Reapers - Master of Souls (Reapers Chronicles Book III)

22 - Crossover (1 of 2)

With every promise she's broken

With every lie she's spoken

Her enemy's not far behind

It's your time  

Across The Line, Linkin' Park

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A somber quiet filled the arena as every capable Reaper came in fidgeting with the meager packs they had been given for the crossover.

Sathariel was in the middle with his eyes closed and a hand on the lodestone as if saying his earnest prayers. Behind him, stood Belial, Levi and Luci, heads bowed while muttering altogether under their breaths.

Soon, the surface of the lodestone underneath Sathariel's palm began to glow. The infectious light spread quickly, reaching the top before travelling down the three bases of the Triangle. In a few seconds, what once were spires made of dead rock were transformed into giant luminescent crystals, the conjoined tips of which piercing through the soot-colored clouds that rolled menacingly low overhead. Around the vertex of the Triangle, the clouds shimmered and began to gyrate slowly like a whirlpool of light being born.

A portal, I thought.

"Let me give you a quick rundown of this mission," Sathariel announced.

We were grouped into three. No one wanted to talk. None of us were too excited about this mission. Nonetheless, everybody came closer to listen.

"Vincent, Aramis and Alexis: your job is to deal with Legion. Avoid combat if possible, just until we find the Grimoire. Vlad, take your cabal and find Cairo. I'd already made contact with Pilgrim and he's willing to lend two of his familiars to aid the search. We find Cairo, we find the Grimoire. Hector and the rest of his brothers will be waiting in Halo. Once the Grimoire's in their hands, they'd start casting the barrier around the abyss."

Hector raised a hand, grinning, eyes wild as if he was about to dissect a kitten. "That's the easy part, eh? The million dollar question is, can we actually chock Legion into the abyss before we finish the barrier?"

Everyone seemed expectant of the answer, but Sathariel took his time.

"It's up to those three," he replied, alternating his gaze between Vincent, Alex and me.

Automatically, all pairs of eyes in the room were on us.

Belial came to me, carrying a wooden bowl which contained what looked to me like blood. Without warning, she withdrew a brush from her robes, dipped it into the bowl and reached for my left hand.

"It ain't human blood, if that's what you're thinkin'."

She painted something on the back of my hand—an inverted triangle—while murmuring something. As soon as it started glowing, Belial wiped the blood off. Still, the red triangle remained on my skin.

"What is it?" I asked.

"A sigil. Worn by the offerer as a pledge to Eldest," she answered. "Won't come off unless you finish the ritual."

"And if I don't?"

One corner of her lips actually pulled up. Her dark eyes roamed the arena.

"Then, I sure hope you like it here, Hun. 'Cause you'll be changing your permanent address if you screw this one up."

With that, she left me mulling about my options.

To be honest, it wasn't explained to me in detail how we were supposed to defeat Adrianna in the first place. All I knew was one: Adrianna wanted something from me. Whatever that was, I still didn't know. Two: she wanted Vincent on her side. No way in hell I was going to let that happen. And three: I had to make some sort of sacrifice. Sounded kind of grim, but I agreed anyway. Otherwise, I had no chance of saving Dad.