Mate to the Demon Kings by Lacey Carter Andersen
8
Sharen staredat the six massive angels. Three men and three women, all had white wings. They stared at her with absolute hatred in their eyes.
“The Judge expected you back sooner than now. But maybe he overestimated your love for the demons?” The angel who spoke had long blonde hair and wore a red dress, as if she had just stepped from another world into theirs.
A strange sense came over Sharen as she stared at the angel with her unyielding face. There was something under the woman’s skin. Something she hid deep inside. But what was it about her that made every instinct within Sharen scream to life?
Not all demons are good and not all angels are bad. Surcy is an example of that. Give her a chance. She stood straighter. I can’t defeat six angels… but maybe with an angel by my side we could defeat five of them.
Sharen took a deep breath, deciding on a tactic none of them would ever have expected. “He didn’t overestimate my love for them. No one could. I love them more than life.”
She said the words confidently, but gently, as if speaking to someone other than her enemies.
The blonde angel’s brows drew together. “Demons? How could you love such violent creatures?”
“Violent?” Sharen shook her head, forcing herself to remain calm and speak honestly. “Everyone is capable of violence, but the demons I’ve known have been kind… even gentle.”
“That must be a lie.” The angel said. “Caine told us—“
“Why are you talking to a demon-lover?” A male angel shouted behind her. “Caine forbids it.”
The blonde whirled on him. “Information isn’t dangerous unless we’ve been lied to.”
The male angel punched her, sending her flying back against a box. The wood splintered beneath her, and she lay half inside the box, her limbs sprawled around her. When her eyes opened, shock and horror filled her gaze.
Sharen held the hilt of her sword more tightly and moved to stand in front of the injured angel. “I’ve never seen a demon hit a defenseless woman before.”
The male angel smiled. “Perhaps your demons don’t know how to demand respect. We take the respect we're due. Now, Sharen, it’s time you come with us. If you don’t, we’ll kill your people, starting with your precious demons.”
He had to be bluffing. If she went with him, they would all be doomed. The only other solution was to make sure these angels couldn’t report back to Caine.
Clenching her fist, she thought of Marval’s words. She must embrace hope. She must feel the support and love of her demons and her people. Even as she thought of all of them, she felt herself growing stronger and more powerful. She knew magic surrounded her fist before she saw it.
Without waiting, she punched her hand out, sending the magic toward the collection of angels. To her shock, the magic struck them like a wave, lifting them into the air and cracking them down onto the ground.
Her legs shook as she stared, waiting for an attack. None of the angels moved. It’s like before, but this time I didn’t hear the voices whispering to me. So was I able to do that because others made me stronger, or was that just me?
“Shit,” the female angel muttered, gingerly climbing out of the broken box. “You have magic?”
“I guess so.”
There was an awkward moment of silence. “May I ask you something?”
Sharen nodded.
“Caine is The Judge. The most powerful person in all the realms. How do you intend to defeat him?”
“We have a plan.” Sharen held her gaze. “There’s a war coming, and you’re on the wrong side. You had better start thinking about whether or not you want to keep blindly following Caine.”
Turning, she headed for the door.
“I can’t let you leave.”
She looked back. The angel had her glowing soul-blade in hand.
Disappointment flared to life. “You know there’s truth to what I’m saying. Caine is corrupt. He’s putting innocents in the demon-realm and allowing thugs to become angels.”
She looked uncertain, but her blade didn’t waver. “I’m sorry, but this is the way it has to be.”
Sharen held her sword out before her, ready to fight. She didn’t have to wait long. The woman’s sword struck her own, sending a vibration through her arm. The angel was powerful as she rained blow after blow. Sharen staggered beneath the attack, but met each strike without wavering.
When the angel rushed her, she moved with lightning reflexes, leaping from the ground and flipping over the other woman.
Whoa! How did I do that?
The angel was panting. “Can’t you just fucking stay still? If I return without you, Caine will have my head!”
Am I getting stronger and faster? Or is this angel weaker than the other ones?
“Grow some fucking balls then! Stop working for an asshole!”
The blonde glared. “Haven’t you ever seen those damned posters with the cat saying, Hang in there? that’s my life right now, except I have a boss who likes to torture and kill people. So, excuse me if I’m not just willing to jump ship!”
“We all have problems, but sometimes we got to grow a pair.” Sharen lifted her blade again, waiting.
The angel frowned. “Sorry, but I have to do this.”
“You don’t have to do anything but be a badass chick.”
To her surprise, the blonde laughed, her blade lowering ever so slightly. “This is the most bizarre fight I’ve ever had in my life.”
Sharen shrugged. “That’s because you’re fighting for someone you’re afraid of, and I’m fighting for the people I love. But in another life, I think we would’ve been friends.”
The angel’s smile wavered. “I never did have a lot of friends.”
“I just had a few, but they were everything to me.”
Lowering her sword to the ground, the angel shook her head. “I think I must have eaten some crazy soup this morning. But here’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to go lay in that pile of unconscious angels and pretend you got me too. But if we ever meet again, you’re going to keep this to yourself, and understand that I’m not switching sides. I’ll fight you to the death right then and there.”
“Agreed.”
Her sword vanished, and she went to the pile of angels, wrinkling her nose but finally lying down.
Sharen didn’t put away her sword, but she inched around the bodies and headed for the exit.
The angel’s voice made her pause. “But you know, if I thought you had a chance of succeeding, I would go with you. The problem is, your enemy is expecting you, and you have to go straight to them if you have any chance at saving the people you love. In other words, right now, they’re holding all the cards, and you’ve got nothing.”
She looked over her shoulder. “I don’t have nothing. I have the knowledge that I’m fighting for the right side. I have people worth dying for, and I have hope. You might not believe it, but that’s a hell of a lot more than your side has.”
The angel said nothing more.
Sharen turned and raced for the car still parked somewhere outside. Today she’d gotten an angel to show her mercy. Anything was possible.
