Chapter 119: Magic Vs. Sorcery
Demetrius turned to his white-robed companion as the vampires, with Nicholas among them, retreated to the edge of the circle.
"Shall we begin?"
Annick nodded, motioning for the other three. Two men and a slender woman, all dressed in the same white, came forward. The dark haired woman carried a bundle. She offered it to Demetrius with a bowed head. He took it from her, shook it out. Within a moment he was dressed as they were.
"Your power is valuable," he said to us. "You are fulfilling a destiny charged to my order over five hundred years ago. The creators of the Chosen of the Light understood the evil of magic. They saw sorcery was the purest form of power, beyond the silly Sidhe and their games, the demons and their distant plane, their overbearing superiority. Far greater than the vampires with their disease. And the masters of witches whose only cares were for their own struggles.
"The Chosen's mandate is to cleanse the world of your taint. And for five centuries we have labored to make that dream come true." He practically vibrated with joy, his whole body filled with it. "And now I, Demetrius Strong, am finally able to bring that to pass."
"Just how, exactly?" I tried for sarcasm. I had to cut through his freaking cherub ass happiness somehow.
Oddly, my tone worked. He shot me a glare.
"I wasn't done," he said.
I shrugged and gave him my best cheer squad smile. "My mistake."
"Your mother has every power within her," he said. "Your father's demon energy and yours is very strong. And both you and Miriam are solidly linked to witchcraft."
"So?" I snorted. "You're boring me here. Just a little."
Hmmm. So that was how to trigger his fury. While I spent a moment congratulating myself for pissing him off, I also felt my fear notch up a little higher. He'd just shown me how close to the deep end he really was.
"So," he snapped, finally losing his happy smile, "I have a rare and powerful gift, one that allows me to channel power." His lips quirked as he regained his good humor. "You wonder why you didn't feel me, why you never knew it was me when I was Benjamin? I used your own power against you." He actually giggled. "What fun." Demetrius smoothed the front of his white robe with his left hand while his right turned the crystal around and around. "I wish you could have seen your face."
"Shut it," I snapped. "You have a point, I'm assuming?"
"Of course." His smile faded again. "Once I've drained all of your power into me," his fingers tightened on the crystal, "I can use it to continue the drain. There will be enough of each to summon the rest, to create a suction force of energy so vast it will be like nothing the world has ever seen." Mad, truly mad. "I shall then absorb it all and use it to reach into the very heart of this planet and destroy all traces of magic from it, cleansing the world for all time."
He wanted to screw with the Earth? With the balance of elements? Was he nuts?
Yeah, stupid question.
"Um, so after that," I said, cutting off his glorious oration, "are you planning on hopping a space ship or something?"
He scowled at me.
"You don't know the natural elements like we do," I said. "You'll tear the planet apart."
His eyes burned with fanatical fire. "The Earth shall be purged and those who are guilty will burn in eternal flames."
"What's the good of a clean planet if everyone is dead?" He had to listen to me. Had to. The balance of earth, air, fire, water and spirit was so delicate that even a minor disruption could cause chaos. Massive storms, droughts, flooding. Half the stuff we did as a family was to fix what mess the rest of humanity was making of that balance. If Demetrius started screwing with the very forces that created our world, we were so screwed.
He wasn't hearing me. I could see it in his face. But his people were. The woman looked uncomfortable and a little wild around the eyes. "Grand Master," she said. "Are you sure-"
He spun and gestured at her, the crystal sparking to life. She choked once then solidified, her entire body forming into a clear statue. Another gesture from him shattered it into a million glittering pieces. I threw up a shield just in time, protecting Mom and I from the blast of shards.
"Never question me," Demetrius said.
The other three just stood there, silent and trembling, the hems of their white robes stirring the grass as they shook.
The insane leader of the Chosen of the Light turned back to me, but looked at my father. "I will begin with you," he said. "But first I must ensure you have no escape to your own plane before I begin."
There was a soft flutter as two shadows formed. They dropped my dad's statue on the grass and flickered away. Demetrius held up his hand. "Thus do I end your reign of terror on this world, demon."
First of all, Dad wasn't that kind of demon. Obviously the Chosen were working on a highly generalized platform here. Clearly an issue for their whole order. Then it hit me. Oh. My. God. How did they find Dad's statue? Were Meira and Sassy and Gram...? My mind stuttered over fear after fear. I was too late. Way too late. I tried so hard, but my shield was still up around Mom and I. By the time I dropped it to reach for the statue Demetrius's crystal flickered with power.
My father's stone effigy, his gateway to and from our world and his only way home, shimmered for a moment before crumbling to dust.
I saw a flicker as the bubble around Dad flashed and disappeared.
"Miriam!"
My heart broke with that one cry. Mom's desperation and Dad's undying love met for a brief, shining moment. But only for a moment. Even as he reached for her, Dad cried out and fell to his knees. His tall, strong body bent in half, agony written all over him. Demetrius stepped up to my father and held out the crystal.
"And now," the evil little man with the cherub smile said, "it begins."
***
