Battle With Fire by K.F. Breene
Eighteen
We flewover the line of elves, now completely scattered. Fliers swarmed the sky now, healed from our efforts, beating back the demons as the rows of elves waved their hands in the air, using their magic to target the dragons and dragon riders. The front line clashed with shifters and demons alike as the vampires on our side tried to cut a path through the elves’ army. Darius was trying to get to me, just as Archion had said.
Tatsu bellowed, the effect sliding off me, and pushed up higher into the sky. My father sat atop her, and he noticed me immediately, relief washing over his face. My heart glowed at this show of genuine emotion, but I pushed that away. I could feel affectionate toward him later. Right now, I had to beat him back.
I swelled my magic and shoved with air, putting everything into it. It shoved away demons and dragons, both on the ground and in the sky, creating some space. A few from the elves’ side were caught up in the blast of air, but they’d just have to be collateral damage.
We dove down to the troops, and I layered the friendlies with cold while Archion blew fire across the demon side in a smooth line. Some demons burned and writhed. Trolls caught fire or turned to run. A cluster of gross little goblins was caught in the blast. Those behind pushed back even more, scurrying away.
A lone wolf howl floated up to us. A big gray wolf—probably Roger, though I couldn’t really tell from this height—turned from the elves. He ran forward, joined immediately by shifters and fae. Definitely Roger. Spells changed direction, once aimed at the elves and now swinging toward the demons.
But the elves didn’t suddenly decide to stop fighting. They pushed forward, emboldened by our people’s altered focus. Swords swung and magic blasted, yelps of pain and shouts erupting. The demons slammed into our forces on the other side, too, led by those most resistant to fire.
Tatsu flew over our people and went directly for the elves, raining down fire as Lucifer pummeled them with air spears. Other dragons blasted fire at our people, catching a shifter before I could cover them with protection. I threw down knives at the demons as Archion turned to go after Lucifer. Lucifer’s team of dragons followed his lead, attacking the line of elves. Our dragons went to lend aid, the only fliers we had. We were severely outgunned in the air.
Flame went up behind me, and I turned to see a demon spear a mage with it. I gritted my teeth, sending my own air spear to take it out. I hadn’t been there in time for that mage, though, not to mention there was a whole sea of demons pushing forward with the same sort of magic. I wouldn’t be able to protect everyone. I had to turn my attentions to where I could do the most good.
A thought curled through my mind, unbidden. How does this end?
It was a good question. Lucifer had thousands. We wouldn’t be able to hold them off forever. They’d shove us forward until we were basically fighting side by side with the elves…except the elves would kill us right along with the demons. We’d be trapped in the middle, a position Lucifer had always known I’d end up in if I didn’t join him. A position he planned to pull me from, leaving everyone else behind. Which wasn’t going to happen, obviously.
There had to be another way, and Lucifer was the key. He could call this off. We’d taken out the monarchs—the elf leadership would be vulnerable. They’d be ready to compromise, they had to be, especially if they knew he’d take it all if they didn’t.
To Lucifer, I thought, and Archion rushed forward. The way to make my father see reason was to force his hand, and everyone had always known that would be my job. I was the only one that could.
I blanketed the elf troops with protection as fire rained down over them, their magic doing a little something to provide their own brand of resistance. They worked their magic up at the dragons, making their wings flutter uncomfortably, and a couple came crashing down. I grimaced and lifted my spell enough to let those dragons right themselves before pushing them away. I wanted them to stop, not to get hurt.
Lucifer threw magic that materialized in a wide splash of air that sliced through flesh and bone. I slapped him back with my magic, knocking him to the side. His head snapped up as he clung to Tatsu, whose bleats had the dragons around her shifting and moving. Those on the outskirts turned toward us, and Archion tensed below me, preparing for battle. But they didn’t attack.
The dragons flapped, crowding us, getting in the way. They were a deterrent. They wouldn’t kill me, and I wouldn’t kill them.
What a stupid kind of battle I’d found myself in. This wasn’t my speed at all.
Keep trying, I thought to Archion before throwing my leg over and hopping off.
“Reagan,” I heard as I fell before catching myself, seeing Penny and Emery looking around, probably wondering how they were going to follow. Of course they would; that was a certainty. Right or wrong, Penny would not risk allowing me to save her a third time.
I pulled them off their dragons, who would get their directives from Archion. Cahal jumped, of course, just as damn stubborn as the others. Near the ground, I caught them all, thankful the elves were more worried about Lucifer than us.
