Asmodeus twirled beneath the path of one of this enemy’s blades as the male struck at him and slashed at his shins with his own sword. The male beat his leathery wings, taking himself above the arc of Asmodeus’s blow, and brought his other sword down.
A golden blade blocked the strike, causing sparks to shower over Asmodeus’s bare back and wings, and Asmodeus rolled forwards and onto his feet. He flicked Apollyon a grateful glance and then growled as he attacked the large demonic angel from behind. The male whirled to face him and managed to block one of Asmodeus’s blades. He surged upwards with the other one and grinned as it cut across the male’s thick black biceps. Crimson spilled from the deep laceration, shining in the low light.
The demonic angel grunted, baring his sharp red teeth, and his eyes flashed.
He lunged for Asmodeus, claws swiping towards his wings.
The male meant to disable him.
Asmodeus dodged and ducked, and at the same time sent a mental command to his wings, forcing them to shrink into his back, removing a potential weakness. He rolled under the angel’s outstretched arms, came to his knees, and brought his left blade around in a fast arc behind him. The male shrieked as the sword sliced into his right calf and Asmodeus shoved to his feet and twisted at the waist, lodging his other blade deep into the male’s side.
He yanked it out. Blood sprayed from the wound, saturating the black tiled floor.
The demonic angel roared and turned on him, bringing twin blades down in a blur. Asmodeus sent one of his swords away and brought the other one up, and quickly shoved his palm against the flat edge of it, bracing himself for the blow. The male’s twin blades struck his single one hard, the force of the strike almost driving Asmodeus to his knees.
He growled with effort and shoved upwards, knocking the angel’s blades off his sword and sending the male stumbling backwards.
Bright light flashed off to his left.
Veiron had dispatched one of the five.
A second later, light burst closer to Apollyon.
Two down. Three to go.
The demonic angel before him grunted and bared his sharp teeth again, and Asmodeus swore he grew larger, his muscles expanding beneath his black skin. He had seen Hell’s angels go into a rage, a fury so deep it made them crazed and increased their strength tenfold. If that happened, this male would prove himself a dangerous foe, one liable to break through Asmodeus and harm the females.
Asmodeus couldn’t allow that.
He focused and began to circle the male, keeping the angel’s attention rooted on him.
Shadows flickered around Asmodeus’s feet and it took all of his effort to keep them there and stop them from covering him as he desired them to do. He didn’t want the others to see his true form. They wouldn’t understand. He needed the strength of his true form to give him the power to quickly defeat the angel though. Hopefully, the low level of light in the room would conceal his shadows from Apollyon and the others.
The demonic angel pushed off, coming straight at him.
Asmodeus flung his hand forwards and his shadows streamed towards the male, snapping at the black floor as they grew like an unstoppable wave. The male’s crimson eyes widened as the first shadow reached him, curling around his shin and stopping him in his tracks, and then he unleashed an unholy scream as the rest lashed at him and burrowed into his flesh. The shadows dragged him down to his knees, the impact shaking the ground.
Asmodeus struck.
He clutched his sword in both hands and brought it down hard, cleaving the male’s head from his shoulders.
It toppled and rolled across the tiles, coming to a halt by booted feet.
Asmodeus slid his golden gaze across to Erin. Serenity stood beside her, her focus on Apollyon. She hadn’t seen his true power.
Erin stared down at the severed head by her feet and then raised her eyes to meet his. Unlike her friend, she had been watching him fight. She had seen that he too could command shadows, just as she could.
Light flashed, taking the body to Heaven.
Asmodeus pressed one finger against his lips.
Erin smiled, raised her hand, and pretended to zip her lips and lock them.
Asmodeus turned to assist Veiron with one of the remaining angels. Veiron skewered the male on the glowing red blade of his double-ended spear. Light burst across Asmodeus’s eyes, temporarily blinding him. When his vision came back, the dead angel was gone.
