I want to kill them. I need to kill them, now more than ever. I had planned to hunt them down before all this happened. And now here they are standing less than a dozen yards away from me.
And there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.
“There’s the bad man. The very, very bad man,” they coo in unison as they walk closer. “And look, he’s with the bad lady. Naughty, mean lady who hurt us. Bad lady.”
Fire builds inside me, and I feel my rage boiling to the surface. “I hurt you? I hurt you?” I scream. “You murdered my friends! You ruined my life!”
They look at each other and smile. “Yes… your little friends were nice enough to die easily,” one of them says. “They gave us what we wanted and left peacefully. But you… you put up a fight. You didn’t give us what we wanted. And that hurt us.”
“I still bear the burn,” the other whimpers and points to a small mark on her otherwise flawless skin.
“Oh, boo freaking hoo!” I shout. “My whole insides are shredded! You destroyed my heart! You took away everything that mattered to me, and I swear to Satan I will kill you for it if it’s the last thing I do. I swear on the life of my unborn child, I. Will. Kill. You!”
They erupt in giggles again and look at each other as if I’d just told an amusing joke. “And there’s the bad man who caught us and made us go to that awful place. You weren’t very nice to us, so we don’t think we want to be very nice to you,” they say in unison.
“Do your worst, you little bitches,” Kieron growls, and they smile again.
“Oh we will… we will,” one sing-songs. “You have some very good powers that will come in handy for us. We’ve never eaten a Legionare Latros before.”
“And you ain’t starting now, sweetheart.”
They smile their adorable dimpled grins and turn to the Belith leader beside them. “Thank you for our presents. We love them!” They clap their hands with excitement and lean up to give him a kiss on each of his cheeks. He beams, obviously proud to be at the receiving end of their attention.
“It was no problem,” he says. “And it was my pleasure. The two demions are all yours to do with as you like, and the human girl is just a bonus. No one else wants her.”
“Oh, thank you! Yes, she has many admirable human traits. We’ll make good use of her, we promise.”
By sucking out her soul the way you did to Kayla and Michael?
“And we kept the demion girl alive, like you asked,” the Belith leader continues. “But have you heard about her situation with the Light-angels? If they catch her, they have an all access pass into our realm. Best to kill her as soon as possible.”
Just great…
“Oh, do not worry about that,” they chime. “We swear she will be dead within the hour.”
“Good enough. We’ve settled on the terms, so they’re all yours. Have fun.”
“Oh, we will… we will,” they coo again.
A single tear drips down my cheek, as I feel the familiar weakness take hold of my body once again. I’m powerless to fight it. My time is up, in more ways than one. Liora is coming, and then it will be all over for both of us.
And maybe it should be.
I turn to Kieron and give him a sad smile. “Thank you for loving me… all of me unconditionally. I hope I see you again in another life.”
“Lucky…”
As the darkness falls over me, I have one final thought:
Okay, Bones. I’m coming home now.
********
I’m not sure where we are, but I know those faces looking back at me, and I’m consumed with a rage so white-hot I feel like my hair and skin are on fire.
“Liora, don’t move!” Kieron commands. “You have a deadly choker on, and one wrong move—”
“Yes, I know,” I say calmly. How I know is unclear. But I do. Just as I know that the Amazèa are standing here in front of me, and they think they’re actually going to hurt me and Kieron and Corrine. They think they will take our life essences, our energy and our powers, and kill us, like they do everyone else.
Think again, little girls.
A strange serenity settles over me. Everything has led up to this precise moment. And now that the time is here, I couldn’t be more ready.
And these little demon bitches haven’t the slightest clue.
Chapter 30. Liora
My blood is on fire, churning with an unbridled energy I’ve never experienced before. I feel unlimited powers just waiting to explode from deep within. But my mind is clear – calm, keeping my fury at bay for the moment while I assess the situation. There are at least three hundred Belith down there. The Amazèa demons are front and center, with the Belith leader standing beside them. Kieron, Corrine, and I are up here on some sort of stage with our arms strung up over our heads and death collars around our necks. And one look at each of them tells me the Belith have had a good time torturing us.
