13
Holly Adams looked down at the deserted street. The driving rain and gale force winds had subsided leaving an eerie stillness in its place. Legion had managed to pull together an impressive host of three hundred, mostly comprised of demons that had sworn an oath to Legion instead of his father.
Not every demon was interested in watching the world burn.
He had divided them evenly so the half attacking the rear had as much firepower as the main one. They filled up the road just before the intersection she had bled on, using the buildings around them to channel Hell’s army exactly where they wanted them. Except it was two minutes past midnight and there was no sign of an army.
On the way up to the roof Legion had revealed his strategy, and it wasn’t an understatement to say that it revolved around her. What he proposed was risky and potentially fatal, if Holly failed then the people she cared about most died. She had produced it before but not to the kind of scale Legion required, and it had her on tenterhooks.
Just when Holly was doubting if hell would make an appearance at all, the concrete beneath her feet began to tremble slightly. Looking up the block New York City had become a ghost town. There was no horns of angry taxi cabs or sirens that constantly flooded the city streets. It was as if its citizens could sense the coming doom. Suddenly the lights started to go out. Block by block, the fluorescent glow from street lamps and buildings faded till they were blanketed by darkness.
Holly froze, the last thing she wanted to do was to go stumbling off the roof and plunge to her death, but fear threatened to overwhelm her. “Get a grip girl!” She told herself sternly just as the lights returned.
It would have been better if they had remained off.
Holly couldn’t believe the amount of bodies that had appeared. They covered the sidewalks and roads till she couldn’t spot an inch of paving. The sheer number of them was enough to send the bravest Immortal running, but to their credit the small army of Legion’s held their ground.
The shape shifters had turned the second the lights had went. Instead of men standing behind Legion and Dominic, a lion roared loud enough to shake the apartment building. Holly stared at it with amazement; it looked like a real lion, mane, claws and teeth. Next to it was a black slim line panther who raked at the tarmac with its claws, eager to pounce. A gigantic grey bear towered up behind them, and a pack of ferocious wolves paced the road beside it, dying to get their teeth into demon skin. It was an incredible sight to behold.
Holly gazed down at the Nephilim; shape shifters, witches, demons, elementals and Vampires that was the world’s last defence and felt pride spread through her.
A man moved forwards and she saw Legion restrain Dominic. She couldn’t make out the words that flew between them but by Dom’s reaction it wasn’t small talk.
She screwed her eyes shut and felt her power bristle just underneath the surface. Trying to stretch it out like pastry across the battle field she hit a brick wall, something was resisting her. Holly had just felt it push up against her when she was thrown backwards by invisible hands.
“Son of a…” She gingerly got to her feet and the crimson mist descended on her vision. Any control she might have had disappeared under a river of red hot anger, she felt the barrier that was blocking her and punched a hole through it just in time.
Whatever the man on the ground had said to Dominic, only caused him to break Legion’s hold and rush forward, the two ran at each other so fast they blurred. The man was immediately thrown off balance as he tried to hit Dom. His war hammer hit air and recoiled. He gazed at Dom with wide eyes as a blue thin shield appeared around him, and the rest of Holly’s comrades.
The protective shield Holly had first conjured back in Oregon was Legion’s secret weapon. It evened out the odds; it was hard to kill an opponent you couldn’t touch. But she had never tried to shield this many people.
The sudden appearance of their protective bubbles seemed only to fuel their fire, and were already running before Legion gave them the signal. The two armies clashed with a rousing clatter that was actually tangible. Claws cut through flesh, jaws tore at throats and it wasn’t long before the screaming started.
Legion’s army cut through the bigger host with ease thanks to their bulletproof status, no one could hurt them. They cut and hacked their way through, while Caleb led the second battalion that attacked from the rear.
The foreign force that had attacked Holly pressed up against her but this time she was ready for it. Legion had warned that hell had its own share of powerful witches, and that they would try to disable her quickly. Closing her eyes she forced herself to focus on the shield, but the power that tugged at her own was strong, way too strong for it to belong to just one witch.
