Chapter 81
Eighty-one
James
Zag’druren launched an attack, stronger than ever, and it took all I had in me to block, never mind retaliating. Victor’s body might be weak, but demonic energy never ran out or waned. It was like battling a man who was high on drugs and could feel no pain nor care if he was injured.
The blows came fast and furious on both our parts, and I was barely able to slap his sword to one side before it could strike flesh. I managed to score a glancing blow off his right arm but left barely a scratch. The blade did more damage to shirt than flesh.
My own heart beat like a war drum in my ears, my attention solely focused on the opponent in front of me. I couldn’t spare attention for anything else.
With each step and parry, we moved away from the portal, on the fringe of all the other fights raging. I hated each step that took us away, as I wanted to keep him near the portal. It didn’t feel right to get too far.
I sensed my knights fighting behind me, heard them call to each other to deal with the possessed, knew they were protecting my back.
But they couldn’t do anything else to help me with this fight. Sadly.
An explosion of magic and divine power erupted to my left, and I heard the mage who had opened the portal cry out a death rattle. Good, one problematic character down, hopefully more to follow in the next minute.
Gods, it was hard to focus. I had to say the spell. We were doomed otherwise.
What was the next line?
Zag’druren swiped at my knees, and I leapt up and back, avoiding the blow. It gave me about five feet of distance, which I used to pant out the next part of the spell.
“Thou fiend that walketh on mortal plane—”
Snarling like a baited wolf, Zag’druren rushed me again, charging recklessly. I didn’t even try to brace myself, as that wasn’t an attack I wanted to take full on. I spun the second he got near me, sword up vertically to use as a shield, moving quick as lightning to get behind him.
He flipped in midair like a dancer, turning sideways in the process to avoid my thrust from behind.
Dammit, he was too quick!
Had he been this quick the last time we’d battled? I’d been too heartsore to really care, just throwing myself at him over and over again, wanting us both dead.
I couldn’t do that this time. I had my husband waiting for me at home. Recklessness was not the name of the game.
Shit, where had I been in the spell?
Right, the third line.
“Thy—”
His sword swiped at me, and I may have yelped as I quickly parried.
I’d have lost an arm if I hadn’t. There was no room to breathe, no time to even think.
His sword aimed for my head. I caught it with the flat of my blade but struggled to push him off.
I had to put more strength against it, angling my arm to support my sword with my vambrace, feeling the impact all the way up into my shoulder.
That hit had been far harder than the first few blows we’d exchanged. Why?
The obvious hit me and I silently swore. It wasn’t just the people Valentina had hauled up here. Some of my soldiers had fallen in the battle, and he was using their blood like a sacrifice to himself, building up his power. How fucking dare he.
Their blood, their sacrifice, was not meant for him!
I threw myself at him, thrusting straight for his hand. I caught the hilt of his sword with my blade and twisted, disarming him neatly, tossing the blade completely to the side.
“You know that won’t work with my sword!” he mocked.
Sadly, yes, he could recall the weapon no matter how far away from him it went. But it bought me a few seconds, which was what I needed right then.
“Thy humble servant requests aid from the heavens—”
His mockery vanished and the sword, which had clattered to the ground, was in his hand with nothing more than a snap of his fingers. I tried to say the next line even as I hit him with an arching swing, not wanting him to regain his balance.
“Gods—”
Clang.
“—above—”
Screeech of the blades sliding together before locking briefly at the hilts.
“—hear—”
A kick to my chest, robbing me of breath.
I slapped his sword to the side and parried with my own attack, somehow catching my breath enough to keep talking.
“—hear me and honor my faith—”
A burst of energy flew from his hand and nicked me on the cheek. Fuck that burned, like a hot brand touching skin. I winced but kept focused. Losing focus for even a moment was a death sentence in this fight.
Shit, I’d lost my spot in the spell again. Where had I been?
Zag’druren shot more energy at me. I ducked and twisted, not wanting him to take advantage, but barely avoided his blade. I felt and heard the whistle of the iron through the air as it sang near my ear. Too close for comfort. Especially with the aura his sword gave off.
Sweat beaded my skin, and my muscles ached with accumulating fatigue.
Focus, me. Where had I been in the spell? Fourth line? Sounded right. I couldn’t remember how the fifth line began and mentally started from the very beginning.
