ChapterNineteen
ALEK
Sunday went over the edge of the balcony, and the world went red. Primal rage tore through me until all I was left with was the need to destroy.
With a war cry that rivaled the beast’s, I shot forward, letting the borrowed sword fall forgotten from my fingertips.
I didn’t need it. Not with this unholy fury boiling in my blood.
I took two running steps, jumping up onto an overturned chair and propelling myself up into the air.
It shouldn’t have been possible. Novasgardian or not, there was no explanation for how I managed to land with my thighs straddling the demon’s neck.
But I did.
I was running purely on instinct, my hatred for the fiend that dared to harm what was mine fueling me completely.
The demon bucked, but I gritted my teeth and drove my thumbs into the fiery depths of its eyes.
It wailed, shaking its head from side to side as more thick, oily liquid poured from the pits of what were now only eye sockets.
I bared my teeth, the sound of its pain the sweetest symphony.
It was nowhere near enough. Only its death would satisfy the debt.
I reached up, grasping each of its deadly horns in my hands and pulling downward. My muscles burned, bulging and trembling with the force I exerted, but I clenched my jaw and pulled harder.
The monster began tossing his head in earnest, pitting his strength against my own.
But I would not be deterred.
A roar built up in my chest, tearing through my throat and infusing me with more of that glorious strength.
With a sickening crack, the horns snapped, the creature dropping to its knees as it screamed in pain.
I let the left horn fall. I only needed one to serve my purpose.
With another savage cry, I flipped it in my hand so the pointed edge was aimed straight at the creature’s throat, right where Sunday had bitten into him.
“Give Hel my regards,” I snarled, stabbing him with his own horn.
He jerked, but I held him by the tuft of fur at the top of his head. He couldn’t go just yet. Gripping the base of the blood-soaked horn, I tore through his throat, from one side to the next until I was able to rend his head from his body. I let him fall then, my breaths coming in harsh gasps as I stared at the spoils of my battle.
I wasn’t interested in the corpse, only what I could use from it to mark the victory. One of the horns, perhaps?
As I contemplated the option, the body began to smolder and turn to ash.
And then the sweetest voice called out to me.
“Uh, Alek? When you’re done bathing in the blood of your enemies or whatever it is you’re doing, can I get a little help?”
My heart nearly split in two at the sound of her voice. “Sunday?” I turned, gaze sweeping the area, and found her hanging onto one of the posts that made up the railing on the balcony. From the look of things, the library had been deserted. Its occupants fled, leaving the two of us to deal with the monster on our own.
In two large strides, I was there, reaching for her, hauling her to safety as though she weighed nothing at all.
She was alive.
Safe.