Page 75 of The River of Hatred

“Too soft,” he murmurs, increasing pressure.

Jessica’s sobs register, as does the pounding of her footsteps coming closer. I want to yell at her to stay back like she promised, but the vile creature above me doesn’t allow me the leeway to speak.

The demon grins and disappears. A moment later, Jessica’s scream is heard from above, from atop the same shipping container Andras manipulated the fight from. In a fluid motion, he drags her to a catwalk, holding her over it with one arm as she kicks and struggles.

I try to lurch up, but a coughing fit causes me to expel blood. The demon’s weapon must have punctured my lungs. Sariel is already on his feet though, staring at the scene above, hand clenched at his side, his axe trembling in the other.

“Now, Fallen…” Andras’ smirk sharpens as Sariel freezes. He lowers Jessica until she grasps the catwalk’s railing and backs off. “What will it be? The girl… or me?”

The muscles in Sariel’s jaw twitch as his eyes flick between Jessica, her fingers slipping, and Andras, already disappearing into the shadows.

“Sariel…” I groan from the floor.

“Fuck.”

My love bursts into motion, transporting himself up to Jessica and grabbing her wrist just as her fingers slip. He pulls her up and her weight crashes against him, sending them both on their knees. She sobs into his neck as he wraps his arms around her in comfort.

Andras’ laughter cuts off as I drop my head back down to the ground, waiting to heal enough to move.

He’s gone.

Chapter 36 – Lana

We try to be as quiet as possible as we skulk through the smaller, office-like sections of the warehouse. I sense dozens of Cambions in the vicinity and the extra demonic signature on the other side points to Andras being here as well. I hope the other team won’t have too much trouble with him. Jess should be fine with an ancient demon lord like Aim and two angels. Right?

As soon as the worry comes, it’s forced to the side – some of the Cambions I sense decide it’s a good idea to ambush us. Nephithar sighs like they’re naughty kids who stepped between him on his couch and the sitcom on the TV.

When the familiar sound of guns cocking enters my awareness, I take a breath to shout out a warning. Kevin beats me to it though.

“Guns!” he yells, ducking behind the corner and pulling me back with him.

With a growl, Nephithar charges, mowing down the first row of mortals like a juggernaut, disarming them and knocking them against the wall. When one bounces off with the sound of a broken neck, I wince. That isnotgoing to go over well when we face the Council.

It doesn’t take long for the Cambions to notice that their bullets are ineffectual against the demon and they scatter with the sound of hurried receding footsteps and backward glances filled with panic.

“How did they even think they could win against us?” Mike asks, slapping his dad’s back, having to lift his arm comically high to do so.

I smirk at my once-daily companion. “They didn’t expect to come face to face with Lucy’s offspring, that’s for sure,” I say with a grin on my lips.

“This one’s dead as a doornail,” Kevin says. The male he’s looking down at is lying with his head at an unnatural angle and eyes open.

“Oops,” Nephithar says without a hint of inflection and I snort a laugh. When the boys cut me a sharp look I put a hand over my mouth. God, I’ve been hanging around Ash for too long.

“They were shooting at you,” I defend my callousness. “You two are vulnerable to bullets, especially Mike, he hasn’t been to a Celestial realm yet.”

“Nor will he.” Nephithar’s voice is as dark as pitch.

I bite my lip and choose my words carefully. “You can’t be sure how he’ll age if he doesn’t. You might outlive him.”

The muscles in Nephithar’s jaw twitch as his fists clench. This is clearly something he’s thought about.

“Hold up,” Mike says. “What do you mean ‘you two are vulnerable to bullets’? What about you?”

My eyes pop open at the question and I gape for a second. How do I say this in a way that he’ll understand?

“IsoldmysoultomyhusbandandnowIhavesuperpowers,” I rush out in one breath, tighten my ponytail, and continue down the hallway to a pair of unconscious Cambions.

“Are you insane?” Mike asks, each word louder than the last.

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