“I promised you no such thing!” I giggled, darting a hand out to ruffle his feathers, but the sexy, winged jerk got away quickly.
We slipped into the gym just in time for the climax of the priests’ speech, the townspeople focusing on the three men with rapt attention and their blessed weapons ready. Zach, ready with a copy of the good book in hand, recited a passage from Deuteronomy.
“When you go out to war against your enemies, and see an army larger than your own, you shall not be afraid of them, for the Lord your God is with you. And when you draw near to the battle, the priest shall come forward and speak to the people and shall say to them, ‘Hear, O Israel, today you are drawing near for battle against your enemies: let not your heart faint. Do not fear or panic or be in dread of them, for the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.”
He closed the book with a firm slap of the cover, raising his gaze to those of his townspeople.
“This will be unlike anything we’ve ever fought before, my friends.” Zach’s voice projected with authority and confidence throughout the large room. “These demons are literally the stuff of our nightmares, and they will be counting on us to be terrified, to run the other way. But they have forgotten one very important thing.” His mismatched eyes scanned over everyone in the building. “We are human. This is our world. We have an angel, God’s First Daughter, and God himself on our side.”
People started thumping their feet, clashing their weapons together in camaraderie. Az and I exchanged a knowing look—we both tasted the fighting spirit, the faith and determination in the air.
“They’ve tried, but they have not succeeded,” Zach shouted passionately, “in taking everything from us. And we won’t let them!”
“YEAH!” Everyone shouted now, feeding on their own energy, cultivated by the three shepherds who had never led them astray.
“Are you ready to show them what humanity is made of?!” Zach demanded.
“Fuck yeah!” Jason shouted, a chorus of support roaring behind him.
“I’ll be damned, succubus,” Azariah mused. “We just might have a chance.”
“I hope so.” No one spoke or dared to think of what failure would mean. Anything but an outright victory would be beyond devastating.
It would be the end.
The wind whipping around us had a strange coldness to it, not the ashy brimstone we usually encountered on a daily basis. Azariah’s holy light shining down on us from above provided some warmth, but the eerie chill was penetrating. These hellions must have come from the bowels, the deepest parts of Hell that not even heat from its eternal fires could permeate.
Zach stood to my left, roughly a hundred feet away. The holy fire engulfing Joan’s blade flickered, a beacon of hope in the swirling, dark fog. Stavros stood somewhere another hundred feet to my right, barely visible. It was mid-morning, but dark as night.
Across town, Kais commanded his squadron of civilian fighters. And above us, Azariah could see all. Together, we braced ourselves and waited for the inevitable. Our task was simply to prevent as many demons as possible from reaching the gates of Bethel.
“Hellions coming up fast on Kais,” Az reported, his voice radiating power as it reached us. “Looks like they’re going for the maximum amount of humans.”
“Want me over there?” I yelled up.
“Nope. Already on it, sweet cheeks.”
Az’s dim glow turned overpowering, lighting up the sky like a miniature sun that illuminated the battlefield. Waves of hellions covered the landscape, their generals at the back of their formation. Some marched on us uniformly, like swarming ants. Others were misshapen, their movements slow and disjointed. Those would be the easiest for the humans to take out, so I focused on the organised units and their general.
No one gave an order. With one glance and nod to Stavros and Zach—their support warming me to my bones—I started running.
Better to catch them farther away from the gate, I figured.
The ground shook beneath me as I took off, Azariah’s holy light temporarily blinding. But it spurred me on, my surroundings blurring as I picked up speed. Power and strength coiled within me, eager to be unleashed on the hellions attacking us.
I have to save the best for Kimaris, I reminded myself as the hordes came closer.
When Az’s glow didn’t completely subside, I looked