“It wasn’t an order,” the puppet replied. “Just a suggestion to be ready for the possibility. I’ll be by the door.”
Walter nodded, apparently agreeing with the false guard. Kizrack blew a silent sigh of relief and steered the puppet toward the door. With his free hand he waved the other two assassins further into the labs to search for Vincent. Cheal and Loran nodded and moved out, weaving between the scientists without a sound. They checked the rooms one by one, clearing the labs swiftly, searching for the lost angel. Within a few minutes, they returned to Kizrack empty handed. After some silent hand signals, they told the imp that they could not find Vincent anywhere. Kizrack was just about to turn his puppet toward the vampires when they suddenly screamed in agony and fell to the floor, writhing as if on fire.
“Looks like the king won the fight,” Kizrack muttered, letting his puppet fall to the floor. Within moments of the vampires dying, their corpses turned to ash and crumbled all over the floor. Only Walter remained. He stood to one side of the main room, visibly terrified. The implications of his survival meant little since he would likely die very soon at the hands of the demons anyway. His terror multiplied when the three assassins in the room let go of their invisibility and appeared suddenly from thin air.
“Oh, shit,” Walter breathed. “Please don’t kill me!”
Kizrack approached the terrified vampire and hopped up onto a nearby table so he could stare him in the eye. “That can be arranged. As it stands, you’re not an immediate threat. Answer our questions, and we’ll let you go.”
Walter nodded and composed himself. His voice came out sounding shaky and nervous, but he maintained eye contact with the imp. “What do you want to know?”
“Where is the angel your people kidnapped?”
“He’s not here,” Walter replied flatly.
Kizrack leveled an unamused glare at the vampire. “We know that. I did not ask you where he isn’t. I asked you where he is.”
Walter swallowed hard. “He was sent to the top floor to protect Lord Ibsen.”
“Who else was with him?” the imp asked.
“Sara,” came the tense response.
“Who is Sara?”
“She’s a creature designed to kill your people. She’s much more powerful than anything I’ve ever seen.”
“Cheal, Loran, go to the top floor,” Kizrack ordered. His tone left no room for questions or arguments. Cheal and Loran turned on their heels and ran out the door, making for the elevator. The imp stayed behind to keep an eye on Walter.
When Cheal and Loran reached the top floor, they passed the whimpering woman and burst through the double doors to Ibsen’s office. What they found was a heap of dead demons and another body off to the right side of the dust covered desk. They approached the body, but stopped as they realized who it was. Dante’s corpse lay on the floor, staring with lifeless eyes at the ceiling. Cheal knelt beside his king and checked for a pulse, hoping against the evidence in front of him. The wounds were obviously mortal. Feeling no hint of life, Cheal looked to Loran. His eyes widened when he saw the winged figure step from behind the door, raising a sword. The demon could get no words out before Vincent decapitated Loran from behind. Cheal stood, drawing his axe. He held it in front of himself in a defensive posture, but made no threatening moves.
“Knight-commander Vincent,” he said as the angel advanced upon him, “it is me, Cheal! You know me. We’ve been on missions together. I serve your brother, Adrian.”
Vincent remained silent, approaching the demon. Blood dripped from his sword, some Loran’s, but most of it was Dante’s.
“Adrian is alive! He sent us to save you from the vampires,” Cheal tried. He backpedaled to keep out of Vincent’s striking range.
The angel hesitated for a split second, but continued. Cheal saw the hesitation and decided to use it.
“Adrian is alive and well. Let me take you to him.” Cheal felt his heart rate spike as he felt the glass wall at his back.
