Page 40

Chapter forty

I turned to Deus. “What are we missing?” I asked, inhaling deeply. “There has to be more … this can’t be it.” His face showed no sign of relief or excitement. He stepped into the field, assessing our surroundings. Our remaining allies began to laugh and cheer. Members of every coven hugged each other while cries of relief filled the air. My family and the princes made their way towards us. Deus remained unnervingly quiet.

“What is it?” I asked, just as Frankie and my mother approached my sides.

“This was too easy,” Deus whispered, his brow furrowed.

“Easy?” Frankie laughed. “That was anything but easy. By the looks of it, we’ve lost half of our coven members to those things.”

Deus turned to me. “Can you feel him?” he asked. “Lucifer … can you still feel him?”

I paused, opening the door in my mind only a crack, allowing the part of me I kept under lock and key to see the light of day. Instantly the power rattled to life, screaming to be let free. A shiver ran up my spine and I slammed the door shut. I nodded at Deus. “He’s still here,” I answered.

“Why hasn’t he shown himself?” asked Levi.

“Strategy,” said Lilith, stepping forward. “He’s bidding his time. Allowing his creatures to thin the herd and tire us out, while he remains rested and at full power.”

“And where are the relics?” asked Aunt Thora. “I didn’t see anything on the field.”

“I don’t like this,” said Nonna, looking back at her coven members, still celebrating a battle that seemed far from over.

The ground underneath our feet began to rumble, but this time in a rhythmic pace, perfectly spaced apart. Thud … thud … thud … thud. The laughter faded back to silence as the realization that more was yet to come settled into the spirits of our people. The loose rocks on the ground jumped with each passing boom. My eyes were drawn to the horizon, focusing on the large figures that slowly approached. I circled around; more of the giants closed in on us, creating a barrier, making it impossible for us to escape.

Each stood at least twenty feet tall, two curved horns adorning either side of their heads. Their bodies were covered in a deep reddish-brown hair. Eyes the color of fire blazed, revealing the wild animal inside. A wide, gaping mouth of sharp teeth growled and sneered. Long and muscular arms ending in clawed fingers dangled from either side of the creature as their hooved feet stomped into the dirt, quickening in pace as they spied their targets.

“What are they?” Frankie asked in awe.

“Goristro,” answered Mammon. “Beasts that guard Lucifer’s borders, making sure anything unwelcomed gets torn to shreds.”

“They’re strong,” added Gor, “fast, and lethal. They can heal quickly, making them the perfect guard dog to keep the creatures of Hell I’m sure you remember from slipping onto our lands.”

“Stout fuckers,” added Mammon.

I examined the nearest beast as the Goristro drew nearer. Something around his neck caught a ray of light and shined. The object was thick and clunky, bouncing against the beast’s chest as he picked up his pace and began to run.

The breath was ripped from my lungs. I turned; another Goristro had small pieces of silver strung onto a chain hanging from its neck. Yet another carried a large rectangular box on its back. Brown leather pouches hung from the necks of the final two.

“The relics,” I blurted, just as a beam of white light shot from the sky, slamming into the center of the covens. The witches and warlocks stumbled back. Our demons formed up, readying to attack. The light faded, revealing a beautiful woman with white hair. Victoria. Her eyes were closed. Her hands folded together like she was praying, while holding some type of orb between her palms.

Her mouth moved quickly while she recited the spell. The Goristro took off into a full-on sprint, closing in the boundary around us. The orb between her hands began to glow with a bright yellow light.

“Kill her,” Nonna said, too quiet for anyone but us to hear. “Kill her!” she yelled to the coven members.

Before anyone could move, the light shot from the orb, blasting into the chest of Elder Angela Ferrara. Then, Elder Torrian Astra. Elder Victoria Cavelleer. Elder Lilith Bloodborne.

Delphine shot from the crowd, running faster than light, and crashed into her mother before the light exploded into her chest, sending them both to the ground.

Time slowed. I watched as a yellow whip of light extended from the orb, heading straight for Nonna. Without thinking, I took a play from Delphine’s book, racing forward as fast I could, praying my legs wouldn’t fail me.

I could hear it, the static zap and snap of electric power, aimed to bury into my Nonna’s chest. Out of the corner of my eye, the light raced faster, jumping from particle to particle, reaching for its target. I jumped, throwing my body forward into Nonna, using myself as a shield. We fell to the ground, slamming into the rocky surface. I pinned her down with my body until the zapping sounds dissipated above us.

The elders latched by the white light hovered around Victoria, their bodies paralyzed. A white dome surrounded them, preventing any other member from attempting a rescue mission. Their bodies pulsed forward, convulsing and flailing as if being fed on.

