Page 44 of Rage of the Fallen

“That leaves Wrath and Sloth,” Justice announced, still searching. “They have to be?—”

Another explosion rocked the chapel. The magical barrier crackled, now more holes than protection. Through the gaps, I made out Maci’s fire, illuminating the sky like hellish lightning. Rage’s laughter echoed through the weakening barrier.

“There!” Justice pointed to a shadowy alcove near the roof beams. “Wrath. It’s almost hidden behind that gargoyle!”

Another blast shook the chapel doors. Through the new cracks, Maci’s fire painted the stained-glass windows in hellish colors. The heat of her breath seeped inside, turning the air sulfuric.

“Last one,” Brody shouted over the chaos, his shield ready as he backed toward us. “Where’s Sloth?”

I spun in place, heart hammering. We were missing one. Just one. My gaze raked every inch of stone, every carved face and figure. The chapel almost seemed to be moving in the flickering light of Maci’s flames.

“Look down!” Justice’s voice cut through my panic. “It’s carved into the floor. Sloth’s lying down!”

Of course he was.

I dropped to my knees, fingers tracing the worn carving beneath years of dust and foot traffic. The figure was barely visible, stretched out in eternal laziness under our feet.

“Guys?” Damon’s voice carried an edge I rarely heard. “Whatever we’re gonna do with these ugly little sculptures, we better do it fast. Our demon pals are about to?—”

The barrier shattered like glass.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

The barrier’s destruction still rang in my ears like broken bells as I dropped to my knees on the chapel floor. Dust and magical residue sparkled in the air, catching the hellfire light that now poured through the ruined doorway. We had all seven sculptures. Pride high on the north wall, Lust and Gluttony near the altar, Greed and Envy flanking the window, Wrath hidden in its alcove, and Sloth beneath my fingers, carved into the stone I knelt upon.

But having them and using them were two very different things.

Maci’s massive head pushed through the chapel entrance, her scales reflecting firelight across every surface. Behind her, Rage’s darkness seeped into the chapel like poison, turning the sacred air thick and heavy. Lisa and Zara still knelt where they’d fallen, drained from their failed protection spell. Justice stood ready with the mirror while Damon and Brody formed a protective line between us and the doorway.

We had seconds at most to act, and I still wasn’t sure how these seven carvings could save us.

“Now what?” Damon backed toward me, blade ready. “Please tell me someone has a plan for these demon sculptures besides admiring the artwork.”

“The artifacts,” I shouted in a moment of sudden clarity. “We need to match them with the carvings.”

Damon snorted. “Some of them are a little out of reach! Unless someone packed a ladder?”

“Justice,” I called, my mind racing as Rage’s darkness seeped closer. “You can reach Pride with your vampire speed. Use the mirror!”

Justice nodded and blurred up the wall like a shadow, his fingers finding impossible holds in the ancient stone. Maci’s fire chased him, but he was too quick, pressing the mirror against Pride’s snarling face. Light blazed where artifact met stone.

“Lisa, Zara,” Brody commanded, his shield deflecting another blast of flame. “Get the crown to Envy by that window. I’ll cover you.”

The witches moved in sync, the crown held between them as they chanted, using their combined magic to levitate the artifact toward the covetous figure. Rage’s shadows tried to intercept, but Brody’s shield spun through the darkness, dispersing it.

“Phoenix feather for Greed,” I called, clutching the glowing plume. “But it’s so high up…”

The phoenix, still perched on her pew as if watching a show, spread her wings. The gesture was clear.

“Oh, this is gonna suck,” Damon muttered as he helped boost me onto the phoenix’s back. “Try not to get barbecued up there, sis.”

Aurora’s back burned hot beneath me as she lifted us toward the Greed sculpture. Maci’s tail smashed into a pew below, sending splinters flying. My hands shook as I reached out with the feather, trying to keep my balance as the phoenix wheeled in the confined space of the chapel.

“Duck!” Damon’s warning came as Rage’s darkness whipped past my head. The phoenix banked sharply, and I nearly lost my grip on the feather. Below, Justice caught a falling piece of timber before it could crush Lisa and Zara, who were still guiding the crown into position.

“The phoenix grass!” I shouted to Brody as I finally pressed the feather against Greed’s grasping hands. Light exploded from the contact, momentarily blinding me. “Get it to Gluttony!”

Brody rolled beneath another blast of Maci’s fire, the phoenix grass clutched to his chest. The sculpture of Gluttony leered down from near the altar, its grotesque mouth open in eternal hunger.

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