Page 46 of Wicked Angel
An illusion. A trap.
“Aspen, open the portal!” I shouted, but even as the words left my mouth, I knew it was too late.
Angels materialized around us, emerging from the trees with weapons drawn and wings spread wide. Not just any angels—Archangel Haines, Rhodes's right hand, stood at their center, his cold eyes fixed on me with predatory satisfaction.
“Ariella,” he said, his voice silky with triumph. “So good of you to join us. Rhodes will be most pleased.”
“I doubt that,” I growled, my sword appearing in my hand with a flash of light. Beside me, Levi's darkfire crackled to life, casting eerie shadows across the clearing. “Where are my mother and sister?”
Haines laughed, the sound devoid of any genuine humor. “Safe in Elysium, where they belong. Unlike you, they remain loyal to the true vision of our realm.”
“You mean Rhodes's twisted version of it,” I shot back, trying to buy time as I assessed our situation. There were at least a dozen angels surrounding us, all armed, all ready for battle. Not impossible odds, but not favorable either.
“You still don't understand, do you?” Haines shook his head, a mockery of pity in his expression. “Rhodes is saving Elysium. Adona's leadership has made us weak, vulnerable. The old ways are dying, Ariella. Join us, and you can be part of the new order.”
“I've seen what your 'new order' looks like,” I said, my voice tight with controlled fury. “No thanks.”
Haines sighed, as if I'd disappointed him. “I expected as much. Rhodes thought you might still be reasoned with, but I knew better.” He gestured to the angels flanking him. “Take them. Alive, if possible. Rhodes wants to deal with the traitor personally.”
The angels moved forward in perfect synchronization, their weapons gleaming in the dappled light filtering through the trees. I shifted my stance, prepared to meet their charge.
“Any suggestions?” I muttered to Levi, who had positioned himself back-to-back with me.
“Fight like hell,” he replied, darkfire dancing between his fingers.
Aspen moved to complete our triangle, his magic already weaving complex patterns in the air around us. “I can get us out of here,” he said, his voice tight with concentration, “but I need time to reestablish the portal. Cover me.”
I nodded, gripping my sword tighter as the first wave of angels closed in. “Be quick.”
The angels charged, and the clearing erupted into chaos.
18
The first angelcame at me with a blade of pure light, swinging with the precise form taught in Elysium's training grounds. I parried the strike, my own sword ringing against his, and countered with a slash that forced him back. But there was no time to press the advantage, as two more angels immediately filled the gap, their weapons flashing in the filtered sunlight.
“There's too many!” I called to Levi, ducking under a sweeping blade and driving my shoulder into an angel's midsection. He grunted, staggering backward, but another took his place almost instantly.
Levi was a blur of deadly motion behind me, his darkfire cutting through the air in arcs of black flame. Three angels lay motionless at his feet already, but the others were learning, attacking him in coordinated waves that kept him constantly on the defensive.
“Aspen, how's that portal coming?” I shouted, parrying another strike and twisting to avoid a blast of light magic that would have taken my head off.
“It’s no good!” The warlock's voice was strained, his hands moving in increasingly complex patterns as he tried to weave a path through the magic surrounding us. “With the barrier, I can't cast one from here!”
“Then we need to get beyond the barrier!” I called, my voice nearly lost in the clash of weapons and the crackle of magic. “Back through the trees, toward the clearing we came in from!”
An angel lunged at me, her sword aimed for my heart. I spun away, my blade catching her arm, drawing a line of blood that spilled from the wound. She cried out, retreating, but two more took her place.
They were herding us, I realized with growing dread. Each time we tried to move toward the edge of the clearing, the angels would thicken their ranks, forcing us back toward the center. They were buying time, keeping us pinned down until reinforcements arrived—or until Rhodes himself decided to make an appearance.
“This isn't working.” Levi growled, his back pressed against mine as we rotated to face new attackers. “We need to break their formation.”
I knew he was right, but the angels moved with the practiced precision of centuries of training. They attacked in waves, never giving us more than a moment's respite, their swords and light magic a constant, overwhelming barrage.
A blade sliced across my shoulder, scoring a shallow cut that burned like fire. I hissed in pain but kept moving, my sword flashing as I parried and countered, desperate to create an opening. But for every angel I knocked back, two more pressed forward, relentless and coordinated.
Haines watched from the edge of the clearing, his expression cold and calculating. “Surrender, Ariella,” he called. “There's no escape this time.”
“Go to hell,” I spat, ducking under a sword swing and kicking out at an angel's knee. It connected with a satisfying crack, and the angel went down, but another immediately took his place.