Hear me, Zag’druren, King of Demons,
Thou fiend that walketh on mortal plane,
Zag’druren circled me once, three steps, then his sword came up in an arc and slashed diagonally, energy bursting forth in the process. I had no choice but to duck and roll, as getting hit would have killed me. There was no way to block the attack.
He was definitely getting stronger, and I was fucked if he landed a single blow. Last time, we’d laid down all sorts of traps and religious seals in the area to weaken him, and I was strongly reminded of why.
Because otherwise, no mortal man could win the fight.
I recalled the fifth line all of a sudden and spat it out even as I regained my feet. “Descend in thy glory and show thy power—”
Another one of those devastating slashing arcs of power, this one hotter than the last. Not to mention faster.
I ducked, rolled, and still felt the scorching heat glance off the armor on my back.
Even a fraction of a second later in reaction and I’d have been a dead man.
The energy did hit the building behind me, and a quick glance showed a whole corner of the building had been sheared off.
“James, I think you’re slowing,” Zag’druren drawled. “Getting tired, love?”
He wasn’t wrong. Maybe he wasn’t getting faster. Maybe I was tiring as the battle wore on. Or a combination of both. It didn’t matter why—the obvious was happening and I wasn’t winning.
Worse, there were another nine lines of this damn spell to recite.
Who the hell wrote a spell this long to be used in an active battle?!
Just wait, I’d have words with them. Right after I socked them in the jaw for their stupidity.
Beyond frustrated, knowing my energy waned and I had no time left, I threw my head back and shouted at the heavens, “Will someone just get in me already?!”
Abruptly, I wasn’t in my body.
I blinked, off-balance, because instead of being in a locked battle, I now found myself in the soft grey space I knew well. The waiting space between the mortal plane and Paradise, like I’d been once before.
Oh no. Please tell me I hadn’t died? Edwin would murder me.
The sharp smack of something hitting tile had me spinning around. The same angel I’d bargained with before stood glaring at me.
“I’m not dead, am I?” I demanded in panic.
“No, calm down. Goddess Vuheia took your body to battle Zag’druren. It’s temporary. She’ll be done in a few minutes and then you can return.”
My Goddess of War? Oh hell yeah. She’d do a much better job than I would.
I should have expected my own goddess to heed the spell’s call, but what could I say?
It hadn’t specified, and I didn’t want to assume.
Her possessing me made the most sense, however, since I was her devout follower.
Surely that made things easier. I stood there, letting relief wash over me.
I wasn’t dead. Thank fuck I wasn’t dead.
Edwin would have been very, very mad if I died in battle again.
For that matter, I would have been mad. I’d finally gotten married to the man of my dreams, I wanted to actually live out this life at his side.
The angel kept glaring at me. “Really, James? Lila translates the spell for you, Edwin even coaches you on it, and you still couldn’t use it properly?”
“You try fighting a demon king and reciting some ancient spell at the same time!” I retorted. “I did my best, okay? It obviously worked if Vuheia was able to possess me.”
“It worked because you had the right intention and an open heart, otherwise it wouldn’t have.”
Semantics. It worked. That was all I cared about. “Can I watch the battle?”
“If you’d like.”
She waved a hand at the mist and a circular window opened from an aerial view.
I watched as my own body gained strength and a speed I’d never possessed, launching straight at Zag’druren.
He was now the one hard-pressed, barely defending himself.
It was obvious from the insults he was hurtling, too, that he realized the spell had worked.
The Demon King was no match for the Goddess of War. She had him subdued in a minute flat, pinned to the ground with my sword, all smiles as she leaned in closer to his face.
“Now, Zag’druren, what did we learn?” she purred.
“James is a favorite of yours, isn’t he?” Zag’druren snapped back.
“And Edwin. Your takeaway from this is: Leave my boys alone. I’m very unhappy you killed them in the first life. It’s why I came down here to deal with you myself.”
“You’re not supposed to do that!”
“You’re not supposed to be up here, either. You can persuade, manipulate, and bribe people, but you’re not supposed to take over their bodies, you utter moron. You broke the rules, which means I can break the rules.”
“Owww! Stop fucking twisting the blade!”
“It’s the price you pay for not staying in Hell. You broke the laws of direct interference, so you really can’t complain. Don’t think you can get back out, either. I won’t allow it. Now, back you go.”