by A L Fogerty
“I can’t believe that. I can’t.”
“After everything I’ve shown you, you still reject all that she—and you—can be. You still reject the child you created at the most empowered moment in your entire pathetic life. I tried to give you everything. I tried to save you from destruction. Just remember it was you who refused.”
“Give me my daughter,” Kayla said, swimming through the thick darkness toward the small glimmer surrounding Veronica.
“She doesn’t belong with you, weakling. She belongs with us. Know this, Kayla Redclaw: your child is more powerful than you. She’s more powerful than her father. She’s more powerful than both of you put together. Because she has darkness running through her veins. You will not take it away from her.”
“Give me my child!” Kayla screamed. She grasped for her babe as she reached deep inside. Her one hand clutched at her heart, and her other hand opened toward the love of her life.
“I’m afraid not. Today will be your last day on earth. It is a shame that you will not be here to witness my army march across the land, taking every town and village and city and leaving only darkness alive.”
“You will not have my daughter, and you will not have my soul. My power comes from my heart. It comes from my love. I will not give in. I will not join you. I will destroy you.”
Kayla thrust one hand up to the black sky. A beam of light shot through the darkness and into her outstretched hand. It solidified in her grasp, forming into a glowing sword. The golden hilt glistened, and the blade was as bright as the fiery sun. Energy radiated into her arm, flowed into her chest, and pooled in her heart. It pumped through her blood and filled every vein, nerve, and cell. It pulsed outward, all around her like a shield of light, flowing from her center.
As the energy moved up and down her spine, two points on her back began to itch and tingle. With a deep exhalation, Kayla threw her head back. The points of light broke free from inside her. Two wings emerged, lifting her from darkness and into the light. With the sword of truth and justice in her hand and the wings of the angels at her back, Kayla flew forward, charging toward the dark witch. She grabbed for her baby as she thrust her sword at Veronica. The witch screamed and fell as ashes to the ground.
Kayla caught the baby in her arms and looked down at her sweet face. “I’ll never stop fighting for you, my child.” She held Oksana close to her heart and gathered them both in her wings of light, sending all her love to the baby. As the dark curse dissipated from view, the babe in her arms turned as red as molten metal. Her eyes grew large and black like stones, and her little body wriggled in Kayla’s arms. Before Kayla could comprehend what was happening, the child slipped away from her grasp, floating off through the battlefield.
Kayla found herself astride her steed, her wings glowing powerfully at her back and the sword of light at her hip. Lightning reared under her, feeling the power of her true form as the bond flowed like electricity between them. She grasped her sword and drew it from its scabbard, and she spread its light out across the battlefield. All had been an illusion—all but the blessing of the light.
Kayla leapt into the air, feeling the truth of her embodiment for the very first time. Her dreams had become a reality. She had been reborn again, a hybrid of shifter and angelic being. She stared down at the raging battlefield, knowing exactly what needed to be done.
Chapter Forty-Four
Riddick dropped into his wolf form. He tasted blood on the air and trotted around the edge of the battlefield. The screams of the wounded and dying mixed with the clang of steel and the squelching of penetrated flesh. He sidestepped an attacking demon, whirled, and bit the creature in the neck. The demon screamed as it disintegrated into dust, decimated by the poison of his wolf’s bite. He spat out the acidic taste of demon blood as he trotted onward.
The demon camp was in sight. Creeping around the battle, he spotted Willa’s sister, Veronica Riddle. Her eyes were closed, and her fingers were moving as if working a spell. She was surrounded by other wicked witches, hungry vampires, and scores of lesser and greater demons.
A fire mage jumped through a portal just yards away and blasted the camp. Riddick sidestepped and hurried past, staying in the shadows with practiced, careful movements. As the tents at the front of the camp burned, Riddick continued to the back. Veronica’s tent stood above the others. His heart dropped with the idea that his daughter had been among the demons for so long.