A hand caught Asmodeus’s bare shoulder.
He growled, grabbed the male by his wrist, and twisted downwards, using the sudden momentum to throw the male over his shoulder.
Apollyon landed on the ground with a grunt and a grimace.
Asmodeus quickly released him and Serenity rushed forwards, scowling at him as she passed.
When she looked at him like that, as if she wanted to fight him for some reason, she reminded him of Liora. They shared the same hazel eyes and the same slender build.
But Serenity couldn’t come close to his female.
She was too wholesome and good. Too sweet.
Asmodeus sighed and looked off to his right, towards the door. His heart ached and he rubbed his chest. He hoped Liora was in there, only seconds away from him now. He needed her back in his arms where she belonged. He needed his wicked little witch with her mischievous smiles, playful teasing, and naughty streak.
He missed her.
Asmodeus turned away from the others and walked to the black stone door. His gaze took in every inch of the carved surface. It depicted dragons and a monster far larger than they were ravaging lands and devouring mortal, demon and angel alike.
Erin moved past Serenity, slowly lifting her hand as she approached the door. It didn’t open. Asmodeus growled and Erin cast him an apologetic look, and then looked at the carving on the door. She ran her gaze over it and lingered in one spot. Her gaze brightened, glowing gold, and lost its focus, as if she was slipping into a daze, the sort he fell into when the Devil was commanding him.
Asmodeus peered past her at the figure of an angel being crushed under the foot of the gigantic dragon-like monster and the other figure it clutched in its claws.
She touched them both and the door creaked open.
Serenity’s power spiked and she rushed into the room. Apollyon grabbed her and froze as he went to pull her back to him, his gaze fixed beyond her. Asmodeus was ahead of him, his heart jackhammering in his chest, driving his blood to a wild beat. He pushed past them, raced to the dais in the centre of the glowing white room and pulled Liora into his arms.
She didn’t respond.
He clutched her limp body to him, supporting her head as it lolled, tangling his fingers in her chestnut hair. She was cold. He rubbed her bare arm with his other hand, trying to warm her and hoping it would wake her. The room was chilly and she wore only her short black dress. It was the only reason she slept so soundly. If he could get her warm, she would surely wake.
She had to wake.
“Liora,” he whispered close to her ear, his heart clenching like a vice behind his ribs, turning as icy as she felt beneath his fingers. “Wake up.”
Serenity came to them and he loosened his grip on Liora, letting the witch near her, silently pleading her to wake her cousin somehow. She bent close to Liora and placed her hands on her chest. Crimson magic spiralled around her arms and flowed over her hands, seeping into Liora, but she still didn’t wake.
Asmodeus’s heart fractured, the pain so intense he couldn’t breathe.
Erin’s voice broke the tense silence. “You said only the Devil can get to this point… then maybe only the Devil can wake her.”
Serenity moved aside to let Erin near to Liora. Erin looked her over, her amber eyes glowing faintly, and then rested her hand on Liora’s chest, right over her heart. She closed her eyes and frowned, and Asmodeus teetered on the edge of despair, his life draining away as he looked down at Liora’s ashen face and pale lips and begged her to wake.
Erin
wavered and Veiron came forwards, and Asmodeus snarled at him, warning him not to pull her away.
Not yet.
He searched Liora’s face, desperate for a sign of life, something to give him hope.
Her lips darkened.
Her cheeks grew pinker.
“Wake, damn you… wake… I will not live without you,” Asmodeus whispered and brushed his knuckles across her cheek.
Erin paled.
Veiron pulled her away, flashing red sharp teeth and growling at Asmodeus when he released Liora and moved to stop him. Asmodeus looked back at his little mortal. She lay on the crystal, still and lifeless.
“Come back to me,” he whispered in the demon tongue and clenched his fists at his sides, digging his claws into his palms. “You said you wanted me to never leave you… so don’t you dare leave me now.”
