Page 39

Chapter thirty-nine

H ours had passed, yet there was no sign of our enemy. Deus allowed me into his mind to listen while his brothers bantered their theories about what Lucifer was planning. Satan was still radio silent.

The coven members remained quiet. The violin continued to strum from one tune to the next, remaining the only voice that could be heard for miles. The sound of the haunting music led us into the early hours of the morning. The stars out here were so bright and vibrant, creating an exquisite blanket across the sky. I tried to keep my mind clear, taking pleasure in what time I had to silently sit under the stars, safely cradled in the arms of my husband.

Something deep within me began to stir. The power … the slithering darkness, small yet dangerous, danced with glee.

I flung forward, breaking away from Deus, trying to catch my breath. The flash of magic began to swirl in my chest, trying to escape the cage I had created around it. I would have to tap into that forbidden power to have any chance of winning this fight; but the thought of letting it out of its prison scared the shit out of me.

“What is it,” Deus asked.

“It … I think it’s—”A puff of white smoke appeared in front of us. De us jumped to his feet in a defensive stance, but I could feel her before she finished materializing.

“Did you feel it?” Talia asked, her calm voice laced with panic. “Did you feel him too?”

Deus relaxed, offering his hand and pulling me to my feet. I nodded, gripping him tightly. “Yes,” I whispered. “He’s coming.”

We alerted Nonna and the elders causing everyone sprang into action, seeming relieved the waiting had finally ended. The faces of our coven members, once filled with pain and sorrow, were now replaced with the masks of warriors.

The princes took their places, strategically spread around the ground we had chosen as our battlefield based off their magic and combat strengths. There was so much we still didn’t know. How many demons had Lucifer and Victoria brought to this plane? When would he use the relics to disarm our magic? And would he attempt to separate me from the others to take my power?

I had to remain alert. I knew what he was planning, I just didn’t know when he would use it. Plus, we had something that would certainly push him over the edge … Talia. We had agreed to keep her existence hidden until the last minute. He might turn and go after her to obtain the power he wanted from me, so it was best th at we not reveal her presence too soon—not until I had him where I needed him.

I joined my family on the front line. The elders were spread throughout the group, stationed within different units of the coven to distribute their power evenly. Deus and Levi took their places behind Frankie and me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Lilith, keeping her distance but staying close enough that when it was time, she would be there to cleave Deus away from me.

The plans were in place. The covens were ready. The princes were prepared. I took a deep breath, quieting the voice inside of me that begged to save myself … that wanted to live. There was no going back. I knew what needed to be done and even though I was terrified, I was ready to play my part.

A hand slid into mine. I looked over at the face of my beautiful cousin, the first person I had truly loved. My soulmate. She smiled and nodded. We didn’t need words. I knew her heart as she knew mine. No matter how my story would end, this … them … they were all worth it.

“Time to call your little pets, boys,” Nonna said, her face stern and focused while she prepared herself mentally for the battle ahead.

Deus nodded, closing his eyes while he called on the legions we had managed to transport in the short time we were allotted. I felt him reach for our magic, then the memories of my time in Hell came flashing back in bright and vivid colors. The sounds of the demons: the chattering of teeth and the hissing that rattled from their lungs plunged me back into the pit.

I pushed my trauma aside, not allowing it to take me under. Creatures of all shapes and sizes appeared on the higher cliffs that surrounded us. Some shifted to the outer edges of the covens, becoming our first lines of defense. The princes had handpicked their best fighters and most powerful races of demons from each of their territories.

Scales, claws, spikes, and mouths filled with razor-sharp teeth appeared from the smoke, ready to tear their enemies to pieces. We had prepared the coven members early in the week, introducing each type of demon that would be fighting at their sides so the shock of wouldn’t be so drastic; but seeing them gathered around us in full form and power set every one of my nerve endings on fire.

