“Bringing everyone across as ascendants will take over three years,” says Elizabeth, her tone impatient.

  “The holdouts do not wish to ascend,” says Dormund. “And I cannot fault them. They fear mortality.”

  “We are not vulnerable,” says Elizabeth. “If these bodies are destroyed, our essence will return to the fifth dimension and regenerate a new form.”

  I grin to myself. Don’t be so sure about that, Liz.

  “They are not convinced of this,” replies Dormund. “Without a Void, destruction in this body could be permanent. They do not wish to take the chance.”

  “Even if Elizabeth is right and we will return to the fifth,” says Pierre, “the process takes three months. We could possess a new human host in mere hours after losing this body.”

  “You have found a way to rebind us?” asks Amina.

  Elizabeth lets out a long sigh, like I’m reminding twelve-year-old Tammy she still needs to take the garbage outside. “Yes. However, it will involve creating another version of the Void linked to this world. A hidden sanctum not intended to trap us, but offer shelter instead. One we can freely leave at will.”

  “I am not convinced our souls will reach the fifth dimension if we are killed in this form,” says Dormund. “We are risking everything by pouring all our power into physicality. As vampires, werewolves, and other beings possessing mortals, the humans served as armor. Without a Void to return to, we had free rein to slip right into another human. But in this form… destruction may be final. I must agree with Lena.”

  “Some risk is acceptable, but we are doing too much,” says the German-sounding woman… likely Lena.

  Amina and Dormund murmur in agreement.

  “The others fear this as well,” says the unnamed man. “Dormund is right. They refused to take on a physical form already because they fear final destruction. The Origin still seeks to draw us into its grasp. Without the shield of a mortal, we are too close to final death.”

  Elizabeth scoffs. “Do you not relish the greater power? Everything you have ever attained, at your fingertips. Mortals are in the way. Thorsen, do you not bask in power you’ve not wielded since the days you walked this Earth as a mortal? It would take you hundreds of years as a vampire to even come close.”

  “For many, reclaiming the power we once manipulated is worth the risk.” Lena lets out a long, deep breath. “For others, it is not. They will not ascend until there is a sanctuary and a means to prevent the loss of our being.”

  “Creating a sanctum will take time and resources,” says Elizabeth. I sense her jaw clenching.

  She and her advisors lapse into a heated debate about whether it is best to work on a new Void so the remaining 167 non-corporeal dark masters can ascend with peace of mind, or if they should concentrate on a more rapid army to conquer the land. If option two, do they reinforce Iskariya via the remaining dark masters possessing mortals directly as Exalted or turn them into vampires. Apparently, those superhuman-but-not-vampire guards are something Elizabeth calls ‘Exalted.’ Dark masters possessing still-living humans without turning them into undead.

  Allison thinks they sound as indecisive and superstitious as the people who call in to her radio show. She’s right. They totally do. Especially Elizabeth. She reminds me of a modern version of Cleopatra who’s trying to remodel the palace in the middle of a war and everything’s going mildly wrong at once. Not disastrously wrong, more like the delivery guy showed up with coral-colored curtains instead of aqua.

  She’s sorta the bridezilla of the apocalypse.

  Wouldn’t want to be the DJ at her wedding, thinks Allison.

  Stop, you’re going to make me laugh.

  They’ll never hear us. Feels like we’re backstage at an episode of Dance Moms.

  Nah. Those moms are more violent.

  Elizabeth, who thus far has been all about expanding as fast as possible, finally shouts for everyone to be quiet.

  Silence hangs over the castle—or at least this hallway—for a moment.

  “You do all appreciate the need to increase our power to the point where nothing in this world can threaten it, correct?” asks Elizabeth.

  The others murmur agreement.

  “Though I want to expand our territory, we shall focus on establishing a dark sanctum first. Pierre has convinced me. We must safeguard our own existence as a first step before too many in this world become aware of our true power.”

  Pierre emits a happy noise. The others also sound content, though a bit surprised.

