25. Blaise

It was quiet when we arrived at the fault line, the only noise coming from the writhing and crackling world we could glimpse beneath.

I didn't know what I'd been expecting, but it wasn't a near-silent forest, nothing but the mountains to keep us company. The demons, River, and Sebastian had travelled to Hell almost instantly. It'd almost killed me when River had grabbed me in a rough hug, whispering in my ear to stay safe.

It wasn't myself I was worried about, but an intense look from Mori had reminded me that River wasn't alone. Any ghasts or demons would have to get through Mori first.

Part of me wished I could fight alongside them, but maybe being topside was better. There was less risk of me fucking up or someone getting hurt because of me. Stopping other demons from the Uprising getting through was useful, at least. If we could hold the fault line then it might give Cal and the others an edge.

"This landscape should work in our favour," Toby said, lips pursed as he turned in a slow circle. "We can lay traps and hide in the trees. That way we should avoid an ambush and just pick them off as they arrive. Take them out before they even realise we're here."

I nodded in agreement. Really, we couldn't have asked for a better setting. Unless we were massively overwhelmed, we should be able to hold the line with relative ease. "We can't take them out permanently though. Not all of them, anyway."

Unlike the demons, my fire wasn't enough to remove a supe's immortality. Toby could, but only if he bit them with venom. Vampires rarely did that in battle situations because it was time consuming. As well as that, vampires had a finite amount of venom in their bodies. It would replenish, but not fast enough for what we would potentially looking at. Generally, vampires and mages would kill a supe, then wait for a wolf, demon, or angel to come along and finish the job.

"Ah, but we can." Toby flashed a grin as he tossed something through the air at me. It looked like a small gun, but instead of a traditional bullet chamber, it was full of clear vials.

"What is this?"

"My venom. I've been stocking up these vials over the years, just in case."

"Smart."

"How's your aim?"

I gave him a tight smile. "Good. Better than River's, at least."

"Then we should be fine. We have enough vials for a hundred demons. Any more than that and we'll have to go old school and hope for the best."

Meaning Toby would have to physically bite them. A chill went down my spine. I hated that he'd have to get that close to demons who'd be fighting just as hard to remove his immortality. "Let's hope it won't come to that."

"I'm not worried," Toby said as his hand found its home around my throat. "You've got my back, right?"

I flashed back to the bookstore, to how I'd very much not had their backs. I swallowed, the feeling strange with his hand there. "But earlier…"

Toby's fingers tightened slightly, just enough to make me stop speaking. "But nothing. You had all of our backs, Blaise. All we can do is try, okay? If you've tried, then you haven't failed. It's as simple as that."

It did sound simple when Toby phrased it like that. I wished I could believe him though. Maybe when I'd seen Bailey, Oscar, and Lucky with my own eyes, maybe then I'd be able to let this guilt go.

Or maybe this was going to set me back. Who the fuck knew?

"We got this, boy," he whispered. "So long as we're together, nothing can take either of us down."

He let go to start shooting shields and compulsion nets into the air. We'd set a few on the perimeter on our way in, giving us advance warning of any supes approaching.

I didn't move yet, just watching as Toby put layer after layer of protection in place. Once again, I was standing back and letting him take control. It was what I wanted.

But was it what I needed?

Up until recently, I would've said a resounding yes. But Toby's words, regardless of how he'd meant them, were yet another reminder of how dangerous this thing between us was.

"So long as we're together, nothing can take either of us down."

That was true, to a certain extent. With Toby as my master, I felt like I could achieve anything. Being with him had made me happier than I'd been in decades. But this had an expiry date. Once this was over, would I be back to square one? Would I be able to find my way back to the light on bad days without him to guide me?

Those weren't questions to think about now. Toby disappeared into the trees, no doubt planting more surprises for our uninvited guests. Squaring my shoulders, I pulled on my powers to add to Toby's shields.

Once the air was shimmering with layers of protection, I started putting down my own traps. Pools of fire that were inert until stepped on. Walls of flames that would activate when a ward was crossed. I even uncoiled a length of wire I'd found in the basement of the club, weaving it across the ground in front of the fault line.

"What does that do?" Toby asked curiously, emerging from the trees and dusting his hands off on his jeans.

I smirked slightly, gesturing for him to step back. "Watch."

When I was satisfied that he was far enough back, I crouched. Summoning a spark, I touched my finger to the wire.

The whole thing lit up in a flash, any leaves or twigs touching it instantly incinerated.

