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The fighting was still going on around us. A blaring horn sounded and I covered my ears at the deafening boom.
“I can’t believe it,” Sven said as he appeared over Vas’ shoulder. “They’re retreating.”
Shock filled me as the Dicteps’ army began to withdraw. Red Armand roared at them to keep fighting but they ignored his commands.
“No! You can’t go!” Red Armand shouted, enraged as the soldiers fled all around him. Most of his men had fallen. There was just him and Yuri left. Beyond them the portal expanded until it was almost a hundred feet wide. I could see everyone waiting for us there. The miners saw it and began to flood through. I looked about the strange, ashy terrain, my heart sinking at all the bodies. I had no idea how many had been killed, but bodies of both soldiers and the miners lay dead.
I gripped Vas’ hand in mine. “Come on. It’s time to go.”
His focus was centred on Red Armand. “Not until I kill him.”
“He still has weapons. It’s too dangerous,” I pleaded but there was no talking to him.
Vas let go of my hand as Armand advanced on him, weapon raised. He shot several arrows but Vas merely lifted his hand each time and the arrows fell to the ground. His magic was like a pot bubbling over, so big it overflowed. I’d seen him do some impressive magic but nothing like this. And I knew why. This fight had been a long time coming. All his rage and anger at being captured for a century by this cruel, heartless man fuelled him.
Yuri retrieved throwing knives from a holster around his waist, throwing them one after the other at Vas but Sven dove forward, his vampire dexterity allowing him to pluck them out of the air. Quick as lightning he was behind Yuri, holding one of his own throwing knives to his throat. The demon raised his hands.
“Armand,” he sputtered “A little help.”
Red Armand was too focused on Vas, continuing to use up his ammo as he shot at him to no avail. It seemed over for him but then Yuri began to struggle against Sven, managing to break away from him and gain the upper hand. Everything that happened next was so fast it went by in a blur.
Instead of continuing to attack Sven, Yuri came for me. I’d placed the sepial dagger back in its holster when the soldiers started retreating and I didn’t have time grab it before he slid a hidden knife into my stomach. Shock had me falling back and Vas turned, neglecting Red Armand when he saw I’d been stabbed. It hurt like hell but it wouldn’t kill me. I’d recover from the wound in a few hours. Vas still saw red though. He flew at Yuri, gripping him by the head and snapping his neck before letting his body fall to the ground.
Unfortunately, the distraction allowed Red Armand to get behind Vas. He was about to stab him when I screamed out, “No!” and threw myself forward. Acting on instinct, Vas tore the sepial dagger from the holster at my hip and plunged it deep into Red Armand’s heart.
The fiery haired demon fell back, his eyes wide as he stared down at the dagger. Then he looked right into Vas’ eyes, and smiled. I couldn’t understand why he was smiling until his gaze went to Vas’ hand wrapped tight around the handle of the dagger.
Sepial was toxic to demons. Even touching it could kill them, and Vas was half demon.
No!
Tears flooded my eyes as Vas let go of Red Armand’s now lifeless body, only to slump to the ground himself, his face paling as he stared at the hand that held the dagger.
22.
“We have to get him through the portal,” Sven urged as he lifted Vas’ shoulders. I was in so much shock it took me a moment to react. I didn’t even feel my own stab wound. There was too much adrenaline coursing through me.
“Darya! If you don’t want him to die you need to help me,” Sven yelled then looked to Ren. “You, too! Come on!”
We snapped into action, lifting Vas’ body and carrying him through the portal. Roman and Rita were the first two people I saw. All around us there were miners nursing their battle wounds while my family and friends tended to them.
“What happened to him?” Roman questioned.
“He touched the sepial dagger,” I cried, emotion catching in my throat. “Can you save him? Can you magic up an antidote?”
Roman and Rita shared a concerned glance. Rita placed a hand on my shoulder. “We’re going to do our best.”
“Are you sure he only touched it?” Roman asked. “He hasn’t been cut?”
“Yes, I’m sure.”
“Good, that gives us a little more time.” He looked to Rita again. “We don’t have the medicines here to treat him.”
