“Rough night?” he asked.
“The bloody sky is filled with Veemuris.”
Blaze’s brows rose. The large, bat-like creatures were rarely seen. Though there had been recorded instances during old wars where the sky filled with them, only for them to rain down on soldiers and tear them apart, leaving fields littered with nothing but bones. It was among the myths of his kind that only the king of Sheol himself could release them.
Perhaps he had.
“I don’t see any now,” Blaze said, his gaze scouring the black sky. Their lights were bright, but still it was difficult to make out any shapes around them.
“Hopefully they’re far behind us. I’d hate to face the damned creatures the second we land.”
“They didn’t damage anything, did they?” He sat forward, trying to glimpse the dashboard.
“No. We got lucky, I think.”
Blaze sat back and fastened his seatbelt. “We’ll see as soon as we land if luck is really on our side.”
The ground came into view. The same sort of destruction as they had seen in Kansas lay beneath them, with the ground rolling in an outward pattern, like a massive fist had struck the earth. Towns and cities were demolished with little to nothing left to show for their existence.
The lower they got to the ground, the more Blaze began to wonder how they’d ever land.
“Looks like this is going to be a bit bumpy,” Dominic said dryly, maneuvering toward the only space that was relatively flat. It certainly wasn’t a runway, but it was all they had.
“Just don’t break my damned plane,” Blaze grumbled, bracing himself when the landing gear lowered.
The second the wheels hit rocky, bumpy earth, the plane groaned and rattled, shaking them up like a soda can while the engine roared its reverse thrust. Gritting his teeth, Blaze dug his fingers into the armrests while several people in the back shouted. The plane bounced high before crashing back down. The aircraft eventually slowed, and rolled over the uneven terrain with greater ease.
Dominic flashed him a smile.“Great landing, eh?”
Blaze released his breath and ran a hand through his hair, smoothing it back from his face before unlatching his seatbelt and heading for Emma. Her eyes were wide, the grip on her own seat bloodless.
Blaze tucked back her curls and pressed a kiss to her lips. “It’s over. We’re safe.”
She nodded wordlessly.
A feminine snort drew his eyes farther, to Taryn, who unbuckled herself and stood. “As if I’d ever let myself die in a plane crash.”
He shook his head and looked back to Emma, noticing her face was even paler than it had been several seconds ago.
“Suit up, soldier,” he said, forcing a smile.“We’re going demon hunting.”
33
Emma
By the time they disembarked from the plane, strapped with weapons and each hauling a backpack, Emma felt nothing but relief that they’d made it to Brazil in one
piece. Blaze didn’t waste any time in reiterating the plan. “Keep together for this part and stay vigilant.”
They took off at a light jog with only a single lantern to help guide their feet. Emma found herself tripping over the craggy, broken earth on more than one occasion, but each time she vaulted forward, Blaze caught her by the bicep and righted her.
She quickly became thankful for her supernatural stamina, especially when the Spellcasters’ breathing grew louder. Sergei kept pace with them well enough, though she could tell after two hours that he was flagging.
Blaze called for a quick break to allow everyone to catch their breath and drink some water from their limited supply.
“We need to keep going,” he said after only ten minutes of rest, and they were back to traversing the hellish landscape. But the sky began to fill with an early morning glow. It wasn’t long before the sun peered over the horizon as though it were a perfectly ordinary day.
Even with the earth under attack—with millions of people dead—the sun rose, painting the sky in rich, luscious colors. How did the universe stand to create beauty in the midst of terror?
But perhaps that’s why, Emma mused. Finding beauty and peace offers hope to those that feel unable to go on.
They slowed to a stop hours later, and even Blaze’s breathing was labored. She let herself drop to the ground, leaning on her hands as she fought to catch her breath.
Others buckled too, the sound of their exhaustion mixing with the rushing of blood in her ears.
“Ugh, are we there yet?” Taryn complained from several feet away.
