A pair of ashy appendages resembled wings against his back, but they weren’t feathery or bright. More like shadows that seemed to carry him higher into the dusky air. A dark substance moved with him and swept up and down like burning feathers threaded with fire.
Beautiful.
Terrifying.
Intense.
My heart thundered in my chest as I dug my fingers into my palms. Another shock wave boomed, causing my knees to buckle.
But Ajax caught me again, his shadows keeping us stable while the ground trembled around us. The power of it all echoed in my chest, making me feel like a living drum.
Lucifer,I realized on a breath.That’sLucifer’spower. It radiated around me, distorting the air and tugging at my insides.
More,I thought dizzily.Give me more.
I blinked, confused by the desire.
“I need to be closer,” I whispered.
Ajax glanced at me, his brow furrowing. “I think we’re close enough.”
Lucifer’s magic beat at my being as his thunderous voice ordered those below to assist. “More water!” he shouted, his words seeming to be for a group of Nagas who were chanting around a gushing geyser.
A blast of liquid followed, the snakelike beings lifting their hands as it shot up into the sky.
“Lift!” he yelled, this time at the Unseelie who appeared to be sending air currents up to swirl around the vortex in the opposite direction.
He’s trying to close the portal,I realized.
But it wasn’t working. His power was one of fire and brute strength, and it beat against the whirlpool, only severing it and making it open wider.
The scent that followed reminded me of an old family trip to the Everglades, making my nose curl as my mind spun the memory behind my eyes.
Hellfire,I thought, picturing my father out in the middle of the swamp, covered in dangerous flames.
“You want to kill those mosquitos, Cami? Just burn them,” he’d told me.
He’d made a show of setting several mangroves on fire.
Which had spread to other plants.
Growing all around us.
“The trick now is how to put it out,” he’d whispered to me, his expression menacing. “Better figure that out or you won’t be coming home.”
My mom had tsked then, saying, “At least give the poor girl some spells to try.”
Papers had fallen from the sky in the next moment, their white gloss flickering in the flames, reminding me a bit of fiery feathers.
I’d snatched them all up, memorizing each chant.
And had finally found the one I’d needed to dispel the blazing chaos.
Lucifer’s Hellfire drew me back to the present, my recollection melting beneath the display above. His magic appeared to be fueling the portal more than dissolving it.
Kind of like the fire in the Everglades, I thought, frowning. Some of the spells I’d used then had strengthened the flames rather than extinguish them.
The swirling edges of the vortex yawned back at Lucifer, opening up a pitch-black center. The immense ripple against reality gulped in everything around it, quickly devouring another section of the Unseelie palace.
