Anthem of Ashes: Book 9 in the Spellsinger Series Read online

  Craig Daniels laughed boisterously. “Oh, you're wonderful. I love a smart woman. Very well. All the infusion seems to do, so far, is provide perfect health, increased stamina, and astounding strength, but I suspect it has also lengthened my lifespan. Oh, and it also grants a fascinating ability to produce fire.”

  So, it was as we had suspected. And Icky had been right; it was a human behind it, using a potion to steal Beneather power.

  “All right. Ask your question, Dr. Daniels.”

  “You and your friends' appearances changed drastically during the flight here.” He waved his hand at me. “How did you do that?”

  “I didn't do it, my husband did. He's a very powerful supernatural; a king.”

  Dr. Daniels lifted a brow. “Is 'King' a rank of power or rulership?”

  “Both,” I admitted. “You'd best pray that he doesn't find me like this. He will not be merciful.”

  Daniels cleared his throat.

  “Anything else?” I asked him.

  “What can your husband do exactly?”

  “Ah, now that is not a clarity question,” I chided him.

  “How did he change your appearance?” He tried again.

  “Illusion magic, of course.”

  “Of course.” He chuckled. “All right, Elaria, ask your next question.”

  “How did you find the Phoenixes?”

  “So, they are Phoenixes,” he exclaimed triumphantly.

  “Okay, consider that as another question answered. Now you owe me two,” I said smugly.

  Daniels grimaced. “I didn't find the first phoenix; he found me.”

  “Explain that.”

  “I was working late and my driver was delayed by traffic. Someone attacked me while I waited for him on the sidewalk. I'm not sure if he was an average mugger or someone sent by one of my competitors.”

  I made a huffing sound. What the hell? Were all scientists this cutthroat?

  It's a shame his attacker didn't kill him, Kyanite muttered.

  “Another man saved me; swooped in and grabbed my assailant,” Daniels went on. “But he got shot in the tussle. Before the son of a bitch could fire on me, my savior self-combusted and the inferno scared him off.”

  “Hold on; the Phoenix saved your life and you took his ashes?” I snarled. “Talk about no good deed going unpunished.”

  “He burned up in front of me and left behind a pile of ash,” Daniels snapped. “I didn't know what he was; only that he must have been something special. I had a thermos of coffee from that morning in my bag. I dumped out the contents and scraped the remains into it. I needed to find out what he was. It seemed both disrespectful and wasteful to leave the ash to blow away. It was human remains after all. It wasn't until after I started conducting tests that I realized that it wasn't human at all.”

  “And by then you had no intention of giving them up.”

  “Who would I have given them to? The Police? Just turn in a thermos of ash and tell them that some man had burned before my very eyes?” Daniels scoffed. Then he got a faraway look. “The ashes were miraculous. The power they possessed was astounding. I've already told you what they did for me.”

  “Yes, but that doesn't explain how you found the other phoenixes.”

  “Once I drank the infusion, I became aware of them,” his tone dropped into a reverent whisper. “Supernatural beings of fire who incinerate when they die. I, of course, linked them to the Phoenix myths, but I assumed they had merely been the inspiration for the tales. I started following them; watching them and learning about them.”

  “Because you wanted more of their ashes,” I concluded.

  “Well, of course,” he huffed. “I needed more for my research.”

  “So, you hired assassins to kill them and scoop them up before they could be reborn.”

  He sighed. “So, that's true as well. I suspected so but wasn't certain.”

  “You're telling me that you didn't know you were preventing them from being reborn? The myths state clearly that Phoenixes rise from their ashes.”

  “I wouldn't have done what I did if I'd known that the man who had saved my life could have been reborn,” Daniels finally showed a smidgen of regret. “By the time I suspected that was the case—that he had been a phoenix and that the myth about their rebirth could be true—I'd already made my infusion from his remains and consumed it.”

  “But you still went after more of his people, you fucking bastard,” I growled.

  “Don't you understand? It became about more than a few lives. This is the greatest scientific discovery in all of history.”

  “It's not a discovery; it's a race of people who predate humans.”

  “Let's move past this; it's my turn. How do the Phoenixes come back? Specifically; in what form? Do they return as babies or fully grown? Do they have their memories or do they have to start fresh.”

  “Those are a whole lot of questions and it's actually not your turn. You still owe me another answer for confirming their race,” I reminded him. “Are the ashes the only magic you've stolen?”

  He blinked. “I...”

  “What's the problem with that question?”

  “I just haven't thought about it like that.”

  “Like what?”

  “In terms of theft.”

  “Really?” I cocked my head at him. “It's nicer than the other term I have for it; murder.”

  Dr. Daniels hardened his jaw before answering. “Certain sacrifices must be made for advancement.”

  “You mean; it's okay to hurt people as long as you get what you want. You contracted assassins, Dr. Daniels; that is not something your average scientist would approve of. At least, I hope they wouldn't. If not, I've given the human race far too much credit.”

