Page 67 of Cosmic Power

Zamorra’s head snapped up and she glared hard at Barnabas, who sat on his regal golden throne on a raised platform at the end of the amphitheatre.

She glanced around, taking stock of her surroundings. Lilith, Daeva, Benjamin and Gabriel were all in the same position she was; strapped to chairs and trying desperately to break their bonds. Growls, snarls and grunts rang through the room as they pulled and strained, but it was all pointless. Barnabas had ensured there would be no escape, no matter how hard they tried.

Lilith’s horns had lengthened until they were at least eight inches long and curving, her black eyes filled with so much anger and hate that Zamorra felt like she was going to combust. Daeva’s sharp, black clawed fingers cut into his palms as he clenched his hands and tried yanking his wrists free, his fangs bared and eyes burning red. White lightning flashed in Benjamin’s eyes while he grunted, straining his body every way he could, hoping he could somehow slip out. Gabriel snarled, red lightning flashing behind his light green eyes as he flailed his body as much as possible in his restraints.

They were positioned side by side, facing Barnabas like they were on trial for some gruesome crime and he was their judge, jury and executioner. A few feet in front of each of them sat one of the Original Artefacts. Zamorra recognised the one in front of her. It was the necklace she saw Barnabas use against Roman. In front of Daeva was Luther’s ring. The silver band with the black crystal was in front of Lilith, and one of the gold earrings with the vibrant green crystals in the middle were each in front of Benjamin and Gabriel. A plastic tube ran from under their chairs to the corresponding Artefact in front of them.

The room was filled with Barnabas’ warriors; hundreds of werewolf shifters brimming with anger and hostility. Mathias and Braeden were at their father’s side like sentries; spines straight, shoulders back, hands clasped behind their bodies. Iris stood off to the side, her face riddled with nervousness.

“Are we ready to begin?” Barnabas called out, his deep voice booming throughout the room.

Zamorra had no idea who the fuck he was talking to. Surely not them.

“Can you get free?” she whispered to Lilith at her side.

The demon growled. “Does it look like I fucking can?” she snapped.

Hissing, Zamorra replied, “Jeez, are you ever not an asshole?”

“Focus on trying to get free and not bickering with each other!” Daeva barked, straining so hard his muscles bulged in his dark red shirt.

Zamorra leaned forward to look at Gabriel and Benjamin. “Can’t you two work some of your magic or something? Get us out of here?”

The dark mage glowered, red lightning flashing behind his eyes. “You don’t think we’ve fucking tried that?! The chairs are spelled to stop us from using our magic, but keep our power. I’m guessing he needs the power in our blood to make those stupid fucking Artefacts work.”

Barnabas stood and glided towards them, the picture perfect image of a man who had not a worry in the world. Of a man who had won. He marched down the line, walking past them all at a slow, leisurely pace, his blue eyes studying each of them intently.

When he got to Gabriel at the end he stopped, facing him head on. He pulled a demon blade from behind his back and held it up in the air, admiring the sharp steel. He took a deep breath in and let it out, as if savouring the moment.

“Today we make history,” he thundered, addressing everyone in the room like the king he so desperately wanted to be. “We will open a portal to a new world, one filled with power and riches beyond our wildest dreams. And we will take it. Take everything it has to offer. You all know the devastating power our Ancestors hold. It’s time to take that power for ourselves. And when we return, we will make the humans bend to our will. We will rule this Earth and everyone in it. They will bow before us, begging for mercy. And will we give it?”

“No!” the shifters roared, jumping up and down, cheering him on.

“We will finally take our rightful place among the elite, the powerful. And it all begins right here! Right now!”

Whoops and hollers erupted in the room, so loud and deafening that Zamorra wanted to cover her ears.

“Jesus Christ, it’s like a fucking cult,” she whispered under her breath, watching the shifters look at Barnabas with reverence, like he was some sort of god.

Barnabas covered the small distance between him and Gabriel. The dark mage bared his teeth like a rabid animal.

“Don’t fucking touch me,” he snarled, eyes burning with hatred.

The Alpha shifter gave a dark smirk. “Relax, Gabriel. Like I said, we’re about to make history. Embrace it, revel in it. It’s the only thing you will accomplish, after all. The only time you’ll amount to anything.”

He took the demon blade in his hands and plunged it deep into Gabriel’s stomach. Gabriel threw his head back and roared in pain, his scream ringing through the air. Barnabas pulled it out just as quickly and blood sprayed everywhere. The chair lit up like a Christmas tree, absorbing the blood pouring out of the dark mage, and funnelled it into the tube leading to the Artefact.

Zamorra held her breath as she watched the blood slowly inch its way closer and closer. The room quietened to the point that you could drop a pin and hear it touch the ground. Everyone waited on bated breath to see what would happen next.

The moment Gabriel’s blood touched the emerald earring, magic exploded in the air, releasing a mighty wave of pure power that washed over the room. Green light shone like a beacon from the earring as the green crystal inside broke out of the gold encasing it. Blood continued to flow and the crystal soaked it all up, its power growing and growing with every drop of blood it absorbed.

Conviction vibrated from Barnabas as he watched the events unfold. “Onto the next.” He moved and stood in front of Benjamin.

The light mage licked his lips nervously. “You’ve got no clue what you’re doing. For all you know, this amount of power you’re unleashing could destroy our world.”

“It could, but I doubt it,” the Alpha shifter ripped into Benjamin’s stomach with the demon blade and he screamed in agony, pulling and tugging against his restraints in an attempt to get away from the pain.

Just like with Gabriel, the chair Benjamin was sitting on lit up as his blood was channelled into the tube beneath him, heading straight for the Artefact. Another burst of raw magic and power flooded the room the second Benjamin’s blood touched the emerald earring; the crystal burst free, shattering the gold surrounding it and lighting up the room alongside the other.

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