Page 108 of Claim the Twilight
The white wings at the other breach would also be preparing to attack with their celestial power. To shake Loviator awake and summon her.
Which breach would she go to?
It didn’t matter, as long as she left her stronghold to investigate, allowing Hemlock to escape.
I drew my sword. “It’s time to make a commotion. Lorenzo? Kaster? Are you ready?”
“Always.” Lorenzo raised his hand.
Kaster took to the air, wings sending a gust to lift my hair away from my face.
“Now!” Ordell shouted.
Lorenzo blasted the breach with golden energy, and Kaster sent a jet of celestial power into it. The purple glow in the breach darkened, then began to glow and pulse.
“Again!” Ordell ordered.
Lorenzo and Kaster ejected more power, and this time, a rumbling sound emanated from the breach—the sound of a beast awakening.
“Three times for action.” Lorenzo pushed his hands out once more, and a jet stream of neon blue energy hit the breach.
The miasma parted with a thunderous roar, and cold ones burst through, but they didn’t attack. Instead, they formed a line, mouths yawning wide as Loviator’s voice came through them, echoing across the space between us.
“You think you can catch me unaware? That you can take me down when my back is turned? You think I don’t have the power to step through this veil yet? You’re wrong.”
The wind howled, picking up to whip at our faces and tear at our clothes. I squinted my eyes against the blustery assault.
A mass of gray shapes flew above our heads and toward the breach, coming to land in front of the cold ones.
Ghosts.
An army of fucking ghosts, each sporting a glowing mark somewhere on their spectral forms, and glowing brighter than them all was Emilie.
She raised her arms in the air. “Mother Loviator, arise!”
Green ropes of energy rose out of each ghost to merge into a humungous snake of power that whipped back and forth before shooting into the breach.
The ground shook, and I locked my knees to stay upright.
“Looks like all bets are off,” drawled Nyx. She rolled her head on her shoulders and twirled her twin blades.
“She’s coming through!” Ordell yelled.
We hadn’t planned on fighting her. This was meant to be a poke and run mission. A battle with her minions, long enough to keep her attention on us, long enough to give Hemlock a window of escape.
But the breach was opening fully.
“How long do we fight?” Sin asked, his gaze flicking to Nyx, then me.
He was worried about her. Of course he was. She was important, not just to Morningstar but to him.
“How long, dammit?” he demanded.
“Just until the echo gets word to me.” We could do this. We could still leave.
“You sure this echo will find you?”
“Yes. She said she would, and I trust her.” What other choice did I have?