Someone gave a harsh bark of laughter, but no one said any more for several minutes. Emma wrestled a protein bar from her pack, unwrapped it, and stared at it, wondering if it was even worth it since she’d probably throw it up anyway.
Slowly, she managed a few bites, then a few more. By the time Blaze got to his feet, she’d swallowed the last bite. She desperately wanted to chug more water, but she needed to save as much as possible.
He looked to her, holding her gaze. His eyes held all the strength and reassurance she needed.“Are you ready?”
Emma took a deep breath and got to her feet. She nodded, before swallowing hard and glancing over her shoulder at Sergei walking toward her.
He pulled her into a tight hug, and she felt her resolve grow. “Go give them hell, girl,” he whispered.
Emma’s lips lifted in the faintest of smiles before she turned back to Blaze. He held her face in his hands gently, searching. To spot the fear she had stuffed down deep? She hoped he couldn’t see it. Finally, he kissed her, and she fought the urge to deepen it in front of so many people.
With a nod, she stepped back, and Blaze gave the order. Ten Giborim fanned out behind her, Blaze and the Spellcasters somewhere behind her as she began to jog again. She hoped the protein bar wouldn’t find its way back up.
Emma didn’t bother to look behind her to see if anyone was there, because before long, it was only the sound of her footsteps and her breathing with her. The sun had warmed the early afternoon, and combined with her exertion, sent sweat trickling down her forehead, burning her eyes.
A high-pitched wail caused her to stumble to a stop. She looked skyward, trying to locate the source of the noise, but couldn’t spot anything. There was only the pale blue sky and the odd, lazy-drifting cloud.
Her brows furrowed but she shuffled forward again, wondering if dehydration had already set in, causing delusions.
Another sharp cry pierced the near silence. Then another.
Emma looked up again, this time to see a black cloud move in front of the sun. The screeches grew louder, and she realized it wasn’t a cloud. They were birds of some kind.
The creatures barreled right for her, their long wingspans kicking Emma’s heart into high gear. She took off at a sprint, glancing behind when their screams grew deafening.
There were at least twenty huge bats with visible fangs and clawed feet. What the hell were they? She’d never seen bats that big before.
When the first one collided with her back, it sent her sprawling to the ground, mouth full of dirt. It grabbed her hair, whether with its feet or its fangs she wasn’t eager to find out.
Emma rolled to her back hard, trying to knock the creature loose. It wailed directly in her ear and she winced, but it scrambled back from her, disorientated. The winged animal had solid black eyes to match its black leathery skin.
The others dove for her face and she batted them away. A trickle of Shediem energy lit up her veins and her eyes widened— they were from Sheol.
Knowing how to kill the nasty beasts, Emma grabbed for them when the next wave of assault came, though their sharp fangs bit into her flesh. She cried out as they surrounded her, tearing through clothing and ripping her skin.
With bloodied fists, she knocked each of them off her, only to grip them and suck their feeble energy away. They died still shrieking, though her ears were ringing so loud she could barely register their sounds. With a
n explosion of dust, their bodies were no more.
The last two she gripped at the same time, their teeth still buried in her bicep and calf.
“Take me to your master!” she demanded. When nothing happened, she ripped them from her flesh with a wince. “Take me to Prince Beleez.”
Still they didn’t react, their jaws snapping and their claws scratching, trying to make purchase. Emma gritted her teeth and sucked away their energy in an instant, letting the ash fall on her.
A man appeared draped in a silver brocade robe, standing several yards away. His jaw was sharp, his eyes red. Straight golden hair fell past his shoulders.
“Emma,” he purred, lips curved into a sensual smile. “Daughter of the Prince of Wrath. Shediem-Slayer.”
“That would be me,” she answered.
He looked around.“There was no need to kill my Veemuris. Although, unfortunately for you, they’re spawned from ashes.”
Emma glanced down right as her hands began to itch. The blackened ashes smeared on her skin began to move. Horror struck her and she wiped at the soot, trying to scrub it off her faster.
