"It doesn't quite work that way," Thoreau said. "That's why you've noticed nothing unusual about your mother."

  "My mother?" I exploded.

  Thoreau ran the dagger across his palm again. "Yes. Your mother." He spoke with a patient calm that was more scary than not.

  "I've met my mother's parents," I said. "I was little, but I remember visiting with them." I hadn't seen them in years, but I remembered my grandfather and he sure hadn't been this monster standing in front of me. He had been a kind, white-haired man who had a thing about giving me a pack of sour candy every time I visited. When I was still Normal, that was. I hadn't seen him since the bite.

  "I believe her," Xavier said. "Why don't you shut up, man? You just like torturing people."

  "I also must agree with you on that. I do like some torture," the mayor said. He turned his attention back to me. "What if the man you're thinking of wasn't your mother's true, biological father? I might have known your grandmother quite well at one point. She was a sad, bored woman who buried herself in romance novels day and night, trying to escape her reality. The man she was married to often traveled overseas and he would be gone for weeks at a time. He was very neglectful, you see, and your grandmother carried that rare piece of Death inside of her. I saw my opportunity. I was happy to make her dreams come true long enough to produce a child. She got me closer to completing my plan and she never even knew the important part she has played."

  "You're lying," I said. "I don't believe you. For one thing, I don't stink." I could remember all the books my grandmother had, boxes upon boxes of books with a bare-chested guy on the cover holding a woman with long flowing hair.

  But Thoreau just kept going. He was enjoying this, enjoying the horror it was causing me. "Did you ever stop and wonder why the rite to bring Leon back also brought me back?" he asked. "My blood needed to be in the circle for the rite to work on me. There was no fresh blood left in my body...but it was there, in your body."

  I wanted to say something sarcastic, but my sense of humor shriveled like a month old balloon.

  There was no trace of a lie on his face.

  "But this doesn't make sense!" I shouted. I sounded almost hysterical. "My mother is the poster child of Normal. You couldn't be her father. It's just not possible. Would you just shut up?"

  "I introduced myself to your mother once, when she was a teenager," he said. "She didn't take it well. In fact, she shunned me. It didn't hurt my feelings. I only needed her to produce a child with the right man--your father. My use of a dating site got them together like I hoped."

  "You tried to kick her into the underworld!" I shouted.

  "Like I said, your mother is of no more use to me now. She clings to Normal life as if it could erase me."

  "You mean, she knows?" I asked. I thought of her running from the house and screaming after Trish and I had saved her from Thoreau. "She's not Normal?"

  All this time, I thought those screams had been all because of me.

  Now I understood why my Turning had set her over the edge. Mom had been running from this. She had found that Normal life and then it got shattered. This explained why she hated Abnormals so much.

  "Your mother is Normal," the mayor said. "Normal and demon unions produce Normal children. The demon part is only awakened if the person comes into contact with something special. It's what happened with Beatrix." He backed away from the pool and looked at it for a second. "Can you guess what that is?"

  "Alyssa," Xavier whispered. He was terrified.

  Now I understood.

  Xavier had suspected it the whole time. He just didn't know how to tell me.

  "The Infernal Dimension?" I asked.

  "Very good," Thoreau said. "You will be taking the trip that you've always wanted, Alyssa. Then we will see exactly what you've inherited from yours truly." He slashed the dagger across his palm, making black blood bubble from the wound. "Why do you think I've kept your father there and made it easy for you to reach my portal?"

  "No!" I shouted. My knees trembled and threatened to go out. I wanted to collapse with the horror.

  Thoreau was already holding his hand over the portal.

  Black demon blood dripped down like evil ink.

  It spread through the water, turning it into a black mirror. Thoreau muttered some words in a guttural voice and the Infernal Dimension appeared again, complete with the castle, the lakes of fire, and the barracks.

  "I'm not letting you push her in there," Xavier managed, but his voice was weak and scared. We had no advantage here and he knew.

  I pulled at the zip tie.

  What would I be after this?

