River
“Behind the truck,” Hawk commanded and waved a hand toward the back of the vehicle.
It wouldn’t do us much good, but it would buy us some more time to prepare for Azote’s attack. We made it to the back of the truck as Azote stepped around to where we’d been standing. Hawk gripped my hand and pointed at my guns while Vargas reloaded his.
On the count of three, Hawk mouthed. I nodded and pulled one of my guns free of its holster. It would be better to keep my fire ability hidden for a little longer anyway. The less the fallen angels knew about me, the better off I’d be. Hawk held up one finger, then two, then three…
Stepping out from the shelter of the back of the truck, the four of us opened fire on Azote. The gun felt reassuring in my grip, but I knew it would do little against the angel. His body and shoulders jerked backward in tiny, quick motions as the bullets pummeled him.
Then, a sneer curved his mouth and his wings folded against his back. He rushed forward so fast I barely saw him move before he smashed his hand into Vargas’s chest. Vargas went flying backward until his body hit the ground with a loud thump. He kicked up plumes of dirt as he bounced across the dirt and came to a halt near the building.
Hawk swung toward Azote, but the angel snagged hold of the end of his Glock and tore it from his hand as if it were no more than a water gun. I dropped my gun when Azote went for Hawk. Before he could grab him, my hands flew up and a blast of fire burst from my palm. Azote jumped back when the crotch of his pants erupted into flames. Fury twisted his features as he beat out the fire licking over his clothes before they could spread too far.
Hawk gawked at him before spinning away to retrieve his weapon. Erin released three more shots before her gun clicked with the sound of an empty chamber; she slowly stepped further away from Azote. I lifted my hands, harnessing my fear to release another blast of fire. Flames erupted and poured from my hands, but Azote blocked the flow by wrapping his wings around his body protectively. The fire swirled over him, beating against his wings and illuminating them in a red and orange glow. The flames illuminated the veins pumping black blood through his bat-like wings.
Fire proof wings, good to know.
“Run!” I yelled at Erin and Hawk when Azote took a step toward us with his wings still up to protect against my fire.
“Not without you!” Hawk declared.
Hawk grabbed for me, but I dodged his hand then darted around Azote’s unfurling wings to drive my fist into his cheek. He staggered back, more surprised by the blow than actually effected by it, as his head barely moved. I didn’t give him much time to process what was going on before I lifted my leg and drove my foot into his chest, shoving him back another step.
“River!” Hawk shouted. “Run!”
He didn’t have to tell me twice. Turning, I fled through the trucks toward the parking lot. My feet pounded over the packed dirt and rocks of the alley as my legs and arms pumped faster than ever before. I didn’t look back but kept my gaze focused ahead; I didn’t want to see what was behind me. Azote would gladly pluck them to pieces, but it was me he would come after now.
I burst into the light of the gas pumps. I didn’t bother to go for our truck. Even if I could make it there, the vehicle would do me little good. Azote could lift a Mac truck; he’d have the pickup rolling end over end faster than I could say boo. Plus, I couldn’t leave the others behind. I didn’t know where Corson was, but I knew he hadn’t abandoned us.
I was halfway to the gas pumps when something hit me in the back and sent me rolling head first across the asphalt. The whoosh of flapping wings caused air to blow against my back, and I realized Azote had dive-bombed me. So much for uncle-y love.
Coming to a stop near the edge of the parking lot, my bruised and battered body protested the motion, but I got my hands beneath me and shoved myself to my knees. I was almost to my feet when a hand in my back shoved me forward. My knees screamed when they cracked off the asphalt; trickles of blood slid down my shins to stick my pants to my flesh.
Rolling onto my back, I looked up to find Azote stalking toward me, all six feet of solid muscles and murderous resolve. He was still at least fifty feet away from me, too far to have been able to push me over the second time. Then what had happened?
I looked around, but didn’t see anyone else near me, not even a ghost floated by. My gaze fell to the front windows of the truck stop where countless faces peered out from the windows. Their misty bodies were cut into pieces by the blinds slicing through them.
