Fall of the Spectrum

Chapter Thirty-Three

Iris grabbed hold of the girl as she slipped from the daemon's arms, evading the firebird's attack in the process. Weakened though she was from battle, the girl still tried to struggle from Iris's grasp, wisps of green energy coiling up from her and vanishing before they could materialize into her armour.

"Let me go!" she screamed, attempting to strike Iris with her fists.

"Remain still, child," Iris hissed, wrapping her arm around both of the girl's and pinning them at her sides. "Continue, and you will follow your daemon friend there."

The girl briefly stilled in her arms, glancing back to where the guardian had fallen, his chest rising and falling with laboured breaths.

"What have you done to him?" she asked in a tremulous voice, struggling harder.

If Reeves hadn't needed the girl conscious for the final incantation, Iris would have made good on her threat and pricked her with one of her barbs then and there. As things were, it was taking all of her strength just to keep the girl firmly in her grasp, half dragging, half carrying her toward the steps.

Catching the eye of one of the shadows closest to the platform's edge, she signalled for it to come and give her a hand, two others following as it wrapped its shadowy appendages around the girl's wrists and ankles.

"That's much better," said Iris, stealing a glance over her shoulder to see if the firebird was following her. Seeing a pack of chimera surrounding him, she smiled. Things were working out more perfectly than she would have thought possible. Now all that was left was to get the girl to Reeves, and everything—the Spectrum, every last realm—would be theirs for the taking.

With the shadows' help, Iris got the girl within Reeves' protective barrier with minimal fuss, though the girl continued to thrash and scream her frustration. It wasn't long before Apophis joined them, the serpent-god personally ensuring no one interfered with their task, now that their victory was nigh. Dozens of his elite joined him in deflecting the enemy's attempts, though only temporarily. With so many of them capable of flight or teleportation, it was proving difficult to put a permanent kibosh on their attempts.

Let him worry about it, Iris reminded herself, returning to the burden shared between herself and the shadows. He likes to boast of his power, let's see him put it to good use.

Iris gave the girl one final shove toward the centre of the platform, where Reeves stood waiting. The shadows did the rest, binding her from head to toe and forcing her to her knees. The artifacts formed a circle around her, exuding an ominous glow at her presence. Careful not to step on any of the magic symbols, Iris moved forward, inspecting the circle beneath her feet before coming to a stop at Reeves' side.

Distantly, she could hear the battle raging on outside of the shadow dome, filtering through as if an actual wall separated the platform from the rest of the Spectrum. It was with only the slightest apprehension that she took notice of Apophis when he came up behind her, clearly content to let Ares' and Sitri's garrisons hold off the Regulations Force while he saw to the final proceedings.

It's time, Iris thought, sending it through the telepathic link she shared with her undercover agents. They would know what to do. To Reeves she merely nodded. He met her gaze with a knowing smirk and continued on with his incantation, the familiar words gliding over Iris like a lover's caress.

When he came to the end of his incantation, the whole circle glowed, radiating a brilliant scarlet. The inner lines were the first to brighten, spreading counter-clockwise into the outer layers and filling up each of the runes. The artifacts too began to glow, and when the light touched the girl, she let out an agonized scream.