“What’s the plan?” Emery yelled as they ran at me. He fired off a spell to take down a centaur, cutting out its legs, and Penny finished it off with some sort of bone-breaking thing. They’d clearly studied the best way to take those creatures down since we’d dealt with them the last time.
“Always with a plan, even though you’re the one that told me to attack without one,” I grumbled, throwing my hand wide and cutting down a row of goblins vying for space. What a very handy way to take down a bunch of things at once. Thanks, Pop. “We need to make Lucifer give up this fight,” I yelled.
“Oh, only that?” Penny said. She shot a spell at a minotaur, catching it in the chest and flinging it back.
I didn’t get to see what that did, too busy ripping at three enemies in front of me and blasting a fourth with fire. “Null his magic, and I’ll shove with mine,” I yelled. “Help Cahal…”
I let my words slip away as I felt Darius’s presence throbbing through our bond. He was close and coming closer. Monsters burst through the crowd of bodies around us, claws ripping. A goblin went flying. Darius reached forward to grab another, but only took out its throat. The rest of the body slid to the ground.
What is the plan? Darius asked as the vampires seeped into the area, clearing out the enemy.
This time I could actually pretend I had one. I relayed it to him, throwing air at a minotaur trying to ram his way into our group from the elves’ side.
“We’re trying to bloody help you, you miserable shithead,” I yelled, frustration eating at me. A pegasus flew overhead, its legs gyrating through the air as if it were running along solid ground. A winged horse reminded me of the unicorns. They hadn’t engaged in the battle. I wondered why they’d even come. They hadn’t seemed too keen on seeing action back on their island.
The pegasus neighed as it pulled up and kicked out with its back feet, its hooves cracking into a dragon’s hide. The dragon turned to deliver retribution, but it must’ve been slapped with magic, because its wings tilted dramatically. The pegasus kicked again, and then again. The dragon crashed into the ground, disappearing behind a crush of bodies. Its roar cut off, and my heart jumped into my throat.
“Hurry,” I said, shoving forward, pushing with air, cutting down anyone in my way. “We have to stop this now! Vampires, keep everyone off us. Cahal, you come too. Emery and Penny, null Lucifer’s magic.”
“I’ll null the magic. I know how,” Emery said. “Penny, cut out the elves’ magic if you can.”
“I’m not close enough to feel their magic,” she said. “I don’t know how to stop them unless I can.”
“Then we have to get closer.” I pushed Cahal to the side and blasted out with air and fire, pushing and killing at the same time, cutting a line to those elves so Penny could get close enough to do her thing. The vampires stepped up quickly, helping me. The front-line creatures fell away, surging around behind us. I doubted we’d be able to get out of this as easily as we were pushing in, but that was a problem for another time.
Fire scoured the ground around us, kept off us by my hastily thrown-up magic. Bodies writhed and creatures screamed. Blood splattered my face from the side. Still we pushed on, tearing a path forward. More dragons flew overhead now, intermingled with the elves’ flying troops, trying to fight them back.
Tatsu, her back empty, opened her mighty jaws and crunched a sylph between her teeth. Faeries around them flittered away. I didn’t know if they’d decided to battle someone else, or if they’d (wisely) decided they’d rather not give their lives for the elves.
“So why the hell am I?” I said as I spotted Lucifer in his demon form, hovering near the back of the elves. He was going for the most powerful of them. Other demons flew around him, creating a sort of circle. A protective ring, maybe? He likely knew tricks with which to combat the elves, and I had taken out his biggest threat.
Yeah, real great decision-making, dummy, I thought to myself as a sword made it past Darius and licked the side of my leg with blinding agony. I grunted and staggered, nearly falling. That one had sliced deeply. Dang it.
Darius stabbed through the chest of the enemy. The ugly creature with a flat face and protruding mouth shrieked and shuddered as he ripped it down and away from me.
Are you okay? he thought.
“Good.” I wasn’t—it hurt something awful. I had to pay more attention to keep moving.
Limping now, I felt Emery and Penny’s spell float into the air like fog. It drifted slowly, aiming for Lucifer and his band of merry men.
“Still can’t feel them,” Penny yelled from behind me.
She meant the elves, who had to be just beyond this line of enemy.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a vampire hiss before dropping. He convulsed on the ground as the vampire behind him stepped forward, picking up where he’d left off.
