Page 81 of Castor
Baxter paled. “Which means he has already sided with Asa. He betrayed us.” He kicked at the sand and released a string of curses. “I’m such an idiot! Why didn’t I see it?”
“It’s hard to see the bad in people we care about,” Bellamy said, squeezing Baxter’s shoulder. I expected Baxter to shove him aside. Instead, he pressed closer.
Sirena relayed information to her warriors, and they ran off into the woods, probably to tell the ones who were looking for Elon that they wouldn’t find him. He wasn’t even on the island anymore. She then came closer to us. “This spell you mentioned, how much time do we have until it’s complete?”
The earth rumbled under our feet, and the sky above us flickered, the force field imbued with enchantments briefly showing.
“The barrier,” Alastair said. “It’s falling. We’re out of time.”
And then the first wave of demons burst through.
Chapter Sixteen
Kyo
By the time I transformed and pulled the katana from my back, the demons reached the beach. But they didn’t attack. They stood unsettlingly still as the water rolled in around their feet.
I counted close to three hundred. All armed. Some resembled human men with only their horns, red eyes, and clawed hands giving them away. Others had different shades of flesh—red, yellow, or blue—and a few had a hard, insect-like exterior and antennas to match.
“Well, aren’t you a fugly bunch,” Castor said, his golden dagger in hand.
One of the beetle-esque demons bared its teeth, showing rows of sharp teeth.
“Maybe it’s not the best idea to antagonize them right now,” I whispered to him. Something occurred to me. “I thought demons didn’t come out during the day.”
“Shades can’t tolerate the light, but stronger demons can. They just prefer darkness.”
Sirena stepped forward, and the warriors who had returned from the manhunt stepped in behind her, their weapons at the ready. “Leave this island or die. I will not ask twice.”
The demons snarled in response, and some shifted their stances. Their desire to fight was evident, but if I had to guess, someone had given them orders not to attack. Not yet, anyway.
A man appeared in front of us. Literally appeared out of thin air. He looked familiar. Dark auburn hair and deep brown eyes. He was nicely dressed and wore a smile, though there was nothing kind about it.
“Phoenix,” Castor growled, taking a step toward him. I grabbed his arm to stop him. His green eyes were pinned to the demon. Hatred rolled off him.
“Greed,” Phoenix said. “Last time I saw you, you weren’t nearly as pretty. Nice to see you replaced all the piercings my men ripped from you.”
It was my turn to get pissed. This was the bastard who hurt Castor in the underworld? I would rip his fucking head off.
“Look at you.” Phoenix regarded me with interest. “The water dragon who journeyed to my realm to save his redheaded lover from the pit. You should be thanking me. If I wouldn’t have captured Greed, you would’ve never rescued him, then inevitably fallen for him. I suppose I should addmatchmakerto my impressive list of talents.”
Castor held me back as I tried to lunge at the demon. He pushed his face into the side of my hair and whispered, “Calm down, little dragon.”
“Why have you come?” Sirena asked.
“To talk.” Phoenix motioned to the three hundred battle-ready demons standing at his back. “Can’t you tell?”
“Quit with the games,” Alastair said, walking closer. The bright sun gleamed off his pale hair and reflected off the metal of his sword as he held it at his side. “You’ve been playing games with my brothers too over the past week.”
“Isn’t that what life is? One big game of chess? You move, I move. Strategy, timing, predicting the other player’s moves, all of it plays into your chance of victory.” Phoenix pulled his bottom lip between his teeth, his deep brown eyes briefly flashing red. “You see, you have to be one step ahead of your opponent.”
“You were trying to lure them into a trap because you knew we were separated,” Alastair said. “Easier for you to try to pick us off.”
The demon’s smile widened. “That’s where you’re wrong, Pride. The attacks on your town weren’t meant to trap them. No… my real focus was on your group here. Asa intended on allying with the other Nephilim, but since you acted before he could, there was a slight change in his plan. The attacks were only meant as a distraction so you wouldn’t see us coming. A smokescreen, if you will.”
“Enough talking,” Sirena said. “My patience is waning.”
“His voice grates on the nerves, right?” Castor asked. “He never shuts the fuck up. I swear, him stabbing and cutting me in his little torture chamber in the underworld wasn’t nearly as bad as listening to him talk.”