Liora’s eyes burst open and she shot up into a sitting position, gasping at air.
Asmodeus was by her in an instant, pulling her into his arms. She flung hers around him and clung to him, burying her face against his neck. He wanted to stay here like this with her for a while, savouring the feel of her in his arms and giving her comfort, bathing in the joy of having her close to him again, back where she belonged, but he couldn’t risk it.
“Come, little witch, we must leave this wretched place.” He pressed kisses to her hair and smoothed it from her brow, and she nodded, trembling in his arms. He could feel her fear and her pain, and he wanted to take it all away.
He would take it all away.
He would take her back to the island, to her newfound friends, and would protect her and make sure no one ever took her from him again.
He stood and lifted her from the dais, setting her down before him and holding her while she found her balance again.
Liora slowly lifted her gaze to meet his. “I knew you would come for me.”
He smiled and stroked her cheek, and then frowned as a noise like thunder echoed from the room behind him. Remus and Romulus. They had come to him and he hadn’t called.
There was a commotion near the door, a cacophony of shouts, growls and snarls, and he turned on his heel to face the intruder. The tip of a blade came at him and then Liora was before him, her small body shielding his, and he roared his fury as the black sword punctured her back, came out through her stomach and stabbed into his chest.
Liora’s hazel eyes went wide and she coughed up blood.
Asmodeus pulled himself from the blade and caught her as she fell. Blood streamed from the wound and saturated her black dress. It dripped and pooled on the floor together with his, soaking into the crystal and turning it scarlet.
His knees gave out and hit the floor hard, but he didn’t feel the impact. He didn’t feel anything as he stared down at Liora where she lay in his arms, a sword skewering her, her life slipping away.
She couldn’t leave him.
She had promised.
They both had promised.
Veiron came to kneel before him and carefully pulled the sword from Liora’s back. She cried out, the sound of her pain tearing at his heart and driving his own to the back of his mind. Asmodeus smoothed his hand across her damp brow and let Veiron take her from him. He silently begged the Hell’s angel to forget the bad blood between them and save her, because he was already paying for what he had done.
Asmodeus growled and fixed his eyes on Nevar.
“You die for this,” he said and Apollyon grabbed him from behind, holding him back and refusing to give him even an inch in which to move. Asmodeus snarled and struggled against him, his knees slipping around in the blood leaking from his chest, weakening him. “Heal me… I want to kill him!”
Veiron ignored him and focused on healing Liora instead, and his heart thanked him for it. She deserved the Hell’s angel’s attention more than he did. She had shielded him from a blow meant to kill him. She had taken that pain on herself and possibly that fate too. He looked down at her, his breathing turning as shallow as hers was, pleading whatever higher power would listen to him to deliver her from the arms of death and back into his. He couldn’t lose her.
Nevar drew another blade out of the air.
“I don’t bloody think so.” Erin held her hands out and blasted him, sending him crashing into the crystal wall with enough force to leave an impact crater.
Nevar slumped to the ground unconscious but Erin moved to stand over him, keeping her right hand extended and her eyes on him.
“If he moves, I’m hitting him again, and I’m taking my phasers off stun.” Black ribbons of fire flickered around her fingers.
Asmodeus wasn’t sure what a phaser was and he definitely wasn’t going to let Erin kill Nevar. That pleasure was his.
Liora moaned, recapturing his attention, and he stopped struggling against Apollyon and stared at her as Veiron held his hand over her stomach. He sagged, giving up his fight and willing her not to do the same. She had to live.
“Tell me she will live,” Asmodeus said and frowned as the room grew dimmer and colder.
Veiron glanced at him and then down at his chest, his scarlet eyebrows knitting tightly.
“Serenity, you need to take over here.” Veiron looked at her and she rushed to kneel beside her cousin, red magic spiralling into life around her hands. The Hell’s angel moved to him and he shook his head.
