The twinge of genuine sadness in Lucifer’s voice caught my attention.
He was shaking his head. “You were only ever supposed to be the voice of God. No more. No less. And yet that wasn’t enough. You became bitter. Jealous. So full of pride.”
“You speak to me about striving for more? Of pride?” Gabriel thundered, and I mean, he kind of had a reason to be dumbstruck. “You? You, who wanted to rule beside God?”
“So? I still see nothing wrong with that. What I wanted was the power due to me and for that I was cast to Earth.” A glow began to seep through his skin. “But I was never barred from the Heavens. Tell me, brother, when was the last time you were able to enter the Heavens? When is the last time you spoke to God? Heard the divine Voice? I hear it now. Do you?”
Wait. What?
“Lies,” Gabriel hissed. “You do not hear the divine Voice.”
“Believe what you will, but I’m going to kill you tonight.” Lucifer’s eyes briefly closed. “Know that I will mourn you deeply, if only for a few moments.”
My brows lifted. Moments? He would mourn him for moments? Ouch.
Gabriel drew back as if slapped. “So be it, Satan.”
Crimson streaked across Lucifer’s eyes. “Oh, no, you did not just call me that.”
The archangel flew back, lifting his arms. “I knew you would come to me, child of Michael, this very night.”
My head snapped his direction as tension crept into my muscles.
“So, I’ve prepared my own gift for you,” he continued. “It’s a shame, though, that you will have to witness so many of those you care for perish.”
Movement on the ground drew my gaze to the areas alongside the home. From this distance they were nothing but blobs of different colors and shapes, but I saw enough to know they were demons and there were many.
“How many?” I asked Zayne.
“Hundreds,” he answered, looking across to Lucifer. “That’s a lot of demons mad at you.”
“There will always be demons unhappy with the rules,” he replied. The ever-growing mass continued to bulge out from the house. “Gabriel knew you’d have time to prepare if you learned,” Lucifer answered. “He really did know we were coming tonight. Someone betrayed you.”
Pressure clamped down on my chest. Someone most definitely did.
“I cannot help but think of those angel blades,” Zayne commented.
“Same,” I whispered, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. “How many of your legion were you able to wrangle?”
“Enough,” Lucifer answered.
“And when are they going to get here?” Zayne asked.
“Hopefully soon.”
“Kill the Fallen,” Gabriel ordered. “The nephilim must be alive.”
“I’m kind of disappointed.” Lucifer pouted. “What about me?”
There was no answer as a wave of demons burst forward, most on the ground but some in the air. A few looked like imps, but others... Their wings gleamed white in the moonlight.
“What about us?” Roth announced, stalking out from the wood line. Layla was beside him, her black feathered wings always a shock to see, but not nearly as distracting as the baby dragon perched on his shoulder. I didn’t see the giant kittens.
I hoped they weren’t eating the Wardens.
“That’s a whole lot of demons,” Layla said, iron daggers in hand.
“We got this,” Zayne said, looking at me. “Don’t we?”
I nodded even as my heart started thumping. “We do.”
The line of demons advanced, and I started to draw on my grace when Thumper flew off Roth’s shoulder, letting out a squeak of warning—a squeak which turned into a roar so loud it felt like my bones rattled.
My breath caught as I watched Thumper grow, sprouting legs the size of tree trunks and claws larger than my own hands.
Zayne grabbed me, hauling me out of the way as those crimson wings unfurled, lengthening to a size triple that of Zayne’s. The tail hit the ground, cracking the top layer of grass and soil wide open.
Wide eyed, I watched the dragon the size of two tanks stretch its neck out, mouth open in another roar. Sparks flew from his nostrils as the scent of brimstone filled the air.
Hellions and Nightcrawlers rushed us. They didn’t slow when they spotted Thumper. Instead, they split, veering in two directions.
Roth’s familiars were having none of that.
Thumper’s head whipped to the right, mouth snapping open. Fire poured out, hitting the group of demons, incinerating them.
I stumbled back, bumping into Zayne. “That’s a dragon.”
Zayne steadied me as Roth chuckled. Thumper caught another demon by its mouth. Bones crunched. “And he’s hungry,” Zayne commented.
“Very,” Roth agreed.
“Heads-up.” Layla’s wings lifted. “Incoming.”
The white kitten that was now the size of a small horse streaked out from the woods, leaping into the air. Landing on a Hellion, Nitro sunk his teeth into the demon’s neck, taking the Hellion to the ground. Thumper lifted, snagging a demon up with him.
“The imps,” Roth called out as he strode forward, his skin thinning as wings sprouted from his back and horns protruded from the top of his head. “Eat the yummy imps, Thumper.”
I didn’t even have time to think about that. Golden white spilled down Zayne’s arms and the two sickle blades appeared as a mass of demons reached us.
“Remember the plan,” Lucifer said. “We need to weaken Gabriel.”
“Understood,” Zayne said as I nodded.
Unhooking a dagger, I summoned my grace. The weight of the Sword of Michael formed against my palm as Zayne lopped off the head of a Raver.
A Hellion raced past the kittens and dragon, grabbing for me, but I dipped under its arm and spun around, slicing the fiery sword through its back. I whirled around as Lucifer shoved his hand through the chest of the Nightcrawler.
“You done messed up,” Lucifer growled, yanking its heart out. Flames erupted from his palm and then the Nightcrawler.
Bambi shot out of the mist gathering among the grass, catching an imp and dragging it back to the ground.
Shooting forward, I kicked out, catching a Raver in the midsection. It stumbled back, mouth open and teeth snapping at air. I shot forward, thrusting the dagger into its hairless chest. Hot blood sprayed my face as I yanked the dagger out. I kept moving forward, getting a little lost in the fight and the pumping adrenaline. Demons fell all around us as Thumper tore through the sky, snatching up imps left and right.