But I feel no pain. My mind gathers the information. Blanks are filled in. Questions are answered. Data is filed. Plans are made. Moves are plotted.
Corrine trembles beside me, tears running unchecked down her face. “Corrine, look at me,” I say calmly.
She glances over and frowns. “Le-Liora?” she asks, a confused look in her eyes.
I give her a small smile and nod. “Be strong. Be brave. No one will hurt you unless you let them. Got it?”
She just stares at me, her eyes wide. I turn to Kieron. He looks at me with open astonishment. “Liora?”
“Protect Corrine. She will need you.”
“Liora, what’s—?”
They seem to appear from thin air. One second they’re standing in the clearing several dozen yards away, the next, they’re just a few feet in front of us. They’ve obviously sucked the soul of a teleporter. Wonder what other tricks they have up their sleeves.
“It’s time for us to play with you,” the Amazèa sing.
I give them a smirk. “Funny, I was just thinking the same thing.”
I grip the rope above my head. Streams of electric fire shoot from my fingertips, zapping the bindings and allowing my hands to fall free. In a flash, I whip the enchanted rope like a lasso and curl it around the neck of the Belith leader. I hold up my other hand to the Amazèa. My arm shakes with the effort as the energy radiating from my palm momentarily stuns them, then sends them flying off backward into the crowd.
I move confidently, as if in a dream… a dream that somehow I am able to control.
“We lose our heads, you lose yours!” I scream to the leader, and pull on the rope around his neck. I imagine it being made of the finest wire, sharp enough to slice a diamond. The noose tightens. His eyes bulge and blood starts to drip down his neck.
“What’s she doing?” he yells to the stunned Amazèa. “Stop her!” They get up and start to brush themselves off.
“If I die, you die!” I shout. “Take these off us right now. Now!”
The throngs of Belith jostle uneasily, unsure what to do. Many have their weapons poised, ready to attack.
“Stand down!” their leader shouts to them. “This isn’t part of the deal. I’m not losing my head for this crazy bitch!”
I aim my electric fire at the ropes binding Corrine and Kieron, setting them free as well. A guard standing just below the stage looks up and starts toward us, brandishing his sword. I reach forward, and instantly the blade is in my hand. I give it to Kieron and repeat the process with another guard, this time handing the deadly weapon to Corrine.
“Liora, what—?” She’s obviously terrified, but she takes the sword firmly by the hilt.
The Amazèa are watching all this with fascination, but I notice the Belith leader still has made no move to release us.
“Here, I’ll make it easy for you!” I yell out. I aim my deadly fire once again. He screams in agony as his hand falls heavily to the ground. I close my eyes and mentally summon the appendage to me, and like the two swords, it flies instantly into my hand.
“That
was for hurting my friends!” I hold the hand to my throat, touching the fingers to the choker. “Now say the spell!”
He clutches his forearm in agony. “You crazy… you bitch! You—”
I focus my eyes on him like a laser. “Say… The… Spell!”
His face suddenly becomes blank, and he chants, “Solvo signum quod exsisto permissum haud vulnero fio cado absentis quod exsisto solvo.”
With a soft click, the orange band releases and falls to the ground. I pass the hand to Kieron as I make a large fireball. “Say it again!”
A few seconds later, Kieron’s choker releases, followed by Corrine’s. “Keep an eye out,” I hiss to Kieron.
“It’s all clear behind us,” he says, scanning the crowd in front of us. One of the benefits of being a Latros Demon— the three-sixty degree vision.
“What do we do now?” Corrine asks, holding her sword up like a bat. She looks around wide-eyed, her muscles straining under the weight of the heavy blade. I remove my hand from the spinning fireball and place it on her arm. I feel my energy flow into her, and she gives a little cry.
