Sariel’s chant grew louder, and through the rip, I could see shadows descending. Twisting, bat-like shapes emerged from the tear in the sky: Nephilim, tainted spirits born of blood and debauchery that hungered for souls. Sariel had brought five Watchers through already, and the Yellow Fever that now claimed tens of thousands of lives would not end until we destroyed the ones who brought the Harrowing down on Charleston.
Columns of light flared, one from each corner of the burying ground where my allies had concealed themselves. Inside each warded column was a powerful magic user: witch or warlock, mambo or houngan, even a Cherokee shaman. The shimmering light lit the open field more brightly than moonlight, and as I watched, the light began to stretch out between the pillars and over our heads, until we were enclosed in an iridescent dome.
Magical barriers prevented whatever came through that rift from harming those outside the dome or from retreating back from whence they came. If our magic was strong enough, Sariel would not be able to bring more of his minions through the rift, and his Harrowing would end with his destruction.
Until then, we were trapped inside, along with Sariel and his Nephilim.
“Now!” I shouted, and my allies cast off the charms and spells that had hidden them from Sariel’s view. They rose from the shadows, and power surged in arcs through the air, hitting the Nephilim and Watchers. The monsters shrieked and screamed, twisting as our magic consumed them. The air smelled of sulfur and decay.
A dozen Nephilim had come through the rift along with the five Watchers. We had our hands full. I ran for Sariel, sword raised. Gunfire would not harm him; that, we had learned the hard way. But the steel blade in my grip had been spelled by a master witch, and it gleamed a cold, blue light as if it were eager to taste blood. Samuel stepped between us and leveled his gun at me.
I felt the bullet from Samuel’s gun tear through my chest but I kept on going. Another shot, another sharp, agonizing pain, as a second bullet ripped into my left shoulder. Still, I ran. That was why we had left Sariel and his son for me to battle. I was hardest to kill. I dodged the next two bullets, and the fifth grazed my temple. I was close now, and before he could shoot me point-blank, I dove and rolled, fast enough to move out of the way in the instant between the pull of the trigger and the flash of the muzzle.
Samuel screamed a curse and turned on me with his sword, tossing his gun to the side and drawing a knife from his belt. He was no longer fully human and it showed in his quick reactions and in strength nearly equal to my own. Sariel saw us close on each other, but the magic onslaught from my allies kept Sariel out of our fight. My allies kept the strikes coming, positions always changing, moving targets Sariel could not find to hit.
“You have been judged and found guilty.” Samuel announced as our swords met each other. “I will be your executioner.”
“Not today.”
Unlike his father, Samuel was mortal. His enhanced abilities came from an amulet on a leather strap around his neck. I could see the strap now, and as my blade screeched down the steel of his sword, Samuel buried his knife hilt-deep in my belly. I gasped, but took the pain, stepping toward him to slash my knife across his neck, severing the leather strap and then, reversing course to slit his throat.
Samuel’s body toppled to the side and I nearly fell with him. Dark blood spilled out from the gash his knife had torn in my abdomen. My bullet wounds were already healing, but they hurt like hell. And as Samuel’s body hit the ground, Sariel finally realized what I had done.
“My son!” he screamed, mad with rage. Sariel turned on me, the other attackers forgotten, and gathered his power for a fatal blast.
I raised my sword and prepared to fight, resigned to my own destruction.
A blinding flare of light struck Sariel squarely in the forehead, and he froze. Blasts of fire burned at Sariel’s back, followed by cold so sudden and intense that it raised a heavy skin of ice over his entire form, immobilizing him. Wave upon wave of magic struck him, and only then did he realize that I was