He dropped from the sky, coming to rest before Jazz, who had her eyes closed. The turmoil on her face was gone. She looked almost peaceful.
'Jandra,' said Shay, barely a yard from Jazz's face.
Jazz opened one eye to glare at him.
'Remember Lizard,' said Shay.
Jazz fell to her knees as a howl rose from the face on her back.
HEX PICKED HIMSELF up from the sandy beach where he'd come to rest. He was astonished to find he had no broken bones. There were scratches on his golden shell from his flight through the buildings, but no cuts or gouges. Just how tough was this armor?
He tried to flap his wings, but found he didn't have the strength to lift into the air. The fault wasn't his golden shell. He was still too weak from having had nothing to eat or drink. Jandra-or was it Jazz?-had said the shell would multiply his strength by ten. Unfortunately, ten times nothing was nothing.
He limped back into the city of towers. All around him, men and women in exotic hues wandered around, looking dazed. Many had simply collapsed where they stood, staring into the night sky, paralyzed by fear. He could hear the cries of men and women rising from unseen chambers beneath the earth as the lights of the city fell dark.
He came to a fountain. He lowered his jaws to drink, then halted, focused on the strangeness of seeing his countenance in gold. His green eyes weren't coated by the metal. He opened his mouth. His teeth were covered, but the metal stopped just inside this gums. His tongue was unprotected, still purple and raw.
He didn't care about the pain. He thrust his snout into the water and gulped until he'd had his fill. When he lifted his head once more, he heard a howling sound, like wind rushing through a cave. The flowers in the garden around him fluttered as the breeze picked up.
With his belly full of water, he felt even more sluggish than before. Yet, he couldn't afford this weakness. He, more than anyone, was responsible for Jandra's condition. This meant he, more than anyone, was now responsible for the fate of the world.
Digging into the deep reservoir of strength that only guilt can provide, he beat his golden wings and took to the air. Quickly, he gained his bearings. He could see the temple in the distance, though he couldn't tell what was happening in its shadowy interior. As he weaved his way among the towers, he soon spotted the silver form of Jazz, down on her knees beside the shattered fountain. A winged man stood before her. One of the angels?
He dove closer and realized it was Shay. He was talking to Jazz. Jazz was shaking her head. Her silver shell was bubbling up on her back. What was happening? He had only seconds to decide on a course of action. He knew his strength would fail any moment.
Shay's eyes grew wide as he saw Hex.
Jazz looked over her shoulder at him.
Hex made his decision. Just before his jaws clamped down onto Jazz's silvery body, he realized that the bulge on her back looked a bit like a woman's face.
He dug his teeth into Jazz with all his might. It sounded as if two voices screamed inside his mouth. He spread his wings to come to a halt before he crashed into the columns of the temple. He stumbled as he hit the ground. The wind at his back was like a hurricane. He tumbled and rolled, losing his grip on the silver woman. He bounced up the steps of the temple, pushed by the incredible wind. He dug his golden claws into the polished marble as he continued to slide. He craned his neck and saw Skitter struggling to keep from being pulled into an enormous black pit over which a second Jazz stood.
While his golden shell was stronger, and his claws were sharper, his metallic scales did lack one important quality: friction. Nothing he did halted his slide toward the void.
A sharp pain punched into his left wing. He came to a sudden and complete halt. He looked toward the source of the pain.
One of Bitterwood's arrows jutted from his wing. Half the shaft was buried in the marble floor. The force that tugged on him would no doubt have torn his ordinary flesh, but the golden shell held firm against the arrow. He was pinned.
'Take her down!' Hex growled.
Somehow, even above the howl of wind, he suspected the Murder God heard his prayer.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE:
LOST CITY
THE SILVER-SHELLED WOMAN at the foot of the temple steps rose on wobbly legs. Deep, ugly puncture wounds seeped dark blood from both sides of her rib cage. Shay approached her carefully, having retrieved the angel sword. Yellow flames reflected on her metal cheeks as she stared at him with eyes full of murder.
'She killed Lizard,' said Shay.
The woman's left eye twitched.
'N-nice t-try,' she said, wiping her silver lips with a bloodied hand. 'But your f-friend's attack put me back in the d-driver's seat.'
'She killed Vendevorex,' said Shay, though he wasn't certain this was true.
Jazz's silver skin literally crawled as is it crept over her wounds.
'A-attacking me… only reinforces… the defensive programs in my genie.' She sounded winded. She grew more stable on her feet as she took a long, slow breath. 'I'm the living embodiment of the concept that whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger. I've silenced Jandra forever. I've flushed Atlantis into orbit around Proxima Centauri. You can't win this, Shay. Do you think they call me goddess because I have a fabulous body? This is my world now.'
Shay willed the flames of the angel sword even brighter. 'You've been beaten before.'
'You want to sword fight?' Jazz giggled. A rainbow sword grew in her left hand. She planted her black boots in a fighting stance. 'Let's do this thing!'
Shay gripped his sword with a sweaty hand. He watched Jazz's face intently. He had to know. 'Remember Lizard!' he pleaded.
'I remember,' she said, as a smile played upon her lips. 'His neck made the most satisfying snap when I twisted it.'
Shay lunged. The goddess leapt.
There was a flurry of motion that Shay found difficult to understand. He felt suddenly light-headed. He looked down. His sword was lying at his feet. His right hand was still wrapped around the hilt.
'You might be worse at this than anyone I've ever seen,' said Jazz.
Shay grabbed the stump of his wrist with his left hand, pinching off the blood flow.
'You might not have got the memo that my sword can cut through anything,' said Jazz, as Shay dropped to his knees. 'Still want to fight?'
He shook his head mournfully. 'I never wanted to fight you,' he said. He looked into Jazz's eyes, into whatever tiny echo of Jandra remained, 'I love you.'
Jazz's left eye twitched shut. Her head twisted until it pressed against her shoulders. Her lips trembled as she whispered, 'I love you too.'
Seconds later, she screamed, 'ShutupshutupSHUTUP!'
'Nooooo!' a second voice howled from her back.
'If you like him so much, we'll keep the head!' Jazz snarled. She lunged forward once more, swinging her rainbow sword in a powerful arc.
Shay fell backwards, pulling Jandra's pack off his shoulder with his left hand. He let go as the sword sliced through the bag. He prayed it would slice open the impenetrable crystal ball within it. When the severed pack fell to the ground, the only thing to tumble out was Jandra's blue silk coat.
Above the roar of wind came the howl of ghosts.
