Theo leaped forward, casting a shield spell. The chakram struck the pink diagram with a shower of sparks before shooting back into the darkness as if reeled by an invisible line.
Seemed Lyura could control the chakrams even after throwing them. They had to stop her, but how to get within reach?
Or maybe.... "Zenith." Theo tugged on Zenith's cape. "Let's go on the offensive. If I cast the elemental spell, will you be able to destroy the chakrams?"
"Now?" Zenith glanced over his shoulder, blinking. "Are you certain?"
True, Theo didn't know if they'd have to face stronger opponents. Then again, Lyura was the one who had defeated Avia, so she had to be one of Oliver's best familiars. Who knew? If they took her out, that might make the rest of their mission easier.
Before Theo could say it aloud, Zenith's Levia sparked inside his chest. He smiled. They didn't need words.
Zenith charged up the stairs again, sword extended. Now it was time for Theo to do his job. He clenched his teeth and concentrated on gathering his Levia, weaving the tendrils of pink light into a complicated design.
"Theo! Look out!" When Ryan bumped into him, Theo's concentration scattered like birds from a shot. He whipped around, ready to give Ryan an earful, but the words died in his throat when he saw the horror in the other wizard's eyes.
Two men in light armor spilled out of the door to the side of the landing, swords extended. Pointed straight at Theo and Ryan.
"Run!" Ryan grabbed Theo's arm, pulling him down from the landing.
Not in time. A sword swung above Theo's head, close enough to blow a gust of air into his face. Theo yelped, his heel catching on the step below.
Cape streaking behind him, Zenith surged back onto the landing.
He clashed swords with one of the guards, knocking the guard's weapon out of his hand. The guard dove back through the doorway, while the other guard jumped down from the landing.
Undeterred, Zenith whirled upon the remaining guard. That was when Levia spiked within Theo, sharp and violent. A Levia he had felt before.
When the portal to the prison had opened.
Orange light flared across the landing, forming a diagram Theo didn't recognize. But he felt its power well enough, beating against his face like a hot wind. And Zenith was caught right in the middle of it.
"ZENITH!" he screamed. "RUN!"
They still had time, he sensed – just a sliver of a second before the spell actually took effect. A chance for Zenith to escape.
The guard below the landing rounded on Theo and Ryan, sword pointed.
Zenith charged forward.
"No!" The cry tore out of Theo's throat. Ryan tugged harder on his arm, dragging him out of the guard's range, but the guard had already pulled back his attack.
Because he hadn't intended to hurt Theo. Only to distract Zenith.
A wall of orange light burst around the diagram, trapping Zenith inside. He bellowed as he slammed against it, causing the light to spark crazily, before bouncing backward.
Zenith's panic surged inside Theo, choking off his breath. Panic, desperation, confusion, – all of it flooded Theo's heart until he felt like he might explode.
Yet it couldn't even compare to the power radiating from the diagram. Theo had never felt such a malicious Levia before. It throbbed in his bones like a drumbeat, flooded his mouth with the taste of metal. Even though the spell was trapping Zenith, he felt the power worming its way through its own body, digging through every crevices as if hunting for something hidden deep inside....
"Theo!" Another, harder tug on his arm. Ryan was still trying to drag him down the stairs. Mindlessly, Theo shook off his grip and started back up, trying to reach Zenith again.
Too late. The light from the diagram flared, slamming into Theo like a blast of wind. It knocked him off his feet, sending him rolling down the stairs.
Until Ryan's hands braced his back, bringing him to a shuddering halt. Gasping, Theo hauled himself up by one elbow.
All he could see from the landing was a wall of orange light. Then it crackled, and a boom echoed inside Theo's skull, and the light vanished in a shower of blinding sparks.
As they rained down, Theo's muscles quivered like jelly. He couldn't stop shaking, and he had no idea why.
The sparks dissipated. Behind him, Ryan gasped.
The landing was empty. No trace of the diagram, or the guards – or of Zenith.
Footsteps echoed in the suddenly silent stairwell. Two people strode down the stairs above the landing.
One was Lyura, the other a boy even shorter than her. He couldn't be any older than twelve, with a head of golden curls and dressed in a white suit. Even though Theo had never met him before, he knew exactly who this boy had to be.
"Thanks for the gift." A savage grin twisted Oliver Enson's angelic face. "Now I've got two homunculi in my collection."
"Way too easy!" Lyura giggled. "If he'd just run when he could have, he might've gotten away. But no, he just had to go save the poor helpless li'l wizards. Guys like that are sooooo gross!"
She doubled over and clutched her stomach, guffawing like she'd told the funniest joke in the world. But laughing was the last thing on Theo's mind. As the adrenaline drained away, he became aware of the Levia swirling within his body.
Just his Levia alone. Not a trace of Zenith's brilliance. When Theo tried reaching for it, he only found a gaping emptiness. As if a hole had been torn into his heart.
In an instant, he realized what it meant. An icy wave of horror crashed through him, freezing him in place. He couldn't breathe. Couldn't even think.
But not for long. Something sharpened beneath the fog of horror, piercing through it like a burning arrow. Raw fury.
"You bastard! Give him back!" His voice came out so rough and strangled, he barely recognized it.
"Finders, keepers, losers, weepers," Oliver declared, hands on his hips. "I'll make much better use of him than you, anyway."
Everything erupted inside Theo – his rage, confusion, hatred. Screaming, he lunged at Oliver.
Dimly he heard Ryan shout his name. Then more guards spilled out of the door and marched across the landing. With their swords extended, Theo couldn't cross them.
He could only stare, helpless and furious, as orange light swallowed Oliver and Lyura and they vanished like they had never been there at all.
A sword filled his vision, pointed directly at his throat. He stared down the length of the blade into the cold, hard eyes of the guard wielding it.
"Come with us," the guard said. "Playtime's over, brats."