His prey stopped, Vincent raised his sword. He made a backhanded swing for the demon’s throat, but the assassin was too fast. The axe was in place for the block long before the sword came close, deflecting it harmlessly away. Again, Vincent attacked, but Cheal pushed it aside just as easily as the last swing. Changing his tactic, Vincent feinted upward, then jabbed low. Cheal fell for the feint and sent his axe up. He realized his mistake too late and grunted in pain as the angelic sword sliced into his calf. Blood poured from the wound, making the floor slick. Moving quickly, Vincent brought his foot up and drove his heel into the demon’s solar plexus, sending Cheal through the glass. Sharp edges from the shattering window ripped through the demon’s skin, but he healed as he flew through the air. Vincent leapt out after Cheal, spreading his pale grey wings in the afternoon sunlight. He dove to keep up with the demon, and he attacked him repeatedly. His strikes were almost too fast for the assassin to keep up with, but he managed to block the swings and stabs that would have killed him. Blood seeped from several superficial flesh wounds as they fell toward the ground. Halfway down, Vincent flared his wings and drastically slowed his descent. He hovered for a moment and timed his next attack. He threw his sword with all of his might straight downward.
Cheal hit the pavement hard and felt every bone in his body shatter. His insides seemed to liquefy upon the impact. Knowing his body would naturally heal from the impact, Cheal tried to get up. He cried out in pain as Vincent’s sword slammed into his stomach, heaving the air from his lungs, and drove into the concrete beneath him, pinning him to the pavement. He watched as the angel calmly floated down to him and ripped the holy blade from his body. Cheal tried to move, but an armored boot kept him in place. Vincent raised his sword and brought it down on Cheal’s chest, ripping through his heart and lungs. With the demon dead, Vincent looked to into the Globe Tech building and surveyed the destruction left in the demons’ wake. Large piles of vampire dust littered the floor, soaking up the blood from the corpses of slain demons. Many of the remainder of the demonic army were still moving through the building and killing vampires, but some stayed in the lobby to protect the rear.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Jake and Montgomery landed in New York and made their way to the downtown area, hoping to spot the demons before they began their attack. They flew from the airport in dragon form to get there as quickly as they could, leaving the messenger with the plane, but they were too late. The attack had already commenced. They flew past the smoking ruins of a warehouse, surrounded by screams that could be heard throughout the entire city, indicating to the dragons that the vampires were dying painfully. They guessed that Ibsen must have been killed, leading to the deaths of millions of vampires around the world. The dragons came to the Globe Tech building just as a demon was thrown from the top floor, followed by an angel. After a very brief struggle, the angel slayed the demon and went into the Globe Tech lobby.
“Things seem to be under control here,” Montgomery stated. His words were punctuated by a loud explosion on the thirtieth floor, sending glass and a dozen demons into the air to plummet to the street. “Damn,” the elder dragon muttered. He folded his wings and dove to the street to fight the demons. He landed hard on several demons, crushing them beneath his feet. His jaws snapped around two more, killing them instantly. A gout of flame from above incinerated the rest of the hapless demons. Montgomery looked up to see Jake coming in to land next to him.
“At least things aren’t as bad as the last time we had demons on Earth,” Jake said. “Good thing we caught it early.”
Montgomery nodded. “That’s damn right,” he replied excitedly, changing into his human body. He produced a magical flame in each hand and started walking toward the building. “Now, let’s get in there and help that angel.”
Jake nodded and shifted into his human form as well. He concentrated on his inner fire and brought his magical abilities to bear in the form of a flame in his right hand. He was not completely certain how he knew how to use
his magic, but he felt his draconic instincts would guide him. In his human form, he knew he would be far more vulnerable, but he resisted the urge to run away, knowing that Montgomery would keep him safe. Besides, he lost his entire family to the demons during the war. It was time for him to get some much needed restitution from them. He followed Montgomery into the building and found that the angel had already killed every demon in the vicinity. He was walking toward the stairwell in the east corner. As he caught sight of the dragons in human form, he stopped and raised his sword.
“Wait,” Montgomery hissed. “We’re here to help you kill the demons. Surely you see the merit in greater numbers?”
