41

Dove

As we walked across the dark street, I smelled the toxic brimstone. The night sky blazed on the horizon.

Hellfire.

We dove into the car and sped toward the spewing of lethal fumes at the edge of the academy.

I pulled out my sword. All three guys looked at me, Enko opening his door of the black Land Rover. "You're not going to fight, little fox."

"You're not going to stop me. You three said it yourselves, I helped last time."

"You helped with some magic that you don't even know how to use yet. Magic of that magnitude only happens during your first transition into fox form or when you gain a tail," Kairos noted as he tried to gently persuade me into the passenger seat, pushing my blade back into its scabbard.

"It's too dangerous. We will handle this." Seven shoved my legs in and shut the door uncouthly. I gasped with indignation.

I opened the door and gave them all a healthy scowl. "Nobody else should die while I hide away."

Several dozen demons closed in on us from all directions. My Fated mates formed a circle around me.

It was enchanting. That connection between us. The beckoning of slaughter. And then, their weapons dealt fatal blows. Ash rained upon us. Seven hid in his shadows, and since it was night, he could be anywhere.

But I knew exactly where he was.

Enko's fiery blade slashed through the demons, countering their fire with his own hotter flame. Kairos slammed his mace into the ground, a crack of lightning as it shot into the sky, the droplets of rain hitting us moments later and extinguishing the hellfire.

The demons squealed as the rain touched them, but only the lowest Tier I demons were deterred. The other demons marched straight through it.

Metal clunked and groaned as the Land Rover shook. A hairy silhouette with red eyes growled at me, leaping down into my circle of safety.

Hellhound, Tier II.

I'd conducted the movements hundreds of times over the last week. My muscles remembered each fluid motion as I spun, holding firm to the hilt as it severed raw flesh.

It crumpled to the ground, whimpering as the fire consumed it. The magic flowing through my weapon cut demons like a hot blade through butter.

The connection with my Fated tugged at me. Kairos' muscles strained. Seven's leg burned. I spun around, finding them immersed in the bloodbath. I dashed over to Enko, helping with the three demons swirling around him—banshees, Tier III.

"Dove, get back." He growled while I ignored him.

We continued to fight, with no sign of the flood of demons slowing down. The conditioning of my training came into play. Despite every part of my body wanting to stop the endless exertion, I kept going. Until—

The air was sucked from my lungs.

The clammy hands of death seized me, dragging me into the Shadow Vale. I panted on the thin air, unable to get a breath in the pitch black darkness. I could see the faint outlines of the academy against the plum sky. I passed through the smoky silhouettes of arms and weapons.

The demon duo—ghouls, Tier III—finally delivered me.

The night's light blazed brightly compared to the Shadow Vale. Sweet air filled my lungs and I dropped to my knees on the asphalt of the campus parking lot. Breathing in the desperate will to live.

The two ghoul henchmen behind me gripped my arms roughly. Their hands were cold and wet and slimy. Their faceless presence observed me, unable to see the glint of their eyes beneath the hood. From my readings, I knew it was just rotten flesh. They were half-spirit demons, bound between the Shadow Vale and this world, never really in either. They tightly secured my wrists and pushed me to the ground, binding my feet as well.

That's when I saw him.

The archdemon who had led the slaughter at Hawthorn.

His uncanny black eyes swept over me in scrutiny. His bluish-gray skin, the carbon black horns. I was close enough to see his wrinkles, the cracked splits on his horns, his red lips. His mouth opened, revealing where the color came from on his bloodstained teeth. Was he trying to smile? Or planning how best to eat me?

My breath caught in my throat. Paralyzed during my one shot at redemption, at revenge. The bindings rubbed my skin raw as I struggled.

"At long last." His hollow voice sent shivers down my spine, the voice of my nightmares. He stepped forward, forcing me to look up at his monolithic height. Even Enko couldn't match it. "Goblin eat your tongue? I expected more of a fight when I found you." He grimaced as he looked me up and down.

"You," I breathed.

"Zalgore, commander of ninety legions," He bowed as he introduced himself. My heart stopped as rage loosed from his eyes, his teeth clenching into a snarl. "Hello, Disciple. You gave up your robes. No wonder you've been so hard to find."

Seven, Enko, and Kairos crusaded on a path searching for me, but I couldn't see past the hordes of monstrous brutes. Could they feel me as I could feel them?

