Chapter 23
The roar from upstairs came as a surreal contrast to the silent condemnation of the Arena’s dungeons.
I took the lead, far too angry with Dante for sacrificing himself as a plaything to a demon I’d sorely underestimated to face him right now.
Orion and Kaito walked beside me, keeping an eye on the demon who still had his arm wrapped around Dante.
Every step he’d shot a wave of Hellfire through my Hunter, making him buckle with pain and rage that only made the demon stronger.
I wondered how long Dante could endure this punishment. It seemed like a pretty uneven deal to get the demon to be compliant, but I’d handle that after we took care of the Dean.
Save the world first… then I’d save my Virtues from themselves.
The crowd cheered as we exited the tunnels and spotlights made me shield my eyes.
“Ah, the stars of the show have arrived,” the Dean announced, then clapped. “Merlin, if you would?”
The wizard wearing his favorite navy-blue suit seemed to have aged since the last time I’d seen him.
At orientation he’d looked to be around his thirties, but now he had creases around his eyes and gray streaks through his hair.
He waved a finger and sent glimmering walls erecting on either side of us leaving only one single path to the center stage.
I drew in a breath when I spotted Logan and Hendrik bound by chains kneeling on the Arena floor. A giant cage glimmered with magic all around them, ensuring that nobody was going to be getting out of here alive.
The crowd began to chant, and I realized that the spectators weren’t spectators at all. Their bodies glowed with red power and they wore long, blood-red robes that marked them as the only witches I knew of that would dress like that.
“It’s the Blood Coven,” Kaito whispered.
While I wasn’t a star student, I’d paid attention when Olivia had told me about the Blood Coven. They were an illegal faction of witches that Evelyn had tried to eradicate, but she was obviously doing a poor job of that.
“Thank you, Merlin, now if you’d kindly join all those who have betrayed me,” she said, kicking him and shoving him off the stage and into the ring.
He landed with a hard thud before he struggled to get to his feet. “Crazy bitch,” he growled.
“Witch,” she corrected as she held up a finger, “and you’re the one who has been helping the Light Mage suppress my memories, so it’s your fault you’re about to die.” She shrugged. “You’ve lived longer than I have, so I’d say you’ve lived long enough.”
“You think this wall will protect you?” Cole asked, unaffected by the chanting Blood Witches on the level below us. He spread his wings and launched himself upward, going straight for her. He hit the wall hard and fell back onto the arena with a growl.
“This is no simple cage,” she gloated and clapped her hands. “Ladies, if you’d please.”
The coven’s chant changed and lowered in tempo, sending the walls around us turning red with heat.
My hairline broke out with sweat and I whirled in a circle. “What are they doing?” I asked, grabbing onto Kaito.
“They’re tuning the playing field into the demon,” he said, keeping his gaze on Cole. “Keep close to us, Koneko-chan. This is about to get rough.”
Cole roared and his wings flared as the dark mist spilled out around him, rolling with bolts of red lightning that threatened to destroy anything it touched.
When it reached Merlin, he jolted upright and clenched his fists. “This is all your fault,” he growled, facing Hendrik and Logan still chained and on their knees.
The fog reached Logan next, making him sneeze, but it didn’t seem to otherwise affect him. Hendrik, however, threw his head back as his black eyes glazed over with fire. When he fell to his hands, he clenched his jaw and took in deep, gulping breaths as his focus landed on Dante. “You,” he growled.
The Dark Mage lunged, making the wolf yelp as their connected chains broke. Merlin intercepted and punched the mage straight in the face, stunning him.
“Hurry,” Kaito said, nudging me. “Take power from us. It’ll keep the fog from taking over.”
Cursing, I rested my hand on Kaito, then Orion who presented his arm. I looked around for Dante, but he joined the fray with Merlin, Hendrik, and Logan who exchanged punches and shockwaves of power.
“They’re going to kill each other,” I said as I eyed the fog drifting closer.
Cole continued to release more of the mist as he beat against the glimmering wall, relentlessly trying to reach the Dean who openly laughed at his efforts.
That only seemed to piss him off more, and being he was a rage demon, I didn’t want to see what he was like when he was pushed over the edge.
