I saw her high-heeled foot take one step forward and then she disappeared.
Seconds later, I felt her breath on the nape of my neck and the sharp pain of the sickle slicing down my back. I cried out, whirling and swinging the machete. She ducked my blow, kicking me in the stomach. I slammed against the opposite wall, smearing blood across it like a sickening mural. She could have killed me with that swing, but she didn’t. She wanted to play with me, just like Belial, but this wasn’t for keeps. She didn’t have a fifth grade crush on me—she wanted to wear me down and tear me apart while Michael watched, helpless, powerless, and miserable. But I’d chosen this path. I wasn’t going to die with a whimper, but a roar.
I pushed away from the wall, blocking out the pain from my injured back. Luckily, she hadn’t sliced all the way through my shirt, but it was mostly trashed, exposing the scars. I’d have a new one if I made it out of this mess in one piece.
Mulciber wiped my blood off of her sickle, waiting for me to come to her. “You must tell me how it feels, ma cherie.”
“How what feels?”
As soon as the last word left my mouth, I leapt for her, swinging. She blocked and I aimed a kick at her kneecap, but she spun around behind me. I turned again, bringing the machete up to block her next blow. My knees buckled under the strength of the hit, but they still held.
She smirked down into my face, still calm, still evil, still waiting. “To know that you are going to die and that God has the power to save you, but chooses not to. It must be excruciating.”
I pushed her away from me with the weapon, pleased when the tip of the machete slashed a hole in the bottom of her shirt. Still didn’t reach flesh, but at least I’d hit something.
“That’s where we’re different, demon. I don’t lament the fact that He won’t intervene. I dealt with that when I was a little girl.”
“Then why do you fight? Why do you give your life for their side when they have allowed you to suffer as you have?”
“Because I know deep down that one day their side is going to send you packing with your tail tucked between your legs,” I sneered.
She narrowed her eyes. I’d managed to bruise her ego. Bully for me. “That is going to cost you.”
She attacked. I could barely keep up with her movements, frantically blocking as many slashes and hacks, wincing as sparks bounced off my skin. She aimed low and sliced into my right thigh. I managed not to cry out this time, instead using the opening to shove the machete into her left shoulder.
She gasped, shocked that I’d injured her, and grabbed the blade to yank it out, cutting her hand in the process. I backed off, circling behind her with a slight limp. Hot blood ran down my injured leg. I started to feel faint. She hadn’t punctured my femoral artery, thank God, but I could tell the cut was deep. I wouldn’t last long in this state. I needed to end this. She was still too far away to reach. If I ran at her with the feather, she’d run me through in a heartbeat. I’d have to lure her in somehow.
“I commend you, Seer,” Mulciber said, her voice now cold rather than mocking. “No human has ever managed to injure me twice.” She switched the sickle to her right hand, leaving her left arm motionless.
“I have grown tired of playing with you. Say goodbye to the archangel.”
I couldn’t help glancing at Michael. Through the fight, he had been watching with growing panic in those sea-green eyes. I felt rather selfish for making him be a witness to my death a second time. I could only hope he’d forgive me for my actions. However, something changed when he met my gaze. Mulciber stood only a few inches in front of him, and I understood what was about to happen seconds before it did.
Michael shoved both feet into the demon’s back, catching her off-guard and catapulting her towards me unguarded. I didn’t hesitate. I shoved the machete through her ribcage, beneath her right breast. She went rigid, choking. I twisted the blade a little, making sure I hit something vital.
“You were saying?”
Then, all at once, she smiled toothily at me and grabbed me by the throat. “Almost, but not quite.”
I gagged as her pale, steely fingers cut off my air supply. She lifted me and shoved me against the far wall. My feet dangled inches off of the floor, my body weight making me suffocate even faster. She grabbed the machete with her left hand and yanked it out, splashing blood over us both, and let it clatter to the floor.
“I’m impressed, ma cherie. You and the angel are almost of a single mind. Too bad it is not enough to save you. All your faith is in vain.”
The world had started to go black around the edges, but one word rang clear through my mind. Faith.
With one hand, I grabbed the demon’s wrist, distracting her attention as I managed to wheeze out one thing.