armor of magic 02 - rising light by Simone Pond Read Free Book Online Page B

binds the dark. The Light binds the dark.”
    The hideous creatures swooped all around me, encasing me like a sheath, cutting off my words. Being that close, I got a better look at the things. They had locust wings, tails like scorpions and glowing red eyes. Their mouths snapped open and shut, open and shut. They had fangs like vampires. Hundreds of tiny vampires surrounding me. I opened my mouth to release a roar, but nothing came out. My shield suddenly weighed 1,000 pounds. I couldn’t raise it up another second. Falling to my knees, I had become completely exposed to the evil creatures. Utterly defenseless against the wretched torrent. Was this how I would die? On Fifth Avenue suffocated by a hail of evil bats? It seemed pretty lame.
    The noise of their cawing buzzed louder and more aggressive; some of the creatures spun out from the uniform body. And then I heard the strange language I had recited just seconds ago: Your Darkness has no authority. We stand with the power of the Light. The Light binds the dark. The Light binds the dark. Julian and Detective Rocco stood on the outside of the spinning cyclone of black, yelling the Logos in my direction. Choking out a mouthful of air, I was able to find my voice. I began yelling along with the other two Protectors.
    The bats began squealing and screeching, their flight pattern breaking apart into a chaotic mess. The louder we shouted, the weaker they became, until there was a massive explosion of black and red guts raining down from the sky. And then a deafening silence; not even a single horn or jackhammer from some nearby construction. Everything around us had stopped, except the three of us.
    “Either of you wanna explain what the hell that was?” Rocco yelled.
    “We encountered them in San Francisco,” I told him, standing up.
    “Creepy as fuck,” Julian panted.
    I looked around the avenue and every person, cab and bus was stationary. “Why has everything stopped?” I asked, hoping the New York native and more seasoned Protector would have some answers because I had never experienced time freezing.
    “I ain’t never seen this before,” he replied, not giving me any reassurance.
    “Should we—”
    Before I had a chance to finish my sentence, Julian called out for Ezra. He was entirely too co-dependent on our Guide. Not giving us a chance to figure out things on our own.
    Ezra showed up in a glimmer of violet light, looking around at the scene. He stood before us, his eyes gleaming. I couldn’t tell if he was pleased or disturbed. But usually when his eyes got that bright, it was something big.
    “You’re more powerful together than I had thought,” he said.
    I released a sigh, grateful he was pleased. I wasn’t in the mood for one of his lectures.
    “You wanna explain this?” Rocco asked.
    “You stopped time,” Ezra said.
    “How?” I asked.
    “Break down what happened,” Ezra said, walking between the motionless people and examining their eyes.
    Julian trailed behind him, explaining how he and Rocco were in the lobby waiting for me to show up when they heard the buzzing sound.
    “We ran out and there was Fiona kneeling down in the middle of that crazy-ass swarm of bats.”
    Ezra came over to me. “Why were you kneeling? You’re wearing your Armor.”
    “I couldn’t move. Those things sucked away my energy or something. I couldn’t even speak. That is, until these two showed up and started saying the invocation.”
    Ezra rubbed his shaved head and paced around the three of us, ruminating on our story.
    “Lucius Diamond definitely has the Scroll,” I told them.
    That got Ezra to stop pacing around. “How do you know?”
    “I just left his office and then this happens?”
    Julian shoved me. “Dude! I knew you didn’t go for a morning run!”
    “What were you doing at Diamond’s office?” Detective Rocco asked, squinting his eyes.
    Ezra jumped in. “Fiona has a bit of an insubordination problem. You’ll get used to it.”
    “I