The Trinity War (Book 3 of the Trinity series)

Chapter 45

"Hello everyone. I would like to say that I am amazed that the fighting ceased so abruptly, but I thank you for doing so. The fewer lives lost, the better. I think we can all agree on that, correct?" Elijah began. His voice was magnified, but he wasn't talking loudly. He still had that creepy tone like he was plotting even as he spoke. It was the same voice that sent shivers down my back when I first met him. It was the same voice that made my blood boil now.

"You all must be wondering, who is this man that stands before us? Right? You all are wondering that, aren't you?" Elijah asked. 

He was dressed in a black suit with a white collared shirt on underneath and a blood red tie around his neck. He was wearing his black framed glasses, but his piercing blue eyes were still visible. He was pacing back and forth calmly with his hands behind his back, a small smile on his lips. 

"Well, I think one of you knows the answer to that question very well. And I am referring to you, of course. The Order of the Light," Elijah continued. "Please, can the person who knows the answer to my question come out? I think the Order is just dying to know who this man is," Elijah said. I felt my hands twitch at my sides as I glared at my uncle.

No one made a sound.

On both sides, everyone was dead silent. In the distance, the crackling of dead grass on fire could be heard. But where the two armies stood, there was only silence. The stench of blood and sweat filled the air, mixed with smoke and death. The once pristine campus of Trinity University of Magic was now a battlefield and a cemetary of fallen Magii. 

When no one made a sound or a movement, Elijah chuckled softly.

"Awww. I think he's shy. Maybe I should give him some encouragement," Elijah said. "Oh, Michael. Big brother, come out, come out wherever you are!" he said in a sing-song voice.

I clenched my fists, stepping forward. Gerrard put a hand on my shoulder to stop me from doing something stupid. But even as Elijah taunted, my father didn't come out from wherever he was. I felt a sense of dread, hoping and praying that he was still alive.

"Very well. Don't come out, then, brother," Elijah said. "You see, my fellow Magii, all of this death and destruction could very well be avoided. If only my brother just showed himself. I just want to speak to him, talk some sense into him. But he's hiding. Like a coward. Is that who you want your leader to be?" Elijah said. He stopped pacing and stood facing the Order's army, that horrid smile still plastered on his face.

"Brother, if you can hear me, you have one hour to hand yourself in. There will be no more fighting in this hour. You can have some time to collect your dead and tend to your wounded. If, however, at the end of this hour you have not turned yourself in, then I will order my army to kill every single one of you. I have been kind so far; we are not killing innocents. But the innocents might have to be sacrificed for the greater good," Elijah said. "One hour. And then there will be no more mercy," he said. With that, he turned around. It wasn't until he disappeared that people began stirring. 

Panic and unease were beginning to set in. Would the Order give up their beloved leader to be killed? Or would they continue fighting until the last man was standing? Whatever the case was, I couldn't let my father give himself up because I knew that Elijah wanted him dead. I had already lost my mother and I refused to be orphaned now. The problem was, I still had no idea where my father was hiding out. 

"Did any of you see my father at all on the battlefield?" I asked.

"I didn't see him myself, but others did. He's really strong and he moves really fast. No one was able to capture him," Isobel told me.