I could feel him … Lucifer. The closer he got, the more desperate his power inside of me became. It was as if the magic I carried called to him, fighting to become whole. How was I going to control it? How would I use it to kill him?

“Because it is your power,” I heard Talia’s voice inside my head. “He may have given it to you, but it is the reason you are alive. It has grown inside of you , lacing itself within every fiber of your being. It is yours , Seren. It will do as you command. Harness it. Use it.”

I shook off the self-doubt, trying to calm my mind before the slaughtering began. No matter how hard I looked, I still couldn’t see him or his legions. It was some kind of trick … it had to be. He was clever and calculative. Even with the other princes aligned together, Lucifer was still a rival to fear.

“I love you,” Deus’s voice said from my side.

I pulled my focus from the horizon and looked into my mate’s beautiful blue eyes. I could see the worry and fear spiraling behind them, though he fought to hide it. He brushed his thumb across my cheek, his mouth forming into a soft smile.

“You are powerful, my love,” he whispered. “I don’t think you’ve even begun to grasp just how much.” He seemed to study every detail of my face. “Use it … use it all. Reach as deep as that pit inside of you goes and in cinerate anything and everything that comes against you. Promise me … promise me you won’t hesitate.”

I tilted my head into his touch, savoring the feeling of his warm skin. “I promise,” I replied, closing my eyes to stop the tears from falling. “I love you, Deus. Thank you for giving me a life worth living … worth fighting for.”

“You are my salvation, Seren. I will move Heaven and Hell to protect our love and our life together. I made you a promise once that nothing would ever come between us again. I fully intend to keep that promise.” He pulled me into his chest, wrapping his strong arms around me. I buried my nose into him, breathing deeply in his scent. He pressed a kiss to the top of my head just as the ground underneath our feet began to rumble. A powerful vibration grew, the small grains of sand popping and dancing into the air.

I pulled away, trying to find the source of the quaking, but the horizon remained empty. The tremors grew, and some of the coven members lost their balance. Our demon forces growled and barked as if they too could feel his presence approaching. Talia stepped next to me, her face cold as stone.

“The gate is in place. This is where I leave you,” she said, looking straight ahead.

“How will you stay hidden from him?” asked Deus.

“I know his blind spots,” she replied. “Don’t worry about me. I will be ready when the time comes.” Her eyes shifted slowly to mine. “You have what it takes, little tribrid. Don’t doubt yourself. Let the power inside of you become the monster you fear most.” Before I could reply, she dissipated in before our eyes.

A loud crack invoked yelling from the coven members as the ground began to split, mounds of sand and rock tearing from each other. Veins zigzagged into various roads, dividing our strategic battleground. Large pits appeared from the cracks, revealing red hot, molten lava. The coven members were split by the flows into separated plots of land.

Steam and fog filled the air around us as the wind began to pick up, tossing the sand into the air, preventing a clear line of sight. I guarded my face, the specks scratching against my exposed skin. Rolling waves of sand blasted against us. Deus positioned his body in front of mine, taking the brunt of the impact.

High-pitched screeches rose in the distance in a slow crescendo. As if perfectly controlled by a maestro, the sound grew with an eerie calm and precision. Another loud crack slammed into the ground, blasting us off our feet. Then the roars of war erupted clear as day.

A blinding white light shot past my face, accompanied by a humming noise that muted every sound in the valley. The hum deepened and mellowed, and my skin prickled into gooseflesh just as the low tone erupted, blasting through our forces.

The white light faded, revealing hordes of demons. Powers and weapons unleashed, funneling through the air towards the ungodly creatures. Swarms of leathery, black-skinned monsters crawled on top of one another, desperate to sink their teeth and claws into anything that got too close. The creatures descended on our forces, tearing coven members limb from limb before feasting on their flesh.

Our demon forces appeared, launching into their opponents, giving our members time to regroup. Terror rippled through each of them. It was more horrific than I had prepared for.

