"You feel the magic? What exactly do you sense?" he asked.
Desdemona knew that Titus was torn between needing her help and wanting to keep her safe, but she wanted to prove her worth and set his mind at ease. She wanted to help.
"I can sense the darkness. It feels like it's searching for me."
"They sense you." Titus stated.
"I think so.”
"It's a good thing we brought the entire force with us today,” Titus grumbled.
He slid his finger over the glass pad dashboard and brought up the video chat application with Kyran.
"I have unfortunate information. Desdemona believes the dark magician can sense her."
"We're coming close to the location," Kyran said, having left before Titus and Desdemona.
"We don't sense anything. We don't see anything we aren't picking up anything on our scanners. We know from maps that the island exists but we can’t see it."
"It's cloaked. We have to uncloak it somehow."
Desdemona felt the dark magic whirling toward her like a tornado. She could feel it in the distance. It was a whirling force of dark energy that could sense her. It wanted nothing but to destroy her.
"I've never sensed anything like this before," Desdemona said.
She had fled attacks by zombies in Northern California. She had seen the effects of the Surge in her part of the country. Xander had taken over Los Angeles and anything south of San Francisco was considered a badland. The temple could only exist where it did and her family was only safe because of dragons like Orion and the other northern immortals who had beaten them back.
Xander had wanted those population centers so badly that he had put most of his strength into gaining them. The immortals who had looked after those cities before could not withstand the force of the Surge and had evacuated, leaving the humans to fend for themselves.
The clans and covens who had those territories were devastated and were integrating into other clans. Most of them had gone to Europe to help Jerith fight for Paris. Desdemona looked out on the water, feeling the dark force coming faster and faster.
She wanted to scream but instead a clear, pure note came from her lips. The vibration of the sound kept the evil at bay. Inside her mind, she could see it recoil and retract, sensing her power and her unwillingness to be overtaken by the darkness.
The coiling dark magic retracted back to its base and swirled around its central core, below in the distance over the lake. She knew that it must be the location of the island. They definitely knew she was coming.
"I'm engaging fire. If I can see this island or not," Kyran said.
"We did not agree on that," Titus said.
"We have to be on the offensive," Kyran said.
"We don't know what our missiles are going to do or what they're going to hit. We may make it ten times worse."
"Your precautions are ridiculous. I say we fire," Kyran said.
"Kyran," Titus said. "I'm warning you."
"I'm attacking."
Kyran's face left the screen and Titus balled his fist and slammed it on the dashboard, clenching his teeth. He spat out a curse and then pinched the bridge of his nose.
"What do you think will happen?"
"I don't know, but none of us knows what is on the island. We don't know what we are attacking."
Desdemona felt the dark energy seeking her out again. She opened her lungs and began to sing, accelerating scales of music. Each note up and down the scale added to her strength and power as if she were stoking the flames of a bonfire. After her tenth scale, her voice and her power were honed and precise.
She began singing chords, and with each chord the dark energy quivered in fear. Titus’s squadron caught up with Kyran and they watched as the vampire ships bombarded the coordinates in the lake with missiles. Titus had their ship out of range and she could only see what was happening on video. Desdemona watched the missiles disappear into the void.
"We need to get closer," she said, taking a break from her song.
"I'm not risking you."
Desdemona started her song again, feeling the dark energy gain strength every time she stopped. The vampire ships continued fire on the void, but all at once a massive blast erupted from the island and the heat and shockwaves radiated out in all directions, blasting the vampire ships that were in range above the island.
The ships went crashing backwards in the air. Two of them smashed into each other and burst into flames. Titus watched the screen as the rest of the vampire ships fled. Desdemona gathered her strength, feeling her song grow more and more powerful. She wanted to uncover the truth. She wanted to see behind the veil. But most of all she wanted to win this fight for her husband.
She lifted her arms slowly and raised her voice in song. Then she brought her hands down and her voice low gathering her strength deep in her belly. With a huge burst of energy and a rising exuberant tone, Desdemona shot her arms up. With that, the water around the void flew upward. Desdemona clapped her hands together, bringing her tone into a clashing crescendo. The water spread over the island, washing away the barrier. The dark magic slipped and slid, oozing over the land, but it had been dissipated and all but destroyed. They could now see what was on the island. Unfortunately, it was much worse than anyone had anticipated.
23
Below in the distance, on the burning island, Titus saw something he hadn't beheld for two thousand years. It was a massive portal made of rock and skull and bone, powered by his energy devices. From the center of the portal poured hordes of the Surge. Legions of corrupted dragons and vampires, flanked by their monstrous creations: the zombies that had been made using genetically engineered vampire blood.
Not only were there legions of immortals pouring through the portal, there were weapons pouring through as well. Huge missiles far beyond the offensive capacity anything the Blackrose or Silverdrake currently owned. Titus let his mouth drop for a split second before accelerating his jet straight into the sky and away from the area. He knew what was coming and needed to get Desdemona to safety.
