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

“No,” I bit out.

“They’re giving us a distraction, but they won’t keep him busy for long,” Maki said. “We need to get out of here. Leave the others for dead.”

Those others he wanted to leave behind were the people I loved most—the only ones I had left.

Ayla’s legs, weak from illness, buckled beneath her as Raxael held her wrist up against the wall. Celia lay across the room, covered in cuts Raxael left on her skin, and at least one of her wrists looked broken. Orion was still gasping on the ground, his arm hanging limp at his side. At this rate, none of them would last much longer, but I would die before I abandoned them.

For the first time that night, I saw with perfect clarity what I needed to do. Why had it seemed so complicated before?

Before Maki had a chance to realize what I was doing, I pressed my gun under his chin.

There was only one way to end this. We needed a sacrifice, and there was one right in front of me. One still holding the power from dozens of sacrificed souls.

Killing Maki wouldn’t bring those people back, but it might stop others from joining them.

“If you kill me, I can never tell you what you want to know about your parents,” he said.

I knew he was right—he was the only one with answers to those questions. My hesitation was enough for him to push my arm out of the way and land a swift punch to my gut. Shocked from the sudden blow, I doubled over, and Maki took the opportunity to run.

He didn’t care about defeating Raxael. He didn’t care about anyone but himself.

And no matter how much I wanted to know the truth about what happened to my parents, I couldn’t let him get away.

Still clutching my stomach, I raised my gun and fired. The bullet struck the back of his head, and he crumpled forward.

I twisted the clasp on the amulet once more. Green energy surged within the emerald and pulsed around Maki’s body. The amulet drew the aura in, like it was calling the energy home.

As the gem gathered its magic, Raxael released Ayla. He looked at me for the first time since he shifted across the room to attack Orion. His human features were distorted in a look of pure menace that was far more demonic than human.

“I had plans for him.” A demonic growl echoed his words now, filling the entire warehouse. Raxael shifted in front of me, the blade of his arm only inches away from my cheek. He pressed the flat side under my chin, tilting my head up to look at him. “He was mine to kill, and you took him from me.”

The last of the energy flowed into the gem, and the green light burst free from the amulet. The explosion flung Maki’s body and Raxael away from me in opposite directions, and it knocked me off balance. The magical pulse traveled far enough to push even Orion and Celia back a few feet.

Raxael got to his feet first, glaring down at me with all the fury of a godlike creature from hell. He wiped the dirt off of his black shirt as the dust settled around us.

Glowing green energy trickled back toward me and flowed into my body. I pulled my sword free from its sheath. The light traveled through the hilt and up into the blade, and I could feel my connection with the weapon returning. The magic tingled through every inch of my body. Its presence was comforting, like the arrival of a long-lost friend I’d been missing.

Raxael moved his body, preparing to strike as though I were right in front of him. A look of confusion crossed his face as he took a few steps forward, pausing between each. An inhuman screech escaped his throat, despair and rage all at once.

The emerald did its job. The demon lord could no longer plane-shift.

Shreds of his clothing fell to his feet as he grew, transforming into the demonic form I saw back in Haygrove. He thrashed his spiked tail against the floor, cracking the cement.

“What is this?” Raxael demanded. His deep, guttural voice had lost all traces of its humanity. “What have you done?”

He rushed for me with an explosive rage, splitting the ground beneath his feet with every step. Even without his plane-shifting, he was unnaturally fast, his movement a blur.

I brought my sword up to parry the bladed arm he brought down on me. Up close, I could see his massive, yellowed teeth, set in a reptilian jaw. The stench of sulfur poured out of his mouth with every exhale.

Holding my weapon firm, I pushed up with all my might, but Raxael was stronger. His blade descended on mine, pushing both down closer to me. His arm glowed a bright red, and sparks flew around us where our weapons connected. The heat coming from his arm was almost too much to bear.

While I struggled against Raxael’s overpowering strength, Celia forced herself to her feet. With her good hand, she held up a magical ward as a shield and advanced on Raxael. As she shoved him away from me, his arm slid up my blade and arced toward my head. I dropped to the ground, and the rush of hot air from the narrow miss breezed across my scalp.

Celia screamed as the demon lord’s arm shattered through her ward, and the flat side of the heated blade met her arm. My stomach turned at the stench of more burnt flesh.

He whirled around and slammed his tail against her side. She lay still where she fell, her eyes closed.

I didn’t know whether she was unconscious or dead, and I had no time to find out. Raxael was already rushing for me again. His attacks were swift, coming at me from all sides. I let my bond with the sword guide my parries. It was