Marked For Death: A Dark Urban Fantasy Novel by Becca Blake (english novels to improve english .txt) 📕

the amulet, but before I could twist it, Raxael shifted behind Orion. His hand transformed into the long blade, and I could do nothing but watch in horror as he buried it in Orion’s shoulder.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Orion’s bindings fell away as he crumpled forward onto his hands and knees with an agonizing scream. There was a sickening hiss as Raxael’s arm glowed red-hot with his blade still in the wound.

“I don’t want you to bleed out just yet,” he snarled.

I froze, still gripping the amulet tight against my chest. All I had to do was twist the metal piece between my fingers to activate it. But with Orion on his knees in front of Raxael and the stench of his burnt flesh thick in the air, I couldn’t move. I wanted to run to him, to make sure he was alright even though I knew he wasn’t. I wanted to force him to be okay.

But I couldn’t do any of that. I could do nothing but stay where I was and watch, my body trapped in place.

Orion’s chest heaved as he used his good arm to force himself upright. His eyes met mine. In them, I saw all the pain Raxael had inflicted on him because of my stupid, worthless plan. Why had I expected any of this to work?

We knew it was possible that some of us—or even all of us—could die. But nothing could have prepared me for this. Not really.

Through gritted teeth, Orion mouthed two words.

Do it.

I twisted the clasp on the amulet, but the latch that held the emerald in place wouldn’t budge.

Raxael kicked Orion onto his back. “In all the millennia I’ve roamed this miserable plane, I’ve been attacked countless times by humans who got it in their heads that they could defeat me. This plot to steal the power from souls that should have been mine was one of the more inventive attempts. I’ll give you credit for that. But now? This is just pathetic.”

I pressed harder on the clasp until it sprang free. The amulet shimmered with a pale green light, then turned dull once more.

Was that it? Or had the enchantment failed?

As I got to my feet, I kept my eyes locked on the demon lord. There was no way to tell if the enchantment worked—not until he shifted through planes again. But this was the only chance we were going to get, so we had to act now. I looked over my shoulder and nodded at Celia, giving her the signal to move.

Just as we planned, she cut away the rope that held Maki in place and handed him an extra sword. He scowled as she whispered something to him. I didn’t know if he would fight with us or try to run.

Either way, we didn’t have long before Raxael turned around and saw us preparing for a fight.

He shifted from behind Orion to crouch down in front of him, facing us now, though we didn’t have his attention. Yet.

My racing heart caught in my throat, and I thought I might vomit it up. After everything we’d gone through to get here, Maki had been right. The damned enchantment didn’t work.

Ed Moran would be disappointed to hear that it failed. Not that I’d live long enough to tell him about it, of course.

Raxael’s head jerked up, as though noticing the rest of us for the first time. He disappeared once more, and I heard him behind me before I saw him. I flinched, anticipating a blow.

But I hadn’t been his target.

Raxael dragged the sharp edge of his arm across Maki’s chest, just enough to tear through his shirt. “I hope you don’t think you’re going anywhere. I have plans for both of you.”

Celia stepped away from him, into the shadows behind the car Maki had been tied to.

“Don’t think I didn’t notice you freeing him.” Raxael shifted behind her and kicked out her legs.

She fell forward with her palms outstretched, and Raxael disappeared before she even made it to the ground.

Everything happened so fast, I could hardly follow where he moved next. This was the demon lord’s power—the power the enchantment was supposed to stop. He was everywhere at once, leaving tiny cuts on their bodies as he flitted between the three of them, like a cat playing with its food before the kill. If he wanted this to be over, we would have all been dead in an instant. Instead, he was toying with them and savoring every second.

Though instinct told me to draw my sword and fight, I didn’t bother. I could barely even see him. There was no way I could land a hit.

At least he was leaving me alone—for the moment, anyway. Either he hadn’t noticed me fumbling with the amulet, or he didn’t see me as enough of a threat to bother with.

Getting the enchantment to work was still our only hope. There had to be something I missed. I prodded it again, but the green light pulsed weakly within the emerald before fading away once more.

“Dammit,” I muttered.

The next time Raxael shifted across the room to attack Orion, Maki disappeared.

Coward.

Something silver flashed in the moonlight as it flew across the warehouse. Ayla leaned against the railing above, holding herself up as she flung her second dagger at Raxael. This one hit its mark and embedded itself in the demon lord’s shoulder, but it did nothing but piss him off.

By the time I took a step toward her and yelled out for her to stop, it was too late. Raxael was already in front of her.

As Ayla reached for more daggers that weren’t there, the demon lord pinned her arm to the wall. “I don’t know who you are, but—”

Maki’s voice, a sharp whisper in my ear, pulled my attention away from whatever else Raxael said. “I told you—it requires a sacrifice.”

“We don’t have a sacrifice,” I said, matching his low tone.

“Give me the emerald and let me leave. I’m the only one who can stop him