“You tried to commit murder,” Julian said. “Let’s not throw stones, Wallace, eh?”
“And now you’re here for revenge.”
“No. I just want to make sure you can’t ever hurt anyone else the way you hurt me.”
They were all inside now. The door behind them slammed shut, and the overhead lights came on, revealing all the Sentinels and their demons around the room. Wallace and his squad took it all in with blanching faces as they realized that they’d walked right into a trap.
“You should’ve left me alone,” Julian breathed. “I wasn’t hurting anyone.”
Wallace’s face turned red as quickly as it had gone white. He exploded, “You’re all going to Hell! You’ve damned your souls for all eternity! You laid with monsters, and now you will feel the might of the Almighty Lord, you?—”
Talon’s laughter cut his tirade short. He stepped closer to Wallace, his dark eyes cold. “I don’t think you’re right, you know. I don’t think ‘laying’ with us, as you said, will damn their souls. But suppose for a moment that you’re right. Do you really think any of us will let real harm come to these humans? They’reours, you abysmal idiot. If they go to Hell, guess who will be there to greet them? Their souls will never know pain or suffering as long as we draw breath.”
Wallace’s mouth twisted. “Then you shouldn’t draw breath.” He swung his blade.
Talon disappeared, and Julian took his place, parrying the sword and kicking Wallace back. Wallace’s next attack went wide, allowing Julian to duck under it and come up inside his defenses, slashing open a deep gash across his abdomen. Wallace cried out, staggering back.
This was why Wallace hadn’t wanted to face him one-on-one. Julianwasn’tweak, so they’d tried to heighten his fear by terrorizing him and ganging up on him. In a fair fight, Wallace didn’t stand a chance.
Wallace snarled at his comrades, “Don’t just stand there. Kill them!”
The paladins exploded into action, and the Sentinels met them with furor. Julian’s focus narrowed to Wallace. He couldn’t afford to worry about everyone else. They all knew how to defend themselves, and they had their demons with them, too. They would look out for each other. He had some justice to dispense.
“You’re amonster,” Wallace roared as their blades clashed in the air. Julian leaned away from a punch and brought his sword down again, teeth gnashing when Wallace managed to block it at the last moment.
“The only monster here is you,” Julian retorted. “You tried to kill me!” He shoved Wallace away.
“You deserved that and worse!” Wallace swung—it was sloppy. Julian parried and cut open his thigh, taking bitter pleasure in Wallace’s stumble. “You abandoned the cause.”
“I left because of people like you,” Julian said, advancing on him. “I wasn’t sleeping with a demon. I just didn’t want to hunt down human beings. I was tired of listening to the hate.”
“Because you’re weak!”
Julian parried again and slammed his foot into Wallace’s knee. He went down with a grunt.
“I’m not the weak one.” Julian let his gaze scan his surroundings for just a moment. The others were all okay. Nearby, Shadrach twisted the sword arm of a paladin, and Isaac’s blade sank into his gut, cutting off his scream.
A familiar cry of pain caught his attention, and his head whipped the other direction. Luke had a hand pressed to his side, and it came away bloody. The wound healed before his eyes, and Wallace gasped.
“It can’t be,” Wallace muttered. “How is that possible?”
Julian smiled. “Demon blood is a miracle cure. Who knew?”
Wallace’s flat mouth twisted in disgust. “You lie!”
“I really don’t.”
Malachi grabbed the paladin who’d stabbed Luke, wrenching his head back by his hair, and Luke slit the man’s throat.
“No!” Wallace rushed to his feet, swinging his sword. Julian raised his own, panic zinging through him.
A strong hand caught Wallace’s wrist and twisted. The bone snapped, and when Wallace bowed backward in pain, Julian’s eyes met Valac’s.
“Hello, my jewel.” His violet eyes burned with anger, and Julian’s heart soared. The black lines on his pale skin writhed, but he didn’t need to unleash them for this.
Julian met Wallace’s shocked eyes. “May God have mercy onyoursoul. Mine’s taken care of.”
He drove his sword through Wallace’s chest. The man choked, and Valac released him, letting him slide off the blade and to the floor.
