“By Blood, by Fire, by Air, by Earth—”
Stephanie’s face blanked over. “I said, ‘Who told you’?”
The candles began to dance on the floor. Lightning flashed nearby, followed by terrible thunder. Kim’s breaths nearby sounded ragged. Afraid.
Eager.
“—by Water, by Life, by Death, by Birth—”
A disgusting sound filled the chapel. Flesh, or reality, tearing. Blood began dripping from the broken altarpiece, the walls. It surrounded Sophia, splotching the wall behind her in pentagrams that began to ooze in every other direction. Stephanie’s beautiful face cracked. She took a step backward, as if Sophia were ready to throttle her again. “Stop. Now. You don’t know what you’re doing—”
But there was no way Angela could stop. The power was a part of her, coming from her. In a single, blinding moment, she felt like the universe had connected to her fingers by a trillion strings, and she could now break them all whenever she chose.
“—by Sun, by Moon, by Sky, by Sea—”
All the candlewicks snuffed into smoke.
Nina’s eyes were wide and wild, unfocused.
“Stop it, you stupid bitc—”
Angela screamed. “I offer what is precious to me, my Dreams, that portion of Death I see, and now—your Spirit—bound by the leash of my Will, shall be—”
An unbelievable flash of light, a thunderous crack so loud it could break the eardrums, struck the chapel. Lightning. A direct bolt that in a cruel instant silvered the world. And when Angela’s mind returned, it was in time to see Nina holding her ears and screaming, her wide eyes the most horrible crimson color imaginable.
What happened next made no sense. At first.
The blonde with the braids threw off her robe, advancing on Nina while almost everyone but Angela lay on the floor, stunned or unconscious. She was wearing that strange coat underneath, and her black eyes had all the sympathy of a wasp’s. Then she flicked her wrist and nightmarish, needle-thin blades slid out of her fingers. She lifted her hand, ready to strike.
God. She’s really going to kill someone this time. It’s not just a threat anymore.
It wasn’t just a dream anymore.
“Nina,” Angela screamed. “Nina—”
She said someone might die. And it’s going to be her.
“Nina!”
There was no time to care about whether the invocation had sent Angela her angels or not. There was no time to look for them. There was only time to keep Nina’s throat from tearing open and mixing its blood with the chapel’s, splattered across the walls.
Angela ran to tear the blonde down—
The blonde spun around and smiled directly at her. Then she picked up Nina by the robe and tossed her over the balustrade.
Sixteen
They hide in darkness, as their eyes cannot bear even the light of a few candles. But I speak from grim experience—there is never enough light to keep them out.
—BROTHER FRANCIS, Encyclopedia of the Realms
Troy had the foresight to close her eyes moments before the lightning strike that could have shocked her into a coma. When she opened them again, it was to see Angela Mathers running for the demon, plunging in an act of suicide over the balcony to drop after her friend.
One thing stood in Troy’s way.
A female with her hood thrown back by the wind had wobbled shakily to her feet. She stared out into the storm, her short red hair blustering around her ears.
Troy shot from the ceiling, cutting her down with her nails.
The human shrieked, collapsing beneath the gash across her back. Blood spattered across the floor, wetting the slippers of the one huddled next to the porch, her vacant eyes wide with horror. Troy raced past her, her hands slipping across fallen candlesticks.
The demon had spread her wings, intending to follow Angela.
Naamah. It was Naamah, the Fourth Great Demon of Hell. Though it had been ages, Troy would know her scent anywhere. Sariel’s witch had allied with one of the worst crows Hell had to offer, and now Troy had a full view of her undignified wings, smelling of acid and rot, their feathers sparse, blond, and bloody, their skin stretched into tight webs between exposed bone and artificial supports. The metal in them creaked angrily as Naamah spread her pinions wide, preparing to dive into the maelstrom.
The demon turned at the last second, her black eyes cold with surprise.
“You didn’t forget me, did you?” Troy said, pouncing for her, nails ready to snag into Naamah’s neck. Her sickle-shaped wings snapped open, rolling thunder. “Looks like I’m back for more.”
The demon cursed, her voice more poisonous than her fingerblades. She swiped at Troy.
Too little, too late. Troy landed near to her feet, snapping her jaws. A second later she followed Naamah into the storm, both of them vaulting over the edge of the stone. Large droplets needled Troy’s back and arms, stinging like miniature teeth. Both Angela and the newly possessed human were still falling.