They fire back with beams and blasts of divine radiance, but what good could smiting really do against Beelzebub at the height of his power? Leviathan was a lucky shot, and only truly effective because she’d already been weakened from our previous encounter. And both the angels had been flying and teleporting everywhere the entire night. They were going to run out of essence sooner or later, and so was I. And where would that leave us?
Suddenly the chariot juddered, and I held on harder, this time to avoid tipping over the sides. Apollo was whipping the reins sharply, shouting at his stallions, working them into a lather.
“What the hell is going on?” I yelled.
Artemis looked at me with huge eyes, strapping her bow to her back, then holding on for dear life as well. “I don’t like where this is going. He’s tried this before and it rarely works. If it does, Beelzebub’s done for. But if it doesn’t – ”
The chariot sped on even faster, the wind shrieking in my ears, thrashing at my hair. And then the entire thing, horses and all, burst into golden flames. Apollo’s body, too, was ablaze, his eyes set dead straight in front of him.
“Full speed ahead,” Apollo shouted.
Oh. Oh no. We were going to ram the Prince of Gluttony.
29
Beelzebub roared. The horses screamed. Somewhere in the flurry of sunfire, black lightning, and buzzing flies, I could hear the twins shouting indistinct phrases that might have been warnings, or curses. And then the world fell apart beneath me, the chariot torn into wreckage by swarms of flaming insects.
Apollo howled in agony. The stallions neighed in terror as they dissipated into motes of sunlight. Artemis and Apollo tumbled through the air, reaching their hands for the sky, and I followed. I shook my head, fighting to clear the haze away from my brain, but part of me was still dazed. I guess falling out of broken wreckage midair does that to a guy.
I pushed past the dizziness, plunging through the air, arms outstretched and roaring as I fought to outrace the twins. They were falling too fast. And then came the strange creaking and slithering of shapes that burst out of the grass, what looked at first like great worms, but were actually thick, sturdy tendrils.
Huge vines raced up into the sky in twists and spirals. One snaked around Artemis’s midsection, catching her, then lowering her to the ground. Another tangle of vines formed into a crude lattice, almost like a fireman’s net. Apollo landed in it with a thud and a soft “Oomph.” The vines receded, bringing him gently down to earth, among the scattered splinters and twisted remains of his chariot.
I flapped my wings, careful not to push too suddenly against gravity and wind, fluttering as I steered myself into a soft landing. I fell into a crumple in the grass, anyway, groaning as I sprawled out in the earth. We survived. At least we all made it. I looked up into the clouds, and the anger started boiling inside me again. Beelzebub was still up there, fighting off both Samyaza and Raziel. Ramming him had done absolutely nothing.
Apollo looked around, then groaned. “I’m not sure that was worth it.”
I stood up, shaking my wings vigorously to clear away debris. “I’m not sure it was, either. But I’m glad you two made it, thanks to Florian and Dionysus. They’re somewhere around here. They saved you.”
Lina came running up to us, her armor somehow even bloodier than before. Box followed closely, bumping against my shins for a head pat. I knelt next to him, rubbing him on the lid.
“It’s okay, boy. Daddy’s fine.”
“That was insane,” Lina said, her hands on her head, her eyes wide. “You guys were like a runaway train. The explosion looked crazy from down here. I can’t believe you survived that.”
Sadriel stepped up next to her, wielding a glowing book that was issuing streams of smoke, probably a freshly used bullet journal. “You’ll notice, young Lina, that your kind are extremely resilient.” She nudged up her glasses, giving Apollo a pointed glare. “And while nephilim can be foolhardy, something I’d chalk up to inexperience and youth, it doesn’t surprise me to find that even gods can behave similarly. Irresponsibly. Recklessly.”
“I thought it would work,” Apollo said. He groaned, then clutched at his belly, grimacing like he’d been shot, though I couldn’t see any injuries on him.
“It’s his link to the chariot,” Artemis said quietly. “The thing is part of him. It’s a great ride, sure, but if it gets into an accident – ”
“Hnngh,” Apollo grunted, wincing through the pain. “I never get into accidents.”
“Shut up.” Artemis tilted him back slowly, until he was lying flat in the grass. “Don’t talk right now. Try and rest. We die out here, we’re done for. Remember that.”
Within moments Florian and Dionysus had run up to join us, too. The park was still filled with the bizarre botanical menagerie the pair of them had summoned up from the depths, but their combined effort had been more than worth it. The ground was close to fully clear, apart from some pockets of fighting between isolated demons and the Lorica.
“Brother,” Dionysus said, kneeling to lay a hand on Apollo’s forehead. “What stupid thing have you done this time?”
Apollo chuckled. “And I’m supposed to be the responsible one, right? Apollonian, Dionysian.”
“Hush,” Dionysus said. “We all of us are not black and white.” He shut his eyes as pale pink tendrils of energy ran down his forearm and into Apollo’s skin. Apollo closed his eyes, too, sighing in relief.
Florian clapped me on the back. “We’re almost done down here, but you’ve got plenty of fighting left to do up there, it looks like. I’d help, but, you know.” He gestured at his shoulders.
“I know, buddy,” I said, patting him back. “I know.”
And Beelzebub wasn’t
