Wrath of the Dragon, page 23
The purple beast shuddered as it died, and it toppled backward into a pool of its own blood.
I spun around to see two demons approaching Cyra, and she flew upward before they could reach her. Then they looked up in confusion just as she brought her spear down into one of their skulls, and the other ran straight into the arms of the Moon Pixie.
Not far away, the moon farmers gritted their teeth as they swung their new weapons, and although they weren’t extremely skilled fighters, they put enough effort in to get the job done. One of the women clumsily whacked a demon in the head with her spear, and then excitedly stabbed it in the stomach as it stumbled off-balance.
“Great work!” I shouted as I ran over to help. “Dwarves! Behind you!”
The bearded men spun around just as two demons raced toward them. The dwarves were armed with daggers and axes, and they slammed their weapons into the purple beasts with violent snarls.
I jumped onto a demon that was sneaking up on the Lunas and slit its throat before it crumpled to the ground. The last demon had been cornered by the night farmers, and they all rammed their spears into it at the same time. Then the purple beast exploded with blood, and the farmers slapped each others’ backs as the demon died.
“What a team.” I grinned. “You’re all fucking amazing. Let’s keep this energy up!”
“Um,” one of the Lunas said. “Look up.”
I turned my gaze upward to see a winged demon perched at the top of the next staircase. It sat on a pillar and stared down at us with bloodshot eyes.
“Fuck,” I hissed. “Get ready!”
The demon launched itself down at the group, and its leathery wings cast a shadow over the prisoners. The Moon Pixie held a hand toward it as it flew and shot a cloud of silver dust into the demon’s face. It snarled as its eyes were filled with the substance, and then it crashed into the ground as it struggled to see.
The nearest Luna didn’t hesitate to slam her spear into the demon’s tailbone, and she shrieked with fright as her attack brought a cry of pain from the beast. Then I took a running jump and slammed my boot down onto the demon’s head.
The skull smashed below me, and dark blood erupted everywhere with bits of purple flesh.
“Fuck, that’s nasty” I gagged and stumbled back from the crushed demon head, and I glanced up to check there weren’t more to come.
“We’re almost there,” Cyra said. “I can feel her so closely. There must only be a few floors left.”
“Come on, let’s go get our angel,” I muttered.
Cyra nodded, and her eyes were filled with fire as we raced up the next staircase.
Everything we had fought for was within our grasp, and I felt stronger than I ever had in my life. A sense of power coursed through every inch of my skin, and I was suddenly chomping at the bit to change into my dragon form. I’d only gotten one taste of my scaly, vengeful side, and I was thirsting for another opportunity.
Now, it wouldn’t be long until I could break into the sky with my fiery wings. We just had to find our angel prisoner and make sure I wouldn’t accidentally burn her to a crisp first.
We ran up the stone stairs and passed two more levels without any issues, but then I could hear voices above us.
Voices that spoke much clearer than the underlings could.
“Higher-ups,” I hissed to the group. “The fight is about to get a hell of a lot harder. You can do it, I know you can.”
The prisoners nodded, and we turned around the curve in the staircase to see a group of higher-up demons. This floor was wider than the others we’d passed and led off down two dark hallways to the rest of the castle. There were nine hulking demons in total, and they snarled as they spun around to look at us.
“The prisoners!” one of them snarled. “Kill them all!”
“Shit,” I hissed as one charged at me, and I guessed it towered at least three feet above me. It had a curved sword held high, and its sharp fangs glistened in the torchlight while its horns arched threateningly in my direction.
“Die!” it hissed as it lunged at me, and its powerful back legs gave it serious power behind its leap.
I knocked away its weapon wielding arm as it reached me and stabbed it in the shoulder with my dagger. The demon snarled, and I could smell the rotten stench of its breath as it drooled right onto my face. Then I shoved the bastard back as hard as I could, and the demon skidded slightly as I lunged.
That one moment of pause gave me the opportunity to slam my dagger right into its cheek.
