The tornado dissipated with much less drama than it had appeared. One moment it was tearing apart the highway and interstate and the next it was gone.
What remained were the jagged remains of a once great structure. Like broken bones, the remaining cement pillars raised skeletal fingers made of rebar toward the dark and threatening sky.
Death surrounded Amaliya. Broken, shattered, and burned bodies called to her. Confusion ruled the living, but the dead cried out for justice. It was difficult for her not to reach out to them with her necromancy, but she kept it wound tightly inside of her, refusing to unleash it.
A crowd of people ran in the direction of The Summoner. A small boy led them clutching a winter coat to his chest. The little Hispanic boy’s big dark eyes didn’t blink as he darted around dead bodies, battered cars, and the concrete and asphalt chunks that had peppered the area.
“Well done,” Etzli said to Trish.
The redhead looked unsteady after the use of so much of her power, but she grinned.
The Summoner wearing Bianca’s form stepped forward and held out one hand to the boy. With a blank expression on his face, the boy extended the coat.
Lifting her eyes to the sword, Amaliya fought to regain control of her body. Her mind felt terribly lucid, but her limbs were weighted and immobile.
The sound of helicopters, sirens, and screams rent the air, but an eerie calm filled the bystanders who had delivered the final ring to The Summoner. Taking the coat, The Summoner withdrew the ring from the pocket.
“No!” Amaliya cried out.
Seconds later, she caught sight of Cian hurtling over the heads of the crowd that had brought the ring.
“Ah, look who’s here. But too late,” The Summoner said.
The golden ring spiraled out of The Summoner’s hand to join the other twelve hovering overhead. There was a bright flash of white light that illuminated the entire area like a nuclear bomb. Amaliya was instantly blinded and covered her face. A loud noise like a sonic boom followed, and the glass windows of the Navigators exploded.
When she was finally able to see and hear again, Amaliya lifted her face to see The Summoner standing over her with Bianca at his feet. Handsome, cruel, and nude, a halo of golden light surrounded him. Above him hung the complete Sword of Lucifer. Its elegant hilt was encrusted with jewels and its sharp blade glinted in the ethereal light it cast.
“It’s time,” The Summoner said to her.
Then the ground opened and started to swallow the world.
Cian flew over the heads of the crowd, aiming for The Summoner. He could clearly see Amaliya standing just behind Bianca’s possessed body in a circle of black SUVs. Etzli, dark witches, and other beings were also gathered in the ring that was protected by the power emanating from the floating rings in the form of a sword.
Amaliya screamed just as Bianca withdrew the ring from Galina’s coat. Cian was almost to The Summoner. Drawing his obsidian blade, Cian prepared to attack.
The explosion caught him just as he descended. The concussion sent him spinning through the air and crashing through the remains of a pillar, destroying it completely. Landing among the ruins of the overpass, Cian growled with anger and agony. His broken bones started to mend as he fought the blindness that had seized him. Unable to hear or see, he pushed himself to his feet and staggered forward. Pumping his blood power into his broken body, he repaired the damage.
“Dad! Dad!” Cassandra called out to him.
He spun toward the direction of her voice, his vision still blurred but rapidly returning. Cassandra was hopscotching over cars and hunks of the overpass with Aimee close behind.
The ground rumbled beneath his feet.
Twisting about, Cian saw enormous fissures spreading over the ground and the remains of the interstate. The earth lurched violently, then began to crumble. In horror, Cian watched people, vehicles, and debris disappear into the massive sink hole.
“Fuck!” Cassandra screamed. “Fuck!”
The cracks spread toward where Cian stood and he leaped into the air just as the ground gave away. Darting backwards, he barely caught Cassandra and Aimee before they tumbled into the cavern opening below them. Lifting the women into the air, he swung over the growing chasm.
Across from the expanse, he caught sight of Lucifer’s complete sword glowing brightly in the night. The Summoner in his true form stood directly beneath it with his arms spread out. Behind him was Amaliya clutching Bianca in her arms.
A redhead stepped forward and raised her hands. Within the cavern, the walls shuddered and formed a long sloping path to the floor far below.
In a long procession, The Summoner and his people started downward.
Aimee and Cassandra clung to Cian observing
the destruction. In silence, the three descended into the darkness.