  Honestly, I am, too. Elizabeth deferring to others’ suggestions, especially when they’re contradicting her wants, is super rare. The fact that ascendant dark masters are vulnerable to complete death would explain why they had so little interest in fighting me back in Venezuela. Granted, I am carrying a sword capable of killing anything, so their avoiding me doesn’t necessarily prove anything. Not sure they understand how wicked my sword is, though Elizabeth does. She was with me first hand as I took on the devil himself.

  Could ascendant dark masters be killed by something other than my sword?

  Sure, some of the Light Warriors hit them with silver bolts, but I can’t remember watching any ascendant masters die. All the crossbow strikes I saw had been in non-vital areas. Bear in mind, this is like wondering who exactly punched who in the face during a fight at a soccer stadium. The war around the portal in Venezuela had been super chaotic. For all I know, a handful of ascendants exploded into ash.

  Question is, if an ascendant dark master is destroyed by something other than my sword, would they go to the fifth dimension like Elizabeth thinks they will, or do they go flying up to the Origin like the others are afraid? When I barfed Elizabeth out way up in the higher dimensions, she essentially became the first ascendant dark master—a vampire residing in a body they generated from magical energy. It’s as close as they can ever come to being their former selves again.

  I’m nowhere near enough of a witch, alchemist, or magic-user to understand the process by which they create these bodies. But, I imagine with great power comes great instability. But… when I destroyed those guards, my sword ate wispy bits of spirit energy after the fact, as if it sucked up their wraiths after the body disintegrated. To me, it says merely destroying an ascendant dark master won’t permanently destroy them. My sword is, as they say, the bee’s knees. However, I’m not going to tell them that.

  What difference does it make? asks Allison. Even if killing them here sends them back to the fifth floor, they’ll be out of commission for three months like the one guy said.

  Yeah, but if anything else but the Devil Killer takes Elizabeth out, she’ll return.

  Allison gives me an ‘oh, yeah. Good point’ look.

  “Lena, Thorsen, gather the seven and see they have everything they need for the creation of a new dark sanctum,” says Elizabeth. “Once it exists, we shall ascend all our numbers. For now, the shadows should all claim humans, preferably those with bodies accustomed to warfare, making more exalted to defend the city while we work to build the sanctum. Doing so will not bind them to the human so deeply as vampirism. The link is as impermanent as the life of the host. Far easier to ascend them later. These Exalted will defend Iskariya from any outside threats. For now, we hold this city and will send Iliana, Grigori, and Piotr to the other three cities within this kingdom. They will remain undetected and influence the minds of the dukes to keep them loyal.”

  “This world is ours,” says Dormund. “I like this plan.”

  Pierre claps. “Agreed.”

  The advisors leave the war room. Allison and I keep listening at the door to their soft footsteps going away in the opposite direction. Thank goodness none are coming our way. Still, almost imperceptible finger tapping within the room tells me one person stayed behind. Gotta be Elizabeth.

  Holy crap, she’s alone.

  Allison detects me thinking about ambushing her and covers her mouth to stop from gasping.

  Since there is no arguing going on, the slightest noise we make will surely reach Elizabeth’s ears.

  Maybe it’s stupid, but this is a chance I have to take.

  I ease the door to the sitting room open and peer out into the hall.

  A shadow stretches out from the war room doorway. Eep! I duck back out of sight.

  Elizabeth pads into the corridor. All three of us hold our breath, lest she hear it.

  “Where are you?” mutters Elizabeth, almost too quiet for human ears to pick up.

  Dammit!

  “You’re here, aren’t you?” whispers Elizabeth. “Where are you…?”

  Son of a bitch. I pull the Devil Killer. She’s going to sense me any second.

  “Where are you, little Tammy?” whispers Elizabeth. “What are you doing in my world? Oh, you aren’t reaching across worlds. You’re actually here.”

  Shit. Shit. Shit.

  She hasn’t heard or felt me.

  “I feel you… out there… somewhere.”

  Allison rests a hand on my shoulder. She wants me to wait since we haven’t been made, hoping Elizabeth will go back into the room out of sight from the corridor. Then we can strike.