I dodged a demon hurtling towards me with teeth bared and claws elongated. It screeched, tumbling into the lava pit behind me. Deus appeared in the next breath, bracing my body against his while I regained my balance.

“I’ve never seen these demons before,” he said, blasting his black tendrils towards a group that had gotten too close. One of the demons raced across the sandy terrain on all fours, as fast as a cheetah, dodging every bullet and blast of magic that attempted to take it down. Thick claws dug into the shifting ground, giving it leverage to propel itself forward.

Its long, lean body and powerful legs and arms seemed aerodynamically designed for this climate. A yellow, sticky substance dripped down the creature’s teeth, staining its lips. Memories of my time in Hell flashed before my eyes. I turned back to the coven members.

“Don’t let them bite you!” I yelled as loudly as I could manage over the sounds of their screams and roars. “Their teeth contain a paralytic.” I turned back around, blasting my white flame into another group. Their squeals and screams filled the air while their skin burned to ash.

“He designed them specifically for this battle,” I said to Deus. We stood back-to-back, firing our powers into our enemies.

“Doesn’t surprise me,” he replied, flinging his arms out, sending his power hurtling forward in a wave of black and red static. “Lucy was always talented with arts and crafts.”

My shadows became spears, slicing through the demons with little effort. Tunnels of white flames cleared the hordes that attempted to attack my divided coven members.

“Why don’t they have magic?” I asked.

“My guess is, Lucy plans to remove our source of power soon. They don’t need it if they can’t use it.”

I scanned the battlefield. Mounds of human body parts and pools of blood splattered across the sand. I pinpointed my family, noting they were safe. Each of them proved a force to be reckoned with. A high-pitched yell caught my attention. As I turned towards it, one of the demons jump through the air, claws and teeth aimed for me. Before I could move, Deus’s hand slammed into the air above me, burying in the creature’s throat, severing its head from its body with one powerful squeeze.

“Focus!” he yelled, firing a wave of white flames forward. “You can’t worry about anyone else during battle—only what is right in front of you.”

I listened, tuning my senses to my surroundings. Demon after demon fell around us. My tendrils of darkness slashed through the air, dismembering creatures before they could sink their teeth into our allies.

Three of the monsters crashed into the ground in front of me, causing sand to blast into my eyes. On instinct I turned away, dropping my guard long enough for one of them to slash its claws across my abdomen.

I felt the burn first, then the warm, wet feeling of my blood spilling from the wound. I forced my hand forward, blasting one demon off the edge into the pit. The other two catapulted into the air. Deus caught the first, but the second slammed me to the ground, snapping its teeth at my neck.

The creature sank its claws into my shoulder while I fought to keep the poisonous teeth from my flesh. I let out a scream of pain and gritted my teeth, feeling the dangerous power inside of me thrash, fighting to be released. My arm began to shake, the grip keeping the creature from my neck weakening. A white light appeared from my palm, intensifying with each passing second.

I could feel it then. The creature’s skin underneath my own began to soften, melting around my hand. The thing screeched in pain, fighting to free itself from my grasp, but I only tightened my fingers around its neck until the white flame from my palm grew so hot that with one final grasp, my hand severed the creature’s neck.

The head fell to the ground as a deep red blood poured from the opening. Its body fell on top of mine. I pushed the foul thing away, scurrying to my feet just in time to see Deus overtaken by demons. I blasted my flame and whipped my shadows forward, wrapping around the legs of the demons and flinging them into the pits. Deus released his own power, sending the rest of them flying backwards and disintegrating into thin air.

“Are you alright?” I asked, noting the deep wounds and scratches that he now bore.

He nodded. “You?”

I looked down at myself, covered in blood and pieces of charred demon flesh. A sick feeling turned in my stomach. I pushed it down and nodded, wiping my sticky hands on the sides of my pants.

Around the battlefield, our enemy’s numbers were thinning. More of our own remained standing amongst the piles of dead and dismembered creatures. Slowly but surely, the sounds of battle faded as the last demon was slain.