Wanted Angel - Sadie Moss Page 0,74

all the way back down to the ground as she races alongside us toward the peak.

Lava is still rising from the mouth of the volcano. It was slow at first, but now it’s moving faster. It’s beginning to spark and crackle, and I know it’ll soon be joined by a rush of Hellfire.

We have to close it up before that happens.

I sprint flat out, dragging in deep breaths as I push myself harder. I own several restaurants in New York City. I’m Gluttony, for fuck’s sake. Running should not be on my list of special skills.

When we reach the top, heat assails us. The lava isn’t flowing down the mountainside, but I can feel it’s oppressive heat licking at my skin anyway as we all split up, fanning out around the perimeter of the massive opening.

This is the part of our plan I hate most. It’s the part that involves us being apart, not able to protect each other’s backs. It’s necessary and unavoidable, but that doesn’t make me dislike it any less.

So I focus on getting it over with as quickly as possible, putting on another burst of speed as sweat drips down my face. We won’t be able to space ourselves out precisely, but we need to be roughly equidistant from each other around the perimeter of the volcano when we activate the net Valentina built for us.

She and several other witches made eight charms, one for each of us. When activated, they’ll send out magical tendrils that should interlock with each other and create a mesh that will contain the lava and Hellfire, forcing it back down to Below.

That is, of course, if everything goes according to plan, which not much has lately.

Hoping like hell that this mission will be the exception to that, I glance around. The lava shifts and churns as it rises, and I can see enough of the volcano’s rim to see that everyone else is in place. I skid to a halt, sucking in deep breaths even though the air itself seems to burn.

Reaching into my pocket, I pull out the small, heavy cube that’s been imbued with the magic we need.

“Now!” I call to the others. I’m not sure they can even hear me over the rumbling of the volcano and the snapping of Hellfire, but it doesn’t matter. They know what to do.

Setting the cube down, I hold my hand over it and mutter the incantation Valentina taught us all that will activate the magic. The moment the final word passes my lips, silvery threads begin to erupt from the cube, arcing into the air over the steadily rising lava. From across the large opening, I see seven other bolts of silver magic leap into the air, spreading outward as they begin to connect with one another.

“Thank fuck,” I mutter. It’s working.

And not a moment too damn soon.

The corrupted that we managed to fight off down below are swarming up the mountainside, coming right for us. I see Salinas among them, looking pissed as hell.

Ford sees Salinas too and charges down to meet him. I shift my position, moving over to try to cover both Ford’s cube and mine. We need to protect them from the corrupted. If any of the cubes is deactivated or destroyed, it’ll weaken the net, allowing Hellfire to shoot toward the sky. Already, the silvery web is tightening and strengthening, forming a dome over the volcano’s opening that contains the rising Hellfire, forcing it back down.

Several corrupted sprint toward me, howling. I move as fast as I can, swiping the legs of one before throwing a punch at another as it reaches me.

Ford and Salinas are brawling nearby, and I’m vaguely aware of Knight moving to help Ford. We need to take Salinas out if we can—it’s possible at least some of his minions will give up the fight if he’s no longer alive to give them orders. It could turn the tide for us.

But Knight’s effort to help Ford leaves another cube exposed, and I’m struggling to protect them all.

I kick one of the corrupted in the stomach, sending him flying backward and rolling. The heavy flap of wings beside me catches my attention, and I turn, expecting to see Trinity.

But it’s not her. It’s Anderson.

I lunge toward him, but he’s too fucking fast. Rather than attacking me, he bends down and scoops up one of the cubes, then launches himself back into the air. He didn’t deactivate the magic of the cube, but