Without a word, the angel offered a curt nod and resumed his march. They entered the stairwell and moved to the second floor. They battled through the building floor by floor, killing demons as they went. The fighting was fierce and bloody, but the dragons and the angel kept a steady pace. They finally made it to the thirtieth floor, where they had initially seen the large explosion. Sitting in the middle of the room among a pile of demon corpses was a young woman. She looked up upon hearing the approach of the trio.
“It’s about time you got back to me,” she said sharply to the angel. “And who are they?”
The angel shrugged wordlessly.
The woman sighed and glared at him. “Whatever,” she huffed. “I’ve already dealt with everything from here on up. I saw you going down after that demon, so it’s safe to assume you three took care of everything from the lobby to here?”
The angel nodded, followed by an affirmation from Montgomery. Jake remained silent, too distracted by the woman to formulate a coherent thought. She was utterly beautiful to him, and not entirely because of her appearance. She was covered in blood, her hair matted and clinging to her head. Her clothes were torn at the seams or pierced from demon weapons, but she showed no signs of pain or fatigue. It was obvious to the young dragon that she was certainly capable of handling herself. He saw confidence in her green eyes, and she bore herself with poise and grace. She was a goddess in his eyes.
“Good,” she said. “All that’s left is to secure the labs. Doctor Walter sent me a message that there is a demon left down there.”
“If you’ll have us, we’ll go with you to ensure nothing goes awry,” Montgomery offered.
The woman looked him up and down, sizing up both of the dragons. “Sure,” she shrugged noncommittally. “You two look strong. You’ll be a good line of defense if something happens.”
Jake smiled despite himself and followed his mentor into the elevator.
Zhun, Vurga, and Ariel sprinted across the rooftops, leaping over alleyways and streets to get to Globe Tech. They paused when they heard the screams, but only briefly. They knew then that the day was won and Ibsen was dead. But they kept moving, knowing that there would be some vampires who were not turned by the vampire lord. The number of vampires left alive would be small, but there was no doubt in their minds that whatever had caused the destruction of the angels was there already. They hurried to the building and heard an explosion from the other side. The building itself blocked their view but they each felt a sense of foreboding. The demons, as bloodthirsty as they were, were smart enough to contain the fight to the confines of the building. The explosion could easily have been caused by the same thing that killed the angels.
“Ariel,” Zhun said, “Fly around the building and see what caused that. Do not engage. Find out what we’re dealing with, then come back to us. We’ll fight this threat together.”
Ariel nodded and leaped into the air, unfurling her pearly wings and with one great push, she was off, hurtling through the sky like a rocket.
Zhun and Vurga continued running, finally dropping down to street level when they came to Globe Tech. They sprinted around the building and stopped in their tracks when they spotted the dragons on the ground. They stood surrounded by the corpses of at least a dozen demons.
“Son of a bitch!” Zhun swore. Ariel landed next to the assassins, breathing hard.
“There’s no way I’m taking them on by myself,” she panted.
“They’re real?” Zhun spat. She looked at Vurga and Ariel. The angel gave her an incredulous look.
“Seriously?” Ariel asked. “You didn’t know they existed? Dragons are the first beings to ever live on Earth.”
Zhun held her hands out in defeat. “Fine, I learned something new today. Either way, we are not equipped to deal with them. Let’s just get to the labs and get Vincent out of there. The rest of them can handle themselves.” She watched in fascination as the dragons shrank and became human, then she reset her invisibility to enter Globe Tech at a safe distance behind them. Vurga followed suit while making sure to make Ariel invisible as well. There was no sense in leaving her out in the open with an undocumented threat nearby. They snuck in far behind the dragons and made for the western stairwell. The dragons paused and exchanged words with someone in the lobby, but the other figure was blocked from view by a marble pillar. The trio wasted no more time and silently entered the stairwell, headed downward. They traveled down several flights of stairs until they came to a door that led into the labs. There were two piles of dust on the floor. The door was locked and warded, as was expected. Zhun contacted Kizrack on the comms.
“Zhun?” came the response.
“We’re at the lab door on the western side of the building,” she stated. “Let us in, please, dear.” Feeling it was safe to do so, the two assassins and the angel dropped their invisibility.
