Page 213 of Nightshade

I eyeballed the blood seeping into the robe at his flank where he’d been hit. “Are you okay?”

“Fine.”

With a nudge from behind, Jericho urged me to keep going. It wasn’t until we were three flights up that the sound of growling echoed up the stairwell, and I peered over the bannister to see the demonic creatures scrambling after us.

“Oh, my God!”

I hustled as fast as I could in the stupid gown and robe, trying not to trip on the fabric that danced around my ankles. Jericho took hold of my arm, lifting me up every time I stumbled. We reached a set of double doors and slammed through to the roof of the church. Once clear, Jericho used the flail’s long rod to lodge into the doors’ handles, creating a barrier against the advancing creatures.

I spun around to find a Pentacrux soldier rushing toward me, and on instinct, I scooped up a handful of gravel to toss at his face.

As he raised his hand to cover the flying stones, Jericho sliced his stomach with his blade. The soldier swung out, and a hot streak of pain zipped across my arm where he’d cut me.

“Ah, shit!” I jumped backward, and Jericho lurched forward.

The clash of metal rang in my ears, as they dueled. The soldier, a bit more skilled than his comrades had been, was still no match for Jericho’s impeccable defenses. Even mortal, he was far more advanced in fighting and his reflexes were quicker.

A short distance from the brawl, I caught sight of Drystan, his flimsy-looking wings seeming to struggle with keeping him in the air.

I glanced around for something I could use to defend myself, but there was nothing. Nothing but gravel.

An outcry cut short by a gurgle sound snapped my attention back toward Jericho and the soldier, who fell to his knees with the business end of Jericho’s sword impaling his throat. He dropped his sword, and after dislodging his own, Jericho picked it up.

The sound of thumping from behind skated down my nerves, and I spun to see the doors straining against the flail, their handles bending against its rod.

“Oh, God, Jericho, they’re coming.”

A flash of something out of the corner of my eye had me whirling back around to face Drystan. A burn streak discolored the gravel not far from us, and I snapped back to Jericho. “I thought he was cambion. He can manipulate lightning, too?”

“He never could before. I don’t know how he acquired the ability to manipulate it, but he doesn’t have wings to disperse all of that energy.”

As soon as he said it, I noticed where Drystan’s wings had apparently burned, the human skin he’d used unequipped to handle the heat of the charge.

“I dare you to jump, Brother,” Drystan taunted, and he sent a bolt of electricity barreling toward us.

One hard shove knocked me to the ground, and at a roar of pain, I twisted onto my back, to see that Jericho had taken the hit to his side. Beneath the torn robe where the fabric had singed away, a streak of burnt flesh marked where the current had touched him.

“Not quite as fun with a mortal body, is it?” The amusement in Drystan’s voice heightened the terror pulsing through me, and when the door burst open around the creatures who snarled and prowled toward us, I could scarcely breathe.

Jericho groaned, his hand set over his injury as he stumbled to his feet. “You always were a lousy shot,” he rasped.

Another charge struck him again, this one hitting his left shoulder and knocking him backward to the ground. Another roar of agony, and I scrambled toward him, using my body as a shield.

“Wait! Please. Don’t hurt him.” Tears filled my eyes, and I held out my hand, as the creatures closed in on us. With both hands, I lifted the sword, surprised by the cumbersome weight of it. As I lurched forward and gracelessly swung out, the blade sliced one of the approaching creatures, and not a second later, he lit into flames.

I’d have celebrated that uncanny moment of pure luck, except that it didn’t seem to stop their advancing.

Their growls heightened, sending me into a frenzy of fear.

“Perhaps it might be more fun watching them tear the two of you apart. I can’t quite decide.”

I swung out again, and the weight of the sword had me stumbling off balance. Jericho let out a painful groan and leaned forward, relieving me of the weapon. How easily he held it outward, even without his usual strength, as if it weighed nothing.

One of the creatures broke from the circle and darted toward us. Jericho swung out on a grunt, and the creature dodged his attack. It lunged again, skirting Jericho’s much slower reflexes, and headed straight for me.

I held out my hand and spoke the first thing that popped in my head.

“Ca’ligo an a tua!” Heat blazed in my cheeks, the ridiculous phrase sounding just as weird coming from my mouth as it had when Aunt Nelle would say it, the many times I suffered night terrors.