"Cold," Rauth whispered. His voice was no longer smooth, polite, or booming. It sounded like dry leaves scraping together on a winter sidewalk. "It is... so very cold down here." Landon stood over the dying tyrant. He looked down at the pathetic, wrinkled, ancient man on the floor. Landon felt a strange mixture of fierce anger and deep pity. This was the man who had ordered the deaths of thousands of innocent people. This was the monster who had burned farms and locked families in cages. This was the villain who had tried to erase the entire universe. And now, he was just a scared, dying, old man. "It is over, Rauth," Landon said softly. His deep voice echoed in the quiet cavern. "Your magic is gone. Your army is broken. You lost." General Rauth slowly turned his cloudy, blind eyes toward the sound of Landon's voice. Rauth tried to smile. His dry, cracked lips split open, bleeding slightly. Hi

"Just a little further," Landon whispered to himself. He squeezed his eyes shut and pulled again. He thought of his brave brother, Silas. He thought of Kade's fierce loyalty. He thought of Marcus's booming laugh.He thought of Jin and Sera's brilliant minds. He thought of Navarro's quiet wisdom, and Juno's gentle healing hands. He thought of Claire Arden's beautiful, dark eyes. The memories gave him impossible, superhuman strength. Love was stronger than any muscle. Love was stronger than falling rocks. Landon climbed for twenty agonizing minutes. His hands were completely covered in blood. His fingernails were broken. He finally reached the top edge of the broken staircase. He threw his bleeding hands over the edge of the stone step. He pulled his heavy, exhausted body over the lip and collapsed safely onto the solid stairs. He lay flat on his back, gasping for air. His entire body shook uncontrollably. He did not have time to rest. A deafening, terrifying roar echoed from the b

The alien consciousness was actively observing him. It felt like a giant, cold, slimy finger was slowly dragging across Landon's exposed brain. The alien monster was examining his memories. It was tasting his fears. It was looking at his deep love for Claire. It was reading his mind like an open book. “We see you, Landon Hale,” a silent, buzzing, insect-like voice echoed through the black smoke. “You broke our door. You ruined our servant. Now, you belong to us.” The overwhelming terror was absolute. Landon wanted to scream at the top of his lungs, but he had no voice in the vision. He felt incredibly small. He felt like a tiny, helpless mouse hiding from a massive, hungry hawk. The glowing black sigil suddenly flashed blindingly bright. It shot straight across the dark cavern. It flew directly into Landon's right hand. The black smoke burned violently into his skin. The terrifying alien consciousness vanished completely, pulling back into the dark depths of outer space. Genera

Landon looked at every single member of his loyal team. His heart swelled with massive, overwhelming pride. They were the greatest heroes in the world. They were not afraid of gods or aliens. "Okay," Landon smiled a small, tired smile. "We go together. But we do not just walk blindly through the front door. Claire, what is the tactical plan?" Claire’s brilliant mind instantly snapped into focus. She looked down at the massive, empty, muddy basin of Lake Michigan. "The crystal city is five miles away," Claire analyzed perfectly. "The ground down there is made of slippery black mud and freezing ice. There is absolutely no cover. There are no buildings to hide behind. If the god decides to attack us while we are walking, we will be completely exposed." "We need a vehicle," Kade suggested. "The stealth ship is completely broken," Sera sighed, pointing at their crashed, smoking white spaceship sitting in the snow nearby. "The engines are frozen solid. It will not fly." "Then we walk

"It is eating my magic!" Landon gasped in horror. He quickly pulled his fist back. His left arm felt incredibly weak and heavy. The monster had drained a huge piece of his life force in a single second. The Star Eater hissed happily. It loved the taste of the white magic. It lunged forward to bite Landon’s head off. "Get away from him!" Claire Arden screamed. Claire did not use her empty silver pistol. She did not have bullets. She raised the ancient, glowing golden shield she had found in the Armory of the Fallen. She held the heavy relic with both hands. Claire slammed the flat, glowing golden edge of the shield directly into the side of the monster's head. The golden life energy in the shield flared with blinding, brilliant light. The ancient magic violently rejected the alien anti-magic. The Star Eater shrieked in absolute terror. The golden light burned the shadows away. The monster fell sideways into the deep snow, its body smoking and hissing. "The golden shield works!"