Not a move I normally would’ve tried, but it worked. Confidence boosted my energy level.
I needed to get to the altar. I jumped on one of the overturned pews and could still see Luciana moving behind the altar. I took a quick glance around the room.
Chris was fighting a demon with Raphael. His bat swung, slamming a minor demon in the head.
Cosette and Van were caught up fighting two major demons. They were holding their own, but those demons were fast. And two more were coming up behind them. “Behind you, Cosette!” I shouted. She heard me and whirled, just in time.
The wolves were fighting, claws slashing wherever they could find a target. I spotted Claudia, and started for her. “Do you have more vials?”
“Take Shane’s,” Raphael yelled from behind me. I spun around as he tossed me the backpack. “I’m doing well with the bat.”
I caught it, and knelt to the ground, dumping the vials into my messenger bag—much easier access.
I lifted my head just in time to see a demon’s nails coming right for my face.
Dastien leaped into it, knocking the demon to the ground just before it made contact. I activated a vial, throwing it at the demon. Dastien slashed its neck as the vial hit, and the demon turned to ash.
Hands shaking, I went back to dealing with the vials.
That had been wa
y too fucking close. Dastien came up beside me.
I’m heading for the altar, I said. Watch your back. Don’t let my vision happen.
He yipped.
I took off running, leaping over demons and dodging around them. I reached into my bag, pulling out two more vials. “In the name of Jesus Christ, I banish you.” The vials activated.
I was almost to the altar, only two feet away. I raced to it, but a flash of light blinded me as Luciana finished her spell.
I flew through the air as her slimy magic hit me and my back slammed against the pew. I lay there, shaking off the hit, and a demonic howl echoed through the night. Followed by another.
I sat up enough to see the portal open—a bottomless pit. The jagged circle yawned deep into the ground. Its edges were tipped in red, making it look like glowing charcoal. I couldn’t see down it from here, but the scent of sulfur was so strong it was almost unbearable. It made my eyes water. There was a rumbling from deep within the pit. The little demons that we’d fought outside were still coming out of it, but something else was working its way up.
I had to close it before whatever that was made it to the top.
Dastien was still in wolf form. I closed my eyes for a second and saw the fight through his eyes. He was dealing with two minor demons. Pain from a long scratch along his back beat against him, but he was ignoring it.
This was it. This was my vision.
Now I had to change it.
Watch your back. One’s going to come at you from behind. Don’t get distracted. I’m going after Luciana.
I hopped onto a pew. The wolves were slashing at the demons, working together with Claudia and Raphael. Claudia fired off a few spells, tossing them different directions to help the wolves. Raphael’s bat glowed as it slammed into a minor demon’s head, turning it to ash.
Cosette and Van were killing it. Literally. Dead demons piled around them. More were climbing over the bodies of the fallen, but as they fought—back-to-back—they looked invincible. Their shining blades slashed violently, but somehow gracefully, through the air.
I hoped everyone would stay safe as I focused on my goal. On my enemy. I trusted them to keep the demons under control and out of my way while I worked my way to Luciana.
She stood next to the pit, hands held high above her head in summoning. Her skin had taken on a green tinge, far beyond any olive undertones. Her long, wavy hair was around her face instead of her usual braided halo and her flowing skirt was shredded along the bottom. I couldn’t make out her words, but the magic started to build. It brushed against me like sickening oil on my skin, and my stomach turned.
I started forward, jumping from one pew to the next. They were broken and on their sides, but I managed to balance.
I quickly activated a few vials, feeling them heat with magic as I held them. “Luciana.”
She lowered her arms and tilted her head toward me. The pit stopped rumbling, so that was a start, but the sight of her made me wobble on my perch.