My mind reeled as horror swelled within me. I’d spent my whole life battling monsters who sought to destroy everything in their wake. Now, a cruel twist of fate had made one of them my Chosen. I didn’t rail against the unfairness of it all; life was unfair, and that’s all there was to it, but I wouldnotbe taken down by this. I wouldnotgive into this.
I continued to kiss him while I lifted my sword and plunged it into his belly before tearing my mouth away from his. Shock filled his eyes, his mouth slackened, and then fury blazed from him. That fury was like gasoline on the flames as they surged around us.
Leaving my sword where it was, I staggered to my feet and fled into the fire.
Chapter Forty-Three
Hawk
Corson and I were almost to the end of the cave when Bale burst from the flames and sprinted toward us. “Run!” she shouted.
We skidded to a halt. I’d never seen Bale so panicked as her feet slapped against the stone and her hair flew behind her naked form. She bolted past us. I glanced at Corson who gaped after her before turning and following her through the cave.
“Is the minotaur coming?” Corson asked when we caught up to her.
“It’s dead,” Bale panted. “The fire and a headfirst run into the mountain officially ended its life.”
“Good,” I said.
“Where’s the other horseman?” Corson asked.
She glanced nervously over her shoulder, and despite the reddish hue of her skin, she paled visibly.What the…?I looked back to the flames as I waited for the horseman to emerge, but there was no sign of him. He had to be a formidable opponent if he’d rattled Bale this much.
“Wrath’s still in the fire, but he’ll come,” Bale said.
“And we’ll kill him,” Corson said.
Bale shuddered but didn’t say anything as we ran.
“Are you sure it’s Wrath and not War?” I asked.
“I’m sure,” she said as we reached the end of the cave.
Everyone had moved outside where they sat on the ground holding their heads or huddled in small groups. About half the humans and demons were bloodied and bruised from fighting each other, and the other half still looked a little green.
Scattered amid the ashes of the horses and the bodies of the horsemen were thousands of dead flies. Even though they were dead, I could still hear the buzzing of their wings; I’d hear it in my nightmares for the rest of my life.
Aisling leaned against the wall of the cave with Oliver curled against her chest and her arms wrapped protectively around him. Nadine and Randy stood nearby as Wren helped them clean their wounds.
“Pestilence and Lust are dead,” Corson said to Bale.
“I see that,” she murmured, but she still didn’t seem to focus on what was happening here. “Seven down, four to go.”
“Unfortunately, one of those four is Death,” Lix said as he walked over to join us.
“And he’s been beaten before,” Corson said. “He wouldn’t have been behind the seal otherwise. We’ll destroy them all.”
Bale bit her lip and glanced toward the town nestled in the valley below. Fire still danced over some of the buildings, but the smoke choking the air masked most of the town.
“You okay?” Lix asked Bale. When she gave him a blank stare, he pointed to the side of her head. “You’re bleeding.”
“Oh.” She pushed her hair back to reveal her missing ear. “The minotaur got one in on me, but it will grow back.”
“Move faster next time,” Corson teased.
“Yeah,” she muttered. “I never should have stopped fighting.”
We all frowned at her as she looked back toward the town. Corson gave me a questioning look, but if he didn’t have any explanation for her strange behavior, then I sure didn’t. He’d known her a lot longer than me.
