A roar rang out from the demon and she pulled herself off me, standing before me with those two red glowing hands outstretched.
“Lucifer’s princess,” she cooed in a voice that was anything but human. Her gaping eye sockets were locked on my chest and the mark that rested there.
She put one hand on Sera’s hilt, pulling her out without a problem.
Shit.
‘She’s made of fire. I can’t burn her,’ Sera told me.
I lunged for my weapon just as the Succubus thrust her arm out and an invisible force knocked into me, throwing me backward out of the room and into the entryway.
Shea and Luke scream-roared simultaneously. I landed hard on my ass, but immediately righted myself. The Succubus had gone back into the room, and was doing some weird shit with her hands, Sera still clutched in her grip.
‘Get me out of here!’ Sera screamed, panicked.
The darkness inside of me was welling up. I couldn’t push it down any longer, nor did I want to do it.
The Succubus had her back to me as she opened a portal on the wall. Lincoln had the little girl draped in his arms, and was standing at the far end of the room. He was inching along the wall, trying to make it to me, and the open doorway.
Does that demon bitch think she’s going to leave with my freaking seraph blade?!
Noah was still helping the two soldiers. When my eyes flicked to Lincoln, he shook his head. A big fat no from him.
Screw that. Sera was a part of me; I wasn’t just letting her go.
I screamed and thrust my arms out, intending for the black blob to rise out of my throat, like it normally did, and wrap around her neck. That didn’t happen. Instead, a shiny, black energy whip burst from my palm and coiled around the demon’s waist.
Holy mother of darkness.
The demon hissed, and then everything happened seemingly in slow motion. She swung her arm, and I watched Sera swirl through the air and into the Hell portal.
‘Bri!’ Sera shouted, and I felt a physical pain in my chest as she sailed through the opening and was lost into oblivion. All I could see was red haze and fire.
The Succubus spun on me then. I was without my cherished weapon, but I had a new one. A totally freaky and really dark weapon, but it was a weapon nonetheless. I cinched the whip tighter and she roared.
“Whatever you’re doing is working!” Bonnie yelled from the next room.
The little girl. I could save her. I may have lost Sera, but I could save the girl.
With all my strength, I wrapped both hands around the whip and yanked.
“Nooooo,” the succubus yelled, pushing her hands outward. That invisible force knocked into me again, but when I went flying, I made sure to hold the black energy whip tight. It pulled her with me, and I saw rivulets of dark inky blood fall from her stomach as the whip cut into her. She was clawing at it frantically, and just behind her, I spotted Lincoln approaching with his blazing sword in his hands. I quickly flicked my eyes down to the ground so she wouldn’t notice my attention on him.
She must have sensed him though, because as he came down on her neck, she turned, but it was too late. Her head flew from her body and hit the wall with a thud.
My whip disintegrated and I was flung backward with the sudden loss of tension, but I was able to roll my body to the side so my fall wasn’t severe. I immediately jumped up, searching for the portal. My eyes flicked to the wall where it once stood, and my stomach dropped as I noticed it had snapped closed with the Succubus’s death.
“Sera,” I whimpered as tears filled my eyes.
Lincoln frowned, looking lost. “We’ll figure it out. What’s going on with the other girl?”
Right. I needed to keep it together for the little girl.
“Noah! We need help. She’s still alive,” I informed the healer.
I glanced around the room. The one little girl Lincoln had been protecting was sitting on the bed crying. He had tied a cloth around her eyes so she couldn’t see what happened, while Noah helped the two other soldiers, who were now conscious and sitting up. He stood and nodded for me to lead the way.
Again, I looked back at where the portal had been.
“You can’t,” Lincoln said sternly.
I wanted to have Shea open it back up and go in after her, even though I knew it was insane.
‘Sera? Can you hear me?’ I asked as I led Noah into the living room, and pointed to where the little girl was lying. She was moving now and moaning, thank God.
No response from Sera.
As Noah went to work on the girl with Bonnie’s assistance, I turned to Lincoln.
“Are you okay?” he asked, pulling my hands into his and turning the palms up to the ceiling as he checked them out.
The black magic whip. I’d almost forgotten.
“Sera” was all I said. It felt like I’d just watched a cherished friend or family member fall into that pit.
Lincoln frowned. “Yeah… we’ll figure that out. I’ll ask Raph.”
He was stroking my wrists, but I pulled them back and met his eyes. “I don’t want to talk about that.” I indicated my hands.
“It was pretty incredible,” Lincoln hedged.
My emotions were raw from the loss of Sera, and now I had yet another dark gift I couldn’t deal with it.
“Lincoln,” I warned.
He nodded. “Let’s get the girls in the van and head back to Angel City.”
I frowned. “We’re not leaving them?”
Lincoln’s face hardened. “No way. More Succubi might come back. I’ll sneak them in if I have to.”
I nodded, taking a look over his shoulder. “Maybe if I could just have Shea open it, for one minute….”
Lincoln looked at me agonizingly. “Something else could crawl through. We need to get these girls to their mother.”
I swallowed my selfishness and nodded. Now wasn’t the right time, but I would get her back. That was for sure.
I didn’t have kids yet, obviously, but I knew what it was like to lose someone. The day my father died changed me forever. It had completely ripped me open, and in trying to put myself back together, the pieces never fit right.
When the mother on the bus saw both of her daughters were indeed alive, she fell apart, and we all fell apart right along with her. The relief and joy she felt was tangible. Even Lincoln looked a bit misty-eyed, but he quickly brushed it off, and ordered us in the bus.
As we were making our way out of Inferno, Lincoln got on his cell phone and called Archangel Michael.
He had his cell number.
No big deal.
“Hello, sir, can you talk for a minute?” Lincoln asked.
I leaned forward in my seat so when he lowered his voice, I could still eavesdrop.
“I’ve got three civilians, a mother and two little girls. We just saved them from a Succubus demon, and I need to get them into Angel City tonight,” Lincoln explained.
Something Michael said must have pissed him off, because his face turned menacing. “I don’t care if the shelters are full.”
More listening. More anger. “She’s a free soul. What about a transfer to San Diego?”
Free soul. That term still made me angry inside. I hadn’t even noticed her forehead was free of the demon mark. Lincoln was always looking for things like that.
My poor mother. Will he ever trust her?
“What if I can find them housing?” Lincoln asked.
There was a pause. He was scowling.
“Yes, sir. I know.” Lincoln sounded dejected. A shadow crossed his face, and then his scowl morphed into a look of determination. “I’ve secured them housing, sir.”
I frowned. Huh?
That fast, without making a call? Michael must have been as confused as I was.
“Yes, sir, you have my word. Long-term housing for all three of them.” Now Lincoln was smiling, looking pleased with himself.
He finally ended the call, and I met his gaze. “What housing did you secure?” I whispered.
He raised one eyebrow. “You were listening?”
I rolled my eyes. “Linc, where are they gonna go?”