Suddenly, she stands with a renewed strength, wielding the sword as if it were but a feather.
“You’re free,” the Belith leader yells, still holding his wounded arm. “Now take this thing off my neck!”
I shake my head, and focus my thoughts instead on imagining an invincible shield around the three of us. I can see it perfectly in my mind – an invisible, impenetrable force-field encasing us. I don’t know if it’s actually working, but it feels like it is. Guess I’ll soon find out.
“We’re NOT free!” I shout back at him. “We’re surrounded by hundreds of enemy demons, and the Amazèa! If I take that off you, we’re as good as dead! You’re coming with us!”
“Liora, what’re you doing?” Kieron asks, as I start to pull on the rope. The huge demon slowly moves closer. One quick tug and his head will be coming off, and it’s obvious none of his followers want that. Demon tribes are notoriously loyal and protective of their leaders. The Belith have no choice but to just stand and watch.
“I’m taking a hostage,” I reply.
“But… how are we getting out of here?”
I think about that for a moment. “Good point. I need to find me a teleporter to drain.” Kieron stares at me, dumbfounded.
“Drain?”
“I’ll take their energy and use it as my own. And right now the only ones I know who have that power are those two little twats right there—”
My glare lands on the Amazèa, who are watching us, obviously amused. Oh, how badly I want to kill them right now. “Here, hold this.” I hand Kieron the rope.
“Wait, Liora—”
I take a few steps toward the end of the stage. “What’re you so afraid of?” I taunt them. “Why are you just standing there? Here I am. Come and get me.”
They turn to each other and smile. Then they each slowly raise a hand. Instantly a barrage of enormous fireballs, several times larger than mine, comes hurtling at the stage. Corrine screams and ducks, and Kieron instinctively shields his face with his arm.
But apparently this barrier I’ve created in my mind is somehow working. About five feet before they reach us, the fireballs are deflected and ricochet back into the Belith crowd. Dozens are incinerated on the spot. Another wave of fireballs comes at us, but these also are turned back onto the crowd, zapping even more of them.
Chaos now ensues. Instantly the pit becomes a storm of fireballs and flaming arrows and streams of electric smoke, all directed at us. I feel them hit the shield, but miraculously, they all either ricochet again on the crowd, or fall harmlessly to the ground.
“Stand down!” the Belith leader screams again. “I said stand down!” But no one seems to be listening. He’s close to us, but obviously not under my protective shield. A huge fiery arrow is sticking out of his leg.
“Don’t let him die!” I yell to Kieron. “He’s our only leverage!”
Kieron’s face is grim. “How the hell am I supposed to stop that?!” He points to the arsenal being fired at us again. “And why are we not fried to pieces right now?”
I’m trying to expand the protective shield to include the leader when I realize I can’t see the Amazèa anymore. Their tiny bodies are lost amongst the chaos and confusion. Like a bee hive that’s been disturbed, angry Belith are swarming everywhere. I know that taking my attention off them would be fatal.
Another rain of flaming arrows comes at us, followed by more fireballs and streams of electric fire. Again the shield protects us from the assault, but doesn’t completely protect me from feeling the impact.
Then I see them, two tiny bodies rising above the crowd, holding hands and smiling. They float higher, closer, as my heart pounds wildly.
Kieron spots them, too. “Holy crap!” Still holding the rope in one hand, he raises his sword with the other.
“What? They can fly?” Corrine screeches, and raises her sword as well.
Suddenly the Amazèa lift their hands, and a moment later the head of the Belith leader is flying off into the crowd. His body immediately turns to ash at Kieron’s feet.
Stunned, for a moment the mob doesn’t move. Then, as one, it suddenly erupts in a torrent of blinding fury… directed at us.
Oh crap.
The huge throng rushes forward, and their impact on my shield actually knocks me back several feet, where I stagger to my knees. I hear Corrine scream. She drops her sword and runs over to me, but all I can see are the two Amazèa demons as they float still closer. Now the Belith have begun to turn their aggressions on the Amazèa, shooting arrows and throwing fireballs, and even knives and swords. But the Amazèa seem to be projecting their own protective shield, and nothing is able to penetrate it.