Toby gave a low whistle. "So we're going for fried demon. Excellent."

"It's not perfect, as I have to touch it for it to work. And if they figure out what it is, they can do it too, so just make sure you don't step on it."

"I don't think we need to worry about that," Toby said sagely. "These are demons who've willingly chosen to rise up against Lucifer. I don't think they're going to be the sharpest tools in the shed."

Something nudged against my power, pulling it a mile south. "My first ward's been tripped. Three demons."

Toby tensed, his head cocked to the side. His ward was a quarter of a mile past mine. "Yep, I've got three too. Let's get into position."

We'd established the best hiding places when we'd arrived. Mine was up the side of the mountain, tucked between two towering oaks. Toby was on the other side of the clearing, swiftly climbing an enormous trunk. Straddling a lower branch, he lay across it, his gun held loosely in his hands.

The plan was that Toby would take out demons as they approached, then I'd deal with any that slipped past him.

Simple.

The demons came into view—two males and a female. The fire pit caught the first two, while the third was trapped in the wall of flames. Toby dispatched all three from his position in the tree before I even had a chance to lift my gun.

I glared up at the wink he shot my way. "Rude."

"Don't worry," he said, just as I felt the pings of supe after supe crossing the wards. "I think you'll have plenty to do."

Five minutes later and I was regretting ever feeling disgruntled at not getting a shot in. Swarms of demons were rushing through the trees, tripping our wards in every direction. Thankfully the shields and traps we'd set were preventing them from getting too close. Toby and I were picking them off from our hiding places with ease, sending demon after demon to their everlasting rest.

As I shoved my hand into my pouch to reload the gun once more, my heart skipped a beat. There were only four left.

My hands shook as I loaded them into the chamber. Running out of venom meant one thing.

Toby was going to have to engage them face to face.

"I'm nearly out," I called across the clearing, firing a shot through the neck of a demon caught in the fire pit.

"Me too." Toby's voice was steady. "You take point, I'll cover you."

I wanted to argue that he should stay out of sight while I took them out, emerging only to finish them off. There was no way Toby would go for that though. Even without our power dynamic, he wouldn't have let me face this alone.

When my gun was out, I tossed it aside, replacing it with a broadsword. Across the cleaning, Toby did the same, his weapon of choice a sharpened wooden stake.

I couldn't stop the fear bubbling up as I met his gaze. What if I wasn't fast enough to defend him? What if I couldn't stop a higher demon ending him?

What if I failed him? What if he was hurt because of me?

In the distance, countless footsteps were rushing for us. We had nothing to rely on but our powers, our weapons, and our wits.

Please let it be enough.

"Hey." Toby grabbed the back of my neck, forcing my forehead down to meet his. "We've got this, boy. We're a team, okay?"

I tried to bob my head, but I was spiralling fast. My mind was awash with all the different ways this could go wrong. The variety of ways I could fuck it up. I'd thought I had things to lose in the past, but it paled in comparison to now.

I couldn't lose Toby. He wasn't my mate, but that didn't matter. We didn't need a bond for me to know how special he was. How much he meant to me.

If I lost him, I'd lose everything.

"Blaise," Toby said urgently. "Come on, boy. Breathe. You've got this."

I tried, but all that came out was a choked sound. What if I didn't have this?

The footsteps were closer now, alarmingly so. Toby gave a quiet curse, then did the very last thing I'd expected.

He rose up on his toes, and pressed his lips to mine. The cool metal of his piercing startled me, before everything was washed away by the taste of him.

It was like he'd flipped a switch in my brain. All my worries were silenced. All my fears washed away. There was only Toby. My master. The man holding me together.

So right. This is so right.

Nothing else existed except for him. My hands went to his hips, pulling him against me. His erection brushed against my own, making me want to crow in relief. It wasn't only me in this. It wasn't only my world being turned upside down.

It was over almost as suddenly as it'd started. His eyes were wide, darting between my own. For the first time, I saw uncertainty there. Like kissing me had somehow been a mistake. An error.

No, I must've been imagining it. There was no way he didn't feel what I did—that feeling of jumping from a cliff knowing the most secure net to ever exist would catch you at the bottom.

He couldn't think that was a mistake, right?

Maybe that's why kissing is a hard limit for him. Maybe he just doesn't enjoy it.

It didn't feel like that to me.

There was no time to dwell on that, not with the demons almost on us. Toby gave me a tight smile before letting me go, dropping into a crouch as he faced the direction of the noise.

