Page 88 of Her Darkest Devils (The Seven Sinners of Hell's Kingdom 3)

Chapter 27

DANTE

First Battle

“KASE! SHIT! IS he breathing?” Raven’s voice screams through the air. “Oh, fucking God. Elias! Wake up!”

“Watch out, angel-girl. He still has a pulse. His heartbeat is fucking nuts.” Gathering flickering red light between his palms, Kase shocks Elias in his chest.

Raven cradles Elias’s head on her lap, her beautiful face stained with hot tears. “He groaned. Fuck, Elias. Open your eyes.”

The room shakes, dragging my attention away from Kase and Raven and back to my phone as Gia yammers on with a warning that comes a little too late. An angel managed to get past the Hell barrier we put in place around the whole neighborhood and blew out a window.

I hate that I knew this shit was coming.

I knew that the angelic army would still somehow manage to get through all of the defenses we’ve put up, but I thought we’d have more time. I’ve underestimated my legion and their ability to fight Heaven off, and it makes me question everything I’ve worked for.

“I don’t know how they’re doing it. They’re possessing pure souls, Dante. Did you know they could do that? We can’t tell who to fight.” Gia’s voice rings over the line as I stand protectively in front of Raven and Elias as Kase helps them dress. Lucian remains with Andre and Micah, finalizing the power shift.

These fuckers better hurry, because if what Gia says is true, then we’re about to go to battle. “Of course I knew it was possible but it’s unheard of. A mortal has to be willing and there has never been a reason for it.” I hiss and clench my fist, trying not to shatter the phone with my strength.

“What should I do? We have boundaries. Expectations,” Gia says, groaning.

“Show no mercy. If they stand in your way, take them down.” I disconnect the line, trusting my first in command with handling the attacks as we finish this shit.

Bright light glows from the window as the angel tries to attack again. Glass sprays over the floor, causing Raven to screech and swear. If she could spit fire, she would burn the fucking guardian to a crisp.

“Hurry the fuck up with the switch!” I yell, extending my fangs and striding toward the window. My skin stings at the heavenly glow radiating in but I push through and spit venom into an unfamiliar bastard’s face.

The mortal man, glowing with angelic light, doesn’t even scream. He has no control of his body as one of the bastard guardians uses him as a vessel in an attempt to crack our shields. With enough force, it’s possible, and the angel pushes the man to keep trying even as his body smolders under the heat.

“Fuck, I need some help here,” I call, spotting another possessed mortal striding to the broken window.

Another angel stands behind the woman, using her as a shield. Gathering holy power, the angel blasts it at the barrier at the same time the possessed woman slams her palms against it. The room quakes, humming against the power.

“Just keep them back another minute,” Kase calls, growling in his devil form.

“I’m going outside,” I snap, stretching my wings.

“Don’t.” Launching a ball of red energy, he blasts the woman and angel back a couple feet, but it only slows them down. “There are too many for you alone.”

I can handle my damn self and he knows it. If Raven didn’t say my name, I’d ignore Kase and lunge, taking out as many angels as I can while dragging them to Hell with me. It would be their mistake. I can return from Hell after a recharge in power. But them? They’d suffer under my punishment.

A low rumble quivers under my feet, and I peek over my shoulder and watch the summoning circle shoot up toward the ceiling. Fucking finally. My whole body tingles with the exchange of the tether. Even feeling it uncaged for a second rattles me to my core, the wild, immense power that runs Hell so palpable that I get a fucking boner from it. I’ve never taken the tether before, but I can imagine how good it feels getting filled up with it. If only it didn’t trap you. I’m not exactly looking forward to my time. Because fuck. I’ve never been away from my angry half and I never want to be away from my pretty soul.

“Dante, the shield. The shift cracked it,” Kase says, sending another burst of power toward the window.

“Shit.” I expand my wings, using my body to create a wall between the angels attacking the shield and the Hell portal. Heavenly light burns my skin, smoldering away my human façade until I stand in my devil form.

What the fuck are the angels doing?

Light seeps in through every crack, turning night into day outside. Hellfire explodes behind me, the force knocking me forward. I slam my hands to the wall. My palms sear against the now blessed wall. They’re not trying to get in. They’re trying to banish us from the Mortal Realm.

A furious roar echoes through the room, and Andre bursts from the summoning circle in his devil form. His scorpion-like form fills the room, his sharp appendages cracking the wood with his heavy footsteps. Swinging his tail over his head and at the window, he impales one of the possessed mortals and drags them through, sending guts spraying everywhere. The remnants of being tethered to Hell make him stronger, faster, and nearly unstoppable.

Screams ring through the air as the light that explodes from the mortal gathers to form an angelic silhouette on the floor. Lucian climbs from Hell and whips his fire chain at the angel, dragging it closer to him. Raven gasps and spins away, covering her eyes. Lifting his hoof, he smashes it into the angelic light, breaking the floor open. The angel tries latching onto the edge only to have Lucian blast him right into a legion of demons waiting.

I spit venom at the gathering forms, threatening the entire mansion. I can’t see them, but there must be at least a hundred guardians. I can sense them. Hear them. They’re surrounding the estate. “Raven, we’re out of time. You have to hurry—”

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