25
GOING OUT WITH A BANG
ENZO
T he explosion rips through the nightclub, and I recognize the enchantment as I protect Adriana. Her little body crumples as it slams into mine and I take the force of the impact, stopping her bones from breaking and her organs shattering.
Furniture flies towards us and I raise my arm, protecting my girl before my magic kicks in. It's a split-second reaction that stops her from getting hurt—and it’s far too close a call.
I'm fucking furious.
Tonight is an outrage. An abomination . A fucking insult on top of injury.
The nightclub is neutral territory, a haven for demons, witches, warlocks, and anyone else who wants to join us to meet. I've made sure it stays that way, protecting it so it can do what I need it to do. It’s vital, allowing us to strike deals with those fucking assholes on the other side. Their righteousness irks and it's always unpleasant—but occasionally something crops up and we're forced to work with the cunts who serve the Almighty douche.
Adriana whimpers, and my rage turns into a viciousness that knows no limits. She's scared and clinging to me, her heart beating at a pace far too fast to sustain. My girl should be enjoying herself and instead she's too terrified to move—and I will gut the fuckers who dared to ruin this evening.
They've intruded on her, and now they're damn well going to pay.
They’ve attacked me in her presence, and I refuse to tolerate this. If I was at war before, then they haven’t invented a word to describe what’s happening now. I’ll annihilate the fucker and anyone he ever met for good measure, simply because I can. It wouldn’t be enough to quench my thirst for revenge, but it might take the fucking edge off it.
“Cover your eyes, baby,” I say, whispering to Adriana and surprising myself with my gentleness. “I've got you, but you need to keep your eyes closed.”
The precious, perfect girl curled against me whimpers and clings to me harder. Her fingers hold on with all the feeble strength she can muster as she trembles, too terrified to speak. I let my arms close around her and feed off her fear, using it to fuel my anger as I take from Adriana, leaving her slightly calmer.
“WAS. THIS. YOU?”
My voice sends my warning of unbridled violence rippling through the world and even Elgios flinches.
“THIS. IS. BECAUSE. OF. YOU.”
We rise together and the fury in Elgios's eyes doesn’t match the ire in mine.
Smoke bellows through the air as the dust begins to settle and cries of destruction replace the sounds of the explosion and its silent aftermath. Iron and sulfur mix with copper and phosphorus as blood pours from wounds and tempers flare.
Creatures writhe and crawl over the floor, some struggling to their feet and staggering in a confused daze. Many can’t rise, and some are dismembered. Others lie dead, including the demon I'd asked to protect Adriana as she danced. Her thick black hair is coated in a different darkness and the wet seeping through her black dress stains it a different color.
My eyes meet Elgios's before he walks toward the slain demon, kneeling and dipping his fingers in her blood.
“This one was...” He pauses and bows his head. “She was one of the few I owed. I will not forgive this.”
I've never seen Elgios moved, and yet he's disturbed by this insignificant demon’s death. If anything, her demise is to his advantage, freeing him of a debt she’d have forced him to honor. A debt that may well have cost him dearly, depending on the deal he struck.
His muscles flex and strain and the purple of his eyes deepens until the violet is darker than midnight, lit only by a rim of iridescent lilac. Elgios is almost as livid as I am and he stares at me with the coldness of an apex predator honing in on its kill.
My form begins to shift and I hold Adriana against me, protecting her and stopping her from witnessing this. She doesn't need more terror, and this isn't how I'd planned for her to see my demonic form. My girl's had a glimpse of my shape, but I held back and I do not want this for her. Or us.
“Swear you had no hand in this, Amaymon. Swear it to me.”
I nod my head, deliberately and my teeth bare, revealing the horror of my razor-sharp fangs. “I swear it, Elgios. On the fires of Hell and the pits of eternal damnation. Can you make the same claim?”
Elgios rises and he walks toward me, trampling over the half-dead bodies lying between us. “On the ninth circle, I swear I had no part in this.”
