Daniel Taylor and the Scepter of Power (4 page)

The training has strengthened his abilities; at last, he can be of use to us,
he heard Obron say in his mind.
He’ll be able to deal with Carpenter if anything goes wrong.

The three of us will push Xandros off the throne and usher in a new era
, Metistakles said.

They wanted the throne for themselves, and Silvan merely served as a means to their end. However, his disbelief was rapidly transforming into indifference. His raging headache was almost unbearable. But Silvan couldn’t cry out, couldn’t fight back.

Why me?
he asked.
Why can’t you kill Carpenter yourselves?

He heard their poisonous laughter.
We would if we could. He’s always one step ahead of us. We can’t see him; the eye of Horus makes him invisible to us. But you can see him, thanks to your impure blood. You’re his son, and he’ll trust you. He won’t kill you or disappear when he sees you.

Disappear? You mean, translocate?
His father was a watcher …

Yes, we mean translocate, you idiot.

Silvan’s mind was whirling as the demons gave him instructions and obstructed his memories. It was as though certain areas were simply shut off to him. Silvan felt pain and anger, but also a casual disinterest. He would gladly fulfill the demons’ every wish, if only they would release him.

This moron is a tough nut to crack; he has too much of his parents in him
, Silvan heard Metistakles say before he passed out from the pain.

Silvan felt someone shaking him and woke up. What had happened? Why had he fallen asleep? He was lying on his bed in the underworld, and the three high lords were standing around him.

Obron leaned over him, his face just a millimeter above his own. His black irises seemed to spin.

Silvan began to feel dizzy.

“Do you understand?” Obron asked. “As soon as you have the scepter, bring it here. Don’t touch it directly; wrap it in this cloth.”

The scepter! Right, he was supposed to get it for them. Of course he’d do that. He’d do anything for them.

Silvan nodded. He took the piece of black fabric from Obron and stuck it in his pocket.

As Silvan listened to what Obron was saying, his heart skipped a beat, but he took it in stride: “You’ll kill Carpenter as soon as he’s given you the scepter! We don’t want the watchers to learn anything more about us.”

“You worthless cow, why have you disobeyed my command?” Metistakles growled. “Antheus told me that you actually helped the half-blood to protect the girl!”

Can’t deal with it, can you?
she thought.
Leave me alone! All of you, just leave me in peace!

“Why haven’t you gone up there already? Silvan is probably already with Carpenter!”

Metistakles hadn’t let the others in on his knowledge. Marla smiled. Down here, everyone played by their own rules. Herself included.

“Go on!” he hissed. “Or I’ll slap that idiotic grin off your face.”

Marla was sick of being ordered around constantly, and she was tired, so very tired. Resigned to her fate, she shut her eyes and muttered, “You go.” She had come to realize that the high lords would never accept her. Her entire life had been spent trying to please them; she had done everything that they demanded of her, even relinquishing the majority of her abilities. Marla suddenly knew that Metistakles would never free her, no matter what she did for him, not even when he no longer needed her. Soon no one would need her at all, which was both good and bad.

Did any of that matter anymore? She would die soon enough anyway. When Ilaria had revealed her fate, Marla had almost been knocked off her feet. Suddenly everything was meaningless. Almost everything.

“What did you just say?” Metistakles asked, his voice dangerously quiet. “Where’s your respect?”

Marla felt him crouch down beside her on the bed, her old, hard mat. Mike’s bed had been so heavenly soft … “I think you heard me.”

After getting to know a few kind humans, Marla had begun to understand what had driven Kitana to leave the underworld. Why she had run away with a human.

Metistakles wrapped his fingers around her neck and pressed, simultaneously bombarding her mentally with massive waves of pain so that Marla involuntarily writhed and screamed. “You’ll bring me Silvan’s human lover at once, or your life is forfeit! She’s the only thing that might still be of use to me!”

Marla was motionless now; only her choking sounds echoed through the dreary room. Should Silvan fail, Metistakles would indeed need Vanessa. But she would never do him this service. That knowledge gave her a little satisfaction.

Her throat seemed to be on fire, and needles were boring into her head. Her eyes were throbbing as though they might pop right out of their sockets. Her lungs cried out for air, and an icy sweat broke out over her entire body.
Air, air, air!
every part of her seemed to scream. If Metistakles would just kill her, there would finally be an end to her suffering. Marla had the feeling that something within her had torn apart; she no longer knew who she really was. She sensed that her brother was in the same position. But her connection to him weakened as Metistakles continued to strangle her. The pain eclipsed everything else.

“Where is the little whore? Tell me!” Metistakles cried angrily.

Just a little more, then it’ll be over
, she thought.

Marla really didn’t know where Vanessa was just then. She couldn’t track her down — with the help of her crystals, Silvan had hidden his girlfriend well, and she hadn’t spoken with Vanessa since then. It was better this way. In Marla’s weakened condition, Metistakles would surely have uncovered any secret. Vanessa might be anywhere in the world, since Silvan had mastered the art of creating portals.

“Why are you suddenly so stubborn?” Metistakles yelled, his rage increasing. “I can feel your life slipping away between my hands!”