To make matters worse, the bracelet around my wrist started to heat up and the final gem began to glow.
“Shit,” I cursed.
Out of time.
“Now!” Kaito urged and I finally relented. I closed my eyes and drew in as much energy as I could, tapping into my powers as a succubus, as well as that from my demon side to absorb life-force, emotion, and energy.
Kaito cried out as I took a long pull of his power and fell to his knee, but he kept a hold on my arm,
Orion likewise groaned with pain and his freckles flickered in and out with light as I drew on his energy.
The power filled me, making me dizzy and giving me a sensation of being invincible.
The fog closed in around us and while it couldn’t penetrate me or the Virtues I held onto, it served as interference for the Hell bracelet that was trying to send me to Lucifer.
I used that to my advantage as I took a step toward my brawling Virtues, grinning when I realized it was working.
Cole stopped his attack when he spotted me heading for my target.
Merlin.
I didn’t know what kind of mage he was, but I knew he was immortal and that he had power over Cole if I could figure out a way to exploit it. He’d created the wall around our cage and I intended to use that.
With Cole under my control, perhaps I’d finally unlock my powers and end this Hell.
Cole roared as he launched himself and got to the wizard first. Grabbing him by the neck and holding him up as his red gaze landed on me.
“Cole!” I snapped. “Do not hurt him!”
His grin turned wild and manic as he extended his claws.
Then he ripped Merlin’s heart from his chest.
The world froze in that moment and I realized that I’d just lost.
The Dean cackled with laughter and Cole snapped his attention to her. “Oh, thank you, my demon. You’ve done exactly what I needed.” She clapped her hands again. “Now, ladies.” The Blood Coven resumed its chant and heat spilled out into the Arena, making me pant.
Merlin’s eyes sprang open and fires consumed him from within as he opened his mouth on a silent scream.
Cole dropped him and hissed. “The Vessel,” he growled.
“I thank all of you for making this possible,” the Dean said, holding her hands to her chest as if she was giving an award speech.
“I knew that Merlin was the Vessel to resurrect my beloved Lancelot, but I don’t have the magic or the power to kill him.
Only a true immortal could take the heart of a wizard.
” She grinned at Cole. “I’m forever in your debt. ”
An otherworldly roar sounded as fires erupted all across the Arena. I released my energy to keep my Virtues from burning alive.
It wouldn’t hold forever, but it would hold long enough.
Panting, I watched in horror as a spirit came up from Hell and the stench of sulfur tinged my nostrils. Red eyes aflame with Hellfire took us all in before landing on the Dean. “Hello, sweetheart,” he said with a sarcastic sneer.
“Lancelot, darling,” she said, pressing her face against the barrier. “Aren’t you happy to see me?”
He glowered. “You left me to burn in Hell for centuries. What do you think?”
She fell back a step, then turned an angry gaze on Cole. “You. You turned him against me. Undo this!” She snapped her fingers and I gasped as an agonizing burn radiated throughout my chest. “Fix it or I rip out your precious mate’s heart!”
Cole’s gaze fell on me and in that instant I knew that a piece of him belonged to me. It always had ever since he’d left Hell, but a demon like him wouldn’t be tamed so easily.
The mate-bond flooded with emotion as Cole released the damper he’d put on it as indecision fluxed in his heart. He’d wanted to kill me, to toy with me and release his rage on my mates.
That was all he knew. He’d spent an eternity living as a slave to his nature and it frightened him that perhaps there was another way.
Because if he accepted that, he’d have to accept the guilt that came with all the horrible things he’d done.
“No one commands me,” he snarled, his voice booming with rage.
I saw when he lost the battle. What empathy I’d spotted in his gaze faded as he roared and went for Lancelot. He lashed out, his tail transforming into a sharp edge that sliced clean through Lancelot’s neck, beheading him in an instant.
The knight’s head tumbled to the Arena floor—and the Dean screamed.
Searing pain cascaded through my body as an invisible hand reached into my chest and ripped out my heart.
I wasn’t sure if it was my bracelet finally kicking in, or the power of my death, but Hell opened up at my feet and sucked us all in.