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Tank knew. Then the others did too. How were they here at the same time? But … No sight was ever more welcome.
Chapter Forty-Three
Reinforcements
Joleen
Asmodeus growled and jabbed the divine dagger through the stone ground before I could blink. I was right. Asmodeus knew what to do with the gate key. He wanted to taunt Rafael and play with Victus and me. I should never have expected anything less from him.
Thunder boomed and lightning came out of nowhere and struck the floor. I stumbled in Victus’s arms as the earth trembled and spidery lines splintered to the surrounding area every which way and even passed through the walls.
Asmodeus’s crown, all his rings, and the divine dagger fell and tumbled as his clothes ripped, bones cracked, muscles tore, and he grew taller and taller still, until he practically reached the ceiling, as tall as the drakon I’d met in the cavern.
He had morphed into a hairless monster with two horns sprouting from its bald head. Its face was skeletal, with a flat nose and large eyes. Asmodeus bared his teeth in a menacing snarl, revealing multiple rows of sharpened fangs.
Asmodeus resembled the giant creature I had battled in the cave at the vampire's den, only much more formidable and intimidating, and this demon from the depths of the abyss was worse than any nightmare.
The Gate Key can either bring salvation or damnation. Do not allow it to fall into the wrong hands, the drakon had said. Well, clearly, Victus and I had failed.
“You might want to transform back to human form, Asmodeus.” Vara yanked two daggers from the sheath on her waist, the other two vampires did the same. “You’re the ugliest thing I’ve ever seen.”
He snarled as he swept a long arm toward my gathered team where they had fallen through from the glass-dome ceiling. The group sprinted apart in time to avoid his giant hand. Then they bounced back and fought some of the soldiers who had surrounded us.
I gripped Victus’s arm, desperation running through my veins. “Get our Nadira, and I’ll get the divine dagger.”
“My thoughts exactly …” His voice trailed off as he moved at lightning speed.
He’d almost reached our daughter when the beast scooped her up. Her head and feet dangled off his palm. Victus was too late. Too late!
“No!” I screamed from the depth of my lungs.
I slid under the beast on my knees to grab the dagger, but at the edge of my sight, Rafael kicked a soldier and dashed for it as well. He not only snatched the divine dagger, but he grabbed a fistful of my hair and hauled me up. Imprisoning me in his arm, my back pressed to his chest, he set a blade to my neck.
“I can save you. Come with me.” His hot breath brushed the shell of my ear and his touch alone made me nauseous.
“Never. You lied. You took advantage of me and made me believe you were all I had. I hate you. I wish I’d never met you.”
“Look at them! Asmodeus is going to kill them all. But you and I can live.”
Snow, Tank, and Otis flapped their wings, their swords pointed outward as they dodged the beast’s hand. Dawn and Gorgo had cornered Levia by the table, their swords ringing.
“You’re dead for everything you did to me.” Dawn soared over the chairs thrown at her and pounced on Levia. They tumbled away from Gorgo and nearly missed being squashed by Asmodeus’s foot.
Michael and Victus stood back-to-back, with the three royal vampires, defending and attacking the demon soldiers. Some left as the ground continued to shake but more guards had come to defend their master.
Otis made a circle around Asmodeus and dropped apples to distract and trip the soldiers, but then boiling lava bubbled in the lines where the ground had cracked. Saving Grace. What in the world was that? If the earth continued to shake, the lava would grow and expand.
“Victus, I’m going to give you a clear path,” Michael hollered. “Go get your daughter.” Then he counted to three, giving everyone a warning.
My team flapped their wings and soared toward the ceiling. As Michael spun like a tornado, he released countless feathers. Each feather was a blade that sliced across the demon soldiers’ throats or pierced their chests, hitting the targets and not missing even one. They collapsed and combusted into ashes, which drifted like fallen snow. A mesmerizing sight to behold.
A handful of feathers hit Asmodeus but his skin must be made of something stronger. No harm was done to him, not even the one through his jugular.
“Do you see Michael?” I shouldn’t taunt Rafael, but knowing he wasn’t going to kill me gave me an advantage. “Michael isn’t weak like you. You’re no warrior.”
When Rafael had released his feathers, he needed time to recover because the wings were not his.
Rafael ignored me, too busy maneuvering us away from the battle with the divine weapon still against my throat.
