Chapter Thirty
The silhouette of Sitri’s manor stood as a monolith above a sea of blood and flame; the last bastion of a broken Prince facing down impossible odds. It would only be a few minutes longer before I came upon it.
As it ran, the hound’s claws dug into cobblestone and corpses alike. The beast slowed as we approached Lantyca’s center. The fighting grew thick here, where a sea of soldiers with wicked weapons warred. At its borders stood gunmen, who rattled off rounds of ammunition without regard for who they hit. Enemies in the streets rushed up the sides of the hill, heading straight for Sitri’s manor, clashing with guards and beasts. Flying monstrosities larger than any I’d seen before ducked behind its walls, carrying fresh warriors and raining blows on unsuspecting infantry from above. They must have been amalgamate beasts.
The manor’s iron gates were locked, and wooden stakes with sharpened tips kept the hordes from climbing over. Behind the barricade, nimble demons in night-black armor picked off adversaries from afar with modern-looking weapons, dispatching any who dared to approach.
I needed to push through and find a way over. No horse could jump those towering stone walls, that heavy metal gate… but I wasn’t riding a horse. The giant, wolf-like hound had muscles made to leap, a jaw designed to lock, claws meant to dig. It might barely get me up there. I looked it over, then glanced at the manor.
If my enemies recognized me, I’d have to hope my allies would too. I knotted my fists into the hound’s fur and gave the order: “Jump it.”
With a sharp bark, my mount obeyed. It circled for a running start and bolted headlong into the horde of demons. I clung to its back. We vaulted into the air, rose above the conflict, and sprang straight for the manor’s gates.
Shouts and cries of surprise sprouted from the soldiers below as I soared high above them, clinging to my mount. My hound hit the front of the gate, scrabbling for a foothold, the impact nearly throwing me from its back. Its massive paws found purchase in decorative iron whorls, and it began to climb.
The gate’s spikes dug into the hellhound as it dragged itself over the top. It stumbled, tumbled off the wall. It slammed into the ground, and my hold on its fur slipped. I fell and landed in fetid mud that smeared my armor and stung my nose.
By the time I’d gotten my feet under me, the hound had already recovered. It ran, snapping and snarling, into combat and left me to fend for myself.
I shook off the lingering shock of my landing and wrenched my morning star from where it had fallen into the sludge. The voices of gawking demons spread, announcing my arrival. The ones that worried me shouted their commands to the sky, hailing the beasts above and pointing in my direction.
A closer look into the fray confirmed my fears; this battle was rapidly devolving. Allied demons crowded the edges and buildings of the manor-turned-arena, trying to pick off adversaries as they landed. I also noted what—and who—I didn’t see. Sitri and Apollowere nowhere to be found.
A reptilian roar overhead drew my attention. I looked up and saw two armored figures launch themselves from the back of a flying beast. They cartwheeled through the air, making me flinch as their boots sank into the bloody ground.
These weren’t the same disposable infantry I’d squabbled with in the streets. They wore fine armor, chainmail amended with plates resembling a dragon’s scales, and emblazoned metal helmets that denoted their rank. Their skin gleamed like porcelain in the dim light, just as Mara’s had, and Vapula’s cruelty shone in their eyes. These were the deadly enemies Sitri wanted to lure, and now I’d caught their attention.
“Would you look at that! Vapula’s stray thinks she’s found a new owner, eh?” the first demon called to his ally. From his waist, he retrieved a pair of daggers bearing backward-pointing serrations that made my stomach lurch. “The wolves are here to drag you home, little pup.”
The demoness at his side shook her head and shot me a smile that looked almost sympathetic. “We don’t have to fight. Come quietly, Lillia, and this will all be over.”
It was a lie—I scented it in the bitter secrets she kept, felt it in her desire to seize, to conquer, torule.Even as she smiled, her hands settled on the hilts of twin pistols holstered at her waist.
These demons carried no sympathy for me. The two were so alike, hungry for power, itching for the thrill of the fight. Eager to enslave me, to slay Sitri, to destroy all I held dear.
In the corner of my vision, I saw the battle shifting, the combat closing in as allies came to my defense, blocking incoming adversaries. With my back to the manor gates, the legates had me trapped... but I wasn’t fighting alone.
“I’d like to see you try and take me,” I growled. My body tensed in anticipation. “Thisismy home, and I’m not going anywhere.”
A dark grin spread across the demon’s face, a warning that I’d chosen poorly. Before I could blink, he was on me. I spun my morning star as heattacked, barely moving fast enough to halt a strike aimed at my shoulder. The impact sent sparks flying and bent the tip of his dagger. Behind him, his ally turned on her heels, pistols drawn to keep encroaching demons at bay.
“I’ll take what I damn well please!” he shouted. “Your soul, the Prince’s throne, his kingdom—all of it,mine!Just you wait!”
I gritted my teeth and took a step back as I failed to shake his blow. He moved fast and hit strong. One strike—that’s all I needed, if not to disable him, then to halt his advance. When my weapon was heavy as lead, and my opponent flowed like water, I didn’t know how to land it. With a deep breath, I willed myself to focus, to block out the chaos of battle and the panic rising in my chest.
“I’d sooner die a second death than go with you. Back downnow,or I will tear your soul apart!”
The demon gave a cruel laugh. “I look forward to seeing you try.”
He lashed out with his blades, aiming at my hands. My feet. My shoulders. Non-vital areas meant to maim, not annihilate. Any attempt to strike him would have granted him an opening, allowed him to disarm me. He forced me backward. My back hit wrought iron. I swallowed.
The demon staggered me with a feint to the right. Searing pain tore through my leg, and I screamed as the demoness’ shot pierced bone, striking me just above my knee. I stumbled, struggled to keep my footing as the fresh wound throbbed, warning me I wouldn’t be able to stand for long.
Time slowed to a crawl. Vapula’s legates closed in on me. I’d failed to hold off one demon fighting alone. With the two of them working in tandem, the fight was over. My muscles locked. My blood turned to ice in my veins. I couldn’t move, couldn’tbreathe,as the demon moved to finish what he’d started.
Daggers aimed to strike my hands. A gunshot sounded to my right. The demon reeled back, a spray of blood erupting from his foot. The demoness lifted her pistols. Before she pulled the trigger, a second shotconnected with her hand. She screamed and dropped one of her weapons. They turned their heads. I followed their gaze.
Out of the fray stalked a demon clad in pitch-black leather sewn with thick steel plates and bits of inky fur. The helmet that crowned him looked as if forged by darkness. I couldn’t tell if his scarlet marking came from paint or the blood of the battle. With a spiral dagger in one hand and a revolver in the other, he closed in from behind, cornering Vapula’s legates as they’d cornered me.
