Page 103 of An Unexpected Ascension
Unsheathing my sword, I step towards it.
“Leave her.”
My demand is met with a hollow hood, its talons retracting from Briar’s head. She falls, dropping to the ground, her body shaking.
Looking directly into the face of fear, I raise my weapon readying to tear into the creature, but something stops me. A silent whisper riding on a gust of frigid air. It speaks to me.
“She’s dying.”
My muscles tense as I glance at the angel writhing on the frosted ground.
“She can’t die,” I say aloud as if having to remind myself.
Fixing my stance once more, that voice continues in a soft, frightening tone.
“With a heart as frail as hers, she will beg your God for mercy.”
The beast speaks in riddles, uttering nonsense. I glance at the angel who’s now thrashing against the forest floor as little currents of pain sear through her. I don’t know what he’s shown her, but in the time I’ve known Briar Fentonelli, she’s been nothing but fierce.
“You’re lying. Fix her.”
“There is nothing to fix. She must face her fears, or they shall overcome her.”
“What are you talking about?”
The hood of the demon ticks to the side in an unnatural movement. It assesses me behind the shadow of its cloak. I raise my sword uselessly, my limbs heavy with involuntary restraint.
It glides closer, the hem of black fabric sewn by death itself drags along the dirt. Its fingers outstretched, reaching for me. I at least have enough sense to back up a step.
“Your fear is alive.”
“I have no fears.”
“Your fear is breathing.”
“What the Hell are you saying?”
The demon sniffs the air, closing in on me. Its stench one of pungent terror.
“Your fear may very well become you too.”
“Fuck you.” Before its claws can tear into me, I strike. Swiping my sword up and dragging it back down, rendering the beast in two.
Only, I miss.
No, I don’t miss because there is nothing to miss.
The demon bursts into a trillion small particles like a shadowed mist in the air, vanishing.
“Dammit!”
Sheathing my sword, I drop to my knees next to Briar’s spasming body. She’s cold to the touch, frozen even.
“Briar?” I shake her, but she only whimpers.
There’s a growl in the distance, then another. Hell Hounds and by the sound of it, many. Sitting here, waiting for her to pull herself together will lure the beasts straight to us.
We are nearly half a day away from making it out of this forest, to turn back now would be a setback we can’t afford. But as I look down at the woman now cradled in my arms, I realize I don’t have a choice. To save Briar, I need Lucifer.
