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Nicholas came running as I made my final push, releasing both humans from its weight. “Holy shit.”
I followed his line of sight, landing on the person next to the male who sobbed. His cries echoed, filling the destroyed town. The growing puddle of blood that I’d seen soaking their legs hadn’t been coming from him. Next to the male…was a human body that had been completely flattened. Skull caved in, dark curls sprawled behind it. Crimson stained the ground around them. Pieces of flesh splattered. Bones poked out and then shattered, completely crushed. The only thing that tore me away was the male whose sobbing had morphed into a howl. Mourning his loss. I turned my head, meeting the males muddled brown eyes that screamedit should’ve been me.
Nicholas picked the male up. His legs were broken and he had a few scrapes here and there, but the rest of him seemingly intact. None of the blood had come from him.
No human would have survived that.
“What’s your name?” Nicholas asked.
“I…”—the male choked back painful sobs as he tried to explain—“my name's Derik. And…That was my sister. We ran…I tried to save her but…they dropped it on us. Those people. Things dropped that tree on us…I couldn’t save her. I couldn’t save them.”
The air in my lungs constricted, a lump forming in my throat.
A laugh cackled behind us. Nicholas and I swung around to find a Demon. Onyx black, hell-spiked wings jutted from his back. Flame orange hair fell down his back and his hollow white eyes sized up his prey. Us.
“I see you managed to find this one,” the Demon settled his hollow gaze on Derik. “Pity really.” He flashed a pointed smile. “She was such a pretty one.” Hunger flickered across the narrowed irises of his eyes.
I stepped in front of Nicholas and Derik. “Who the fuck are you?”
“Ah, who am I?” The Demon waved his hand in the air, sending a wind slicing through the air and onto our exposed skin along our arms and faces. “I am the one whom you should fear most. I am the darkness. I am the embodiment of your worst fears, dear boy”—he paused, lifting his chin—“I am Erebus. The Son of Chaos.” A chill scraped down my spine. Erebus smirked, as if he knew exactly the effect he had. “Not that my explanation will be of much use to the three of you. As you’ll soon be dead.”
Within a split second, Erebus lunged forward, fingers tipped with claws, mere inches from me. The next thing I knew, I had been pushed to the side. My shoulder slammed into the ground as Nicholas took my place, lodging Lucky Blade into Erebus’s chest right as his claws raked Nicholas's throat. Erebus hissed, clutching at his gushing chest and disappeared, a promise of our death in his eyes. Nicholas collapsed to the ground with his hand clutching the deep wounds across his throat.
“Told you, Lucky Blade,” he gurgled, blood spewed from his neck. I pulled him into me.
Tears streamed down my face. “Damn right, you ballsy asshole.” He smiled up at me. The blood coated his teeth.
“Always got your back, Seth,” he sucked in a ragged breath. “Take care of this kid. You saved ‘em, Seth. You did good. You got one. One less person died today because of your ass”—he placed his hand on my arm—“Now stop that crying, so it isn’t the last damned thing I see.” I half laughed, forcing the tears to hold for just a moment. “Atta boy.” Nicholas closed his eyes and released the last bit of air from his lungs.
It should’ve been me.
I shook my head, urging the memory away. My mouth formed a tight line as I closed my eyes and pushed a breath out through my nose. The news channels later reported it as a manslaughter by a group of bandits. It had been a close call on the existence of Nephilim and Demons alike being exposed to the otherwise ignorance of the human race.
I channeled the ice-cold fury, the fear, the pain that bubbled to the surface. “We need a plan,” my eyes opened slowly, locking them once again with Derik’s. “Erebus signed his death wish. The second I find his sorry ass, he’s done for.” Derik’s jaw clenched.
Josh took that as his queue to stroll in. “Well, well, gentlemen”—he nodded to Libby—“and Miss Libby, let’s get this hunt started. You might need a location for where we’re to find Miss Snow.” He smirked and slapped a scrap of paper onto the kitchen counter. A single word scribbled on it.
Riverside.
Chapter twelve
Seth
My breath caught.
Riverside.
Erebus took her to Riverside.
I smashed my fist into the counter, sending the damned scrap of paper careening through the air and pieces of granite crumbling to the floor. “Son of a fucking bitch.”
Josh tsked. The fucker. “I would save that rage for when we find exactly where in Riverside they are keeping her, Seth. There’s no point in wasting our energy on outbursts. You need to use that thick head of yours if we’re to retrieve Miss Snow unharmed, I imagine.”
I glared at him. Although what he said was true, Josh’s pretentious tone did nothing but deepen the burning rage coursing through me. My body trembled, searching for an outlet.
The corner of Josh’s mouth tipped slightly upward. He knew he got under my skin.
