Using the last of Grandfather’s power, I launched forward like a missile. Since Rod’s first attack, Blackstone had ignored me and focused on countering the mages. At the last moment, his eyes darted in my direction. I doubt his mind had time to process my arrival.
I slammed into him with the full force of my enhanced strength. The impact was an unstoppable force hitting an immovable object. A sonic shock wave exploded outward from the point of contact, flattening anything not behind a powerful shield. Pain erupted through my body as even the superior strength of my phoenix bones couldn’t withstand the impact.
The force transferred through Blackstone’s shield, shoving him backward even as I rebounded violently away. He staggered back one step, then a second, struggling to maintain his balance. His stunned expression gave way to dismissive triumph as he followed my broken form hurtling away from him.
“Now!”Rod’s mental voice blared through our bond.
A combined burst of white, green, and blue magic struck Blackstone before he found solid footing. Rod, Avie, and Wilhelm’s combined attack pushed him back two more steps, placing him well inside the medicine wheel’s perimeter.
Father caught me mid-air, his arms cradling my injured form.
“Well done, Cinaed,” he said softly. His healing fire flowed into me, joining with my healing power to speed up my recovery. The familiar warmth spread through my broken limbs, easing the excruciating pain. Each broken bone straightened under his direction, knitting back together.
The ache I’d been holding inside slowly burned away. Grandfather had been a part of my attack, and together we achieved our goal.
Through our bond, I felt Rod’s concern and pride. There was also a measure of guilt for sending me on a mission guaranteed to injure me. I projected satisfaction and let him know making Blackstone vulnerable was worth every broken bone.
Around the wheel, the guardians ceased their attacks on the demon. Leo sent yellow magic south toward Jan. The energy flowed around the perimeter of the medicine wheel. Catching Leo’s spell on his emerald, Jan fired green energy to Otto, who passed his red power west. Bart completed the circle by sending purple energy to Leo. Cael put his hands on the purple light coming from Bart’s stone. A pulse of blue magic ran along the line encircling the wheel. A transparent rainbow-hued dome appeared over the glyph-covered ground.
“Pathetic,” Blackstone spat, regaining his balance. “Your strongest attacks can’t hurt, and now you think a flimsy wall of magic is going to defeat me?”
“Defeat you?” Rod sounded almost amused. “No, James. It just needs to hold you long enough.”
“Were you supposed to be inside the wheel, James?” Leo asked.
Leo’s sarcasm paired perfectly with the terror on Blackstone’s face. I saw the moment he realized not only had he lost, but that he was also in mortal danger. He spun around, raised his stone, and pointed it at the now grinning Prince F’dreg.
“No!” he shouted, shrinking back from the being he’d tricked. A blast of black magic struck the multicolored barrier. It rebounded off the shield, causing Blackstone to flinch.
He stared at the new cage for a second before darting left. Tendrils of black energy flowed from his mage stone, running along the ground in all directions. Behind him, the demon prince rose to its full height, a terrible smile spreading across its inhuman face. It took a long stride and reached out with its massive hand, claws extended.
“Our bargain changes,” it said, voice rumbling like an avalanche.
The lines of his dark magic pooled on seemingly random sigils. Light flickered around the edge of the wheel. As F’dreg moved closer, Blackstone fired a second, stronger burst of black energy at the barrier.
Shock, anger, and desperation played across his face. “Release me!” His voice rose several octaves. “You idiots don’t know the forces you’re playing with.”
“Actually, James,” Otto said. “It seems you didn’t know what you unleashed.”
The demon’s hand closed in on its prize. Blackstone spun around, raised his hematite, and blasted F’dreg at point-blank range with enough power to shake the ground. It left a scorch mark on the demon’s skin, but it didn’t stop him. The demon’s fingers closed around Blackstone, who screamed in soul-rending pain.
Chapter Twenty-One
Roderick:
Blackstone’s scream echoed across the field as the demon’s massive fingers closed around him. Cinaed’s pain pulsed in rhythmic waves through our link. I felt every broken bone and torn muscle, and the echo of his agony twisted in my chest like a blade.
Beneath his pain flowed a current of fierce satisfaction. Only he could’ve knocked Blackstone into the medicine wheel. Despite knowing the consequences, he hadn’t flinched. His courage sent chills across my skin.
I was torn between watching the struggle inside the wheel and checking on Cinaed’s condition. Malachy cradled his son as golden healing energy flowed from the king’s hands. Gently he directed the power to the most damaged areas of Cinaed’s broken body. The worst of Cinaed’s pain ebbed as his father’s amber phoenix healing power sped up his natural regeneration.
“Don’t worry about me,”Cinaed said when his eyes met mine.“I’ll be fine. Focus on Blackstone.”
His reassurance eased some of my concern, but not my guilt. I gave him a task knowing he’d get hurt. It had been necessary, but it was still incredibly hard. I wanted to protect him always, but he was probably stronger than me. Our new bond was intensely raw. Every injury he sustained felt like a personal failure on my part, regardless of how necessary or willing his sacrifice had been.
Reluctantly, I shifted back to the struggle we’d so carefully orchestrated.“I’ll check back in a moment.”
Inside the multi-colored barrier, Blackstone struggled in the demon’s grasp. F’dreg tightened his grip, his fingers exerting intense pressure on the shield that kept him from killing his tormentor. Blackstone grunted as he strained to stay alive. The sound held none of the arrogance that had defined him for centuries, only panic and terror.
