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He drew his weapon in the blink of an eye, blocking the blow with his enormous sword. My katana shattered, the top half of the blade fell to the ground as he swung again. He sliced, hitting my leg.
I staggered backward, forcing out a chuckle through the pain. Pain was easy. I could deal with pain. I had dealt with far worse than this.
We’re coming, Dove. Hang in there.I heard Kairos’ and Seven’s voices. Concern for Enko leaked through, the image of blood spurting from his arm.
Zalgore’s sword lifted to my throat, “If I can’t make you come willingly, maybe she can change your mind.”
He snapped his fingers, and a struggling Sana was brought forward, her white robes covered with the filth of battle. Zalgore grabbed her arm as she shook and cried out. The demon drew her to his chest, pushing aside her wild red hair, piercing her neck with his teeth.
“Sana!” I screamed as she cried out, held back by two demons holding me in place.
Zalgore drew back, licking the fresh blood from his lips. “The purest souls always taste the sweetest.”
The demon tossed her aside, the color of her face sucked dry as she crumpled to the ground. I squirmed against my captors, unable to move an inch toward my friend as her eyes fluttered open. My heart ached in relief.
“We’re surrounded on all sides, sir. Their reinforcements arrived earlier than anticipated. That rogue oni attack made them up their defenses,” a demon said as she strode up to Zalgore.
The two demons who held me dragged me toward Zalgore and Sana, tossing me to the ground at her side. I scrambled over to her, cupping her face in my hands. “Sana, what are you doing here?”
Her voice was an airy wisp, weak and cracked. “Dove, you need to get out of here.”
“We’ll both get out of here.”
Zalgore roared, garnering the attention of his demons, “Soon, we will not be confined beneath the earth. Soon, we will roam freely, as all others do. We will exterminate the kitsune.”
Sana continued her frantic whispers, “Dove, I heard what they plan to do with you. You need to leave. It’s a fate worth than death—”
“That’s enough out of you.” Zalgore lifted Sana by the hair, and she struggled against him, her hands gripping his to hold herself up.
“Let her go!” I screamed.
Zalgore laughed, tossing Sana aside. She crumpled back onto the ground.
Kairos and Seven sliced at the army of demons locking me in, Enko blazing a fiery path in his fox form. But there were dozens of enemies between us.
“Now,” Zalgore grumbled, grabbing me by the hair and dragging me after him. I squirmed against his hold. “We’d best go. Grab that one. This one might need incentive.”
A hole blasted through the demons and the Archfox appeared. He scraped the end of his scepter against the ground, vines leaping from the spots and whacking against demons as he raced toward me. Green light flowed from the scepter, the power of a hundred Archfoxes pulsing through it.
Zalgore dropped me as the Archfox broke through the barricade of demons. The archdemon howled, “Get him!”
Demons closed in on us as the Archfox reached me, tugging me from the ground and back toward my Fated mates. I turned, reaching for Sana.
Zalgore’s blade slashed across my back, cutting open the old injury. I screamed as the subdued pain returned with full force. Vines slithered around the archdemon, fire burning through each new tether with loud snaps.
The Archfox kept me upright, tugging me toward my Fated mates as his magic held the demons at bay. “Hurry, shift into your fox form. I can’t hold him for long.” His voice was weak, the pulsing green light from his scepter dimming. Kairos’ rain soothed me, Seven’s presence trickled from the Shadow Vale. Enko fire disintegrating the demons. My Fated were so close.
Thwack.
The sound of metal slamming through flesh. The Archfox fell forward, a massive arrow tip piercing through his abdomen, hit from behind. Without his support, I collapsed to the ground,staring up at the blazing orange reflection of fire in the sky. I struggled for each breath, latching onto the connections of my Fated, shifting into my fox form in a last ditch attempt to survive.
42
Dove
“She can interact with our magic. Guiding us and our blades, connecting us to her.”
“You think she did that?” another voice asked.
