was going to smash it to the ground. Then I moved around Xavier, dared to stare the War God in the eye, and made a motion like I was smashing my fist down on the Orb.

  I seemed to get the point across. Mars's expression softened (as much as a War God's could), and he nodded with understanding.

  He had the most intense eyes I had ever seen.

  I eyed the wall. The pressure was on. I put all my focus into making the stone that held the chains melt. At last, a fiery glow spread through the rock, creating veins at first, until magma dripped down around the metal mount that held the War God to the wall. He pulled at the chains, ducking as if trying to escape the lava, but Thoreau had secured them well, drilling the mount deep into the wall. The metal refused to melt. I glared at the wall for what felt like five whole minutes, melting more and more stone that ran and dripped to the floor.

  At last, the War God pulled free. The shackles still bound his arms, which he brought down over his head along with the metal mount. The god seethed with rage and muttered something in Latin. Of course, I couldn't understand it, but he had to be describing what he wanted to do to Thoreau. I backed away, fearing I'd be first on the War God's hit list.

  Mars faced me.

  He gave me a nod fit for a military general. His glare turned to the Blood Orb in my hands. I knew what I was supposed to do.

  I handed the War God the Orb. As I did, the air heated around me, almost to an unbearable level. He had incredible amounts of War Magic. I could see why he was a threat to Thoreau and why Thoreau had Bound him.

  And now he was about to disobey his master. The War God was a legit rebel.

  Mars held Xavier in his gaze again. He smiled and thumped his fist to his bare chest. It was a gesture from one warrior to another. Xavier, transfixed, did the same as his mouth fell open.

  The War God turned away, squeezing the Blood Orb between both hands. He grunted in pain. The Orb glowed with magenta, brighter and brighter, forcing me to squint. Liliana screamed. The god's arms trembled. He siphoned War Magic off the Orb, pulling it up through his arms. He grimaced as the energy reunited with the rest of him. The heat became so bad that I had to back away.

  Xavier seized my hand again.

  It made me care about the god that was helping us. He must be risking a lot, going against Thoreau's orders. The magenta glow in the room intensified. Even Xavier was beginning to sweat.

  At last, the light died.

  The Orb faded to regular glass again, with the same blood sloshing around inside. I thought Mars was going to smash it himself, but he turned and handed it to me instead. I took the artifact and backed away, afraid he would attack, but then I saw the horror.

  The War God was still shaking. He sucked in a breath and backed against one of the pillars, grasping his chest. His mouth fell open.

  "What's happening?" Liliana asked. "We have to help him!"

  "He's beyond help," Janine said. "He's burning. I hear it."

  Janine was right.

  Flames lashed at the roof of the War God's mouth. He was burning from the inside out. He managed to look at Xavier again with those intense eyes, eyes that now burned along with his insides. He had broken a demonic contract. Now he took his punishment.

  But Mars was resilient. He seethed, but he didn't scream even as flames burst from his skin. I didn't even want to watch. Instead, I pulled Xavier away as my battle partner's horror washed over me. An immortal was dying. It was no wonder Thoreau had been able to Bind the strongest creatures in the world.

  "Don't look," I said to Xavier, forcing him to turn away.

  At that moment, while he had my arm, I cared.

  Chapter Eighteen

  It seemed to take forever for the War God to perish.

  Only well after the last of his groans had stopped did I dare to turn around. The sight was horrible. A pile of ashes lay where Mars once stood. The War Magic in the room remained like it was mourning his loss.

  The chamber now cooled like a freshly dead body.

  The War God had given his life to end this madness. I still held the Blood Orb, now unprotected by War Magic. I could smash it now, but Thoreau knew where this place was. He would recollect the blood and enslave everyone all over again.

  Xavier let go of me and sank to his knees, staring at the ashes. I felt a sense of loss come over him, but also a relief. No one else moved or spoke.

  "It's over," he said. "Without the War God, Thoreau can't merge the worlds." He looked at me as if I had all the answers. "He needs the whole Dark Council, right?"

  I pushed the sunglasses higher onto my nose. I had to remember them. The world darkened and so did I. "He shouldn't be able to," I said, unable to shake the dread.