Riddick found the entrance to the tent where Oksana was last seen, ducked through the folds, and went inside. He found a lavish apartment, with fur rugs, a satin-covered bed, silk curtains, and gold and crystal dinnerware. Amazed by the luxurious accommodations, Riddick was momentarily distracted from his cause. When he heard the sound of gurgling from a bassinet across the room, he instantly snapped to attention.
He quickly shifted into human form and hurried to Oksana’s bedside. He looked into the crib and found her kicking off her blanket. He picked her up and smelled the top of her head, drinking in the scent of his child. He detected the smell of demon mixed with her scent. After wrapping her in a blanket, he cut a hole in the back of the tent and slipped out.
The smells of sulfur and rot were strong. Beyond the camp, in the distance, Riddick could see the deep fissure that had cracked open the gates of hell. A throbbing darkness thrummed from the void. His curiosity was so deep he couldn’t help but walk toward it, but Oksana’s cry reminded him he had no time to waste. Turning away from the fissure, he hurried back toward his camp.
“Hey!” came the brutal call of a demon.
Riddick turned, finding a hulking monster before him. It wore only a loincloth, and its mottled skin was covered in warty green bumps. Its mouth was a jigsaw of broken teeth, and spittle slid down the monster’s tongue.
“Where you take baby?” the demon grunted. “No one touch baby. Lord Riddle say so.”
“I’ve been ordered to move her to a safer location.”
“You don’t take baby.” The demon sniffed the air. “You shifter. You die.”
The brute charged at Riddick, wielding a massive, gnarled club. The club swung through the air with powerful force. Riddick ducked easily and scampered away, but the brute was still on him.
“You give back baby,” he demanded, swinging at Riddick again.
With his daughter on his hip, Riddick pulled his dagger and parried the beast’s clumsy attack. The brutal force of the monster’s strength blew him back and nearly knocked his dagger from his hand. In his wolf form, he could poison the beast, but he would have to put down his daughter. He wouldn’t do that.
“Lord Riddle is going to be very displeased with you,” Riddick said.
“You shifter. You die.”
“Yes, but the baby is also a shifter. So how do you know that being a shifter makes you an enemy?”
“Baby is captive of Lord Riddle. You put down baby. You die.”
“No thank you,” Riddick said, ducking another blow. “I prefer to live, but you are perfectly welcome to die.”
“I smash shifter thief.”
“Only if you can catch me.” Riddick ducked low and slashed at the monster’s Achilles tendon. His sharp blade sliced the demon’s leg, opening a deep wound in his flesh.
The monster wailed and hopped up and down on one leg, reaching for the bloodied gash.
“Not so scary now, is he?” Riddick glanced down at his daughter.
She looked up at him and gave him a satisfied smile. It melted his heart.
“Papa,” Oksana said.
“Did you just say Papa?” Riddick asked.
“Lord Riddle!” the demon wailed. “Shifter thief take baby!”
Riddick scanned the camp and found Veronica still deep in a trance. He was safe from her magic for the time being. “I’m afraid your mistress is occupied,” Riddick said, “but I’m not too busy to finish you off.”
He sliced at the monster’s other heel, handicapping him completely. The monster fell to his knees then
flipped over onto his back, reaching for his bloodied legs.
Riddick leapt onto the beast and drove his dagger into the creature’s neck. Blood gushed from the wound, and the demon gurgled, the gleaming darkness in his eyes going dull as he breathed his last breath.
“How about you and I go home?” he asked to Oksana.
He ran as quickly as his legs could carry him over the expanse of the battlefield. When he reached the safety of the other side of the field, he spotted Kayla astride Lightning. Her eyes were glazed over. Her hands lolled weakly at her sides. Kayla should have been shooting arrows at the oncoming demons. She should have been using her magic to squeeze the life out of her enemies. She should have been shouting words of direction and encouragement to her soldiers. A demon approached, charging at his queen with a long, jagged blade in hand.
“Kayla!” he yelled. “Look out!”
