It doesn’t matter that he’s Satan. Not a part of me believes this was his doing. No matter the hefty list of transgressions against him, I believe he cares. It might be a foolish dream, but it’s one I intend to cling to if this is to be the end of my existence.
Straightening on wobbly, exhausted limbs, I play at bravery and motion for the next demon to approach. One at the front sniffs the air before tipping his head toward the sky and howling. He doesn’t look like a wolf, but he’s calling out to someone like I’ve witnessed the wolf-demons do. None of the others so much as flinch.
If he’s calling for more, I’m as good as dead. If he’s calling for Lucifer, maybe he’ll spare me. With the numbers I’m currently facing, death is likely if help doesn’t arrive from Heaven or Luke.
While the demon is preoccupied, I close my eyes and call to the earth, putting all my thoughts into creating a storm. A bolt of lightning likely isn’t enough to save me, but I must try. If my reason for being on this earth is to kill every demon I encounter, then I will go out doing just that.
After what feels like minutes, but is likely seconds, thunder rolls through the sky, shaking the ground with its power. Several demons howl, but still, none of them make a move. Lightning streaks across the sky, lighting up the alley, showing me every single creature I’m to face before shrouding most of them back into darkness.
My hands lift into the air as I summon the sky to produce the energy I’ll need. It delivers, sending a bolt of lightning straight down, burrowing into the ground at my feet. The energy spiders out, crawling up my legs and wrapping around my body, all the way to my fingertips.
I relish its caress, marveling at the way it fills me. My powers might not be fully restored, but the earth has provided, giving me a fighting chance. A sense of peace washes over me and no matter what’s to come, I’m ready for it.
Taking a deep breath, I look the demon in charge directly in the eye and declare war.
“My name is Victoria. I’m a fallen angel of the second highest order of God.”
A resounding growl—that shakes the area more than the thunder did—bounces off the walls of the alley, sending chills racing up my spine, but I don’t recoil. Instead, I forge on.
“I choose to fight for Heaven’s army, despite my circumstances. It’s my promise that none of you will leave this alley while there’s still breath in my lungs.”
The last word is barely spoken before the horde of demons rush into battle. I crouch down, readying for impact, sending up a prayer to God as a last Hail Mary.
No more do I call out to God than he answers. At my back I feel Solis. He’s delivered me salvation. I pull the sword from my back and lash out, lobbing two vampires’ heads clean off their bodies in one swipe. I twist and stab, duck and deliver blow after blow, as more vampires and low-level demons fall, but it’s not enough.
They’re crawling out of the shadows from every angle. Either there’s a portal from Hell somewhere in this alley or witch magic is at play. Nolda is likely nearby.
I can’t keep up and my restored energy is near zapped already. Sweat beads down my temples as I twist to take out another, only to be met with a fist to the side of the head, causing my vision to swim. I fall to my knees, cradling my head, when another strike to the head jerks me backward.
Solis slipped from my hands at the first impact to my head. Without it, I’m doomed. On my knees I peer through blurry vision, trying and failing to locate my sword, to no avail. When all seems lost, I curl into the fetal position, not wanting to see what’s coming. I never envisioned what eternal death would be like, but I sure as hell know I don’t want to see my murderers coming. Maybe that makes me a coward, but I’d like to think of it as self-preservation.
I’m kicked repeatedly as I wait for what’s to be the killing blow, but it never comes. The assault stops abruptly, but I don’t dare open my eyes. A high-pitched wail reverberates off the ground, following by the flapping of wings. Archangels? My eyes flutter open to see what’s creating the noises and stopped the demons’ attack.
Aid from God—in the form of angels—didn’t come, but a black knight falls from the sky, raven wings extended. He lands with one knee on the ground in front of me, and every demon retreats. Lucifer growls something in a language I don’t understand, and every demon still alive scatters.
Once the realization that Luke has saved me hits, I break.
HELIUM
I kneel in the alley, vanquished demons at my feet, blood everywhere. Soon they’ll evaporate, but in this moment, as the adrenaline overtakes my body, it’s all too much. I feel his presence behind me, and I cry out.
“Why?” I scream, emotion overtaking me.
“I’ll always save you.”
“No,” I snap. “Why would you bring me back here? Why can’t you leave that night in the past where it belongs?”
He may have saved me, but he’s the reason I’m here in the first place. I fell because of his tricks. If I face him now, one of us won’t make it out of this alley alive. Despite being immortal, our earthly lives can end, and not being allowed in Heaven means going to Hell. That’s the one place I won’t go.
“I won’t allow that to happen to you,” he says, reading my mind.
I laugh darkly. “You think I trust a word you say? You’ve done nothing but deceive me at every turn.”
“Never, Victoria. I’ve never been untruthful with you.”
My head snaps up. Our eyes collide and I put all the emotion swirling through me into my next few words.
“You left me,” I snarl through my teeth.
