As Tarron and I fought, my heart thundered and my skin chilled.
A quick glance at the Dark Necromancer showed that she was frowning.
She was onto us.
I couldn’t kill Tarron. I wouldn’t.
Not again.
Not ever.
The idea tore me apart inside.
Tarron and I danced around each other in a circle, our blades raised. But the energy in the air changed. Malevolence prickled against my skin, and as I looked up at the Dark Necromancer, I spotted a silver bolt of lightning flying right at me.
It was too close.
I dived right, taking a hit to the leg that made my entire body shudder. My stomach heaved, and I almost vomited.
Tarron turned toward her and roared, his wings flaring behind his back as he launched himself into the sky.
No!
He wanted to protect me, but I needed to be the one who got hit.
The demons who guarded the air above the fence flew toward him, and they clashed in midair.
As long as the Dark Necromancer was conscious, she could take us out with her lightning. She could possibly even control us with a snap of her fingers, binding us tight.
I dragged myself to my feet and met her gaze high above.
She was pissed.
I waved my arms. “Come at me, you bitch!”
12
She raised a hand that sparkled with lightning, and I grinned.
A howl of rage escaped her as she shot it right at me. I braced myself for impact. A massive bolt of electricity slammed into me, and I reflected it back to her. The electric current slammed into her, throwing her back against the wall. She slumped to the ground.
Hell yeah.
She was so delicate from walking around in a rotting body that she might even be actually dead.
I’d toast her death with a double Manhattan when I was back on earth. And if she wasn’t dead, I’d be coming back here to finish the job.
I spun in a circle, looking for the best way out. Above, Tarron fought off the six winged guards. He’d taken out two with his blade, but there were still four more.
I called upon my wings and launched myself into the air, flying toward the closest demons.
Two of them turned to me, their eyes bright red and their leathery black wings flapping hard. They were huge, with bulging muscles and long black claws.
Given all that bulk, they were probably pretty slow. I darted upward, narrowly avoiding their swords, then plunged downward to behead the closest one. His skull thunked to the ground below. The other turned to look up at me, roaring his rage.
Tarron hit him from the side with a fireball that lit him up like a bonfire. The other two guards were already alight.
“Come on!” Tarron roared.
The crowd went wild as we flew overhead, throwing daggers and beers at us. They were pissed we weren’t fighting anymore.
“Bloodthirsty assholes!” I shouted down at them as I dodged the blades.
Tarron hit them with blasts of flame, and they screamed, scrambling to get out of the way.
I looked up toward the Dark Necromancer, praying that she was still out cold. As soon as she gained consciousness, she could bind us with her magic.
Thankfully, she was still a collapsed lump against the wall.
She deserved it.
We hurtled toward the exit. The crowd cleared out, racing to get away from Tarron’s flame. If they weren’t careful, he’d fill this place with rock and crush them all, just like he’d done at my childhood home.
Finally, we reached the door and landed at a run. Tarron yanked it open, and we raced through the darkened corridor.
“How much time do we have left?” I shouted.
“Five minutes,” he called back over his shoulder. “No more. Maybe less.”
Crap.
As we raced toward the end of the hall, the door opened. A half-dozen guards spilled into the narrow corridor, and my skin chilled.
No time.
Burn appeared a half second later, right ahead of us, growling like he was possessed. He charged the guards, his thorny hide shooting spikes at them as he ran.
They peppered the guards, making them howl. Two disappeared back through the room, and Burn slammed into the other four. He tore into them with his fangs and gouged with his claws.
They howled and struck out with their blades, but the attack just ignited the Thorn Wolf’s magic, making him bigger and stronger.
Within seconds, three of the guards lay dead on the ground. The other scrambled to get away and disappeared back down the hall.
We reached Burn and the fallen guards.
“Thanks, pal.” I raced past him and leapt over the bodies of