It fell to the ground like grains of sand, rolling and sliding over the broken earth to form small piles. One by one they rose in the air, taking shape. Black eyes blinked into existence, all of them looking from her to the prince and back.
Beleez stepped toward her, forcing her to focus on him instead of the prehistoric-looking bats. She saw the caution in the tense set of his shoulders.“What brings you to my kingdom?” he asked.
She kept her stance attack-ready, watching the prince and the Veemuris with caution.“I-I need to speak with my father.” The prince raised a pale, slender brow.
Licking her lips to wet them, she didn’t have to pretend to be nervous.When the prince stopped just beyond her reach, she saw that his eyes were not wholly red. A thin black slit ran through the center, giving him an even more wild and animalistic quality. Her heart raced and her palms were damp. She rubbed them on her jeans, still feeling the itch as though something moved beneath her skin.“The Giborim want me dead the second they’ve used my powers against you all.”
The Veemuris surrounding the prince stirred. A few emitted shrill screeches, but he held up a hand to silence them. His smile grew.“You’ve seen the error of your ways, have you?”
She couldn’t decide if his tone was genuine since he tended to sound mocking in everything he said.
“More like, I’ve accepted what my role in all of this is to be. If the Shediem are to rule over the humans then I will scorch the betraying, backstabbing angel-spawns. Every single one.” She lowered herself to one knee, feeling like she’d choke on her next words as flashes of her kneeling before her father filled her mind. Her shoulder gave a phantom twinge in remembrance of the mark he’d forced on her. “I will serve my father and the king as they see fit.” Her eyes never lowered, never left his. She wouldn’t give him or his minions the opportunity to strike without her knowing.
Beleez cocked his head to the side, studying her.“Asmodeus has ordered you to be executed instantly.”
Emma swallowed hard, fingers tingling with power that swirled inside her like a hungry beast. She kept it leashed, containing her own personal demon—a demon of death. Only it wasn’t as the Mark of Fallen Flame had been, like a separate entity inside her. This was just the darkest parts of herself charging to the surface at even the faintest hint of blood.
“However,” he said, stilling her heart, “should you swear loyalty to me, I will let you live. My brothers will not touch you if you are mine.”
She blinked up at him, blood rushing in her ears so loud she was certain the prince could hear it too.“As your soldier?”
His grin turned wicked and he took another step toward her.“As my bride.”
The air left her in a rush, her mouth agape.
Perhaps her shock had made him bolder, or the fact that she hadn’t refused him immediately made him comfortable with being reckless. Whatever the case, he offered a hand to her.
Foolish, she thought, letting her lips split and bare her teeth in a vicious smile. Then she lunged.
His eyes widened, grin vanishing, and realization hit him a fraction of a second before her skin met his.
A brush—just a simple brush with her skin and he disappeared, yet his power snapped her control. The beast inside her was awakened and ravenous. She spun with a snarl, searching for the prince.
His power came first. Heady, washing over her like a gentle wave—Beleez.
She turned, finding him behind her, too far to touch.
His smile returned. Kind. Loving.
She wanted to run to him. To love him. Serve him.
“My prince,” she whispered, dropping in one swift movement to press her forehead to the rocky earth.
Long, slender fingers slipped through her hair, his touch a soothing balm to the way her heart pounded. Distantly she felt the desire to wrap her hands around his throat and drain him of every ounce of his energy—
No, why would I do that? I love Beleez. His face was sculpted by dark angels. Everything about him is beautiful.
His soft laugh rumbled through her like silk caressing her insides.
“I don’t see why Wrath had such a hard time taming the mighty Shediem-Slayer. Look how she bows before me.” Eerie laughter filled the thick air. “Not even she can resist my power of obsession.”
Emma’s head snapped up, the haze clearing for a moment of clarity. Why was she kneeling? What was happening?
Then the fog coated her mind again, and she sighed contentedly while her prince stroked her head.
“Rise, my little rebellion.”