Chapter Forty-Five
Kayla leapt into the air, her wings sending her high over the battlefield. She thrust her sword of light toward the gray sky. The clouds cleared, revealing the clear blue. Bright sunlight swept away the darkness. Veronica gaped at her. Kayla smiled and pointed her sword at the evil woman, gathering the strength of her love in her heart. She swept her arm out over the battlefield, and a shockwave of light rippled through the demon hordes. They screamed in pain as their bodies crumbled into ash and scattered in the wind. She gathered her power and thrust it out on the other side. Hundreds of demons fell before her.
Veronica cast a spell, and more demons spilled from the fissure, hurdling boulders at the shifter army. Kayla aimed her sword of light at each stone, shattering them into dust. Giant trolls charged onto the battlefield, swinging their clubs. Kayla gathered her strength and thrust outward at one troll after the next. They went down like the rest.
Veronica drew her witches into a circle, and they began to chant in unison. Soon, the bodies of the dead climbed to their feet, gathered weapons, and began to fight against their own comrades. Mackenzie sent forth her own horde of undead, and two armies of reanimated corpses clashed on the bloody, ash-covered field.
Kayla flew over the din, seeking her target. She came in close to the burning camp. Veronica’s eyes flashed at the sight of the angel before her. The witch bit her lip, and blood dribbled down her chin. She used the blood to create balls of darkness that she flung at Kayla.
On her new wings, Kayla dodged the onslaught. A ball of darkness caught the tip of her left wing, and she lost her balance. Tilting to the side, she fluttered to the ground. Quinn’s healing washed over her, fortifying her with strength.
She strode across the battlefield, the world cast in new light. Veronica and her small coven threw a shield of protection around themselves as they cooked up a counterattack. Three vampires disappeared into a wisp of smoke and reappeared, surrounding her on all sides.
“Why don’t you leave now and save your lives? You cannot best me. Not three of you and not one hundred.”
One of them screamed and charged. He slashed at her with a long steel blade, but Kayla was quick, fortified by Quinn’s shield, and imbued with the power of light. She flicked her left hand at her attacker. He screamed in pain, his body shuddering. He fell to the ground, convulsing as blood poured from his mouth. He fell face-first into the mud. Kayla turned slowly, examining her other two attackers. She opened her palm toward the closest and motioned for him to come forward. He lifted his blade, charging her as recklessly as the last. She sidestepped and sliced him across the back with her sword of light. A wound opened down the length of him, and he fell unceremoniously on his belly without even a final sigh.
“I told you to save yourself,” she said to the last man, holding her sword lightly in her right hand.
She took her battle stance and waited, staring into his dark eyes. The vampire was dressed all in black, and his shoes were soft for quick movements. He circled Kayla slowly. Holding up his sword, he pointed it at her, ready to strike. Kayla rested her left hand behind her back, gripping her sword lightly in her right as she watched her light-footed foe dancing around her.
The vampire disappeared and reappeared behind her, moving to strike at her wings. Kayla had tricks she didn’t even know yet. She moved in a flash of light, opened up her left hand, and released the power she had gathered there. It flitted around him like sparks from a flame, burning his skin. Black circles expanded from the center of the burns until every inch of him had been eaten away. He screamed as he disintegrated.
Kayla turned toward Veronica, cocking her head to the side. “Is that all you’ve got?”
“I have so much more,” Veronica said.
A wave of pulsing darkness filled with screaming demon faces rose like a tsunami from the circle of witches and rushed toward Kayla. Kayla spread her agile wings and flew into the sky. The wave missed her but continued toward her army—she had to stop it. She pointed her sword at the noonday sun and pulled its energy inside her. She whirled, releasing the light from her left hand. It shot into the dark wave, spreading from the center until the dark magic had disappeared.
Veronica screamed curses, hurling dark-magic balls at Kayla as quickly as she could. The angel darted around each one. She flew high then dove at the witch, but Veronica’s coven shielded her with their power and their bodies.
A fire mage threw a spell at Kayla, but she dodged and dove again, her sword at the ready. She cut off the witch’s head in one thrust. A telekinetic witch shoved her with her energetic power, blowing Kayla backward with tremendous force. She flapped her wings, trying to regain control, but she was hurtling fast toward the ground. She caught herself just feet from the muddy earth and whirled to face the witches.
