AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She backed away, allowing the cold to surround her. A precursor for the short time she had left. “Goodbye, Colton.”
CHAPTER25
Riley turned as the young teen screamed. She ran to the girl’s side, kneeling down to put her hand over the girl’s forehead. “What’s your name, sweetie?”
She panted several times before she responded. “Amanda.”
“You are entering the transition.”
“I’m going blind. My body is on fire. I feel like I’m dissolving from the inside out.”
Riley put her hand in Amanda’s. “Just breathe through the pain. I know it hurts.” When her eyes turned black and her skin began to split, she backed away.
Amanda gurgled black oil from her mouth as her body shook. Bones cracked before her body slumped to the ground with part of her skin a dark grey color.
Deruthel hissed. “She barely started transition before expiring. This was worse than when you had the Bokor’s blood mixed in.”
Halak inspected the girl’s remains. “I assumed that Hakim infected his blood to sabotage us. Perhaps it is the other way around.”
“What do you mean?”
“Perhaps the original priestess infected her blood before she died and Hakim’s blood combats it to some degree. I won’t know for sure unless we proceed with the testing. We need multiple variations to reach an adequate conclusion.”
Deruthel roared, inciting the demons to enter the cave from multiple tunnels. “We need to open a portal. If the blood is infected, our priority is to bring the first generation over.” He glanced at Halak. “Use Riley’s blood to open the portal.”
“It won’t be strong enough to allow the king to pass.”
“We need reinforcements. More of the strongest generation. I will instruct the king to send the first generation only.”
Riley’s plan fell to pieces as Breck’s reapers joined the hundreds of demons in the massive room. She had allowed Amanda’s death to distract her from the only chance she had of releasing her and Colton from this life. How stupid.
Deruthel advanced on her. The claws on his feet clicked on the stone floor as his black spindly legs flowed with grace, he didn’t appear he should possess. “You will submit before my brethren.”
Her eyes met Colton’s. “While the flesh on his face was beginning to heal, the black veins remained. A spiderweb of infection that foretold a gruesome end. She didn’t have the syringe, or any way to extract Deruthel’s blood. She doubted he would sit quietly and let her put an IV in his arm. She had failed, and both she and Colton knew it.
She kept her eyes on her mate when she spoke. “No. It doesn’t matter what you do to us. I will never willingly help you destroy this world.” The pride in his eyes was a gift she would take with her until her last breath. This was what Deruthel wanted to destroy, but never could.
Halak advanced on the chair that acted as Deruthel’s throne. He procured the demon caller from behind it. Riley mentally kicked herself for not checking. She should have known the demon general wouldn’t have let it out of his sight.
Halak poured blood from the bag into a chalice, then coated his hand. “Anum caru. Anum candrae. Belifrite toleran solorin.”
He slapped his hand on the rock and repeated the incantation before an orange crack split across the wall.
Riley sent a silent prayer for humanity. Once the portal opened, she and Colton would effectively become the middle of a demon sandwich. In terms of failures, this one was monumental. At that moment, you realize that sacrificing your life just isn’t enough, and you are forced to sit by and watch the destruction of your entire species.
Her eyes moved to Deruthel. He wasn’t watching the portal. He was watching her, the excitement in his eyes revealing his elation. He’d been waiting for this moment. While he had been successful in getting her to submit, he’d gotten what he wanted. Her emotional destruction.
Deruthel advanced on her. “Last chance to save your mate. I will cure him and release him.”
“I hope there’s a special place in hell for you,” she said.
Deruthel grasped her by the throat. Her necklace jingled as the chain slid around his claws. The ground moved around them as the tunnel shook and rock fell from the wall. She put everything out of her mind and focused on what Anaisa had told her. Not a knife. Just the stinger. She put her hand beneath his, brushing her fingers softly on the triangular locket.
She smiled as she activated the spring-loaded knife.
It clicked before it pierced Deruthel’s skin. He grunted as if it were of little consequence, but seconds later, his eyes bulged and he hissed before removing his hand. The tissue where the stinger had punctured his palm had begun to dissolve, creating a black ooze of tattered flesh. He glanced at the wound in horror and shock.
He growled before he reached for her. This time, she was ready. She ripped the locket from her neck and stabbed it into Deruthel’s neck when he brought her against his body. His scream echoed as the portal burst inward and dozens of black bodies rushed into the room. His claws bit into her skin, sending a firestorm of acid racing through her blood as he dropped her to the floor.
