Page 85 of Absolved In Death

Instead of meeting him on the roof, where we were cut off from the rest of the battle, I fought alongside my men and family in my dragon form. It was becoming my calling card, but I didn’t care. I felt my most powerful with scales, wings, and fire so hot it melted brimstone. My stones were imbued with a shield, courtesy of Fae PA, Lucifer, and Michael, and I felt like nothing could touch me.

I flew around the battle, torching red uniformed soldiers left and right. Bash casted a counting spell on O and me, so we didn’t have to keep count while fighting.

Twenty three,he linked me.

Twenty eight,I replied, giggling through the bond.

Has anyone seen Red yet?Ares linked the army’s mindspace.

A chorus of no’s followed, and I continued barbequing Red’s soldiers. I flew past Lucifer and Michael as they were fighting side by side. I swung back around, and blew on a fireball Lucifer made, tripling it in size before it met its target.

Those four don’t count. Dad threw that fireball,Oisín argued.

He picked up a soldier with one of his claws, puncturing him in the process. Then he swung it like a bowling ball and knocked three more over.

Then that didn’t count either. You said ‘torch’ not kill. Has to be death by fire,I clarified.

We’ll see what the counter spell results say at the end,he huffed as he flew away.

Fucking drama king.

I saw a flash of red out of the corner of my eye, but saw nothing when I swooped to get a better view. An intense, radiating strike of magic bounced off my scales, and I rose in altitude to get away from the ground. I knew what Red’s magic felt like… he was here.

I feel him. He’s here,I linked the mindspace.Everyone be on alert.

An unkindness of Morrigan’s ravens flanked my sides, traveling with me as I flew in a random pattern around the battlefield. Changing directions would throw Red off, make him work harder to find and attack me.

When do we move into the next phase of the plan?Zaz asked. I had cloaked him to look like a wolf shifter before we took our stations, and seeing him below me with his thick sandy fur was delightful.

I need to engage him in combat first,I reminded him.Then we close in.

Red unsuccessfully attacked me a few more times from the ground, but each strike was worse than the last. My goal was to rile him up and get him to the point where his magic was suffering from his frustration before I landed. I deked, flying away from him as I lowered in altitude and gained speed. I felt another hit bounce off my tail, and I flipped to fly in the opposite direction when I slammed into a clear shield.

That fucking bastard put a shield in the sky!

When I righted myself, I landed on the highest point I could find, my apartment building. I felt Ares’ presence up here, even though he had shielded himself to look invisible while he directed his army.

A minute later, Red faded in front of me. Before he could even speak, I unleashed a flame of blue fire at him at full force. I felt his protection magic melting away, until nothing was left. Then I stomped my claw on the ground, sending a wave of magic through the roof that knocked him on his ass.

“You think you’re special?” he asked me, rising to his feet again. “You are nothing but a?—”

“Scared little girl who followed her fool of a father in his quest to usurp my power!” I finished his statement for him in an exaggerated imitation of his voice. “You’re so fucking predictable. For fuck’s sake, come up with better battle banter.”

I reveled in his outrage at my supposed disrespect. He volleyed an orb of neon magic at me, which I promptly returned to him. He blocked it, but not fast enough. It brushed the left side of his face, taking a chunk of it on the way.

“Do you think you’re special?” I asked him. “You brag about how you’re going to take over the world for the strongest people and remake the world order…but where does all that megalomaniac, power-hungry energy come from? Are you aproduct of an awful childhood? Were you jilted by a past lover? Or are you compensating for something below average?”

“In case you missed it, she’s talking about you having a small dick,” Mal explained as he faded behind me. I morphed his hair to be a sleek chestnut color, and made his facial features Fae-fabulous, so Red was caught off guard by the unexpected backup.

I took his shock to throw a blast of magic around his ankles. It bound them together, sending him crashing to the ground. Mal casted another rope of magic, winding it up his body, then levitating him off the ground just in time. A tell-tale crash, like shattering glass, echoed through the air announcing the arrival of Red’s second wave of troops. They attacked from the edge of the forest, running into the camp at full force.

Unleash the second wave, Ares.

“You’re about to wish you actually died in that club fire, Diana. Your father’s army is about to fall,” he sneered.

“Hold on, keep watching,” I prompted him.

The freshly freed prisoners, some Costa Coven vampires, a sleuth of bear shifters, and a tribe of Quelier carbon copies flooded the field from the opposite direction, meeting Red’s troops in the middle.

---