Page 80 of A Shadow of Betrayal

“A Demon,” I rasp out, jerking in his grip, kicking at his legs, and doing everything I can to break free.

“Oh, Pup. I'm so much worse.” Razar laughs, his deep rocky voice rolling over me, and I grit my teeth, lift my hand and stab my Kalis straight into his chest on the right side, making him roar in pain. He releases me, and I immediately bring my hands up to cover my ears, Razar’s bellow of pain is too much for me to handle as I stumble away from him, falling on the snowy pathway only feet away from the now trembling man.

Razar groans then laughs, doubling over, his hand moving to the hilt of my blade, big fingers wrapping around it before he yanks it from his chest and looks up at me from hooded soulless black eyes.

“Wrong move, Pup,” he growls, dropping the blood-covered blade to the snow beneath him. Razar’s hands shake violently as he growls, his eyes growing, his fingers spreading, and bones cracking before he falls to the ground. The sound of shredding fabric is all I hear, and I watch in the soft glow of the moon's light as black fur erupts over Razar’s body as it doubles… then triples in size.

“Oh, fuck….” I whimper, my hands and feet pushing me back several more feet in the snow, needing to put space between us. Only a second later, I watch as the large black Demon tilts its head back and releases a bone-chilling howl to the night sky, so loud that I have to cover my ears again as I scream in fear.

Shouts and hollers come from behind me, someone from the Castle obviously seeing or hearing the commotion as the wooden doors creak open, and the torches on the side of the Castle burst to life, granting me my first clear view of the Demon in front of me. Jumping to my feet, I stare at the monster in horror, recognizing its huge size and stature as it growls under its breath. Its large dinner plate-sized paws clawing at the snow-covered ground, its soulless black eyes trained on me and me alone. It appears unbothered by the Hunters and Rangers shouting through the Castle just as a loud horn echoes through the air in a warning.

It's the same Alpha Demon from the Ranger Games that stopped me on the path. I shake my head and look down at his shoulder, finding a newly formed scar on its chest and a slightly older one on its shoulder…

“It was you?” I ask, my voice cracking in fear as I look at the Demon that attacked me the night I saved Creed. The one I stabbed in the shoulder with my old throwing knives… the one that let us live.

“Meyer!” I gasp and look as Jordan rushes down the steps, bow in one hand, sword in the other, fear clearly etched on his face as he stares at the Demon only a few feet from me. The Demon finally looks away from me, its black eyes training on Jordan as it bares its teeth, black venom dripping from its canines as Jordan sprints for me.

“No, stop!” I shout at Jordan and the Demon as it crouches low, its ears flicking back, ready to attack my friend. Jordan pulls up short, his panicked green eyes staying on the Demon as more Hunters and Rangers pour from the Castle.

“Back up,” I instruct, one hand outstretched toward Jordan and the other at Razar.

“Like hell!” Jordan clips out, glaring at the monster in front of us.

“He won’t attack if you don’t,” I rasp, making the Demon huff in response.

“How the fuck do you know that?” Jordan retorts, anger and fear in his voice.

“Back up!” I shout, making Jordan startle and step back. The Demon… Or I guess Razar, snarls again as the Hunters sprint down the stairs. I’m just about to tell them to stop, to see if I can lure Razar away from here without any bloodshed, but before I can utter a single word, the men halt on their own, still several paces away from where I stand with Jordan and Razar.

Confused, I look over my shoulder and watch as a big man steps inside the gate, his long hair hanging around his face, his previously green eyes glowing with death as he holds the DeLuca Senior’s severed head in one hand and a massive ax in the other.

“What the fuck?” Jordan whispers, confusion filling his face as our Regalis Senior slowly stalks into the warm glowing light of the courtyard.

“What is the meaning of this?” someone shouts, and I look up, finding Senior Axford and a few other members of the Seniorem walking down the stairs. “What is going…” Axford's words trail off when he makes it down the final step and looks up, seeing the giant Demon standing near me and Lennox by the gate. “Regalis,” Axford snaps, his graying old eyes moving to Senior DeLuca’s head and swallowing when he sees the small blood trail that it has left in Lennox’s wake. “What are you doing? Why is the beast still alive?” he shouts.

The Hunters look at Lennox, then Axford, some shifting one way and a few the other. No one willing to get in the way of the strong Umbra Hunter and Demon glaring at each other.

“Arthur Axford,” Lennox sneers, tossing the head he is holding to the ground in Axford’s direction as a horse with a wagon pulls through the gate, Creed holding the reins. “I have a gift for you,” he chuckles as men slowly appear from the shadowy corners of the courtyard, closing in on all sides. All of them are dressed in black and all holding weapons, only… they are pointed at the Hunters and Rangers, not the Demons.

“This is treason!” Axford yells when the head of the former Seniorem member rolls over the snow, stopping only inches away from his booted feet. “Kill him!” Axford demands, holding a trembling finger up to Lennox, earning a dangerous growl as Razar moves from my side and stands protectively by Lennox. I watch in stunned silence as Creed jumps from the wagon, his eyes moving to me for just a moment before he swallows and looks away, pain etched in his features.

“Why the hostilities? We have simply answered your call,” Lennox chuckles. “You wanted a royal Demon? The King of Hell, did you not?” Lennox mocks as he moves, striding closer to the older man. As he moves, his shoulders grow, his skin shifting from a warm golden tone to almost a gray color.

“My father sends his regards,” Lennox grinds out as he grows larger and larger in front of us. My breath starts to come in short pants as Jordan steps closer to me, his eyes widening in horror as his fingers lace with mine. “But he sent us in his stead. I do hope I’m not a disappointment,” Lennox sneers, black magic sparking at his now taloned fingertips, matching the giant curved horns resting on top of his head.

“Shit!” Jordan whispers, tugging my hand, trying to get me to step close to him. “Meyer, we need to find Theo and get out of here,” he whispers into my ear, and I nod in agreement as black magic explodes from Lennox in a wave, making several of the Hunters in front of him drop to the ground, unmoving. Axford gapes up at the giant Demon Lennox has become, his mouth moving, but no sound coming out.

“You have outlived your worth and bring shame to a once proud society,” Lennox snarls, just before he raises a clawed hand and strikes, letting them rake through the paper-thin skin of Axford's neck, and I watch in horror as his head slowly slides to the side, tumbling down to join Senior DeLuca’s. Axford's body drops with a thump, and I can feel fear around us.

“Now!” Jordan whispers. “We have to go now!” he yanks on my hand, tugging me to follow just as Lennox's black eyes flick over to me, his smile growing, sharp fangs hanging over his lips as he shakes his head and tsks under his breath.

“Stop them,” he commands, the men dressed in black moving behind us, and at Lennox’s nod, they grab Jordan and me, tearing us apart.

“No! Stop!” I scream when Jordan tries to fight, and I can feel tears sting in my eyes.

“Lennox! Stop, please!” Creed shouts from where he stands near the wagon. I give him the dirtiest look I possibly can before I glare back at Lennox, who smirks in response, looking like he relishes my fear and distress. I struggle against the man holding me as the other men move in, surrounding the Hunters that came out of the Castle.

“Take the Castle. Bring me all the senior ranking members, and put the Rangers in the holding cells to be questioned,” Lennox commands.

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