Chapter 23
23
The Lilin’s words bounced around in my head, but there was little time to focus on them. The doors burst behind me and the fight spilled out into the lobby and the smoke became too dense to see or breathe. The fire raged out of control.
Zayne tore himself free of Roth as the Lilin backed into the smoke, disappearing from sight. I turned, doubling over as the burning sensation in my shoulder spread. I searched the mess for my familiar, panicked when I couldn’t see beyond two feet in front of me.
“Robin,” I called out, gritting my teeth against the pain.
He came out from the cloud of smoke, shrinking in size as he raced toward me. Jumping up, he hit my hand, and then took the form of my tattoo. Roth was suddenly beside me, wrapping an arm around my waist.
Zayne was on my other side, his face marked with confusion as he saw the blood on my shirt. We moved out of the room, hitting the lobby. There, Dez and one of the stone creatures were duking it out, going fist to fist until another stone gargoyle came through the doors, slamming into Dez’s waist, throwing him through the window. Glass shattered, and then the fight was outside, in the street.
Nicolai was in front of us, his gaze darting back and forth. “What happened?”
“I don’t know. I stabbed the Lilin and this happened to her. You need to shift into your human form,” Zayne said as we stepped out into the fresher, cleaner night air. “Both of you. You stand out too much.”
Roth shifted back before I did. It took a moment, because adrenaline was pumping way too fast in my system, but my wings folded in and when I lifted a hand, pushing my hair back from my face, I saw insanity.
People streamed into the streets from the bars and buildings nearby. In their panicked, terrified state, they probably couldn’t tell the difference between the Wardens and gargoyles. All they saw was a brutal battle. Screams rose, as did the smoke. It now poured out of the building.
The fire had spread, reaching the top floors of the Church’s headquarters and jumping to the roofs of the buildings next to it, giving the sky a burnt-orange tint.
“I’m okay.” Pushing down the pain, I stepped away from Roth and Zayne. “Where’s—?”
Before I could finish the question, the damn lion exploded out of the building. It had sprung itself into the air and now hit Zayne in his back. The two of them fell into a parked car. Metal crunched under their combined weight. They rolled, taking out the windshield.
“Stay out of the fight,” Roth said, and I didn’t get a chance to respond. In his human form, he ran over to where the lion had Zayne pinned on the hood.
Even in his human form, Roth was a force to be reckoned with. He gripped the lion’s shoulders and hauled it back. Twisting, he tossed the creature.
A cab racing down the street slammed on its brakes, but not in time to avoid taking a direct hit. The lion slammed into the passenger-side door, tipping the cab up on its side even as the lion landed on its four stone paws.
That thing would not die.
Without warning, a hot gust of air blew into my back, and I turned, spying the stone creature that had been on fire. Disregarding the pain, I spun out before it could grab me.
Dez appeared, his wings stirring the ash settling around on the ground. He landed in a crouch, and then rose. With the epic kick of the century, he knocked the creature back into the building. Before I could so much as high-five him for that, another one slammed into him.
I turned, spying the Lilin as it stumbled out of the burning wreckage of the building, its face covered with soot. Our eyes locked, and then it pivoted, starting to run down the street. I wasn’t even thinking as I raced after it.
Because it was injured far more than me, I imagined, I caught up to it. I launched myself at it, slamming my good shoulder into its back. The Lilin went down, me on top of it. It immediately bucked, but I wasn’t having it.
I shoved my hand at the back of its head, forcing it down, but it fought me as I planted my knees on either side of its hips. It managed to lift its head. “Are you truly this stupid? You can’t kill me without killing yourself. We are in this together.”
My stomach dropped at his words. “That doesn’t mean I can’t beat the crap out of you!” I slammed its head back down and stars exploded behind my eyes, causing me to cry out. “God,” I grunted.
“Idiot.” It wheezed out a laugh. “You have to learn everything the hard way.”
