Not for the first time, I wondered about the darkness in her dream. We didn’t always connect, probably because we weren’t asleep at the same time, but every time we did connect, the darkness was there. I didn’t know what it meant, but it was important to her. The problem was, I didn’t think she knew what it was either.
I’d find out when she came looking for me, and shewouldcome. She would also have every intention of killing me when she did, but I wasn’t about to let that happen.
She would come to kill me, and when she did, I would claim my Chosen.
Chapter Four
Bale
I ducked the punch a large,lower-level demon threw at me and plunged my sword through its prominent, red belly. Grasping my hilt with both hands, I propelled it backward and into a tree. The tip embedded in the tree before I yanked the weapon free. With fumbling hands, the demon was trying to hold its intestines inside as I severed its head from its body.
Spinning away from my kill, I turned to find the others all engaged in battle with lower-level demons. They’d hidden in wait and ambushed us when we came over the mountain and entered a small clearing. They outnumbered us two to one, but that advantage was dwindling as their bodies piled up.
Corson used his talons to sever the head from one while Wren eviscerated another. Wren’s talons were still shorter than Corson’s, but they were as lethal, and she’d become an expert at using them.
When a creature grabbed her, Aisling released a ball of fire into its face. The demon howled and fell back as its alligator-like face burned around the edges of its enormous snout. It snapped its pointy, misshapen teeth as it lurched at her, but Hawk used a battle axe to sever its head from its shoulders.
The screech of metal and shouts of death filled the air along with the stench of blood and the fiery aroma of these monstrous demons. When people imagined Hell creatures, these lower-levels were what most often came to mind. They were ugly, deadly, and incredibly stupid.
One with a huge crab-like claw and another with a tail that looked like it was ripped from a dinosaur ran at me. I spun to avoid a knockout blow from the claw and stuck my foot out to trip the creature running past me. Dirt and snow billowed up around him when he plowed into the ground.
Dinosaur Tail spun and tried to whip me off my feet with its lizard tail. I jumped up to avoid it, and when I came down on the other side, I swung my sword down and sliced into its tail. It was so thick and spiny the sword only cut through half of it.
The demon howled and yanked itself free of my blade, but the cut tail didn’t move as fast as before. Before the demon could get it away from me, I cut the rest of the way through the appendage. Blood spewed from its severed tail as it continued to flop on the ground like it was still alive and seeking to destroy me.
I kicked the flopping thing away as Caim swooped out of the sky and crashed into the claw-armed demon. He grasped it under its arms and propelled it twenty feet into the woods before smashing into a tree.
The resounding thud echoed through the mountains, and the impact caused the tree to crack. It was starting to lean precariously forward when Caim used one of his top spikes to sever the demon’s head and took to the sky again.
Green blood continued to spew from Dinosaur Tail as he whipped what remained of the stump through the air. Growling, it ran back at me with its pointy teeth bared.
They’re so stupid.
I didn’t bother to try avoiding his attack. Instead, when he was nearly on top of me, I knelt and drove my sword up. The tip of it pierced through his chin and straight into his head. I didn’t know if there was any brain to take out, but if there was, I impaled that too.
The demon’s arms flailed in the air; its feet, with nine-inch claws sticking out of its curved toes, kicked at the air as it sought to get at me. Lifting it off the ground, I held it in the air before yanking my blade from the creature. It staggered back, but before it got too far, I cut off its head.
Blood dripped from my sword as I searched for the next threat. Across the clearing, Raphael unleashed a blast of life into two of the lower-level demons. The angel’s power was so strong the demons erupted into ash. Raphael didn’t get out of the way in time to avoid some of the demon’s remains splattering him.
With their numbers dwindling, some tried to flee into the woods, but Lix, Shax, and three of the hellhounds intervened. The hounds pounced and tore the demons apart.
With things settling down and the enemy eradicated, I realized we lost a couple of humans during the battle. I did a count to discover only thirty of us remained. Most of those were demons. However, three of Wren’s Wilders remained with us—Dana, Darcy, and Wren’s close friend, Jolie.
I’d prefer to send them back to the wall; this was no place for a mortal. But Corson and I had both tried that before and failed. This was their home, they’d lived in these Wilds for years, and they would not leave them or the fight. In the end, it would cost them their lives, but that was their choice, and they were aware of the consequences.
We would have to send Raphael back to the wall soon for more reinforcements. However, considering we received a fresh crop not too long ago and lost a good chunk of them already, I wasn’t in a rush for more newbies who would get slaughtered in a couple of days or weeks. After the big battle at the wall with the horsemen and angels, Kobal didn’t have many troops to spare.
Over the past month, we’d encountered and slaughtered more lower-level demons than I cared to recall. And they’d taken out more than a few of us. I never thought I’d feel this way, but I was tired of all the fighting and death.
I was sick of it all, but we were making headway. Despite our numerous losses, the Wilds were getting safer. We used to battle craetons every day or every other day, but it had been a few days since we last encountered any of them.
However, while the horsemen remained alive, the war would continue. We destroyed the fallen angels at the wall, or at least we believed they were all destroyed. We hadn’t spotted any of them in a couple of months, and the demons we encountered hadn’t seen any either. One or two might still be alive, but if they were, they were hiding, and I didn’t consider cowards much of a threat.
When Raphael last returned from the wall with recruits, he brought word that the other palitons on the other side of the world had almost eradicated all the craetons there. Soon, they would be free of the war.
I wanted to be free too. Unfortunately, after learning what Wrath was to me, the only way I would find freedom was through death. But my friends could experience it, and I would make sure they did before I destroyed Wrath and myself.
Just because the other side of the world was almost clear of craetons didn’t mean the horsemen hadn’t figured out a way to get over there. Death floated on air currents and could probably make it to the other side, but the other three couldn’t.Wrathcouldn’t.