  Something horrible. Something disgusting, like Beatrix, only worse, because I'd bring about the end of the world. Xavier would never look at me again.

  "Elizabeth, bring her forward."

  Bathory approached, expressionless under her black veil. Xavier shot me a desperate look. War Magic flared around his hands, but died. He wasn't strong enough to fight in this state. Neither was I. Transposing wouldn't help. We couldn't even hold onto each other. We were trapped. Weak.

  Unless--

  It was our only hope. It might be doom, but it was better than the alternative.

  I had to break my vow.

  I lunged at Xavier. His eyes widened as he realized what I was about to do. But instead of moving away, he leaned into me.

  "Do it," he said, closing his eyes and letting his body rest against me.

  Bathory stopped. Thoreau remained still. Xavier sucked in a breath.

  And right there, in front of them both, I bit him.

  Chapter Sixteen

  The power surging through Xavier's blood was incredible.

  A flash of magenta light filled me. I was full of magic. Power surged. It grew and grew as I fed. Xavier's terror blended with mine. His thoughts melded with my own. I could sense the War Magic growing between the two of us, fully freed, reaching a new level I hadn't thought possible. I was powerful. We were unstoppable.

  I pulled away and blinked. The world was glowing with angry violet. Blood seeped from two bite marks on Xavier's neck, but he didn't seem to notice. The glow was coming from his hands. The magenta around them was brighter than I had ever seen. He grit his teeth and pulled his hands apart, breaking the zip tie. The same energy surged down my arms, giving me more strength, begging me to break free of my binds.

  And I did. I wrung my hands free. They were glowing.

  So this was what it was like to have full access to Xavier's magic.

  I didn't need my sword. My hands were glowing with purple magic, fizzling and crackling with heat that could destroy even demons. Thoreau and Bathory both stood before us, shocked at the new development. They hadn't been expecting this. Thoreau started to grin, but I threw my first charge and the grin vanished off his face.

  He tried to dodge but it wasn't fast enough. The charge--my charge--struck Thoreau and sent him across the pool to land on the other side of the cave. Bathory raced for me, hands out, sharp fingernails ready to slice. The room shook and the ground quaked. Something was happening. Bathory stumbled but Xavier caught her with his own charge, sending her right into the pool, where she vanished into the Infernal Dimension.

  "Alyssa!" Xavier reached out for me, the magic in his hands gone. "Hold onto me. We need to end this."

  Thoreau stood. He was reverting to full demon form now. Black wings ripped out of the back of his thousand dollar suit. He must have ruined a whole bunch of them that way. They spread out and his skin reddened. He roared and clawed at the air. A full earthquake rumbled through the chamber. I stumbled, reached out, and grabbed Xavier's open hand. We held onto each other, keeping our balance.

  "I won't let you go," Xavier shouted. "Go Leon on him!"

  I knew what he meant.

  The deadly purple fire.

  Xavier's magic surged through me again. It felt limitless. Unending. I had never seen Xavier use the fire. Maybe, before now, he couldn't.

  Xavier raised his free hand. The energy intensified. The air heated. I wanted to destroy Thoreau the way he had destroyed my life before I was even born. I wanted to see him suffer for making me some breeding experiment. I wanted to kill him because I would have to think about what he just told me for the rest of my life.

  I held up my own free hand.

  The air got hotter and hotter, almost unbearable. Thoreau held us in his glare. The ground below was collapsing into the portal. I slid forward, closer to the Infernal Dimension. Stone crumbled and vanished into fire and brimstone. I was feet from completing the Dark Pentagram. Oh, God. I didn't dare let go of Xavier's hand.

  I'm not sure how we did it, but purple fire spread across the ceiling of the chamber, reflecting off the portal. Thoreau roared again, the most inhuman sound I had ever heard, and ducked, folding his wings over himself. The ground quaked more. Fractured. I stumbled forward as our fire surged forth, reaching for anything living. The mayor roared in pain. I eyed the fire, urging it eat the mayor alive.

