Oh crap, what have a done? I just signed my own death certificate. This is how it has to be. Abaddon can’t win. Azazel can’t win. If I have to fight to my dying breath to make sure of that, then that’s what I’ll do, and, oh crap, that’s what I’m gonna have to do.
“Fine. Death it is.” He jerked me up by the collar of my T-shirt and shoved me closer to the hole. My toes hung over the side, pieces of rock and clumps of dirt falling beneath my feet. My heart beat so hard against my ribs that it hurt. I was sure he could hear it. It thundered in my ears, the blood rushing behind them.
The demon angels flew low, circling us like buzzards over roadkill. Their shrill laughs pierced my ears and I wanted to cover them with my hands, but I didn’t dare move. I didn’t want to show any weakness or fear. But, more than that, Abaddon said he’d go easy on my family if I did what he wanted. I didn’t know if I could trust him. In fact, I was fairly certain I couldn’t, but I was going to do what he asked just in case he’d keep his word. If I could do anything to make things easier on my family, I would. So I stood still and let the hideous angels of the Pit swarm around me, screeching as they flew by.
“Abaddon…” I heard someone yell.
“Well, Xavier, how nice to see you again.” Abaddon smiled.
Again?
“I can’t say the same,” Xavier said. “Let her go.”
“Now, now, Xavier. Just because you have a soft spot for her doesn’t change what needs to be done.”
Huh? What are they talking about?
While Xavier distracted Abaddon, I saw Benjamin sneak outside. I wanted to scream at him to run, but no one had noticed him, so I bit my lip to keep quiet. But Abaddon followed my gaze.
“Get the boy,” he yelled. A gray demon reached out to grab Benjamin. He screamed and turned into black ash when he touched Ben’s arm.
A second demon rushed Ben. He reached into the arm of his pajamas and pulled out my dagger. When he turned toward the demon running to him, the tip scraped against its arm, killing it.
“Milayna!” Benjamin flung the dagger at me.
Reaching out, I concentrated on my power, willing the knife to come to me. It barreled through the air, and I caught it on the blade side, slicing my hand open. I felt warm blood fill my palm. Flipping the knife, I grabbed the handle, swinging it at Abaddon’s legs. He jumped out of reach, letting go of my arm. I stared into his eyes as I reached up with my other hand and took hold of the knife. I plunged it into his chest, gagging at the sound of the pop his skin made when the blade pierced it. I tightened my grip on the handle and turned the knife, hearing bone crack.
He looked at me, his eyes wide in surprise. “You bitch!” he whispered as he turned into a plume of black ash.
A strong swirling wind whipped around us. My hair smacked me in the face, stinging it. The wind howled. The force of it knocked me off balance, and I teetered on the edge of the pit. I held my arms out to my sides to steady myself, but I could feel myself leaning too far toward the pit. I was going to fall in. I watched the demons climbing up the sides, waiting for me to tumble in so they could drag me to the very bowels of hell itself.
The ground shook beneath my feet. The wind whipped around me. The demon angels screeched as they flew overhead.
And I slipped and fell into the glowing pit.
29
Aftermath
Spreading my legs and arms out as far as I could, I tried to reach the sides of the pit and slow my fall. I reached a narrow part in the tunnel. With my legs and arms spread, I stopped myself, but I couldn’t stay that way forever. My muscles burned, and the demons were advancing.
Something grabbed the back of my shirt, and I screamed. It yanked me upward, and I lost my grip on the sides of the pit.
“Milayna! Give me your hands,” Xavier yelled.
I reached up with one hand, and he grabbed it. I pushed off with my feet. I was dangling over Hell. One slip and I was a goner. All Xavier had to do was let go, and I was dead. He hesitated, looking into my eyes. The words of the hobgoblins played in my head like a recording:
He’s coming. It won’t be long, Milayna. The one that will kill you is here.
The other one couldn’t do it
Was Xavier the one sent to kill me who couldn’t? If so, he had a perfect opportunity. He just had to let go. But he didn’t. He pulled me up.
“Drop the knife and grab my other hand. I can’t hold on to you!”
Drop my dagger? The only defense I have against the demons—no friggin’ way!
I stuck the dagger between my teeth and reached for Xavier’s hand. He pulled as I walked up the side of the pit. I fell on my hands and knees at the entrance of the hole, crawling away from it.
“Are you okay?” Xavier bent down and looked into my face.
“I’m fine. That was just a little too close, you know?” My voice was wobbly, and my whole body shook.
He grinned. “Yeah.”