Page 42 of Wicked Savior
“When I left to get you, she was lying on the ground, about twenty feet away,” Vargas says bewildered. “Do you think he sensed me?”
A bright light appears in the sky about a mile north of us. “Let’s go.” I disappear, then reappear in the area where I spotted the light. Blazing bright white light is shining everywhere. I throw up my arm to shield my eyes. Squinting under the line of my forearm, I see the outline of a portal and black beasts pouring through the opening.
“No!” I shout, amplifying my voice until it’s almost thunderous. “They’ll devour everyone in its path. Close the fucking portal.” Darkness begins to slowly eclipse the light, but it’s not fast enough. I rush over to fight back the beasts while they get the portal closed. It takes us several minutes, but it finally shuts.
Gabriel drops to his knees, his chest heaving, as he tries to catch his breath.
Enraged, I walk over and punch him in the face repeatedly. The crunch of his bones is the most satisfying sound I’ve heard in a while. “What the fuck are you doing? One of those things took out thirty-seven supernaturals at the club a few days ago. You just let in at least a few dozen.” The sickening realization of what he’s done hits me hard. The club was nothing. This will be a massacre.
His wings snap out, shoving me backward. “Get off me. You’re lying. They only go after Druids.” The words are delusional, and since he won’t meet my eyes, he knows they’re nothing but lies. In his world—angels first, humans second, and that’s it.
Fists clenched, I step into his line of sight. “Look at me. Those beasts are ravenous, and they’ll eat anything in their way… supernatural, Druid, demon, or human.” My eyes slide down his body. “I’m sure if they got a taste of angel, they’d really go into a frenzy. Get a couple of platoons down here now. We’re going to need them.”
He staggers to his feet. “As long as she’s first, I don’t care.”
My brows draw together in confusion. I look at him, but he’s not looking at me. When I see the glint in his eye, I immediately spin around to look for Evren and almost fall to my knees in horror.
She’s tied to a pole in the middle of the desert with her head hanging down. Strands of red hair are blowing in the wind like a matador waving a red cape. Instead of a bull, there are thirty beasts heading straight toward her.
I immediately start running, but I know there’s no way I’ll make it before they do. I shimmer over and grab her. When I try to leave, nothing happens. I try again. Nothing.
Her body is wrapped in some kind of silver chains. I grasp them in my hands and exert all my power. They don’t budge. I examine them closer. Prometheus’ chains.
Fuck, they’re unbreakable.
The beasts are bearing down on us.
I need fucking options. Back-up can’t get here fast enough. Even with my tremendous power, I can’t kill all of them before they reach us. Not unless I suddenly gain the power to replicate myself. A harsh, desperate laugh escapes.
“Evren!” I yell, not knowing why. My hands spear through her red hair and I pull her to me. She doesn’t stir. Maybe it’s best if they attack when she’s unconscious.
The beasts are close, maybe a hundred feet away.
Images of her and me flash through my mind. Most of my memories are full of her studying me as if I’m the devil about to lead her astray. I blink.
The torque. That’s the option. A one-shot deal, Cormal told me. I start digging into my pocket for the talisman and spell he gave me. I’d kept it on me since the incident just in case the power needed to be recalled.
The thunderous hooves stop, and the beasts lift their noses high in the air. They snort and huff, their nostrils flutter wildly. They smell her. Their bodies begin to vibrate, and a frenzy starts amongst them. Several of them rip into each other, unwilling to share with their monster brethren.
I hold up the talisman and shout the words. A familiar, almost translucent, cloud streams up from the ground. It moves swiftly to find me, then invades my body, filling every cell with more power. This time, I don’t try to contain it, but let it flow and expand inside until every ounce is mine to use.
The beasts are ten feet away.
My body flexes, and my back bows. The power streams out of me and sweeps across the desert, destroying everything in its path. It’s a tsunami rolling over them, leaving no option for escape. I wipe every single beast charging toward us from existence.
When the last one is gone, I raise a hand and lay hellfire over the same path to kill any leftover residue or drop of blood. Every blade of grass and vegetation burns, and the sand turns to glass. What remains is nothing but blackened, scorched earth.
I take several deep breaths as I try to figure out how to get the chains off.
She’s awake and staring at the fire in front of her. “Thank you. I shouldn’t have hesitated earlier. Waited too long.” Her words are a jumble, but I’m barely listening.
“You don’t happen to know how to get these chains off, do you?”
She looks down and laughs. “Prometheus’ chains. How fitting. Mankind’s champion. The one who brought them fire and knowledge.” There’s a bitter edge to her words. “They can’t be broken.” She thinks for a second. “Ask them to release me.”
I grasp them in my hands. “Will you release her?”
The shackles fall to the ground and immediately disappear.
