Would Valentine want him to?
Nergal bashed him in the face and sent him flying across the cavern.
“Once I’ve killed him, then may we continue our discussion?” he asked Ilu.
“We’ll see.”
Demons raced out of the shadows, no longer colorless but dark black and speckled in green and blue, their eyes orange.
Khent would have called them pretty in a way, but he didn’t have time to be a meal for some demonic beasts. He had a mate to save and an underworld god to put in his place. Khent wouldn’t be able to kill him. But he could make it so Nergal would be trapped down here.
Who knew what Nergal’s interference was doing to the world?
Before the god could land a huge fist in his face, Khent fought back. With speed and power, he pummeled Nergal, enjoying the fight. Nergal gave as good as he got. Khent might have appreciated the god more if he weren’t so keen on returning to his mate. And saving the world from becoming a gray copy of the misery down here.
A sudden crop of black demons descended on him and Nergal, and they had to fight the creatures biting at them while dodging each other.
“Oh, she’s fun, isn’t she?” Nergal said with a laugh and a nod to Ilu. “I like her.”
Khent scowled as one of the demons nearly bit his leg off. He shoved a hand into its neck and ripped its head off then flung it at the others snapping at his throat.
They dropped and regrouped. More coming at him. Many more than he could handle, though Nergal seemed to be holding his own as he used his own demons to fight Ilu’s.
Rolf, Khent noted, moved fast and sure, using magic to combat the growing threat. But Vladimir had nearly regained his form, and Khent didn’t know if Rolf could sustain his pace with so many enemies.
Vampires were fierce creatures who thrived in battle. But the smart ones were also pragmatists.
As powerful as Rolf and Khent were, the enemy had vast numbers on their side.
Yet hadn’t Shai told him to let his fires burn?
Nergal struck his chest. Khent immediately caught his fist and held it there.
Rage overtook him, and this time he let it, letting go of his orderly nature as he let himself descend into chaos.
Nergal fought back.
Khent laughed.
And grew.
And roared.
And opened his growing mouth to snap a feeble god of the underworld in two.
CHAPTER
FORTY-EIGHT
Val had doneher best to buy some time. Grizz was gone. Nergal would have killed her, and Vladimir would soon re-corporate then kill her.
The power inside her offered a way out. At least until she could figure out what to do.
But now trapped inside herself, she could only watch like a spectator as the presence in her body spoke and laughed and killed.
Death didn’t bother her, but Ilu—what Nergal called the consciousness inside her—didn’t kill and send its dead to the afterlife. It demolished and added the dead to a chaos that had no beginning and no end.
Val felt dizzy when she tried to make sense of it. She now understood why her parents had told her to forget all about Ilu then buried the memory with spells. This thing she carried inside her could easily be the end of everything.
