Pain radiates through me, burning and slicing my insides, so intense it jars me from whatever sleep spell Paimon put me under. My body feels like it’s being ripped in half, and I cry out, trying to move but finding my arms bound behind my back and my ankles tied together. I’ve felt this before when Ruth cast the spell to banish angels. Julian’s been sent away. He can’t fly me out of here, even if we get past the barrier.
“Callie,” Lucas calls, voice weak. “Callie, you…you have to fight.”
Gritting my teeth and fighting through the pain, I blink open my eyes.
“Callie,” Lucas rasps again and then grunts in pain. Eyes adjusting to the dark, I take in my surroundings. I’m in my yard, not far from the house. Light from the broken kitchen windows illuminates the ground. There are several bodies scattered, belonging to demons Lucas or Julian must have killed.
“Lucas?” I can’t see him, and not knowing where he is scares me even more. Pressing my feet to the ground, I try to move. A rock cuts into my hip, and I can’t roll over because of my pregnant stomach. “Where are you?”
“I’m…I’m here…my love,” he grunts. I’m too disoriented to tell where his voice is coming from, and the demons standing around me in a circle are chanting. Whatever they’re saying causes a ringing in my head, much like when War clanged his sword against the warding.
Lucas’s voice gives me strength. Ignoring the rock slicing into my skin, I move my feet in front of me and scramble to sit up. Something drips down my forehead, splattering on my chest. I’m bleeding, and my dress is dirty from being dragged.
And I can’t feel Elena moving.
Binx? I mentally call out, but I can hardly sense him. It’s like he’s there, just far away. Oh fuck, they’ve been trapped in a pocket dimension. It’s something my familiars can get out of, but it will take time to tear through whatever door was used to close it.
The demons step in, still chanting, voices low as their words tumble quickly out of their mouths. A bead of blood catches on my eyelashes, and I shake my head, trying to blink it away. I turn, almost falling over, and look for Lucas, squinting to see between the demons.
I scream when I see his body on the ground. War is next to him, mounted on his horse, with his sword plunged through Lucas’s stomach, pinning him to the ground. Lucas feebly reaches up, trying to push the sword away. The second his fingers touch the blade, they burn. Yet he doesn’t stop, and War leans over, twisting the sword.
“Lucas!” I scream and start to summon an energy ball. With the angel-banishing spell having been cast, I can’t conjure as strong of an energy ball as usual, but it’s enough to burn through the bindings on my arms. Ripping my wrists apart, I fall forward, throwing my right hand out to send a blast of telekinetic energy at War. It knocks over two demons but doesn’t even make War look my way.
A demon scurries over, inky eyes reflecting the light from my house, and grabs my wrists. Physical strength has never been my strong suit, but I’m not giving up without a fight. I jerk away, still off balance since my feet are bound. The demon hefts me up and drags me to the middle of the circle. I magically shove him back, and he loses his grip on me. We both fall, and my right wrist painfully twists. Fuck. The angel-banishing spell is making me even more human and susceptible to injury.
Heart racing, I reach forward, stomach pressing into my legs. I can’t breathe, but it doesn’t matter. I pull at the rope around my feet, summoning another energy ball to burn through it. I pull my ankles apart and get to my feet, wrist aching so much I can hardly move my fingers. My left hand goes to my stomach, fear making me feel sick, and I grunt when I push my hand out, telekinetically shoving more demons back so I can get to Lucas.
I only make it a few feet before the black smoke rises from the ground, wrapping around my legs. I stop, not wanting to fall—again. I don’t know how much more Elena can take.
“Pity to be wasting all that power right before I take it from you.” Paimon’s projection shimmers before me, black mist swirling around him. His hair is in his face, and he smirks at me before looking up at the sky. “Do you feel that, brethren? It is almost time.”
I shift my gaze up at the dark sky. I hadn’t paid much attention to the moon phases lately. It’s total darkness above us, and whatever ritual Paimon has in store for me must coincide with the moon or an alignment of stars. If the spell involves a precise placement, diverting it for even a second could throw the whole thing off.
Which is exactly what I have to do…I just don’t know how.
“I will say your efforts are admirable.” He moves closer and holds out his hands, eyes rolling back. His projection shimmers again, looking like a video game character glitching. “It would have been a disappointment if you didn’t put up a fight.”
Three demons carrying the same white gemstones from earlier move in front the outer circle. They place them around Paimon. As soon as the last stone is set, a circle of green light forms around them. Three more demons come over to me, holding gemstones as well. Heart in my throat, I pull one foot up, desperate to get away.
Paimon raises his hand, and the black smoke rises, twisting around my body and wrapping around my throat. I can’t move, and I can hardly breathe. The chanting gets louder, and the demons put the gemstones around me, glowing in a circle of white light. A final black rock is anointed with my blood and placed at my feet. Right away, I feel my powers leaving me. It hurts, and something inside me feels all wrong. I’m being torn in two, and the pain is so bad that bile rises in my throat. I’m being torn in each direction, and my body is begging me to pick a side.
Human.
Angel.