  "Alyssa!" Xavier shouted.

  Stone slid forward right underneath me.

  The Infernal Dimension spread out below. I was falling, falling...the heat was horrible...the lakes of fire beckoned me to go down to them...

  Xavier pulled me away and I caught my footing. The ground crumbled and the portal grew larger. The stone near the double doors fell away into the hell below, leaving us trapped. The purple fire raged and the mayor slid forward into his home world, riding on a slab of stone.

  "We have to go!" I shouted.

  Xavier spoke in my ear. "I won't screw up this time."

  More magenta exploded around us and we were falling. I screamed and buried my face in Xavier's strong chest, listening to his heartbeat, expecting to land in the Infernal at any moment. We fell for what felt like a long time.

  We were Transposing.

  We had barely escaped.

  And then we landed.

  I blinked and the beach and water lake spread out, sparkling in the agonizing sun. I screamed again and closed my eyes, ducking as pain exploded between my temples. I dared to open them again for a second. I caught a glimpse of Mack's car. The sun reflecting off it. Mack getting out in shock. The magenta column of fire closing.

  "Get under this tree," Xavier said, putting his hand on my back. "Keep your eyes closed. Mack, get your altar cloth!"

  I let him lead me towards the tree. Thoreau's roar reverberated in my mind. I felt like I would never get rid of it. It was within me, deep in my cells and in my veins...

  He couldn't be--

  He wasn't--

  I wasn't--

  "Oh, God," I managed, collapsing under the tree. The sun wasn't as bad here but compared to the storm inside of me, the sun was nothing.

  "I'm here, Alyssa," Xavier said, draping a black cloth over me. It blocked out the painful light and I trembled. "I'm not going to let go of you."

  "Why didn't you tell me?" I asked.

  "I...I didn't know how."

  "You knew!"

  "How was I supposed to say it? I didn't want to be the bearer of any more bad news. When you told me Thoreau wanted you to go in into the Infernal, I knew what had to be the truth."

  "I could have gone into the Infernal Dimension, not knowing!"

  "I wouldn't have let you." He pulled me closer, strong as ever. Xavier had just Transposed us dozens of miles. It was a feat that would have disabled him with energy loss before. Now that I had bitten him, we were both more powerful. The Transposing no longer drained him as badly. "I'm sorry, Alyssa."

  He wasn't just apologizing.

  Xavier was giving me his condolences.

  "I'm...I'm never going to get over this."

  "I guess we're in the same boat," Xavier said. "And it's sinking fast."

  "I shouldn't have bitten you." I was aware of Mack standing nearby, watching. Birds chirped. I felt like I was under a funeral shroud.

  "You had to. It was better than the alternative."

  "We still did what Thoreau wanted."

  Xavier sighed. "I know. Alyssa. Look at me."

  I pulled the black cloth away from me enough to look at him. The daylight was still painful and I had to squint, but Xavier's gaze was soft. Caring. There was no disgust. If anything, this nightmare had brought the two of us closer together.

  We had to be. I had full access to Xavier's War Magic now. Every barrier between us was gone.

  "I love you, Alyssa." He held my face in both hands, hands that were warm and soft. In that moment, I forgave him for not telling me his suspicions. He meant what he was saying. I could feel his emotions more strongly now. "And I don't give you permission to feel bad about yourself. You are not Thoreau and we're not going to let him make you that way. Look at me. I'm not Leon. Let that give you hope."

  "How are we going to get our people out of the Infernal?" I asked. "There aren't a lot of us left and I can't go in there."

  Xavier pulled me close and kissed me.

  Passionately. Like he really meant it.

  "We'll figure it out," he promised me, catching his breath. "Just rest here for a while. Try not to think about what just happened. We'll get through this. I promise."

  We sat against the old tree for a long time, looking out at the lake as the sun crept across the sky. After all this time, I was still without my father and my mother. My family was shattered. Broken. Just like Xavier's.

  We were soul mates.

