Page 43 of Gambling with Time

A flash of blue caught my eye, and I saw Bellamy moving like an assassin through the fray, his power grabbing hold and transfixing each victim before they fell at his feet. Blood marred his perfect features, and his eyes glowed brightly. He was more monster at that moment than I had ever witnessed. A surge of love spread through me as I took it all in.

Together we were facing this adversary.

“Sam! Watch out!” Lex’s frantic call broke through my distraction, and I twisted to face the threat.

Too late. The blade sliced across my chest, knocking me back. The feeling of the poison was familiar because it was the same that almost killed me before.

I stumbled, my legs feeling like unsteady sticks connected to my body. My fingers came away wet with blood, and my wide eyes lifted to take in the dog-headed creature grinning down at me. He lifted his blood-soaked sword high over his head to deliver the killing strike, and I squeezed my eyes shut knowing it was the end.

CHAPTER 24

Alastor

As the portal snapped shut, my dormant power surged inside of me as a wave of demon-like monsters reached us. The souls swirled around my body, tight, constricting, almost smothering me with it, then I sensed what I was supposed to do. What controlled them?

With a breath, I pushed them out; the first attempt had them flying haphazardly through the fighting. When they returned, a few had claimed souls. I pictured them each taking the enemies' souls, the image of the half-cat, half-lizard monster, or the ones with dog heads held firmly inside my mind, then I sent that thought to them.

It was the key. They listened to me through psychic communication. The potency of my ability filled me to the brim, and I was as powerful as my father and mother combined. The years I spent honing my thoughts on what flowers to sprout transferred to the wielding of the spirits seamlessly. I somehow knew what each of them did, even with them multiplying by the second.

But not even our combined powers were enough to stop the flow. The ground was littered with demons and hybrids. My surge of control wavered as I took it all in. I had never witnessed such death. Even growing up in the center of the Underworld where souls wandered, I hadn’t seen anything like this.

My stomach rolled, and I swallowed hard.

The sound of salvation echoed over us. Dragons, their numbers so many that even the flapping of their wings was deafening as they approached. It gave me a boost, and I regrouped my thoughts into manageable directions, focusing on the fight.

If chaos reigned before, I wasn’t sure what this was. Maybe mayhem. It was hard not to watch the dragons spit fire or snap up the adversaries. When a familiar dragon landed and Samantha and Lex slid from his back to join the fight, my heart leapt into my throat. That wasn’t why I sent word. She shouldn’t be here. He shouldn’t either. Fuck.

I doubled down on sending my helpers, focusing on where they fought. Even then, it just made them move further in. I was essentially clearing a path straight for the God Osiris himself. Raiden flew over the battle breathing fire, while the three in the skirmish pushed forward. It was as if we were one.

Then I saw it, the hybrid heading straight for Samantha’s back. I was too far away to stop it. I sent my souls toward the demon as Lex shouted a warning I could hear over the clash. She spun, looking for the danger, and he sliced across her chest with his blade.

She fell back, her hand on her chest, coming away bright with her blood. Her eyes grew wide, and her mouth opened on a silent ‘oh’, before she collapsed on herself.

Lex was by her side in an instant, scooping her into his arms as Bellamy’s demons protected their retreat. He ran with her limp body in his arms, and I faltered again. Doubling down, I became even more ruthless as Raiden and Bellamy did the same.

CHAPTER 25

Raiden

Sammy stumbled and fell, her legs crumbling beneath her as she landed hard on her knees. I roared, my head swinging up as fire erupted from my dragon's snout. With powerful thrusts, I was airborne again. I plucked the hybrid animal from the ground, tearing him in two with my claws. His insides fell over the crowd, and I felt a sick satisfaction.

Then I searched for Samantha. The hybrid hadn’t had time to strike again, but she still wasn’t safe. Lex made it to her side, he lifted her into his arms, carrying her away from the middle of battle, demons helping to block the hybrid’s advance. I targeted them one at a time, lifting them from the ground and dissecting them ruthlessly in midair.

I was driven by the intense need to destroy them all. My dragon had complete control. I was a mindless slave to his wants.

Calls of retreat echoed over the battlefield, and I roared. None of them would get away. I would burn them all to a crisp. Flames erupted from my throat like a volcano, spewing liquid fire over the monsters.

Then I caught sight of Osiris. He wore golden armor and a pharaoh’s headdress. His beard was braided with beads and jewels hanging down to his chest, and his dark face was painted in the ancient Egyptian style of royalty.

I zoned in on him, my vision red. He was calling something over the battle, and the hybrid monsters were retreating faster now.

A portal opened at his back. He locked eyes with me as if he knew me personally and gave a single nod as if to say, until next time, and then disappeared into the depths. His army followed him, the portal staying open until I almost reached it before snapping shut, leaving at least a dozen of his men on this side of it.

They scrambled to escape, not that it did them any good. Not with Bellamy on the ground, Alastor and his spirits, and me in the air. The others fell back as we finished off the ones that had been unlucky enough to be left behind.

As soon as the last one fell, I returned to my family, landing softly next to Lex. The castle stood like a dark sentinel behind him. I shifted as Bellamy and Alastor reached us. Sammy looked pale, her skin a sickly milky white, and her head lulled to the side.

“It’s the poison,” Lex said, looking up at us. The helpless look on his face cut through me like the sharpest of blades. “The–” he cut off, his gaze going to Bellamy.

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