Page 31 of Fated Angel

“We do not wish harm on humanity,” they say. “The obsidian and the Spear will ensure we stop the imposter. We stop the Sins.” They step forward once more. “Give them to us.”

Gabby’s already shaking her head. The Grigori may not be the evil she thought they were, but they’re willing to kill millions of lives to do what they believe—right a wrong.

“Human lives aren’t interchangeable,” she says fiercely. “You can’t wipe the slate clean and start again, it doesn’t work like that.”

Although the Grigori don’t move, Gabby senses their disappointment. Their sense that this moment was inevitable.

And their fury.

They blaze brighter and brighter, making her squint. Even though the glaring light hurts, even though she wants to protect her eyes, she keeps her sights on the enemy. Colt’s wings expand and hers explode, doing the same. They create a wall of black on one side, white on the other.

Heaven and Hell fighting side by side.

The Grigori flare brighter, bleaching the whole world in white. There’s so much light it feels like Gabby’s eyeballs are burning with it. She and Colt lift a few inches into the air, preparing them for the power being amassed. The power about to be unleashed on them.

One final explosion of blinding pearl and the Grigori disappear.

Leaving behind a world that feels darker.

Leaving behind a new circle of death.

Vladimir smiles coldly, dozens of his cult members fanning around him. “Why is it that you never seem to learn that choices have consequences?”

12

Colt

Colt lunges, unable to stop himself, and flies directly at Vladimir. His attack runs through where the man was, and Colt nearly falls over as he collides with a man behind him. His hands grip his shoulders and push, and Colt falls backwards into Gabby’s arms.

“You truly thought it would be that easy? You killed me once, demon, but it was only temporary.” Vladimir crosses his arms and red magic flares in his palms. When he takes a battle stance, he’s holding a Damascus short-sword in each of his hands. “My witch brought me back, and this time? This time I won’t be so easy to defeat!”

“No witch can create immortality, Vlad!” Gabby snarls as Colt takes his own battle stance, summoning his sword. Gabby reaches for the Spear in her bag, but remembers a moment too late that she’s no longer carrying it. “Guess I just get to pummel you with this!” Gabby grins and holds her hands out to her sides, summoning celestial fire in her palms.

For a second, hesitation flashes over Vladimir’s face, but the look vanishes in a blink. “I don’t fear you or your fire fingers, little girl!”

“You should,” Colt laughs, shifting his weight to guard Gabby’s back as she flaps her wings once and hovers off the ground. She’s glowing so brightly he swears he can see a halo above her golden curls, but there isn’t time to be sure.

One of Vladimir’s lackeys lunges, swinging a dagger, triggering the others. All around them the enemy closes in, shrinking the circle, and the moment they fall to Colt’s blade or Gabby’s fire, another one replaces them.

Vladimir’s laughter draws Colt’s attention as he swings his arm and removes a useless head from an equally useless pair of shoulders. “You can never win,” Vladimir calls in a sing-song voice. “My witch is bringing them back to life. Every single one you kill, the one behind rises back up!”

“Asshole,” Gabby cries.

They see Vladimir sitting on a fallen beam and watching the battle rage. Colt narrows his eyes. There seems to be a glow of witchcraft around him, a glow that pulsates and dims for every man raised from the dead or killed.

“Funny, last time I faced you, you fought your own battles!” Colt snaps.

Vladmir curls his lip but doesn’t move.

To test his theory, Colt turns and swings his sword in a wide arc, slashing through the center of four men in one blow. He turns his head before they fall and watches the glow around Vladimir spark and pop for a second before blazing back to power.

“Did you hear that?” Gabby hisses quietly, as she reaches over Colt’s shoulder and blasts a fireball at a group of men running at them. The energy pops, disappears, and pops up again.

“Hear what?” Colt asks, turning and running his blade through a man running up behind her.

“Close your eyes and listen, I’ve got your back,” Gabby whispers in his ear.

Colt obeys, feeling the heat of her fire growing behind his shoulder blades as she lets loose a significant beam of energy. He hears the pop, feels the magic dissipate, but when it recollects around Vladimir, Colt can hear a shrill scream of pain somewhere in the distance.

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