Pretty Spelled by K.A Knight
Atlas
The bodies surround us, and even I whistle. “What now?” Remi pants, wiping her sweaty forehead, but it just smears blood across her skin—not that she notices.
“Now we send them back to her, we let her know we are coming,” I snarl and lean down, dripping my blood in theirs. I paint it across my chest and head. The remnants of her power surge through me as I capture it inside with my magic and coil it tighter and tighter, until it explodes out of me and into the world.
It guides us to where we need to go, to where I need to send these creatures. To where my mate’s body is.
Without speaking, I collect my magic in my hands, pulling it from across the world. I build it and then throw it up into the air. A flat circular transport appears above it, swirling with power, and I stand and look at my brothers. “Toss the bodies in,” I instruct them. I get strange looks, but they start to do it, throwing corpses into the void. I know they will appear on her end.
We could use it to get to her, but it would take too much power to transport all thirteen of us living beings. I would nearly be drained, which would not bode well. No, we have to get there by other means. It gives her time to prepare, but it also means we will be stronger and organised. Once they are through, I shut it quickly so she can’t send anything back. I hear her scream of anger just as it slams closed, staggering me back as the power returns.
“Get your weapons, say your goodbyes,” I order, looking between them. “We are going to kill Lilith.”
* * *
Remi finds a person she knows to get weapons. He takes us to a warehouse filled to the brim with them, and acting like children, my brothers and their mates fade into the racks to gather what they need. I leave them to it, knowing they are having their moments together. This is the last they may have, so for them, this isn’t easy.
They don’t want to die, they need to live to be with their mates, which is why I will ensure none of them are killed, not a single one.
Only me and the evil will perish. They will live long lives filled with love, the lives they deserve and should have always been given. I wander through the racks, looking for what I might need. It should be talismans or something to block her magical attacks, I would assume. My brothers and their mates can handle her army.
Lilith’s body is mine to dispatch.
I hear giggles and laughter echoing through the space, but I block them out, my broken heart unable to accept that even if I’m unhappy, they are happy. They deserve to be happy. It’s my problem I’m struggling, not theirs. I will not begrudge them their goodbyes in these final moments with their mates.
I pause before a section that will be useful. I start to shove items in my bag, anything we may need, including a magically infused transport. It’s rare, but I take advantage of it, it will be my escape plan. Not for me, for them. When or if it starts going downhill, I’ll get them out of there.
Once my bag is full, I take a moment for myself to center my magic. It reacts with my emotions, and I can’t afford to be scared or weak. Facing her will hurt, but I can’t let her have that power over me. I have to kill her, I know that now. Maybe we got those few days together to say goodbye, even though I will never be ready to let her go.
It’s my fault for being so scared, so worried, that I never treasured the time we had together before everything happened. But I can’t live in the past, I can’t live in regrets. It changes nothing, and all it does is dim my outlook, which I can’t afford.
My path was always Lilith.
Hers was always me.
Closing my eyes, I sit and let the magic flow through me and back again, giving them as much time together as I can.
My powers grow and grow, the universe providing for me as if it knows I need it now more than ever. I ignore the blackened, frayed tie between my mate and me, knowing it is dying like she is or has already. But my brothers and their mates are there, lighting up my soul with their strength and power, and they give it to me eagerly, letting it saturate me.
All seven fallen gods are united, tied together.
Our powers one.
Ready to defeat evil.
After an hour, I open my eyes and stand. I don’t alert them, since I know they feel my determination and understand it’s time. We meet at the entrance, and I leave Remi to her goodbye as I head outside.
“I have a plane ready,” Ciar murmurs. “An old friend owed me a favour… The captain needs to know where we are going.”
I lift my head and inhale deeply, knowing it could be one of the last times I appreciate the air, this world, with my brothers. “Yucatan Peninsula,” I answer, and look at them. “That’s where she is, that’s where we go.”
That’s where I will die.
