Her Darkest Devils by Ginna Moran
Chapter 27
DANTE
First Battle
“KASE! SHIT! IS he breathing?” Raven’s voice screams through the air. “Oh, fucking God. Elias! Wake up!”
“Watch out, angel-girl. He still has a pulse. His heartbeat is fucking nuts.” Gathering flickering red light between his palms, Kase shocks Elias in his chest.
Raven cradles Elias’s head on her lap, her beautiful face stained with hot tears. “He groaned. Fuck, Elias. Open your eyes.”
The room shakes, dragging my attention away from Kase and Raven and back to my phone as Gia yammers on with a warning that comes a little too late. An angel managed to get past the Hell barrier we put in place around the whole neighborhood and blew out a window.
I hate that I knew this shit was coming.
I knew that the angelic army would still somehow manage to get through all of the defenses we’ve put up, but I thought we’d have more time. I’ve underestimated my legion and their ability to fight Heaven off, and it makes me question everything I’ve worked for.
“I don’t know how they’re doing it. They’re possessing pure souls, Dante. Did you know they could do that? We can’t tell who to fight.” Gia’s voice rings over the line as I stand protectively in front of Raven and Elias as Kase helps them dress. Lucian remains with Andre and Micah, finalizing the power shift.
These fuckers better hurry, because if what Gia says is true, then we’re about to go to battle. “Of course I knew it was possible but it’s unheard of. A mortal has to be willing and there has never been a reason for it.” I hiss and clench my fist, trying not to shatter the phone with my strength.
“What should I do? We have boundaries. Expectations,” Gia says, groaning.
“Show no mercy. If they stand in your way, take them down.” I disconnect the line, trusting my first in command with handling the attacks as we finish this shit.
Bright light glows from the window as the angel tries to attack again. Glass sprays over the floor, causing Raven to screech and swear. If she could spit fire, she would burn the fucking guardian to a crisp.
“Hurry the fuck up with the switch!” I yell, extending my fangs and striding toward the window. My skin stings at the heavenly glow radiating in but I push through and spit venom into an unfamiliar bastard’s face.
The mortal man, glowing with angelic light, doesn’t even scream. He has no control of his body as one of the bastard guardians uses him as a vessel in an attempt to crack our shields. With enough force, it’s possible, and the angel pushes the man to keep trying even as his body smolders under the heat.
“Fuck, I need some help here,” I call, spotting another possessed mortal striding to the broken window.
Another angel stands behind the woman, using her as a shield. Gathering holy power, the angel blasts it at the barrier at the same time the possessed woman slams her palms against it. The room quakes, humming against the power.
“Just keep them back another minute,” Kase calls, growling in his devil form.
“I’m going outside,” I snap, stretching my wings.
“Don’t.” Launching a ball of red energy, he blasts the woman and angel back a couple feet, but it only slows them down. “There are too many for you alone.”
I can handle my damn self and he knows it. If Raven didn’t say my name, I’d ignore Kase and lunge, taking out as many angels as I can while dragging them to Hell with me. It would be their mistake. I can return from Hell after a recharge in power. But them? They’d suffer under my punishment.
A low rumble quivers under my feet, and I peek over my shoulder and watch the summoning circle shoot up toward the ceiling. Fucking finally. My whole body tingles with the exchange of the tether. Even feeling it uncaged for a second rattles me to my core, the wild, immense power that runs Hell so palpable that I get a fucking boner from it. I’ve never taken the tether before, but I can imagine how good it feels getting filled up with it. If only it didn’t trap you. I’m not exactly looking forward to my time. Because fuck. I’ve never been away from my angry half and I never want to be away from my pretty soul.
“Dante, the shield. The shift cracked it,” Kase says, sending another burst of power toward the window.
“Shit.” I expand my wings, using my body to create a wall between the angels attacking the shield and the Hell portal. Heavenly light burns my skin, smoldering away my human façade until I stand in my devil form.
What the fuck are the angels doing?
Light seeps in through every crack, turning night into day outside. Hellfire explodes behind me, the force knocking me forward. I slam my hands to the wall. My palms sear against the now blessed wall. They’re not trying to get in. They’re trying to banish us from the Mortal Realm.
A furious roar echoes through the room, and Andre bursts from the summoning circle in his devil form. His scorpion-like form fills the room, his sharp appendages cracking the wood with his heavy footsteps. Swinging his tail over his head and at the window, he impales one of the possessed mortals and drags them through, sending guts spraying everywhere. The remnants of being tethered to Hell make him stronger, faster, and nearly unstoppable.
