Fall of the Spectrum

Chapter Thirty-One

Gwen never thought she'd get sick of visiting a foreign country, especially not one as beautiful as Japan had turned out to be. Even if her visits so far had solely consisted of fighting for her life, it just hadn't seemed possible that she'd tire of seeing the temple grounds again. Now that it was daylight, Chikurin-ji Temple was all the more impressive.

But with Reeves' new moon rite set to occur two hours from now—when it would be 1:12 A.M. in New Orleans, the first place he had set foot on Earth so many years before—she was having a hard time appreciating the surrounding beauty.

"I don't trust this," Phenex said. He gently pushed Gwen so that she was hidden behind one of the hedges bordering the outlying temple apartments, a frown darkening his face as he crouched down beside her. "We should have run into a patrol or two by now."

"Agreed." Gwen glanced back at Forneus, gasping when he summoned a sword to his hand in a burst of golden light. "I fear we may already be too late."

Gwen closed her eyes, stretching out as best as she could with her Magic Sight. The mental energy lines spread throughout the temple courtyard, weaving over and under the plant life and between buildings, all to no avail.

"I think you're right," she said after a moment, worrying her lower lip. "I don't sense the artifacts anywhere. But why would Reeves have already left unless he knew we were—"

"—coming?"

All three whirled around, Gwen squinting against the glaring afternoon sun as it cast a halo of gold in Iris's dark hair. It was a moment longer before she could make out the half-siren's facial features, painted pink lips curving into a wicked smile, earthen brown eyes glittering dangerously.

Phenex and Forneus were on their feet in an instant, the former wreathing himself in flames while the latter sent electricity arcing down the length of his blade.

"Did you really think we wouldn't find out?" Iris said, eyeing them with amusement. "Your little operation couldn't have been more obvious had someone in the Spectrum itself told me in advance. Oh wait—they did."

Phenex exchanged a dark look with Forneus. Even after all this time, they still hadn't found out just who the traitors in the Spectrum were—only that whoever they were and however many existed, they belonged to Iris.

Gwen had only a second to wonder how they had infiltrated the private council meeting regarding the covert operation when there was a sudden blast of wind from behind Iris, kicking up so much dust in its wake that she could barely see. Suppressing a cough, Gwen shielded her eyes against the dust storm, tears wetting her eyelashes as she attempted to spot some trace of the half-siren; a glimpse of dark hair, a flash of sparkling purple from her gown. Anything.

By the time she caught sight of Iris, it was to realize she'd been joined by dozens of demons and monsters, all in varying shapes and sizes—the largest of which was a five-headed hydra. Its massive fangs glistened with saliva as it growled at them, the two heads farthest on the right lowering so that Iris could scratch them beneath their chins.

"Gwen, get back!" Forneus ordered, a flicker of light emanating from his free hand. The runes along his rings began to glow a brilliant orange, reminding Gwen of hot coals half a second before Forneus released a series of fireballs into the gathering throng. Phenex followed his lead, bringing both of his hands forward and releasing a torrent of flame wide enough to take out several of the monsters, had Iris not created a barrier of water at the last second.

The fireballs Forneus had released met their mark, however, whizzing over Iris's head to land on a plant monster covered in black vines. The flames ignited on impact, the plant monster releasing an ominous wail that reminded Gwen of the rush of wind through a cave. Covering her ears, she concentrated as hard as she could on calling the ethereal armour into place, knowing full well what would follow.