Page 88 of Bellamy

“God, someone kill him,” Castor said, weaker now than before. “His voice creeps me the fuck out.”

A different feeling then jumbled in my stomach. A familiar fluttering. Phoenix stepped through the doorway. He appeared a bit disoriented—an aftereffect of being put to sleep—but as his gaze found mine, his expression cleared.

Angry was an understatement. I was furious. The kind of rage that made my insides quiver and my pulse spike. But fuck, right then, I was just happy he was okay.

Phoenix walked closer to me but kept his gaze on Purah. “Has anyone ever told you that you remind them of a sadistic piranha?”

Purah cocked his head to the side, his upper lip stretched back to reveal his top row of razor-sharp teeth. Yep. Definitely a piranha. If the situation wasn’t so serious, I might’ve even laughed at that. Before he responded, more demons materialized outside and rushed in to join the fray.

Phoenix fought beside me, helping me take them down. I could be pissed at him later. For now, we needed to survive the night, preferably with Light Bringer still in our possession.

“You’re on their side now?” a male demon hissed at Phoenix. “Traitor!”

Then, everything went to hell.

Dozens of shades burst into the room, all of them headed for Lazarus. He disposed of them quickly, but it was the distraction Belphegor had intended. He reached the vault that was hidden between two bookcases and forced it open with an enchantment. Alastair had placed warding to prevent demons from opening it, but not for those with angel blood because that would’ve prevented us from opening it too.

The air sizzled with energy as the vault door opened. Light Bringer glowed blue from inside.

Asa jerked his head that way, eyes bright. He felt the energy too. The power. One that would help him bring mankind to its knees.

I can’t let this happen.

“Don’t.” Phoenix grabbed me by the bicep as I stepped forward. “It’s too late.”

“Take your hand off me.”

“Look around you, Bell. This fight is over. We lost.”

“We?” I yanked away from him.

Belphegor grabbed Light Bringer. He strained a bit. I knew that feeling well. Anyone could touch Lucifer’s sword, but only someone who shared his blood could tap into the powerful energy stored inside. The one time I’d held Light Bringer—after Gray injured Asa in the celestial realm and Asa lost his grip on it—the weapon had been so heavy, like deadweight.

Asa conjured another powerful blast and sent it toward Alastair, throwing him against the wall. Asa’s energy was waning though. He staggered as he joined Belphegor.

Lazarus struck with his whip, but Belphegor deflected it.

“Finally.” Asa grabbed Light Bringer.

“No!” Alastair pushed to his feet. His sword had been thrown out of reach, so he used his wings to knock demons aside.

Raiden barreled toward Asa, only to be met by Purah. The sadistic fallen angel slashed at my brother with his nails, cutting him across both cheeks. Raiden cried out and fell, his muscles twitching as the poison took effect.

“Ray!” Gray exclaimed, rushing over to him.

A demon materialized to Asa’s left, tossing a cocky smile at Phoenix. “Still disappointing our king, I see.”

“You’ll lose your value someday too,” Phoenix responded. “Once he’s done with you, you’ll become another pile of bones to decorate his throne room.”

Lazarus shot toward Asa, but Vepar caught the edge of his wing and flung him to the ground.

Vepar put Lazarus in a headlock and pressed his face into his hair. “Mm. You smell just as pure as I remember. How much fun it would be to soil you.”

“Release me!” Lazarus struggled.

“No.” Vepar smiled before licking his cheek.

“Before I go,” Asa said, his eyes moving to me, “I want you to know neither I nor Belphegor placed any kind of tracking spell on you. It’s much like when you release your prey, make them believe they have a chance, before hunting them again later. It adds to the fun. But in this case, the prey was that demon at your side. He’s the one I hunted. As I said, blood magic is a powerful thing.”