that really the same as what I’m watching on screen? I’d say no.
The full curse involves roses, castles and other people. It’s a far more complex spell.
In any case, it’s not a mystery I can solve right now. Perhaps Xavier will have some insights in the morning.
Maxon curls over to rest on his side. I’ve seen this move before—
he’s trying to stay awake longer by avoiding a Daddy snuggle.
Won’t work for long, kid.
My boy’s eyes flutter shut despite how he fights to keep them open. Amazing how at his age, falling asleep is something to battle. When you get older, you can’t wait for rest.
While the movie’s music continues, I switch my focus to the main bay window. Through the glass, I watch Myla pull back the tarp on the largest eyesore on our lawn.
That fountain.
Suddenly, every muscle in my body goes on alert. My hunter’s sense awakens.
We’re not alone here.
From the darkness beyond the fountain, I catch the gleam of white. Someone peers at my wife through the shadows… And their irises glow with power. That describes only one creature in existence.
Bedlam.
Pulling my baculum from their holster, I ignite them into a long sword while rushing for the window. As I leap toward the glass, I swipe at the clear panel with my angelfire blade. The windowpane bursts as I jump through.
I land outside in a waist-high field of indigo smoke.
Magic.
Bedlam steps forward. I raise my sword, ready to strike.
“Why attack me?” asks Bedlam. “I’d be more concerned for your son.”
Panic zings through my nervous system. Turning around, I spy Maxon still curled up on the couch. A thin layer of indigo mist surrounds him.
More magic.
The dark cloud grows heavier, then it disappears. Once the mist is gone, so is Maxon.
“No!”
I rush back toward the house with all my strength. What happens next seems to move in slow motion, no matter how hard I push myself to race at greater speed.
The house itself starts to disassemble.
Walls collapse into dust. Floors melt into muddy bogs. Furniture changes into scraps of animal fur that drift into the air.
I recall what happened back in the tomb. Bedlam’s a retrograde caster who returned a section of Sahara into an ocean. Now he’s reversing everything in my home.
Grief and rage battle it out inside me. Maxon is gone for now.
But we’ve lost him before; we’ll find him again. And there’s one way to end evil spells like this one.
Kill the caster.
Spinning about, I raise my angelfire longsword and speed back toward Bedlam. He stands in the mist and glares at me. The Titan of Chaos doesn’t even try to pull out a weapon in any kind of defense.
Once I’m close enough, I swing my weapon down toward Bedlam’s head. But before my angelfire blade can strike the demon’s skin, indigo smoke surrounds me as well. I’m instantly engulfed in an endless cloud as the ground beneath me vanishes.
And I’m gone.
13
Myla
Dark blue smoke surrounds me as I tumble through what seems like one massive cloud.
It isn’t, though. This is more of Bedlam’s magic.
That creep.
I will take him down. All I need are those three remaining rings of Eden.
My thoughts circle back to Lincoln. All my life and heart belongs to that man.
Please, let him be safe.
Energy and love envelop my soul. A colored loop appears before me in the mist. For a moment, I’m stumped. Then I recognize it. A rainbow. Normally, I only see half of these colored lights. This time, the rainbow is round and whole.
Brightness flares in the loop’s center. Thousands of igni come through. I smile my face off as the little lightning bolts dance around me, keeping me company as I tumble. With another flash, the round rainbow disappears.
The colored lights may be gone, but hope sparks in my soul.
Somehow, thinking of Lincoln brought both the round rainbow and my igni. That’s super encouraging. After all, I never gave Bedlam true assent for whatever weirdness he’s casting right now.
Perhaps his spell is incomplete.
In any case, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
An orb materializes above my palm, its weight is as heavy as a glass ball. A movie from my past plays within the sphere.
The truth hits me.
This isn’t a movie; it’s a memory.
Inside the orb, I see myself at age eighteen, stepping out onto the Arena floor to fight an evil soul in solid form. I remember this battle well. My opponent’s named Deacon. I speared that guy through the chest with my tail.
The orb flies away from my palm. My head turns fuzzy, and it’s not just because I’m falling through a supernatural cloud.
One of my memories was stolen, I know it.
Closing my eyes, I try to recall what I just saw. There was something inside an orb. A battle played out within the sphere, just like a mini movie. And I was fighting. But who was my opponent? I can’t recall the name.
I reopen my eyes to see fresh orbs on both my palms. More movies flicker inside. This time, it’s all from my life at age eighteen.
One sphere shows Mom freaking out because she doesn’t want me fighting in the Arena anymore. Another shows me and my best friend, Cissy. We’re at Purgatory High, sitting through another
interminable class taught by a ghoul named the Old Timer, one of the worst teachers ever.
Those memories fly away. Once more, I try to reach for them.
There was something about Mom, maybe? Cissy? I can’t recall a thing. A flurry of orbs rise up from my palms and disappear.
These are all vanished memories, and I know exactly who’s to blame.
Bedlam.
My inner wrath demon roars with fury. How dare some nasty-ass freak steal away my history? Well, the Titan of Chaos doesn’t know who he’s dealing with. The Great Scala doesn’t go down without a fight.
All this while, my igni have been looping around me. Now I call out to them.
Help me, little ones. My memories are being erased. Please make it stop.
Igni surround my palms, their small forms coating my flesh like a set of gauntlets. Fresh orbs try to bubble up from my skin, but they’re held back by my tiny glowing friends. I send another mental message to my igni.
You’re doing great! Keep going!
Then I notice it. These aren’t the same igni that keep my memories in place. Holding back the orbs burns out their little forms. New ones must fly in and replace those that are gone. My little supernatural friends are getting erased.
Alarm rattles through my nervous system. Igni are the power that transfers souls to Heaven or Hell. They’re more important than any one Scala. I send a new message now, my intent more frantic than ever before.
Do not sacrifice yourselves!
Yet my igni keep up their work. More get deleted by the moment.
Panic zooms through me. There are millions of souls in Purgatory.
They’re my responsibility. If the igni vanish, who will care for them?
Stop!
In reply, the childish voices of igni sound in my mind.
We are not all gone. Many remain and can come to you, but only for one final visit. Choose the moment well.
Another orb appears on my palm. Inside it, I see a memory from just a few minutes ago. In the sphere, I think of Lincoln. The