  “She is here,” says Elizabeth in a whispery, polyphonic voice like five of her speaking at once. “Find her.”

  This bitch just sent something to hunt my kid.

  Never heard the multi-voice thing before, and I don’t like it.

  Nope. Not a bit.

  She’s messing with my daughter. Screw this. Tammy doesn’t have much chance to defend herself against whatever Elizabeth just told to find her to begin with. If she’s concentrating on shielding everyone, any chance she does have drops to zero. I can’t ask her to keep hiding us when it’s going to leave her so vulnerable.

  I raise the Devil Killer and charge out into the hall.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Pandemonium

  Elizabeth is standing by the door to the war room, facing a pair of shadow figures.

  The bitch is sending disembodied dark masters after my daughter.

  All three turn toward me in response to my running footsteps echoing in the stone-floored corridor. I teleport myself like twenty-five feet, appearing behind both shadows—and thrust the Devil Killer into one. Ember sparks leap from the edges of the blade as it shudders in my grip, almost as if the Origin has reached through it to grab this fiend who has eluded their fate for so long.

  A sheath of glowing white energy forms around the blade. In seconds, the radiance spreads all throughout the vaguely human-shaped form before it shrinks down, absorbed into the sword.

  I hide the surprise of my impulsive plan working and stab at the second shadow figure—but it darts away out of my reach.

  “Touch my daughter and you will find oblivion,” I say, scowling at the zooming shadow figure.

  Elizabeth shrieks angrily and swings her arm at me in the manner of a sword strike. I react on instinct despite her empty hand. Lucky for me, too, as her caustic blade appears out of nowhere an instant before our weapons cross, spraying acidic droplets and fiery sparks all over the floor.

  We glare at each other for a fraction of a second before she shoves me away hard enough to throw me off my feet. I land on my back, managing to reverse somersault upright and raise my defenses before she can stab me again. Our blades cross three times in a second before she ducks my counterattack going for her face and scrambles backward out of reach.

  Elizabeth grabs at the air with her left hand and swings her arm to the side.

  An invisible force wraps around me, slamming me face-first into the wall on my right, crushing a small table made from woven palm leaves. I feel like a bug hitting a stone windshield, except I didn’t pop open. She swings her arm the other way, and I zoom across the hall, smacking into the opposite wall.

  Ouch.

  Guess she’s past the point of talking.

  An energy bolt from Allison slams into the middle of Elizabeth’s back. Tiny flames flicker within a roughly one-inch hole straight through her. Still standing by the door to the sitting room, my witchy friend stares wide-eyed at the damage her spell caused. Uh oh. We might have a hard time convincing Allison to leave this world and go home.

  Elizabeth glances down at her chest and sighs with no more concern than if Allie had spilled white wine on her dress. Kingsley, back in wolf form, comes barreling down the corridor after his Lizzie chew toy.

  I draw my arm back to insert the Devil Killer into the nice pre-drilled hole Allie made for me, but someone rushing me from behind makes me reflexively turn to defend. Having to force myself to lose a chance to strike Elizabeth down makes my defense sluggish. A brute of a man with long black hair grabs me by what he thinks is my armor. Seriously, this dude could be in the WWE. He’d make half of those guys look small. I get a brief look at a dark scar crossing his entire face from temple to jaw before he hauls me off my feet and throws me into the wall again.

  What he thought was leather armor is really only fabric. I know he didn’t mean to, but being grabbed by my boobs and thrown with forklift strength hurts more than my face hitting the wall. I bounce off the stone and crash to the floor, momentarily stunned by pain severe enough I’m worried he tore the girls clear off my chest. He’d probably been intending to bear-hug me from behind and hold me down for Elizabeth to do whatever.

  A puddle of fire appears beneath Elizabeth—has to be Allison. Dancing embers float into the air from the yawning portal. The bitch emits a yelp of surprise, but there’s no fear in it. Sounds like Mary Lou when she almost steps on the stray cat who haunts her back yard. Fire scorches the side of her dress as she leaps away.

