*
“You only want to talk?” Maddox lifted a brow. “And that requires ten of you, does it?”
The angel’s mouth tightened. “We would like you to hear us out.”
“Would you now? Well, I’m only interested in talking with Castiel. Perhaps one of you can call him here.”
“We don’t know of any Castiel.”
Barely refraining from rolling his eyes, Maddox took another swig of bourbon. “Of course you don’t.”
“We are only here for our brothers. We want you to free them.”
Maddox frowned. “Brothers? Are you referring to the last halo-bearers that came for my lair? Or do you mean the ones who went after my anchor?”
“All of them. Set them free, and we will ensure that no other halo-bearers bother you or your lair.”
Maddox twisted his mouth. “Hmm, interesting proposition.”
“Will you agree to release them?”
Sighing, Maddox set both his phone and glass on the bar. “Let’s not play games. You know they’re dead. You’re not here to enquire about them. You’re here to launch an attack, and you’re stalling. The question is … why would you stall?”
The angel’s eyelids flickered. “You can’t possibly have killed all of them,” he insisted, apparently deciding to ignore Maddox’s assertion.
Uneasy, Maddox narrowed his eyes. “What is it you’re waiting for?”
“I’ve already told you why we’re here.”
“And you lied. You’re waiting for something.”
Several descendants teleported into the large space, ready to battle. Instead of tensing, the halo-bearers smiled. And then it happened. The sound of a large blast thundered through the air outside the club, like a bomb had detonated. The forms of the halo-bearers began to shimmer as they prepared to waver away, but then they all stilled with a frown.
“I’m guessing you just bombed the club with holy fire,” said Maddox. “I’m guessing you’re also now wondering why the building isn’t falling apart, and why it is you can’t seem to leave. The truth is … you walked right into a trap. And if I hadn’t killed your other ‘brothers,’ they would have told you that using holy fire would be pointless. So sad. But hey, I can lighten things up. A joke would work, right? You’ll like this one. Ten angels walk into a bar.” Maddox launched an arctic energy ball at the halo-bearer in front of him, striking the bastard right in the gut.
“I want at least one of them alive,” Maddox told his demons. Then pandemonium broke out. It was ugly. Chaotic. Turbulent.
People dodged, ducked, and weaved to evade the barrage of hellfire, holy fire, telekinetic force, and Maddox’s ice-cold energy. Some teleported or wavered from spot to spot, trying to get the drop on their enemies.
The glasses hanging above the bar smashed. Tables and chairs cracked or tipped over. A speaker collapsed to the floor, almost falling on an unsuspecting descendant.
It quickly became clear that the halo-bearers were no strangers to battle. They fought hard, shelved their pain, kept up the pressure. But they were fighting beings that had a real hatred for them; beings who wanted to avenge the many descendants that had recently been killed just because of an overly ambitious archangel.
Even as their flesh blistered from holy fire burns, Maddox’s demons relentlessly attacked the intruders. That relentlessness soon paid off. The angels gradually weakened under the assault, bleeding, burning, and bruised.
Nonetheless, two tag-teamed Maddox. Once they realized the holy fire had no effect on him, they changed tactics. Maddox soon became their fucking punch bag. Telekinetic strike after telekinetic strike assailed his body—a fist to the jaw, a kick to the kneecap, a blow to the temple, a punch to the throat.
Maddox retaliated hard, hurling beams of cold, crackling energy their way. But the duo had taken cover behind the bar, so it bore the brunt of his attack.
He hissed as telekinetic fists pounded his ribs, stealing his breath, sending pain rippling through his body. He was done with his shit. Maddox teleported behind the duo—a risky move, but it paid off, because they didn’t anticipate it. As such, they didn’t even feel the scatter shots of cold energy until it was too late and the power was ravaging their insides.
Leaving them to die, Maddox teleported back to his original spot. A halo-bearer materialized a few feet away, smirking. A hard, dazing impact slammed into Maddox’s psyche, making his vision go black for a second. Recovering fast from the blow, he telekinetically gripped the little fucker’s throat and raised him high in the air.
He’s the last one alive, so you might not want to choke him to death, Hector warned.
Inwardly cursing, Maddox dropped the angel on the floor and popped a containment forcefield around him.
An unfamiliar mind touched Maddox’s. Please tell me Raini’s with you, said Harper.
Tension filled his muscles, and his hackles rose. What’s wrong?
She was here, and now she’s just … not. We don’t know where she is, and she isn’t answering our telepathic calls.