But I can’t. I can’t get rid of half of me. I can’t block out my angel powers, even if I wanted. They’re there, and they’re inside of me, and I’m hoping and praying they’re the answer to all of this. Paimon starts chanting along with the demons, and the pain gets worse and worse. Stars dot my vision as my divinity is drained, and I want to give in. I want to relent to the pain and let it take over, ending things so I can be at peace.
But then my baby kicks me hard in the ribs, reminding me of all I have to fight for.
“No!” I scream and yank my hands free, pulling them from the smoke. Gasping for air, I throw my hands out. I’m getting weaker by the second, and I need to get out of the stone circle. Balling my fingers into fists, I reach deep down inside of me and pull on the divinity I have left. It bubbles up inside of me, and I throw my hands out, screaming as I send a flash of bright white energy from me like a bomb.
Paimon’s astral projection doesn’t move, but the demons stumble back. Power surges through me. Whatever I did must have broken the banishment spell. But as soon as the power rushes through me, I feel light-headed. Ears ringing, I look for Lucas. I can’t kill War. I just need to knock him back so Lucas can get up and we can get to the Covenstead and come up with another plan.
Because we will. That’s what we do.
“Get her!” Paimon yells. “We still have time to complete the spell!”
I rush to get out of the stone circle, swaying on my feet. A demon in the body of an athletic young man grabs my hands and yanks them behind my back. My injured wrist hurts, sending a wave of pain through me that’s too much. I’m fighting against passing out and am no match against the demons.
“Get her in the circle!” Paimon’s eyes are wide, and he looks up at the sky again. We’re running out of time. The demon forces me forward, and I thrash against him, trying to free my hands. Locking my knees, I refuse to take another step, but it doesn’t stop the demon.
Suddenly, the demon holding me drops to the ground, taking me with him. I clamber away, turning to see Julian standing there, dagger glinting with fresh demon blood.
“You need to run,” Julian says, extending a hand to help me up. “The barrier is still up. I can’t fly us out.”
“Lucas,” I pant, gripping onto his wrist. Julian nods, knowing I won’t leave here without Lucas. Demons run at us, and I turn, wincing as I summon hellfire. It burns bright for only a few seconds before Paimon’s black smoke snuffs it out.
“Hurry!” he yells, and three demons grab me, wrestling me to the ground.
“No!” I scream when one claws at my stomach.
“Keep the child alive!” Paimon bellows. “We need the child!”
“You can’t have her,” I breathe. “Or me.” Summoning another energy ball, I go to throw it at Paimon. A demon hits me in the temple with its elbow, and I’m knocked back, vision blackening. My head turns to the side, cheek against the dirt.
Half a dozen demons are surrounding Julian, and he backs up, swinging his dagger through the air. I blink more blood out of my eyes, and the air buzzes with electricity. The stone circle I had been in glows brighter, and the black rock rises into the air.
“Get her in now!” Paimon thrusts a hand forward, and black smoke binds my hands back, making it so I can’t fight against the demons, even if I could. Two demons grab me by the shoulders and lug me to my feet. My head is still ringing.
This is it.
This is where it ends.
I’m sorry, Lucas.
But then Julian jumps forward, landing in the circle. His dagger falls from his hand, and his arms are jerked back.
“Nooo!” Paimon yells, and the black smoke tightens around me.
Bright blue light glows from the inside out, and Julian’s head goes back, eyes glowing so bright it hurts to look. He took my place and is burning up his divinity so Paimon can’t use the spell on me. But he’s not a Nephilim like me. Divinity is all he has. Once his divinity is gone he’ll be gone.
“Julian!” I scream. “Julian!”
The sounds of the night disappear, and everything is so quiet I can hear my breath whooshing in and out of my lungs. Julian’s body rises, being pulled up by his own grace. It burns as bright as the sun and then explodes, sending little particles flying in all directions. The demons in the circle drop to the ground, black mist rising before sizzling out. Julian slumps, unmoving, to the ground.
Paimon’s projection is in the same spot, and he glowers at me with wide eyes. Screaming, he disappears and takes his black smoke with him. Shaking off the dead demons, I claw over to Julian.
“No, no, no,” I say. “Julian!” I put my hands on his chest and shake him. “Julian, wake up!” He doesn’t move. Doesn’t heal. There are scorch marks around his eyes and mouth. “Dad!” I cry, tears falling down my cheeks. “Dad! Help!” I shake Julian again.
He’s going to be okay. He has to be. He’s an angel. He can’t die.
Only, he can. Archangels can be killed—I saw it with my own eyes when my father killed Remiel in order to protect me.
But not Julian. “No, please, no.” I fall forward, sobbing.
“Callie,” Lucas says softly and drops to his knees next to me. I snap my head up, needing to make sure it’s really him. “We need to get out of here. The Horsemen…they’re still here.” Lucas’s eyes are wide, and he looks down at Julian.
“He hasn’t healed yet.” I put my hand over Julian’s heart. “Maybe I can help.” I close my swollen eyes. “Heal. Heal!” Nothing happens, and Lucas puts his hand on mine.
“He’s not going to heal.”
“Don’t say that!” I jerk my hand back. “He’s not…he’s not…” I can’t bring myself to say it. A horse whinnies in the distance, calling out to another. The explosion of Julian’s divinity knocked the Horsemen back but didn’t get rid of them.
Lucas takes my hand, face twisted with grief. “He’s dead.”