His wings open and their talons sharpen, reflecting the neon colors flickering from the broken lights. Their sharpened edges cut through the flesh of some unfortunate lesser demons. Although they are lucky and their end is swift, spared a slow, painful death from their injuries.
We stand tall, matching each other in height but not power. My wings are the more vicious of the pair, bracing for whatever comes next. Our eyes meet and we exchange thoughts, Elgios’s mind meeting mine for the first time in a century to two.
This isn’t over.
It’s only just begun.
Not just tonight. We’ll move on, decimating the cunts behind this.
This evening is far from finished and I stare at the mangled room, listening to the shrieks coming from outside. Violence ripples through the nightclub and its effects radiate from its origin. Whatever’s coming is determined, efficient and it’s wreaking havoc as it moves closer, closing on its target.
My talons spear a mangled body, impaling it on my talon repeatedly until the annoying creature finally shuts the fuck up and dies.
Elgios smirks and turns to face the door, pushing his magic into the world and making it ripple with all he is. I doubt the cunt who did this expected him to be here and he’s a formidable opponent, on and off the battlefield. He commands armies and his strategy is impeccable, and it’s damn near impossible to force him to make an error.
And his cruelty is almost as depraved as mine.
“There’s a small army of Goetia heading up the stairs,” he says, snarling as his body threatens violence. “I don’t know who the fuck you’ve pissed off, Amaymon, but they’re not fucking around.”
“Any ideas on that front?” I smirk back, certain two high-ranking demons can deal with this—and have some fun.
Elgios shakes his head and the bones of his horns catch the light.
I pull Adriana against me and my hands tighten until my claws pierce my skin and cut into my flesh. The stench of Hell spills into the air and my girl twitches, catching its scent as she breathes against me. Her little chest heaves as she floods with panic, alerted to the surrounding danger.
“I’ve got you, baby. Eyes closed. You don’t need to see this, sweet girl.”
The lilac in Elgios’s irises sparks, and he tilts his head. “I’ll help you find the fucker who did this, Amaymon. But I get to dispatch the cunt, unless circumstances force your hand. Genuinely force it.”
I nod, accepting the uncharacteristically generous offer. Bones crunch as we move toward the middle of the room, readying for battle while my mind’s occupied with the reasons for his goodwill.
“I was fond of the girl,” Elgios says, taking a stance I’ve seen him take a thousand times before. His opponents don’t survive it. “I see the same in you.”
The floor shakes as the Goetia race towards us, drawing my attention to the damaged doorway. They’ll pile through the opening and flood the space, trying to overwhelm us with the numbers. Their power sure as fuck won’t overcome mine, but multiple attacks at the same time can be tricky to handle and sometimes fortune favors the stupid.
Goetia are violent. Vicious. But they're stupid as fuck.
And whoever sent them probably didn’t anticipate a second higher demon here tonight.
“I’ll take the lead,” Elgios growls, summoning his power.
My temper flares as I summon mine, but the asshole’s right. I’ve got Adriana to protect, and I won’t be as efficient as usual. He’ll gloat about it later, but that’s the sacrifice required to keep my girl safe.
“Eyes closed, baby.”
The light fades and plumes of thick grey smoke bellow toward us. Pale green cuts through its underbelly and the acidic smog hangs heavy, burning the skin of the mangled corpses beneath us. It singes and spits as it touches demon blood, sparking with the darkness of Hell as it tries to beckon more Goetia.
It's failing because I won’t allow it. My magic easily overpowers the enchantment and my vision narrows, focusing on the enemy pouring through the doorway.
Disgustingly vicious creatures scramble toward us, each different but all horrific. Their limbs are malformed and their features disfigured, their skin scared by their torture in the infernal fires. The bones break and shift beneath their skin as they move, crawling over the floors and ceilings like the scourge they are.