  Allison screams. Growling and grunting come from behind me.

  Pushing past the pain, I force myself up to all fours.

  A skinny male ascendant with a big nose has Allison off her feet in a one-handed grip around her neck. He presses her against the wall and winds a narrow tapestry around her a few times, tying her arms to her sides and leaving her hanging there like a Christmas tree ornament. She looks furious, but at least the guy didn’t kill her. An ascendant getting the drop on her would have been over fast if he’d wanted to take her life.

  A patter of bare feet comes from my left. I spring upright, sword in a ready pose. A red-haired woman in a red dress like something straight out of Victorian London rushes at Kingsley, wielding a seven-foot-tall metal candlestick like a spear. This girl takes pale to the next level. She’s like an undead version of a Disney princess… if they allowed Disney princesses to age into their late twenties.

  She clobbers Kingsley over the head with the candlestick, bending it and knocking the big wolf off the brutish guy he’d been scuffling with, sending Kingsley sliding like a curling stone right at Elizabeth. The undead princess’s ‘oops’ expression tells me she didn’t intend to launch him at Lizzy.

  The new empress leaps out of the way of the tumbling monster wolf, swiping her sword at him as he goes by—but fortunately misses. I lean back, ducking under a thin line of green acid flying off the tip of her sword, which hits the wall behind me, sizzling. Allison struggles at the tapestry, kicking her legs and bouncing in an effort to rip free. The redhead helps the brute up while two men in red-and-black armor rush past them at me.

  I can tell in an instant they’re alive, ‘exalted’ as Elizabeth calls it, but briefly possessed by dark masters. I can’t mind control them, don’t want to kill them, but have few options. The guy on the left comes in, falchion sword raised high. The other guy’s angling on me for a stabbing thrust at my gut. I fling myself at the one holding his arm way up, getting under his reach while sidestepping the other man’s thrust.

  I body check the exalted so hard his sword pops out of his grip and he goes flying off his feet, sliding down the hall on his back. The other man misses, jabbing his sword into the wall with a metal-on-stone clank. I spin, slashing the Devil Killer into the back of his right knee. He screams in pain and collapses. Trying to avoid killing the guy, I kick him in the head, flinging him face-first against the wall and knocking him out cold… probably with a broken nose and jaw, to boot.

  The redhead grabs the falchion from the guy who dropped it and charges me. I dodge, ducking and weaving right. She lands a grazing slash on my left arm as she passes, but spins fast enough to get her sword up to block my counterattack. Our blades ring off each other, the Devil Killer melting a deep nick in her ordinary weapon. She backpedals, gawking at the quarter-inch notch. Not sure what their falchions are made of, but it isn’t steel. Even if it was, an angelic blade should easily snap mundane swords.

  Kingsley the wolf flips back onto his feet and savages a nearby exalted who made the unfortunate mistake of being near him. The skinny ascendant turns at the horrific sounds, and goes after him with a sword of his own. He and the big wolf crash back and forth in the corridor, destroying palm tables and woven chairs. Amid a rip of fabric, Allison’s tapestry gives out above her head and dumps her back onto her feet. She easily frees her arms now that her weight isn’t holding the material tight around her.

  The redhead finds a secondary burst of courage and tries to take my head off. I block easily, press the attack, and push her into a retreat over a series of strikes. She parries me each time, but is clearly straining to keep up with me, more due to technique than raw speed. We’re about even in terms of reflexes, but she doesn’t seem as experienced using a sword. Not that I’m even close to a master, but working with Sebastian helped a lot in short order. This is basically someone (me) who’s had a few months of real training fighting someone who watched Braveheart a handful of times.

  Allison enchants herself with defensive magic. No idea what she’s doing other than creating shimmery lights around herself. Another ascendant trying to sneak Kingsley from behind notices Allison got loose and runs at her, hands up to claw her in the back of the head. No way in hell can she react in time to defend herself against one of these guys. I swat the redhead’s next attack away hard enough to send her stumbling, then teleport between Allie and Mr. Skinny.