  “This infusion could save lives and strengthen the human race.”

  “Yeah? You gonna make enough of it to distribute it to all humans? The entire race?” I countered. “Killing people to save others? What kind of reasoning is that? Most scientists would want to preserve a newly discovered race, but you want to annihilate it. And then where will you be? The ingredients for your infusion will be gone, and the human race will be back to where it started. Or even worse, the Earth's overpopulation problem will be magnified because no one will die. If the human race was made immortal, humans would consume every resource on this planet until they tested their newfound immortality by starving. No; that isn't your goal because you aren't an idiot. You saw a chance to steal immortality for yourself and perhaps for the privileged few who would pay highly for it, and you snatched it up like a grave robber. Then you passed out little pieces of corpses to bind other scientists to you. There is nothing altruistic to your actions, Dr. Daniels. You are doing this for yourself; because you fear death and crave wealth.”

  “I already have more money than I could ever use and those ashes could be used to create medicine, not just an immortality infusion. One batch of remains could be portioned out to save thousands of lives. This isn't about greed or fear, it's about science, and this interview is over,” Daniels snarled. “I'll come back when you've had some time to reconsider your attitude.”

  I laughed as he left, but he couldn't hear me; he'd already clicked off the microphone.

  It was a good thing that I didn't need anyone to hear my songs for them to work.

  Chapter Thirty-Six

  “Now it's time to leave,” I declared.

  Finally! Kyanite cried. I've been searching through my memories of your songs and have the perfect one ready for you, my love; “Savior” by No/Me.

  “Nice choice.”

  Well, you did say you could save yourself. I thought it fitting.

  I went straight into the opening lines of the song, my voice jumping ahead of my magic, and then an aggressive hum joined me, rocketing around the room like a caged beast. Despite the title, the song wasn't the obvious choice for a prison break. There was nothing about explosions or busted windows in its lyrics, no bent bars or crumblin
g walls, but what it did have was powerful.

  Sexy and straightforward; I felt the strength of it fill me along with my magic. Confidence and pride lifted my head and put a smirk on my lips. I sang about a man trying to seduce a woman with the skill of the Devil, confident that he knew her so well. He didn't, and this human scientist didn't know me either. He had no idea what I was capable of; that I didn't need anyone to come to my rescue. This killer queen would save herself.

  I drawled out the words—a sardonic censure—letting the magic sift through their meaning and latch onto my intention. No man was going to hold me down; not by seduction or strength. I had turned shining ones into humans and melted castles into puddles of magma. I was the Subduer of Sapphire, the Protector of Primeval, and the Slayer of Snowflake Obsidian. An ancient goddess barely contained in spellsinger flesh. But that was all that I would ever let imprison me again; flesh, not plastic or glass or even electricity.

  There's nothing wrong with needing help and an old-school rescue is the stuff of legends. Knights on white horses battling dragons to save the fair maiden. Chivalry makes something in my chest shiver. I love knowing that my men would tear apart the Realms to save me; there's something very romantic about that. But I'm a complicated woman. Sometimes I want the knight but sometimes I need the dragon. I crave claws and teeth and fire. Fuck the fairy tale; I didn't need a knight in shining armor. I didn't even need a dragon; I was the dragon. And Daniels was going to die screaming.

  Right after he took me to the ashes.

  My voice turned tauntingly sweet as I lyrically told that murdering bastard to kiss my ass. A steady sway; the music never got too loud, just enough to lure the magic off my tongue. My body rocked with the melody, tension leaving me as I did what I do best. With the end of the chorus—the delivery of the integral line—the door slid open as smoothly as if Dr. Evil had opened it for me himself.

  “Don't mind if I do.” I sauntered out of my cell.

  No alarm bells went off, but I was certain that someone had alerted Daniels to my escape. Not only because the cameras had caught everything, but also because as soon as I stepped free of the room, it exploded with electricity. Up until I walked out, they probably thought I was merely muttering to myself. I had made no aggressive moves toward my prison cell. They doubtless had the sound turned off for fear that I'd try to bend them to my will, and that had been their biggest mistake. Correction; capturing me had been their biggest mistake. I snickered as I left the cell behind while it sparked impotently, no occupant to fry. Just a few seconds too late to do its job.

  “We need to switch it up,” I said to Kyanite. “Something with power and panache.”

  I've got just the thing and it even goes along with the theme of your recent life events.

  “The theme?”

  The opening strains of Raign's “Heaven Help Me” came to life in the air around me, and I chuckled.

  “Oh, that theme. Although, I wouldn't say it was a major one; more of a sub-theme.”

  It's a good thing that fucker can't hear this, RS grumbled. With the way he leaps to completely incorrect conclusions, Lucifer would probably think our girl was proposing.

