“Let’s go. We can lose them in the farming district,” Theo says. The four of us run in that direction, only to stop a few feet later when we exit a group of trees and notice a second group of demons headed our way.
I count them, adding another seven to the group coming from the opposite direction. We’re fucked. Royally, undeniably fucked.
We move back under the cover of trees, hoping they haven’t spotted us yet. “Please tell me someone has a plan,” I say, my stomach sinking to the ground.
“The Guild,” Zeke says. “I doubt everyone is working with them. I’m proof enough of that.”
He’s right. Even if most of the angels working for the Guild are traitors, we’ll force them to make a choice. Either they stand by our side and fight off the demons or stand with them and let theentire city know where their true loyalty lies. I just hope it won’t come to that.
“Sounds good enough to me,” Raphael adds before we take off in a sprint.
We keep to the ground, not willing to risk anything by flying. There’s still a chance they don’t know where we are, so we weave through the thick trunks of trees, hopping over roots until we reach the end of our coverage.
“Can anyone see how close they are?” Raphael asks as he looks up at the sky, attempting to see through the foliage.
When Theo and Zeke shake their heads, the weight in my stomach grows heavier. I look around, wondering where Roderick went off to. “Maybe they’ve found Roderick already and won’t even know we’re here.”
“I like your attitude, sunshine. Everyone ready to run their hearts out?”
We count down like we’re about to enter the most important race of our lives, and maybe we are.
“Three. Two. One.”
The sky is even lighter as we dash across the open field and toward Guild headquarters. Wind rushes through the loose tendrils of my hair, boosting my belief that we’ll make it.
An angry growl comes from somewhere behind me. My heart almost pounds straight out of my chest as I push myself harder, faster. The growling grows closer, joined by the flapping of wings.
No, no, no! We’re still too far from the Guild.
Beneath my feet, the ground rumbles as demon after demon lands. I stumble, nearly tripping over my feet, and even though I catch myself, it costs me precious time. Something slams into me from behind and I’m thrown forward, skittering over the hard dirt.
Hayliel!my men call out through the bond, and I feel them surge toward me as I stagger to my feet. They make it to me before any other creature, and it’s then I realize that the four of us are in way over our heads. We’re about to put everything we know about combat to the test.
Demons converge on us from all directions, swiping with their claws. That they aren’t all using angel blades hasn’t gone unnoticed. A small victory, I suppose.
I wish we had time to collect ourselves, even if only for a moment. To plan, to act, to say all the things I’ve been too afraid to say.
But we don’t get a moment, and without a sun blade, we’re screwed. I wish I knew more about what turned those demons to ash in the last attack. Had it really been me? Was it only my transformation that brought it on, or is it something I can do at will? Fuck. Some savior I am.
We stick together, standing back-to-back as the creatures circle us like starving wolves. None of us know what they want. Is it our deaths, or do they have orders to bring us back with Roderick to learn the same lesson as him? Neither option sounds appealing to me.
So far, I’ve counted fifteen of the beasts. Against our little party of four, I don’t like those odds. The snarling creatures form a circle around us, and I expect them to attack all at once, but they don’t. They come at us in pairs, taking turns and seeming almost gleeful. What are they doing?
The four of us move as a team, ebbing and flowing like the ocean. In any other situation, I might be in awe of our synchronization, but I can’t focus on that now. I deflect a blow from a particularly large demon and stagger back into Theo. “Sorry,” I tell him, noticing the blown out pupils of his eyes, but I don’t get the chance to make sure he’s okay because another demon swings a claw-tipped hand toward him.
“Look out!”
I act without thinking, letting my heart and mind move for me. Theo is mine. All of these guys are. And no one will take them from me.
Rage and fear pump through my veins like blood as I slice my knife clear through the demon’s arm, severing its hand completely. It falls to the ground with athud. The beast pulls back with a snarl, black blood pouring from the stump.
I feel my men’s eyes on me, their shock just as obvious as mine. I shouldn’t have been able to cut through skin and bone that easily.
Somewhere to my left, a demon releases a piercing shriek that has me covering my ears and wondering if he’s blown my eardrums. Then the demons change tactics. It’s like they’d only been playing with us before, but now that I’ve drawn blood, they’re no longer having fun.
The demon whose hand I just cut off rushes me, but I tuck and roll out of the way before he can make contact.Ha! Sucker!
While that move might have saved me in the moment, it put a little more distance between me and my men. They come at us harder now, ganging up on us, and it’s clear what they’re trying to do. They want to separate us. Get us alone and take us out. We can’t let that happen.
