In his mind, James picked up a glittering sword and swung it at the head of the snakes. They reared, hissing. With each decapitation, his visions disintegrated. Slice. He would never soar through the air, never experience the thrill and freedom of flight. Slice. He would never feel the love of millions. The world would never chant his name. Slice. He would always be a Normal.
As his monstrous thoughts died, the tendrils of light stopped moving toward him. He gritted his teeth, willing them back.
His whole body shook from the effort. For a moment, the tendrils merely stayed in place. Then, slowly, agonizingly slowly, they began retreating, back toward the stone. The two touching his face disconnected, and a flood of pain returned to his back, his head, his hand. It was almost enough for him to stop, to give up, but he kept going, kept pushing back. The part of his mind that told him to accept his destiny lay in tatters.
The tendrils were inches from the stone now, and the stone pulsed angrily, the clouds within swirling, an angry tempest. James doubled down, throwing everything into sending those tendrils back into the stone. His arm shook violently, but he held on, pushing, pushing. Sweat stung his eyes.
“I don’t want it!” he screamed. He gave one last push, and the tendrils of light retreated into the stone, which began to pulse rapidly. It grew hot in his hand, burning hot, but still, he held on.
He looked up and met the eyes of Calico, those beetle’s eyes wide with wonder and fear. The stone seared his skin, but he didn’t care. In those last moments, he felt the sweet taste of victory. He had won.
The world exploded and he saw no more.
Chapter 40
Derek Bolt walked through the rubble, surveying the destruction around him.
The temple—Shanti Stupa, they called it—was completely fine, save for a few scratches from flying rubble. The real destruction came from the hill nearby, where the earth had been blown to bits, revealing a half-collapsed cavern filled with water.
He’d gotten there too late. After they were intercepted in the air, he should have gone straight for the temple. But he’d been blinded by rage, by betrayal. He wanted to hurt those who had once called themselves Supers. But when Tonitrus, Afectrus, and Myrcellus sensed defeat, they fled like cowards. Not that he could blame them. Lychnus... Derek had never seen the man so angry. And when a normally calm, rational man became angry, it wasn’t a pretty sight.
Now he feared the worst. James—that brave, foolish boy—had gone after the stone. But Calico must have caught up with him. Only one thing could cause an explosion of this magnitude.
He could hear Rocky and Katie nearby, calling out for James. Poor kids. He should’ve left them back at the base. But they’d been so brave, standing up to Calico, enduring his torture. Without them, he’d still be unconscious in a tube. Now they were calling for their friend, their voices determined. But soon, he feared, their youthful hope would crumble around them.
It was his own fault, all of it. He and Avus had grown suspicious of Calico, had seen him meeting with the others, had heard his hushed tones. They’d even managed to steal papers outlining his research on the Chintamani Stone. Avus had wanted to bring them straight to Lychnus, but Derek had resisted. He didn’t want to cause a rift without solid proof. He’d been too trusting, too naive. In those last days, when he feared Calico would move against them, he’d left clues for James, the person he trusted most in the world. It was a foolish, selfish thing to do. If James didn’t make it out of this, Derek could never live with himself.
He stepped next to Lychnus, who stood near the edge of the crater, examining the half-collapsed cavern. Water flowed around massive chunks of rock, but otherwise, the cavern was empty. If there had been anything inside, it was either destroyed or taken.
“This is where it must have been,” Lychnus said. His voice was calm now, no longer shaking with fury.
“You think Calico got it?” Derek asked. Even as he said it, he knew it sounded naive, hopeful. Of course he got it, Derek. Look around.
But the look Lychnus gave him was compassionate, his blue eyes shining. He put a hand on Derek’s shoulder. “Your brother showed bravery befitting a Super. He was a true hero.”
Was. That word stung, but Derek forced his emotions down. Now wasn’t the time to grieve. They had a job to do. They had to stop Calico, or many more would die.
“Where do you think Calic—” Derek started, but a loud cry from around the hill cut him off.
Katie sprinted around the corner, tears in her eyes, her face red from exertion. “Derek!” she cried, and her voice cracked. “C-Come quick!”
All pretense of composure left Derek, and he sprinted after Katie, his heart pounding, letting himself hope... Please.
They rounded the hill and found Rocky, his arms straining as he struggled to lift a massive piece of rubble nearly the same size as him. Other large rocks were already cast aside behind him.
Below the rubble, a pair of sneakers stuck out.
Derek ran faster, stopping next to Rocky and helping him push the massive piece of rubble away. Smaller stones lay beneath it, and they scrambled to move them, neither talking but both connected through their silent desperation.
Finally, Rocky lifted a stone and revealed James’s face, barely recognizable through the grime and blood. His eyes were closed and his neck hung limply to the side.
“No, no, no,” Derek muttered as he worked to uncover the rest of James’s body. When the last few stones were gone, Derek looked down at his brother. He seemed small like this, his body broken, one arm bent the wrong way.
Derek fell to his knees beside the broken body of his brother, and the dam in his mind ruptured. Tears flowed freely down
