AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Distraction,” said Khloë.
Raini nodded. “It was only meant to be a distraction.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Responding to Hector’s telepathic warning, Maddox appeared in the shadowed area behind the rear of the monastery. Five halo-bearers were several feet away, attempting to light up the building with holy fire. Those attempts weren’t working so well, but the angels didn’t seem deterred, too confident in the potency of the power they were wielding.
They had every right to be confident in it. Holy fire could easily destroy buildings. Usually. Fortunately, the angels here hadn’t accounted for the many ways in which having archangelic blood made Maddox different—mostly because he kept those “ways” as secret as possible.
Even now, as the halo-bearers hurled balls of holy fire at the monastery, it hadn’t occurred to them that their efforts were pointless; that the flames would continue to simply lick at the bricks and then disintegrate. They’d probably sensed that magickal wards protected the building and had no doubt arrogantly assumed that the holy fire would eventually burn them away.
How wrong they were.
Hector’s mind touched his. Do we attack?
Conscious that the sentinel and several members of the lair’s Force stood in the shadows, waiting for direction, Maddox replied, If we charge at them as a group, they’ll simply waver out of here. I’ll deal with them alone for now. Keep watch for more of them.
Maddox stepped into the light. “Normally, I’d ask what would bring five halo-bearers to my home.”
The angels whirled around and tensed.
“But you’ve made your reason quite apparent,” Maddox added. “It might have been better if your friends had come here with you instead of going after my anchor, or they’d be alive right now.”
The angels instantly began blasting him with holy fire. So very predictable. His demon sniffed, unimpressed by their display of power.
Maddox didn’t retaliate. Didn’t ask them to stop. Didn’t try to counteract the holy fire—he didn’t need to. Each fiery orb stopped mere inches from his body, not even singeing his clothes.
Finally realizing that the orbs were having no effect, the halo-bearers ceased attacking. They gaped at him; some frowning, some wide-eyed.
“Impossible,” one breathed. He hurled another orb of holy fire.
Maddox sighed, bored. “It won’t harm me any more than it would harm an archangel.”
“You’re not an archangel,” he spat.
“Obviously,” said Maddox, drawing out the word. “But I have the blood of one, so holy fire isn’t going to touch me, let alone wound me. It would have destroyed the wards … if I hadn’t bolstered them with my blood, making them as immune to the effects of holy fire as I am.” He shrugged. “I had to ensure my lair was protected against your kind, just in case you ever came here. Why did you?”
“Your kind are abominations,” he accused, all superiority. “You have no right to exist. No right to possess holy blood when you are the epitome of darkness.”
Maddox pointed a finger at him. “You’re chatty. Good. That makes you useful.” Hector, grab him before he can escape, said Maddox as he glanced at the other angels, subtly conjuring an orb of red, arctic energy in his palm. “The rest of you I don’t need.” He hurled the orb their way, watching as it split into large splinters that sank into the skin, muscle, and bone of each angel.
They cried out and tried frantically to find and remove the splinters, but they were embedded too deep. Maddox’s demon watched with a feral grin as the halo-bearers jerked, flinched, shivered, and sucked in pained breaths.
Some of their forms shimmered as they tried to waver to safety—it was no use. Not when they were dying so rapidly. The cold energy was spreading inside them, icing their blood, fragmenting their bones, rupturing their organs, killing them from the inside out.
It wasn’t long before they were sprawled on the ground. Mere moments after their hearts ceased beating, their halos disappeared into thin air.
Secure in Hector’s hold, the chatty halo-bearer gawked down at his friends, too deep in shock to struggle or panic.
“Compel him to sleep and take him to the cathedral’s cellar,” Maddox told the sentinel, who promptly obeyed the order. Maddox tossed balls of hellfire at each corpse and then glanced at the members of his Force. “Patrol the land. Make sure we don’t have any additional visitors.”
They nodded and quickly dispersed.
Soon enough, Hector teleported to Maddox’s side and said, “The halo-bearer’s secure. He won’t wake until I lift the compulsion.”
Maddox nodded in satisfaction, watching as the hellfire consumed the bodies.
“I need to check on Carmen,” Hector went on. “She assured me that she’s okay now, but … ”
“What happened to Carmen?” asked a new voice as several lair members came striding out of the rear door.
“Halo-bearers,” said Maddox. “She’s fine.” Feeding on their blood had helped her overcome the after-effects of the psychic blow. She’d been able to then telepath him, but she’d been too weak to teleport to Raini’s side. Now, though, Carmen was fully recovered after having consumed more angelic blood. “Some went to Raini’s house. They meant to use her to lure me to them.”
