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Nephilim lined up on either side of us, until we formed one massively long row. Tension rose as the vicious army of ferals drew closer. Feet shifted until each warrior found a starting position, as if waiting for a gun at the starting block of a race. I gripped my dagger tighter.
“Gabe, before we fight...” The words spilled from my mouth. “I just want to say I’m so sorry.” I turned to look at him, trying to memorize the strong curve of his jaw, his full mouth, and every other feature of his face. “I’m sorry for everything I put you through.”
He blinked his thick eyelashes and looked down at me, his jaw tightening. “I know.”
I glanced at the advancing line. A few more seconds and they’d be on us.
“Be safe,” I whispered, reaching for his hand. Even with everything going on inside me, he deserved to know the truth. “I can’t lose you.”
He squeezed my hand tightly, sending a thrill up and down my spine. “You won’t lose me. Ever,” he whispered, the corners of his mouth curved up into the smallest smile.
For a moment, the world disappeared as we held onto each other. Even though panic coursed through my veins, my heart blossomed with overwhelming emotion. It was enough to push me through the next few minutes of terror. Even if we didn’t make it through this, I could hold onto this moment forever.
“Can’t you guys save that lovey dovey stuff for later?” Adam drawled. He tilted his head in our direction and rolled his eyes, a grin pulling at the left side of his mouth. “I’m about ready to kick some demon...”
There was no time to finish his sentence. The ferals were upon us, pouncing like panthers on their prey. Screams and snarls sounded from every direction. I tried to focus on a small wiry man with leathery dark skin and bushy eyebrows. He slashed at my abdomen and I jumped backwards, hitting something hard and solid.
Glancing over my shoulder, I saw Oscar bearing down on a demon with thick biceps and a nasty scar across the face. He didn’t spare me a glance. Swiping with his broadsword, he decapitated the demon and then brought all his weight down upon the body, obliterating the heart. I gulped, realizing that demon could’ve been me only minutes ago. Thanks to Manuel, my head was still attached to my neck.
My trainer fought only feet behind Oscar. He moved with the grace of a dancer, using
only the slightest movements to pierce a heart here and slice a chest there. As bodies dropped around him, I couldn’t help but admire his style. I still had so much to learn from that man. Someday, I hoped he could teach me to move like that.
Sidestepping my demon’s second attempt to slice open my stomach, I tossed my dagger into the air and grabbed the hilt so that the blade pointed downwards. With my bare foot, I tripped him and brought the dagger slicing down, driving it into his back just below the clavicle. I knew I’d hit gold when the demon began to scream and writhe, its body bursting into a cloud of smoke.
“Nooooo!” a familiar male voice screamed behind me.
I turned to see Raquel accosted on both sides by snarling demons. Luke had shouted from ten yards away, his gaze on his niece. The demons had managed to knock the gun from her hands and now all she held was a silver dagger she’d pulled from her boot.
“Raquel!”
I lunged toward her, but another feral stopped me in my path. Dodging its claws, I watched in horror as Raquel took a swipe across her back. Three long and deep marks appeared. Blood began to seep into her t-shirt. The other demon twisted her wrist until she cried out and dropped her remaining weapon. He plucked it off the ground and smiled, an empty black hole where his mouth should’ve been.
“Don’t!” My feet lurched forward, but she was too far away.
Terror filled my body as the demon went to plunge the dagger in her neck. She cried out, her eyes wide, but a blur of a man moved in front of her before the dagger could reach its target. Manuel knocked her to the ground, his own sword buried deep in the demon’s gut. It howled in rage. With a strong backhand, it flung Manuel back and he landed in a heap of three ferals.
I couldn’t stop to watch the fight. Another demon was on top on me, teeth bared near my throat. By the time I’d shoved it off of me, I’d lost track of Manuel in the sea of ferals.
“Are you okay?” I rushed forward to help Raquel up. Her legs shook as she stood.
“I think so.” Looking around in a panic, she gripped my shoulder. “Where’s Manuel?”
“I don’t know.”
Everything had become so hectic in the battle. Bodies were dropping left and right and I couldn’t say for sure whether they were Nephilim or ferals.
“There he is!” Raquel pointed into a thick crowd of fighting. “They’ve got him surrounded.”
Sure enough, Manuel stood in a circle of five ferals. They prowled around him in a slow, calculating pace. He’d been reduced to a dagger, the rest of his weapons stripped. A large feral charged and he managed to drive it back, but not before another came up behind him and slashed through the back of his thigh. His scream of pain tore at my ears. Raquel and I sprinted forward to help.
I called out to him, but my scream was lost in the clatter of battle. He had dropped to his knees in the green grass and the dagger torn from his grip. His dark eyes met mine from across the yard. Despite the panic coursing through my body, Manuel had an expression of complete serenity.
“Manuel,” I screamed, urging my legs to run faster. “Manuel!”
He never broke our gaze as a third demon lunged forward and split open his chest cavity. Blood began to pour from his wound, his life force draining into the soil below. His eyes went blank and then he collapsed face first into the blood-soaked soil.
Chapter Seventeen