  Oh yeah; Lucifer would just love to hear me sing this. I could even see how he'd misinterpret it. The very title sounded like a direct contradiction to my previous song. But I had to agree with Kyanite that the words worked for my purposes. I launched into it without preamble; a plea, not to Lucifer or any of the Host, but to my Fire and Light to show me the way. I was finally going to attempt to unite my magic. This was the perfect place to give it a try. If I destroyed Daniels' facility—by design or accident—I wouldn't be losing any sleep over it.

  I rolled my spellsinger magic into our second number but this time, Fire and Light came with it. I embraced them and a sharp breath lanced through me as my words empowered them; one magic fueling the others. Why had this never occurred to me? I'd always leaned towards songs about fire because they worked better for me. I used to think it was due to my witch blood and its fire element, inherited from my father. But now I know it's my soul that holds the spark, not my genes. It holds even more than a spark now and the control Shava taught me enabled me to use it in combination with Light and Spellsinging. My magic would finally be at peace with each other.

  As I cried out for aid from above, I rained fire down on the men who scrambled to stand between me and freedom. Gunfire sparked like dying stars in the roar of my flames, but Light blinded the shooters as Fire melted the bullets before they could hit me. Guns ran like hot wax in human hands and canisters of Dr. Daniel's deadly gas exploded over the guards as their gas masks cracked. Screams added a horrifying layer to my song, but I refused to feel guilty.

  These men knew what they were getting into when they agreed to work for Daniels, and they had sealed their fate when they fired on me instead of running. Had they fled, I would have gladly let them go. But now, the only thing I felt as I brushed them out of my path was irritation. How much money and power did Daniels have that he could hire a military force like this one to guard multiple facilities? If he had told me the truth, he had other places like this where he'd taken Vivian and Shava. Of course, he could have been lying; I'd find out soon enough. Either way, the amount of manpower he had defending his laboratory was staggering. He had obviously expected retaliation for what he'd done. Which meant that, despite all his lofty words, he knew he was a murdering bastard.

  Well, retaliation was at hand, and Dr. Daniels had brought it here himself.

  I strode through the corridors, flinging open doors as I went, singing my song of both supplication and self-reliance. A woman crying for help; not for salvation her from her enemies, but from herself. Because she knew that her greatest opponent hid within; that she had the power to conquer her world if she could only master herself first. It was a message that hit home. My magic could level this place, but if I didn't use it with that perfect combination of love and guidance, it would destroy me as well. I had confidence from the training my teachers had given me but my lessons weren't complete. There was still a seed of doubt in my heart. Doubt that it could all...

  I screamed as the Fire turned on me. I'd given it too much power with my song; fueling it until it was greater than the other two magics. And now, it threatened to take me. Hysterical laughter filled my ears, and I realized it poured out of my own throat. A part of me rejoiced in this inferno. In the bliss of setting my magic free. But I refused to let that part of me win. I refused to become Faenestra again; to let the magic influence me. No; I would influence it!

  I just might need a little help with that.

  I renewed my song, but this time, I sent the magic out and up; I made my entreaty more literal. There were only two people who could get me through this; one of them was in a cell somewhere, but the other happened to be the perfect target for my current song. Fuck; this was the very thing I had wanted to avoid, the very thing RS had mentioned, and it was a particularly bitter pill to swallow after I'd just sung about saving myself. But I knew this was my only chance to continue being Elaria.

  I had never used a song to call someone to me, but I had opened a portal to Hell before. In fact, I'd summoned several types of Demons into battle for me, not once but twice, and even summoned Hades himself. How hard could it be to call upon one man, even if that man was a god? All right, Luci; here's your chance to play the hero. You'd better jump on it.

  The ceiling blasted away in an explosion of Light, leaving a gaping hole; a screaming mouth with broken teeth of masonry and metal, and a gunmetal-gray sky for a tongue. Fire raged through me, searing at my flesh from within, but I sang on and steadied myself against it. A stalemate; we bashed at each other for dominance but neither one of us would budge. I couldn't move; forced down on my knees as if I were truly in prayer. And damn if my prayers weren't answered.

  A gleaming film filled the opening above me. The broken bits and bleak sky were replaced by brilliant blue. As I sang on, voice hoarse with smoke an
d fear, Angels began to gather at the rim and stare down at me in shock. One of them broke away and went running, but the rest of them leapt down into the room, one by one, and spread out in a circle around me, facing out. They scanned the hazy corridors and guarded me until their god arrived.

  It took only a few minutes for Lucifer to appear. As soon as he met my pleading gaze, he leapt through the portal, his wings spreading wide in glittering glory to bring him gently to the ground before me. He dropped to his knees as my song stuttered to a stop and grabbed my upper arms. The window into Heaven disappeared as soon as I let go of my magic, the blue shifting back to gray.

  Lucifer didn't ask me why I had brought him there; he saw my need instantly and pushed his Light into me as he wrapped his wings around us both. Blinding power blasted through me, calling to my own Light as Lucifer's wings formed an impenetrable shell that smothered my Fire. I cried out and fell forward, coming to rest against his chest, the smell of burning feathers filling my nose. But it wasn't over yet; Fire was gathering for another attack.