Page 53 of Grave Revelations

Samael stood, the chain that followed him dragging behind slow footsteps. “You can go to her right now. If,” he said, circling Azazel, “you accept your place.”

Azazel stared at the crumbling stone throne in the room's corner. Rebecca’s pulsing life-force dimmed.

“Yes. I accept.”

Samael’s deep booming laugh reverberated off the walls as the throne righted itself, sliding over stone and stopping beside Samael’s.

The ember pulsed once more, weakly. She was calling out to him through their bond, but he hadn’t answered. He slammed his fist into the earth.

The throne glowed a bright, blinding blue, and the triangle at its center pulsed once as Azazel felt himself dragged to it. He skidded into the chair, power rolling over him, slithering into every facet of his being. Millions of souls, feeding the energy of this realm, pounded into him, no longer a dull trickle. No longer siphoned through his brother.

He stiffened as the energy reverberated along his very being and into the chair. A conduit. Storage for when he chose to use it. When the process was complete, he launched from the throne, thought of the place he wanted to be, and flew through the portal to Earth.

He glared around the room, taking in dozens of yellow eyes blinking at him. In the center, stretched out across an altar like some sacrificial lamb, was his other half.

Chapter 34

Simon

Simon’s eyes flew open. His chest constricted, not enough oxygen pumping into his veins, his heart stuttering. He grabbed his chest, beating his fist against his ribs as if he could pump life into the organ.

The monitor beside his bed screeched loudly, warning the nurses on duty.

Gasping desperately for air, Simon sucked in sharply, but he couldn’t get enough. Only one thing mattered at this moment: he had to find Rebecca. Had to get to her and save her. Even through the haze of pain, he knew this feeling.

She was dying again.

Nurses rushed into the room, crowding around him. Someone slipped an oxygen mask over his face. Another person in blue scrubs slid his gown apart, revealing his bare chest. A steady beep rang in his ears, but his heart stuttered once, twice.

A shock of electricity tore through him, sending a jolt straight down his spine. His eyes flew open as he heaved in lungfuls of air. The beep to his right began a gentle rhythm, and his vision cleared.

Valentina rushed into the room. She clutched his hand, squeezing skin that was on fire.

He couldn’t speak around the pain, couldn’t beg for them to help her.

The world darkened, and he was pulled into nothing.

Chapter 35

Azazel

They ran at him, dozens at a time. But it was useless; his power was no longer confined to the form he’d been trapped in. He was in pebbles rolling along the floor, the frozen moisture clinging to the walls. He was the very air they sucked into their dead lungs. He thought it, and they dropped, their limbs returning to the earth, drained of all essence.

It was his to control.

Azazel scanned the room, seeking their puppet master. She wasn’t among them.Of course not.

Several more creatures rushed forward, and he turned his gaze on them, dissolving them to dust. More came; they were mindless and would continue until he found their leader.

A soft moan sounded from the dais at the center of the room, stealing his focus.

He destroyed a dozen more, crossing the space in a blink, and lifted Rebecca gingerly into his arms, the chains at her arms and legs dissolving to nothing.

Her essence was so weak; a thread of life barely clung to her.

He bit into his arm, tearing away flesh, and held it over her mouth. “Drink, Light.” He rested his bleeding arm against her lips. The wound began to close, and he lengthened one nail, slicing it open.

She twitched under his wrist, but her skin was warming.

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