Chapter 21

21

A grim Cain watched with the other reapers as news of the invasion spread rapidly. The media started off skeptical in their reporting, but it didn't take long before everyone realized this truly was happening and humanity panicked. With good reason. People were dying.

Something had to be done.

While large numbers of demons had been spotted around the world, the biggest army of demons appeared to be gathering in the Sahara Desert. Drone footage showed the disaster in full, horrifying color. A massive dais, glowing orange, kept disgorging monsters.

No surprise, Asher was freaking. "How did no one notice the demons constructing a gigantic portal?"

"Because it wasn't demons that made it," a somber Nova replied. "A human construction company was contracted via a shell company within a shell company owned by a vampire." Which they now knew to be demon spawn.

As much as Cain wanted to throttle Nova for what she'd done— She should pay! —even he understood they would need every ounce of magic they had at their disposal for the coming battle. Ridding themselves of their strongest witch would be foolish, but it pained him to see her walking about free when they had no idea what happened to Sadie.

Until now.

It was Mizuki who pointed. "Is that Sadie standing atop that sand dune?" Her observation led to someone pausing the live footage and then zooming in on the tall fellow in dark armor standing beside someone slight, wearing what appeared to be a burlap sack and a collar attached to a chain.

"Sadie." Cain whispered her name as he saw her alive but looking despondent. Not surprising given her situation, stuck amidst a massive demon army.

A murmur arose among those gathered. " How can we win without the messovenata?" "We're doomed."

The discouraging murmurs led to Nova clapping her hands and shouting, "Enough of the doom and gloom chatter. Yes, they've captured our reaper witch, but that doesn't mean we're going to roll over and give up."

Asher cleared his throat. "The Regina is correct. We have our own army."

"That is a fraction of the size," one of the newer reapers pointed out.

"One reaper is worth a dozen demons, and do you really think only we will be fighting?" Asher fixed the group with a hard stare. "Earth has people who will fight. Weapons that will even the odds. Technology?—"

"That ain't worth shit if they can't see ‘cause of the fucking demon fog," Larry, an older fellow, pointed out.

"I'll admit, the fight will be hard. Especially at night when most can't see the enemy. But that's where we will come in handy. Those of us who can see can guide those who can't. I've been talking to General Riley who some of you older lads might recall from your training days. He's had the military working for the last few years on a weapon capable of recreating UV light, and initial testing has shown it effective at piercing the fog."

"What about the monsters?" Kevin indicated the screen which showed massive beasts appearing, some with saddles, others with wings that immediately took flight.

"Never heard of a bazooka?" taunted a reaper at the back of the room.

As the room erupted into discussions of the best modern weapons to handle the threat, Vance sidled close to Cain and murmured, "So, when are we going to rescue Sadie?"

Cain glanced at his friend. "I doubt Asher will let us go. You know he wants all the reapers ready to fight."

"Fuck that. Two reapers won't make a difference. Our primary mission is to protect the messovenata," Vance reminded.

"Agreed, but at the same time, she'll be impossible to reach," Cain remarked. Odd how he was the one to show caution for once. Then again, he understood committing suicide because they'd rashly bolted in to rescue her would only make Sadie's situation worse.

"Don't be so sure of that. This so-called emperor isn't going to have her on the front lines. Most likely he'll establish a base of operation and stash her there."

"A base that will be protected."

"Protected, yes, but the bulk of his army has been on the move since arrival. Also, don't forget, we don't need to conduct a full-on frontal assault. A few people slipping in discreetly might be able to free Sadie and escape before we're noticed."

"What are you two whispering about? Is it about Sadie?" Mizuki joined them along with Barron.

"Vance thinks we should infiltrate whatever base this demon dude has set up to extract Sadie," Cain said.

"I'm in," Mizuki declared without hearing any details, ready to help her friend no matter what.

"Hold on," Barron started to say, only to have her whirl on him.

"Sadie needs my help and quite honestly, you can't say anything to change my mind."

"Wouldn't dream of it," Barron muttered. "But we should at least talk this plan through."

"We have a plan?" Cain drawled.

"Yeah, it's called portal in, find Sadie, get out." Vance provided the most basic one.

"You need to think a little bigger than that," Barron said. "Such as how can we be sure the portal can drop us in close enough? What if the demon in charge has a block on those kinds of doorways like the castle valley does?"

"What if he doesn't?" Mizuki countered. "We won't know until we try."

"Let's assume we can get in. Once in the enemy zone, we'll need to do our best to remain unnoticed." Cain glanced at Vance. "That means no gunfire. Too loud."

"Obviously. I'll bring a sword and a dagger. But I would recommend we all have a firearm because if we have to fight our way out, bullets from afar will work to our advantage if we're overwhelmed." Vance wasn't about to give up his gun, and for once Cain could see why it might come in handy.