  I tried to shove what had happened in the bunker out of my mind along with the fact that I had fallen into another trap. Mack opened the trunk and let the ATC agents out to use the bathroom. Xavier shouted at them that they were lucky they didn't report to work today. Neither one of them spoke to us.

  "Ungrateful," Xavier said. "Thanks to them, we have no fighters left."

  I thought of all those people Bathory had killed. The bodies. The blood. She was still on the loose. Her time in the Infernal Dimension wouldn't be long, not if Thoreau had survived. It was up to only me and Xavier to stop the Dark Council. There were supposed to be five of them. We were two. Most Abnormals had been removed from Cumberland. It seemed impossible. All Xavier and I could do was sit under this tree and wait for the sun to set before we moved. Meanwhile, Thoreau was in the final stages of his world takeover. He was so close that he didn't even care about keeping a good face anymore.

  Everyone, Normal and Abnormal alike, was in danger.

  I watched as the two ATC agents crawled back into the trunk of the car, Mack keeping a close eye. He closed the lid and sealed them back inside.

  "Xavier," I said.

  "What?"

  "I have an idea. It might be crazy, but we might have fighters after all."

  Chapter One

  The world burned.

  The sky. The buildings. The landscape. Everything.

  Flames lashed at the heavens, jutting from blackened, skeletal remains of buildings. The streets below had jammed with broken cars and shattered glass. Cumberland was an apocalypse. With my supernatural hearing, I could detect things no one should ever experience. A man begged for his life. A werewolf growled in response. The guttural voices of demons, speaking in tongues older than history, permeated the air. Few Normals down there would survive for long. Those who survived would endure a life of misery.

  I looked straight down. I wasn't on the hill I expected, but the top balcony of the ATC building. It was the very same one from where Xavier and I had jumped a lifetime ago. Blackish-green clouds that reminded me of Death's underworld rolled overhead. A dark form drifted through the clouds in the vague shape of a dragon. A warning siren wailed, one of the few things that were still working.

  And through the clouds, the sky was the color of bricks.

  It was the color of the Infernal Dimension.

  The worlds had become one.

  “Alyssa,” he said next to me. “You have done well.”

  I looked to the side.

  Thoreau rocked on his feet next to me, his hands behind his back, his black suit untouched in the chaos. The mayor stood in full demon form, his true form, with red skin, black claws, and inky eyes filled with angry flames. His black wings remained folded, and he studied his new domain like a king made of hardened lava. A pair of short horns protruded from his forehead.

  This world belonged to the Dark Council now.

  To him.

  The mayor smiled at me. “Thank you, Alyssa, for making this possible.” He was saying this to torture me. He knew that the fact that he'd won was causing me pain.

  The source of my anguish was him.

  He could be...he could be my...

  “Where's Xavier?” I asked. He had to be alive. I turned away from Thoreau to avoid looking at him, to prevent my horrible thought from finishing itself. I entered the ATC building and ran into the room with the portal. The water had evaporated. There was no need for portals anymore, not with the worlds now one.

  Xavier stood against the wall, arms chained above his head. He hung between two of the demon face pillars. Torch light cast horrible shadows on his face, and dark bruises formed rings around his eyes. He hung not far from the wooden double doors that lead to Thoreau's office. I didn't understand. Xavier should have been able to Transpose out of there. We were both strong enough now.

  My battle partner looked at me and cast his gaze down again.

  “Xavier!” I raced to him and away from the horrific scene outside. “What's he done to you?”

  But he wouldn't look at me. He just told me that he loved me.

  Now he wouldn't face me.

  “He's too strong,” Xavier managed. His voice was hoarse. “We're his slaves. All of us War Mages are nothing but his sparks.”

  The chains binding his wrists to the wall were bright magenta. War Magic. Why was it betraying him?

  “Let me get those off,” I said, reaching up for the shackles.

  I stopped, arm in midair, while Thoreau walked inside the building.

  My skin was red, the same shade as Thoreau's, and my fingernails were just as black and deadly sharp.

 

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