Blood Dawn
Queen of Abandon, Book Three
Rae Foxx
Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Epilogue
Afterword
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1
She'd had black hair and plump lips and pale cheeks with the slightest pink tinge to them. And she hadn't been scared. She was brave, that little girl of mine. She'd seen all the demons pouring out of the gates around me as I stood in shock, the moment that it took me to send out my power to try to grab her. She'd watched them with curiosity in her eyes, but not fear.
She was either brave or desensitized. I hoped it didn't mean he'd had her around hordes of demons. As Queen of Abaddon, even I wouldn't have introduced her to the subjects of my rule for many years yet.
Either way, she was brave. But why had he brought her here? To tempt us into searching harder for her. Or to mock us.
"Lilith," Lucifer yelled. "Do something!"
I snapped back to the present. I stood with my arms spread and my deep magical reserves strained as I held up a shield of power to keep demons from escaping Abaddon.
My mind whirred with idea after idea, but none were feasible. I couldn't put up a shield and leave it. If I didn't have enough power to maintain this one, I certainly couldn't leave one. The demons would shred it in seconds.
They were weak alone, but in a mass like this, their powers worked together to batter at me.
"Freeze!" I screamed, using magic to amplify my voice again. I weighed the words down, soaking them with as much power as I could.
"Thank goodness you're back." My brother's voice carried over the sounds of the demons snarling and scraping. I saw him walking through the crowd. Demons moved aside for him. Asmodeus. My little brother. He'd sided with us during the rebellion and had been sent to live under our charge. The first Fallen we'd created, and general of our armies.
The armies that should've been helping us now.
"What is happening?" I asked. I wanted to scream in frustration, but I was back in Abaddon. Even if all the demons had found a way to ignore my every word, I was still the Queen.
He reached the front of the crowd and stepped up to the shield, wincing as he touched his finger to it. The demons ran all around him, still battering at the wall of power.
"How are you doing that?" I asked.
He dropped to one knee. "Forgive me, Sister, Lord Lucifer."
I glanced over my shoulder at Luc, who still stared at the gates with a constipated look on his face.
Asmodeus gave me a questioning look. "Is he well?"
"He is not. Can you help with these demons?" I asked.
"They refuse to listen," he replied. "The Fallen and I are useless. They are running and hiding if I'm not mistaken. The demons were giving us a berth, but there's no discernible reason."
"Go find them. Round them up," I hissed. "Get up." I still stood with my arms outstretched. "Start rounding demons up as you can and get them back to Abaddon. Work on Earth to the best or your ability. It is going to be overrun if we don't stop this soon."
He gave Lucifer one last glance, then nodded. "Of course."
He couldn't leave without fighting against my wall of power unless I dropped it.
"Luc," I called over my shoulder. "Come here."
How he'd managed to get back into his ethereal body without his magic made me want to gnash my teeth. What had Raphael done to keep Lucifer's magic blocked so soundly?
He walked over, staring at his hands. "I don't have my power," he said like a lost little boy looking for his mommy.
"I know." I couldn't hold the shield up much longer. A few more demons had slipped through at the edges. I understood Lucifer's lost expression. In a few minutes, I was going to be forced to let the shield go and allow the demons of Abaddon loose on Earth.
There were countless demons in Abaddon. Hundreds of thousands at the least, maybe millions. Some demons could procreate. Like our version of rats. We were able to keep them in relatively low numbers thanks to the Hounds—oh, the hounds. What of Jellybean? Where was he?
"Jellybean!" I yelled, projecting my voice. It wouldn't reach out of the realm, but if he'd come back, he'd hear it.
"Where are my powers?" Lucifer whispered.
Asmodeus and I exchanged a look. He'd never been like this. We'd been by Lucifer's side since the dawn of time, in Elysium and then here in Abaddon. He'd never been lost. Scared. Diminished.
Right now, he was all of those things. "Luc, grab my arm," I told him. I'd have to figure this shit out myself. Find his magic, find our daughter, and fix Abaddon.
He put his hand on my shoulder and seemed to notice the demons for the first time. "What is happening?"
I sighed and tried not to be exasperated. He'd just lost his powers, after all. "Raphael opened the gates. He had Ariel. As soon as the gates were opened, the demons poured out."
"I can't close the gates," he said simply. "I tried."
"I know, Luc, I know. I'm holding them back, but I have to let go. Hang on to me."
He nodded.
I turned back to Asmodeus, who had been watching our exchange with a shocked expression. He wiped it from his face when he saw my gaze return to him. "Find the hidden Fallen and do what you can. Check in with me often."
"Ready," I whispered. I counted up to three, then let the magic go.
Asmodeus had been correct. The demons streamed around Lucifer, Asmodeus, and me as if we were trees standing in their path. Nothing they could do but go around.
I watched them go for a few moments, then grabbed
