Kobal
I slammed into Lucifer with far more forcethan the rockslide I’d just crawled out from under. One of my ribsgave way beneath the impact, but I barely felt it as my handsclasped around his throat. His wings beat against the air, drawingus upward with every thrust before he turned and dove toward thecavern floor again.
I didn’t look down. I couldn’t as my clawspierced his skin and dug deep through the sinew of his neck. Ihacked at him as the wind whistled around us and whipped against myskin and hair.
“Kobal!” River shrieked seconds beforeLucifer propelled me into the cavern wall.
Another rib gave way, causing one of myhands to be knocked free of its grip on his neck. Lucifer’s blackeyes filled my vision before his wings pulled back, and he turnedthe bottoms of them up, pointing them toward me. Before he coulddrive those spikes forward, fire burst out of my hand still holdinghim, and I sank my fangs into his throat.
A series of concussive blows battered mychest as he pummeled me with his powerful fists. Unable to get aclear thrust at me, his wings folded against his sides as he workedto free himself from my hold on his neck. Ripping backward, I toreout a chunk out of his throat and spat it away. Driving my headforward, I smashed my forehead off the bridge of his nose.
Lucifer’s hands flew up to cover his nose. Itwisted my hands into his shirt when he released me and dragged himdown with me. We landed in a tumbled heap on top of the pile ofremains littering the floor.
The impact of the ground broke my hold onhim, and he rolled away from me. The hounds leapt forward, snappingat him, but they were quickly tossed aside as Lucifer swept hishand in a clearing gesture.
The world lurched around me, and I swayed asI rose to my feet with the intention of rushing at him again. Ittook me a second to realize the ground was still stable, butLucifer was using his ability to warp my perception of realityagainst me. The cavern became a wavy haze around me until Icouldn’t see the walls and didn’t know where they were anymore.
He’d used this ability on me before. Thelast time, he’d gotten the drop on me and torn my arm from myshoulder. This time, I focused on the things I knew were real. Thebodies and parts beneath my feet were real, so were the houndssnarling close by. I didn’t dare look toward where I’d last seenRiver standing behind Corson; it would throw off what little I didknow about the world right now.
“Senché.” The hounds fell silent at mycommand to do so.
I remained unmoving, refusing to look at therippling waves of altered reality surrounding me. The smallestfluctuation in the air had my head falling back as Luciferdescended like a spider from above me with the bottom spikes of hiswings aimed at my shoulders. I braced myself for him when aninvisible punch bashed into my chest and flung me into thewall.
Fuckinghatetelekinesis.
I shook my head to clear it of thedistortion all around me as my concentration had been broken byLucifer’s blast. I’d just started to get my bearings again when aspike tore into my shoulder, piercing through my muscle and bone tothe rock behind me. Lucifer’s ability to twist reality causedRiver’s scream to barely register in my mind.
Fire burst from my free hand. It blastedacross Lucifer’s face, searing his eyebrows and singing his hair.He threw his other wing up to block the next blast I shot towardhim. While he was distracted, I reached up and snapped off thepoint embedded in my shoulder.
Black blood spurted from the hole I’d torninto the bottom of Lucifer’s wing. It dripped down my face and ontomy chest like a waterfall. He shrieked, and his wing flapped in theair as if he were trying to shake off the pain. Lunging forward, Iwrapped my hands around his throat again and shoved backward beforehe 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 thebottom.
He punched and kicked at me, but his abilityto alter the world had weakened as he became more focused on tryingto dislodge me, and I could see things more clearly once again. Thehounds nipped at his heels as I released his throat and drove mythumbs up, pushing my claws into his eyes. My fingers tore at hisblistered and peeling skin. Layers of flesh raked away beneath myclaws to reveal the muscle and bone beneath.
Lucifer grabbed hold of the spike stillsticking into my shoulder blade and gave it a twist. I roared infury. Bracing my legs beneath me, I thrust upward to flip him overonto 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 thespike, driving it deeper. Lifting his fist, he swung it at my face.I managed to catch his hand before he could connect with me. Flameslicked over my hand, engulfing his. Another invisible punch hit mychest, flinging me upward and over his head. I scrambled to rightmyself before he could leap at me again.
When I spun to face him, his wings werealready flapping to lift him into the air. This fight was meant tobe between the two of us, but I could not allow him to getaway.
“Achó!” I shouted, and the hounds leaptforward to attack him before he could flee.
A blast of telekinesis rocked the cavern,throwing the hounds aside and causing me to stagger backward. Mysnarl drowned out those of the hounds. Racing forward, my eyesnarrowed on Lucifer while he soared higher.
I jumped after him, but he had already risenout 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 afterhim so loudly the walls quaked.
He didn’t look back as he flew out ofsight.
CHAPTER 45
River
I finally succeeded in shoving Corson out ofmy way as Lucifer rose into the air and the hounds lunged forward.Hawk staggered forward to intercept me; his arms encircled my waistand dragged me against his chest. I thrashed against his hold, butthough he’d been stabbed, he was still surprisingly strong.
Kobal’s bellow shook the cavern as Lucifervanished into the opening above us. Hawk set me on my feet and letme go. I ran through the body parts. My foot got caught up onsomething I wouldn’t have been able to recognize if it was alive. Ialmost fell but managed to catch myself in time. I had just rightedmyself when a set of strong arms enveloped me and lifted me fromthe carnage.
I threw my arms around Kobal’s neck andhugged him. “Are you okay?” I demanded as I ran my hands over hisdust-covered skin. He’d been buried beneath a ton of rock, stabbedin the shoulder, and was steadily bleeding, but he seemed unawareof his injuries as he pulled away to look at me.