Elgios waits until they’re too damn close, and his magic explodes. Violet light bursts in a sphere, eviscerating the Goetia too close to us and sending the rest hurtling away. He clenches his fists and sends his arm out to one side, releasing another burst of power into the world. The wall shatters and the Goetia breaks apart, shattering into fragments and crumbling to the floor.
More charge in and Elgios’s other arm flies out, sending more demons careering through the air. Another wave pours in and my power rises from the ground, covering them in a rising tide made from the darkness before time itself, pulling them under. They won’t escape its depths and my control is absolute, working in harmony with Elgios as we cut through the mass of disgusting lower demons who dare to challenge us.
They shriek and screech, infuriated and petrified, and their screams are music to my ears.
Elgios moves, and he’s so damn fast it’s hard to make him out. His wings slice through reality, shredding demons as he pivots, ducks and weaves around them. Carcasses and limbs get thrown around as Elgios shreds through flesh and tears muscle apart. He pauses for a moment before pulling a Goetia in half, roaring as its entrails pour onto the floor.
I smirk as the Goetia keep coming, pouring hatred into the shadows as they ensnare and drag the pathetic, violent demons back down to Hell. They’ll feel the heat of my infernos soon enough, but their torture won’t end quickly. Not for this insult.
More demons sink in the shadows as Adriana curls tighter and tighter, clinging to me as the sounds of battle and its horrors sound around. The cries revitalize me and I relish the Goetia’s destruction, letting it sate my appetite for now.
My wings open and they start slashing, albeit at a pace that I’d consider leisurely. Blood spurts and while I revel in the bloodbath, I take care to shield Adriana from its horrors, whispering reassurance as I sever heads from bodies and limbs from trunks.
The Goetia keep coming and Elgios keeps sending streaks of violet light sweeping out in all directions as he fights like the demon his reputation suggests he is. He leaps into the air, hauling demons onto the ground and stomping on them as the pile of dismembered, disemboweled bodies grows.
“Keeping up, Amaymon?” he asks.
I squat, thrust my talons into four demons and eviscerate them, replying in deed instead of words. Elgios smirks and proceeds to rip a demon’s throat out with his bare teeth, licking his lips as he savors the taste.
The fight’s over as quickly as it begins, as the onslaught stops and Elgios moves at a speed even I struggle to believe as he ruthlessly dispatches any unfortunate enough to be alive.
He’s vicious and it’s a pleasure to watch him as he renders the last Goetia defenseless before torturing them. I cast an enchantment to shield Adriana from their screams as Elgios makes them suffer and their agony is fitting.
The demon who commands armies demands to know who sent them and one breaks—but only after Elgios has peeled their skin back, stripped their flesh from their bones, cut open their stomachs, fed their bowels back to them, and devoured their meat.
“Mordecai.”
The name hangs in the air momentarily before Elgios puts the miserable creatures out of their misery, sparing none.
We meet each other’s gaze, and our concern is palpable.
“He’s back then,” Elgios says through gritted teeth.
“Apparently,” I snarl back.
Our wings flap in irritation as we beat them in the air, cooling our tempers as we shake the blood off ourselves. I enjoy basking in dried blood, but the time for that particular pleasure isn’t when I’m cradling Adriana. Especially not when she’s on the verge of breaking down.
Her stuttered breaths turn into sobs and they coincide with the snapping of bone and squelching of flesh as Elgios and I stroll out of the massacre. I’d usually delight in trampling on the bodies of my slain enemies, but not this time. Not when Adriana’s still petrified. Not when this is my fault.
“I’ve got you, Adi,” I whisper, kissing her forehead as Elgios looks on with intrigue. “I’m taking you home and then I’m going to take care of you, sweet girl.” I pick up the pace, eager to take her somewhere she feels safe. “We’ll take a nice long bath, baby. You like it when I bathe you.” I stroke her hair and she nods. “Just as soon as I take the plug out of your ass.”