Part of me wanted to run, because who would want to live their worst nightmare all over again?
But if I didn’t stand firm here, it would get so much worse. And that was something I could not allow to happen.
Vuheia, help me. Strengthen me.
In the next second, I felt her grip my shoulder, knew she was with me, and her comfort made all the difference in the world.
With a stretch of his arms over his head, the demon inside Victor’s body gave me a nasty grin. “James. Rematch?”
I slowed Titan, partially out of instinct, partially because charginghimwould do no good. In fact, quite the opposite.
Fucking hell, she had called Zag’druren out. “Demon King. Don’t tell me you remember as well?”
“I do, yes. Time for humans is linear, but not for me. I’m surprised you remember.”
“Every fucking detail.” All right, this changed things considerably. I put my bow away, slung myself off Titan’s back so he didn’t get injured, and drew my sword. “Any chance I can convince you to just go back?”
“Nope.”
“Figured. I’ll convince you the hard way. Just like I did last time, remember?”
His lips curled back over his teeth. It might’ve been Victor’s face, but it was all too easy to see the demon underneath. “I refuse to dwell on the past. I’ve no interest in reflecting on myself. It’s my new motto for this year: Live, Laugh, Lose Interest.”
“Sounds like you.” I mentally readied the spell I’d memorized. Hopefully memorized well enough to use while fighting him. I gave only one command to Titan: “Guard.”
My steed turned, guarding my back as he was trained to do. He would have fun trampling anyone stupid enough to ambush me. Titan’s favorite game on the battlefield was tag and squish.
My remaining troops caught up with me and pandemonium hit. The new mages went straight for the ward, doing their level best to fix the issues so they could get it operational once more. Everything depended on them.
I let the priests and soldiers deal with the possessed people still remaining and the thrice-damned mage who had cracked the seal. I had to leave it to them. The Demon King was the only thing I could focus on from this point forward. I heard Titan take out someone, the snort and stamp and scream of a person, but I ignored that too. I trusted my horse to guard my back.
I didn’t give Zag’druren any more time to assimilate to Victor’s body. The less time he had, the better. I struck, not surprised when he deflected my sword with a sharp slap of his own. His sword was pure black, a wavery red energy coming offthe blade. The Demon King’s sword was never truly away from him, bound to his very soul.
Our swords caught on the hilts, leaving us eye to eye. A wild, feral grin stretched over his face.
“What is this mess, James? You’ve got people running all over!”
“Unlike last time,” I gritted out—shit, he was strong, even in Victor’s body—“I know how to combat you.”
He parried my blade, throwing me off for a second, then engaged all over again. I was hard-pressed to keep up with him and wishing all over again it wasRowanfighting this bastard, as he was a far better swordsman.
Zag’druren took two steps sideways and threw his head back in a laugh. “I think you have a poor opinion of me since I killed you last time.”
“That does tend to happen.” I normally wouldn’t banter with him, but it was buying my priests and mages time. Time we desperately needed. Although how to find the breath to use the spell?
“Aren’t you worried about this body’s owner? He’s your brother, isn’t he?”
He darted in to swing at my side, and I deflected, somehow managing to push him back. I think he expected having Victor’s face would somehow throw me off, but that wasn’t the case.
The second I could regain my footing, I tried to throw it back at him. “Victor’s death is to humanity’s benefit, as I’m sure you know. I must ask, did he go to hell the first time he died?”
“He did, in fact. Spent the whole time crying in a corner about how unfair it all was. Completely annoying. I don’t suppose his death this time can be used as a martyr for good, since I possessed him?”
“Why are you asking me? I’m not in charge of that. I doubt it, though.”
Zag’druren’s eyes narrowed slightly, sweeping over my face. “You’re…calmer. Chattier for sure. Is Edwin not dead?”
“Ha, no, he’s very much not.”