Rising, I shoved my hands beneath me and pushed myself into a sitting position. I was halfway up when Azote lifted his hands and waved them at me. “Stay down,” he commanded.
Helpless to resist the invisible force pushing against me, I was shoved back again. Telekinesis. The realization made my stomach turn. Now I knew how he’d managed to flip the truck over. What I didn’t know was how the hell I was going to get away from him. He’d been playing with me this whole time, toying with me until now, and the look on his face made it clear he was tired of his new toy.
His shiny black boots stepped beside me. The tattered remains of his pants revealed he wasn’t wearing any underwear, but thankfully, there was enough of his pants left to cover his groin.
“You are something,” he murmured. “He’s going to be so happy to meet you, child.”
I managed to get my elbows under me so I wasn’t flat on my back, but I found myself unable to move further.
Kneeling beside me, his finger slid under my chin and lifted my head up. “And look at these hideous marks on your neck.” His mouth twisted into a cruel smile. “You definitely are your father’s daughter, going after the strongest one of them, binding him to you. Your father couldn’t crush their leader, so you screwed him.”
“I’m nothing like him!” I spat.
“We shall see. I wonder what else you can do.”
“River!” Corson’s bellow drew both of our gazes as he charged out from the other corner of the diner. His talons were fully extended, dripping florescent green blood onto the asphalt as he ran. The blood covered his clothes and hair. The other two demons were nowhere in view, and judging by the look of Corson, they wouldn’t be coming back either.
Azote rose to tower above me. He raised his hands and flung Corson back, pinning him to the wall of the diner. Bursts of gunshots rang out from the area where I’d left the others. I turned to find the three of them standing at the end of the alley with their guns raised. The monster before me spun, his hand flying up. I watched in dismay as the bullets slicing through the air, froze inches before his face.
“Your friends don’t realize I already have you and I don’t care if they live or not.” With a flick of his wrist, the bullets turned and sped away faster than my mortal eye could see.
“Run!” I screamed at them, but they were already fleeing into the shadows of the trucks.
A pain-filled scream rang out from the darkness. With Azote’s attention distracted from me, I jerked to the side and swung my legs out. My feet caught Azote at his ankles and knocked him back. Flames erupted at the ends of my fingers. Lifting my hand, I threw another burst at his back, but he spun around, flinging it away with his wing and sending it spiraling into the night.
“You’re lucky he wants you alive!” he spat at me.
I managed to scramble back to my feet and made it two steps before something hit me again. I cried out, my hands hitting the ground and barely keeping me up as more blood trickled from my scraped knees.
Across the way, I caught a glimpse of Corson pulling himself off the building and struggling forward. His steps were sluggish, his body bent forward and his arms out before him as he pushed onward against the invisible barrier trying to hold him back.
I pressed my hand against the asphalt, taking a deep breath as I tried to calm my rioting emotions. Fear fueled the fire, but intense emotion was what I had to draw on to dig into the life force flowing all around me. Unfortunately, fear was at the forefront of my emotions right now.
Taking another deep breath, I closed my eyes as I sought the vast conduit of life flowing through the earth. The thick slab of asphalt beneath me blocked some of its flow, but a spark flared across my fingertips.
Kobal had once said this would be my most powerful weapon, and though I’d gotten better at wielding it, I couldn’t get the flow of life to build further in me as terror coursed through my body in jolting bursts.
Azote turned back to me, his gaze landing on the golden-white sparks dancing across the tips of my fingers. The look of longing that filled his face was so raw it stole my breath. He groaned in anguish as a tremor worked through him.
I’d once speculated that Lucifer had become so twisted and ruthless because he’d somehow lost his connection to the innate flow of life all the angels felt. Looking at Azote’s face now, I knew I’d been right.
Maybe the fall from Heaven had started the corruption of the angels, but the severing of their link to all living things had completely broken them. Which meant Lucifer may have been telling the truth about me after all. I could become evil; the possibility was within me.
