“He’s got their attention,” I tell my pack through our mental connection. “Let’s wipe out the weapons.”
I rush the row of ballistae with my mates by my side. Jaxton tears a head off. Hayden does the same. I cleave one right off their shoulders, my fiery blade finding the soft spot between their armor and helmet. Wyatt and Storm tackle a Templar and Remy finishes him, a gurgled gasp the only sound the Templar makes.
I glance to my right and see Scions fighting Templars near the Vatican entrance. Some of the Crimson Templars are firing rifles. Others are wading into battle with swords drawn. Scions fall, but there are so many of us, they’re quickly replaced, and they overwhelm the ones blocking the door.
“The other Scions are going inside,” I say, attacking another ballista wielder.
“We’ll join them shortly,” Wyatt growls.
Lucifer continues zipping and dodging the projectiles and it gets easier once there aren’t as many. We finish off the last of the Templars that are firing at him. That gives him an opening to sweep down, effectively cleave through several Templars, and take to the sky again.
As soon as he does, I see ballistae being pushed to the edge of the ledge across from us.
“Lucifer, look out!” I transmit, pointing in the direction of the ballistae.
Several bolts are fired into the sky and Lucifer spins around in time to dodge them. My pack rushes along the ledge, tearing through Templars as we try to get to the other row of ballistae. Once those are down, Lucifer will be able to land and do some real damage.
A bolt fires and I look up, expecting my father to dodge, but his attention is on another projectile. He dodges that one, but the other hits his right wing and lodges in it. Feathers fly and blood stains his snow-white wing. Lucifer lets out a scream of pain, flaps his wings, but before he can move, another bolt hits him.
“We have to help him!” I transmit to my pack as we push ahead.
I behead a Templar, my sword nearly cauterizing his neck as I do. I look up and see Lucifer spinning, then he starts falling towards the ground. Panic surges through me, but there’s no way I can get to him. There are too many Templars between us.
“They’re going to kill him! No! Nooo!” I scream.
“Fuck this,” Jaxton roars. “Remy, let’s go!”
Jaxton and Remy break away in a wild sprint. The rest of us maul our way through the knights, Hayden grunting as he gets hit with a couple of bullets, but they are not enough to down him. It’s easier to fight the Crimson Templars in this narrow space. They don’t have room to maneuver or get clean shots.
I look over to see Remy and my thousand-pound Jaxton soaring through the air. It almost looks like they’re flying. Lucifer is now on the ground. He’s managed to get the projectile out of his wing, but he’s bleeding and stumbling. Right as the Templars get their ballistae aimed at Lucifer, Remy and Jaxton land beside them. Instead of attacking the Templars, they start destroying the ballistae.
“Are you okay?” I frantically transmit to Lucifer.
“Yes, daughter. I am not mortally wounded. I just need a little time to heal,” Lucifer replies.
“You’ll have it,” I promise.
The rest of us make it to Jaxton and Remy. The Crimson Templars pull pistols and swords when they realize their position is compromised, but they’re no match for my pack. We leave corpses and broken ballistae laying where they once stood, and I hack the ballista that hit my father to splinters.
“That should be all of the weapons that can take Lucifer down,” I say. “The other Scions are already inside.”
“Then let’s join them, mate,” Hayden answers, lowering himself so I can climb on his back.
“I’m not too heavy for you like this am I?” I joke, tightening my grip on my sword.
“Never,” Hayden chuckles, then he leaps off the ledge.
We land in St. Peter’s Square and run over to Lucifer. He’s huddled behind an obelisk, yellow tendrils of light pulsing from his fingers, healing the wounds he took from the bolts. He’s lost some blood, but he looks okay other than that.
“Thank you,” Lucifer sighs as he looks up at us. “I knew those weapons would kill a lot of Scions if they weren’t focused on me.”
“They almost killedyou,” I point out, still concerned.
“They will probably have more of those weapons inside,” Lucifer warns.
“Wait,” Wyatt holds up his hand. “Listen. Helicopters. More are coming.”
“We need to move,” Hayden shouts.