Screams ring through the air as the light that explodes from the mortal gathers to form an angelic silhouette on the floor. Lucian climbs from Hell and whips his fire chain at the angel, dragging it closer to him. Raven gasps and spins away, covering her eyes. Lifting his hoof, he smashes it into the angelic light, breaking the floor open. The angel tries latching onto the edge only to have Lucian blast him right into a legion of demons waiting.
I spit venom at the gathering forms, threatening the entire mansion. I can’t see them, but there must be at least a hundred guardians. I can sense them. Hear them. They’re surrounding the estate. “Raven, we’re out of time. You have to hurry—”
An earthquake rocks everything, knocking furniture over and sending the pictures and vases Raven picked off the tables and from the walls. The ceiling cracks above us, and Lucian and Andre fight with their power, pushing back hard.
“Dante,” Raven calls, shouting over the noise. “Please, I need you.”
I spin and rush to her side, entering the summoning circle. Kase stands on one side of her while Micah holds his arms out, waiting to grab Elias. I join the four of them, using my wings to create a barrier.
“Everyone touch her. Connect to her soul.” Kase rests his hand on Raven’s shoulder. “Raven, I need you to follow my instructions exactly. We don’t have time to smother him with your pussy like he wants.”
She frowns and shakes her head. “I don’t know if I can do this.”
“He’s strong. Take my blade. Pain is fleeting,” Micah says, keeping his voice low. “Elias agrees.”
Kase grabs Micah’s wrist, stopping his attempt to give Raven the Hell blade. “You’re going to break his neck. Now listen. It’ll be fast.”
I reach down and carefully adjust Raven’s hands on Elias’s head. Tears spill from her eyes, splashing his face. “You can do this, Raven. We’re here. Use our strength to help you.”
Andre’s hollers boom through the air, the intensity of his pain slapping against Raven, making her hesitate. I jerk my attention toward his yells and watch the protective barrier shatter with Heaven’s light and strike Andre, blasting him from the room and out of this plane. And fuck. It could take him minutes to recoup from that.
“Now, Raven—” Kase’s voice fades with the boom of the plane shifting.
Shit. Fuck. Cunt. Cocksucker. I extend my fangs and launch forward, crashing into the next angel to make it inside. A gust of holy wind whips around, extinguishing the flaming circle around Raven and Elias, cutting Micah off.
Without it, Elias can’t descend. Micah can’t guide him.
“Raven, this is your last chance to do the right thing.” Cassius holds a flaming sword and pushes past two guardians, gathering enough power to keep us back. “Give us Elias and let us save your soul or burn for eternity. Those are your only options.”
Fury bursts through me, and I glower, clenching my fingers into fists.
Lucian snarls, reacting before I do, and he charges toward his brother and tackles him, shoving him hard into the wall. The world trembles, Lucian’s fire against Cassius’s holy light bending the foundation of the plane.
That’s it.
“We need to attack at once. It’ll break the holy shield they’re trying to trap us in,” I tell Kase, watching as Lucian and Cassius throw punches, trying to get an opening for their weapons.
“Angel-girl, hold onto Elias. Use your whole body to protect him the best you can. This is going to hurt.” Kase throws a blanket onto Raven, getting her to shield the two of them even though it won’t protect him. He does it to help lessen her fear. He doesn’t want her to see what’s about to happen.
“Lucian, the veil!” I yell, standing beside Kase and spitting my venom, watching it eat away at the world in front of us.
Kase throws orb after orb of red power, sending crackling electricity through the room, turning it from shadows and the light of Heaven to a ruby color the shade of blood. The light shimmers and twists, the whole world shaking. Punching Cassius one more time, Lucian knocks him back through the window. Gathering fire from the depths of Hell, Lucian shoots it at the veil, the force of our power battling against Heaven enough to crack this plane open, letting it merge into the Mortal Realm.
Light and fire explode through the room, knocking all of us off our feet. I crash into the wall behind Raven and use my wings to push up. Kase whips his tail, keeping an angel back, and Lucian blasts more power at the burning wall, using it to keep Cassius away.
“Raven, we have to move,” I say, pushing to my feet. “We need a summoning circle.”
She rips the blanket from her and Elias and bobs her head. “I’m going to fucking destroy them! You hear me, Cassius!” Her voice rings through the air. “You’re fucking going to know what it’s like to experience Hell on a level you never imagined.”
Lucian strides forward, heaving a deep breath. Uncoiling his chain, he hands it to Raven. “This will protect you and keep the fuckers back.”
“Lucian, I want you to lead.” Kase nudges me with his hand. “Dante, help Raven get out. Elias was knocked unconscious. She needs you to carry him. Go straight to the summoning circle. Watch your back and let Raven handle anyone she has to. Elias’s life is the most important right now.”
