Chapter 26
Deadly Combo
Alexa
I throw myself sideways to avoid the blast. The crimson energy tears through the room. My body hits the floor and rolls hard across the wood.
Behind me, the bedroom door explodes off its hinges and slams into the hallway wall with a sickening crack. The entire door splits apart, glowing red fractures spreading through the broken wood.
“His power is that strong?” Mythril screams in panic.
My breathing comes fast and ragged. For a second, all I can think about is how close that came. Just a few inches and I would’ve ended up like that shattered door.
Before I can fully process what happened, Harlow takes advantage of Alastair’s distraction. He launches forward at super speed and sinks his fangs into Alastair’s shoulder.
Alastair roars. His massive fist crashes into Harlow’s chest. Harlow flies backward and slams against the floor.
Alastair follows, driving a barrage of punches toward Harlow’s head and ribs. Harlow dodges some of them and retaliates with savage swipes of his claws. The two Lycans collide again and again, moving so fast their bodies blur together.
“We gotta do somethin’!” Mythril cries. “Anything!”
“I can’t target Alastair,” I answer helplessly. “They’re moving too fast.”
My brows knit together as I desperately search for an opening. The room echoes with snarls, impacts, and growls of pain. There has to be something.
Come on, Alexa. Think.
I may be useless in close combat, but I still have magic. An idea strikes me. I sprint toward the darkest corner of the room and drop into a cross-legged position.
Without hesitation, I bite down hard on my thumb. Pain shoots through my hand. Blood wells from the wound and trickles down my skin.
“Alexa, are you seriously gonna use a seer’s ritual?” Mythril protests. “That’ll weaken you!”
“Yeah,” I answer. “But it’ll buy Harlow time.”
Ignoring her objections, I close my eyes. Using the blood on my thumb, I draw a vertical line from my forehead down across my cheek. Then another. To complete the seal, I drag a horizontal line beneath my eyes. The blood burns against my eyes.
“O Moon Goddess, lend me your hand. For every darkness, let there be light ahead.”
The prayer leaves my lips. The darkness behind my eyelids explodes into light. Silver energy wraps around Harlow. Crimson energy surrounds Alastair.
Time unfolds before me. The future keeps refreshing itself, revealing another few seconds each time. Only five seconds at most, but it’s enough to guide him.
“Harlow. Watch your right.”
“What’re you talking about?” he asks.
“Trust me. Watch your left leg.” The silver glow around Harlow flickers.
A second later, Alastair attacks exactly where I predicted. Harlow reacts, but only barely.
“Listen to my voice.” I force confidence into every word. “Put your trust in me.”
A brief pause before he nods. “Fine.”
What happens next catches me off guard. He surrenders entirely to my guidance.
“Left side.”
He moves exactly as I tell him. Alastair’s claws slash through empty air. Harlow counters with a vicious strike to his stomach.
My vision shifts again. Another future. Another opening.
“Right cheek.”
Harlow ducks. Alastair’s attack misses. Harlow tears into Alastair’s flank.
“Behind you.”
Harlow spins. His claws rake across Alastair’s spine.
Alastair growls in pain. The next few seconds repeat the same way.
Prediction, movement, attack. Each action flows seamlessly into the next, creating a relentless assault against Alastair, forming a deadly rhythm.
My vision and Harlow’s speed merge into something unstoppable.
No matter how physically powerful Alastair is, he can’t land a clean hit. Wounds appear all over his body. Blood pours from dozens of slashes. Eventually, Alastair crashes to one knee.
“Damn you!” he snarls.
Blood drips from his mouth as he spits onto the floor. Harlow remains standing. Breathing hard. Covered in blood, but victorious.
“Just give up,” Harlow says. “We’ll banish Lucifer from this world. Maybe the Moon Goddess’ll forgive you if you repent.”
Despite his injuries, Alastair laughs. A rough, wheezing laugh. He shakes his head.
“Then what?” he asks. “Live in exile like Gabriel?” He spits another mouthful of blood. “No, you bastard. I’m gonna claim my glory.”
“No,” Harlow growls. “You’re finished.”
A strange smile slowly spreads across Alastair’s face. “Well now,” he says softly, “I was already in the deepest pit of hell.”
Something changes. The crimson energy surrounding him doesn’t weaken. It grows, darkens, and thickens. His claws rise toward his own chest. A chill runs through me.
“There ain’t no greater sacrifice for the Lord of Darkness than this.”
Alastair smirks. Then he drives both claws straight into his chest. My breath catches. My vision flashes into a glimpse of the immediate future. Alastair’s claws pierce his heart. Ancient words spill from his lips. A language I’ve never heard before, a hymn, a prayer, a summoning.
“He’s sacrificing himself!” Mythril screams.