The blade pierced through both flesh and bone, and as I pulled my weapon back, the demon’s face spilled blood everywhere. It howled as its ripped flesh flapped, and it threw itself at me with a snarl. Then I dove down as it jumped, and I swung my leg out so my boot connected with its knee. The demon fell as I skidded out of the way, and it toppled onto the stone floor with a loud crash.
I wasted no time jumping onto the fallen beast, and I slammed my black blade right into its temple.
The demon’s eyes rolled back into its skull, and it only twitched once before it fell still.
Then I leapt back up and turned to see blood and carnage everywhere. Cyra was in the air with her spear shoved into a demon’s chest, and she slammed the purple beast against the ground as it died. The other prisoners were holding their own well, and I watched one of the Lunas swipe her hand toward a demon’s face while it charged.
The purple bastard stopped suddenly, and its eyes glazed over as it began to scream. It looked like it was having a nightmare while it was awake, and one of the dwarves used the opportunity to slam an axe into its back.
Another demon was about to lunge at a night farmer, but I raced toward it just in time. Then I leapt onto its back as it writhed around like a wild horse, pierced the side of its neck, and kicked its spear away. The demon spasmed below me, and I shoved it onto the ground as it died.
Thick blood covered the floor now, and I looked over to see that the higher-up demons were all dead. The prisoners stared down at the pile of hulking corpses, but Cyra wasn’t paying attention to the carnage.
The angel stared down the right-hand side hallway, and she pointed with a shaking hand.
“She’s down there,” the angel whispered. “Nisha is over there.”
“Okay,” I said. “Then let’s go and get her.”
I turned to the prisoners and grinned at our new allies.
“This next part is going to be even more deadly,” I said. “You don’t have to come.”
“We want to,” one of the dwarves said. “This is our home that these bastards have taken. You lead us well.”
“Exactly.” A Luna nodded her pink-haired head. “We owe it to ourselves to do this. We want to help you.”
There was a murmur of agreement, and it seemed that our new group was ready for the big fight.
“Then let’s go kill a Demon King,” I said grimly, and I turned toward the dim hallway.
We marched down the corridor, and I could hear a loud rumble beyond the wooden door at the end. I gripped Cyra’s hand as we walked and felt stronger than ever with her by my side. I didn’t know what lay on the other side of the door, but I knew it was going to be extremely fucking deadly.
We stopped as we reached the door, and Cyra nodded at me as we dropped hands.
Then I pushed the wood, and the door swung open to show that we were on a rooftop. Purple orbs buzzed just overhead, and a sea of demons stood before us.
Right at the back of the group, I could see a blue-haired angel with her hands bound in strange chains. Her wings glistened with inky-black and pale blue feathers, and there was no denying that we were looking at a night angel.
We had found Nisha.
Chapter 16
The castle rooftop was huge, and there were four turreted towers on each corner. A low ridge ran along the perimeter of the area, and the heat of the purple orbs beat down on my face.
Nisha stood by the far right tower, and she looked asleep as her head bowed down. She was shockingly beautiful with a deep navy skin tone and cerulean hair. The incredible mix of inky-black and powder-blue within her wings was almost impossible to look away from, and it was as if she was made of the night sky itself. She wore a glistening silver top and skirt that slinked over her petite frame, and I figured she was a head shorter than Cyra.
But her slim wrists were bound in a chain that seemed to be moving. It floated around slowly and stretched from the angel right over to the other side of the rooftop.
Then I saw him. The Demon King.
He breathed heavily as he sat on a throne that had clearly been hurriedly made out of molten gold with no thought given to creating a pleasing design. It was barely in the shape of a chair, and it creaked under the weight of its occupier.
The king was a bulbous mass of purple flesh. He towered over everything and must have been about fifteen feet tall. He was incredibly wide with fat bulging out of every inch of his grotesque body, but he had thick legs that seemed to be extremely muscular.