  "You don't sound so sure about that," Xavier said. He stood. The sense of loss remained. "We need to find somewhere to smash that Orb. Doing it anywhere inside the park is a horrible idea."

  "I agree."

  "Guys," Janine said.

  George growled. I didn't like the sound of that. He was still in human form, but the back of his neck looked hairier than before. Night must be approaching. Our time was limited.

  "What?" I asked.

  Janine pointed. "We have company. They're coming down the steps."

  Everyone went silent. I tucked the Orb between my arm and my side again. I heard nothing, but Janine stepped away from the stairs.

  And then, after a few seconds, the footfalls grew audible.

  Someone was coming down. No. There were several sets of footsteps. If we were lucky, it would just be some employees, but luck wasn't on our side lately. I passed the Orb to George. I drew my sword with my free hand, holding it in front of me and willing the Death Magic to work. A green glow surrounded my blade. It was brighter here in the dim light.

  We were trapped down here. There was no other exit except for the steps.

  I wanted to kill something.

  The footfalls quickened.

  A horde of imps came into view and poured down the stairs towards us, growling and cursing.

  None of them used glamour. All wore the military uniforms stolen from this world. They carried guns. Thoreau had found us. He'd sent his troops.

  Xavier cursed. He threw a charge as energy surged through me. It exploded in the bottom of the steps, making them wobble.

  My sword erupted in magenta fire as if I held the weapon of the War God. I charged, swinging at the first imp, who growled and raised his gun at me. I took off his arm as he fired the gun into the floor. Black blood spurted out. He growled and clawed at me with his remaining arm, but I dodged out of the way and impaled him in the chest. Black blood dribbled out of the wound, and the imp fell back, a green glow filling his eyes. My Death Magic was working, too.

  He was going to die.

  A second imp closed in, firing. Horrendous pain exploded in my right arm, and I nearly dropped my sword. I didn't dare examine the wound. I switched my sword to my other arm while the injured one buzzed, pulling itself back together. I hoped that it hurried.

  George growled. Another War Magic charge shot through the room. Liliana thrashed against the grasps of two more soldiers. I swung at the offending imp and sliced her across the side. Black blood dribbled out, and she backed away, flesh sizzling and green filling her eyes. I had a double advantage here. I could kill these soldiers.

  Chains dragged somewhere. George growled again. Another imp sailed into the wall, thrown by another charge, and magenta fire streaked across the ceiling. The air heated. If Xavier didn't use care, he would roast us all.

  More imps poured down the stairs, but the War Magic fire held some of them back. Some soldiers growled and cursed Xavier as they toppled over each other, scrambling to get away, but even more trampled their comrades on the stairs and rushed down to us. Several guns pointed at me as the imps gathered on the bottom of the stairs, ducking away from the killing flames. I raised my sword in an attempt to block what was coming. In that split second, I realized how stupid that was.

  The world exploded into gunshots.

  Pain ripped through my body. The magenta fire around my sword died. Xavier screamed my name. I fell to the ground, dropping my weapon. My hand flopped down in front of my face. My hand reddened as my glamour fell away, leaving my horrific change for Janine and Liliana and George to see.

  I tried to fight it, but a hand of darkness rose from the depths and pulled me into a void.

  * * * * *

  It seemed like an eternity passed. I floated in a void of peace, but then tingling swept over me, making me realize that I still had a body. Everything sounded muffled, but the sounds of scuffling feet cleared, and I realized that I was standing. Several hands held onto my arms, and a dull pain had settled over my body. The ache lessened more each second.

  Those imps had shot me multiple times.

  I was still alive. I knew that before, I wouldn't have been able to take so much abuse. I didn't know how many bullets had ripped through me, and I didn't want to know, but I had healed.

  I opened my eyes. Magenta light still filled the room, but all was silent except for shuffling feet and rattling chains.

  I wanted to close them again. The scene was not pretty.

  My sword lay on the ground, very close to where Mars had burned from the inside out. The Blood Orb and my sunglasses lay next to it as if someone had confiscated them. The metal blade had drying black blood all over it.

 

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