Azote’s gaze came back to me. The awe and yearning faded away to be replaced with a look of hatred so deep it rocked my soul.
“It’s true!” he hissed.
I swung my other hand up, and with a scream, released another ball of fire. I was tired of these pricks, every last one of them. He raised his hand up to knock the ball away, but it still caught hold of his sleeve and licked toward his face. While he was distracted by the flames, I rolled over and leapt to my feet.
Just keep running.
I didn’t look back as I ran; I was almost to the edge of the parking lot when I felt a hand grasp my neck. I didn’t have time to blink before I was lifted off my feet.
***
Kobal
At the top of the hill, my breath rushed in and out of me as I looked down upon the brightly lit truck stop less than half a mile below me. Moving too fast, I’d left Bale behind, but I knew she was coming. A burst of flame drew my attention to where River lay on the asphalt at the feet of someone I couldn’t make out against the fire coming from her hands.
River scrambled to her feet, fleeing across the lot. Corson staggered forward, seemingly released from some invisible barrier that had been holding him back. He raced for the one who had been attacking River, his claws out as he leapt up and drove his hand down. The flames extinguished and whoever it was spun to face him. River’s attacker screamed in agony when Corson’s talons tore through their side.
Corson swung up again, but without even moving a muscle, River’s attacker threw Corson into the air and away from them. Corson hit the pavement and skidded backward on his ass toward the building. Spinning back around, the creature went after River once more.
I almost bellowed her name before biting it back. I’d give anything to let her know I was coming for her, but right now, I couldn’t give up the element of surprise.
I was halfway down the hill when I realized her attacker wasn’t a demon but the fallen angel, Azote. His black wings briefly fluttered when he turned his back to me and his silver hair shimmered in the light flowing over him. His hand encircled River’s neck, lifting her off her feet. Rage caused flames to erupt from my hands and circle my wrists. No one would ever treat her in such a way and live to tell about it.
My muscles swelled and heaved as the hounds clamored to get to her. Able to move faster than me, they would reach her before I could. Throwing my left arm out, a surge of power slid over my body and down to my fingertips when I set them free. The female, Phenex, erupted from me first in a ball of fire. Flames encircled her as she hit the earth, even her eyes held fire when she lifted her head to look at me. Crux, her mate, followed closely behind her.
Turning away from me, the hounds became surging balls of fire that vibrated the ground with their heavy leaps and bounds as they ran across the earth toward River. Flames and sparks trailed behind them, growing dimmer as the fire enveloping them began to extinguish itself.
Azote pulled River back and tossed her away from him. She bounced across the asphalt before staggering back to her feet and taking a few sideways steps. Falling to the ground, she crawled forward until she made it to the edge of the parking lot. With his hands clasped behind his back, Azote whistled as he strolled after her, playing with her like a cat with a mouse. Azote hadn’t seen the hounds yet as his back remained to them, but when he did this game would end and he would do what he could to take River away from here.
She threw herself forward, her hand falling onto the earth. I saw her body shudder as her head lifted and her eyes widened at the hounds barreling down the hill toward her. I should have shown them to her before. She had no way of knowing they were her protectors, not a new attacker.
Azote took another step toward her as she flipped onto her back. Golden-white sparks of light danced across her hand before she turned her palm toward him and released the flow of life she’d harnessed in a powerful blast the likes of which I’d never seen from her before. The stream of light slammed into Azote’s chest, flinging him across the parking lot. His arms flailed in the air before he crashed onto the pavement. He skidded on his back into one of the gas pumps.
My heart soared at River’s growing ability to wield her lethal power at the same time it sank. Her ability was effective against the fallen angels.
Which meant it would work against Lucifer; she could face him.
The hounds raced past River with a bellowing howl that rattled the windows of the truck stop and reverberated the ground beneath my feet. Azote rose to his feet just as Phenex reared back on her powerful hind legs and leapt forward.