The walls of the prison melted away to reveal a grassy field beneath a heavily clouded sky. My ears filled with the ravenous keening of demons. They pushed and shoved at each other to be at the front of the line of assault. In the near distance, the supernatural army positioned themselves against the demonic horde. I drew a circle out of instinct.
Where the clouds gathered most densely, a group of vampires stalked forward. At the front of the line was Sasha, his glamour dispersed to reveal the red globe of his irises. As always, I found my attention riveted to the sky. I swept the area for signs of the Nephilim in their golden armour.
A monstrous roar ripped through the field. My frozen heart stammered. I felt it beat weakly through the cold. A lion the size of a truck appeared in the middle of the clearing. Its golden mane fanned out in sharp relief against muscles straining with power. The demons beside me scrambled to charge. They tore flesh off each other in their enthusiasm. But they were kept in place by something.
“This one is for you, Alessia,” Lucifer spoke in my ear. I turned my head to the left and there he was. His voice had been mercifully absent from my mind ever since I’d commanded he get out. But now he stood atop the shoulders of the demons, his blisteringly white wings stretched out in all their glory. I shielded my eyes from the unholy sight of him. Yet I couldn’t deny his offer.
Swinging Morning Star in my grip, I stepped forward. Unlike the Nephilim, I wore no armour. On somebody my size and strength, it made no sense. It would only hinder me in battle. In his lion form, Max gouged the ground and ripped layers of dirt from the surface. His lips pulled back into a low growl that showed six-inch-long teeth. He had every intention of sinking those teeth into me as I picked up speed. He pounced and came charging towards me.
In the distance, somebody frantically called my name. I kept running. With each step the world became less solid. It flickered in muted tones interspersed with the bright flare of the Ley dimension. I was phasing. Max’s muscles bunched. I read his intention to catch me mid-air. If I allowed him to pin me, I would be dead in a second.
But I was beyond the realm of being hampered by shifter strength. When his paws would have made contact, I became incorporeal. With his chest exposed, I flicked Morning Star until the demon blade was lined up in the right angle. And then I shoved it forward through his chest, right into his heart. The roar that tore from his throat was more raspy than bellowing. It sounded off. But that didn’t stop me from twisting the blade until I felt his heart stop.
15
Laughter cackled around me, but it didn’t belong to Lucifer. A light so blinding it had to be a direct ray of sunshine pierced through the cloud. I winced and covered my eyes. Heat radiated through my circle, but it didn’t burn as badly as it would have if I wasn’t protected. When had I drawn a circle? My legs gave way. I sat there ensconced in my hedge magic and blinking my eyes.
Little by little, the light faded. So did the vision. I was back inside the prison. Dozens of dazed faces, including the professor’s, stared back at me. Evan was beside me, his chest heaving, and sweat pouring from the crown of his head. I sat on the failure line the professor had drawn. I turned to the vampire and found half his face melted. He sported a grotesque smile. I could see directly through one side of his face.
Next to him, Fred’s hands glowed with light magic. I guessed the blinding light had come from him. But it was the look in Fred’s eyes that said it all. Gone was the prisoner conditioned not to feel, and in its place was the Fred I had known. And he was looking at me like I was the devil incarnate.
He wasn’t the only one. Nobody besides Evan had moved an inch. I let go of the circle. He dropped down beside me.
“Are you okay?” he asked. I stared up into his ashen face.
My eyes watered. I couldn’t get my throat to work. My mind kept replaying over and over again the moment when Morning Star had pierced Max’s heart.
After another few seconds, the bell rang. What terrible bloody timing. Nobody moved despite the clarion call. It was only after the mage and Fred prepared to wheel the vampire away that the professor managed to compose himself.
“Right,” he said. He was visibly shaking. “That was unfortunate.”
“That was demonic,” Chanelle snarled. “She’s a danger to us all. She should be locked up in this place!”
Evan helped me up. “It wasn’t real,” he said.
“Maybe not this time!” one of Chanelle’s friends countered. “How long are we going to let her roam free while we wait for her to betray us?” There was a collective murmur of agreement.
“That’s enough,” the professor said. He opened up a portal right there in the classroom. “You’ve got other classes to attend.”
With many scathing glares in my direction, the students left. Eventually it was just Evan, the professor, and me. Though he didn’t say anything, the stern look on the professor’s face was a pretty good indication of what he was thinking. Without a word, Evan guided me through the portal. His grip became tight the second