Gritting her teeth Holly felt confident that they wouldn’t break her, and tried to probe their power for weak spots she could capitalize on.
“Bring her down Sophia!” Holly heard a voice that rose above all the other’s shout. “She’s killing us!” And the opposing power hit back against Holly harder than before. She instantly braced for it protecting the shield, and fired her own shot at them, which they quickly dealt with.
It was a battle of wills and Holly had too much to lose if she let them defeat her.
Legion’s army met in the middle and they turned around, coming back for another sweep. They had a strong chance of winning if the shield kept up.
The witch’s shots at her annoyed more than hurt but it frustrated Holly that she hadn’t finished them by now. If she wasn’t using half of her energy maintaining the shield she could have given them her full attention, but as it was Holly had to play defence rather than attack.
Murderous snarls rang out behind her and Holly knew it was Ray, the shape shifter Legion had assigned to watch the entrance to the roof. His growls of rage bellowed in the stairwell and she hated to be the demon that had to attack that.
More groups of demons broke from the main body and flooded her apartment building. Legion in his bloodlust, had surged ahead too quickly and the army had been surrounded by Hell’s; they had realized their mistake too late and fought even harder to get out of it, when Ray’s growls turned into whimpers.
His cries filled the sky and his fellow shape shifters called to him with angry snarls. Legion and Ray had both told her not to open the door that led to the stairs, at any cost, but Ray’s whines cut through her. Telling herself she could maintain the shield and rescue the shape shifter Holly moved to the door.
Legion had locked it and only he had the key, being a bit over zealous in her hurry to get to Ray, Holly used her power and the door ripped away from its hinges. She was greeted by a barrage of demons.
“Crap.” Holly dodged a sword that missed her by inches and lodged itself in the brick wall. Remembering everything Dominic had taught her over the year; Holly ducked a fist and grabbed it, twisting the arm until she heard it pop. The demon dropped to his knees and hurled obscenities at her.
Holly was already moving on. She didn’t dare to use her power anymore, maintaining the shield was draining her, but Holly had to hold on till Legion rectified his mistake, until then they needed it more than ever. A fist caught Holly off guard and it connected with her left cheek. Before she could shake it off a hand closed around her hair.
“Stop fighting slut!” A gruff voice hissed in her ear. “Someone wants to have a word with you, and you’ll go without a fuss.” Another Demon stepped in front of her and Holly contemplated using her power to get her out of this precarious situation. But she caught a flash of white racing towards them and smiled with relief.
Ray hurled himself at the demon in front and Holly elbowed the second in the gut. He lost his grip on her hair and she kicked him in the face. The momentum sent him stumbling back over the roof, and he tried to grab hold of air as gravity pulled him down to the sidewalk.
Ray ripped he’s demon’s throat out and turned to growl at her, Holly could almost hear the chiding in his tone. “You’re welcome.” She retorted. Ray’s shape shifting form was the most mesmerizing. The white Bengal tiger in front of her was simply majestic. Dried blood had mattered in his fur but he didn’t look that badly injured. He nudged her hand with his head in response, and Holly knew he was thanking her.
The moment was interrupted by an earth quake that was off the scale. Holly clung to Ray who dug his claws into the concrete of the roof as the building shuddered violently. It was over quickly and picking herself up Holly ran to the edge of the roof.
The battle had suspended as big bits of tarmac flew through the air. Everyone on the ground had been knocked off their feet. And the massive hole that had been created in the middle of the road poured out thick black smoke.
As she stared Holly saw a form take shape in the middle of that smoke and swallowed hard. She knew who it was without seeing anymore; she had been dreading this for a whole year.
As bright red eyes blazed up at her Holly lost all focus, her shield shimmered then died completely as Holly stared back at her destruction. Her fate.
Lucifer.