Page 81 of Lethal Souls

“Take cover!” Devlin screams. The men around me scramble and shout at the top of their lungs. I hear Rowan and Killian calling for me, but I stay in place.

Something tells me not to move, not to run. It’s like a whisper in my mind, a guide. And that’s when I realize the flames are hitting something—an invisible barrier. The flames are pouring out from the beast, but they’re not touching land.

A buzzing sensation crawls over me again, and my ears twitch. I feel them before I see them.

Hassha and Korah appear on either side of me, glaring up at Selah as her dragon continuously heaves flames at the barrier.

“Glad to see you haven’t abandoned us.” I take a thorough look at both of them. Both are dressed in gold armor with their hair braided and hands lit in colored flames.

“Don’t start your snark right now, Caspian,” Korah mutters. Just as quickly, she flies toward the barrier, leaving a cloud of dust in her wake. I look at Hassha, and her glowing eyes narrow briefly at me before she joins her sister.

I watch as they release beams of light to hold the barrier in place, but the dragon is relentless. Selah jumps off the dragon and floats directly above them.

“I can do this all day, sisters!” she yells.

“And we will hold our stance all day if we must.” Hassha’s voice should be farther away, but I hear it like I’m right beside her. Like she’s talking to me too.

Another Regal ability, I suppose.

“Ah…but not if I do this.” Selah tiptoes along the barrier, withdraws a sword of flames, and stabs it into the invisible wall. She rips across it to create a hole no larger than a window. The only reason I can see the rip is because it’s bordered with fierce orange light.

The ground shakes, and I step back, watching the dirt and rocks rattle beneath my feet. Another looming shadow hovers above us, but it’s not made of a single person or thing. There are hundreds of shadows combined to create one.

Creatures similar to how Warren looked during his final days clamor over each other as they crawl along the invisible barrier. I hear their hissing from all the way down here, and it doesn’t take long for them to slip through the gap Selah created and make a rapid descent into my territory.

“No!” Hassha screams, throwing a hand at the first batch to drop. They explode in her light of fury, but that doesn’t stop more from joining.

Move. Now.

I frown when I hear a deep voice in my head. It’s definitely not Willow’s.

“Killian, Rowan!” I spin around but they already have their guns pointed at the sky. “Those guns won’t do.”

“Some of the swords are already done.” Killian rushes to one of the vehicles and opens the trunk. “Here!” He tosses one to me and another to Rowan.

Some of the creatures land on the roofs of houses and buildings before dropping to the ground and storming my way.

They’re coming for you. Don’t let them touch you.

For fuck’s sakes. It’s enough having Willow’s voice in my head. Now I’m hearing another?

“What about us?” Devlin asks, watching the creatures grow closer with wide eyes.

“Well, that depends, Devlin,” I say, eyeing him. “Are we allies or enemies?”

“Of course we’re fucking allies! Now toss me a sword.”

Killian tosses a sheathed sword to him and the several other Rippies who tagged along. We load our guns with Luxor ash bullets as quickly as possible, but the first creature strikes, clawing at one of Devlin’s men and sending him flying toward the tavern.

I withdraw my own sword just as one leaps into the air. Thrusting my blade upward, I slice him through the center, and he screeches before hitting the ground. Black liquid drips to the hilt of my sword, but I fling it off just as another creature comes for me.

Rowan swipes at his head and sends it scattering.

“They’re coming in fast,” Killian yells, shoving his blade into another.

“Oh, how I’ve missed slaying with a sword,” Rowan laughs, pivoting before stabbing one of the creatures in the back.

Devlin roars behind me as he strikes, taking down multiple creatures at once.

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