Page 124 of Gray
“Time to party,” Bellamy said, pulling out two swords.
Galen annihilated the first two demons. He tore one apart with a strong pull, sending blood and guts all over the tunnel walls before grabbing the second one. The demon didn’t even have time to scream before my brother pried his mouth open and ripped his jaw clean off. No one could outmatch him in pure muscle power.
Bellamy jumped up and thrust his sword into a demon’s throat as he came down. Castor and Kyo fought back to back, while Daman and Warrin—who had reverted to his hybrid form—did the same on the other side of the tunnel.
“Find the son of Lucifer,” Lazarus told Alastair, struggling to hold my dad back. Him being injured probably didn’t help.
“Find me?” a cold voice came from the vault. Crimson eyes bled through the darkness before Asa stepped into the dim light. His long black hair fell freely down his bare chest. “I’ll save you the trouble.”
The urge to drop to my knees before him was insanely hard to fight. It was like my blood sparked in my veins, yearning to submit to his will, whatever it might be. My brothers felt it too. They turned and faced him, what was left of the demons in pieces on the ground around them.
Our sole purpose for being born had been to serve Lucifer; therefore, our blood reacted when around his son as well. That’s what my dad had told me.
“The sword,” Alastair whispered, eyes wide.
“Oh, this?” Asa held it up. The sword faintly glowed blue, and something pulsed deep within the blade, as though it were alive. “Beautiful, is it not? Though, if memory serves me, I believe you’ve seen it before.”
Lucifer had carried it into every battle. He’d slaughtered countless angels with it. Had tried to kill us with it too the night we’d caged him.
My knees shook, but I didn’t know if it was Sloth weakening me or if it came from the presence of Lucifer—a part of his essence anyway. Mason held my weight as I slumped against his side.
Asa walked closer, gaze pinned to Alastair. “Seeing as to how I’m the generous type, I’ll look past the trouble you and your brothers have caused me and make you one last offer. Stand beside me, Pride. It’s what my father wanted; you and me to be together just as he and your father were.”
“No.”
“But you loved Lucifer.” A dip formed in Asa’s brow. He greatly resembled his father, both in beauty and wickedness. “Why betray him?”
“Enough of your mouth,” Lazarus said before striking at Asa with his whip. The electric lash wrapped around the hilt of Light Bringer and tugged. It didn’t dislodge the sword from Asa’s grip, but it definitely caught him off guard.
Alastair lunged toward Asa to help Lazarus take him down.
“We can’t let Asa leave with that sword,”Alastair projected into our heads.“He must be stopped.”
“At all costs?”Raiden asked.
A moment of hesitation. Then,“Yes.”
“We need to kill him,”I said.“He can’t use Light Bringer to bring civilization to its knees if he’s dead. Problem solved.”
“What do you think I’m doing?”Alastair asked, swinging at Asa’s head.
“Looks like you need help to me, big brother,”Castor said, golden dagger in his grip.
He ran straight for them, but a powerful blast knocked him aside. Castor grunted as he slammed into the far wall, and blood beaded on his upper torso from where the crystals jabbed into his skin. Kyo ran toward him, but the wounds were already healing by the time he reached Castor’s side.
Vepar stepped out from the vault. How could I have forgotten about him? Of course he’d be with Asa and my dad. My brothers had given him a deep cut on his side, though, from when they’d rescued me. He wasn’t at his full strength.
“Pity those crystals didn’t cut deeper,” Vepar said, the ends of his silver hair floating up a bit, as if the strands were caught in a constant gentle wind. Two other fallen angels walked behind him. One had fiery red hair and the other’s was black with ashy gray streaks, his eyes unnaturally green. Vepar looked over his shoulder at them. “Xaphan and Purah. Let’s play a little, shall we?”
Xaphan, the red-haired one, could summon fire. He was the one Lazarus said got expelled from the heavens for trying to set it on fire. Purah had the ability to conjure the dead—the one behind the zombies currently terrorizing the world.
They smirked before lunging at my brothers.
Galen clashed with Purah and gritted his teeth as the fallen angel punched him in the chest, sharp nails digging into my brother’s flesh. Raiden jumped in to help, while Daman and Warrin took on Xaphan. Warrin shot ice at him, and Xaphan summoned a ball of fire to melt it. A fight between fire and ice.
Vepar dove toward Castor and was met with Kyo’s katana. Bellamy fought two demons, but he kept looking around. Searching for someone. That’s when I noticed Phoenix wasn’t with Asa. Was that who Bell was looking for?
“Gradyn.” My dad stepped toward me, pulling my attention from the fight.
