Page 87 of Redemption

The blast is too strong though, and my power barely holds the brunt of it back before it pushes against the light and dark gods in the front lines, forcing them back towards the school.

Fuck.

We were doing a good job at keeping them at bay, but that blast sent a horde of dark gods straight into the mass of students.

“Get those gods out of there,” Irene instructs, but we’re too late.

A swarm of demons reform into existence, dissipated in by the remaining gods in the infernal realm to waste our damn time before we can push the dark gods back.

Another blast shakes the earth as a pair of black leather boots step from the mist of black clouds forming at the mouth of the rift. He shoots the clouds upwards to block out the sun, bathing the courtyard in darkness.

Sunlight blasts from Osias’ palms as he hurriedly tries to clear them from the sky, knowing we need to give our troops sunlight to see in order to fight against these demons.

Octavia rushes forward, a plume of her own black smoke swirling around Romulus like a cocoon, but he pushes her back with the force of a tornado, the wind and debris swirling around with deadly accuracy to put some space between them.

What the—

I bare my teeth and send a blast of my power at him to knock his tornado off-kilter, catching him off guard. The swirling wind dissipates into nothing, letting Octavia attack again. Just as she’s about to reach him, Romulus slams his foot down with the force of an earthquake. The impact knocks Octavia back and she barely catches herself before she topples over along with some of the gods around her. Osias’ wings spread, lifting him into the air at the last second as his power clears a break in the clouds, allowing a ray of sunlight to pierce through the gloom.

Romulus’ destruction power has never been this potent, not since … he destroyed the manor.

Trees splinter again around the courtyard, sending some that were barely holding on to crash to the ground. I swoop down, about to snatch up anyone I can save, when a shift towards the hill catches my attention. Changing my trajectory, I sweep back around to the rift, my heart jolting at the sight I’m met with.

Thousands of demons stream down the hill, their stampede along with the force of the earthquake causing the edge of the hill to crumble right beneath them.

“We need the forces at the arenas to be prepared. There’s a horde on their way,” I shout to Irene, and she nods, already sending a message to her second in command who is leading the troops down there.

The last of the demons make their way down the hill, the rest seemingly sensing the weakening earth beneath their feet as they stream around the side of the rift and rush into the fray.

I knew Romulus had the archdemons on his side, but I had no idea that there were so many that were still under his control. I grit my teeth and inspect the crumbling hillside as the earth breaks apart, sending clumps of dirt tumbling down the hill after them.

There were light gods fighting there before. Where did they—

Screams pierce through the melee below, the terror alone sending an icy chill over my skin as I pinpoint where they’re coming from.

The hill.

I sweep lower, panic sending my pulse racing as I spot the source of the fear. Two light gods cling to the edge of the steep hill, their fingers clutching to tree roots as they desperately try to hold on. The soil has eroded from beneath them, leaving a sheer drop to the bottom, and with the wards blocking anyone from dissipating within the school grounds now firmly in place, there’s no magical escape for them.

I hurriedly sheath my swords and reach out to them as I swoop closer, my wings shifting to let me hover right beside them. “Grab on.”

The blonde god reaches out a shaky hand, her fingers tentatively stretching out for mine as she desperately holds onto the cliff. The other black haired god clutches the tree root, refusing to even try to break his grasp.

“Gabriel,” the blonde god shouts, panic in her voice as she waits for him to latch onto my hand.

“I can’t,” he says, his voice shaky as he swings from the tree root.

“Please, for me,” she begs, glancing from him to the root, barely holding on for dear life. With the amount of trees that have already fallen, I wouldn’t be surprised if these aren’t even attached to anything anymore, meaning the time they have to cling onto it might be limited.

“I need to go,” I say in warning, not wanting to rush him, but from the sound of the battle going on above us, I don’t have much time before the battle lust calls me back.

Gabriel nods and lifts his hand, nearly dropping as he shifts his weight from two palms to one. His eyes widen and he clutches the root again with both hands.

I can’t wait anymore.

I shift myself as close as I can get and wrap an arm around his shoulders. He nearly jumps as my hand winds under him, but luckily he realizes it’s me just in time before he makes me lose my grip on him.

“Swing yourself towards me on the count of three,” I instruct the blonde god, and she nods, readying herself to leap into my grip. “One. Two. Three.”

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