A Clash of Storms (A Shade of Vampire #50)(40)

“Take these slithering bastards on,” Draven shouted at the young Druids, “you’ve put enough energy into me, I think I can hold it on my own.”

The young Druids nodded wearily, their golden glow dimming as they turned to face the incoming attackers. Draven was left on his own to sustain his bright force field against Azazel, and it seemed like a substantial effort on his part, as beads of sweat blossomed on his forehead.

The shifters morphed into Destroyers, baring their fangs at the hostiles flying around us. Our attackers closed in on the platform, drawing their swords and getting ready to fight us.

“Hold your ground, Draven,” I managed, and aimed my crossbow at one of the Destroyers, while Jax, Patrik, and Thadeus drew their swords. “It’s about to get crazy…”

The beasts hissed as they came down hard.

I released an arrow and watched it splinter a Destroyer’s eye.

Our real war had just begun.





Aida





I screamed so hard, it felt like my lungs were going to collapse.

My brother was lying on his back, a massive sword in his stomach. He was bleeding out fast, and no matter how hard I kicked and punched the damned glass sphere, I couldn’t get out.

Waves of hot and cold pummeled me, my inner-wolf roaring. I felt tears spilling from my eyes.

My throat burned, and my heart ached so much, I feared it would cave in on itself.

“Jovi!” I cried out. “Get up! Dammit, Jovi, get up!”

But he wasn’t moving. His eyes were open, blinking slowly. His chest still rose with every staggering breath. His fingers trembled. His skin became paler with each moment that went by. And I couldn’t do anything.

Serena had just hit one of the Destroyers in the eye with an arrow; now she brought her sword out and engaged in battle, using brief barriers to gain a minor advantage against the beasts. Jax, Thadeus, Patrik, the young Druids, and the shifters took on the others. Destroyer blades screeched out of their sheaths and clashed hard against those of my friends. The shifters snarled and ripped the heads off two of the Destroyers, snatching their spears and swords and using them against the others.

Jax used his mind-bending ability on another before he jumped on its back and shoved his sword through the back of its neck. The Destroyer fell flat on its face as Jax pulled his blade back and moved on to the next one, while Serena pushed a barrier out and beheaded the Destroyer she’d partially blinded.

The young Druids were nimble and swift on their feet, using their swords to block the Destroyers’ hits and shooting white flames that ate away at the monsters’ flesh. One by one, the Destroyers were falling, but more were coming from below, having responded to Azazel’s hiss for help.

Azazel stood in the middle, facing off with Draven and chuckling. He shone all green, Asherak’s energy oozing out of him like toxic fumes.

The hatred searing through me was impossible to control. My muscles jerked, and I bared my teeth, glaring at the back of his neck.

If looks could kill…

“You’re a coward for calling your drones out to do your fighting for you,” Draven spat, glowing with golden energy, still holding his own against Azazel.

“I’m not interested in fighting Druids.” Azazel laughed. “Your little rebellion needs crushing, not entertaining! I imagine you won’t last more than a few minutes, anyway.”

“Listen to me carefully, Azazel, as I’m only going to say this one more time before I bring the whole of Eritopia down on you,” Draven replied. “The castle is surrounded. The free nations are coming in, and your defenses are falling, one by one. You can’t stop it. It’s all coming to an end for you, whether you’re ready to admit it or not.”

Azazel clearly didn’t like what he heard. He glanced over at Serena, who was fighting off another Destroyer with the help of one of the shifters. Just as the beast fell to its knees, the shifter gnawing on its neck, Azazel put a hand out and balled it into a fist, using an invisible force to grab Serena by the neck and drag her away from the fight.

He lifted her off the floor. She struggled in the invisible chokehold, coughing and gasping for air. This wasn’t a blood spell he was using on Serena. It was much more basic, akin perhaps to telekinesis. Draven’s eyes flickered black as he released the arrow from his crossbow. Azazel dodged it so fast, it whizzed past him and vanished somewhere beyond the platform. He grinned and clutched his fist even tighter, his knuckles white. Serena fought for her life, gagging and kicking her legs.

“Try something else and I will snap her neck like a twig,” Azazel said.

I watched helplessly, no longer able to even think. I kept a close eye on Jovi’s breathing, hanging onto a thread of hope that he’d live through this somehow, that we’d finish this quickly and get to him before it was too late.

Patrik slipped out of a scuffle with a Destroyer and slid across the floor toward Jovi. He grabbed the crossbow next to him and aimed it at the back of Azazel’s neck. He pulled the trigger fast enough for the arrow to lodge in Azazel’s shoulder, just as he turned his head to look at Patrik.

Azazel grunted from the pain, but didn’t let Serena go, while Draven’s gaze darted from one to the other, a muscle twitching in his jaw, his lips pressed tight.

“I swear, you people never learn.” Azazel sighed and brought the diamond up to his lips again.