Page 80 of When Monsters Fight
He threw out his hands, and twin streams of power shot out and slammed into Gabriel sending him flying backward.
My cry was cut off by Sarq’s and Zaq’s bellows of rage as they charged at Michael. I ran to Gabriel, my heart in my throat.
He clutched his blackened chest. “Wake Lucifer.” He pulled himself to his feet and joined the attack on Michael.
Three on one should have been a breeze, but Michael looked unfazed. He batted at them, laughing. He was playing with them. Their power was no match for his.
We needed Lucifer and Shem.
I rushed into the center of the chamber, into the light surrounding her. “Lucifer!” I grabbed her legs and pulled, but the force that had her in its grip refused to let up. “Wake up, you have to?—”
A loud shockwave hit me, flinging me away from Lucifer and onto the floor. Soul Reaper dug into my back painfully, and I rolled onto my front, scrambling to stand.
Gabriel, Sarq, and Zaq were on the ground across the chamber from me. Unmoving.
Michael strode toward me, a dark look on his face. “Enough! You come with me. Now!”
I reached over my shoulder and gripped the hilt of Lucifer’s blade. A rush of power coursed down my arm as the sword that had been inert since leaving Gehenna surged to life.
I drew it from its holster and stepped away from Michael. “Stay back.”
His gaze flicked from the sword to me, then a mocking smile curled his lips. “Holding a sword is very different to wielding one.”
My stomach trembled. “I trained as a sweeper before I was a scout. I know how to wield a fucking sword.”
He reached over his shoulder and drew his glowing weapon. “Let’s find out, shall we?”
“Rue!” Gabriel ran toward us.
Michael flicked his wrist, ejecting power that knocked Gabriel off his feet, sending him flying back to hit the wall. He struggled to be free but was held by an unseen force. Zaq and Sarq met the same fate.
Michael was too powerful. There was no beating him. No winning this. But even as my hope died, determination rose to take its place. I’d fight him. I’d force him to expendhis energy, and with his focus on me, maybe…maybe the others would be able to break free.
He twirled his sword, circling me. “Go on, Rue, attack me.”
“No. You want me. Come and get me.”
His eyes lit up in a smile that said he thought this was some cute game. The Michael I knew was gone, and this creature standing before me was corrupted by power. Insane from it.
He ducked his head and rushed toward me, sword arching in a swing.
Chapter 43
SHEM
Each corridor, each turn, takes me closer to the surface, toward consciousness. Each moment unfurls my essence from the special hiding place I didn’t know I possessed. I’m almost ready to slip back into my skin. Almost ready to be whole when the corridor ahead of me blazes bright.
“There you are,” the Dominion’s voice booms around me. “We’ve been waiting for you.”
Pain lances through my head, taking me to my knees.
“You think you can escape us? Outwit us? There is no escape for you, Shem. Go back to your hidey hole and sleep. There is no place for you in our new world.”
Sleep? Why were they asking me to sleep? Why not just kill me?
Because they can’t. They can’t do anything, Shem. Lucifer’s voice is a whisper in my mind.When have they ever done anything themselves?
And it all suddenly makes perfect sense, and if by magic the pain in my head is gone. I slowly pull myself to my feet.
