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I’m going to Hell.
Chapter 22
The Hellhole
RAVEN
BRIGHT LIGHT SETS the world aglow, blinding me. Roaring, Micah’s hold on me loosens, and I stumble, falling through the hellfire and out of his summoning circle. I land on my palms, scraping my hands on the rough concrete. Fear seizes my heart. The loud pops of gunfire kick my body into action, and I drop to my stomach and scramble around, searching for Micah.
Cassius towers in front of me, cutting me off from Micah. He raises his flaming sword but not at me. His wings shield my view of his confrontation with Micah as he snuffs out the summoning circle with his heavenly grace.
And then he swings his sword, sinking the blade into Micah’s shoulder. It sparks against his devil form, Micah’s tough skin protecting him from the sharp edge. If only it could protect him from the angel’s grace. Smoke smolders from Micah’s body, and he hollers, ramming his hoof into Cassius’s gut.
I cover my head protectively as Cassius stumbles backward and trips over me. It’s the chance I need to get my ass in gear, and I crawl toward Micah, my body refusing to brave the chance of getting shot in the cross fire as the hunters shoot at anything that even moves.
I don’t make it far.
A cool hand locks around my ankle, dragging me out of Micah’s reach. I scream and thrash my body, trying to break free of Cassius’s hold. If he manages to take me, my life will be over. He won’t hesitate this time to kill me in the name of the greater good. I know it.
“Zade, catch!” Cassius shouts, throwing me into the air and farther away from where Micah snarls. “The hunters deceived us.”
What?
The world blurs as I freefall toward Zade. My stomach twists and makes it impossible to scream for help.
Two muscular arms catch me, cradling me like a hysterical child. I whack Zade on the side of his face, trying to get him to release me before he launches into the air. All he does is grip me tighter and fold his wings around us, protecting me with his body as another hunter attacks and opens fire.
“What the actual fuck!” I shriek, tensing as Zade shudders. “Are they shooting at you? You’re an angel!”
“They’ve been recruited by Hell,” Zade responds, his breath tickling my cheek. “Whatever they were offered must’ve been far more tempting than the chance of redemption. I’ll never understand it. Why risk your eternity for—”
Zade jumps and huffs, expanding his wings long enough for me to see a familiar hunter jab a dagger into Zade’s brilliant wing. Anger rushes through me at the sight of Preston. Is this real? Is this truly happening? I can’t fucking believe the bastard has the nerve to fight Zade, damning himself to Hell after Elias gave up everything to save him.
I break, my panic over being hurt in the crossfire melting away. Searching around the vast property, I catch sight of Micah fighting with Cassius. Kase tears at a hunter’s arm, ripping it off with his teeth, sending blood cascading across the grass. He snarls and whips his tail, throwing another hunter at the side of the mansion. A shadow crosses overhead, and I spot Dante jumping from the roof, where he abandons Elias to zoom toward me.
Zade notices too, surprising me by dropping me on my ass and unsheathing his flaming sword. With his free hand, he blasts Preston back with heavenly light, disarming him. Another wave of angelic power destroys the gun, ensuring Preston can’t shoot me. I’m nearly fucking certain Zade only does it to stop Preston from killing me while he faces Dante, the obviously bigger threat.
“Run, Raven! Get as far as possible. I’ll catch up,” Dante shouts, extending his fangs and projecting venom across Zade’s wing. “Go!”
His command pushes my impulse to collide into Preston away, and I scramble to my feet. Dante’s wing grazes my ass as he pushes me in the direction he wants me to run, and I bolt away and toward the long stretch of lawn leading who knows where on the property.
“Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.” I chant the words over and over again, resisting the urge to peek over my shoulder.
But even with my focus on the world in front of me, I still miss the strange shadow crossing the grass until I’m only feet away. The warm air freezes around me, causing my breath to fog. I gasp and jerk my attention toward the sky, but nothing is there. My skin crawls, my soul shouting that something is wrong. I jump over the growing shadow, treating it as if a monster will stretch its clawed fingers out to snatch me from this world if I don’t.
I lose my footing and stumble, skidding across the grass. Goosebumps prickle over my skin, and I push up and get to my feet, spinning around.
That’s when I see the shadow spread and grow with nothing in the area able to cause such a sight.
“Raven, raise your arms!” Dante shouts, his expansive wings drawing my attention from the slithering shadow.
I do as he says and raise my arms, strolling backward to keep space between my feet and the shadow. “Hurry! Something’s wrong!”
Kase’s roar echoes through the air and he shakes the ground as he lands thirty feet away. Micah builds a wall of hellfire, cutting the hunter’s off. My devils all head in my direction at once.
And then Zade and Cassius land behind me.
“Raven, don’t let it touch you,” Cassius says, his voice erupting over my devils’ shouts, demanding I run toward them.
