It’s hard to see the pentagram beneath all the demons, and if I can’t even see it, then there’s no way I can activate it. We need to clear out this room. I look at Julian, meeting his eyes for what won’t be the last time.
Inhaling, I push my shoulders back, hold out my hands, and summon hellfire.
“I hear you’re looking for a new leader,” I say, voice echoing off the stone walls. “Well, I’m here.”
“The half-breed,” a demon sneers, gnashing his teeth at me.
“I’m really over that name,” I say, wiggling my fingers and making the hellfire rise and fall in my hand. “And as your new queen, I’m going to order you to stop saying it.”
“Hell needs a king, not a queen!” the same demon sneers.
“Seriously?” I quip. “Not only are you literally pure evil, you’re sexist too? Well, I don’t feel sorry about this.” I close my fist, putting out the hellfire and conjuring an energy ball instead. I throw it at the demon, hitting him right in the chest. It looks like lightning hit him, and blue energy sizzles through his body before he explodes, collapsing into a puddle of goo on the floor. Is that how demons die when they’re in Hell? Cool, but gross.
That definitely got everyone’s attention. The other demons turn, murmuring amongst each other about what to do with me.
“Kill her and eat her!” a large demon with boils all over this face says.
“She’s pretty,” a demon in a female body croons. “I want her skin once we snuff out her light.”
I conjure another energy ball and see Julian slip out from behind the column, dagger in the air. “No one is snuffing anything, okay?” I narrow my eyes and hold out my hand, letting the energy ball grow in power. Bits of red spark along with my usual blue light, making it take on a brilliant purple hue. Some of the demons back away—as they should—but others get angry and rush forward.
“Volunteering to be next?” I ask the big demon who wanted to eat me. I shove the energy ball into his chest and step back, so he doesn’t get demonic goo on this girly, designer dress. I flick my eyes up, seeing Julian jump from behind a column and plunge his dagger in between the shoulder blades of a demon. Light pours from the demon’s eyes for a second and then he melts into a pile of bubbling blood and flesh. Julian moves back behind another column, dodging out of sight.
Rubbing my thumb over my fingers, I conjure a string of magic. “As I was saying, I am your queen, and you will obey my orders.”
“Why should we listen to you?” a demon questions, black eyes narrowing on me. “You don’t look like someone who’d rule with darkness.”
“Appearances can be deceiving,” I say, well aware I look like I should hop on my unicorn and pass out rainbows in this getup. “And you should listen to me if you want to—”
“An angel!” another bellows right as Julian stabs another demon. Oh shit. The demon collapses and Julian looks at me, eyes wide. Chaos erupts from there, and I stumble back, desperately looking around for the pentagram on the floor. If I can just get to it, I can close the gates.
Throwing my hands out, I telekinetically shove the closest demons out of the way and see an archangel sigil. The demons that got knocked to the ground are on the pentagram.
“Julian!” I yell, looking through the sea of demons for him. He moves his dagger through the air, slicing into a demon. Another comes up behind and slashes his claws against Julian’s back. “No!”
Julian whirls around, blood seeping through his shirt, and stabs his dagger into the chest of the demon. I hold both my hands together, conjuring a big energy ball. Using all my strength, I throw it into the crowd of demons, burning through half a dozen of them.
But then more come through the large iron doors.
Demons swarm around me. I can’t conjure energy balls fast enough. I hold out my hand, calling forth hellfire. Blue flames glow before me, and I shove them forward, setting two more demons on fire. But there are too many. I can’t keep up.
“Julian!” I call again, looking for my cousin. I see him at the last second, right before a demon grabs him and wrestles him to the ground. “Julian!” I scream and send a blast of hellfire before me; it knocks several demons down and burns two. I rush forward and use magic to shove the demon off of Julian. It has its teeth sunken into Julian’s shoulder, tearing his flesh off his body. I know he heals, but I can’t help but panic at the sight of his blood.
The demon springs back up, and I pick up Julian’s dagger, stabbing it hard into the demon's chest. Julian gets to his feet and puts a hand on my shoulder.