Page 202 of The Demon's Pet

Gabe’s sword countered the blow, and he pushed Sam back with a hard parry. “Your slayer swords can’t beat me,” Gabe said. “I’ve even seen that one before.” Using his free hand, he pointed at Sam’s red sword. “Let me guess. Cayne was your brother?” Gabe looked up at the cathedral. “Of course. How did I not see it sooner?”

Sam was silent, pacing with both swords at his sides. But I could tell Gabe’s words had affected him.

“I saw him fight,” Gabe said haughtily. “I expected more from the renowned slayer. No wonder he died like a dog.”

“Keep your lying mouth shut about my brother!” Sam let out a war cry and leaped at Gabe, striking at him with both swords in a flurry of blows.

Gabe parried the red sword, but the black katana caught him in the shoulder, cutting deep and sending blood out in a spray. Then Sam yanked his sword out, dodged to the side, and lunged in again, attacking once more with both swords.

Gabe tried to strike but was much slower, and Sam moved easily out of the way of his heavy sword.

Spinning around Gabe’s back, Sam slammed his red blade into Gabe’s side, then jerked it out again, sending blood arcing into the air and splashing on the pavement.

Gabe snarled, looking at the two bleeding holes in his body, and sent his hand out. A blast of light burst out of it and hit Sam with a flash, sending him rolling back into the road.

Sam was back on his feet in a moment, leaping through the air with both swords, yelling a feral cry.

His eyes were practically glowing, his hair taking on a red tint, as he continued to strike at Gabe, who had used Sam’s momentary stumble to pull out a smaller sword to dual wield and parry Sam.

Metal struck metal, making screeches and bell-like sounds as the men fought, striking with both blades, whirling, parrying, dodging back and forth.

It was so fast I could barely catch it. And unlike when Sam had fought Zadis, Gabe didn’t seem to be tiring.

“You can’t kill me with that slayer sword,” Gabe said. “I have ninth celestial realm power. Only an Evernight sword can kill me, and you don’t have one.”

Sam just roared and swung one katana to distract Gabe while he spun and swung the other into Gabe’s calf, cutting deep into the muscle as blood poured around the blade.

Gabe howled and fell to one knee, grabbing at his torn flesh as Sam yanked his sword back.

He spun toward Gabe again, slamming his sword deep into Gabe’s back as he bent forward. Gabe let out a scream and turned to punch Sam, but Sam dodged back, then came forward with his red sword and cut Gabe’s right ear clean off.

Gabe stared down at it, bleeding from multiple places. “What are you doing?”

Sam’s face was dark with fury. “If I can’t kill you, then I’ll just have to cut you to pieces, bury you where no one can find you, and get an Evernight sword to finish you off!”

Sam swung his red katana toward Gabe’s neck in a powerful, deft move I was sure would take his head off.

“Do you know how Cayne died?” Gabe spat just as the sword stopped right at his neck.

Sam froze, looking tempted but unwilling to be distracted. “It doesn’t matter. I wouldn’t believe what you say anyway.”

“You sure about that? You know it happened after he came to work with us.” Gabe looked over at Sam, ignoring Sam’s sword still at his throat. “I don’t know how I didn’t see the resemblance when you signed up. You don’t look at all the same, you know.”

Sam’s hand was trembling slightly, I realized. His face was neutral, his composure solid, but I could tell from the slight twist of his mouth and the sweat on his forehead that he was in pain. His gaze darted toward me, and then he looked resolutely back at Gabe. “It. Doesn’t. Matter.”

“Do you even know if he died to an Evernight sword?” Gabe asked, and as Sam froze again, more versions of Gabe appeared and he stood, shoving Sam’s sword back.

Sam looked unlike I’d ever seen him. Frozen, staring at Gabe, his sword swinging down to his side.

“It must torture you,” Gabe said. “Not knowing if Cayne’s waiting somewhere in hell… or just gone.”

Sam sucked in a breath. “You shut up about him. You don’t deserve to speak his name.”

Gabe laughed. “He was a demon. A slayer. He tried to fuck around and trick celestials, and he got what he deserved. He was hired to take out the Morningstar, but in truth, he was trying to find and protect it. We couldn’t have that.”

Sam was quiet but got into a fighting stance again, even as eight versions of Gabe moved around him.

My heart raced in panic because it was hard to see through illusions normally, and I could tell Sam was emotionally flooded.

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