River
Magnus turned me toward him; his eyes scanned over me. More blue lines formed around his eyes, the circles shading his eyes darkened, and his skin took on an ashen hue as lips paled. I realized this was what I looked like now before he turned away from me. All around us, dozens more images of me shimmered into view.
“Whatever happens, whatever Lucifer tries to do, you take care of you first,” he said in my ear. “You are what is most important right now. Unless it becomes absolutely necessary, do not use your powers. I cannot mimic those and right now you are not strong enough to inflict any serious damage.”
“Kobal—” I started.
“Is alive. You know that.”
Before I could respond, he lifted me up and ran with me toward the entrance of the broken seals. Near the first one, he dove down, rolling over and over until the world blurred around me, and I wasn’t sure if it was my black hair or his battering my face. Somewhere along the way, the strap of my katana caught on something and was torn free. Above me, the weapon vanished from Magnus’s mirage of me.
My head spun when we finally came to a stop with my back flat against the wall of the first broken seal. Gunshots burst through the room seconds before the whistling of the wind reached my ears. Magnus leapt away from me and ran deeper into the seals. Black hair whipped like a banner behind him as did the ends of his dress.
Lucifer flew overhead, his gaze went between me and the receding Magnus before he flapped his wings once more and honed in on Magnus as he disappeared around a corner.
“River?” My attention was torn away from the disconcerting scene of Lucifer chasing clone me when Corson fell to his knees before me. His talons clashed against the floor of the seal, sending sparks flying up around us.
“Yes…” I swallowed in an attempt to get words out of my choked throat. “Yes, it’s me.”
I felt like a rag doll as he effortlessly lifted me off the ground and propped me against the wall. Another flap of wings jerked my head around as Lucifer soared into view with Magnus clasped in his hands. Magnus’s legs kicked in the air; his hands beat against Lucifer’s, but it did little good as Lucifer flew in low and dropped Magnus into the center of the pit.
Some of the images of me that Magnus had conjured vanished as he fell through them. Hawk opened fire, emptying the last of his bullets into Lucifer as he rose high into the cavern before turning and swooping toward Hawk. He tossed the gun away, widened his stance, and held out his hands as he braced for Lucifer.
Instead of diving down to snatch him up, Lucifer thrust the bottom spikes of his wings forward and drove them into Hawk’s shoulders. Hawk shouted as Lucifer pulled his legs up and propelled Hawk backward into the wall of the cavern. I lurched forward, trying to go over the top of Corson, but he shoved me back and pinned me against the wall.
“No emotion!” he hissed at me under his breath.
I hadn’t realized until now that Bale had moved herself into a position to protect Magnus as had some of the skelleins and hounds. I had no idea if they knew which one of us was the real one or not. Some of the other hounds crept toward Corson and me while the others formed a barrier between Lucifer’s remaining followers and the rest of us.
Hawk lifted his chin as Lucifer set his feet down. Lucifer twisted the spikes deeper, causing Hawk to wince, but he didn’t make another sound. My gut clenched as shouts to stop burned in my throat. I somehow managed to keep them from spilling forth as Lucifer’s head swiveled to look from Magnus to me then back again.
“Which one of you is it?” he inquired in a velvety smooth tone.
I had a feeling he could find out which one of us it was, but he was looking to draw out Hawk’s torture. Removing one spike from Hawk’s shoulder, he pulled it back and drove it into Hawk’s stomach. “No!” I blurted at the same time Magnus yelled, “It’s me!”
A smile curved Lucifer’s mouth as he twisted the tip deeper. Hawk groaned and grabbed at the tip, but though his muscles bulged, he couldn’t pull Lucifer’s wing free. His face flushed as he struggled to keep Lucifer from digging deeper into his flesh.
“Think of the millions who will die. Stay still,” Corson whispered to me.
My hands fell on Corson’s shoulders; I went to push him away, but I froze when his words sank in. If Lucifer got his hands on me…
It would all be over. Everything we were fighting for would be lost. He may not be able to make me do what he wanted, though he would no doubt do everything he could to try to bend me to his will. However, if he made it out of Hell, with or without my compliance, there would be nothing left worth fighting for anymore.
