Page 43 of Rage of the Fallen

Maci’s chest glowed with hellfire, the scales lighting up like hot coals. Her wings spread wider, and the air seemed to burn as she prepared to rain death upon us, the temperature rising until sweat streamed down our faces.

Lisa and Zara’s spells crackled through the air like lightning, their voices strong but strained with effort. Brody’s shield spun in a deadly arc, taking down three demons at once, but hundreds more were coming. Damon’s blade flashed in the dim light as he kicked a smaller demon back into the horde. Justice raised the mirror, its surface catching what little light remained. His bodytensed to protect me even though he was still weak from the possession.

We were surrounded, outmatched, with locked chapel doors pressing against our backs. The carved stone angels above the entrance watched our last stand with empty eyes. Dark shapes writhed in the morning mist, more demons than I could count, their red eyes burning with hunger. My team’s ragged breathing told me everyone was running on empty. Too much fighting, too little time to recover.

The world narrowed to this moment, this last, desperate stand on sacred ground, with monsters at our throats and holy artifacts in our hands. Time seemed to stretch like taffy as I reached for the hourglass, knowing I had seconds at most before we were overwhelmed.

I held it up, its glass warm against my palm. The weight of everyone’s lives pressed down on me as Rage’s demons surged forward. “Inside Rosslyn Chapel.” The words came out as both prayer and command.

The phoenix clasped the hourglass in her massive talons, and power rippled through me like a lightning strike. It started where her claws met the artifact, then surged up my arms and into my chest until every nerve ending screamed with holy fire.

My bones felt like they might shatter from the raw energy coursing through them. Wind ripped through my hair, hot and cold at once, carrying the scent of ancient stone and sacred power. The force of it stole my breath.

Colors spun around us, gold from the sunlight, crimson from Maci’s flames, and violet from Lisa and Zara’s spells bleeding together like wet paint in a whirlwind. The world became a kaleidoscope of light and shadow, sacred and profane. I caught glimpses of my team’s faces, distorted and stretched like reflections in funhouse mirrors. Justice’s golden healing marksblazed in the chaos, and for a moment, I was terrified we’d be torn apart again.

Then I was lifted off my feet, the ground disappearing. My stomach lurched into my throat as gravity released its hold. For one terrifying moment, I was suspended in chaos, unable to tell up from down, my team’s faces blurring around me. The only constant was the burning sensation of phoenix power coursing through my veins like liquid starlight. Time lost all meaning. It could have been seconds or centuries.

I landed hard. Cold flagstones pressed against my palms as I gasped for breath, each inhale burning like I’d swallowed fire. My skin tingled with leftover energy, little sparks of phoenix power dancing along my nerves. The world spun around me like a carnival ride, and my head felt stuffed with static.

The abrupt silence after the battlefield’s chaos was almost as disorienting as the journey itself. Gone were the demon shrieks and the sound of combat, replaced by the holy quiet of the chapel’s interior. My body trembled, every muscle aching like I’d been struck by lightning.

I groaned as I moved to a sitting position, every muscle protesting the movement. Black spots danced at the edges of my vision, and I did a quick scan of the chapel’s interior, counting heads. Brody was helping Zara to her feet near the altar while Damon leaned against a pillar, looking like he might be sick.

Justice raced over to me, his vampire speed making him appear almost instantly at my side. The concern in his eyes warmed something in my chest. After everything he’d been through, his first thought was still my safety. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” I managed, though “fine” was relative when your whole body felt like it had been torn apart and put back together wrong.

Bam-bam-bam!

The chapel doors wavered, ancient wood groaning under supernatural force. The sound echoed through the space like thunder, making the stained-glass windows rattle in their frames.

“We have a problem.” Lisa wobbled over to us, her face pale from the magical transport. She had to grab a pew to stay upright. Magic residue still sparked at her fingertips as she pointed toward the entrance. “The chapel isn’t warded. They’ll be able to break in any second.”

“Well, that’s awesome.” Damon pushed himself off the pillar. “Magical teleporting bird drops us in a chapel with no protection. That’s some grade-A planning right there. Any other surprises? Maybe the floor’s actually lava.”

Another crash rattled the hinges. This time, splinters of wood scattered across the floor.

“Everyone who can stand, get ready,” Brody ordered as he moved to the center of the chapel. “We didn’t survive everything else only to fall here. Form a defensive circle. We protect each other, or we die trying.”

Outside, Rage’s laughter mixed with Maci’s shrieks. The chapel’s acoustics distorted the sound into something even more terrifying.

I raced toward the chapel pillars, my gaze darting over hundreds of carved faces. Which ones represented Pride? Wrath? More splintering wood behind me made my heart jump into my throat. Ancient stone angels and demons blurred together in the dim light.

“Found Gluttony!” Damon shouted from near the altar, his flashlight beam highlighting a grotesque figure with an oversized mouth. “Though I gotta say, not the prettiest decoration for a church. Who builds a chapel full of demon art, anyway?”

Justice’s vampire speed made him a blur among the pillars. “Here—Lust!” His voice echoed off the vaulted ceiling as he pointed to a figure wrapped in sinuous curves, its face twisted in eternal desire.

Lisa and Zara’s joined hands trembled as they maintained the barrier, sweat beading on their foreheads. Blue protective light flickered like a dying bulb across the doorway.

BOOM!

The entire chapel shuddered. Dust and small pieces of stone rained down from the ceiling.

“We need more time,” Lisa gasped.

I scrambled onto a pew for a better view, scanning the higher carvings. There, was that Pride? The figure stood tall and arrogant, its chin lifted in eternal defiance. “Pride’s up high on the north wall!”

“Greed and Envy are here,” Brody called, gesturing to two figures flanking a window, one clutching a bag of coins, the other reaching for something beyond its grasp.

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