Later, I told myself. We had more important things to worry about right now.

Like both of us walking away from this.

The first demon crashed into the clearing, impaled almost instantly on my sword. I unleashed my powers to pin the two behind him in place, the fire only dropping when Toby was close enough to sink his venomous fangs into their necks.

It was only as the fight continued, the two of us tackling countless demons, that I realised just what I'd hoped for.

That we'd bothwalk away from this.

For the first time in a very long time, I didn't want to die. I wanted a future. I wanted a life.

One where Toby was at my side.

That knowledge had my powers burning brighter, my sword finding its targets with ease. I had something to fight for. Something I wanted. Something I needed.

Despite our best efforts, we were quickly becoming overwhelmed. Our shields were slowly disintegrating as the demons unleashed their own powers against them.

"The line," Toby bellowed, blood dripping from his mouth as he yelled across the clearing. "Blaise, the line!"

Whipping my head around, I spotted a higher demon pulling a portal key from his pocket. Several others were gathered close, each with their own keys at the ready.

Yanking my knife from the gut of a demon, I sprinted forwards. Checking Toby was out of range, I dropped to the floor. Summoning a spark, I touched my fingers to the exposed metal.

It was far more impressive than it had been earlier. My power pulsed through the wire, incinerating every demon close to the line. It wouldn't be permanent, but it bought us some extra time.

But as I stood and looked around, I knew it wouldn't be enough. For every demon we'd taken out, three more had appeared. Unlike me and Toby, they weren't struggling with exhaustion or depleted powers. They were baying for blood. To get to Hell to fight for a different future.

All we had was each other.

Toby's eyes met mine, and for the first time, I saw fear written there. He shook his head slowly, telling me his venom was out.

This was it. We had no way of ending them permanently. We could kill them, but they would reincarnate too fast for us to get on top of.

We'd been outnumbered before, but we'd had a spark of hope. With Toby's venom gone, so was that spark.

I wished we had a bond between us. Not just because it would take us to death together, but because he'd know how I felt. That I was in love with him. That, because of him, I had a reason to want to live. To want a future for myself, rather than just for others. To be happy.

He'd never know that now. That was my biggest regret.

The tension between us snapped as we both turned to engage our attackers. The whole time, I was waiting. Waiting for the moment death claimed one of us. Who would go first? Toby had already watched me die once today, but this time it'd be different.

This time, we both knew there'd be no waking up.

A cry from across the clearing had me twisting on the spot. Toby had been lifted off his feet, his fingernails scrabbling at the demon choking the life from him.

"No!" My power blasted from me, knocking every demon in my vicinity to the ground. "Tobes!"

I paid them no heed as I sprinted towards Toby. It was like running through mud, time itself slowing down. I was going to be too late. The demon was grinning as his power swelled.

My flames smashed into him, bouncing harmlessly off his shield. I didn't stop. I kept blasting him even as I ran. My chest was cleaving in two. Toby's eyes met mine as the demon's power started to unfurl, reaching for him with its deadly, bony fingers.

"Toby!" My voice was a scream, my hand outstretched.

I was going to be too late. I wasn't going to save him.

My fingertips were brushing against the demon's shirt when white light filled the clearing, followed by a massive boom.

I flew through the air, the trunk of a tree splintering as I slammed into it. My vision went white, the light searing my retinas.

I shoved off the ground, scrambling blindly to my feet. "Toby? Tobes?"

There was coughing, followed by the most beautiful sound I'd ever heard. "Blaise?"

The light faded. I rubbed at my eyes impatiently, willing them to clear.

When they did, I stumbled to a stop, unable to believe the sight before me.

Every demon was on the ground. I knew without checking that they wouldn't be getting back up. Toby was on his knees, gasping in breaths even as his eyes sought out any injuries on me.

And in the centre of the clearing, dusting off his hands, was an archangel. His waist-length hair was a shade of dark purple that you wouldn't find on a human without several boxes of dye. His features were delicate, more like the legends of elves than angels. His lithe stature might trick you into thinking he wasn't powerful.

The fact that he'd just permanently ended dozens of demons in the blink of an eye reinforced the idea that appearances could be deceiving.

"Hello," he said cheerfully, tucking his enormous white wings in tight. "Heard you two were up here alone and figured you might need some help."

"Who are you?" Toby croaked from his position on his knees.

"Me?" His gold eyes sparkled with mischief. "You can call me Noah."