"This is not good," he said as he drove his jet back home. He needed to get her as far away from here as possible. Even St. Louis may be too close. He contemplated taking her all the way back to California but ultimately did not have the time.
The entire Midwest could be lost to Xander and that would be a catastrophe for the entire country.
Xander had his enclaves in L.A. and New York, but those were his only strongholds. The rest of the country was being held by the allied immortals. Chicago and St. Louis were the strongest footholds between East and West. This invasion was a disaster.
"Why are we leaving?" Desdemona asked.
"There's nothing we can do."
Titus flicked his finger over the glass pad as he pushed his jet to maximum speed. He could be back in St. Louis in a few minutes but he knew that the missiles that were pouring through that portal would not wait. He instructed his dragons to open fire on the portal and try to bring it down.
As he drove away, he continued to watch a feed of the battle from his dashboard. Part of him knew he should be there leading his troops, but he had to get his bride to safety. In that moment, he finally understood Orion and why he had left Titus and the Silverdrake clan to defend themselves at Denver. His love for Lucia was beyond anything else, and he’d needed to make sure that she was safe.
He watched the dragons and vampires bomb the tiny island. But their missiles had no effect. They only bounced off a hard, protective magical shell. Desdemona's magic had only broken the veil, and had not brought down the shield. It was a disaster. They needed stronger magic, but he would not sacrifice his bride to give it to them.
Titus brought Orion up on the screen on his video chat application and quickly explained the situation to his brother.
"I'm on my way and I'm bringing Bridget. She is the second strongest witch at the temple.”
"Come quickly."
Titus ended the conversation w
ith his brother and gripped the wheel of his jet, gritting his teeth as the seconds ticked by. It would take Orion hours to arrive from California and who knew what would happen by then.
When he finally landed on the roof of the Silverdrake Tower, he helped Desdemona out of the jet and led her to the elevator. They got Snowpuff from the penthouse and then went all the way down to the second sub-level basement below the Silverdrake’s advanced technology workshop and into the subterranean fallout shelter, which had been constructed for exactly this purpose.
He showed Desdemona to a comfortable seating area and informed her that she could have anything she needed. There were already several Goudy servants in the fallout shelter, and they quickly attended to her needs. He kissed her goodbye, hating that their honeymoon had turned into a battle for their lives.
"I wish I could have done more," Desdemona said.
"My love, you have done so much, but your battle is over. I need you safe. Promise me you will stay down here.”
"I will, Titus. Please be careful and come back to me. I don't know what I would do without you," she said.
"I will be back. You can depend on it. I won’t let anything keep us apart," he said, resting his hand on her belly.
He saw the light in her eyes when she looked up at him and it killed him to think of her alone here, worrying about him. But there was nothing he could do. He had to go, he had to protect the region and ultimately the world. The Surge had to be stopped honeymoon or not. He kissed her one last time and turned to go, unable to look back.
Titus quickly took the elevator up to the roof and jumped back into his jet. It had been refueled and restocked and it was ready to go. Just two days ago, he had been standing under an arch of white and pink flowers with his bride, and now he was rushing into battle against the most dangerous immortal the world had ever seen.
Titus met up with the rest of the squadrons over the lake in no time, their antigravity jets hung in the air over the dark water. He had an open video chat with the squadron pilots and with Kyran. All his dragons were there but two vampires had been badly injured in the original bomb blast. The Blackrose were down two men and more Surge immortals were pouring through the portal with every passing moment.
It amazed Titus how many immortals had chosen to take Xander’s side. He himself had always resented the veil that brought an end to magic in the world.
"What kind of missiles has Xander brought through the portal?" Titus asked, looking for more information.
They still had a feed from a drone on the island, and he tried to zoom in on the weapons. They looked like human, military grade, possibly even nuclear. This was not good. Not good at all.
"There's a mixed bag down there," Kyran said over video chat. “I think we are seeing the army from Paris, relocating to the island as we speak,” Kyran said.
"We need to put a stop to this now. Orion is bringing the strongest witch he can from the coven to help us take down the shield.”
"They're already arming the missiles."
"They don’t look nuclear. It looks like a combination of ballistic and guided missiles. They're preparing to launch," Titus said. “We have to stop them.”
“We haven't been able to make a dent in their shields," Kyran said.
"The shield in Denver was electromagnetic," Titus said. “This one is powerful magic.”
"Witches are working for the Surge now?" Kyran asked.
"There's no other explanation. I've never seen vampire or dragon magic this strong before. It can only be from a witch. That was Lucia’s opinion.”
“We can’t stop them at the source without a witch. We have to defend,” Titus said, flipping through his dashboard to alert his home base of the incoming threat.
"We have anti-ballistic missiles underground in Chicago," Kyran said. “They will not be able to hit us."
"We have the same but our weapons are old. The human infrastructure is broken and the military no longer exists."
"The southern clans and covens have been confiscating old human weaponry,” Titus said. "But much of it was confiscated by the Surge during the Dark Sun. They were ready for the event before anyone else. And they remain more prepared,” said Titus.
