Destroyer Rising by Eric Asher Page A

said, reaching out and taking her
hand. She squeezed it before letting go.
    “Did you hear of the witch that attacked Alan and the
blood mage yesterday?”
    “What?” I snapped. “Alan? Is he okay? Hugh didn’t
mention it. And what blood mage?” My brain clicked over before
Nixie spoke.
    “Her name is Elizabeth. She is loyal to Ashley’s
coven, apprentice to Cornelius.”
    “She … I met her yesterday.”
    “Did you know she is a friend of Alexandra’s?”
    “No.”
    “Alexandra trusts her, enough that she smuggled a
very dangerous weapon to the blood mage.”
    “What kind of weapon?” I asked. “Is that the best
idea?”
    “One could ask the same of the book you brought into
this place.”
    “Touché.”
    Nixie smiled. “There is a rumor that the first of the
dark-touched has been sighted in the west.”
    “Where?”
    “The deserts of Arizona. That is not as important as
what I have to say. Use your connection with Ashley to ally
yourself with Elizabeth. The blood mages are not many, but they are
powerful.
    “How have the tensions been with Falias and the
commoners?”
    “Well,” I said, “the government hasn’t tried bombing
it again, so I guess there’s that. We still have a military
presence in every major city. You know how it is. People fear what
they don’t understand.”
    “They have a right to,” Nixie said. “They lost more
than a million souls to the rise of Falias. Those people died in a
heartbeat, making the war with the Fae already one of the most
costly in humanity’s memory.”
    “The souls aren’t so lost.” The cacophony of voices
rose in the back of my mind at the mere mention of their
existence.
    “You hear them now, don’t you?”
    I nodded.
    “Let me see the book, Damian.”
    I tilted my head to the side, shrugged, and then
pulled it out again.
    Nixie sighed and opened the pages. “Show me what
you’d read of the Timewalkers, and maybe we can find a way to save
the child.”
    We poured over the pages until the hour was almost
past.
    “I will find Ward,” Nixie said. “He may not like the
idea of helping to create a Timewalker, but it may be our only
chance to save Vicky.”
    I nodded. “Thank you.”
    “You understand she may die with the devil? You
cannot lose yourself if that happens, Damian. There is too much
left for you to do.”
    I stood up and slid the backpack over my shoulders.
Nixie leaned forward and wrapped her arms around me, pressing her
soft lips to my own before releasing me.
    “Be careful, Damian.”
    “You too, Nix.”
    I laced my fingers into Gaia’s and returned to the
Abyss.
     

CHAPTER TEN
     
    Gaia’s aim was less accurate on the other side of my
journey. I materialized about five feet above the landing on the
stairs in Death’s Door and squealed before slamming into the
floor.
    “Oww.”
    “Damian!”
    I looked up toward the top of the stairs. Sam stared
down at me, concern plain on her face.
    “The boy is nothing if not graceful,” Zola said,
stepping up beside my sister.
    “He’s almost as graceful as a drunk groomsman.”
    “Hilarious,” I said, slowly marching up the steps.
“You’re both hilarious.” I paused at the top, surprised to see the
upstairs empty. “Where’s Vicky? And Happy, for that matter.”
    I made my way down to the end of the books. Frank
snored in one of the leather chairs.
    “Frank!” I shouted.
    He startled awake and flailed, almost spilling
himself onto the floor. “Damian. Christ.”
    I pulled the chest out and holstered the pepperbox
under my left arm before eyeing my staff. It would be unwieldy and,
considering it came from Glenn, I didn’t much trust it at the
moment. I left it leaning in the corner, in the gap between the
shelves.
    “You keep watch over my sister, yeah?”
     He gave me a sleepy half-smile. “Sure, like she
needs that.” He started to doze off again and jerked awake. “Oh, I
heard back from Robert. He’ll definitely be by this week. Not sure
when exactly, but