the odds were good that I would collapse and be unable to rise, the pain too much.
Safer to stick to the potion bombs.
When the first attack came, we were ready.
A line of demons charged, their faces twisted with menace and their weapons raised. There were fifty of them, easily. I hurled a potion bomb at one of the closest ones, taking him out in an explosion of fire.
The shifters charged, leaping upon their foes and taking them to the ground. Quinn joined them, his golden form sailing through the air to attack.
A flash of dark clothing shot by me—the Devil, his vampire speed making him almost faster than human sight. I caught a glimpse of Carrow’s golden head out of the corner of my eye as she took out a demon, and potion bombs flew through the air as my friends hurled them.
From behind me, I could feel Seraphia’s magic surge. It filled the air, and in front of me, the roots of the trees burst from the ground and wrapped around five of the demons, raising them into the air and shaking them like dolls.
Dark smoke rolled around my ankles. Hades.
I glanced back to see him slam his bident into the ground. The two-pronged staff shot lightning into the sky as a small army of the dead rose from the dirt. In the underworld, he could call upon hundreds of them. Here on earth, he could only call on those buried nearby. There were apparently ten of them, and they charged into battle.
My heart thundered as I ran alongside them, looking for an opening in the attack to sneak through. If I still had my wings, this would have been an entirely different matter.
Screams and growls sounded as the battle raged. Magic exploded in the air as demons fired blasts of fire and ice. Potion bombs arced high between the trees before crashing against the chests of the enemy.
We defeated the first line of foes, but more came after them, so many that I couldn’t imagine where the Maker had found them all.
He wasn’t even there. I could feel him somewhere in the distance, likely still in the chambered cairn.
With every second that passed, more and more foes appeared. Were they regenerating? I’d never seen so many appear so fast. We were kicking their asses, but we weren't gaining much ground because there were just so damned many of them.
A demon charged me, yellow eyes wild as he raised his blade. I hurled my potion bomb at him and nailed him right in the forehead. Satisfaction surged through me as he collapsed backward, unconscious.
The whole point of this plan was to get me into the cairn on my terms, not as a captured victim, which was what the Maker surely wanted. And yet, with every second that passed, it appeared that wouldn’t happen.
I could feel the moon setting and the sun rising. The Maker had said we had until dawn. If I was late…
Lachlan’s life was forfeit.
I glanced toward the sky, which was turning a lighter gray.
We were running out of time. There was no other choice. It didn’t matter how many of the enemy we took out if we didn’t gain any ground.
I’d have to let them take me. I needed to get into that cairn in time. From there, I’d figure out what I had to do.
So I stopped fighting and caught Carrow’s eye, then nodded.
She grimaced but nodded back. We’d known this was a possibility and had a backup plan. Problem was, the backup plan was a bit crap. It was the only one we had, though, and I was desperate.
My heart raced as I waited for a demon to notice me. It took only half a second. Confusion lit his face, then triumph.
“Giving up?” he snarled.
“Hardly.” I hit him with an acid bomb in the arm, just to prove I wasn’t going down on his terms. “But I’m ready to meet your master.”
He growled and clutched his arm. The flesh sizzled sickeningly, and I started forward. “Take me to him.”
He nodded and pressed a comms charm at his neck. “I have her. Come and get her.”
A moment later, a figure appeared at my side. Human. One of the gang members, no doubt. He gripped my arm and chucked a transport charm to the ground, then dragged me into the smoke.
I braced myself and appeared a moment later in the middle of the chambered cairn. The entire thing was one massive stone dome. Flickering torches lit