Page 17 of Crimson Skies

Theo plunged toward the building as the warlock released his spell bomb, guessing his ghastly intent. The man’s evil cackle echoed in his ears amidst whistling wind.

Shit! He must have knownSuspendwouldn’t be enough to stop this!

Theo ground his teeth. The Spear of Light warmed his palm as he drew on its power. Seraphic brightness detonated around him when he forcibly expanded his range of awareness seconds before the warlock’s hellish magic smashed through the cupola.

“SHIELD!”

Golden radiance flashed through the windows of the Cabalista headquarters.

The rooftop of the building disappeared in a bright red explosion that nearly blinded Theo and buffeted his wings with violent gusts of magic. He recovered and accelerated toward what remained of the building, his heart in his throat.

Please! Please be okay!

Relief made him weak when he reached the gaping hole atop the building. He could sense the souls he’d managed to protect with his divine guards. His shoulders knotted.

It’s not over yet!

Theo dove through the acrid smoke rising from the wreckage, the dazzling beams shining from his pupils piercing the dark billows.

The marble staircase that formed the central axis of the Cabalista headquarters was no more. All that remained of the iron works that had formed its frame and foundations was a glowing skeleton of melted metal that sizzled and darkened as it cooled.

He moved nimbly around the twisted shell, his wings sending eddies through the inky fumes. The demons he’d shielded were rising from behind his fading barriers, their shock at still being alive evident on their ashen faces.

Demons and angels weren’t immune to warlock magic.

Theo slowed when he glimpsed the bodies of dead sorcerers amidst the destruction. He scowled.

The warlock had killed his own forces.

That bastard didn’t even hesitate for a second!

Reuben and Delphine joined him when he reached the jagged hole on the first floor.

“Are Rosemary and Charlie okay?!” Theo asked tensely.

“Yes, thanks to you,” Reuben said gratefully as he alighted beside him.

“Levi’s with them,” Delphine said.

She frowned, her unease unabated. Theo knew it was because of what lay below them.

They dropped into the shadowy opening and arrowed toward the sub levels of the building. Buried deep beneath the Cabalista headquarters, in the very bowels of London, was the world’s most secure vault.

Delphine cursed when they came in sight of it.

The spell bomb carrying Elios’s powers of darkness had carved through the magic barriers reinforcing the strongroom as if they were made of paper. The fortified walls of metal and concrete protecting the treasure trove of confiscated magical and otherworldly items inside hadn’t stood a chance against the explosive forces that had battered them afterward.

The fading stench of black magic wafted around Theo as they landed amidst what remained of the vault. Elios’s sorcerers had been and gone. Delphine rushed over to the corridor leading to the innermost strongroom.

It was full of debris.

Reuben and Theo helped her clear the passage. Buckled metal gleamed in the shadows when the end came in view.

The door had been blasted open with black magic.

Delphine darted ahead of them. “Shit.”

Theo and Reuben clambered over the wreckage and entered the vault after her.