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Orion gave a soundless scream when he hit the ground, once again pain exploding inside of him. He used every bit of strength he had to turn himself over, and then his jaw dropped.
Not only was Jaden there, but so was Panahasi and the Lovato brothers, as well as some stranger Orion had never seen before. Izel morphed into his reaper robe, his scythe appearing in his hand, looking more wicked than Coatl’s blade.
The cheetahs shifted, attacking from all sides. Orion’s heart nearly gave out when Coatl backhanded the cats, sending them flying. He couldn’t tell which one was Duncan, but Orion prayed none of them were seriously hurt.
Orion’s eyes grew even wider when Panahasi transformed into something made of nightmares. He was no longer the gorgeous guy who’d appeared in Orion’s hospital room. Talons grew from his…fingers or were those claws? Whatever they were, Orion had never seen razor-sharp nails so long. When Panahasi turned, a row of deadly teeth could be seen. His skin had turned red, and a tail emerged—the tail looking about as tall as Orion’s mom. Horns burst from Panahasi’s head, and leathery wings shot out of his back.
Panahasi flew toward the sky and then dove back down, his talons extended, ready to strike, but Coatl lunged out of the way right before he would have been struck with them.
Jaden raised his arms, a deadly-looking scythe appearing in one hand. He charged toward Coatl, swinging the blade. Coatl roared as he rolled out of the way, shoving his blade toward Jaden, who easily dodged it.
In the chaos, Orion looked for his mates. The cheetahs were back on their feet, once again racing toward Coatl.
Then Orion saw Izel.
His mate was wearing his robe but tossed it aside to reveal his leather-clad, perfect body. A warrior’s body. The way he wielded his scythe as he walked slowly toward Coatl showed just what kind of warrior his mate had been in his past life. His moves were calculated and precise as if the guy had been born with a scythe in his hand. There wasn’t even the slightest hint of hesitation in him as he drew closer to Coatl.
This was the dangerous and powerful reaper that Orion knew Izel to be. It showed in every step Izel took, raw strength rippling and flexing his honed muscles, his long hair only adding to his already badass persona.
Orion had to blink several times, questioning his sanity, when wings expanded behind the stranger. What on earth? There was no way he was an angel. He had to be some other preternatural creature. Were angels real? Orion wasn’t even sure why he was wondering this since he was mated to a reaper and a shifter.
Something touched Orion’s hand. He glanced down to see roots emerging from the ground, wrapping around his limbs. Orion once again tried to scream, but it did him no good. No sound escaped.
The roots squeezed him, becoming unbearably painful, making Orion panic even more. Just when he thought he was going to be either pulled into the ground or squeezed to death, a cheetah leaped toward him, using its claws to free him.
The cheetah shifted into Duncan when Orion was finally free.
“Are you okay?” Duncan hunkered down, touching Orion’s face, arms, and back. “Did he hurt you?”
Tears flooded Orion’s eyes as he moved his lips, pointing to his throat.
A deep snarl ripped through Duncan’s chest. “He silenced you?”
Orion nodded, lunging himself into Duncan’s embrace, closing his eyes as he soaked in the fact that Duncan was there, along with Izel. They’d come for him. Against all odds, they’d found a way into the forest to save him.
There was no way he would ever be able to repay them, any of the men who were there fighting for not only his freedom but, hopefully, fighting even harder to end Coatl’s life.
Duncan scooped Orion into his arms and stood. “We’re going to stay as far away from the battle as we can. I don’t want anything else to happen to you.”
Orion tapped his mate’s naked chest, pointing to where Izel was fighting Coatl. Orion had never in his life witnessed a fight this intense, and he prayed Izel was the victor.
The angel pulled a long blade from…Where in the hell had he stored that thing? It had to be at least two feet in length, and it was blindingly shiny and beautifully deadly. The angel—if that was what he was—charged at Coatl with a war cry that echoed around them.
Then Izel threw his head back as a war cry burst from his lungs. Izel and the angel charged at Coatl, and it wasn’t lost on Orion that an angel and a reaper were working side by side.
There was no goddamn way Orion’s mom would ever believe him even if he told her the truth. This was like a scene ripped right out of the pages of mystical, ancient battle between good and pure evil.
Orion wasn’t even sure if Bran and Santee would believe him.
His heart nearly stopped when Coatl drove Izel backward then swung his blade at the angel. Orion had been filled with hope that they would defeat Coatl, but his hope was crushed when Coatl ripped the blade right out of the angel’s grip and tossed it aside. He reached for Izel’s scythe but yanked his hand back, as if he knew what the blade would do to him.
“Fuck.” Duncan closed his eyes for a moment. “It was a longshot that we would defeat the Slayer. Not even Jaden’s scythe can get close enough to do any damage, and if rumors are to be believed, his scythe is the most powerful weapon on earth.”
But it was hard to defeat a creature born of humanity’s worst acts of violence, breathed into existence by the atrocities mankind had committed. Coatl, although beyond pissed at Orion, had practically talked Orion’s ear off. He guessed it was because the creature had been alone for so long or maybe he just liked to hear himself talk. Either way, he’d divulged a lot of things to Orion.
Too bad he hadn’t told Orion the secret to killing him.
Duncan gripped Orion tighter when the ground began to shake. A small fissure opened, and the tall trees began to bend and sway. Birds took flight as dark clouds began to form, blocking out the sun.
