“He just tried to crush us with a boulder the size of a bus,” I answered, drawing Grim Whisper. “What do you think?”
“This is not the end,” Monty said, unleashing the orbs as they raced at Toson. “It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning. Let’s crush him.”
“British Bulldog for the win, then,” I said, firing Grim Whisper. “If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
I saw Peaches rush the golem, knocking it on its side. Toson screamed in anger and unleashed an orb of flame at my hellhound, who blinked out and reappeared behind Toson, unleashing his omega beams.
Toson raised a stone wall only to have it obliterated. The golem got to its feet and punched Peaches in his side, launching him across the street. Peaches shook off the blow, and then charged at the golem as Toson raced at us, hands blazing.
“Today you die,” Toson said, blasting us with flame. “Today, I will scatter the ashes of your bones.”
Monty raised a shield and deflected the flame to the side.
“I think he may be a bit stronger than last time,” Monty said, unleashing more orbs. “His energy signature has escalated.”
“Of course, I’m stronger,” Toson sneered. “I deciphered the limiter you placed on my artifact and modified it. Now the golem’s essence feeds me directly.”
“Directly?” Monty asked, slashing a hand through the air, destroying several stone orbs headed our way. “Are you mad? Don’t you know what that means?”
“It means I will have all the power,” Toson boasted, raising his flame-covered arms. “I will incinerate you into ash and then I will wait for her. She will bow to me before she dies.”
I pressed my mala bead, creating my shield. Monty stood next to me and reinforced it, as an enormous wall of flame headed our way.
“That looks hot, Monty. Too hot for these shields.”
“I know,” he said, grabbing my arm and flinging me to the side, out of the way. With another gesture he formed a blade of air, slicing his arm. I saw the blood float lazily in the air in front of him and in his hand he held the vial of Mors Tenebris. “I’m sorry, Simon. This is the only way to stop him.”
I patted my pockets, but the box was gone.
“Monty! No!” I yelled. “That’s not—”
Monty drank the vial and gestured. Nothing happened.
Toson laughed and sent more orbs of flame at Monty.
“Fool!” Toson screamed. “No one can stand against me! Burn in your death!”
<Boy, Monty needs help now!>
Two beams of red energy punched into Toson from behind, knocking him to the side. Peaches bounded forward through the wall of flame with the golem in pursuit. The golem caught up to Peaches, bringing a hammer-fist down on his back. Peaches deviated from his trajectory, slipping into a slide and crashing forward, head-first.
Monty, still in shock from the ineffective Mors Tenebris—actually a vial of Coke, didn’t have time to get out of the way. Peaches shook his head at the last second and launched Monty to the side, away from the wall of flame. The wall of flame engulfed Peaches a second later.
“Peaches!” I screamed when he disappeared from sight. I pulled out the flask and for a split-second, I considered it, before opening the flask and pouring out the contents. I let the rage wash over me.
“Ignisvitae!” I yelled, unleashing a beam of violet energy from my hand that blasted into the golem, sending it crashing into a building. Toson looked at me in shock.
“You won’t stop me,” he said, running to the golem. “Your mage gave me the key. You will all die!”
The golem stood and caught the running Toson in its embrace, and the Earth’s Breath exploded with orange light as Toson was absorbed into the golem. It grew taller and brighter as it stood, then looked at us and roared.
“You really should have let me drink the dark death,” Monty said, looking at the Toson-golem. “He just became exponentially more lethal.”
“The dark death was a horrible idea,” I said, putting my flask away. “I really wish I had some coffee right about now.”
The Toson-golem zeroed in on us and started running in our direction. I felt the vibrations through the street as it closed the distance. When it was a hundred feet away, it leapt in the air, its intention to give us a flaming foot stomp of doom. Monty began gesturing and forming shields around us.
I heard the growl from behind us as Peaches bounded over us, eyes blazing, and crashed into the flaming Toson-golem. The golem grabbed Peaches and slammed him into a building before throwing him across Broadway.
Peaches shook it off, but I could tell he was out of it. He tried to walk and fell to one side.
<Stay there, boy! He’ll hurt you again!>
<YOU ARE IN DANGER. YOU MUST EVACUATE THE AREA, BONDMATE.>
<Just stay there! Don’t move!>
Peaches tried to stand again but fell over. The golem looked at Peaches and dismissed him with a roar as he headed our way.
“He’s too strong, Monty,” I said, looking at the approaching golem. “What did he do? He said you gave him the key. Which key?”
“He undid the limiter I placed on the artifact,” Monty said. “By doing so, he must have found a way to merge with the artifact and the golem—creating this amalgamation of human and golem.”
“That’s going to come crush us.”
“I think our part here is done,” Monty said. “This is too much power for us.”
“What are you talking about? He hurt Peaches. I’m not going to give up.”
I drew Ebonsoul and approached the golem when a hand reached out and grabbed me by the shoulder.
“Simon…” Monty started.
“Let go of me, Monty,” I said, shrugging off the hand. “You sit there if you want, but I’m going to go stab that bastard a few times for hurting my hellhound.”
“I told you. This was my duty.”
It was Jen.
THIRTY-EIGHT
It wasn’t
