“That doesn’t mean the change will be successful,” Bale said as some of the humans creptcloser.
“Enough!” I barkedatBale.
Bale took a small step back, and the humans scurried away. One of them kicked the hand Wren had severed from Greed, sending it spinning into the underbrush. Magnus lifted it and walked over to dump it onthebody.
“We have to burn him,” Magnus said. “And we need to leave here. Our fight won’t have gone unnoticed by anythingnearby.”
“We encountered a manticore and some gobalinus in the woods. They must have been with Greed. We have to leavenow.” I slit my forearm open again and adjusted my hold on Wren. My blood continued to flow into her as I rose from the ground. I swayed on my feet, my blood loss making me lightheaded. Shax stepped toward me, his arms outstretched as if to take Wren from me. “No,” I bit out and shifted her awayfromhim.
“You’re barely standing,” hemurmured.
“I’m not lettinghergo.”
I steadied myself and pushed past him to face the others. “Get your things,” I commanded. “Set Greed’s corpse on fire. We’releaving.”
ChapterForty-Four
Corson
I kept Wren in my arms as I settled into the corner of the small house Jolie and the others had led us to for the night. Jolie placed Wren’s bag beside me and scampered away as if I would kill her. With the way I felt right now, the woman had a right to be uneasyaroundme.
Hawk didn’t say a word as he settled on my right, but he stared anxiously at Wren. Caim and Magnus stood nearby. Bale watched my every move as Shax ushered the Wilders out of the room. I could hear the demons shuffling through the house and establishing a guard outside. Shax followed the Wilders out. Lix plopped himself onto the couch, causing it to groan as dust burst into the air around the skellein. Particles of dust filtered down around him as he uncapped his flask, lifted it to his mouth, and took aswallow.
My eyes fastened on Wren as I watched the rise and fall of her chest and studied her pale eyelids with their small blue veins. Her heart still beat, but it hadn’t taken Hawk this long to wake. However, it had happened so fast with Hawk, that we hadn’t realized he was close enough to death for Lilitu’s blood to change him until he’d started exhibiting demonictraits.
“She sustained more damage than you,” I saidtohim.
“Yes, she did,” Hawkagreed.
“The horse sliced her openandtrampledher.”
“I was only sliced open,”Hawksaid.
“And not as badlyasher.”
“True.”
Despite those words, Hawk didn’t stop his worried staring, and none of the tension eased in the room. If Wren died, they would try to stop me from going on a rampage if I attempted one. After losing her Chosen, my mother killed herself as soon as she got the chance. I’d seen other demons go berserk and destroy everything in their path until they were taken down. Some demons retained their sanity and became broken shells of their former selves, but they survived for a time. Most of those demons only lived to deliver revenge until they finally found someone to give them the end they’d been seeking all along. I didn’t know any who were stillalivenow.
Long ago, I’d vowed never to make the same choice my mother had. I hadn’t realized what I’d been doing at the time, how broken the loss of a Chosen would leave me, but I’d uphold my vow. I would also ruthlessly hunt down and slaughter every horseman and angel who dared to stand against us. I would have them all begging for mercy before I gleefullybathedin theirblood.
“Even if she wakes. The change takes a while; she could still die a couple of weeks from now,”Balesaid.
“I know that,” Isnarled.
“But are you preparedforit?”
Lifting my head, I met her gaze. “I will do what must be done to carry out our mission. I will makethempay.”
Bale opened her mouth before closing it again and bowing her head. Turning away from me, she walked over to the fireplace and rested her arm on the mantle. “Raphael and the skelleins should have reached Kobal by now,” she said. “Depending on how their trip went, they could return anydaynow.”
“Raphael will not heal her. I don’t know if he’d be able to help her through the change, but even if he can, he won’t do that either,” Caim said. “He will not alter the pathway one is meanttowalk.”
Bale’s eyes narrowed on him. “That’s not what I wassuggesting.”
“Isn’t it?” Caimreplied.
Bale scowled at him and turned away to focus on the dust-covered, gray stone chimney. Like the other safe houses, this one held no mementos of those who had once lived here, but it seemed this one had gone longer without Wilders in it than the otherhomeshad.