After a few minutes, the door swung inward and Kizrack met the three of them, a vampire tied to a chair behind him.
“Looks like one survived,” Vurga remarked as he entered the room. Zhun followed after him, barely glancing at the vampire. Ariel walked in, still clutching her spear. She immediately leveled it at the captive vampire and had to be held back from skewering him.
“Where is my brother?!” she demanded.
Walter shrank away from the spearhead and winced as the metal cable binding him bit into his skin. “I can say with absolute certainty that I do not know where he currently is. We let him out and he hasn’t come back yet.”
“Why would he come back?” Zhun asked, confused.
Walter stared at all of them, knowing his time was likely coming to an end, and decided that it was better to anger them with the truth than to lie and make his death that much more painful. “Hypnotism is a hell of a thing,” he muttered. “We found a way to control him and we sent him out to kill the demons. It was lucky for us that we figured it out when we did, because your people came in and started wrecking the place almost immediately afterwards.”
Kizrack’s entire body changed to a paler shade of purple. “Oh no,” he whispered. Zhun and Vurga looked at him and saw a look on his face they had never seen before. The imp was scared and worried.
“What is it?” Ariel asked. Her confusion threatened to give way to her growing anger.
“I was wondering why I haven’t been able to get in touch with Cheal and Loran,” Kizrack breathed. “I sent them upstairs after the vampires died. King Dante was surely at the top floor and had just killed Ibsen. This one said Vincent was up there with some woman named Sara who was supposedly created down here to kill our kind. I have a really bad feeling about this.”
Zhun knelt beside the imp. “We can’t stay down here any longer. There are two dragons upstairs, and I don’t think they’re here to help us. We need to leave.”
“Not without my brother,” Ariel countered. “We leave when we have him back.”
Zhun gave her a plaintive look. “As much as I want to get him away from here, I would much rather not deal with those dragons.”
Ariel’s steady glare was all the response the demoness was going to get.
Zhun glared back, not giving any ground. “You can be as angry as you want to be, little angel, but I need to get my people back home. We need Adrian and our king if we’re going to be taking on dragons. We’re seriously
outmatched here. If we are going to take them, we need more power.”
Ariel gave Zhun a baleful glare and made for the door they came in from. She pulled the door open and ran up the stairs two at a time. Back on the main floor, she entered the lobby. There was no sign of the dragons or Vincent, nor of the woman Walter had mentioned.
“It’s possible they’re still in the building,” Ariel said to herself. She resigned herself to searching the entire building floor by floor. She searched the entire lobby, hoping for some clue as to the whereabouts of her brother. Ariel found the security station and thanked her luck when she found the cameras were still operational and the screens still intact. She scanned the screens, waiting. Eventually, she saw Vincent, with three other people. She figured the two men were the dragons she saw earlier, and the woman must have been Sara. They were moving through a hall on the basement level. Her heart sank when she saw they were headed into the labs. Cursing herself, Ariel ran back to the stairwell and leapt over the railing. She fell eighty feet straight down and landed at the bottom. She angled her legs to roll with the impact and was up and running back through the door. When she finally burst through the lab entrance, she shouted a warning to the demons, who turned in surprise. Just as the words were out of Ariel’s mouth, the far door fell inward. Vincent, the dragons, and Sara marched inside. They surveyed the area and the woman grimaced when she saw Walter tied to his chair.
“Untie him!” she commanded. When none of the demons or angel moved to do her bidding, she stepped forward to do it herself.
Kizrack moved faster, leaping onto the vampire’s lap and placing a silver dagger at his throat. “Oh, I don’t think so,” he stated. “We came for the angel you came in here with. Let him go, and you can have your precious vampire.”
“Just kill them, Sara,” Walter shouted, earning him a quick stab to the shoulder.
“Four against four,” Zhun said. “Who are you prepared to lose?” Her bravado masked her fear better than she had hoped, but she knew they were sorely outmatched.
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