Hawk was my friend, I’d risked everything to save him before, but the stakes were so much higher in here. I was weak now, barely standing. I wouldn’t be able to battle Lucifer as I had Lilitu, and all of those surrounding me now would most likely die because of it. Inhaling a ragged breath, I lifted my head to find Lucifer’s black eyes on me. He looked to Magnus when he took a staggering step forward with his hand stretched out.
Lucifer dug the spikes deeper, spilling more of Hawk’s blood and causing him to cry out. My fingers dug into Corson’s shoulders. I would forever hate myself for standing by and allowing Hawk to suffer because of me.
One life or millions?
No life was worth more than any other, but millions… millions of them!
Corson thrust his shoulders back before me as Lucifer’s gaze burned into me while he twisted his wing deeper into Hawk. Hawk screamed once more, and I was unable to stop myself from flinching as tears burned my eyes and sorrow swelled within my chest.
“It has to stop,” I breathed, and Magnus cried, “Enough!”
When the three remaining lower-level demons took a step toward Magnus, the hounds leaned back on their haunches and flung themselves into the air without so much as a sound of warning. The demons screamed as they beat and fought against the hounds. Crunching bone and the rending of flesh could be heard throughout the cavern, but the demon’s shrieks continued to sound as the hounds didn’t immediately go for the killing blow.
Some of the other hounds relentlessly stalked the last two demons while three of them launched at Lucifer. Before they could reach him, they were all thrown back by an unseen hand. Telekinesis, I recalled Kobal saying about Lucifer’s abilities.
“Kill them already,” I whispered when the wails of the demons rose to deafening levels while the hounds played with them like a cat with a mouse.
Corson’s muscles flexed beneath my hands. I could feel the immense amount of life flowing through him, but I didn’t dare draw from him in case it somehow tipped off Lucifer as to who I was. Plus, it wouldn’t be enough to replenish me in time to take on Lucifer. At this point, I didn’t think I’d be able to take out a barta again.
Another hound released an ear-splitting yelp, and its lifeless body was tossed aside by Lucifer’s ability. The frenzy of the hounds grew louder; the sounds of their feeding rose to nearly drown out the shrieks of the demons. Corson pressed me closer against the wall as something within the darkness of the rockslide drew my attention.
An imposing figure rose from beneath the rock avalanche to stand on top of the pile. Covered entirely in black dust, it was impossible to make out any features until the figure lifted its head, and Kobal’s amber eyes burned hotly from deep within the shadows.
My grip on Corson’s shoulders loosened as my heart stuttered. I’d never seen Kobal look so lethal or bloodthirsty before. The savagery pulsating from him caused the hair on my arms to stand up.
With every step he took down the rocks, he emerged more from the shadows that embraced his body as if he were a part of them. And he was a part of the darkness, I realized. He was Hell and it was him.
When he stepped into the light, the screams of the demons ceased as the hounds finally delivered their killing blows, and I realized they’d been masking the sound of Kobal’s rising. The silence that descended over the cavern held the heavy air of expectancy as nothing and no one dared to move.
“Now, these numbers are a little more even,” Kobal growled.
My eyes were drawn back to Lucifer as he tore his spikes from Hawk’s body and turned to face Kobal. Hawk slumped to the ground; his head fell back against the wall. Kobal’s white teeth flashed before he broke into a run and leapt forward. I could only watch with a mix of wonder and horror as he and Lucifer collided in midair.
***
Kobal
I slammed into Lucifer with far more force than the rockslide I’d just crawled out from under. One of my ribs gave way beneath the impact, but I barely felt it as my hands clasped around his throat. His wings beat against the air, drawing us upward with every thrust before he turned and dove toward the cavern floor again.
I didn’t look down. I couldn’t as my claws pierced his skin and dug deep through the sinew of his neck. I hacked at him as the wind whistled around us and whipped against my skin and hair.
“Kobal!” River shrieked seconds before Lucifer propelled me into the cavern wall.
Another rib gave way, causing one of my hands to be knocked free of its grip on his neck. Lucifer’s black eyes filled my vision before his wings pulled back, and he turned the bottoms of them up, pointing them toward me. Before he could drive those spikes forward, fire burst out of my hand still holding him, and I sank my fangs into his throat.
