Page 9 of Demon Apathy: Sunderverse

He kept his hand up in front of him and moved his finger in a come here motion. It was a strange gesture that I didn’t like in the least.

“Keep going,” I hissed over my shoulder, wishing Drevan could move faster, but he was limping, holding on to the wall for assistance. “Stay back!” I spat when Jophiel moved closer, something long and bright appearing between his wiggling fingers.

As what appeared to be a whip made entirely of light and fire solidified in Jophiel’s hands, Drevan let out a near whimper. My knees nearly buckled at the pitiful sound. He was afraid of that thing.

“I have a weapon of my own, you see,” Jophiel said. “And I have much practice with it, much more than you have with that sword, I’m willing to bet.”

“Leave me,” Drevan ordered me. “Go!”

I wanted to. A big part of me knew that would be the smartest thing to do, but I couldn’t abandon him no matter how good the idea sounded.

“I will not,” I said. ”So you’d better run. Now!”

I whirled, and wrapping an arm around his waist, I ran, dragging him with me. He almost fell but managed to stay upright. He was heavy as hell and what I wanted to call running was really hobbling along at a pathetic speed.

Panic building, I glanced over my shoulder. Jophiel was strolling in our direction, the whip undulating as he swung his hand back and forth.

“Hurry!” I grunted, doing my best not to collapse under Drevan’s solid mass.

“Get out of here while you still can,” he urged.

“Dammit! Get it in your head! I’m not leaving you behind.”

Jophiel’s steps and voice echoed around us as we rounded the corner. “You’re nothing with those hellcuffs on, Drevan, and this girl won’t be able to save you, Blazebringer or not.”

Blazebringer, huh?

Suddenly, a whooshing sound filled the narrow hall. Instincts rising, I glanced back and saw the firelash sailing through the air, aimed straight at the Queller. Just as the whip was about to wrap around the blade, I jerked it out of the way. The whip cracked against the ceiling, then retreated. The stones overhead groaned and dust rained down, clogging my throat. I coughed and tried to speed up, even as Drevan’s weight threatened to topple me.

“C’mon, dammit. You can go faster than this!”

“ENOUGH!” Jophiel shouted at the top of his lungs.

The command was like the whip itself cracking against my chest bone. My legs stopped moving of their own accord.

Drevan slumped against me. “I told you to leave, but you are so stubborn.”

Behind us, Jophiel halted, whip in hand, his figure looming as if he were growing taller. “I gave you a chance, girl. But you threw it away. Now, I’ve grown tired of you, and my firelash is just too good at erasing human nuances not to make use of it.”

Smiling, Jophiel raised his hand above his head, the whip growing brighter as he jerked it back, making it crack once, twice, getting ready to what?

Obliterate me from the sounds of it.

At least it wouldn’t hurt… right? Being obliterated meant death would be quick, therefore painless, right? Right?!

“I’m sorry I couldn’t save you,” I said, leaning closer to Drevan, trying to feel him close to me one last time.

“Stop, Jophiel!” Drevan put a hand up. “Don’t hurt her. I’ll tell you everything you want to know.”

Jophiel’s eyes opened wide in surprise, the whip stilling over his head. “You would do that for this… person?” His green eyes scanned me, filling with incredulity. He seemed to be trying to find something that made me worthy of Drevan’s surrender, but in the end, he shook his head, coming up empty.

He opened his mouth to say something else when, suddenly, his entire body shook and the surprise in his expression morphed to near shock.

“No!” He shouted at the same time that a loud flapping sound whoosh through the hall and a pair of enormous white wings sprouted out of his back. Brandishing his whip, he lunged toward us, murder in his expression.

Oh, shit!He decided to kill me anyhow, but why?

That was when I sensed a surge of energy rushing toward Drevan and me from behind.