Marla’s connection to others of her kind was already very weak. She saw a tunnel stretching out before her, and Kitana was waiting for her at the end of it. She felt no more pain, only a soothing peace that enveloped her like a protective shield. Was this the end that the Oracle had foretold? The Oracle was always right.

But her mother shook her head. “Not yet, my child,” she said softly. “You have to help your brother — he needs you!”

“Are you an angel?” Marla asked, floating ever closer to her mother. Kitana looked beautiful; she wore a white gown, and her black hair was blowing around her shoulders. Marla wanted so badly to go to her.

Kitana nodded, smiling. “Yes, I’m an angel. I’ll be waiting for you next time as well, but your time has not yet come.” Suddenly, Kitana sent a mental wave toward her. The pressure threw Marla back to the tunnel’s entrance, and she could hear Metistakles talking to her. However, her mother had also sent her information in the form of an intense vision: Silvan would never become Overlord, even though it had been prophesized — the High Council would never tolerate a half-blood among their ranks. Silvan and Marla were merely tools they were exploiting in order to get their hands on James and the scepter — they served no other purpose. This was the only reason Marla hadn’t been killed long ago.

“I thought that might be the case,” she told her mother. “What’s the deal with this scepter, anyways?”

“My great-grandmother Anastissa was a watcher with extraordinary abilities. Unfortunately, she was corrupted by the forces of darkness and created the Scepter of Power. In a fit of megalomania, she decided that she wanted to enslave the world. The scepter can only be activated by a magical creature like us, but because Anastissa’s blood flows within the artifact, only someone of her lineage can access the full power of the scepter. That would mean Silvan or you. However, the Oracle revealed to me that with the help of the scepter, Silvan would have the potential to do almost any kind of magic imaginable.”

“Because his father is a watcher,” Marla murmured.

Kitana nodded. “That’s why Silvan must never get his hands on the scepter. He could easily be corrupted by the power, since his demonic side is so strong. The Oracle also told me that a young man will seal the fate of the scepter. That can only refer to Silvan.”

“How does the story end?” Marla asked, not wanting to leave her mother.

“Anastissa’s own daughter rose up against her, killed her, hid the scepter, and went into the underworld disguised as a demon, knowing that the Watchers’ Guild would never find her here. Many on their side were after the artifact as well. Anastissa made many artifacts, among them the medallion with the eye of Horus, which later protected her daughter. Ilaria keeps watch over several of the objects. I wasn’t able to hide them anywhere else.”

Kitana waved, and Marla knew that she had to go back. But her mother sent her one last thought that warmed Marla’s heart: She was happy that her daughter had met a man who adored her and treated her the way she deserved. “Hold on tight to him, my child!” Kitana called out before the tunnel dissolved.

In a flash, the pain returned with a vengeance. Marla inhaled deeply before Metistakles tightened his grip on her neck again.

“You love this human?!” he yelled. “Just like your depraved mother!”

He knows about Mike!
The thought shot through her mind as Metistakles went on: “He will die if you don’t tell me right away where I can find this girl!”

No, he mustn’t do anything to Mike! Her days were numbered, but Mike had his whole life ahead of him. Marla didn’t want anything to happen to Vanessa, either.

And the scepter … The high lords must never obtain it! If Xandros or the others, with or without Silvan’s help, were to use the scepter to enslave mankind, what would become of Mike?

For the first time in many days, Marla cried; she felt completely helpless.

Mike or Vanessa … the choice was impossible. If she delivered Vanessa to the demons, it would increase their chances of obtaining the scepter. She had to decide; Metistakles was forcing her to with all of his mental powers.

“I want your promise,” she whispered, half-suffocated. “Promise me that Mike will come to no harm, and I’ll tell you where you can find Vanessa …”

So, he had once lived here … Silvan was standing in his attic room, having just stepped through a portal. No light was on in the room, and it was almost dark outside.

What was he doing here?

He looked through the window and saw the house next door. Vanessa … there was no light on in her room, either. That was where the girl he had once loved lived.

She was safe …

Sighing, Silvan looked around his former home. He missed it — missed his computer games, his seat by the window. He missed the bed and the pillow he had had since he was five years old, and he missed his mom.

Silvan went over to his desk and pulled out the top drawer. There was a photo of Vanessa inside. She was lying by the lake in her bikini. She was so lovely.

Silvan realized that his hand was fingering something in the pocket of his jeans. He hitched up his robe, pulled his hand out of his pocket, and found a silver ring.

A stabbing pain flashed through his head as the memories washed over him — Vanessa tearing the ring off of her finger and hurling it away. He could be with her right now!

No, that was impossible, and it was his own fault. Just because he wanted to become Overlord, his entire life was crumbling away. Yet again, he had done everything wrong!

Bring us the scepter, and it will all be as you wish
, voices whispered in his head.

Yes, he had to listen to the voices.

Get the scepter, and all your problems will be solved in one fell swoop … The humans hate you. Don’t care so much about them.

Silvan closed his fist around the ring, then shoved it back into the pocket of his jeans. Soon, none of what he found to be so important now would have any meaning.

Well done, Silvan …

James Carpenter was the only thing on his mind as he made his way down the stairs.