Revealed in Fire (Demon Days & Vampire Nights #9)(48)

Lightning rained down around us, all the strikes missing him but crashing down on various points of me. I could withstand the heat, no problem. The freaking jabs of electricity were not pleasant, though. Like, really not pleasant. I hated it.

“Charity, how lovely of you to join us,” I said, sarcasm ringing through my faux-politeness.

Without even looking in her direction, I shoved Romulus away with a burst of air. Doing that was as fun as kicking in doors. He went tumbling across the ground. These people clearly did not realize that their magic could cut through it if they applied enough force and pressure. Or at least lessen the impact. I thought they might’ve learned it battling demons in the Brink. Clearly they hadn’t been paying enough attention. I didn’t plan to enlighten them until right before they needed to use it against an enemy.

The crowd of people now stretched halfway around the practice field, everyone trying to get a good vantage point. Most of the village had to be out here. The shifters were all with Roger, including Cole, who was sitting at the side. Penny had really done a number on him.

And Darius thought I had an expiration date on my ability to keep people distracted?

I finally swiveled to look at Charity. She stood about a hundred feet away, her hair high on her head in a ponytail, her sword sheathed, and the loose fabric of her top, tied around her middle with multiple bands, lightly moving in the breeze.

“You look hot,” I called. “Like a warrior princess. Oh, wait…you are, right? A princess of the practice yard?”

Even from the distance, I could tell she narrowed her eyes at me. Vampire vision from the bond—it was amazing.

“I didn’t grow up practicing. I grew up surviving.” She turned a little and bowed to Romulus.

“Oh no, not you too. I was actually starting to like you. We were on our way to being friends.”

“Hardly.”

“Yeah. Penny said that too. And now look. Besties.”

“No,” Penny barked. “It’s like a…captive situation.”

“Yeah.” I shrugged. “Whatever works. I bonded a vampire, after all. My decision-making is questionable.”

“Father, may I take this fight?” Charity asked.

Romulus bowed back. “But of course. I will take this time to consult the shifters about—”

“Oh no, no.” I waggled my finger at him, then pointed at Penny. “She just took out a yeti. Try your hand with her. She can borrow magic, remember? That means mine. You want to see what a mage wielding Lucifer’s magic can do? She’s your best bet.”

“You know what?” Penny said, and I could tell she’d reached her threshold. “Yeah, sure. You want to fight, let’s fight.”

“Be careful,” Cole called out.

I didn’t wait to see what happened. I started running straight for Charity, air sword in hand.

Lightning rained down around me, striking my shoulders and head, vibrating down through my body. I threw up an air shield, and that helped diffuse it, but bolts still made it through.

“That can be used on Lucifer,” I said as she started forward, charging toward me as I ran at her. She knew my fighting style.

We clashed in the middle, and demons spun up around us, the really gross kind, distorted in the way they’d probably looked to her on her last journey through the Realm, when she’d had to face them while fighting magical poisoning. Insects crawled across their flesh and poked up through their skin. They belched fire and hobbled.

Her eyes widened for a moment, long enough for me to jab her in the stomach with a dull air blade. It didn’t pierce flesh.

“You’re supposed to lead the battle,” I said as she bent over, losing her breath. “If I don’t make it to the end, someone is going to have to take on Lucifer. It’ll likely be you. You can’t get distracted.”

The demons still moved around us as she straightened up. I stitched in a big black wolf, like Devon, figuring it might help anchor her. The detail in the image was great, but I couldn’t get it to move.

Charity barely spared it a glance. She learned fast; I had to give her that.

She slashed her sword, and I blocked the move and sidestepped to sweep her legs. She jumped over my leg and turned, her blade coming down. I swiveled and threw a punch at her face. She jerked to the side, barely missing the impact, and stepped in the direction she’d turned. I created my sword as her thrust came at me. I blocked it, then shoved at her with air.

She wasn’t like the others. She thought two steps ahead. She’d already seen me use this trick and had clearly been thinking about how to work around it.

She swung her blade in figure eights, chopping through the air, pushing back rather than going down and rolling. Clearly she had been paying attention when fighting demons in the Brink.

“Shh,” I said, even though she wasn’t speaking, and slammed air down on top of her. I wasn’t ready for the other fae to know they could fight my power like that. It would steal all my fun. She bent under the weight, and her electricity started up again, reducing my magic. Which was fine, because it didn’t seem like the other fae had that in their arsenal.

“Where’s your hellfire?” I asked as she pushed her way to standing, sweat beading on her brow. I let her.

“I don’t have the power.”

“Bullshit. You have plenty of power.”