and he looks over at me, retribution and power radiating from his gaze.
“Go, Sable. I got this. Vudu will be here soon.”
With a nod, I shoot some darkness out, instructing it to stay behind and help protect him as he works, and a portion of my black light manifests around him like an impenetrable shield. Health and vitality are coming off Toreon in waves, and as much as I don’t want to leave his side, I have to trust him, just like he trusts me.
“I’ll see you soon,” I promise, and then I leap into the air and pump my wings, ready to go find my sisters.
“Come on wings, do your thing,” I mutter to them, hoping like hell that flying will be instinctual, just like my darkness and scythe have been.
I shakily make it into the air, my body tilting left and right a bit before I manage to straighten, getting a hang of things. I’m surprised to find that even though I’ve never flown before or used any of the muscles required to make it happen, I feel strong, like I was made for it, and it’s exhilarating.
Two demons try to rush and grab at my feet, but I chop right through their outstretched arms, ashing them instantly. Lifting up higher, I force myself to fly, streaking through the red star-lit sky and weaving through the aerial battles all around me to get to my sisters. It’s not pretty or graceful, but it keeps me in the air, and that’s what matters.
The further I get from Toreon, the more my heart hardens with determination. I let my mind think of every single thing Morax has done. The imprisonment, the torture, the control, the death.
I have all the ammunition I need to dawn armor forged by hate and rage. Now, we make him pay.
36
With one pass, I manage to find my sisters in the chaos.
I aim off to the side where Delta and Medley are and then drop, landing so hard that a shock wave of air and debris shoots out from under my feet and goes flying, hitting the demons that try to rush me.
With one swing of my scythe, I make it to my sisters and their mates where they fight, entering into their circle. I can feel the same searing rage in them that’s flooding me, and it bolsters my resolve.
Their mates are fighting seamlessly, lashing out with their power at every demon who attacks on the ground. But with a look up, I see some of Morax’s Abdicated trying to converge overhead, and my sisters and I communicate wordlessly. We immediately spread our wings, each of us cloaking ourselves in our darkness, and then lift into the air.
The three of us move so fast and so fluidly you’d think we’d been training in battle our whole lives. We open ourselves up completely to all that we are as we spin, slice, weave through, and cut down the enemy. Soul-lights differentiate between friend and foe as we attack, cutting a path that leads us closer and closer to the Ophidian.
Ash flows in our wake, and demons try to flee as soon as they feel us breathing down their backs. They know they have no chance against us, and we show them the same mercy they showed us.
None.
A war cry reaches my ears, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d think that Xena just joined our fight. I look over to see Delta land on the ground again, and she starts scything demons left and right, hitting anyone who doesn’t get out of her way fast enough.
She blasts a beam of black light into the scrambling throng, making an impressive dent in the horde. The demons touched by her power go still, their mouths frozen in silent screams as light pours from their mouths, eyes, ears, and noses before they seem to explode into charred pieces, their souls blinking out before all of their parts even land on the colorless ground.
In the air with me, Medley is spinning like an acrobat without a rope, her scythe cutting through anyone who makes the mistake of entering her space as she protects their mates below her.
“You good?” I call over to her.
She answers without even looking my way. “Me and Dolly got this,” she shouts back with confidence, and I have no doubt that she does, because sweet Southern Medley is a total badass.
With one more look below, I see that Delta too is easily owning her space