him with archangelic power, then rose high, wildfire building into a lethal sphere in his hand. His initial blast intersected with Lijuan’s and the clash reverberated in a massive boom of sound that smashed over the entire city.
He saw some people drop, hands over their ears, but his archers held.
He threw the hidden sphere of wildfire in his other hand in the immediate aftermath, his aim her wing. She wasn’t expecting the rapid response and his blow found its mark. Screaming as the wildfire seared away part of her wing before she could go noncorporeal, she retaliated in a fury.
Her obsidian death hit the side of a building, shattering glass and destroying a corner. As if a giant had taken a bite out of the skyscraper. Taking advantage of her anger-fueled lack of strategy, he threw more wildfire in smaller but rapid-fire spheres, only then realizing the wildfire had gained a faint opalescence. Not as strong as he’d seen on the broken pieces of the chrysalis, but present.
A piece of Elena’s heart, embedded forever in his power.
The second sphere hit Lijuan’s leg. Wildfire burned over her, and in the background of its merciless glow, he saw the skeletal bones of her face fading in and out.
Why wasn’t she going noncorporeal? Was it possible the wildfire had evolved to stop her from switching form? Or had she used so much energy to hide her massive army that she’d burned out that particular ability?
Whatever the reason, it didn’t stop her from deluging him in a rain of starlight obsidian. But, wounded as she was, her aim was off. Her warriors closed ranks in front of her before he could target her again. Raphael scorched them out of existence, but there were always more ready to lay their lives and bodies on the line to protect their goddess, a flesh and blood wall of mindless fidelity.
The last was a squadron that flew with the precision of a seasoned team. The entire unit snapped around Lijuan in a single heartbeat, then they all dropped as one—right into the thick of the fighting.
Raphael could no longer target her without hitting his own people. She, however, had the same problem—she couldn’t attack him without killing a world-class team of her own.
Stalemate.
Utilizing the lull, he scanned the battle zone. The fireline was out and his archers had fallen back. It was no shock to see that Lijuan’s people had taken the port—with their numbers so gargantuan, he’d expected this first loss.
Wounded angels lay on rooftops all over the city, their wings crumpled and bodies bloodied. Healers and field medics attended to Raphael’s wounded, while hard-eyed warriors watched over Lijuan’s wounded to make certain they wouldn’t rejoin the attack.
He returned his attention to the enemy squadron that surrounded their goddess. I am willing to agree to a cease-fire for long enough for us both to collect our wounded. Some of his people had fallen in what was now enemy territory.
He’d deliberately sent his message so it would hit every mind in the vicinity. So her people would know the choice she made. If he could demoralize her army, he would. As he waited for a response, he told two of his warriors to drop from the air, clearing his line of sight . . . then blasted another one of her squadrons with angelfire. It incinerated them. The massive container they’d carried until their deaths crashed to the unforgiving street far below.
The distance didn’t fully muffle the loud shatter of its destruction. From the sky, it was a toybox spilling tiny broken dolls. Most lay unmoving, but the odd one crawled, pitiful and slow.
Ransom’s team has it, Dmitri told him, and he knew hundreds of meters below, a group of hunters was bearing down on the crawlers.
Raphael was already moving to destroy a second carrier, but Lijuan’s forces had seen what was happening, dropped precipitously to avoid his strike. Lijuan rose up out of the knot of her people at the same time to blast him once again. Her wing was badly damaged but she was no green angel in her first battle. She nearly got him.
He threw wildfire at her in a relentless volley until she dropped back into her protection. Sweat dripped down his back. It might appear as if he was winning, but he wasn’t. He’d used up so much wildfire that, Cascade power or not, his body was having trouble generating enough to keep up.
Much longer and he’d be forced to use ordinary angelfire—which