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We cut down demon after demon, but for every one we kill, it seems like three more take their place.
“Why the hell are there still so many?” I ask, sending a ball of electric magic into the face of a nearby Malev. He falls to the ground, writhing in pain, and we keep making our way through the clusterfuck of fighting.
“We’ve been asking the same thing for days,” Azarius says, sounding grim. “Their numbers have thinned, but there are still so many. We’ve lost a lot of fighters too.”
His eyes fall to a dead monster when he says the last bit, and his jaw hardens.
“I don’t know how much longer we can keep this up,” he admits.
Days.They’ve already been going toe to toe with the demon army for days, and I had no idea.
My stomach drops.
If I would have let Ignatius talk me into practicing for a few more days, what would we have found when we finally portaled here? Would the monsters have come out victorious? Or would we have found a much more sinister outcome?
A dark form swoops by overhead, with wings outstretched and blotting out the sunlight. I recognize the coppery, metallic color of the monster’s skin, and my heart leaps into my throat as I watch him divebomb a Malev and tackle it to the ground. After slicing its neck open and spilling a wave of dark blood on the ground, Elio stands and glares in my direction.
“What is she doing here, Az?” he growls out as he approaches, and I flinch.
“She’s here to fight,” Azarius answers simply. “I’ve seen it, she can hold her own, Elio.”
I expect Elio to yell at us, to yell atmefor being an idiot and throwing myself into the fray, but he steps forward quickly and snatches me into an embrace, squeezing me against his blood-stained chest. It seems he’s fared well, but I still don’t want to know how much of the blood on him is his.
The important thing is they’re both okay.
“I can’t even be mad because I’m so happy to see you,” he says into my hair. His voice is so tender it tugs at my heartstrings, but I refuse to cry right now. “God damn it, I love you Devyn.”
“I love you, too.” My heart is thundering in my chest. “Now let’s kill these fuckers so we can celebrate.”
“Agreed. But stay close to us. Do you understand?”
I nod my reply.
“Good,” Elio says, his eyes shifting between Azarius and me. “Let’s move.”
Slowly, we make our way through the mob, my eyes peeled for Rafe the entire time. I know he’ll be way less thrilled to see me than the men on either side of me, but I just need to see him. I need to know that he’s alright, and that the four of us are going to come out of this on the other side together.
I’m exhausted, my body aching so badly I can feel it in my bones, the gash in my side still searing with pain, but I press on. I keep fighting, keep drawing from the endless well of magic in me, helping my men take down as many Malevolents as we can, but it doesn’t seem to make a difference. More Malevs appear in their place, and it feels like we aren’t getting anywhere.
“This is insane,” I pant.
“You’re telling me,” Elio grits out, punching an approaching Malev in the jaw and knocking out a handful of its sharp teeth. “Something’s got to give.”
“I don’t know how much more–” Azarius starts, but he trails off when the ground beneath our feet begins to tremble.
We freeze, followed by everyone around us. The monsters exchange confused looks, and the ground rumbles again, this time harder. The Malevs start to scatter, weaving their way through the monsters, attempting to get away from the trembling ground.
Where they’re headed? I have no idea, but for the moment, they’ve stopped attacking, which is good for us.
“Is it an earthquake?” I ask, looking to Azarius for reassurance.
“Doubtful,” he says, his frantic gaze sweeping across the clearing. “We don’t get earthquakes.”
The ground trembles a third time, this time so violently that several people lose their balance and fall to the ground. I tumble to my knees, wincing as my bones crack against the unforgiving ground, and Elio stoops to help me to my feet.
“What the hell is happening?” I whisper harshly, fear zipping up my spine when no one offers an explanation.
When I’m finally on my feet again, the ground in the middle of the crowd explodes, sending dirt and chunks of ground flying in every direction. Several more monsters are knocked off their feet, and at least one small Malev is crushed beneath a giant boulder. What’s left behind when the dust settles is a hole the width of a school bus.