Uncaring at this point if it hurt me, I cocked back my arm and slammed my fist into its ribs. I barely felt that new kiss of pain. I swung back to deliver another punch that was probably going to hurt me more than it, but that would give me a sick sense of satisfaction when a low grumble stopped me.
Looking over my shoulder, I sighed when I spotted the lion. “You. Again.”
The Lilin reared up, knocking me off it. I hit my back, and was slow to get to my feet, my eyes fastened on the new threat. I was aware of the Lilin running off, but I didn’t dare give chase. It didn’t seem like any of these monsters had gotten the message that killing me killed the Lilin. The lion stalked me, its stone tail swinging. That tail hit another car, shattering a window.
Someone shouted, but I didn’t know who the source was. The lion crouched, preparing to attack, and I knew this was going to seriously hurt. It launched into the air, and all I could see was its claws. Made of stone, they were huge. But suddenly, there was a massive Warden in front of me. Tall and broad, his golden hair was as brilliant as a real lion’s.
The Warden took the direct hit in the upper body and staggered under the force of the attack. I gasped as he gripped the sides of the creature’s head while the monster dug in with its claws, ripping through the granite texture of the Warden’s skin, spraying blood.
With a shattering crack, the Warden twisted the creature’s head clean off. Dark shadows joined the crowding smoke, but the creature was down, finally.
The Warden turned to me, and terror seized me as I locked eyes with Abbot. The vibrant blue broke free as his skin started to pink, revealing the horror of the injuries, the ruthless extent of the damage.
“No,” I whispered, stepping forward.
Abbot opened his mouth, but there were no words, just air bubbling through his torn neck. His legs caved under him, and I shot forward, trying to stop his fall. But with his weight and my injury, it was a useless endeavor. We both went down on the sidewalk. He landed on his back and I beside him.
There was so much blood.
I clamped my hands on his neck as I lifted my head, scanning the street as I screamed for help. I don’t even know who I screamed for, but Roth finally emerged from the smoke, his steps faltering as he saw what was left of the lion creature and of Abbot. I screamed again, this time for Zayne and then for Dez, for Nicolai, because someone had to help him.
Someone needed to.
Roth stepped around Abbot’s legs and knelt beside me, his hands reaching for mine. “What are you doing, Layla?” His voice was hoarse, and when I looked at him, I saw a bruise forming along his jaw. “What are you doing?”
I thought it was obvious. “I’m stopping the blood. I’m—”
“Layla.” He shook his head as he wrapped his hands around mine. “It’s too late.”
“No,” I said, glancing down at Abbot—at the man who had raised me, who had betrayed me, but had ultimately saved me. It couldn’t be too late.
Abbot’s eyes, once so vibrant and blue, were a dull shade and fixed on…on nothing. There was no aura around him, no matter how hard I tried to see it. But I saw that the injuries were not limited to just his throat. His chest…
“Oh God. Oh. God, no.”
Roth pulled my hands back, and I didn’t fight him, because he had been right and there was no point. It was too late. My head rebelled at what I was seeing, at what had happened so quickly.
Out of the smoke and chaos, others were coming toward us. First Nicolai, and he had drawn up short, and then the one person I didn’t want to see this, but that I was also too late to stop.
Zayne saw his father.
He fell to knees on the other side of Abbot, and he reached for his father, but stopped, his hands hovering over Abbot’s still, ruined chest. He trembled. “Father?”
There was no answer. There never would be.
Time seemed to stop, and no one moved, and I heard no sound even though there had to be screams and shouts, sirens and flames crackling as the fire devoured the buildings. There was nothing but Zayne staring down at his father with horror etched into his face.
There was just nothing but Zayne.
I clambered free of Roth and crawled around Abbot. I came to Zayne’s side, dipped under his wings and wrapped my arms around him. He shook so fiercely that my teeth rattled, but I held on, and when Zayne reached down and gripped my arms, he didn’t pull mine away. He held on so he…so he wasn’t alone.
Abbot was dead.