Page 53 of The Magic of Eternity
A chorus of ominous, deep roars tore through the sky, and I knew our moment had arrived. Had Saige not stepped in when she did, the dragons would have been too late. “Go,” I told Sloane. “I need to get these vaccines to Khol, Bram, and Faris. Go help our girl.” Sloane was already diving through the crowd before I’d even finished my sentence.
Fighting was all around me. But, thankfully, I had a pocket full of needles—something that might help win a favorable outcome for our side. I darted through the mob, weaving through arcs of blood spraying through the air, and trying to ignore the grunts and groans of injured or dying demons. I tried to block it all out, just focusing on what was ahead of me.
I intercepted Faris right as he dove from the platform. He froze, his eyes widening as he recognized me. “Holy shit,” he laughed, and then abruptly ducked as a knife sailed through the air, narrowly missing his head. “Whew, that was a close one.”
I shook my head, a smile on my face as I pulled him against me, giving him a quick hug. “I’m so fucking glad to see you, brother.” And that was the truth. Physically, he hadn’t been a part of us for very long, but he’d already weaseled his way into my heart, and I couldn’t imagine our family being complete without his crazy ass.
I glanced over his shoulder, seeing an approaching guard. So I spun Faris quickly. He launched forward and ripped the demon’s throat clean out, completely covering the lower half of his mouth and neck with a deep red.
“Gods, that felt good,” he groaned, stretching out his neck.
“I need to talk to you,” I told him, positioning my back against his for optimal visibility around us. “Listen, I’m gonna pass you a needle. I need you to pop the cap off and inject yourself with it into a dense muscle. I don’t have time to answer questions. Everyone else has already taken it, except for Khol and Bram. It’ll restore your magic—you’ll get your speed back and your ability to do whatever creepy mind fuckery shit you do.”
We moved in a circle together, fighting off enemies as I reached for his hand and slipped him the syringe.
“Is it going to hurt?” he asked with a whimper, and I turned my neck slightly, wishing I could give him a ‘what the fuck’ look because seriously, we didn’t have time for this.
“No,” I told him, “it’s not going to hurt. Just hurry up and get it in you.”
My fist smashed into the face of a male demon who thought he could sneak up and pull a fast one, and I could’ve sworn I heard Faris chuckling under his breath over my last statement. Something along the lines of, “Is that what you say to Thunder Daddy?” I couldn’t even be mad though. Fucking cute ass, innocent-looking, evil little vampire boy.
“Oh my gods! That hurt, Kai. Why didn’t you tell me?”
I rolled my eyes, sending another demon to the ground. “It’s just a little pinch.”
“Okay, it’s done. But my dick kind of hurts, like still. Is that normal?”
We’d cleared all the guards that were around us, so I was finally able to turn around and face him. “Your dick?” I questioned. “Why the hell does your dick hurt?”
“Well, because of that needle,” he replied, looking at me like I’d lost my mind. “You said dense muscle.”
“You gave yourself the shot in your dick? In the middle of a battle? Why would you do that? Like, wh–what—” I couldn’t even speak. I was done. “Your dick will be fine. Get back out there—we need to make sure Asrael doesn’t escape.” Casting a quick look up to the platform, I saw Bram and Khol still had him engaged in hand-to-hand, and he looked a little groggy after being smashed in the head. So I felt confident that I could put my fighting skills to use in the mob, and help keep Sprout safe.
I could see Faris’ speed increasing with each passing second, and I knew that his power was being restored. He would be able to reach the others much quicker than I could. “Faris,” I said, drawing his attention and trying not to cringe at the amount of both fresh and old blood covering his body. His face was nothing but red. “Take these needles and make sure that Khol and Bram each get one. Be careful.” He looked down and snatched the syringes faster than I could blink. The wind around me swirled as he took off.
A huge dark shadow fell over the courtyard as the dragons blocked out the sun. The beating of their wings was so loud—they reminded me of a helicopter flying too low, but times a hundred. The way the light hit their scales made the army appear like some sort of reptilian rainbow.
“Kai!” I heard someone screaming my name. Spinning in that direction, my eyes landed on Cam who was currently fighting four demons. “Archers!” he bellowed. My eyes widened as I searched around, looking for high points in the wall. Sure enough, a row of archers was lining up, taking aim at the sky. Their thick, metal-tipped arrows were more like harpoons.
“Finally, a task befitting a warrior of my stature!” Napoleon yelled, creeping out onto my shoulder. “Get me onto that wall,géant.” I was already running, slipping through the different battles that were raging around me.
“What the hell are you going to do up there, Napoleon?” I asked.
“Mice are incredibly destructive creatures. Though I pride myself on being above my furry brethren, it is not beneath me to go back to the ways of my ancestors, who were lesser than I. I don’t have these sharp teeth for nothing. I will wreak havoc upon their weapons. They will go to draw their bow only to have the string snap.”
“Okay, that’s actually a really good plan... Hold on tight. I’m shifting.” Bagheera was right there, ready to take the lead, bursting forth. My body transformed from a tall man to an enormous sleek black panther. We took off, running as fast as we could, but it wasn’t going to be fast enough. We let out a loud roar in warning, hoping that the dragons had already spotted the archers, but reached the wall just as the first row of arrows fired into the sky. The outraged cries, growls, and other sounds of fury and pain nearly burst my eardrums.
We hit the wall with a running start, our claws easily finding traction between stones. Then we were up, face to face with an unsuspecting archer. He shrieked as our jaws closed around his thigh. Blood poured quickly into my mouth, and I knew we’d severed his femoral artery. Shaking our head roughly, we tossed him over the side of the wall.
“That’s it,géant. You are a big scary cat. You’re the only cat that I like. Mark my words, if I see those pesky Persians out here on this battlefield, this day will be their last.” Napoleon sprang from our back, landing on the demon closest to us. We watched—me in horror, Bagheera in amusement—as our small mousy friend wasted no time in going straight for the demon’s jugular. Those teeth were impressively destructive in a very rapid fashion. Napoleon’s black fur was quickly shiny with blood, but all it seemed to do was feed into his bloodlust.
‘Get on with it, Napoleon,’Bagheera growled, sick of his shenanigans.
We took off racing along the wall, knocking as many archers down as we could. But all too soon, the call went out and the arrows were aimed in our direction. That was all we could do up here. We dove off of the wall into a roll and sped away back into the crowd. Napoleon would have to do whatever he could. It was in his hands now, as if that wasn’t fucking terrifying. Hell, for all I knew, he’d be the one being crowned king at the end of today.
The Exiled were sprinkled throughout the crowd, their masks firmly in place, hiding their identities. The twins were making excellent use of their axe and their bat. The Carver looked like he was right at home with the way he was hunched over, hacking away at someone.
A large demon was sneaking up behind Fischer, and that wasn’t going to fly. We launched ourselves, landing firmly on the male’s back, giving us the perfect shot at the side of his neck.
