Where were all these things coming from? We’d cleared so much of the Wilds; of course, there was still so much more to cover, but to keep this many enemy troops hidden would have been a near impossible feat.
Except, it was entirely possible as they were here and coming at us. I kept one eye on Aisling as we continued to hack and carve our way through the demons climbing over the dead bodies to get at us. When she stumbled and almost went down, I lunged to the side and pulled her out of the way of a demon flinging itself at her.
I was so focused on destroying the demon that I didn’t see the other one coming at me until Aisling buried her sword under its chin. She screamed as she planted her foot in its chest and tore it away from her sword; Corson severed its head.
The drakón River rode first swept low over our heads before settling in the center of the crowd. When demons rushed toward it, its head curled up like a cobra. In one strike, it consumed most of the demons. The others turned to flee, but it used its tail to swipe them off their feet.
Kobal’s followers, the palitons, surged forward to destroy our enemy while they were down. The drakón rose into the air, and blue fire erupted over its body as it turned and flew back over the land.
“Kobal must be over there,” Corson said. “Let’s go!”
“Come on.” I grasped Aisling’s arm and started pulling her toward the drakón.
The stench of death permeated the air, as did human waste and blood. The heat of so many together and the bursts of fire made the once cool night feel like it was a part of Hell. After becoming a demon, I could tolerate extreme heat and barely break a sweat, but none of this was tolerable.
We carved our way through more of our enemies as screams mixed in with whimpers and pleas for mercy. I’d never hated our enemies more than I did then. They could have broken free of Hell and lived in peace. Some of the other demons had chosen to do this and remained in the Wilds; they stayed out of it all and lived their lives.
The craetons didn’t have to do any of this, but for some of those locked behind the seals, thousands of years of hatred against Kobal’s ancestors had left them unable to move on. The fallen angels wanted to destroy everything in their way.
They were twisted monstrosities of what they’d once been, and they thrived on their madness and hatred against the humans, angels, and demons. With Lucifer dead, they’d taken to following Astaroth, who was said to be more vicious, and surrounded by this massacre, I agreed with the assessment.
We broke free of the battle to find River standing before Kobal. Bale, Caim, Lix, and a group of skelleins stood by her side. The skellein Lix wore a pink tie with cartoonish unicorns and donuts on it. After the jinn destroyed a lot of his skellein friends, Lix became more reserved, but as time passed, he started wearing ridiculous things again and smiling more often.
Now, though he had no eyes in the empty sockets of his skull, I sensed Lix’s displeasure in the set of his jaw. Most of the skelleins were about four and a half feet tall, but Lix was slightly taller. While in Hell, the skeletal creatures hadn’t bothered to differentiate themselves from each other, but on Earth, they’d all taken to wearing clothes that emphasized their sex and personalities.
In the glow of the fire, Bale’s red hair was the color of blood, and the reddish hue to her skin was more pronounced. Her lime green eyes were cold when they met mine; ruthless determination filled her face. Bale and Corson were Kobal’s two most trusted advisors, and they would fight to the death to make sure Kobal and River survived.
Púca also gathered around River. Some of the shape-changing demons had chosen to protect her after their seal fell. They couldn’t speak, but they could take on the form of animals or humans.
Most of them had chosen the shape of dogs as they slunk through the fighters, taking out the legs and throats of their enemies before feasting on their blood. They formed a wall around us to keep the enemies out. No one knew the púca’s original form, and I’d prefer not to know as the silent creatures were disturbing while they desiccated their victims.
“It’s the horsemen and fallen angels!” River shouted. “I spotted Death in the trees with one of the angels, but before we could get close to them, he vanished into the woods.”
“Have the drakóntorch the woods,” Kobal said to River.
“Does anyone live out there?” Wren demanded.
“No,” Kobal stated.
“Are you sure?” River asked.
“Yes, but if therewerepeople out there, they’re dead. The angels and horsemen aren’t going to leave anyone alive. Torch the woods.”
River nodded before lifting an arm into the air. She waved her hand until one of the drakón spotted her and banked back toward us. I kept my hand on Aisling’s arm, and we all fell back when one of the drakón pulled up to hover overhead.
Dirt and debris kicked up from the ground to pelt my face and body. When Aisling lifted her arm and bowed her head to shield herself, I wrapped my arm around her head to protect her from the wind and rubble. Cradling her against me, I surveyed the battle as more fell and the bodies piled on top of each other.
One way or another, I would get her through this.
The drakón settled on the ground, and its blue flames went out when River stepped close and rested her hand against its skeletal head. If I wasn’t watching it with my own two eyes, I would have believed it impossible, but the thing was more like a cat as it lowered its head and turned into her touch.
I’d known they were protective of her, but I hadn’t realized how close their bond had become while we were traveling the Wilds. Bale glanced at me while River talked with the creature. She’d learned a lot more of the demonic language over the past year, and the drakón was listening to her. When she finished, she patted its cheek and kissed it before stepping away.
My eyebrows were in my hairline, and when it turned its head toward her, I swore the thing smiled.
“My God,” Aisling breathed.
The drakón unfolded its wings and, with a flap that kicked up more debris, rose gracefully into the air. Its encompassing blue flames burst over it as it swept toward the woods. I didn’t get the chance to watch its destruction as higher and lower-level demons broke through the wall of púca and rushed toward us.