A series of concussive blows battered my chest as he pummeled me with his powerful fists. Unable to get a clear thrust at me, his wings folded against his sides as he worked to free himself from my hold on his neck. Ripping backward, I tore out a chunk out of his throat and spat it away. Driving my head forward, I smashed my forehead off the bridge of his nose.
Lucifer’s hands flew up to cover his nose. I twisted my hands into his shirt when he released me and dragged him down with me. We landed in a tumbled heap on top of the pile of remains littering the floor.
The impact of the ground broke my hold on him, and he rolled away from me. The hounds leapt forward, snapping at him, but they were quickly tossed aside as Lucifer swept his hand in a clearing gesture.
The world lurched around me, and I swayed as I rose to my feet with the intention of rushing at him again. It took me a second to realize the ground was still stable, but Lucifer was using his ability to warp my perception of reality against me. The cavern became a wavy haze around me until I couldn’t see the walls and didn’t know where they were anymore.
He’d used this ability on me before. The last time, he’d gotten the drop on me and torn my arm from my shoulder. This time, I focused on the things I knew were real. The bodies and parts beneath my feet were real, so were the hounds snarling close by. I didn’t dare look toward where I’d last seen River standing behind Corson; it would throw off what little I did know about the world right now.
“Senché.” The hounds fell silent at my command to do so.
I remained unmoving, refusing to look at the rippling waves of altered reality surrounding me. The smallest fluctuation in the air had my head falling back as Lucifer descended like a spider from above me with the bottom spikes of his wings aimed at my shoulders. I braced myself for him when an invisible punch bashed into my chest and flung me into the wall.
Fucking hate telekinesis.
I shook my head to clear it of the distortion all around me as my concentration had been broken by Lucifer’s blast. I’d just started to get my bearings again when a spike tore into my shoulder, piercing through my muscle and bone to the rock behind me. Lucifer’s ability to twist reality caused River’s scream to barely register in my mind.
Fire burst from my free hand. It blasted across Lucifer’s face, searing his eyebrows and singing his hair. He threw his other wing up to block the next blast I shot toward him. While he was distracted, I reached up and snapped off the point embedded in my shoulder.
Black blood spurted from the hole I’d torn into the bottom of Lucifer’s wing. It dripped down my face and onto my chest like a waterfall. He shrieked, and his wing flapped in the air as if he were trying to shake off the pain. Lunging forward, I wrapped my hands around his throat again and shoved backward before he could regain control and come back at me with his telekinesis. We tumbled over the remains as we fell in a heap with me on the bottom.
He punched and kicked at me, but his ability to alter the world had weakened as he became more focused on trying to dislodge me, and I could see things more clearly once again. The hounds nipped at his heels as I released his throat and drove my thumbs up, pushing my claws into his eyes. My fingers tore at his blistered and peeling skin. Layers of flesh raked away beneath my claws to reveal the muscle and bone beneath.
Lucifer grabbed hold of the spike still sticking into my shoulder blade and gave it a twist. I roared in fury. Bracing my legs beneath me, I thrust upward to flip him over onto the pile and regained my feet as he rose to face me.
Though blood seeped from his damaged eyes, he still saw well enough to pull his palm back and slam it into the spike, driving it deeper. Lifting his fist, he swung it at my face. I managed to catch his hand before he could connect with me. Flames licked over my hand, engulfing his. Another invisible punch hit my chest, flinging me upward and over his head. I scrambled to right myself before he could leap at me again.
When I spun to face him, his wings were already flapping to lift him into the air. This fight was meant to be between the two of us, but I could not allow him to get away.
“Achó!” I shouted, and the hounds leapt forward to attack him before he could flee.
A blast of telekinesis rocked the cavern, throwing the hounds aside and causing me to stagger backward. My snarl drowned out those of the hounds. Racing forward, my eyes narrowed on Lucifer while he soared higher.
I jumped after him, but he had already risen out of my range. His brutalized face tilted down to look at me. Hate blazed from him before he flapped his wings again.
“Fucking coward!” I bellowed after him so loudly the walls quaked.
He didn’t look back as he flew out of sight.