Page 57 of Aleko
“Sofia!” Seth yelled. “Wait!”
But Sofia had kicked open the door and then dropped to one knee, tagging the warlocks inside with bullseye shots to their torsos. One of them was holding a jar of some kind and he folded over, but still struggled to open it. The floor was marked with magical symbols.
“Trevor, Colin,” Brynn called, turning away from the scene in front of them. “Do you see the jar?”
Howell wanted to see where she was looking, but he couldn’t turn away from Sofia. The warlock pressed a hand to his wound and then placed it in the center of the swirl of symbols on the floor. There was a surge of power, and the sigels on the floor lit up. Howell felt bullets rip into his chest. Colwyn and Brynn…
No, Brynn wasn’t moving.
Colwyn and Brynn were firing, and yelling for Seth. But Seth was striding toward the cabin and Sofia. Sofia snatched the jar and firedpoint blank into the warlock’s face. She stood there panting, then turned back to him. Howell struggled to breathe. He could feel his lungs knitting back together, but it was going to take a minute.
“Sofia, give me the jar,” ordered Seth, holding out his hand.
Sofia looked at him in confusion. “The spell has been activated. We need to destroy it. It will act like a bomb and destroy everything Supernatural for miles.”
“Or perhaps we can use this to our advantage,” said Seth taking a step-forward.
“What advantage? Even if someone could channel this much power they would become...” She shook her head. “No.”
Sofia raised her hand to throw the jar, but Seth lunged across the floor and seized her hand. They struggled for a moment. Seth was stronger, but Sofia had a better hold on the jar. Then Howell heard the muffled pop and Sofia sat down, red blooming across her chest, her mouth gaping in silent horror. Then she toppled over. The symbols on the floor surged again as Sofia’s blood dripped down onto them. Howell didn’t even have the air to scream.
Seth looked around the floor, inspecting the spell.
“Clever,” he muttered. “But I can stop it. Or no.” He chuckled. “I can invert it.” He bent down and rubbed out a symbol. “All for me.”
He looked up at the team as if seeing them for the first time. His red hair burned in the swinging light of the cabin.
“Sorry, but it had to be done. She wasn’t going to give it to me, and I don’t have time to waste.”
Howell took a firmer grip on his knife. He felt like he was drowning. He needed more time.
“Seth, what are you doing?” demanded Colwyn.
“Taking what’s meant to be mine,” said Seth as if it was the most natural thing in the world. On the floor, Sofia’s hand twitched. “I was born wrong, but I can finally fix it. The power of the ancients should have been mine. I am his descendant. It should have been mine. And now it will be. I will have so much power. I’ll be able to stop the war. So, really, it’s for the best. Sofia couldn’t see it, but it’s for the best.”
“You don’t care about the war,” said Brynn. “You never did. You only care about power.”
“Yes,” said Seth. “Of course. It’s my birthright.”
On the floor, Sofia redrew the symbol Seth had smudged out in herown blood, returning the spell to its original intent. Sofia had said it was a bomb. They were running out of time.
“I won’t let you,” gasped Howell, struggling for each word.
Seth clicked his tongue. “Oh, well.”
Seth raised his hand, and it was as if a gust of wind flung them through the air. Howell slammed into the door frame, cracking at least one bone. He thrust his knife into the frame and held on as Brynn and Colwyn tumbled out onto the deck.
“Trevor, Colin,” ordered Brynn, standing up. The rain wasn’t falling where she was and Lia shook her head, gasping for air. “Take the jar. Don’t let him have it. Take it and run. Get out. Get out now!”
“Mum,” gasped Colin, tears streaming down his face.
“Colin, baby, I love you, but run!”
Howell opened his eyes. Seth was in front of him.
“Seth!” he yelled, claws extending. “I will kill you.”
“You’re already dead,” said Seth.
