Page 50 of Chaos Demons

Fen shrunk, also not looking well and probably needing to conserve energy.

I’d used up a lot of power with that blast, but it had been worth it. We had Nari now. He was strong, but the three of us were stronger.

And that’s when Melinoe struck.

GREY

As much asI didn’t want to admit it, I was struggling. Three ice giants — alive or dead — shouldn’t have been a problem for me. But I was guessing Nari’s power was reinforcing these beasts, making them that much tougher to beat.

I hated that Ramsey had saved me a moment ago. Physically, I was strong, stronger than any human by far. But Ramsey was stronger, and these ice giants were even stronger still. I wouldn’t have been able to free myself from the giant’s grip before I’d been crushed. My void was persistent and powerful, but not always fast, especially against creatures as tough as these. Ramsey had truly saved my life.

And that sour taste in my mouth drove me to extreme measures. I couldn’t hold back any longer. I’d rarely fully unleashed my void. When I did, not only did it ravage everything around me, but it ripped at my soul and body as well.

But I needed to end this now.

I screamed, keeping a vision of Ana in my mind, letting that temper me, anchor me, as I tore my void open on the giant which Ramsey had knocked down. My void didn’t so much consume as it sucked in, tore apart, and crushed, more like a black hole.

The downed ice giant’s dead flesh tore away, bones cracked and were shredded as they were drawn to me.

Then, struggling not to be crushed by my own exceptional power, I turned my void on the last giant and did the same. And once it was torn apart, I clamped down on my void, returning it to its baseline level, simmering within me.

Except pulling it back took more out of me than unleashing it, leaving me huffing and sweating with the strain.

I’d done it.

I’d controlled my void.

I turned to the others as Nari shrank, his power waning.

But then a ferocious blast of madness slammed into my mind.

I reeled, but only for an instant. My void consumed the madness and freed me.

It took me a moment to realize what that attack meant: Melinoe was here… and working with Nari.

“Fuck,” I hissed.

This wasn’t good at all. Even with my void back, on this day of all days, Melinoe might still be a match for me. And with Nari also enhanced… Suddenly I wasn’t so sure we three daemon princes would be able to take the two other super-charged daemons.

I did a quick survey. Nari was down, but Fen looked to be hurting and Ramsey looked weak. I myself was far from my limit, but I was also far from being fresh and ready to take on my sister.

“We need to get out of here!” I shouted. “Melinoe—”

Fen groaned, his face contorted in pain as his wolf shimmered around him, howling and tearing at the Norse daemon, threatening to break free. Ramsey’s chaos was trying to erupt from him in the same way, surging in flares that blasted up earth and destroyed the tombstones around him with ease.

I needed to get the two of them out of here, away from Melinoe.

Now.

But before I could reach them, Fen’s wolf tore out and raged to life in full fury.

I stopped dead.

I’d never actually seen Fen’s beast in all its horror before. And though it was roughly shaped like a wolf, the beast was far more savage and sinister looking.

Over a hundred feet tall at the shoulders, Fenris’s body was covered in patches of tangled fur, other spots bare, leathery skin exposed. His hindquarters were smaller, lean, and emaciated, but those legs were still powerful. His front shoulders and head were disproportionately large and powerful. His claws were the length of a car, easily tearing up the earth.

The beast’s jaw was too long, too wide, almost like a crocodile, and filled with huge yellowed teeth. Fenris roared… and the earth shook. Then with the next opening of that maw, whole neighborhoods were devoured, sucked in almost instantly.

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