A dragon flew overhead, bearing down with fire. I covered us as two centaurs went down from Cahal and the vampires’ combined efforts. I smashed a third with air, allowing the dragon’s fire to help keep it down. Behind them, the roiling and surging group of elves focused on Lucifer and the dragons. Mostly undamaged, most standing, it was clear they were doing just fine at keeping my dad at bay. We had a chance at stopping him before he did the kind of thing he couldn’t walk back from.
Someone hit me from behind. Penny shouted, and the burst of magic she’d been sending out shot wide. It hit a dragon and clamped its wings to its sides. The beautiful purple and black body crashed down to the ground.
“No! Oh no!” Penny surged that way, but a vampire stepped in her path. “Move, Marie,” she shouted.
The dragon roared and fire blasted into the air. Wings beat and then the dragon tramped through the crowd, knocking people over as it tried to get back in the air.
Marie in monster form recoiled and dropped Penny, who was done with being saved or stopped and had clearly hit her with a spell. Once on the ground, Penny charged toward the dragon, cutting down the creatures who were trying to chop at it with weapons and stab its eyes.
“Follow her,” I yelled, altering course, blinding agony vibrating up my thigh each time I stepped on that leg. Heal already, leg.
Emery caught up to Penny quickly, as did Cahal, detouring from my father to cleave a path toward the dragon.
“I didn’t mean to, sorry,” Penny yelled. The dragon stopped in its thrashing, its great head turning her way as she and Emery shot out rapid-fire spells at its attackers. I covered the far side in fire. A demon appeared at the dragon’s rump, slinging air and also a weapon, not powerful enough to just use its magic. Another appeared beside it, and it was clear they’d followed us toward the elves. We were running out of time.
The dragon bellowed and flapped its wings, rising into the air, and demons surged into the hole it left behind. The dragon turned and blasted the area in front of Penny with fire, repaying her for her help.
I let my magic pulse as the demons rushed toward and around us, reaching into them as a group, thankful for their limited power level. They felt my magic and slowed their movement. They turned their gazes toward me in confusion. I willed them to slow further, to allow us to go first. They pushed against the directive, shaking with the effort. Lucifer must’ve already had his hooks in them.
“Damn it,” I said, kicking a downed body. Pain coiled around me, hard to shake off. I winced and clutched the wound briefly, willing myself to heal faster. My leather pants bulged with the slit, and gooey wetness slid down my leg. That wasn’t great. I wished I’d thought to bring duct tape so I could patch up holes in thighs.
Closer now, we moved into the throng of elves. The dragon Penny had hurt then helped blast the closest elves with fire, doing us a favor, and the demons fought in front of us, letting us surge in behind them.
“Got the elf magic,” Penny said, magic welling around her. “Now, what do I do with it?”
Emery shot out another nulling spell, their earlier spell still drifting closer to Lucifer. Almost there. He was clearly trying to fill the gap in time until the original spell actually hit.
The recent spell hit one demon and splashed against another to its right. Clearly the fog was needed to get around the demons and to my father. The two affected demons looked at their hands, then glanced around wildly before their wings froze up, the Penny-borrowed elves’ magic taking hold. They dropped to the ground in convulsions.
Dragons swooped in with fire, probably to keep the elves from attacking the fallen bodies. Lucifer looked at the hole I’d created. A moment later he dipped his gaze, seeing me on the ground. The fog reached him. Lights out went his magic.
He didn’t look away from me, even as the demons around him started to convulse. He tensed; I could see it. The pain of the elves’ magic was digging into him, it must be, but he was ignoring it, resisting. Probably doing a much better job than I was at fighting the effects of this blasted leg.
The thing felt like it was leeching the heat out of me, taking my energy with it. My magic thrummed to compensate, fueling me, but it felt strangely heavy and cumbersome. I was a little woozy, probably from blood loss.
I took a deep breath and pushed on, determined. The pain would die down shortly. I’d survived worse.
The demons around Lucifer fell. His wings beat fast but shallow now, then faltered. The dragons bellowed as they tried to help the fallen among the surging elves, but their efforts weren’t enough to save everyone. If Lucifer fell, they’d kill him. Shit.
“Penny, hit those elves with their own magic,” I yelled, pushing at the demons rushing in front of me, throwing fire to either side of us, drawing the notice of the closest elves. I needed them to split their forces.
“On it!”
I needed to tear down Penny’s spell and then shove Lucifer away before he could magically stop me.
I sent off fire at Penny’s spell, layered it with air, and then started picking it apart. I was an old pro at it by now, but it still took a second. A second Lucifer might not have.
