Cinaed and I were about to recreate the greatest magical spell in history. Thanks to Ailpein’s sacrifice, however, we might walk away to admire our work.
The spell that created the Great Ward wasn’t complex. Making it last for centuries, however, was more difficult. The four guardian pairs tethered the spell to the world, guaranteeing the protection covered the entire planet. Once the Ward was in place, their role was almost ceremonial. The magic needed to maintain the barrier flowed through the Guardians, ensuring it never failed. Cast properly, the spell became a living lattice of interconnected pathways and nodes, each in perfect balance and alignment.
Pushing out the demons was the hard part. It required an enormous expenditure of energy. Katarina’s spell tore open the dimension walls between planes of existence, and then forcibly expelled every demon back into their home realm.
Despite the herculean task, I was confident Cinaed and I would survive. In addition to the greater energy Ailpein provided over Adelais, the difficulty was tied to the number of demons that needed to be expelled. Thanks to centuries of peace and the preparedness of our mages, considerably fewer demons walked the Earth than in Katarina’s time.
Malachy stood nearby, tears streaming unchecked down his face as he watched his father’s essence transfer to his son. The phoenix guards flanked him, their expressions a mixture of awe and grief.
Through our link, I felt Cinaed contain the wild energy, ready to feed it into the spell. His control wouldn’t last long, so I had to finish before it overwhelmed him.
“Bart,”I called mentally.“Link us now.”
“We’re ready,”Bart responded with a hint of urgency.
I understood. Not only were Cinaed and I at risk the longer this took, but more beings would die trying to defeat the demons being summoned to our world. Touching Bart and Cael first, Cinaed and I quickly felt the others join our link. Jan and Conall’s steady emerald presence. Leo and Gund’s fierce golden intensity. Otto and Thalion’s calm crimson strength. Each pair pulsed with its own rhythm, yet all resonated in harmony.
Cinaed’s skin had gone incandescent. He’d maintained a hold on the energy, but it was too much for him to keep inside for long.
Ever since I realized my fate would lead me to this moment, I’d studied the spells Katarina left for her successor. Drawing on that training, I formed the energy into the proper shape. The power filtered through my diamond, turning golden white inside the atomic bonds of my gem. Ailpein’s magic mixed with mine and became an extension of my being. I constructed the Ward upon a global network that my brothers and their matesanchored to the Earth. Before inserting the activation spell, Cinaed and I needed to cleanse our world of demons.
Together we ripped open the veil that separated Earth from the demon realm. This created a vacuum similar to opening a plane door at thirty thousand feet. Only, instead of flinging passengers into the atmosphere, this sucked the demons back to hell. The spell created a one-way gate that required an immense surge of energy to keep out unwanted arrivals.
Connected as we were to the Earth, we heard the anguished screams of beings flung back from the prize they’d waited a millennium to claim. I echoed the grim satisfaction coming from Cinaed as we purged these scars from our world. The tear snapped shut once the last demon was gone.
Returning to the original spell, we expanded our consciousness to encompass the spell’s full structure. We perceived the Earth in a way neither of us had before. It was more than rock, soil, water, and air. There was a will and wisdom that protected every living thing on the planet.
The ancient magic that imbued all things responded to our call, eager to be woven into a new fortification. Tendrils of pure energy rose from the ground and spread out to fill the matrix Cinaed and I created. The consciousness that brushed ours wasn’t human, being, or anything mortal, but it was unmistakably alive and aware. It recognized us as its champions and eagerly allowed us to secure the spell into its essence.
Sweat beaded on my forehead as I worked. I’d never attempted anything this important. The obligation we shouldered was a weight almost too heavy to bear. Except we weren’t alone. Eight new consciousnesses pressed against us, supporting and assuming some of the burden. They accepted a portion of the spell, affixed it deep into the spirit of our world, and made the pillar a permanent bulwark against future corruption.
The energy crested like a wave about to break. Just before releasing it, I inserted a small modification— something Katarina intended to do had she not died banishing the demons. Seven minds acknowledged the change and allowed the magic to flow through as intended. The eighth watched with intense curiosity, but didn’t inquire before the procedure moved along.
Through our link, Cinaed and I watched the others seal threads of magic, barring anyone else from tampering with the barrier. Leo and Gund began the final stage, tying off the northern point. The eastern guardians, Jan and Conall, were next, followed by Otto and Thalion to the South. Closing the circle, Bart and Cael wove all four stations into a solid whole.
I understood now how the Earth chose which pair for which position. The north required fierce protectors to initiate and hold the line while the others took their stations. East needed a strong presence to stabilize the spell while the rest onboarded. The southern pair had to be a calming influence to keep things steady. Whoever came last needed to take the disparate pieces and make them one.
Together, the four guardian pairs anchored the Ward at cardinal points. At least, that is what everyone thought.
Satisfied the pieces had all slotted into their respective homes, Cinaed and I let go of the magic. We watched in awe as magic raced outward in all directions. A shockwave of golden-white energy visible only to the guardians who’d created it. In one heartbeat, the Great Ward spread to every place on the planet, sheathing the world in a seamless, protective shell. The magic settled into the Earth itself, becoming part of its natural rhythm.
Cinaed and I exhaled together, like our bodies were now in total sync. The experience had entwined our souls at an accelerated pace. Though we were denied the chance to explore our bond naturally, I didn’t feel cheated. My soul was finallycomplete. Cinaed’s too. It was as if forty years of waiting hadn’t mattered now that we’d bonded. In the process, we’d done what we’d been born to do. The world was safe again.
“You did it,” Malachy said, his voice thick with emotion. “And you’re still alive.”
“Grandfather did it.” Cinaed shook his head, tears still streaming down his face. “It was his gift that saved everyone.”
The chamber was quiet as everyone processed the full extent of what had just happened. In a handful of minutes, we’d all lived a lifetime of events. Above everything was Ailpein’s sacrifice. His gift not only allowed Cinaed and me to survive, but it also allowed me to change the lives of my brothers and their mates.
I closed my eyes to allow Cinaed’s essence to fill me. We’d found the calm resonance we’d been denied for so long. I planned to live in this moment forever, joined to his kind, beautiful soul.
Cinaed still glowed with residual energy. We hadn’t needed everything Ailpein gave us, but we already knew how to use it. Ailpein’s legacy would not only be the new Ward, but Cinaed and I could use the power we had left to undo much of the damage Blackstone had caused in our world.
The thought of James Blackstone reminded me he was still alive. We might have created a new Ward, but he could cause untold suffering if left unchecked. As if that thought flipped a switch, a wrongness tugged at the edges of my awareness. It was subtle but insistent. At first, I hoped it was just the lingering presence of all the foul beings Blackstone had allowed into our world, but the sensation persisted, growing stronger rather than fading.
“What is that?” Cinaed looked at me, his brow furrowed. “Did we miss something?”
Focusing on the disturbance, I used our connection to the Earth to search for the source. The Ward functioned perfectly, but something had either slipped through before we sealed the breach, or had resisted expulsion. Whatever the cause, this presence was powerful. Extremely powerful.
