Page 77 of The Road to Hell

With a flick of my wrist, I sent Mephisar and Sable forward. The hellwyrms needed no further encouragement. With a bone-rattling screech, they took off, wings snapping open as they surged toward the outpost like a living storm.

The second they entered range, the watchtowers erupted in shouts. Hellspawn scrambled, weapons drawn as their superiors barked out orders—too little, too late.

Mephisar hit first, slamming his bulk into the left watchtower. The entire structure groaned under the impact before crumbling, sending its occupants plummeting into the abyss below. Sable, not to be outdone, wrapped her tail around the right tower and yanked, tearing it from its foundation.

The outpost exploded into chaos.

And that was our cue.

I snapped my wings open, drawing the twin swords I’d taken from the rebellion’s armory. Although I couldn’t infuse them with my hellfire—unfortunate, really—they would get the job done.

“Let’s do this,” I said, and without waiting, I took to the air.

Below, Gorr surged forward, his massive form a blur of muscle and speed, easily keeping pace. His claws tore into the ground, sending chunks of stone flying with each bound.

The outpost loomed ahead, the gates hanging in ruins thanks to Sable’s enthusiastic demolition. Hellspawn poured from the opening, scrambling to form a defensive line, but my wyrms had turned the outpost into pure chaos. The generals barked orders, shouting at their soldiers, while all around them rose screams from the injured and dying.

I scanned the battlefield, spotting my next target. A cluster of hellspawn, some brimlords among them, were trying to regroup near the smoldering remains of the watchtowers.

“Gorr, break their line!” I called, angling my flight toward them.

The ravager let out an eager bark and shot ahead. He hit the first hellspawn like a wrecking ball, his powerful bulk sending bodies flying. Claws slashed, fangs snapped, and the defensive formation crumbled before it could even take shape.

I followed right behind him, swooping low. My swords caught the nearest hellspawn in the chest before he’d even had a chance to raise his weapon. I twisted, ripping free, then spun toward the next.

Varz appeared beside me a second later, his twin daggers flashing. He moved like liquid shadow, slipping between enemies, striking fast and hard.

Calder, of course, took his sweet time. He strolled through the carnage, a lazy smile on his lips, plucking enemies off one by one with almost theatrical finesse.

“You’re not taking this seriously,” Varz snapped at him between parries.

Calder caught a blade with his bare hand, yanked the attacker in, and tore his throat out with his fangs. He let the body drop, then turned to Varz with a satisfied grin.

“Sure I am,” he said smoothly. “I just happen to enjoy my work.”

I rolled my eyes. “Less talking, more killing.”

A thunderous roar split the air—Mephisar barreling past, his massive wings kicking up a shockwave as he dove toward the outpost’s inner buildings. He crashed into a structure, sending debris and hellspawn scattering.

Sable followed, her serpentine body weaving through the battlefield like a living nightmare, her fangs snapping up unlucky stragglers in quick, brutal motions.

The outpost was falling apart. Fast. They might have expected a rescue attempt, but they certainly hadn’t prepared themselves for my hellwyrms. It almost made this too easy.

The next hellspawn barely had time to react before my blade was at his throat. I sliced clean through, then pivoted toward the next.

Varz moved in tandem, cutting down a soldier before they could even lift their weapon. His strikes were swift, deliberate and efficient. Maybe I’d misjudged him.

Calder, on the other hand, made a spectacle of it. He caught an incoming attacker by the throat, smiling as the hellspawn struggled, then sank his fangs in. The body spasmed as Calder drained it, then went slack, and Calder let it drop with a satisfied sigh.

“You know,” he mused, wiping his mouth, “I think I needed this.”

I rolled my eyes. “You’re welcome.”

Gorr barrelled past me, slamming into a cluster of hellspawn like an avalanche of muscle and claws. One of them managed to get a blade up, but it barely scratched Gorr before he pounced, tearing through the poor bastard like a chew toy.

“Well, at least he’s enthusiastic,” I muttered. “Varz, stay with me. Calder, clear the left flank. And someone tell Gorr not to eat everyone before we’re done.”

No one argued.

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