She obeyed, glancing over his shoulder to see a dark blur zip into view and then out again. Several Veemuris rumbled their discontent and snapped their wings, clearly sensing a shift in the air as well. Emma strained her eyes to see what it was, and she felt the warmth and intensity of Beleez’s power trickle away yet again.
“Don’t look away from me, my love.”
Emma forced herself not to gag. Before he could overwhelm her again with his obsession, she cast him a demure smile, hoping her expression seemed like the stricken devotee he assumed her to be.
Blaze sped a distance away yet again, and Emma leapt for the prince. She secured her hands around his slender neck, sending his power rushing through her. Every cell felt supercharged, her body light.
Beleez clawed at her arms, trying desperately to dislodge her grip, but she squeezed harder. His red eyes bulged, the slit pupils widening.
She sucked in his life energy, feeling his skin grow brittle. Her vision shifted, granting her view of a farther distance.
He let out a croaking sound, then his skin turned grey. Her gums ached; her canines lengthened. She pulled her lips back, baring them to her dying prey.
His feeble body collapsed.
Emma took a ragged breath. She was powerful.
So powerful.
The newest ability added to her arsenal, obsession.
More, her hunger cried.
More.
More.
More!
The Veemuris around her were stunned in place. As soon as a streak of black hair and dark clothing flashed in her periphery, she sprang into action once more. Her dagger was tucked into the sheath at her back. She drew it at the same time a sword cut through the air with a melodic sound.
Then came the squelch and snap of severed skin and bone.
Chaos ensued.
Emma sliced and stabbed the large creatures that flapped in the air, dive-bombing her head and her arms. Her body was fluid, the power zinging through her like crackling bolts of lightning. She craved their pitiful scraps of power and tasted it in the air, inhaling deeply. They dropped from the sky, crashing to the ground in explosions of ash.A man’s steel-blue gaze caught hers, and he froze.
More Shediem appeared, spurring the Giborim into movement. Her power roared inside her and her enhanced vision zeroed in
on each of her prey. Their bodies crumbled one after the other until none was left. Spinning in a circle, she let out a battle cry.
The handsome, familiar face of the Giborim entered her line of vision, and she snarled. How dare he steal my prey! They were mine!
Tentatively he lifted his hands to cup her face. His skin was hot.
“It’s over, Emma: you did it. Beleez is dead.” His accent was thick, his voice like warm honey.
The prince’s power caressed her mind and she gripped it tightly, giving it a tug in her mind.
The nonhuman’s eyes became glassy, unfocused. He dropped to his knees, arms out in front of him as he kissed the dirt.
A triumphant smile curled her lips. Yes, bow, creature.
“Emma, fight it,” the angel-spawn gritted out.
Emma?
“I am the Shediem-Slayer.” Her voice sounded strange to her ears.
The man bowing at her feet lifted his head, expression filled with adoration—except for his eyes. They were hard.
He was fighting her power.
Anger snapped through her, and she pushed more of it into him.
His breath hitched, tears streaming down his sharp cheekbones.“Emma,” he rasped.
A chill raced up her spine at his tone. It knocked something loose in her mind. His utterance of her name was both a plea and a prayer, and it reached something inside her. She withdrew her power, pulling it back into herself.
“Blaze,” she whispered. A shiver wracked her body, jerking her muscles painfully.
He leapt to his feet and gripped her face, crushing his lips to hers.
A sob escaped her.“I can’t do this. It’s too much.”
“No,” he murmured against her lips. “I’m here. You did so well. You did it all on your own.”
She shook her head, pulling back.“What if I’d forced you to run yourself through with your sword?”
His lips twitched.“I wouldn’t have. I could sense your power. It feels different.”
She lifted a brow quizzically.“What does?”
“I’m already yours, heart and soul,” he said with a slow smile. “Your power is a forced emotion. It feels wrong.”
Emma’s heart swelled and she thought it might burst. She jumped into his arms as they came around her. He held her tight while she shook, her teeth chattering. After his confession, she felt like she should issue one of her own.
The Throne of Broken Bones (Weapon of Fire and Ash Book 3) Page 28