“No… take care of her… she has to live.” Asmodeus wavered and his head dropped forwards and he couldn’t lift it for some reason. He looked down at the pool of blood growing beneath him and blossoming as it soaked into the crystal. It swirled within it and the room twirled with it, going out of focus.
“Sorry, but you have to live too,” Veiron whispered and placed his hand against Asmodeus’s bare chest.
Fire shot into his heart and Asmodeus arched forwards, flung his head back and growled through his gritted teeth.
The room blazed so bright it blinded him and then darkness embraced him.
CHAPTER 24
Liora felt terrible. Her mouth was bone dry. Her body ached all over, stiff and sore, as if she had gone ten rounds with a demon horde. Her eyes were sticky and stinging. What had happened to her?
She lay still, a warm breeze caressing her skin and sweeping away some of her aches, relaxing her. It didn’t carry the acrid stench of Hell. It smelled like saltwater and sand.
The island.
She remembered Asmodeus coming for her. She remembered waking and seeing him standing over her, the others around him.
She remembered a man coming at him with a sword and then incredible pain.
Liora slowly lifted her hand, the action making her wince as her muscles protested, and touched her throat. Her necklace was gone. It explained why the sword had penetrated her. She had reacted on instinct, used to it protecting her, forgetting that she had lost it when someone had snatched her from this island.
She cracked her eyes open and squinted. The light made them water, giving her some relief from the gritty dry scraping of her eyelids as she blinked, trying to clear her vision.
The green roof of a tent came into focus and another breeze blew in through the open flaps. She sighed and touched her throat, feeling the marks that Asmodeus had placed on her, and then inched her way downwards to the point on her stomach where the sword had penetrated her.
She was dressed, the fabric soft beneath her fingers.
Liora pushed herself onto her right elbow, grimacing as the effort drained her and caused her insides to ache along the path the blade had taken through her body.
She looked down at the black tank and shorts she wore. If she had to guess, she would say they were Erin’s clothes. Serenity didn’t own anything this dark and sombre, and she couldn’t imagine Amelia lending her clothes.
A noise outside caught her attention, the feral wild snarling setting her heart racing.
Was there some sort of beast out there?
It sounded furious and dangerous, and pained.
Liora managed to make
it onto her knees and crawled out of the tent onto the warm white sand. The first touch of sunlight on her skin was bliss and she breathed deep, savouring the clean air. She had thought she would never see this again, never gaze upon the glittering turquoise sea and the endless rich blue sky, or hear the palm trees swaying in the gentle breeze and the waves steadily breaking against the shore.
She scouted the area, spotting everyone at the far end of the beach on her left, and then frowned when she saw Romulus and Remus closer to her on her right, guarding a square, steel cage in the shade of the palm trees.
The beast?
Remus perked up when he noticed her, shifting to stand and wagging his tail. His movement revealed that it wasn’t a beast in the eight-foot-square cage he guarded.
It was a man.
The one who had tried to kill Asmodeus.
Liora pulled herself to her feet using the tent poles, anger giving her strength and making her forget her desire to see her angel and the others. She needed to know why this man had wanted to kill Asmodeus.
She walked slowly to the cage, her pain fading with each step, obliterated by the turbulent emotions lashing at her as she stared at the white-haired man.
As she drew closer, she could feel the power in the cage. Enchanted. Serenity had cast a spell upon it to make it impossible for the man to escape. She would thank her cousin later, after she had discovered why this man had wanted to kill Asmodeus.
He spotted her and his pale green eyes turned stormy violet, his meagre clothing disappeared, replaced with purple-edged black armour, and he snarled, flashing fangs at her.
An angel?
Or a demon?
He tried to stand and wavered, collapsing onto his knees and growling. Not in warning or fury this time. There was pain in it and despair. Sweat broke out across his pale brow and he breathed hard, his arms trembling as he grasped the bars, clinging to them as if he would crumple completely if he let go.
Her Wicked Angel Page 33