Engaged.
That was all he had time to sputter out before the vision before him commanded all his attention. More winged monsters flew into the fray, surrounding them with a maelstrom of frosty air and hideous shrieks.
Bryce slashed at each one, but it was only a matter of time before they were overpowered by the demons. Their viciousness was evident, making it clear how they destroyed Mairi’s entire clan. Still, he’d fight with all he had to protect her; all that mattered was keeping her safe.
Even if it appeared to be a losing battle.
Flashes of gray penetrated the shadows of the night. His brothers and the other gargoyles. Finally .
Bryce cried out. Whether in relief or more terror, he wasn’t sure. They’d come to help them—yet might perish in the process.
Lachlan sliced through the space between two sluagh, cutting off the other arm of the injured demon before he positioned himself on the other side of Mairi, keeping her protected in between them.
“Need a hand?”
Bryce barked out a laugh at Lachlan’s terrible pun, despite the dire conditions. They’d often used humor in the face of tense situations, and this was the most challenging yet. “Many. Keep that up.”
Mason, Gavin, and Calum completed their circle, protecting Mairi from the sluagh.
Black beings flew toward the gargoyles. More sluagh. Losing the battle seemed inevitable. Still, they’d fight on.
Duncan shouted commands at his clan while Bryce and his brothers continued to guard Mairi. She powered on undaunted, flying through the gaps to swipe at the oncoming sluagh. Her eyes blazed with fire, consumed by her need for revenge.
Despite the drive to keep her safe, he couldn’t deny her that what she needed—vengeance against those who’d wronged her.
Although he wouldn’t stop her from fighting, he’d damn well use every bit of his power to keep her from being harmed in the process. He shadowed her moves, staying close.
I have to protect her, he told his brothers.
We’ll cover you both , Lachlan replied.
In the minutes that passed, or maybe hours, the battle raged on. Gargoyles versus demons in the air—whooshing strokes of gray and black across the dimly lit night under a half moon. And their eyes—the red glowing orbs that pulsed like a warning.
Although the demons fought with vicious precision, piercing gargoyle flesh with their sharp talons, they’d didn’t have the element of surprise and the two-on-one approach they’d used in the spineless way they’d attacked Mairi’s clan. The gargoyles had come prepared, armed with an array of weapons—spears, swords, silver daggers, and poisoned tips—using everything they had to defeat an enemy they weren’t sure could be vanquished.
Although the weapons injured them and slowed them down, the demons continued their assault. A sinking blackness swept through Bryce. If the sluagh couldn’t be destroyed, the battle could only end in one way.
With the gargoyles defeated.
A sluagh somehow managed to slip past them, pinpointed on Mairi.
“No!” Bryce lifted his heavy sword overhead and swung with all his might with a sideways trajectory. The weapon met the sluagh’s neck and severed its head from its body.
“Well done,” Lachlan said, watching as the demon’s head fell toward the earth.
Its body still moved, reaching for its missing head.
Duncan shouted from behind. “Pull out the sachets. And fire at them!”
The enforcers around already had their sachets out and threw flames at the nearby demons. They recoiled as the sparks danced along their hideous flesh.
Yet, still, it didn’t stop them.
The headless sluagh flew with talons extended toward Mairi, somehow sensing where she was. Bryce pulled out a sachet and hurled the flammable powder at its hideous torso. Sparks flashed on the sluagh’s flesh, but it only deterred it. It wasn’t enough.
Would anything stop it?
With a frustrated cry, Bryce threw a blast of energy its way opening his fist, the same way
That was all he had time to sputter out before the vision before him commanded all his attention. More winged monsters flew into the fray, surrounding them with a maelstrom of frosty air and hideous shrieks.
Bryce slashed at each one, but it was only a matter of time before they were overpowered by the demons. Their viciousness was evident, making it clear how they destroyed Mairi’s entire clan. Still, he’d fight with all he had to protect her; all that mattered was keeping her safe.
Even if it appeared to be a losing battle.
Flashes of gray penetrated the shadows of the night. His brothers and the other gargoyles. Finally .
Bryce cried out. Whether in relief or more terror, he wasn’t sure. They’d come to help them—yet might perish in the process.
Lachlan sliced through the space between two sluagh, cutting off the other arm of the injured demon before he positioned himself on the other side of Mairi, keeping her protected in between them.
“Need a hand?”
Bryce barked out a laugh at Lachlan’s terrible pun, despite the dire conditions. They’d often used humor in the face of tense situations, and this was the most challenging yet. “Many. Keep that up.”
Mason, Gavin, and Calum completed their circle, protecting Mairi from the sluagh.
Black beings flew toward the gargoyles. More sluagh. Losing the battle seemed inevitable. Still, they’d fight on.
Duncan shouted commands at his clan while Bryce and his brothers continued to guard Mairi. She powered on undaunted, flying through the gaps to swipe at the oncoming sluagh. Her eyes blazed with fire, consumed by her need for revenge.
Despite the drive to keep her safe, he couldn’t deny her that what she needed—vengeance against those who’d wronged her.
Although he wouldn’t stop her from fighting, he’d damn well use every bit of his power to keep her from being harmed in the process. He shadowed her moves, staying close.
I have to protect her, he told his brothers.
We’ll cover you both , Lachlan replied.
In the minutes that passed, or maybe hours, the battle raged on. Gargoyles versus demons in the air—whooshing strokes of gray and black across the dimly lit night under a half moon. And their eyes—the red glowing orbs that pulsed like a warning.
Although the demons fought with vicious precision, piercing gargoyle flesh with their sharp talons, they’d didn’t have the element of surprise and the two-on-one approach they’d used in the spineless way they’d attacked Mairi’s clan. The gargoyles had come prepared, armed with an array of weapons—spears, swords, silver daggers, and poisoned tips—using everything they had to defeat an enemy they weren’t sure could be vanquished.
Although the weapons injured them and slowed them down, the demons continued their assault. A sinking blackness swept through Bryce. If the sluagh couldn’t be destroyed, the battle could only end in one way.
With the gargoyles defeated.
A sluagh somehow managed to slip past them, pinpointed on Mairi.
“No!” Bryce lifted his heavy sword overhead and swung with all his might with a sideways trajectory. The weapon met the sluagh’s neck and severed its head from its body.
“Well done,” Lachlan said, watching as the demon’s head fell toward the earth.
Its body still moved, reaching for its missing head.
Duncan shouted from behind. “Pull out the sachets. And fire at them!”
The enforcers around already had their sachets out and threw flames at the nearby demons. They recoiled as the sparks danced along their hideous flesh.
Yet, still, it didn’t stop them.
The headless sluagh flew with talons extended toward Mairi, somehow sensing where she was. Bryce pulled out a sachet and hurled the flammable powder at its hideous torso. Sparks flashed on the sluagh’s flesh, but it only deterred it. It wasn’t enough.
Would anything stop it?
With a frustrated cry, Bryce threw a blast of energy its way opening his fist, the same way
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