In a frantic scramble, men leaped across the chasm, choosing one side or the other—joining their allies so they wouldn’t be caught alone among enemies.
As the two forces separated, the violence quieted.
Twenty-five Keys mythics retreated toward our ranks, their backs to us. Tyrone headed the group, and beside him was Blake, who’d somehow crossed the chaos and created the narrow rift, drawing a literal line through the battlefield. He clutched his staff, breathing hard from the strain of the magic he’d unleashed.
He and his allies faced fifteen other Keys, who’d withdrawn to the far end of the intersection. Twelve were demon contractors, their powerful beasts lined up in front of them. The remaining twenty Keys mythics littered the pavement, victims of the sudden outbreak of violence.
Darius slowly slid two daggers from their sheaths, one in each hand.
Across the intersection, the group of Keys traitors parted down the center. A man wearing a black leather duster ambled leisurely toward the battle. He was too far to identify, but the winged demon following obediently on his heels was unmistakable: Nazhivēr.
Xever stopped—and Xanthe appeared from among the Keys’ minions she’d corrupted to join him.
Side by side, the two cult leaders faced us.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Ready,” Darius called quietly.
I tensed, my hand jumping to my holstered paintball gun.
“Who are you?” Tyrone shouted at Xever, his voice hoarse with rage.
“Enéas,” Xever called. “Eight years ago, you left me no choice but to exterminate all of Enright.”
Ezra went rigid beside me.
“Tonight, again due to your interference, we will exterminate your guild.”
“And,” Xanthe added, pushing her long ponytail off her shoulder, “we’ll eliminate the Keys of Solomon. Controlling them has grown tedious since your friends murdered so many of my loyal officers.”
Tyrone took half a step back, glancing at Blake. “This is this infiltration you were talking about?”
“We just thought you should know, Enéas,” Xanthe taunted, “that you’re to blame for all this death.”
Ezra bared his teeth, his breath rushing through his nose—then he barked a sudden, quiet laugh. “She’s trying to make me lose control in front of everyone.”
My eyes widened. Lucky for us, Ezra losing control of his demonic magic was impossible now.
Tyrone shoved to the front of his Keys group. “You’re dead—you and all your traitors!”
“Are you going to kill us?” Xever swept his hands out. “You and what army?”
Confusion bubbled through me. I wasn’t the only one, and my anxious gaze darted from Ezra to Kai to Aaron’s back.
Then I heard it. A raucous, pounding beat. Stone hitting stone, over and over.
Pinkish light glimmered down the avenue to the west. The strange glow grew closer—and the shapes grew clearer. A horde of stocky creatures stomped toward us. Short legs, long arms with claw-tipped fingers, and snarling snouts framed by a crest of horns.
Fiendish gargoyles, their faces identical to the sculptures that had guarded the Court’s hidden lair in Enright. Every inch of their stone bodies was carved with runes that glowed pinkish white.
Golems. Animated golems.
As their crashing footfalls grew louder, a new sound reached my ears, low and insidious.
Snarls. Bestial, animal snarls.
I jerked around, facing the street to the north.
If not for the streetlamps, they would’ve been invisible. Moving with slow, skulking steps on silent paws. Raised hackles, matted fur, milky white eyes. Mutant werewolves with bulging muscles slunk along the pavement, foaming drool dripping from their bared teeth.
Terror screeched along my nerves, and I spun jerkily toward the avenue to the east.
Utterly silent shadows drifted through the night, visible only by the faint rings of red glowing in their eyes. One passed a bit too close to a streetlamp and the orange light illuminated a man—a man with inverted eyes, fingers elongated into claws, and a gaping mouth displaying two long fangs.
They could only be vampires. Lurking in the darkness, they were nearly impossible to see and I couldn’t even guess how many prowled our way.
I turned to face the street to the south, the road from which Xever had approached. My mind reeled with panic, and a voice muttered that surely, surely there weren’t more. Golems, werewolves, and vampires—already an unstoppable force, and they were likely enhanced with demon blood too. Xanthe and Xever couldn’t have more overpowered forces to deploy, could they?
When I saw Xanthe’s smile, I knew the answer.
The Court’s final reinforcements didn’t stomp or slink or prowl. They simply walked out of the darkness to join their leaders. Six young men, well built but not particularly impressive—except for their eyes.
Eyes sheened with crimson power.
Demon mages. Six of them.
My heart was in my throat, beating so hard and fast that I couldn’t breathe around it. I reached out to either side and closed my fingers around Ezra’s and Kai’s arms, holding on tight.
“Keys!” Darius’s voice cracked like a gunshot. “None of these enemies are what you know. They’ve all been enhanced—they’re faster and stronger than you’ve ever seen.”
Tyrone shot a disbelieving look over his shoulder, his jaw clenched and nostrils flared.
“Tyrone, deal with the contractors and demon mages. I’ll run interference for you, and my teams will cover our flanks.”
Nodding, the officer started barking commands at his diminished troops.
“Aaron, take the wolves,” Darius ordered. “Tabitha, the golems. Conserve your strength—and watch out for the vampires when they make their move.”
Aaron shot a quick look at Tabitha, then yelled, “Mages, to me! Drew, Philip, Zora, you too!”
“Sorcerers!” Tabitha called. “The goal is to knock them over. If you have an impello spell, get it ready! If you work best with a blade, get over to Aaron’s team!”
Mythics ran in both directions, rearranging at top speed as the enemy forces approached the perimeter of the intersection.
“Tabitha!” I rushed over to her, digging into a belt pouch. “Here, use this.”
I slapped a square of purple fabric into her hand. Her fine eyebrows scrunched in confusion.
“Unfold it and toss it over golems to drain their magic—but be careful, because it can