The Demon King’s face was even more horrifying than any of the other demons. It was much rounder than the underlings, but his snout was longer, and his horns curled upward from his skull. The teeth that protruded from his jaw were yellow and sharp, and his eyes were a deep red while a glob of drool dangled from his mouth. The huge demon had spikes running down his outer arms, and his talons were curled and thick.
Nisha’s chain was wrapped around one of his fat ham arms, and I swallowed hard as I sized the creature up.
The angel was tethered by the most powerful demon in the land, and we had just strolled out onto his balcony.
There were underlings, higher-ups, and flying demons all around us, and my blood ran cold as they all turned to look at us in utter confusion.
At least they hadn’t been expecting us. We’d done that right.
“Ryan,” Cyra breathed beside me. “What the fuck do we do?”
“Who is this?” the king boomed. “Who dares enter my lair?”
The huge demon drooled and spat as he spoke, and he pointed a curled talon toward us. His sharp teeth gnashed together, and he leaned forward on his golden throne.
“We are here for Nisha,” I said confidently. “Release her, and we won’t have to kill you all.”
The Demon King started to laugh, and it was a horrible, cackling sound that carried over the castle. The underlings got excited at the sound and began to wave their spears as they joined in, and every demon on the roof jumped and cheered, but the winged bastards stayed silent as they watched from above.
“Who are you?” the king snarled as underlings crawled toward me. “You think you can take my angel? You think I will let you? A human?”
“She’s not yours,” Cyra spat, and the king’s eyes darted to the angel.
“Another one,” he growled as a twisted grin split across his hideous face. Then he licked his lips as another glob of drool dripped down. “Another angel! Get her! She will be mine!”
Cyra flew into the sky before the demons could act, and my skin prickled with fire. The threat toward Cyra seemed to spark my transformation, and my powers immediately surged through every inch of my body. I felt it happening already as I stared at the Demon King, and I crouched down before I shot into the air and let the change overtake me.
I was mid-jump when my body finally shifted into its most powerful form.
My whole being erupted into flames as wings sprouted from my back, and I soared over the castle roofs as my dragon form took over every inch of my body. The sky lit up with my golden light, and my powerful wings flapped in the wind as my tail swayed threateningly from side to side.
Then I looked down to see everyone on the roof staring up at me in shock. The prisoners who’d joined us had their mouths open as they clutched their weapons, and a couple of the farmers looked like they were saying a prayer.
The demon soldiers didn’t move, and the king seemed equally horrified. He stared with his wide, red eyes, and the whole castle seemed to fall silent for a moment.
“Let’s do this!” I shouted. “For Nisha!”
“For Nisha!” Cyra screamed.
“Kill them all!” the Demon King screeched, and the soldiers swarmed toward the prisoners.
I had a split second to evaluate what to do. I wanted to go straight for the fat fucking king, but I had to help protect the prisoners. After all, I had freed them and led them up to this hellish battlefield. I wasn’t about to let them die the second I was able to use my dragon form.
I was proud to see that the group didn’t run, though. They stood their ground with their weapons held high.
I was slightly wary about using my fire so near to my own people. I had never tried to control my fire-breathing much before. When I used it at the lake, I didn’t have anyone to look out for, and burning the demons had been my only priority. Now, I would have to use my powers without harming any of my team, and I would need to learn the logistics of my fire wielding pretty fucking quickly.
As a swarm of underlings scurried toward the prisoners, I soared back around and sent a red-hot jet of fire down onto their heads.
The demons’ flesh erupted into flames, and they screeched as the angel fire melted the skin from their bones. Some of them tried to run as they burned and ended up crashing into other demons as they stumbled. Then the other purple bastards quickly backed off from the prisoners, and the king roared from his throne.
“Spread out!” I yelled down to the prisoners. “Don’t let them get you near the edge of the rooftop, and stay in small groups.”
