Sentinal's Tear (Book #1 in Requiem Series) [formally titled Lacrimosa]

Chapter 41

Nesy

Aydan's voice fills my soul as I whirl through the darkness. He screams my name. His anguish rips a hole through my soul. I reach for Zane's arms as my legs buckle under Aydan's grief.

"Nes, what is it? What's wrong?"

"It's already started." I say, gasping. "He's being branded. Now."

More waves of torment roll into me. I love you. Aydan's words float through my mind. A farewell. I draw my sword. "I need to stop this before Azzaziel finishes."

Cass and Zane draw their daggers.

"You guys get Aydan. Get him away if you can. I'll deal with the Dark One."

"Nesy, no." Concern splashes across Cass's face.

"There aren't any other options. Mikayel will be here soon. I just have to distract Azzaziel long enough for you to get Aydan away."

The vortex opens next the statue of Mikayel. I hear Aydan's screams before I can see anything.

The courtyard has changed, transformed from the intimate setting where Aydan and I professed our love into a battlefield. Uninvited fear bubbles through me. Fear for Aydan, for my brethren, for everything. I tighten my grip on my sword and spring from the void.

The wind ripples my wings, causing chills to erupt down my spine. Azza's putrid scent mixed with the smell of scorching flesh burns my nostrils. My mind goes dark as instinct replaces thought. In one swift move, I swing my sword, striping the angelic sword from Azzaziel. "Get him. Now!" I scream to Cass and Zane. They pull Aydan away from the crude stone alter.

Aydan rises to his full height, his eyes clouded. Lifeless. He swings at Cass, sending her dagger flying.

"It's too late, little Sentinal," Azza laughs. "He has already forgotten you."

I refuse to believe Azza's lies, no matter how much my heart knows the truth.

I am too late.

"Get him out of here, guys. Invade his head, his heart, whatever you have to. Just get him out of here."

Aydan growls and swings again at my friends. They turn and run into the crowd of dark creatures, Aydan in close pursuit.

"You condemned them both to death when you brought them here. Hope you can live with that. For the few minutes you live." Azza's foul breath coats my skin.

I lunge toward him. He spins, narrowly missing my blade. Several UnHoly rush toward me.

"No," Azza commands. The dark creatures stop. "She's all mine." Azza draws his sword and circles me.

Game on.

"I suppose I should thank you for interrupting our little party," he taunts.

I match his movements, step by step.

"With your arrival, I can kill you myself. And make Aydan watch. A little incentive to ensure he finishes his rites."

I thrust forward, catching Azza's side. He growls. Counters. His sword slices the skin on my arm and my silver blood trickles from the wound.

"Shame about that skin of yours," he sneers. "Looks like we can penetrate it now."

"Just like I can slice yours." I lodge my blade deep into his thigh, ripping a long gash across his leg.

His scream rattles the concrete. "You'll pay for that, Sentinal. You and Aydan."

Our weapons clash in a shower of sparks as we match each blow, each thrust. The scraping of our blades split the night air. Dark creatures circle us, watching. Waiting. They bite the air with their sharp beaks, hissing. I block it all out, thinking only of Azza, and his death.

"You can't beat me." Azza crows. The crowd's excitement grows to a feverish pitch, leaking into my thoughts.

Their screams taunt me and I wonder if Cass and Zane's screams are amongst them. I force out the images that spring to life—images of Aydan killing my friends.

No! Focus, Nesy. Focus.

I shake away my fear in less than a heartbeat and attack Azza. "Maybe not," I taunt. "But I can certainly hurt you." I attack again. And again.

Azza parries. He swings around, lodging his sword into my back, slicing through the muscle.

My mind explodes in an inferno. Agonizing pain grips me, engulfing my senses as I crash to the ground. My sword clatters on the concrete, echoing around me.

I gasp for air.

Azza wraps his spindly fingers around the hilt of my sword, raising it over his head.

Mikayel! I scream through my thoughts.

Terror seizes every muscle as my skin registers the whooshing air of Azza's blade coming toward me.

I roll away on instinct, my mind too lost to the pain to think.

The ground shakes and the courtyard erupts in a field of chaos. Vortexes open throughout the battlefield. Sentinals pour from every opening, poised to strike.

The scene distracts Azza for a moment and I grab my dagger, throwing it at him. "You won't win this, Azza. Not now. Not ever."

He ducks. But not fast enough. It lodges into his shoulder.

"Attack," he screams as he drops my sword.

I inhale the pain, the torment, the grief. Pushing myself up, I swallow back the agony exploding across my back and retrieve my sword.

Azza will pay for everything.

Two demons land on my back, sending blinding light across my vision. My senses go into overload as I growl, and spin, throwing the creatures off. An Unholy, tall with the same bat-like wings and same foul stench, rushes toward me.

"Vicis morior. Time to die," I whisper, disposing of him with a single thrust.

I turn and look for Azza. Gone. He's faded into the horde.

Coward.

More demons close the distance around me. I hack my way through them, ignoring the clawing and snapping of talons and beaks. I focus on one thought, one goal: Aydan. I must find him. I reach out for his heart.

Nothing.

I feel...

nothing.

Are you already dead?