"You think Xander has the power to defeat us?" Kyran asked.
"Maybe we were lucky in Denver," Titus said, unable to hold back his cynicism.
There was nothing he could do as he watched the Surge arm missiles and point them directly at his city, where his bride now sat deep underground, waiting for him. He checked with Orion and found that his brother was passing over the Great Plains. He knew he would not arrive in time to prevent the first strike. The first missile launched from the island, heading toward Chicago.
"Fuck," Kyran muttered.
"We'll see how those anti-ballistic missiles of yours work out," Titus said.
He could not sit there any longer. He had to do something. The vampire squadron jutted away and went off the screen, including Kyran.
Titus led his own squadron out over the lake. The missile would hit at any second. He saw the anti-ballistics missile shoot up from underground from the city of Chicago over video feed, going out to meet the bomb coming toward them.
Kyran's anti-ballistic missile hit the first Surge missile and it exploded in midair, sending chunks of burning debris to the ground below. The Surge shot two more, and they were met in the same manner. But then the Surge shot half a dozen guided missiles, and Kyran's anti-ballistics missiles began to fail. The first bomb hit the suburbs outside the city. The second hit closer to downtown. After three bombs had hit Chicago, they began to aim north and east.
The immortals of the north had fewer resources than the Blackrose or the Silverdrakes. Titus quickly contacted the immortals of the northern cities and let them know that the missiles were coming at any second. Half a dozen missiles flew north, but the bombardment did not end. More missiles were sent off toward his own city, just as Orion and Bridget arrived above the lake.
"We made it as fast as we could, brother,” Orion said.
"I'm here to help," Bridget said, her face appearing over the screen.
"Desdemona was able to wipe away the veil over the island, allowing us to see what's happening down there, but she couldn't bring down the shields," Titus said.
"Did she try?" Bridget asked.
"I didn't give her the chance. I had to get her away from here as quickly as possible. She’s with child.”
"So now you understand what it means to have a wife," Orion said.
"This is hardly the time Orion, but yes, I now better understand your motivations during the battle at Denver," Titus said.
"I knew you would come around," Orion said with a grin, light shining in his silver-blue eyes. Titus rolled his own eyes and put an end to the conversation.
"Please Bridget, concentrate on the shields–we need to stop the bombardment,” Titus said.
Titus watched Bridget close her eyes and take a deep breath. She lifted her hands in the same manner that Desdemona had as a way to focus her magic.
"That is definitely witch magic,” she said. "But I've never seen anything like it before."
"Is there anything you can do?" Titus asked.
"I need to be much closer than this," Bridget said.
“I know what to do," Orion said.
Titus watched his brother open the roof of his jet and jump out, turning into a dragon in mid-flight. Bridget, the brave and athletic woman she was, jumped out of the jet and onto the back of her best friend’s husband in his great silver dragon form.
She flew on Orion's back over the lake and, as they approached the islands with the rest of the Silverdrake squadron flanking them, Bridget focused her energy at the shield and, with one great crack of her magic, brought it down.
As soon as the shield was down, the allied immortals blasted the islands with their own missiles. The legions below turned their attention from attacking the cities to defending their own lives.
Orion
flew over the island, raining down dragon fire with Bridget on his back, shooting her blasts of energy at the enemy below. But that didn't stop the Surge. No matter how many blasts Bridget hit the portal with, she couldn't bring it down.
Titus jumped from his own jet and into his dragon form, knowing that his strength lay in his true form. Even the vampires of the Blackrose had descended onto the island to fight face to face with the enemy. Titus flew down and swooped over the portal, raining his fire over the zombies streaming through.
He set them ablaze, but nothing seemed to stop the endless horde. Then he saw her, the dark witch who was responsible for this magic. And she saw him too. Titus watched her gather her strength, using the same type of energetic magic that Bridget and Lucia used. He thought that her blast would be directed at him, but instead she sent an energy ball shooting toward Orion and Bridget.
Bridget fell from Orion's back and screamed as her body plummeted to the ground. In the last minute, she cast a spell that caught her and kept her from being crushed by the force of gravity. She landed on her feet and Orion landed by her side, protecting the witch who was second in command only to his wife.
Titus swooped in to help protect Bridget as she blasted the enemy with her magic. They were being overrun by the Surge. Bridget quickly climbed back onto Orion's back before he leapt into the air. Orion flew away, taking Bridget with him. The dark witch with her long black hair, pale skin, and red lips smirked at Titus as if she knew him.
She stood in front of the portal, where a single man dressed in a tailored pinstripe suit stepped through and took the dark witch’s hand. Xander. But who was the witch? What kind of witch would side with a man like that?
The battle raged on, and there seemed to be no stopping them. Titus focused on burning the energy devices that powered the portal. He breathed his dragon fire at his machines, beating back zombies with his claws. After three strong blasts of his fire, the machines burst into flames, lost their charge, and ceased to power the portal.