at my hands and saw holy light radiating from me. “Thanks for the juice, Az.” I smiled before refocusing on my target.
With a sweep of my arms, I took out rows of hellions easily, their forms vanishing into dust as I cut through them like butter. I extended my fingertips, shooting holy light and pulses of my own out as far as the eye could see. Nothing got past me. They wouldn’t even get within throwing distance of Bethel.
I cut a straight line through the unit, heading straight for the general, a multi-headed fucker with male and female faces by the name of Dantalion.
“The succubus!” multiple mouths wailed in unison.
That was all they got a chance to say.
I pulled John from his sheath, the blade a shining gold as I cut across my body, and severed all twelve of Dantalion’s heads from their necks. Black sludge poured out of the gaping wounds as the body fell. I was careful not to let it touch me as I whipped around, taking out another horde of hellions who tried to attack me from behind.
Running across the field to the next general, each step was like a flying leap across the landscape. And I had barely dented my power reserve. Az was right—I really was an energizer bunny.
The area surrounding Bethel was barren and charred to a crisp, thanks to the hellfire and complete lack of sunlight. So a stag with an impressive rack of antlers was nothing if not a suspicious sight.
I stopped my run at the base of the hill from where the animal watched me, holding John at my side. “Who are you?” I demanded.
The stag’s ears flicked as it watched me wordlessly. It had to be a trap. No prey animal could survive out here.
I sliced the air in front of me, concentrating my strength as my body tingled with power. “This is your final warning. Name yourself!”
An awful screeching sound emerged from the stag, like metal grinding on metal, as batlike wings sprouted from its back. Its front hooves turned into humanlike hands with long, dark claws.
“You don’t slaughter your brethren and make demands of me, traitor succubus,” the demon bellowed. “I, Ferthur, will ensure you are begging for death when I return you to Kimaris!” His wings spread open to the sides as he dove off the hill, heading straight for me.
I clasped John in both hands and held the sword ready like a baseball bat. “You always were a liar, Ferthur.”
The demon’s claws extended as he reached for me, that ear-splitting scream ringing in my ears before I swung. John tore through his wing and the trunk of his body. He didn’t cut through as easily as with Dantalion, so while Ferthur thrashed with my sword embedded in him, I grabbed his antlers.
With a sickening crunch, I pulled and twisted the demon’s head to an impossible angle. Of course that didn’t kill him, but it kept me from getting stabbed by antlers as I finished the job. I yanked John out from his ribcage and hacked at Ferthur’s neck until he was just as dead and decapitated as the last general.
I panted slightly, watching his body dissolve into nothing. That took a little more energy, but I was still in decent shape. I could take out another general or two before going back to Az to top myself off.
My decision made, I wiped the black, sludgy demon blood off of my blessed blade and carried on.
“You’ll pay for this betrayal, whore of humans!”
“Tell it to someone who cares.”
I drove John right through Ouras' stupid horse mouth, silencing the demon once and for all. Leaning heavily on the sword, I rose to my aching, tender feet.
Two more waves of hellions and their generals had emerged from the fog, and I used more precious energy on them before I could get to Az or my guys. My run back toward Bethel was at a more human pace now, my lungs laboring with effort, and John feeling significantly heavier in my hand.
I didn’t see many hellions left, but it was still so dark out. I could only hope I was following the correct lights back into town, and another demon wasn’t trying to lure me into a trap. A whooshing sound came from above me and I spun defensively, raising John on instinct.
“Deyva, it’s me! Where have you been?”
“Az!” I cried with relief. He was burned out too, his holy light dulled to a faint glow, with ash and