Page 100 of Viper

Ella’s guards rushed out of their car behind hers and began charging forward.

More strix came sprinting across the field on her right, as if they’d been waiting there.

The rest of the Black Saints materialized, Viper included, and shed their jackets in a wickedly fast movement.

All hell then officially broke loose.

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Ella fumbled for the door handle, ready to jump out and join the battle, when she noticed something that made her freeze. “What the … ?” The strix were volleying balls of hellfire at the Black Saints—that was normal enough—but the angels were retaliating with ultraviolet orbs of who-knew-the-fuck-what.

Mia leaned forward. “Whatisthat stuff they’re conjuring? It’s not holy fire, and it’s not hellfire.”

“Maybe it’s some combination of both.”

Somethingblastedout of Viper. A shimmering, ultraviolet wave that rippled through the air.

And sliced its targets in two.

Ella flinched back, her demon as impressed as it was leery. “Well. Fuck.”

More of those waves were tossed around, killing multiple demons at a time.

Hearing a vicious muffled curse, she looked to her left to see Razor baring his teeth at a strix. He whipped out his arm, telekinetically throwing it at another demon that had been fast approaching, sending them both flying to the ground. Yet another flip of the same arm sent a third strix soaring right over Ella’s car and into the grassland beyond it. All three strix were on their feet again within moments, only to be taken out by a series of ultraviolet thingies.

Her heart jumped when a cluster of strix surrounded Kasper and Arman.

And killed the guards in seconds.

She hissed in anger, clenching her hand on the steering wheel. “Jesus Christ. We have to—” She started in surprise as a strix approached the front of the car, sniffing. Its red eyes zipped from her to Mia, a combination of intrigue and bloodthirst there. The demon coiled its body, preparing itself to lunge.

Ella grimly smiled. “That’s it, motherfucker, come on.”

It pounced on the bonnet but then shrieked as electric magick shot through its feet and surged through its body. Its eyes rolling back, it violently convulsed as it toppled backwards and fell to the ground. A puff of ashes ballooned up, telling her that it was dead.

Viper’s psyche bumped hers, and his voice floated into her mind:I’d be wasting my breath telling you to stay in the car, so instead I’m going to tell you to watch your back.They like to pounce from behind.

As a thought came to mind, Ella turned to her sister. “I have an idea.”

Hyped up on adrenaline, rage, and protectiveness, Viper grunted in satisfaction as yet two more strix burst into ashes. Typically, he wouldn’t rush a battle. But Ella was stuck in the middle of this one. She could take care of herself just fine, yes, but there were many strix here. So Viper kept hurling one archangelic blast after another, cleaving in half several demons at a time.

He didn’t have to worry that any humans would arrive and see things they shouldn’t. He’d instantly thrown a forcefield over the area to conceal them—a forcefield that for anyone outside it would give the illusion of ‘roadworks ahead’ traffic signs.

Surrounded by the scent and sight of blood and death, Viper’s entity was high on sadistic glee. It was particularly enjoying watching these strix die, because they’ddaredgo near Ella. She hadn’t been their target, but it didn’t matter.

A roasting hot orb connected with Viper’s head, burning his ear, making him hiss out a pained curse. He whirled to find his new attacker and—there. It was in the process of hurling another orb at him. He squatted low, evading it, and then lobbed several orbs of unholy fire at the demon. Only once it was ashes did he briefly check on his brothers, noting that none had allowed their inner fire to cover them in flames, careful what they permitted the sisters to see.

He glanced at Ella’s car.

And his gut dropped.

She and her sister were both fucking hanging out of the sunroof, back to back, as strix charged the car. Their palms crackling with vibrantly colored magick, their lips barely moved as they chanted low and fast; ramming the aforementioned strix with magickal strikes.

Normally, Viper would have sat back and enjoyed watching Ella wield her magick. Right then, his focus was on the battle.

A focus that shifted to his left as more demons rushed him.

Viper grunted as an orb of hellfire smacked his already charred skin, popping blisters and making his skin sizzle. More came, and he batted them away with orbs of his own before slicing the bastard in half with another lethal blast.

---