Blood War (Book 1, the Halfblood Chronicles)

33.2 | One Thousand Falling Stars

Windpipe crushing, lungs screaming, Nika clawed at Asteroth's arm as he slammed her against a mausoleum. She writhed, kicked, and shoved, but his strength was unbeatable, and he showed no signs of pain.

He tilted his head to the side—a viper taunting its prey. "What are you?"

Blackness speckled the fringes of Nika's vision. Her head felt like it would explode.

Asteroth's blazing eyes captured her, tugging on something deep within. The rush of an invisible force entered her, both mind and body. A mighty gale cutting across her bones and stirring her blood.

She could have sworn the amulet around his neck began to glow bright green, but a blink later, Ren appeared and ripped Asteroth off. Nika fell onto hands and knees, gasping for air, as Ren threw him to the ground.

The impact tore through the earth, through Nika's own chest. It was so hard that the paved stones had been dented or shaken loose—as if a meteor blasted the earth. And the demon inside Miles . . . It was gone. The bright ruby hue seeped out of his eyes, and only cold death remained.

As Ren stood over the corpse, a dark cloud swirled around him, icy and cryptic. Terrifying. Nika shook her head, blinking away the illusion, and hauled herself up.

Ren rushed toward her, a hand on her elbow. "Are you alright?" There was no concealing the desperation in his rasping voice, and had circumstances been different, Nika might have smiled.

"I'm f—"

Her heart stopped along with her words when she glanced up to find Asteroth speeding toward them with the machete. Ren whirled, shoving her out of the way. Nika caught herself on a headstone as he ducked beneath the swinging blade and whipped out his handgun.

A bullet tore through the air, and then through Miles. But the demon possessing him only spun and swung, spun and swung. Each time, Ren evaded, and Nika watched, her stomach in knots and her mind a whirlwind.

When Ren ran out of ammunition, she shouted, "It's the bloody necklace! Take it off!"

Asteroth screeched, shaking the earth. Every movement was manic as he jabbed and heaved the sword, earning a slice of Ren's leg or a nick in the sleeve.

When Asteroth faced away from Nika, an idea sparked. Instinct and impulse flooded through her, and she charged. Leaping onto the Demon King, she wrenched his arms back. As the walking corpse thrashed and shook, Nika clung on with all her might. Only when Ren snatched the pendant, its chain breaking, did she release him and lurch back.

Another deafening shriek erupted as Asteroth spun around, hunting for her. Panic soared, Nika's heels rooted into place. Ren had the amulet, so why wasn't he dead?

The Demon King was a heartbeat from attacking her when a hand flew to his chest. He ravenously searched the ground for the necklace, Nika forgotten.

"Destroy it!" she screamed at Ren.

Asteroth whirled in his direction, spotting the pendant, and lunged. Ren threw it—into the air, over Miles's head.

It fell right into Nika's palms.

And as she caught it, Asteroth drove the machete through Ren's stomach. Nika didn't hear her own scream. She couldn't even feel her own body. She was frozen, gaping as Ren collapsed into the grass. Blood seeped through the hands he pressed to his torso and sprayed onto his lips as he coughed.

Before the shock passed, Asteroth was on her. Her fingers squeezed the amulet tight as he ripped his arm back and slammed it into her gut.

The impact rattled her brain, and she lost contact with the ground. As she soared over bodies and gravestones, limbs flailing, she threw down the pendant with every last ounce of might. It torpedoed toward the pavement below, threads of magic spooling from the rock.

When it obliterated, shards of red stone showered over the cemetery, as if a thousand tiny stars had fallen from the heavens. Overhead, the black, swirling clouds parted, a brilliant sun bursting out from behind the moon. Its radiance swallowed the last of the shadows and magic, and Nika plummeted back to the earth.