Page 78 of The Darkest Night

A savage thrillmade Vlad’s blood thrum as he ducked beneath Sobol’s fist. He jumped, propelled himself off a wall, and twisted in the air as he rose.

The demon blocked his kick and his swords, the diamond blades cutting an inch-deep line into the monster’s palms. Sobol snarled when Hellreaver sank his teeth in his shoulder from behind. An aggrieved rumble left the weapon as he tried and failed to tear off a chunk off the demon.

Sobol moved. Mae leaned back in mid-air where she hovered behind him and narrowly avoided the punch meant for her head. She somersaulted, landed on Sobol’s arm, and roundhouse kicked him in the face. Her foot barely dented the demon’s cheek. An irritated light flashed in her eyes, her pupils crimson with subdued power.

Vlad shivered, his heart racing with excitement and desire.

She’s beautiful!

Sobol bared his fangs and brought his hands together to crush Mae. She jumped, braced a hand on the snarling demon’s skull, and pivoted over his giant body. She landed nimbly beside Vlad, her breathing steady and not a hair out of place.

“I see what you mean about being difficult to kill.” She noticed his faint smile. “What?”

“I kinda wanna kiss you right now.”

Color blossomed on Mae’s cheeks. Her eyes shrank to slits. “You’re a sick bastard, you know that?”

Vlad grinned. “And you like it.”

They looked over to where Nikolai, Violet, and Miles had engaged the remaining demons and sorcerers, their familiars at their sides.

“Shall we, Princess?”

Mae dipped her chin. They launched themselves at Sobol, their movements perfectly synchronized.

The pressure in the room plummeted. Vlad’s ears popped. He dropped down beside Tarang, his scalp prickling. The familiar growled in alarm.

Mae halted and looked up, pupils flaring.

Vlad followed her gaze.

Black clouds had burst into life above Sobol, eddies swirling in the grip of a violent storm. A crimson light wreathed the currents, pulsing with evil.

“Shit!” Vlad cursed.

Even he recognized the hellish energy gathering in the room. It made his incubus blood boil, the darkness inside him responding to the mayhem and madness it promised. He gritted his teeth.

He had given in to the evil that lurked inside his bones once before. He never wanted a repeat of that experience.

Static flashed in the inky currents.

“That’s Barquiel’s power!” Mae spat.

Sobol pushed his hands into the tempest, withdrew a black-lightning-wreathed ball of magic, and hurled it at them. Mae and Vlad jumped out of the way. The demonic spell bomb crashed into the wall behind them, carving out a six-foot hole underneath the building.

Cold fingers brushed Vlad’s spine as he observed the twisted steelwork framing the jagged opening and the tunnel beyond it. Bedrock sizzled and metal tinkled as they started to cool, their redness fading to black scorch marks.

A train screeched in the distance.

“Dammit!” Nikolai swore from across the way. “Did that reach the closest subway line?!”

Mae’s mouth flattened to a thin line. “It sure looks like it.” She met Vlad’s hard stare. “We need to stop him!”

He gripped his blades. “Agreed.”

Tarang came over from where he’d been mauling anOniksmember. Power flooded Vlad as their magic fused, the tiger’s life force warming his soul.

Mae leapt first, Hellreaver spinning in her hands. She back-kicked Sobol in the jaw, blasted his face with a sphere of crimson magic, and sliced quick lines across his torso as he swung for her. Vlad blocked the demon’s fist inches from Mae’s head, his swords trembling as he resisted the monster’s overwhelming strength.

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