Chapter 29

29

XAVIER

A fter approximately five minutes passed, the cloud of destruction subsided. I retracted the silk back into my spinnerets, then shifted back into my humanoid form.

Inspecting my witch for any damage, I cupped his face in my hands.

He looked up at me with fearful amber eyes. I stroked his cheeks with my thumbs, his lovely face unhurt. All of him safely before me. Physically before me again, filling me with so much joy and trepidation.

I loved him so much that every single stray thought of him not being with me gave strength to my fears. He was precious, to be carried away to the safest corner of the universe and hidden from all pain.

That didn't exist, especially now.

"I'm okay," Roman said. "You?" He coughed on the debris dust tainting the air.

I nodded, my hands sliding down to his shoulders.

In the hole where the sky had broken, the blue stars of the demon realm twinkled. Butterfly's dust began to fall, indicating that the barriers of time and space were falling apart, everything melting together, the future and the past colliding.

I growled, my bloodlust baying for Butterfly's head.

"Let's go." Roman jumped on my back.

"You there!" a male agent bellowed from the blockade.

Ignoring him, I took off again, navigating the back route to June's house. Vaulting over garden walls and fences, the pixels seemed to follow me in a colorful line. In no time, we arrived in the back garden of the house next to Roman's childhood home.

I put him down, jogging over to the fence to check the time door. Peering over the edge, I saw agents eyeing the skies, talking on phones and radios. Not a single demon in sight. There were barriers already in place around the door, everything heavily guarded.

Sweat beaded on my brow. It wouldn't be long until the towers broke my natural defenses. We couldn't linger here.

Why wasn't Ismael attacking this time? Were the risks too high with the scales tipped in the witch's favor here? Or was he aware of the collapsing walls? Was he biding his time until the dust spread everywhere, giving him a vast expanse of times to dominate?

What a terrible thought.

"Ready?" I asked.

Roman returned to my back, whispering about the damage done to his grandmother's house and the garden. Her vibrant flowers were crushed, patches torn from the grass. And the house itself did not look healthy at all.

Such a shame.

I cleared the fence, barreling toward the time door. Agents spotted me, calling out to me with their guns drawn, their Synth ready for the attack.

I ran harder and faster.

"Fire!" a woman cried.

Three Synth beams crackled through the air. I dodged each one with inches to spare, sweat dripping down my face. That wretched tower seemed to sizzle at me like a desert sun.

"Don't let him through!"

A man brandished his talisman.

I shifted, a dull ache shooting through my veins. Before one of the agents managed to banish me, I fired a series of silk at them. One. Two. Three. I yanked on the strands as I ran, sending them tumbling onto the grass. The talisman bounced out of the man's grip.

Avoiding another Synth beam, I made the final push, hearts pounding in my ears. I fired off more silk, clearing a path straight for the door. At the last minute, I would throw Roman through. I could feel him already preparing for the launch.

A Synth beam hit me in the side at the last moment, sending me spinning through the air and Roman was flung from my back. It burned my flesh, spreading up my torso until it reached my underarm.

"Wankers!" I howled, hitting the grass on my other side.

"I'll fucking say," Roman said, from behind me.