demons as they came closer. I brandished the two swords in front of me.
The demons circled us, careful not to come within reach of a blade or a wolf’s jaws. J.B., Samiel and Gabriel seemed to be holding their spells back, waiting to see if the demons attacked.
There was the sound of applause from near the main doors, and a path materialized in the horde of demons.
Azazel stood there, and beside him—Antares and Focalor.
“You?” I spluttered. I was well aware of the fact that I sounded like I spoke dialogue from a bad movie. “You and Focalor? You and Antares?”
This last was practically a shriek. Antares had tried to kill me more times than I could count, and he’d nearly succeeded twice.
Antares smirked at me from behind his father. Focalor could not hide his delight. The three of them walked toward us, the charcarion demons bowing low as they passed.
“Yes,” Azazel said silkily. “A Grigori does not give up his children, no matter what provocation.”
“What about me, then?” I said angrily. “You seemed pretty willing to sell me to the highest bidder.”
“Antares has demonstrated his loyalty to me time and again,” Azazel said. “He has put his own life at risk on numerous occasions as he pretended to be a traitor to the court.”
“I thought Focalor was your sworn enemy,” I said.
“It has suited us to pretend thus,” Azazel replied.
“So it’s been you all along,” I spat. “You created the technology. You set up the operation. You sent Nathaniel to recruit Amarantha.”
Azazel nodded, as though I were a good pupil.
“Why?” I said, thinking of the cubs, all the humans, who’d lost their memories. “You have broken the laws of Lucifer’s kingdom. You’ve harmed humans for your own gain.”
“Do not quote chapter and verse at me,” Azazel said. “You, who defy Lord Lucifer and the Grigori at every turn. You, who cleave unto the laws only when it suits your purpose.”
“I’ve never killed an innocent for money,” I said. “Don’t compare my actions to yours. I thought you were the right hand of Lucifer, his most trusted advisor.”
“I have played that role for centuries untold,” Azazel acknowledged. “But I have waited, always waited, for my opportunity. And now it has come.”
“You’re crazy,” I breathed. “Open warfare against Lucifer? Do you really think you can seize power?”
“I do not think,” Azazel said. “I know. You cannot comprehend how many of the Grigori have longed to be rid of him—his arrogance, his changeability, his cruel whims. We have been at his mercy since time untold. And now we will band together and overthrow him, and a new order will begin.”
“A new order in which humans are subservient to angels?” I guessed, and seeing the answer in his eyes I felt anger pushing at my skin. “You would turn humans into nothing more than slaves, to be used by vampires and faeries and demons at will?”
“Yes,” Azazel replied. “And even you, Madeline Black, cannot prevent this. All over Lucifer’s kingdom the dominoes have begun to fall. And there is no savior to come for you now, no ally that has not sacrificed himself already to stand at your side.”
I felt a trickle of dread. Not for myself, but for Beezle and Gabriel and Wade and Samiel and Jude and J.B. I’d thought I’d assembled a pretty badass collection of backups, but all I’d really done was gather all my friends in one place so we could be killed together.
“And what of the Morningstar?” I said.
“You may have noticed that Lord Lucifer has been out of touch of late,” Azazel said. “Wherever he may be, he is not available to answer your cries for help.”
“You think I care about me?” I said furiously. “I’m talking about the complete and total destruction of you and your stupid plans. Lucifer is stronger than all of you put together. He won’t allow you to enslave humans.”
“You are overestimating Lord Lucifer’s strength,” Azazel said. “He has survived thus far on cunning and guile, two qualities that he has used to manipulate us against one another for centuries. He has maintained absolute power by playing the Grigori and the other supernatural courts as if we were nothing more than pieces on a chessboard. No more.”
“You’ll lose,” I said with certainty.
“And you will die regardless,” Azazel replied. “You shall not leave this court alive.”
Beezle tightened his claws on my shoulder. The rest of us pressed together more tightly as the demons inched closer.
“Don’t bother trying to fight off the demons,” I said to Gabriel in a voice barely a whisper.
I felt rather than saw his nod. I knew he understood.
Azazel and Focalor turned to leave the throne room. Antares gave me a cruel smile.
I blasted him with nightfire and he fell to the ground screaming. The demons descended on us. I dropped Nathaniel’s sword and scooped up Wade under one arm before he could attack. Gabriel grabbed Jude, and we all took flight. I passed Wade to Samiel in midair. Several of the charcarion demons that clung to the ceiling released their hold in an attempt to fall on us and knock us to the ground. J.B. blasted them out of the way with his wand.
Azazel and Focalor had stopped and turned to see what was happening. Azazel seemed amused as he looked up at us hanging near the ceiling.
“You will have to come down eventually,” Azazel said.
“Everything does,” I agreed. I felt the buildup of power inside me, and I dug deeper than I ever had before. I would get only one shot, and I needed it to count. “Gravity is a powerful force.”
I blasted the electricity spell out, and it exploded in a torrent of lightning from my hands. But I wasn’t aiming for Azazel or Focalor, as much as I would have enjoyed frying them both. I aimed for the ceiling.
There was a terrible crack, and half the ceiling came down.
Electrical wiring sparked, and wooden cross beams ignited.
Charcarion demons cried out as they were crushed. The ones that were not turned into mosquito splats rushed toward the door. Azazel and Focalor shouted at them to stop, blasted the demons for disobeying, but their desire to live overrode their instinct to obey. The two Grigori were overrun by the panicked horde.
Samiel’s shoulder was hit by falling debris and he lost his grip on Wade. The wolf tumbled toward the floor, barking and howling.
I shot downward to Wade, heedless of the falling chunks of ceiling, and grabbed him out of midair. The others followed me as I swooped through the room. I aimed for one of the broken windows, thinking it would be safest to get out of the throne room.
I pulled my wings in to fit through the shards of broken glass and discovered that the windows overlooked a giant sweep of landscaped garden. There were beds for flowers and sculptured hedges in the forms of animals, all covered in a heavy blanket of snow. I imagined it was quite magical in the summertime with everything in bloom. I had never actually looked out those windows before. Usually when I was in Azazel’s court I was too busy thinking up excuses to leave as soon as possible.
I flew most of the way across the lawn to the place where it bordered a forest, landed heavily in the snow on my knees and put Wade down. He nudged me with his head and I patted him tiredly.
The others came out behind me. Gabriel pulled me to my feet.
“Think we can catch a portal out of here?” I asked hopefully.
Gabriel shook his head. “I already attempted the spell as we flew. Azazel has blocked us from exiting that way as long as we are on his land.”
I glanced back at Azazel’s mansion. Charcarion demons flowed out the windows and over the lawn toward us, shouting and screeching their battle cries.
“What are the chances, do you think, that his property ends here?” I asked.
Gabriel shook his head. “It does not. Remember, I lived here for many years. Azazel owns acres of land. He desires complete privacy for his court.”
“So we either stand and fight, or we run through the woods being chased by demons for hours on end,” J.B. said.
“We could try to fly…” I started.
