Page 45 of The Darkest Night

The red pulsing inside her grew brighter. A shape took form in the bottomless depths of her soul. One that had been dormant for thousands of years, waiting patiently for her body to be reborn. A weapon meant for her and her alone.

Mae clenched the medallion hard enough to cut her skin.

Please.

She felt the pendant absorb the smear of blood on her palm and heard the pleased sound that left it. A name danced through her consciousness, the weapon’s low growl filled with menace.

“Hellreaver,” Mae whispered.

Fire surged in her blood as the weapon’s power fused with hers and Brimstone’s. The world slowed. Sound faded.

Mae thought she heard someone scream her name.

Power erupted inside her, so glorious and heady it filled every corner of her body with searing, crimson light. Strength flooded her, turning her bones and muscles to steel. Magic infused her every cell and pore, to the point she didn’t know where it started and where she ended.

Her eyes snapped open in time to see the devil’s lightning-wreathed blade dropping toward her.

Mae spun the fifty-inch, dark, curved dagger in her hands, fingers clutching the central hilt with its knuckle-duster guard with practiced ease.

Sparks exploded as Hellreaver blocked the devil’s sword, the sound of the impact booming across the clearing. The dagger’s double-bladed edges morphed into serrated teeth that chomped down on the black blade, metal grinding hungrily on metal.

A vicious smile twisted Mae’s mouth, Hellreaver’s beastly energy bolstering her core.

Someone gasped behind her.

The devil swore and yanked his sword out of the weapon’s jaws. His eyes bulged, his gaze locked on something past Mae. He retreated a few feet, dark wings spreading behind him as if readying for flight.

The Dark Council witches and sorcerers fell back with horrified cries. Even the red-haired man stumbled and withdrew several steps, head tilting.

A shadow fell over Mae. She looked around. And up.

Her stomach lurched.

Brimstone towered over her, his body now some fifteen feet of brawn and potent magic. Flecks of drool dripped from his giant muzzle. His gleaming teeth and claws were as long as her forearm and his fur a mix of rich midnight black and dazzling hellfire red. Mae’s gaze rose past his glowing eyes to the powerful nine tails sprouting from his tail bone, each one vibrating with immense energy.

That’s his true form?!

“I see you are as deceitful as ever, demon,” the fox growled at the devil.

Mae’s mouth fell open.

“He can talk?!”Miles sputtered at Violet.

“Damn fox!” the devil spat. “I wish Azazel had never saved you from your fate. You deserved the death that was promised to you!”

The nine-tailed beast lowered his head and glared at him, pupils dilating and constricting.

“I may have been born evil, but I atoned for my sins,” he hissed. “Which is more than I can say for you, demon. Does your hatred for Azazel linger, that you would help a mere human? You, who used to lead Heavens’ troops?”

The devil’s expression turned ugly. “Do not speak of sins and atonement, you foul spirit! Azazel is the biggest sinner of them all. He taught mankind magic, a wicked deed for which he was rightly punished. The Sorcerer King will help reverse his lack of good judgment!”

Brimstone straightened, his eyes full of ancient wisdom. “So much time has passed, yet you still do not see the motivation for my master’s actions. There is no hope for you, fiend. I wanted to reason with you, but I see there is no point.” He stole a look at Mae before pawing angrily at the ground, his claws raking deep grooves in the dirt. “You have chosen to make an enemy of my bond; hence, you are now my enemy too.”

“Stop talking and attack them, dammit!” the red-haired man roared at the demon, spit peppering his chin in his rage. “You promised my father you would fight them!”

The devil’s expression turned icy. “That was before their awakening. Now that all three of them are roused, it will be difficult to overpower them.”

“You coward! I’ll tell my father of your betrayal!”

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