We passed through an arched doorway into a grand chamber plated in gold and gems. It was as opulent as the town was simple and unassuming.
“The throne room,” Faith said as she zigzagged around urns and vases, jewelry and crowns.
An enormous gold throne, large enough for a giant, sat on a raised platform, a treasure box to either side, an ornate carpet at its feet. It had been millennia since the temple’s Immortal deity had sat there, but the throne was as good as new. Spotless and dust-free, it was a testament to the Immortals’ greatness—and to the people’s faith in them.
“We’re keeping it clean for the day Capricorn and the other Immortals return,” Faith said, watching me give the throne a long look. “It’s been so long, and many have lost hope, but the faithful still come here to care for the temple.” She waved me forward. “This way. The Reliquary is through here.”
We stopped in front of a door that lay behind the giant throne. Damiel set his hand on the gold knob and turned it. He and I stepped through the doorway.
There was a blinding flash of light as we entered the room. It took some time for my eyes to recover. That was the downside to hypersensitive supernatural senses; they were too easy to overload.
My ears were overloaded as well as my eyes. For a few moments, I couldn’t hear anything. It was just white silence. Then there was a low ringing as sounds slowly filtered back in. My vision returned shortly afterwards.
When I could see again, I saw I was in a small room. There were very few treasures here in the Reliquary, and they weren’t nearly as opulent as those back in the throne room. These treasures were more private, more personal. While the throne room’s purpose was clearly to show off—to demonstrate wealth, power, and might—this place was about quiet contemplation and private enjoyment. It was meant for one person only at any given time, so it made sense that it was so small that Damiel and I could barely fit inside the room together.
I quickly spotted the Sapphire Tear on the wall. It looked just like the Diamond Tear, except the gem in the dagger’s hilt was a sapphire, not a diamond. It sparkled just as brightly, though. Magic swirled in the gemstone’s depths, like a deep blue ocean storm was brewing inside of it.
Faith hadn’t entered the room. She waited on the other side of the doorway, still standing in the throne room. “Take it, Cadence. Take the Sapphire Tear and fulfill your destiny as the Immortal Heir, the Champion, the Magic Bearer.”
Well, who was I to deny destiny?
I reached for the Sapphire Tear. Magic swirled around the dagger. It shot across my skin, a feeling not unlike snatching a bolt of lightning. That was the protective barrier that coated the dagger. The spell rippled. The sharp bite of live lightning quieted; it now felt like gentle water lapping across my skin. A moment later, the protective ward covering the dagger dissolved. I closed my fingers around the hilt and took it from the wall.
The whole building shook like an earthquake had just rumbled the earth beneath us. Maybe I wasn’t worthy after all. Maybe I’d set off a booby trap.
Faith looked at me, her wide eyes quivering. “The temple’s defenses have fallen. The Hive has broken through the gate.”
20
The Hive
The whole temple shook horribly as Damiel, Faith, and I rushed out of the Reliquary, across the throne room, and up the many stairs to the foyer. When we got there, we saw our fears realized: the Hive soldiers had broken through the gate. The enormous, palatial double doors, as tall as several stories, were splintered. Soldiers in red leather uniforms streamed through their broken remains. The Magic Eaters rushed forward to meet them head-on.
The Hive was here.
Every red soldier wore a helmet. One of eight distinct symbols adorned those helmets. Each symbol represented a different magical ability.
“The Hive appears to be using basically the same symbols as we do at the Legion to denote a soldier’s magic,” I commented to Damiel.
A drop of blood stood for Vampire’s Kiss, a potion vial Witch’s Cauldron. A musical note indicated Siren’s Song. There was a fire symbol for Dragon’s Storm, a paw print for Shifter’s Shadow, a psychic hand for Psychic’s Spell, and a flower for Fairy’s Touch.
The eighth symbol, an eye, represented the all-seeing powers of the telepath. Because Ghost’s Whisper was a second-level angel ability, at the Legion, we instead used a pair of wings—silver and gold—for it.
“Every Hive soldier’s helmet has a second symbol as well,” said Damiel. “My guess is that this symbol indicates which unit a soldier belongs to.”
“Yes,” Faith said. “Hive soldiers are divided into units. Each unit consists of eight soldiers, one from each active magic ability.”
“So one vampire, one witch, one siren, one elemental, one shifter, one psychic, one fairy, and one ghost?” I asked. Ghost was another word for telepath.
Faith nodded. “Right. The eight soldiers of a Hive unit link their powers, so they function as one seamless entity with all eight powers. A unit can link together with other units. When units link, their power grows. There are thousands of units altogether.”
Which meant that when the entire Hive linked up, their army boasted more power than all the angels and soldiers in the Legion.
“You are fortunate they did not send more units here,” Damiel commented to Faith as he watched the clash of Hive soldiers and Magic Eaters.
The Magic Eaters could absorb a hell of a lot of magic, but right now they weren’t holding up very well against the collective magic of so many Hive units working together. The Hive’s spells were tearing right through the Magic Eaters’ resistance. They were leveling the Magic Eater forces, bowling them right over as though they weren’t even there.
Faith looked at me, hope in her pale gold eyes. “You know what you need to do.”
“Yes,” I replied.
Because somehow, once again, I actually did know what to do.
I took off running toward the Hive soldiers, an immortal dagger raised in each hand. My wings burst from my back, shooting me over their heads. I landed smack dab in the middle of their forces.
They stopped fighting and just watched me. Their eyes were fixed on the two glowing daggers in my hands. The Diamond Tear shimmered white, the Sapphire Tear bright blue.
For a moment, no one fought. No one talked. No one moved. Time was frozen.
I lifted the daggers higher over my head and tapped the tips together.
The two magic sparks ignited. White and blue magic collided, and a shockwave blasted out from the apex of the two daggers. It shot through the Hive army.
And then the enemy soldiers were gone. Poof. Just like that. Gone.
The magic of the two daggers had simultaneously broken the magic bonds between the Hive soldiers and sent them home, just as Faith had said they would. I turned to look for her, but I couldn’t find her in the mass of Magic Eaters.
The Magic Eaters’ cheers echoed off the walls. They burst into song, then marched out through the gap left by the temple’s broken doors. There were hugs. Celebratory slaps on the back. They even threw one another into the air.
They had completely and totally forgotten about me and Damiel. They didn’t even seem to realize we were here, nor that we’d escaped their jail. And they were far too busy celebrating the Hive’s defeat to stop and wonder why the enemy army had suddenly vanished.