More flames erupted from the floor as Knox returned. Wasting no time in joining the fight, the Prime said, Clyde is now shackled in a cell.
Good. The cuffs would ensure that the nightmare couldn’t use his gifts, which meant Piper would now be free of his mental hold.
Pinning his full attention on Enzo—or, at least, on the bastard’s general direction—Levi struck hard. Larkin and Knox did the same.
Their surroundings took a large brunt of the attack. Orbs scorched the furniture and charred the walls. Framed paintings dropped to the hardwood floor with shatters of glass. A telekinetic hit sent the TV toppling backwards off the unit. Chips of hell-ice embedded themselves in the coffee table and pinged off the fireplace.
Nothing about the battle was easy. Even with three against one, it was a struggle to take out Enzo. Not simply because it wasn’t hard for the little shit to dodge blows but because he could repel them. Hell, Levi spent as much time evading his own hellfire orbs as he did Enzo’s. The same went for Knox and Larkin. Enzo didn’t really have to attack them. By repelling their blows, he was using their own gifts against them.
Still, other than to duck or weave, Levi didn’t pause or ease back. He kept up the pressure, as did the others. It paid off to some degree, going by the grunts of pain, snarls of anger, and curses of frustration that occasionally burst out of Enzo.
Levi telekinetically swept up the floor lamp and sent it sailing in the direction in which he suspected Enzo stood. There was a clang followed by a distinct grunt that made Levi’s demon bare its teeth in a feral grin.
He telekinetically lobbed more objects in that direction, but the others harmlessly fell to the floor. Levi swerved as an orb came at him from the left, but he didn’t move fast enough. The flaming ball punched his stomach, sending pain rippling through his ribs.
Inwardly cursing Enzo to hell and back, Levi sent out telekinetic slaps and punches. Some landed, some hit the wall, others rebounded back at him. He couldn’t hold back a flinch when a hellfire orb crashed into an injury on his chest. I am so done with this fucking shit, he growled.
He’s showing no signs of tiring or backing down, said Larkin, a note of pain in her voice. Her face and wings covered in burns, she sent more black chips of hell-ice darting through the air like bullets. I’d say he’s ready to die here.
He knows we’ll hunt him for the rest of his days if he escapes, Knox pointed out as a stream of hellfire poured out of his palm but hit only the wall.
He’ll still bolt if he gets the chance, said Levi. An orb abruptly slammed into his face, narrowly missing his fucking eye. He grunted when his injured thigh was slammed by a second orb. He telepathically deflected a third, knocking it off course and sending it crashing into the wall.
The adrenaline pumping through his system dimmed the pain, but not quite enough. Not now that his body sported so many blistering burns.
Larkin flapped her wings. A cold breeze sailed at where Enzo had likely stood but seemed to hit nothing. More flaming orbs were blindly lobbed by Knox. Another hail of black chips zipped through the air. Yet more telekinetic blows blasted outwards from Levi’s palm. But nothing collided with an unseen figure, nor was anything repelled.
Levi’s nape prickled with unease. Down, he told both Knox and Larkin. Trusting them to duck low, he sent out a telekinetic wave that shimmered through the air like a heatwave. No grunts, no growls, no sounds of anyone hitting the floor.
Levi’s stomach knotted. Could Enzo have somehow moved past them? Past Levi? It should have been impossible, but panic gripped Levi all the same.
His demon urging him to check on Piper, Levi telepathically—
A finger jabbed his side.
Pain crashed into his head first and then rocketed through his entire system. It was an agony he’d never before felt. It seemed to fry every synapse, sharply zap every nerve-ending, and overload … everything. His eyes felt like they’d explode. His skull felt like it would split apart. His heart felt like it would violently burst and shatter his ribcage.
The pain was so bad it turned his stomach. Almost retching, he dropped to one knee, every breath he took hurting his throat and lungs. Even as a guttural cry of sheer agony tore out of him, he sent out another wave of telekinetic energy.
There was a loud thud followed by a pained curse, and then he heard footfalls fleeing further into the apartment. His vision graying with the pain, Levi urged himself to fucking pursue … but his legs almost went out from under him when he tried to stand.