“Yes, Master.” The eager bowing and scraping continued, and Murmur’s lip curled. The subservient were useful but distasteful.
Spinning forward once more, he began the long climb to his tower. A yawn tried to escape, but he stifled it by clamping his teeth together so firmly, his fangs pierced his lower lip. The blood that filled his mouth tasted like death. Bitter and rotten.
Fitting, since he was pretty much the walking dead at this point.
He never slept, and he had so imbued himself with necromancy, he looked more like a corpse than a demon. The visions of his own death ceaselessly haunting him only stoked the fires of his obsession and paranoia.
He was fully aware he was losing his mind, but there was nothing he could do about it. At this point, everything was riding on the success of his master plan. If he failed, the loss of his sanity would be the least of his concerns.
16
A Snowball’s Chance In Hell
Sunshine’s plan was laughably simple: Fly in. Create diversion. Find Raum.
The first two presented the biggest challenge considering she would have to expose her wings. She might as well fly a plane with a banner saying ‘I am an angel!’ for how conspicuous she would be in the sky. It would be difficult to create a diversion whenshewould already be attracting attention.
But she had an idea for how to make it work.
After safely stowing Naiamah’s amulets in her pocket, strapping on her knives, and lacing up her boots, she tidied the cave and sealed the windows. Collecting the one remaining cloak, she stepped outside and closed the door, effectively locking herself out as the ward resealed. It was only keyed to Raum’s blood and she would need him to re-enter, but she hoped they wouldn’t be coming back here at all.
Covering her shoulders with the cloak, she studied her surroundings, picked the highest nearby peak in the foothills and headed toward it. The moment her wings were exposed, the element of surprise would be lost. There wasn’t time to waste trekking all the way to the border of Murmur’s territory, but she wanted to at least have a clear flight path.
The hike only took twenty minutes or so. When she reached the crest, she could glimpse a distant turret. She had no idea where the boundary wards were located, but she supposed it didn’t matter. There was only so long she could delay the inevitable, and every minute wasted was a minute longer Raum was in the hands of an enemy.
Time to face your fears, Sunshine.
It hadn’t escaped her notice that she hadn’t been able to summon the courage to do this when she’d been after the book and her reascension. But now that Raum was in trouble, there was no question.
Pulling the velvet bag from her pocket, she withdrew one of the amulets from within and held it up. The black stone seemed to absorb any light that hit it, making it difficult to see the lines of the tiny red sigil inscribed on its surface. She hung it around her neck, dropping the stone inside her shirt. The moment it connected with her skin, she felt the magic spark to life.
The countdown had begun. Three hours until the spell wore off. Luckily, she had a second one just in case.
She pocketed the remaining amulet, and then, with a slightly trembling breath, she unfurled her wings.
Her bright white feathers spread wide, nimble bones stretching out and rustling downy plumage. One glance over her shoulder and she was nauseous with nerves.
Theygleamed. Sparkled like diamonds in the purest sunlight. Here, with the gloomy red sky and desolate landscape, they were like a lighthouse on a dark night. Anyone scanning the horizon would spot her.
They would see, and they would come for her.
But there wasn’t time to cater to fear. Swallowing hard, she crouched and sprang, taking flight. She headed straight for Murmur’s lair, as fast as she could.
It was farther than it looked, but she pushed herself, pumping her wings and tucking her limbs together to aid her speed. Finally, the black stone castle began to approach, and she searched for the best place to enact her insane plan.
Far below, she spotted a crumbling courtyard beside a collection of dilapidated huts. Demons mingled about, busy with whatever demons did in their spare time.
She tucked her wings and dove.
When she got close enough, heads began to turn. Even with the wind gusting past her ears, she could hear gasps as they noticed her and pointed at the angel rocketing toward them.
Just before she hit the ground, she flared out her wings and swooped sharply up. A chorus of shouting followed, indicating she’d definitely been seen at this point. A few demons spread leathery wings tried to follow her in the air, but they were awkward flyers and couldn’t match her speed.
Time to make them angry.
She circled a tower and executed another dive toward the crowd. This time, she took a leaf from Raum’s book, swooping toward one unfortunate target and grasping him by the arms as she passed.
The demon was far heavier than he looked, and her flight path wobbled. A spear whizzed by her head, and she only narrowly avoided it. A flying demon swooped at her from the side, but she dodged him too. The demon in her grip struggled violently as she pumped hard to gain altitude.