It’s like a kick in a dick to have to agree to that, but he’s right. Elias can’t die without Raven taking him out. If he does—fuck. It’s not happening. My pretty soul is determined and strong. We can manage to get a couple dozen feet. She made it through fucking years with a serial killing psycho and abusive douche. She survived being on Lucian’s bad side. She’s handled Heaven’s attempts to destroy her. Fuck, she’s even walked through fucking Hell and made it back to us. She is far more powerful than she might even be aware. The angels wouldn’t fight so hard otherwise.
“Stay close and alert,” I tell Raven, adjusting Elias onto my shoulder and covering him with my wing protectively. “Treat these fuckers how they deserve. The second we get into the summoning circle, put your hands on Elias’s head where I showed you. We must be fucking fast. Once he dies, then we’ll have the strength of another devil to empower us.”
Raven licks her lips and nods, covering her mouth and nose with the blanket Kase hands her. “I’m ready to fuck some assholes up.”
I smile. I can’t help it. “Good.”
Lucian growls, leading the way toward the back of the house. There is no way we will be able to easily exit through the back door, so Lucian stomps his way toward an empty wing of the house near the back corner. It was supposed to be another living quarters for either Zade or Cassius, but this place is now trash. We’re going to have to relocate and hide for a bit while we get shit together.
“Be fucking ready. I’m going to get fucking blasted. I’ll run as far as I can to give you clearance.” Lucian rams his horns into the doorframe, breaking through part of the wall without bending down. “Someone is going to fucking owe me for this.”
“Fuck right we will. This is your fault.” Kase whips him on the back with his tail. “If anything, you’re going to fucking owe us.”
“Blowjobs!” Raven says, her word coming out far sexier and breathy than she realizes. “You’re blowing every single devil and swallowing their damn loads.”
Lucian growls and flares his nostrils. “You’d love that.”
“I’d love getting the fuck out of here alive even more.” Raven swings the fire chain, smacking it across the floor. “So prove your damn power already.”
Backing up, Lucian gives himself space and flexes his muscles. He extends his hands and blasts fire at the wall, choosing to break it open instead of using the window. The angelic army would expect us to use the easier approach, so this should give us the chance we need.
Kase runs behind him, preparing to attack the second he has an opening, and I nudge Raven to get ready, acting as a shield to her back.
The wall explodes, sending smoke, fire, and debris raining through the air around us. Raven sucks in a deep breath and jets forward, staying just a few feet behind Kase. I expect to see a thousand warriors lined up and ready to blast us all to Hell. I expect the world to break open and for guardians and saviors to push us into the pits.
Unnerving silence greets us.
Lucian spins, blasting power toward the sky anyway.
“What the fuck,” Raven says, her voice a whisper.
I push her between the shoulder blades. “Keep moving.”
Bright light flashes through the sky above us, and Lucian and Kase both blast power at an angel that crosses in between planes, trying to fuck with us. They’re here, but we can’t see them unless they want to reveal themselves. To hurt us, they’d have to do the same.
Something’s up, and I fucking brace for the worst.
Another angel breaks between planes, and once again, Lucian and Kase attack.
“Raven, you have ten seconds.” Cassius thumps down in front of us, wielding his flaming sword. His amethyst eyes sparkle with his heavenly light. “I can’t let you do this.”
Peeking at me over her shoulder, Raven crinkles her nose in a frown. “Get him to the circle,” she mouths, sending a burst of pain right to my middle with her words. I don’t like the look in her eyes, but I can’t stop her. She’s going to do what she thinks is best, and I trust her.
I nod without a word.
Raising her hands, Raven says, “I surrender. Please, just let me say goodbye to my devils. Please.”
Cassius’s hard features soften. “To Dante only.”
Raven fakes a cry and swivels toward me. “I love you. You need to trust me, okay?”
My mouth dries at her words. “Always, pretty soul.”
“Then run!” Jerking back around, Raven swings the fire whip, slashing it across Cassius’s chest. His eyes widen and he automatically raises his hands protectively. Raven launches at him, jabbing the chain into his neck, pinning him down.
I don’t wait to see what happens. I use the chance to do what she asks. Flapping my wings, I race forward and toward the summoning circle. Micah growls and shouts, waving his hands, pointing behind me.
Tossing Elias to him, I spin and spit venom, getting an angel right in the face. But two more materialize and blast me with power. Then another and another. I can’t do anything as heavenly light engulfs me, burning my skin and eating away at my being. The ground shakes beneath my feet, and I holler, unable to control my voice as I sink down.
Raven screams out, punching Cassius and then scrambling away.
But the angelic power is too much for me.
The world shifts and Hell opens up.
I fall into my kingdom.