“Hold him down!” I shout.
But the warning comes too late. I waste precious seconds frozen in shock.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Harlow roars.
He lunges, but too late. The crimson energy disappears beneath a flood of blackness. A tidal wave of dark power explodes outward. Harlow is thrown across the room as the black energy slams into him like a living storm.
“Come, Lord of Darkness,” Alastair hisses. The voice no longer sounds like his own. “Let me become your obedient vessel.”
His laughter begins as a chuckle, then grows. And grows. Until it becomes a rasping cackle unlike anything I’ve ever heard.
The gaping wound in his chest remains open. Yet he doesn’t fall. Instead, his body swells. Black energy coils around him like filthy smoke. Muscles bulge beneath his skin in unnatural shapes. Some parts of his fur falling away. Others grow thicker. His claws lengthen into monstrous blades.
This is no longer a werewolf. This is something else. Something born from darkness itself. He draws in a long, satisfied breath. Then a smile spreads across his face.
“This is it,” he says with a blissful sigh. Ancient hunger burns behind his glowing eyes.
“What the hell? You’re still alive?” Harlow asks, his brow furrowing.
“I ain’t Alastair,” the monster answers with a cackling laugh.
For a moment, Harlow just stares at him in stunned silence before his voice drops to a whisper. “You’re Lucifer?”
The monster turns toward me. “C’mon now, Alexa. You and me could rule this whole world together.” He stretches a clawed hand toward me.
“Don’t you dare lay a finger on her!” Harlow lunges forward again, but my vision is already showing me what happens a few seconds ahead.
Something’s wrong. The images inside my sight distort. Shadows blur and flicker like broken fragments. The future no longer unfolds smoothly. It glitches, shifting unpredictably before my eyes.
“This ain’t good, Alexa,” Mythril says tensely. “We’re both getting exhausted, and that monster’s draining your energy.”
In my vision, Lucifer’s claws drive toward Harlow’s abdomen, piercing straight through and sending blood pouring from the wound.
“Your stomach!” I warn.
The vision snaps away. Reality catches up. Harlow twists aside just in time. Another future flashes before me. Lucifer’s left claws slash toward Harlow’s throat.
“Left side of your neck!”
Harlow ducks again. The scene changes. This time Lucifer turns toward me. His jaws spread wide as he launches himself in my direction, ready to tear me apart. My vision spirals into chaos again.
“He’s coming for me.” My heart hammers violently against my ribs.
Harlow reacts. He bites into Lucifer’s thigh while locking both arms around Alastair’s waist. The monster crashes onto the floor with his back hitting first. But one free leg hooks around Harlow’s neck. Lucifer surges back up and grabs Harlow by the scruff of his neck.
“Your head!”
Harlow rolls away, narrowly escaping the leg lock. But Lucifer is faster. Much faster. He catches Harlow and drives him backward.
“Your throat!”
Harlow tries to evade, but his back slams against the bedroom wall. There is nowhere left to retreat. Lucifer’s hand closes around his throat. The shadows inside my vision flicker violently. My body trembles. Every breath feels heavier than the last.
“Your neck!” I shout again, forcing the warning through my exhaustion.
“Alexa, stop!” Mythril cries desperately. “You keep this up and you’re gonna die!”
Lucifer, still wearing Alastair’s body, lifts Harlow off the ground by his throat. Harlow’s legs kick wildly. His hands claw at Lucifer’s wrist. But the monster thickens the dark energy around himself, creating a shield that absorbs every attempt to fight back.
“Harlow...” I whisper. “Don’t give up. Please don’t give up.”
My body is failing. Every drop of strength has been drained away. I can do nothing except tremble in the corner and watch.
The silver glow surrounding Harlow fading. First around his head, then across his shoulders, until the glow fades from his entire body. Tears gather in my eyes.
“This ain’t good, Alexa,” Mythril growls. “Stop the ritual and help him!”
“You’re right.”
Using tears and saliva, I wipe away the blood seal around my eyes.
The moment the markings break, darkness swallows my vision.
For a terrifying second, I can’t see anything.
I open my eyes, then reality returns. Everything is exactly as I saw it.
Lucifer is choking Harlow and holding him in the air.
I force myself to stand. My entire body shakes beneath the weight of fear, rage, and exhaustion. My legs feel numb. I barely manage to brace myself against the wall.
“C’mon,” Mythril urges. “You’re stronger than this.”
I never expected the seer’s ritual to consume so much of my strength. My body feels wrapped in barbed wire. Every movement hurts. My eyes burn. My legs refuse to obey me. Across the room, Harlow’s struggles are becoming weaker.
“Fight it!” Mythril shouts. “We were so close!”
“I...” Tears blur my vision again. “I can’t transform.”