Page 87 of Death Deals

His brows knitted, unsure. “Yeah, but are you sure—”

“No, I’m not, but then where would the fun be in that?”

Raising his weapon to aim again, he dipped his chin in acknowledgment.

At the sound of his gun, I was off and running.

With extreme accuracy, Cole was able to knock down any Halfling that got a little too close as I dashed across the street and onto the dock. Monnie spotted me right away and grinned his terrifying tooth-filled grin.

“Running into my arms now?” Monnie called. He lunged for me, but I spun, kicking out with my boot. It nailed him in the head, and he growled, rearing back.

“Didn’t you catch on by now? I like playing hard to get.” I sliced him across the thigh deeply enough to show bone.

Roaring in pain and rage, his hands grabbed for me. As I hopped away from one, the other managed to land, throwing me sideways. I hit the dock with enough force to rattle my teeth. The knife flew out of my hand and slid across the wet boards before taking a dive into the water.

“Shit!”

“Jade!” Cole’s cry echoed in my ears, and more bullets rained down, pegging Monnie in the chest. His skin melted away from the Holy Water, but he shifted closer to me.

As he stepped into the light of the single light post, Monnie’s shadow blanketed me in darkness.

“I admit we’ve had our fun,” he said, his voice rising, “but the game’s over now.”

Without my power, I was done for. It was the only thing that could kill a demon. My power and, well, an angel sword…

As Monnie reached for me, I went into myself and called to my inner light, like I had in the Omaris’ theater. I felt it at the center of me, attempting to strike up again.

I had been able to call to it without pain before and without my Ascension. Eli had said that should have been impossible, but I’d done it. And how? I’d simply believed in myself. I claimed myself as an Archangel, admitted to myself I deserved it, and it had awakened.

Maybe my power was like a spellcaster’s, in that it took confidence to trigger it. Confidence in myself and acceptance that, despite my mistakes, this was who I was.

As the thought formed into my mind, energy rose, snapping alive inside me as if I’d finally found the trigger.

I’m an Archangel.

I repeated it over and over in my head.

I’m an Archangel.

With each pass, my power built to confirm my words. Soon, my entire body was buzzing with energy, and when I opened my eyes, the white wisps of light covered me head to toe.

Not wasting another second, I harnessed my newfound strength and said the one word I knew would save me.

“Bertha.”

There was a fierce pop, the atmosphere tearing open, and suddenly, light pulsed in front of me. In my hand, the handle of my angel sword appeared, followed by its long, deadly blade. The light snaked up its length, swirling and sparking, accepting me as its owner.

As Monnie grabbed for me, I thrust the sword up and pierced him through the chest. He stared down at me, eyes wide with shock as my power crackled violently and spread across his skin.

“Sorry, but the deal’s off,” I said and gave the sword one more good push. Light flared, drowning us in brilliant whiteness.

When the light extinguished and the harbor came back into view, Monnie was gone but Bertha, my sword, was still in my hand, covered hilt to tip in demon blood. I stayed like that for a moment, my chest heaving, unable to believe what had just happened.

Then, I turned to see every one of my friends standing there, staring at me in utter disbelief. From the look of it, the Halflings had been eradicated with their master, leaving the docks mostly empty. Even the vortex Hell pit was gone; only the quiet, smooth waters remained. Like it had never happened.

A bit dumbstruck myself, I looked at my sword. My reflection stared back at me in the shining metal, and I smiled.

I knew you’d be back.

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