Darkest Before Dawn by Pippa DaCosta Page B

Mammon’s rumbling laughter filled the room. She cringed, but stood firm. Jenna wasn’t the type to run. If she did run, Mammon would likely lunge for her. He dragged his gaze back to me and finally straightened. His chest glistened with blood. Streams of it ran down his thighs and pooled at his feet.
    He grunted, acknowledging what I’d seen, and then shook himself all over, beating his wings. Hot ash blasted my face. I hissed and buried my face beneath the crook of my arm. Only when the heat passed could I look up. He’d hunkered down. His immense body trembled. His flesh tore open, rippling and contorting. Chaos energy licked over me, tugging on my demon. Mammon’s presence faded, and Akil fell forward, naked and bleeding, landing on his hands and knees.
    I dashed to his side and dropped to my knees. “What happened?” He rolled his eyes up to me. I cupped his cheek in my hand. He leaned against my touch, seeking comfort. “Akil... please... Tell me what’s happening.” He shivered, teeth clenched. Jesus, who had done this to him? I pulled him close and cradled his head against my chest.
    “Did you do the right thing by the girl?” he growled.
    I brushed tendrils of his blood-soaked hair away from his face. “I lost her. Val has her.” He closed his eyes and shuddered. I pulled him against me. “Dammit, Akil. Tell me what’s happening.” I couldn’t even summon my own power to help heal him. The marks in the walls prevented it. I tried anyway, but my demon pushed against my skin, unable to break free.
    “Find her.”
    “I will. What does Val want with her?” I closed my arms around him and listened to his ragged breathing. The metallic odor of blood and the burned rubber smell of the netherworld burned my nose and throat.
    “She is too powerful.” Pain wracked him. He jolted in my arms, teeth locked. “You must get her away from your brother. He will deliver her to Levi.”
    “I will...” I stroked my hand down his arm and felt him wince. “Who’s doing this to you?” He tensed, his muscles turning to stone in my arms. His voice was failing, fading in and out. I clasped my hands on his cheeks and searched his half-closed eyes. “Akil, stay awake. Who’s hurting you?”
    “Levi...” His eyes closed.
    “Akil...” He fell limp in my arms, but he breathed. He wasn’t dead. Not yet. If his vessel died, Akil as I knew him would be gone. Mammon would craft himself another avatar, but he wouldn’t be Akil. I’d lose him. I needed him to get Damien out of me. I needed him, dammit.
    “Muse, the candle...” Jenna approached.
    The little candle flame flickered, as though disturbed. It twisted and writhed on its wick and then, with one final splutter, snuffed out. Immediately, Akil’s weight lifted. His body dissolved right there on my lap. He just misted away to nothing. I snatched at my own breath and pressed a hand to my chest where the parasite throbbed around my heart. Akil was dying. Val had Dawn. Levi was torturing Akil, likely for information on Dawn’s whereabouts. I couldn’t save them both alone. I needed help. I needed the smartest, most badass demon hunter this side of the veil.
    Jenna looked to me for our next move. “We need back-up.” I climbed to my feet and strode from the room. I collected Ryder’s cell and car keys and left the house with Jenna in tow.
    We drove in silence toward the Salem mall to collect Jenna’s car. Fury burned through my veins, flaring hotter as my thoughts darkened. I would protect Dawn. I’d promised her that much. And Akil... How dare Levi torture him? He had no right. Akil was infallible. A smug bastard he might be, but he didn’t deserve that. What if Levi killed Mammon’s vessel, killed Akil?
    “Akil means a lot to you.” Jenna leaned an arm against the passenger door and watched the leafy tree line blur past.
    I glared ahead and tried to imagine what she thought she’d seen: a Prince of Hell dying in my arms and no doubt the terror in my