I felt like a rag doll as he effortlesslylifted me off the ground and propped me against the wall. Anotherflap of wings jerked my head around as Lucifer soared into viewwith Magnus clasped in his hands. Magnus’s legs kicked in the air;his hands beat against Lucifer’s, but it did little good as Luciferflew in low and dropped Magnus into the center of the pit.
Some of the images of me that Magnus hadconjured vanished as he fell through them. Hawk opened fire,emptying the last of his bullets into Lucifer as he rose high intothe cavern before turning and swooping toward Hawk. He tossed thegun away, widened his stance, and held out his hands as he bracedfor Lucifer.
Instead of diving down to snatch him up,Lucifer thrust the bottom spikes of his wings forward and drovethem into Hawk’s shoulders. Hawk shouted as Lucifer pulled his legsup and propelled Hawk backward into the wall of the cavern. Ilurched forward, trying to go over the top of Corson, but he shovedme back and pinned me against the wall.
“No emotion!” he hissed at me under hisbreath.
I hadn’t realized until now that Bale hadmoved herself into a position to protect Magnus as had some of theskelleins and hounds. I had no idea if they knew which one of uswas the real one or not. Some of the other hounds crept towardCorson and me while the others formed a barrier between Lucifer’sremaining followers and the rest of us.
Hawk lifted his chin as Lucifer set his feetdown. Lucifer twisted the spikes deeper, causing Hawk to wince, buthe didn’t make another sound. My gut clenched as shouts to stopburned in my throat. I somehow managed to keep them from spillingforth as Lucifer’s head swiveled to look from Magnus to me thenback again.
“Which one of you is it?” he inquired in avelvety smooth tone.
I had a feeling he could find out which oneof us it was, but he was looking to draw out Hawk’s torture.Removing one spike from Hawk’s shoulder, he pulled it back anddrove it into Hawk’s stomach. “No!” I blurted at the same timeMagnus yelled, “It’s me!”
A smile curved Lucifer’s mouth as he twistedthe tip deeper. Hawk groaned and grabbed at the tip, but though hismuscles bulged, he couldn’t pull Lucifer’s wing free. His faceflushed as he struggled to keep Lucifer from digging deeper intohis flesh.
“Think of the millions who will die. Staystill,” Corson whispered to me.
My hands fell on Corson’s shoulders; I wentto push him away, but I froze when his words sank in. If Lucifergot his hands on me…
It would all be over. Everything we werefighting for would be lost. He may not be able to make me do whathe wanted, though he would no doubt do everything he could to tryto bend me to his will. However, if he made it out of Hell, with orwithout my compliance, there would be nothing left worth fightingfor anymore.
Hawk was my friend, I’d risked everything tosave him before, but the stakes were so much higher in here. I wasweak now, barely standing. I wouldn’t be able to battle Lucifer asI had Lilitu, and all of those surrounding me now would most likelydie because of it. Inhaling a ragged breath, I lifted my head tofind Lucifer’s black eyes on me. He looked to Magnus when he took astaggering step forward with his hand stretched out.
Lucifer dug the spikes deeper, spilling moreof Hawk’s blood and causing him to cry out. My fingers dug intoCorson’s shoulders. I would forever hate myself for standing by andallowing Hawk to suffer because ofme.
One life or millions?
No life was worth more than any other, butmillions…millionsof them!
Corson thrust his shoulders back before meas Lucifer’s gaze burned into me while he twisted his wing deeperinto Hawk. Hawk screamed once more, and I was unable to stop myselffrom flinching as tears burned my eyes and sorrow swelled within mychest.
“It has to stop,” I breathed, and Magnuscried, “Enough!”
When the three remaining lower-level demonstook a step toward Magnus, the hounds leaned back on their haunchesand flung themselves into the air without so much as a sound ofwarning. The demons screamed as they beat and fought against thehounds. Crunching bone and the rending of flesh could be heardthroughout the cavern, but the demon’s shrieks continued to soundas the hounds didn’t immediately go for the killing blow.
Some of the other hounds relentlesslystalked the last two demons while three of them launched atLucifer. Before they could reach him, they were all thrown back byan unseen hand.Telekinesis,I recalled Kobal saying aboutLucifer’s abilities.
“Kill them already,” I whispered when thewails of the demons rose to deafening levels while the houndsplayed with them like a cat with a mouse.
Corson’s muscles flexed beneath my hands. Icould feel the immense amount of life flowing through him, but Ididn’t dare draw from him in case it somehow tipped off Lucifer asto who I was. Plus, it wouldn’t be enough to replenish me in timeto take on Lucifer. At this point, I didn’t think I’d be able totake out a barta again.
Another hound released an ear-splittingyelp, and its lifeless body was tossed aside by Lucifer’s ability.The frenzy of the hounds grew louder; the sounds of their feedingrose to nearly drown out the shrieks of the demons. Corson pressedme closer against the wall as something within the darkness of therockslide drew my attention.
An imposing figure rose from beneath therock avalanche to stand on top of the pile. Covered entirely inblack dust, it was impossible to make out any features until thefigure lifted its head, and Kobal’s amber eyes burned hotly fromdeep within the shadows.
My grip on Corson’s shoulders loosened as myheart stuttered. I’d never seen Kobal look so lethal orbloodthirsty before. The savagery pulsating from him caused thehair on my arms to stand up.
With every step he took down the rocks, heemerged more from the shadows that embraced his body as if he werea part of them. And he was a part of the darkness, I realized. Hewas Hell and it was him.
When he stepped into the light, the screamsof the demons ceased as the hounds finally delivered their killingblows, and I realized they’d been masking the sound of Kobal’srising. The silence that descended over the cavern held the heavyair 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 hetore his spikes from Hawk’s body and turned to face Kobal. Hawkslumped to the ground; his head fell back against the wall. Kobal’swhite teeth flashed before he broke into a run and leapt forward. Icould only watch with a mix of wonder and horror as he and Lucifercollided in midair.
***