"We should keep our group small as it will be less likely to be noticed on a stealth mission," Cain added. Not to mention, he didn't want to take away from those heading out to the front lines.

"Agreed." Vance nodded. "I'll also add we should get going soon. The demon fucker took Sadie for a reason, and I'd rather not see her used against us."

A reminder that Sadie's powers as a witch could tilt the tide.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go." Despite his initial caution, Cain was ready.

"Go where?" Nova's brusque question froze Cain, but not in fear of being caught. He still had to clench his fists lest he use them against the woman who'd fucked Sadie.

He whirled to glare. "We're going to save Sadie. And don't even think of stopping us."

A pained expression flitted across her face. "I would never stand in your way. On the contrary, I hope you succeed."

"Why, so you can try again to sacrifice her?" Cain sarcastically drawled.

"I made a mistake." Nova's lips turned down.

"Understatement," Vance murmured.

"I am sorrier than you can imagine, which is why I want to help. Tell me what I can do," Nova asked.

"You could start by making sure Asher doesn't interfere." Cain would hate to tell his commander to fuck off, but he would. Anything for Sadie. A woman who'd come into his life and pissed him off, even as she drew him in and made him feel things he'd never imagined. Like love.

"Don't worry about Asher. I'll tell him I need you for a special ops mission. Get ready while I let him know," Nova said.

It didn't take them long to get outfitted. No one questioned their visit to the armory to stock up. Guns, knives, swords. Cain already had his scythe.

It would appear Nova kept her word since no one stopped them as they headed for the dais in the woods. Only as they stood on it, hands linked, did Mizuki say, "What if Fay can't or won't portal us to Sadie?"

"She'd fucking better," Cain growled.

"She will." Nova surprised them by stepping out of the forest, looking wan but determined.

"What the fuck are you doing here? You're not welcome on this mission," spat Cain.

"I'm here to give the voice, the one you call Fay, what she's been asking for." Nova clasped her hands before whispering, "As atonement for my actions, I will offer her my body."

Mizuki gasped but Vance replied before anyone else could. "You're assuming she wants the body of a traitor."

The remark pursed Nova's lips. "You're right. She might not. But it's worth a try."

"Agreed. Get in here." Cain held out his hand to draw her into their circle, resisting the urge to crush the fragile bones in her hand. He might not like what Nova had done, but her offer did help.

"Ready?" Nova asked, holding out a talisman.

"Let's go save our reaper witch!" Barron declared.

The cold enveloped them, a second at most, before scorching desert heart sucked the moisture from their skin.

To his surprise, Nova stood with them, looking shocked but still herself.

Or was she?

"Nova?" Mizuki spoke her name softly. "Or is it Fay?"

"It's me," Nova stated. "Fay rejected me."

Cain snorted. "Told you she wouldn't want a traitor."

"Actually, she indicated I would be needed. She showed me the way in. There is a secret entrance into the fortress the emperor has taken over."

"She spoke to you?" Mizuki sounded surprised.

"Not so much spoke as showed me images of where we had to go." Nova glanced around. They'd landed in a gully of hard packed sand and rock. She pointed. "There is a boulder covering the opening to a tunnel over there. It will lead to the lowest level of the fortress. Sadie is being kept in the throne room by the demon prince's side."

"Fuck. I was hoping we wouldn't have to fight him." Cain still remembered his shock when he'd tried to slice off Moloch's head only to have the demon laugh off his attempt at decapitation. Demon royalty apparently couldn't die via normal means.

"When it comes time, I'll distract him so you can get Sadie out," Nova offered.

"What about you?" Mizuki asked.

"Once you're clear, I'll activate my talisman. Don't worry. I'm not planning on dying today." Did anyone else hear the fake note in Nova's voice? She expected to die.

Not Cain's problem so long as she didn't double-cross them. If she even so much as looked like she would, he'd be the first to take her head.

The boulder took all three reapers to heave aside. The tunnel beyond proved a tight fit for his broad shoulders. It didn't improve as they went deeper, meaning they had to move along in single file. Vance took the lead, followed by Barron. The witches took the middle with Cain positioned at their rear. He just hoped if a threat tried to ambush them, he could turn around as he'd hate to get gutted from the back.

The tunnel wove as it rose, dark and stifling, silent but for the shuffling of their feet, brush of fabric on stone and huffing of breath.

When Vance whispered, "The tunnel ended," they all stopped in their tracks and waited.

"I can't open it," his old friend stated after several minutes.

"Let me pass," Nova demanded. A shuffling ensued as she squeezed to the front.

He felt more than saw the magic she used, a tingling on his skin that made his hair rise. With a grinding noise, the wall blocking them slid aside, and faint light entered.

The party exited the tunnel and entered a dungeon, or whatever they were called in this part of the world. Made of stone, the cells were open, their doors rotted on their hinges. A layer of thick dust lay over everything, disturbed only by the multi-legged bugs that now made it their home. They traversed the cell block level quickly, the next door being of the mundane variety but locked.