The Goristro came to a halt, taking their places evenly distributed in a circle surrounding us. I focused on Elder Ferrara as her veins filled with a black substance. Her skin paled to a deathly white, the black magic consuming her muscle, fat, and any water that remained. Her cheeks hollowed as her eyes sunk into her skull. Her face was strained with pain, her mouth open as if trying to scream, yet no sound could be heard.

Her body stopped moving, still suspended in the air above the ground. Her skin wrinkled and sagged as the nutrients were sucked from her veins. Her deep, dark eyes filled with agony, a silent plea for help sending a tear down her cheek before the last ounce of life was drained from her entirely.

The arms of yellow light snapped back into the orb, releasing the dead bodies of our elders, sending their empty husks to the ground. The white dome fell and yellow lights blasted out again, sending the power it had stolen from the elders into the Goristro. The creatures roared as the relics they wore activated.

“She used the magic of the elders to power the spell,” Nonna whispered, devastated.

And then I felt it. A powerful grip latched inside of my chest, holding firm as it pulled every ounce of life from my body. I gasped, trying to breathe, but there was no point. I was helpless. I reached for my chest, falling to my knees in pain. Cries of anguish filled the air from those around us while our powers were expunged from our DNA, just as the spell had been designed.

Finally, it let go. Gasps for air rang through our forces. Deus was hunched over, fighting to breathe alongside the rest of us. I reached for my magic, but it was no longer there. The witch … the demon … the goddess inside of me … all gone. The emptiness was unnerving. Something that made up so much of my being was now gone.

Victoria had disappeared from the center of our forces. I stood and reached for the guns at my hips, cocking the chambers, readying myself for phase two. Our allies did the same. Our demons readied for attack.

The princes, my family, and our friends lined up next to one another. Belz tilted his head down at me, one eyebrow arched with a devious grin. “Together we stand,” he said with a nod.

Mammon stepped up next to him. “Together we fight.”

Frankie’s beautiful face appeared last. “Together … we survive.”

“We have trained for this,” yelled Nonna. “Prepared for this. Everyone knows their places and what must be done. Now, groups—"

The ground around us rumbled. Legions of Lucifer’s poisonous black demons appeared, filling in the sections around the Goristro. My heart sank. Our forces didn’t stand a chance.

“Focus,” Deus said. “Push the doubt out of your mind. Focus on the kill, and then the next.” I nodded, while our group moved in closer toward the other coven members .

A figure appeared at the top of the nearest rock mound. The sun shone behind him, creating a halo. He wore a white suit, his hands folded behind his back casually as his blonde hair fluttered in the wind.

“Lucifer,” I growled. His eyes found me instantly. His beautiful, wicked smile stretched across his flawless face.

“Once all of your friends are dead,” he said, “I am going to make you watch as I gut each of your precious Salvo witches. Then, I am going to force you to watch me remove your mate’s soul, setting his true nature free. And this time, little witch, there will be no hope of saving him, because I intend to destroy it completely … just before I destroy you.”

“You really like to hear yourself talk, don’t you?” I replied, rage fueling my desire to kill.

He chuckled. “See you soon, Seren De Salvo.”

The creatures around us snapped and growled, impatient to sink their teeth and claws into anything that moved. I held out my gun, steadying myself. Deus drew his sword, taking a defensive stance at my side.

“Are we ready?” asked Aunt Thora, as we tightened our perimeter.

“Ready to die, you mean?” asked G.

“You’re not dying,” snapped Gor.

“I call the big one with Paul’s chains,” Lilith said, a smile of pure evil stretching across her face.

Lightning above us struck, reaching across the sky, revealing the white clouds twisting with fury. Strike after strike snapped above us, the sunlight fading. Puffs of purple smoke filled the air, rotating violently. The funnel of purple fog widened and lightning struck through it just as four cylinders smashed into the ground around us.

The cylinders spun wildly, forcing us to cover our faces until they calmed, pulling away from the ground and back into the sky. As the sand settled and the fog cleared, light returned to the valley. I opened my eyes, trying to clear my vision. Around us, four women stood in the place of each tornado. Their white hair, some curly, some straight, fluttered in the wind. Their faces were stern and their attention focused, ready for battle.

“Cecilia,” I heard Gor say.

“Josephine,” Frankie said, pointing to the woman who stood to the right.

“Valeriana,” Deus nodded to the one to the left.

I focused on the one directly in front of me. Her back was towards me while she assessed the threat that surrounded us, but I knew who she was without having to see her face. The power she possessed radiated from within; her dominance and stature said it all.

“Aradia.”