WAR
Amok (adjective): possessed with or motivated by a murderous or violently uncontrollable frenzy.
DAY 14, HOUR 7
Last night, the scouting angels had returned with the coordinates for another ungodly settlement.
Today, we went to war.
Snow fell in thick chunks as we marched through the quiet forest.
“I’m going to steal Scorpius and Orion from you,” I whispered to Malum, just to terrorize him.
He scoffed beside me. “Please, we both know any relationship with them means you’re one step closer to being mine.”
“You’re delusional,” I whispered as I discreetly inhaled his tobacco whiskey scent.
A vein pulsed on his forehead.
He leaned down, and his breath was hot against my ear. “Stop pretending with the twins. It’s pathetic—we both know you belong to me.”
My hands curled into fists. “That’s my future husbands you’re talking about.” He was so high-handed that it was infuriating.
Flames whooshed as they jumped off his arms. “Stop fucking saying that,” he said darkly. “They will never have that title.”
I rolled my pipe between my lips. “Are you sure about that?” I drawled.
His jaw clenched. “Yes.”
I shivered as the storm picked up. “I wouldn’t bet on it,” I whispered. The twins walked in front of me and formed a protective wall. Darkness shimmered around them.
Malum’s voice was rough like broken glass. “I would.”
I narrowed my eyes at the twins’ darkness. It seemed to form a shape on their heads, but I couldn’t discern the object.
“What would you bet?” I asked mindlessly.
Malum answered immediately, “My soul.”
We walked the rest of the way in silence.
I unraveled at the seams.
The battle raged.
The world devolved into shades of black and pain.
Smoke.
Screams.
Pleas.
Women and men bellowed as we murdered them.
A bear shifter roared, and the sound reverberated menacingly down the dark corridor.
Demons swung swords made of nightmares.
Crystal wings clattered as the angels hovered along the ceiling and struck from above.
Pincers slashed desperately. Hands grabbed helplessly.
An enchanted blade sliced through an ungodly carapace.
Red poured from flesh.
Green gore splattered.
This settlement was like the last. It was a maze of dark, twisting corridors, false walls, and sprawling rooms where the battles spilled into.
These infected also had enchanted swords. Little good it did them.
We hunted them through the halls.
The Necklace of Death pulsed with energy against my chest bone like a heartbeat.
I tripped as a body slammed against me.
John grabbed my arm and pulled me off the wall that I didn’t remember leaning against.
“Focus, Arabella!” Malum shouted harshly. “Don’t you dare lose us again.”
I fought numbly.
Jinx’s voice garbled in the back of my skull.
The twins flanked my front, and the kings flanked my back.
I spun and thrust, dodged a flying projectile, stabbed, decapitated, slaughtered. I did it all and felt nothing.
Time warped around me.
It was quiet.
My chest heaved from exertion. I was drenched with sweat and covered in disturbing substances.
The battle was over.
“Do you need help standing?” Scorpius asked.
“No.” My voice was hoarse, and my lungs ached like I’d run for miles.
Sadie limped over and patted my back.
“Good work,” Malum announced to the soldiers. “Let’s stay together, exit the structure, and convene with our troops on the perimeters to make sure no ungodly escaped.”
I blinked, and I was laying in my bunk.
A sheen of ice covered me, and I couldn’t move.
I was frozen.