Charging on quick and nimble feet, Kayla sprinted toward them. The telekinetic cast another spell, but Kayla flew above the onslaught of energy and thrust her sword through the witch’s heart. The body fell, and she yanked her sword free from the corpse.
The other three witches gathered together, chanting their spell as a portal opened and a herd of tiny demons flew toward her. They surrounded Quinn’s shield and began to eat away at it. She was caught off guard as repulsion and disgust wriggled down her back. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, put both hands on the hilt of her sword, and aimed it at the ground. She drew the light through the top of her head, up through her feet, and into her heart. When she was full of power, she thrust her arms open with a scream. A light erupted from her heart, flowing around her in every direction. The tiny demons popped like corn, and the dust of their bodies littered the ground all around her.
Kayla gathered the remaining light in her palm and thrust it toward the three witches. They liquefied like oil, screaming as their bodies melted into the ground. The only one left was Veronica. As Kayla fought to regain her focus, the witch climbed astride a black steed.
“The Lord of Darkness will defeat you!” Veronica screamed, kicking her horse.
It charged toward the fissure. Kayla launched herself into the air. She would not let Veronica escape. The hellhorse galloped over muddy stone, its hooves beating into the ground. Kayla held her sword in one hand and gathered the power of light in her other palm. Her wings beat forcefully, carrying her over the land.
Veronica looked over her shoulder, panic in her eyes. Kayla pushed faster and flew in past the witch. She landed in front of the horse. The steed stopped short, rearing up and violently wheeling its front legs at the threat. Kayla took her battle posture, holding her one-handed sword at eye level.
Veronica tried to rein her horse around the alpha queen, but Kayla shook her head. “I don’t think so.” She let loose the power she held in her palm. Veronica screamed, tumbling from the horse as the light of Kayla’s magic disintegrated the demon steed. The witch rolled on the ground, her black dress and hair getting covered in wet soil.
“That’s a good look for you,” Kayla said.
The witch growled angrily, her pride as hurt as her body. “I was going to leave you alive, shifter scum. But
now, I will kill you.”
Veronica clapped her hands together then spread them wide over her head. At the same time, a great wall of darkness grew from the ground behind her. The shadow took the shape of a demon with red eyes and sharp teeth. Veronica thrust her hands forward. The shadow demon stepped toward Kayla.
Kayla twirled and sliced at the shadow creature’s leg. Her sword went straight through, but it did not harm him. His hands grabbed at her wings. They went right through her, but the pain of his touch was unbearable. She felt her wings singe and the feathers wither. She turned and sprinted away. She couldn’t touch him, but he could harm her. She gathered the power of light in her heart and thrust it toward him, but it passed right through.
That was when Kayla realized that the being was not real—it was an illusion. As he charged toward her, she ran at him. At the last moment, she ducked between his legs. In that split second of distraction, she thrust her sword straight through Veronica’s heart. The witch’s mouth dropped open as blood streamed over her lips. She grasped at the sword that had impaled her, looking down at it in disbelief. Her eyes grew dim as her body became limp and heavy. She fell to the ground and slid off Kayla’s sword with a thwack.
“He will destroy you,” Veronica whispered as she died.
Chapter Forty-Six
Riddick threw himself onto his horse’s back, holding Oksana close to his chest. He couldn’t linger on the battlefield any longer, even as his mate destroyed the army of darkness around them. Kayla’s transformation had struck him dumb, but then he knew the battle was won. His fight was over. His only mission was to bring his daughter safely home. He kicked his horse’s flanks and slapped the reins, encouraging it into a quick gallop. His horse charged over the muddy ground, speeding toward the portal that would take him back to the safety of the mountains.
Oksana whimpered against his chest, fretful from her ordeal. After a fast ride, he charged up to the portal. Riddick pulled his horse to a halt in front of the small regiment of shifters who had remained to protect it.
