“No, she’ll tear through your wings just like she did last time.”
“So we do it the old-fashioned way,” Cas said, taking a few test swings with his cutlass.
The idea of any of my mates fighting her again after what happened last time had me ready to vomit. I didn’t want to risk any of them. My uncertainty must have been written on my face, because Hades cupped my cheek to claim my focus.
“Raise your army, babydoll. Let them do the dirty work for you.”
I nodded, resolute in the plan as soon as he said it.
“There are a lot of dead guys on this land, babe,” Kiki said as she popped into existence from wherever she’d been. “You’ll have plenty to play with.”
Concentrating on the flicker of souls, I called them to me. As soon as I felt them respond to the demand, I wove in an order for them to find new bodies to animate. It was a heartbeat, or maybetwo, before the first corpse got to its feet. But then, one by one, they rose, until hundreds were at my command. I pushed them forward, following behind in the path they carved out for me.
We hadn’t gotten far, maybe a dozen yards or so, before my mother tipped her head back in an obvious laugh. Then she made a big show of clapping before her own army of the dead appeared. I could practically hear her say, “See? I can do that too.”
Fuck.
The zombies clashed in a terrible show of torn flesh, gore, and violence, but with each of hers that fell, three more rose in its place. Beyond the armies of the dead, the fights between our troops and the demons continued to rage. We weren’t the only ones organized. There were clear leaders among the enemy’s ranks, and I wondered if these were the Princes we’d heard so much about.
I saw Sunday facing off with War in the distance, Rosie notching an arrow, and Merri’s red hair flashed in my periphery. I needed to get to Death so I could do my part.
“This isn’t going to work. She can do everything I can do. I won’t be able to get close enough,” I gritted out.
“I’ve got you, D. I have a score to settle too. Give me two shakes, and I’ll nail this bitch down for you,” Keeks said in my ear.
“Kiki, wait!” I called, but as I watched, she materialized behind my mother.
She stepped into Death’s body, the jolt visible even from a distance. The second she did, Death’s army also froze. I’m not sure what I’d been expecting, but Kiki possessing my mother’s body was absolutely not it. I had no idea how she was pulling it off, or how long it would last.
The distance between my mother and me suddenly felt impossibly far. I was no runner.
Kai solved that problem by scooping me into his arms. “Hold on, gem.”
Before the words could fully register, we were airborne. I had just enough time to clock Hades pulling his shadows back into his body, Tor wiping blood from his face, and Cas cleaning his blade before Kai deposited me in front of my mother’s form.
“Hurry it up, babes. It’s rough in here, and I can’t hold her for long,” Kiki said, her voice coming from my mother’s mouth.
I raised the dagger, rushing forward with my heart hammering in my ears. As soon as the point of the blade made contact with her chest, Kiki exited the body, and my mother’s eyes burned with hatred.
“You little?—”
She never got to finish her sentence because I drove the weapon as deep into her heart as possible. Her eyes widened, then the life faded from them as she fell.
Kai was right there, his arms already tight around my body. “Well done, lass. You did it.”
I laughed. “I fucking did.”
“You were amazing!” Kiki shouted, rushing to me.
“Are you kidding? You were.”
“I was, wasn’t I?” she asked, doing a fake hair toss. “Couldn’t let that bitch beat us a second time. A girl has to have some pride, you know?”
“Where did you learn to do that?”
“Asshole taught me. I’ve been working on it for a while now. Never know when it’ll come in handy.”
The flood of endorphins from our win was still riding high, and there was no controlling the smile stretching across my face. I spun in a slow circle, noting that Sunday and Rosie had also been successful, which just left...
