The other angel held out his hand again. “With those soulsandyours, we’ll finally have enough power. Humans want to wipe each other out? Perfect. We’ll hasten the process. Once God’s pet project is flushed down the toilet where it belongs, we’ll turn Earth into a utopia. A place for angels to live in peace and not in service to ungrateful morons.”
“Yeah, that’s not happening.” Juno lifted her arms into a defensive pose.
Lennon, Nate, and I followed.
Casual one grinned and readjusted himself. “Then your fate will match theirs.”
They both pushed outward, and a wave of the magicks rushed through the air hard enough to knock us on our asses. Green and brown, mixing to make the disgusting magicks John Wilmot and Joseph Martin had used.
Angels had powers, but nothing like that. Nothing that should’ve been transferable or that powerful.
But thanks to the souls, who knew what they could do.
And who knew what they would be capable of if they got ours.
“Last chance,” the suited one said as we climbed to our feet. “Join our side voluntarily or lose your souls and die regardless.”
At our silence, they locked eyes and shrugged.
That time when they launched their magicks, we were waiting. We met it with our own.
Gray.
Red.
Blue.
And dark green.
All four came together to hit against theirs. Pushing. Resisting. Fighting. But it wasn’t enough.
Slowly, we began to lose coverage as theirs jammed ours back. Overpowering ours.
Overpoweringus.
And unlike with whatever his name was, it wouldn’t be a noble sacrifice of our lives to take him out, too. We would be gone, and the angels’ plan would go unchecked.
Tapping into everything, we struggled forward. I thought about Aurora. How I finally had her.
How I was nowhere near ready to part from her.
“My one, come here.”
She hurried over and wrapped her hand with mine like before. Gold infused my green, and she gasped. “Together like my gift has been trying to tell me.”
The others followed suit. Silver and gray. Navy with red. Purple and blue.
We gained more, but it was temporary. They were angels. Soul-sucking angels. They got the advantage back as quickly as they’d lost it.
Fuck.
Fucking hell, we’re gonna die down here. In a bunker under a damn tourist trap.
Puke green had nearly wiped out all traces of our vibrant color. I could feel the sludge of their magicks. The weight of their malevolence. It burned my palm.
I didn’t want to admit defeat. I knew my siblings felt the same. But whether we were ready or not, it was about to be over.
“I love you, my one,” I forced out, channeling everything I had into my words and my magicks.