A roiling mass of demons rising as one from the depths.
“F-fuck. W-we’re surrounded,” Ben said.
Alek came rushing by, shouting as he passed, “Battle formations, now!”
“Fuck this,” Kai grumbled, taking off at a dead run before jumping into the air and transforming into a massive dragon.
“Is he abandoning us?” Kingston asked.
“No, l-look,” Ben said, pointing as Kai shot jet after jet of fire from his mouth. “H-he’s clearing a p-path.”
“You and the shifters take the ones that came from the hills. I’m going to try and use my light to get Cthulhu out of the air. If I can stop him from making more little ones, that will help.”
I didn’t know why I was shouting orders; everyone already had their marching orders after weeks of training for a scenario just like this. Even now, the Novasgardians and fae were breaking off and heading toward the different groups of demons. The Viking-kin appeared most interested in the beasts from the water, while the fae were more comfortable with the fiery monsters. Meanwhile, the rest of the supernaturals seemed to prefer the creatures from the jungle.
Rosie stayed by my side, bow in hand, Pesty-arrow tucked away until the moment presented itself. She could destroy a demon with her bare hands and fangs if she needed to, but I hoped they never got close enough to test that theory.
From the corner of my eye, I caught sight of three successive bursts of light so bright they hurt. The angels stood in a line, three scorched oily stains on the ground in front of them. Ah, the old smite first, ask questions later move. It was a good one. I wished I could do that.
Remi grabbed me by my nape and pressed a hard kiss to my lips. “Love you. Don’t die.” Then he did the same to Rosie before shifting into his wolf form.
Ben also reached for her, but the moment felt too personal to witness, so I looked away, catching sight of four men straight out of my nightmares. These ones just happened to be on our side.
The four horsemen were riding—quite literally—into battle. The one I assumed was Grim leaned down and grasped Merri, lifting her up and onto the back of his horse. He must think she’d be safest there.
I caught myself instinctively looking for the rest of our friends, but it was impossible to know where they were and what everyone was doing. I simply had to hope our training wasn’t in vain.
“Asher...” Rosie’s voice trembled as she gripped my arm. “It’s looking at us.”
She was right. Cthulhu was slowly closing in on us, leaving a void in its wake. A black emptiness. Like that monster inThe Neverending Story—The Nothing. Fuck me. If that thing got to us, we’d be nothing.
Raising my palms, I manifested every ounce of my power and blasted the tentacled blob in the face. Then I did it again.
And again.
I didn’t stop shooting purple beams of angelic grace until a sound unlike anything remotely human tore through the air. Cthulhu staggered—it was the only word I had for the jerky, halting motion the creature made—and then plummeted into the expanding hellmouth.
Holy shit, I’d done it. I killed the tentacled?—
Nope.
Spoke too soon.
My brain buzzed as a voice I had hoped never to hear again infiltrated my mind.
“You thoughtyoukilled him? Oh, Asher. How absolutely pathetic.”
Of fucking course it couldn’t be that easy.
Her wicked laugh echoed in my head as four very familiar mothercunters rose from the vapors where the monster had fallen.
Mommy dearest and my three bitchy aunts had arrived.
Fuck.
Chapter
Thirty-Nine