"What do you want?" I demanded.

"How can you pretend you don't know what this is about? You caused all of this. The armies sent from hell, the attacks on the shrines, they're looking for you . A new Disciple of the goddess sent to destroy us."

The realization hit me like a tsunami, how the attacks seemed to follow me everywhere I went.

"Yes. All that blood is on your hands. A coward hiding from her fate. Come now and let this slaughter end."

"I'd rather die than submit to you," I snarled, finally breaking through the ropes that bound my feet, jumping to my feet and clinging onto my sword. I charged forward, slashing my blade at the archdemon.

He drew his weapon in the blink of an eye, blocking the blow with his enormous sword. My katana shattered, the top half of the blade fell to the ground as he swung again. He sliced, hitting my leg.

I staggered backward, forcing out a chuckle through the pain. Pain was easy. I could deal with pain. I had dealt with far worse than this.

We're coming, Dove. Hang in there. I heard Kairos' and Seven's voices. Concern for Enko leaked through, the image of blood spurting from his arm.

Zalgore's sword lifted to my throat, "If I can't make you come willingly, maybe she can change your mind."

He snapped his fingers, and a struggling Sana was brought forward, her white robes covered with the filth of battle. Zalgore grabbed her arm as she shook and cried out. The demon drew her to his chest, pushing aside her wild red hair, piercing her neck with his teeth.

"Sana!" I screamed as she cried out, held back by two demons holding me in place.

Zalgore drew back, licking the fresh blood from his lips. "The purest souls always taste the sweetest."

The demon tossed her aside, the color of her face sucked dry as she crumpled to the ground. I squirmed against my captors, unable to move an inch toward my friend as her eyes fluttered open. My heart ached in relief.

"We're surrounded on all sides, sir. Their reinforcements arrived earlier than anticipated. That rogue oni attack made them up their defenses," a demon said as she strode up to Zalgore.

The two demons who held me dragged me toward Zalgore and Sana, tossing me to the ground at her side. I scrambled over to her, cupping her face in my hands. "Sana, what are you doing here?"

Her voice was an airy wisp, weak and cracked. "Dove, you need to get out of here."

"We'll both get out of here."

Zalgore roared, garnering the attention of his demons, "Soon, we will not be confined beneath the earth. Soon, we will roam freely, as all others do. We will exterminate the kitsune."

Sana continued her frantic whispers, "Dove, I heard what they plan to do with you. You need to leave. It's a fate worth than death—"

"That's enough out of you." Zalgore lifted Sana by the hair, and she struggled against him, her hands gripping his to hold herself up.

"Let her go!" I screamed.

Zalgore laughed, tossing Sana aside. She crumpled back onto the ground.

Kairos and Seven sliced at the army of demons locking me in, Enko blazing a fiery path in his fox form. But there were dozens of enemies between us.

"Now," Zalgore grumbled, grabbing me by the hair and dragging me after him. I squirmed against his hold. "We'd best go. Grab that one. This one might need incentive."

A hole blasted through the demons and the Archfox appeared. He scraped the end of his scepter against the ground, vines leaping from the spots and whacking against demons as he raced toward me. Green light flowed from the scepter, the power of a hundred Archfoxes pulsing through it.

Zalgore dropped me as the Archfox broke through the barricade of demons. The archdemon howled, "Get him!"

Demons closed in on us as the Archfox reached me, tugging me from the ground and back toward my Fated mates. I turned, reaching for Sana.

Zalgore's blade slashed across my back, cutting open the old injury. I screamed as the subdued pain returned with full force. Vines slithered around the archdemon, fire burning through each new tether with loud snaps.

The Archfox kept me upright, tugging me toward my Fated mates as his magic held the demons at bay. "Hurry, shift into your fox form. I can't hold him for long." His voice was weak, the pulsing green light from his scepter dimming. Kairos' rain soothed me, Seven's presence trickled from the Shadow Vale. Enko fire disintegrating the demons. My Fated were so close.

Thwack.

The sound of metal slamming through flesh. The Archfox fell forward, a massive arrow tip piercing through his abdomen, hit from behind. Without his support, I collapsed to the ground, staring up at the blazing orange reflection of fire in the sky. I struggled for each breath, latching onto the connections of my Fated, shifting into my fox form in a last ditch attempt to survive.