They’d catch me long before I reached the safety of the palace. It was simply too far away.
I had to attack. Had to.
I briefly closed my eyes, prayed to an old goddess for luck, and then tightened my claw around the knife hilts and reached for the lightning.
For an instant, nothing happened, and my heart just about froze in fear.
Then the blades pulsed and multiple forks of lightning shot from the steel, a sheer, dangerous power that burned away the leather sheaths and left the glowing blades naked. The bolts streaked through the night, hitting countless winged monstrosities and cindering their flesh between one heartbeat and the next.
But not even my lightning was capable of destroying them all.
I arrowed on, my gaze on the small whirlpool now forming on top of the shield protecting the palace. The witches were opening a portal, but it was too small, and I was coming in too fast, and god, it was going to be tight. But I had no choice. I couldn’t risk using more lightning without draining the strength I’d need to shut the gates, and the demons were once again closing in fast.
A claw ripped across the primary feathers at the very end of my left wing. I automatically dropped in the opposite direction, glimpsed bits of feather fluttering away, saw the big black monster swinging around for another go.
Then I saw men on the ground with weapons aimed upward.
I swore internally and began zigzagging in an effort to make it as difficult as possible for the bastards to pinpoint me. The screams of the flighted demons grew louder, the shield protecting the palace nearer, the portal wider.
I was close, so close to safety …
A demon smashed into my body, sending me tumbling out of control, over and over, through the air. For several seconds, I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t fly, my world nothing more than a whirling press of color, confusion, and fear.
Gravity and my natural sense of balance soon reasserted itself, but flying was suddenly difficult and off balance. I jagged sideways, unable to maintain a straight line or any great speed. It only took a glance at my right wing to discover why—multiple flight feathers had been torn from a good portion of my wing, and the rest were bloody and in a goddamn mess. That I remained in the air and flying was a miracle.
But it was one that couldn’t—wouldn’t—last for long.
I had to get down into that portal now, while I still could.
I tightened my grip on the naked blades and called on Vita, hoping like hell she could help the bird as she’d helped the human so many times in the past.
Once again, energy pulsed, but this time it was internal rather than external. It radiated through my body and out into my broken wing, forming a pocket of energy around the bloody plumage; it didn’t heal, but it did allow me to get back onto an even keel and simply fly like hell.
Multiple winged demons screamed in frustration and swung around after me. Others dropped from above, forcing me to once again duck and weave through the forest of their claws. But I was no longer battling them alone. A shout had risen from below, and the guards manning the walls and the soldiers in rooftop bunkers began to target the demons in the air.
It gave me time. Gave me hope.
I kept my gaze on my destination, getting closer and closer, until the pulse of the shield’s power skittered across my senses and filled me with a sense of even greater urgency.
They couldn’t—wouldn’t—keep that portal open for much longer.
I reached for more strength and simply flew, as fast as I could, toward the opening. Demons came at me from the right and the left, and the air was so thick with bullets it was a rain of deadly silver.
A scream rose behind me. I pumped my wings harder, all too aware of the demon’s closeness thanks to the turbulent air striking my body. I had no choice but to ignore it.
The portal was closing. I only had seconds.
I tucked my wings in close and dove down.
Felt claws strike at my tail, felt the rip of quills from flesh. Began to spiral as I dove and didn’t care.
The air screamed its warning of another attack. There was nothing I could do. I was too close to the portal now …
As the demon struck at me, I plunged through the small gap. Magic burned my wing feathers