There were half a dozen in all, insubstantial wisps that were all teeth and claws. The bigger brothers and sisters of the Ania, I suspected.
Two of them came straight at me. I backpedaled fast and raised Amaya, sweeping her from left to right. She hissed, her flames splattering across the floorboards as her sharp point tore through one of the approaching creatures. The demon moaned – a sound abruptly cut off as its remaining fragments were swept up in Amaya’s trailing fire and burned to a crisp.
The second creature swept around to my right, attempting to attack from behind. I spun, and was confronted by the sight of a fistful of wickedly barbed teeth coming straight at my face. I swore and dropped. The demon whooshed over my head, the breeze of its passing strong enough that my hair was tugged after it. I twisted around, saw the creature’s wispy form spreading like a sail as it tried to break and turn, and I thrust upward with Amaya, twisting her steel into the creature’s tail. It screamed, the sound one of fury, then swung and bit her blade. There was enough force in the attack that her steel vibrated, and I’m not sure who was more surprised – me or Amaya. Then she made a sound suspiciously like a chuckle and her flames flared, wrapping around the creature, capturing it tight as she slowly – almost lovingly – consumed it.
I shuddered – although you’d think I’d be used to my sword’s bloodthirsty bent by now – and looked past her. Azriel stabbed Valdis through the heart of a creature, literally exploding it, then swung around. His fierce expression became one of relief as his gaze met mine. Then he turned and ran, leaving me flatfooted with surprise. I swore and galloped after him, catching a brief glimpse of his disappearing butt as he dived through a doorway farther down the hall.
I was three steps away from repeating the procedure when the goddamn room exploded.
Chapter 12
Air hit with the force of a hammer and sent me tumbling backward. Wood, plaster, and dust rained all around me, and I threw my hands over my head in an effort to protect myself.
Amaya screamed in fury as her flames erupted to form a protective cocoon around my body. And none too soon, because it wasn’t just wood and plaster coming down, but concrete tiles. The fucking roof had collapsed.
Not that it mattered. Nothing mattered right now, except the reaper who had gone into that room a heartbeat before it exploded.
Azriel! Desperation filled my mental scream. Are you okay?
For several seconds there was no reply, and my fear skyrocketed. Then he said, his mind voice somewhat groggy, Yes. Valdis shielded me from the worst of it.
What the hell were you trying to do? I pushed into a sitting position. Several large sections of wood rolled off Amaya’s shield and dropped onto the top of the mess that surrounded us. There wasn’t much left of the hallway – just several skeletal wooden frames bereft of plaster. Wires dangled from the ceiling, and I fervently hoped they were not going to attack me the minute I moved. Water was spraying from broken fire sprinklers, dampening down the worst of the dust, and somewhere in the distance alarms were ringing. The fire brigade and police would undoubtedly be here soon.
I was attempting to catch that sorcerer before she escaped. His voice was clipped. Angry at himself for not succeeding, I suspected.
So why didn’t you zap yourself to that room instead of running?
Because, as I have said, I cannot zap myself into unknown places without having at least some point of reference. When I was a reaper, it was the resonance of the soul, but in this case, I could not get a fix on her.
I frowned and rose. Amaya’s shield pulsated around me, moving as I did. Why couldn’t you get a grip on her resonance?
Because it was shifting.
Meaning she was?
I suspect so.
At the far end of the hall, a pile of timber and tiles began to move, sliding away as flames began to pulsate through the pile. A second later, Azriel appeared, surround by a halo of blue fire. It faded as he turned, his gaze searching the ruins and stopping when it met mine. Blood oozed from a wound near his temple, but other than that, he appeared unhurt.
“I guess from all this” – I waved a hand at the mess around us – “that she sensed me.”
“She might be powerful enough to summon demons at a moment’s notice, but the explosion would have taken longer to set up.” He stepped over a pile of broken plaster and tiles and walked toward me. “There was a transport gate in that room. I saw her step through, and had a brief glimpse of shadows and stone before the explosion.”
“She’s heading for hell’s gate.” My voice was grim.
“Undoubtedly – though the gate she just escaped through would not get her onto the gray fields. It was nowhere near powerful enough.” His voice held little emotion, but his fury and frustration echoed through me, as sharp as my own. “But she knows we’re close now, so I have no doubt she is headed to the gate that will. She would not want to risk us reclaiming the key before she has a chance to use it.”
“And if she does use it and the Raziq are waiting, the key is theirs.” I thrust a hand through my hair. “Fuck!”
“Yes,” Azriel said. “Our best chance now lies in finding her access onto the fields.”
“And how the fuck are we supposed to do that? There was nothing useful in either of the goddamn warehouses!” Nothing we could access without a lot of time and effort – the first of which we were running dangerously low on.
“We cannot be sure of that because we have not explored the entirety of the larger warehouse. Remember, there was a second pathway you did not explore.”
“Then I guess we have no choice but to go there now and do just that.” Only my skin crawled at the thought of doing it alone. That section of the tunnel had felt nasty. Besides, it was more than likely where the hellhounds had come from, and I certainly didn’t feel like facing more of them alone.
“Perhaps it is time to call in your uncle —” He stopped abruptly and spun, Valdis blazing brightly in his hand. “I sense your presence, Yeska.”