Nova raised her hand again, and with a click, they had access to the stairs beyond. Before they climbed, Mizuki whispered, "Fog," indicating demons lay ahead.

Being at the rear of the party and lowest on the winding steps, Cain wanted to grumble as he got to listen as Vance and Barron handled the first sentries they'd encountered. The whistle as the blade swung, the silence as the sharp edge hit flesh, then the stench of demon ichor as they bled out.

"Clear," Vance muttered.

The party kept moving, with Cain stepping over the bodies of the drones just before they disintegrated. The next level had more cell blocks but in better shape given they still had doors on them. There were also demons at the far end who spotted them, but rather than give warning, came racing for the group, snarling and slavering, eyes alight with feral madness.

The monsters loped on their hands and feet, no finesse to their charge, and thus quickly met their deaths as Barron and Vance swung, one slicing through a chest, the other managing to mostly sever a head.

The demons hit the floor and they passed on with Mizuki muttering, "I feel so useless with the damned fog."

"If needed, I can emit a burst of light," Nova remarked. "But once I do, we'll draw any demons in range as they'll sense the magic."

"Hopefully the demon prince was cocky and left the windows uncovered on the upper levels," Vance stated. The sunlight would burn through the mist the drones emitted as camouflage.

The next doorway led to another stairwell but before they could climb, Nova yelled, "Behind me!"

No one argued with the witch who raised her arms in magical preparation. Everyone tucked to her rear. The shield she raised became visible as a massive fireball rounded the stairwell curve and slammed into it.

"Demon wizard," Vance muttered. "There goes our surprise."

Meaning they'd had to move quick before the demons mobilized to come after them. As the second the fireball rolled down the stairwell, Cain readied. The moment it spattered, he went sprinting, pounding up the steps in time to see the wizard—an ugly, gray, and bulbous bastard—raising his hands to form the next missile.

Still in motion, Cain dove, sliding under the forming fireball and slashing across the legs of the creature, drawing a strident scream. Cain rolled and popped to his feet to finish him off. A stroke of his scythe removed its head, the best way to ensure monsters stayed dead.

The rest of the party huffed up the stairs, but he didn't wait. Cain strode out from the small chamber at the top of the stairs into a grander space where demons crawled in every direction.

"Oh fuck." In their planning, they'd assumed by the many attacks happening on Earth that the fortress would be light on troops.

Wrong.

The windows in this chamber had also been covered. Not an issue for the reapers but the witches were hampered.

Nova murmured, "I can't see for the fog, but according to Fay, Sadie should be in a chamber beyond this one."

Glancing past the waiting foes, Cain spotted a grand door at the far end of the room. Comprised of bronze and ten feet in height, it would be a challenge to reach but Cain had never been one to back down.

He strode for it, a steady and deadly machine, swiping left and right, cutting a swathe through the demons that converged. He was flanked to his left and right by Barron and Vance, as grim faced as him, just as methodical in their movements.

A sudden burst of light overhead had Mizuki exclaiming, "I can see the demons!"

However, that proved short-lived as the illumination extinguished, leading Nova to curse, "There's another wizard nearby."

"On it!" Barron shouted, slicing his way to a pedestal upon which perched an ugly wizard with pustule-covered skin. Its gnarly fingers moved rapidly, prepping a spell.

Mizuki yelled, "Heads up! I'm gonna poke a hole in the ceiling."

The reapers kept fighting, swinging, and killing. Cain felt more than saw the impact of whatever Mizuki did. A hard thud and scattering of embers led to a cracking sound then the tumbling of stone and dust as she created a hole that let in bright sunlight.

The distracted demon wizard saw his spell fizzle and that was when Barron stabbed him through the gut.

As the sunlight hit the drones, they hissed but didn't flee. Instead, they chose to change their focus from the reapers to the witches. Mizuki and Nova stood back-to-back, lips moving, hands weaving, one tossing fireballs, small ones that exploded on impact and caused squealing as demons caught fire and ran around in panic. Nova chose to electrocute, lightning jetting from her fingertips, branching out as it hit bodies, striking with deadly results.

Barron shouted, "I'll cover the witches. Go get our messovenata."

Cain glanced at Vance. "Ready?"

"Fuck yeah."

They charged for the door only to skid to a stop as the massive entrance swung open and a voice boomed, "Welcome."

Before he could react, an invisible force grabbed Cain in a tight vise and dragged him forward. He wasn't alone. Vance joined him, face straining against the magical fist that brought them inside a room empty of demons. Bright sunlight streamed through the windows, illuminating the space in all its rich detail. The lush opulence was barely noticed as Cain's gaze fixed on the one important thing.

Make that two.

The smirking dude atop a raised platform, sitting on a red brocade and gold gilded chair. Kneeling by his side, collared and chained, Sadie.