However, unlike me, they don’t seem to be the slightest bit fazed by the barrage. They smile serenely as countless arrows sail around them, and even giggle when huge fireballs bounce back on the demons who threw them.
But I’m not finding it so easy. My energy is starting to fade, and my body begins to shake and strain. The air is getting hotter. I can barely breathe, and it’s all I can do to keep our barrier intact. For the first time I feel my confidence begin to wane. Tears fill my eyes, and as I wipe them away, I see blood on my hands.
Perhaps the Belith will somehow find a way to kill the two assassins. But that hope is quickly dashed as the Amazèa wave their little hands over the mob, and for a moment the fighting comes to an abrupt halt.
But only for a moment.
As if under a single, silent command, the entire crowd of Belith suddenly turns in unison and stares at us. Then, like conductors of an orchestra, the Amazèa flick their hands again. Instantly, all the weapons in the demonic Belith arsenal are aimed in our direction. I see more swords than I can count. So many fireballs it looks like a blanket of lava. And the cackling of electricity is nearly deafening.
I reach deep inside and gather what remains of my strength. As the Amazèa get closer, I stagger to my feet. I don’t know if I can continue to fend off the Belith… probably not for long. But there’s no way I’m letting these two little monsters win. No way.
I look over at Kieron. He’s building and shooting fireballs, one after the other. But I’m sure he knows they won’t be any more effective than throwing sand against a brick wall. Not with the insane firepower aimed at us.
“Liora!” Corrine screams.
Immediately Kieron moves to stand in front of her. Good. Right now all my energy needs to be focused on one thing… don’t let them get through this shield!
An eerie silence falls over the crowd… the calm before the storm. Then a tiny voice sings out, “Destroy them!”
I concentrate on keeping the shield intact, as the assault comes fast and furious. The pain I feel is excruciating - like thousands of lashes all over my body. I’m lifted off the floor and slammed back down, again and again, as the shield is attacked without mercy.
I scream. I’m
using the last of my strength to keep up the faltering shield, but I feel myself weakening. I dig deeper… desperately seeking the last reserves of power to keep us alive.
I scream again, and the air fills with the sounds of my wail. I lift my arms in the darkness as I drain the last of my energy.
I’m screaming a piercing, deafening scream. Blood trickles from my eyes and ears, as everything grows dark. I cannot do this anymore. I cannot stop this. We are going to die.
I’m helpless, lost in the screaming darkness as the violent assault pounds me again. The screams grow louder and louder, coming at me from every direction.
The screams…
…the screams…
…. They aren’t mine!
My whole body is numb – shaking. But I’m not the one screaming.
I open my eyes. Everything appears blurred, but I can see that the Belith have turned their attention elsewhere. Slowly, the excruciating pain lessens, and I can breathe again.
“The Legionare is here!” I hear Kieron shouting from somewhere.
“What the hell is that?” Corrine screeches. For the first time I notice her kneeling next to me.
I force myself up and again try to wipe my eyes. My vision is still blurry, but I can see enough. And what I see shocks me to my core.
Flying low over the storming crowd is a long, white, serpent-like creature. This is the source of the terrible, ear-splitting screaming. Bullets of fire shoot from its mouth with pin-point accuracy, incinerating its targets one by one.
Suddenly, dozens of Hellhounds, each of them larger than an automobile, appear from every direction and begin to attack the Belith. They tear through the crowd, ravaging everything in sight. All descends into chaos and confusion, as I sit, stunned, and watch the terrible scene unfold. I am only vaguely aware of Corrine and Kieron beside me. The Hellhounds have now been joined by several large black men built like gladiators, and wielding enormous axes. They slash at everything the Hellhounds haven’t destroyed.
The Complete Demonblood Saga Page 66