The prisoners immediately followed my instructions, and I was slightly shocked at their level of respect and compliance. They used the chaos of the burning demons as a distraction to spread out over the rooftop, and then they wasted no time in starting to attack. The dwarves moved first, and they leapt onto a higher-up with a shocking speed. Their blades swung into the demon’s skull, and that seemed to knock the other purple bastards out of their shocked states.
The demons charged at the prisoners now, and the rooftop erupted into chaos.
“Cyra!” I called. “Don’t try and get to Nisha yet, okay? We need to kill these fuckers before it’s safe for you to go down there.”
“Got it,” the angel said. “Let’s slaughter every single one of these bastards.”
“That’s the plan,” I growled.
The angel flashed me a murderous grin before she plunged down with her spear and skewered two underlings at once right through their chests. They flopped on the weapon as blood exploded from their bodies, and Cyra snarled ruthlessly as she pulled her spear back. Then she left the demons crumpled on the ground with their dark blood oozing onto the stone.
I spotted a flock of winged demons headed straight toward me, and they suddenly fanned out so they surrounded me in a wide circle. They snarled and hissed as they flew closer, and I felt the powerful fire in my throat rise up as I shot flames into the first one. Then I pumped my wings to spin around and spat fire as I went.
The circle of demons quickly became a circle of screaming, burning bodies, and they started to plummet from the sky down onto the rooftop. As they hit the stonework, their bodies exploded on impact into a cloud of blood and bone fragments, and their goopy remains continued to burn as their guts spilled out onto the gray ground.
“Amazing!” Cyra called as she did a twirl in the sky. “Glad to have you back in your dragon body!”
“It feels good to be back,” I laughed. “Let’s keep this pace going, then we can focus on the king!”
The Demon King was screeching orders from his throne, but his soldiers seemed to have descended into chaotic anarchy. The demons were fighting manically as panic overtook them, and I checked to see how the prisoners were getting on.
The Lunas stopped a couple of higher-ups dead in their tracks with nightmarish dreamscapes, and the demons screamed in terror as their bodies went rigid. The silvery fairies used the distraction to slit their throats and then quickly moved on to their next victims without looking back.
The dwarves were a force to be reckoned with, too, and they moved much more nimbly than I would have expected for such stockily-built men. They swiped their axes and daggers at every demon limb they could reach and seemed to have perfected a tactic of going for the knees. Every time they slashed at a demon’s leg, the purple fucker would stumble down and be at the perfect height to get stabbed in the head.
The muscular Moon Pixie seemed to have abandoned his weapon and was content with full-on fist fighting the demons. The huge, sparkly man delivered powerful punches to several demons before he swung a foot down onto their backs and broke their spines. He used his pixie dust to slow down the crowd that kept surrounding him, and he kept his steady pace of fighting despite being constantly outnumbered.
The moon farmers were equally impressive considering they were not experienced fighters. Their bravery and determination made up for their lack of skills, and they made sure to watch each others’ backs as they slammed spears into the underlings every chance they got.
I turned my attention back to the skies, and I could see that there were several winged demons perched on top of the towers now. I didn’t know when they’d gathered there, but they eyed me warily, and they seemed reluctant to try to attack after watching their peers get turned into fiery piles of ash.
“Get the angel!” The Demon King snarled below. “Catch her, you fools! She cannot escape!”
Then every one of the winged demons dove from their perches and straight at Cyra, and the angel brandished her spear threateningly.
“Get away from her!” I snarled as I dove toward the demons. “Cyra, will my fire hurt you if it touches you?”
“No,” the angel shouted. “I’m a fire angel, it’s kind of my thing!”
“That’s what I wanted to hear,” I said, and I breathed flames right into the flock of demons as they descended on Cyra.
Their leathery wings started to melt the second the orange flames hit them, and their purple skin blazed with reds and yellows that contrasted eerily with the purple orbs. My fire seemed to just roll off Cyra’s body, though, and the angel spun around as she smacked some of the burning demons with her weapon.
