We are all surprised when the demon appears right next to her, watching her out of the corner of his eye like he is unsure how to respond or act around her. “What is your plan, walker?” he snaps. “To just storm in there, you and your men?”
She grins, not even glancing at him. “Why don’t you wait and see, Lucy?” I know she’s calling him that on purpose now. His face contorts in a sneer and I think he is debating throttling her, so I slip between them and grab her hand, holding it as we head back to the top of the dungeons. She stops at that door and looks at Nos. “Get them ready, it’s time.”
She looks at us then, her face softening. “Now’s your chance to turn back, you don’t have to do this, they might kill us.”
“We do this together,” Griffin snarls.
“Together.” I nod.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Jair adds.
“Little Monster, it’s time to put our actions into words, we will follow you anywhere.”
She sighs as the wolf inserts his bark to the chorus of agreements, wearing a brilliant smile on her face as she looks around at us. “Then let’s kill the council.”
She turns and swings open the dungeon doors. I pull her back as the monsters from below boil upwards and out, their claws, teeth, and anger filling the air. They want revenge, they want blood.
They will get it.
I send a whisper to Griffin’s mind and watch as he breaks away to do as I ask. I watch the outpouring of monsters from the dungeons, more than I even knew existed, never mind know how to name.
There are wolves, snakes, witches, nymphs, vampires, and so many more. All angry, all looking for blood. It’s chaos at first. I hear screams farther down the hall, and I know they have found some guards. Laughing, I feel my mates press closer, but I’m not afraid.
Not of these monsters. No, the council should be terrified, not me.
They are lost. They are like us, like me. They are mine.
I gather my power and direct it to them in a surge. Every eye turns to me, all waiting, watching—they know I set them free. They don’t know why, but if left alone they would fracture and fight each other, maybe even be captured again, and I can’t let that happen. I need every single monster here if I am to get to the council. Even now, I can feel them calling upon their nephilim, and when Griffin returns with the information I requested, he nods at me.
“As you thought, they are closing the doors, and the nephilim are lining up before them like lambs to slaughter,” he snarls, mad at his own people for letting themselves be used.
“If they wish to die for the council, we will oblige.” I grin and he smirks.
Looking back at the gathered monsters, I raise my voice and infuse it with the power inside me that seems to know what to do. “They stole you! They mistreated you, tortured you, and locked you away! They left you in the dark!” I yell, and roars, howls, and shouts go up among the monsters, making me grin evilly. “Let’s show them how wrong they were, let’s show them why they should be afraid of the dark!”
Looking them over, I carry on, “Anyone who wants to leave, do so, anyone who wants blood and to get even, follow me.” With that, I look at Nos. “When we get inside the council room, when they think these are the only people we have, you will know...bring in your army. Let’s not show all our cards at once, this will be a war, not just a battle.”
Done with waiting, I push through the masses, and they part for me. Hands, paws, tails, and... tentacles reach for me, running across my body, across my power. I feel their solidarity in their touches. Monsters are seen as creatures to fear. To lock away and forget, and they are tired of it, they are tired of being hurt for just being themselves. In me they see their future, they see a hope.
I feel it.
I reach out to as many as I can as I pass, touching them, letting them feel my intent and power—I know they could turn on me just as easily. They are a deadly, faceless horde, but they won’t attack me. Not yet.
I have to prove to them that I’m worthy of their loyalty first.
When I reach the end of the hallway with my men, I spot some dead guards on the floor, so I step over them, my bare feet squishing in their blood as I leave gory footprints behind me. Blood is still dripping down my face and chest, drying in places and flaking, and in my hand I have a surprise for them.
Grinning, I head to the chambers, up the stairs, and into the entryway where hundreds, if not thousands of nephilim are waiting, all still, all holding weapons, their eyes empty and cold. They move as one as they step forward, nothing but hollow soldiers. How they can differ so much from my feeling fallen, I have no idea.
They are nothing but toys, tools even. Griffin’s a tool for sure, but a different kind.
I heard that, don’t make me kill you again.
Laughing out loud, I smirk at the army. “Well then, shall we begin?” I suggest, before turning to Lucy and passing him my surprise. “Hold this, won’t you?”
He narrows his eyes and I wink. “There will be plenty of people for you to kill.”
He takes it as I spin to face the nephilim, my eyes flashing black as my voice goes deadly and saturates with power. “I will bathe in your blood.”
We surge forward, not as one, but as a boiling mass of anger and hate. We rip through their masses, screams of anger and pain ringing out. Blood rains from all angles, drenching us, and the nephilim take to the ceiling to fight. I spot Griffin tearing through them while he laughs. Nos rips out their hearts and tosses them away. My wolf is here and severing limbs from them. Jair slashes throats and breaks necks as I search for Dume.
Suddenly, a mighty roar shakes the whole building and we all freeze, even the monsters as we turn, fear swelling inside us at that sound. It’s the call of a bigger monster, a bigger predator, but when I see who it is, I laugh.
Dume.
Fully changed.
He stands from his bent position, and I pant as I watch him. His head almost reaches the ceiling, and his body wider than the doorway, so when he steps forward, he crashes through the walls on either side. His horns are curved and scarred, his bull coming out to play. He’s bigger and meaner, and those red eyes lock on me amidst the fighting. He smashes his hooves into the floor as I hear another voice.
“Oh, we are changing. Watch this then.” Aska snorts and I spin to see him there one second, with intestines in his hands, and then suddenly his dragon takes his place. Its jaw opens, flashing purple as he snarls at everyone. His tail whips out and smashes into nephilim, sending them flying backwards. Those serpent eyes blink as he looks around before meeting my gaze, then he lumbers closer on four taloned feet, which carve grooves into the floor.
Little Monster.
Change, show them who we are.
So he does. Nos shifts into the creature he thought I would fear—into my forest god. I turn back to the guards, and for the first time I see fear flicker in their eyes. They know they are going to lose. Faced with my monsters, they are terrified, but they still follow orders. They dive back into the fray as the noise of screams and fighting begins again.
I watch Aska rip the souls from people, cutting them like strings. A nephilim lands on his back, but he flaps his wings and impales him on his spikes by smashing him into the ceiling. Looking around, blood covering my hands and claws, I meet Lucy’s eyes where he’s standing, watching it all go down with a smile on his face. He feels me and turns his head, his red gaze meeting mine.