Darker (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #6)(89)

A flash of silver drew my eye to Falon. He spread his wings wide and ruffled them, a potentially natural angel gesture. Something about it struck me as forced. He was trying to draw my attention to him. My eyes darted from Lilah to him and back. I couldn’t chance taking my eyes off her at the wrong time.

The Latin stopped, and the silence that followed was deafening. Lilah tipped the chalice and began to drip blood onto each person within the circle. That’s when Falon freed Juliet and all hell broke loose.

“Stop her,” he shouted at me, already moving to release Shya from his bonds.

I froze, as did most of those present. After a heartbeat of confusion, everyone exploded into action. Shya was impossible to follow with the mortal eye. He went from his chair to the demon holding Arys, disabling him with ease. Arys was on his feet instantly, tossing vampires aside in his attempt to get to me.

The vampires were quick to spread out around the circle, doing their best to protect the outcast queen they had adopted. Several of them swamped Arys, trying to take him down. Pulling the blade from her golden hair, Jez leapt in to the fray, plunging the weapon into the heart of any vampire stupid enough to get in her way.

There was no time to think or plan. I lunged at Lilah, launching my full weight at her. She went down beneath me with a thump and a startled cry. The chalice fell from her hand and rolled across the floor, spilling the remainder of the blood as it went.

She still held the dagger so I sunk my fangs into her forearm, crushing bone between my jaws until she let go. Lilah fought back with the panicked desperation of one who knew her time was fast running out. With her free hand, she pounded her fist into the side of my head.

A heavy weight slammed into me. The Latin-chanting demon’s power hit me like a runaway train. I was airborne, crashing hard into the vampire fight. The throng swallowed me. Disoriented and injured, I struggled to get my bearings and get out of the flail of limbs and smacks of power.

“Lexi!”

A familiar scent reached me as Juliet pulled me free of the chaos. Jez and Arys were back-to-back, taking on Lilah’s vampires with skill and the love of the fight. Shya and Falon targeted the demons. Gabriel sat stiffly in his chair, free now, an amulet in his hands and his lips moving as he worked a spell. That left Lilah who was hastily trying to gather the spilled blood.

She cupped her hands, scooping it and throwing it into the circle. If dousing each human sacrifice in blood was the key to completing the ritual, I had to stop her from pulling it off in her crazed desperation.

A vampire with a football player’s frame lumbered toward us with fangs bared. I left him to Juliet, confident in her ability as a wolf and a trained government agent. I wanted Lilah.

I dodged the vampire and bounded for the demoness. I leaped onto her back and bit her shoulder. With a shriek, she spun around trying to dislodge me. It worked. I hung back, judging my next attack.

“You could have left here alive,” Lilah said, her voice low and uneven. “I won’t let you take this from me. I will not be sent back to him.”

She had reclaimed the fallen dagger. Wielding it with her one good hand, she advanced on me. I braced myself, ready to attack. My lips peeled back in a vicious snarl.

I avoided the first swing. The dagger blade sliced through the air inches from my face. I circled, forcing her to keep turning to face me. I lunged in close, snapping at her before moving back out of reach.

The wolf felt good. I had come to rely so heavily on my metaphysical power that the reminder of who and what I was, was refreshing. My power was not what defined me; I was so much more than that.

Lunging again, I knocked Lilah off her feet. She slid through the blood spill and gave an anguished cry. Before I could attack further, the air rippled and Willow appeared.

He pulled the Dragon Claw from his jacket, holding it uncertainly. I was in no position to take it from him. The only other person who could wield it was Juliet.

“Alexa, are you-,” Willow’s words died as Lilah plunged her dagger into his back. She pulled it free, and smoke rose from the wound. Silver.

Willow staggered back, trying to put space between them. The Dragon Claw fell from his grasp, hitting the floor. Lilah promptly kicked it away so it skittered across the hard surface. Then, she went after him again.

“Oh no you don’t. You are not standing between me and my Hound.” Blood ran from Lilah’s shattered forearm where the bone lay exposed. Vampires healed fast. If I didn’t do more damage, she would heal and make me pay for my mistake.

Willow beat her back with a slap of power, but the silver had weakened him. He slumped against the wall, wings spread for balance.

I touched Arys’s thoughts, finding him enjoying the fight. He took on multiple vampires at once, using power and fists to take them out. Every one that burst into dust and ash fueled his fire.

‘The Dragon Claw is here. Juliet has to get to it. She has to use it on Lilah. You’ve got to help her.’

There were no words, no thought to tell me he’d heard, but he had. I could feel it. I trusted Arys to make this happen. It was the only way.

I didn’t hesitate or wait for the right moment. I attacked Lilah in a craze of snapping jaws. Driving her away from Willow, I threw myself at her, angling to take her down. She fell near the edge of the circle and tumbled inside.

The power holding it broke. So did the spell holding its occupants captive. I jumped in after Lilah, pinning her to the floor in the middle of the sofa circle. Everyone around us rushed to escape, screaming hysterically.