Total pages in book: 158
Estimated words: 145341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145341 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 727(@200wpm)___ 581(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
She called to the heavens in a soft, angelic voice. The moment she did, overhead, dark clouds tumbled and rolled, boiling ferociously. In the lining of those churning clouds, white-hot lightning forked. Thunder boomed as if in answer, shaking the house. Vasilisa didn’t pause, continuing to chant softly, never raising her voice or hesitating despite the raging storm overhead.
She continued her slow, deliberate circle, bathing the ground with droplets from the vial she held in one hand and the bright blue flame from the crystalline sword she held in the other. The drops from the vial compounded in the air so that a rainstorm burst down on the snow. The rain was hot, and when the drops hit, beneath the icy snow something sizzled and burned. Smoke rose and dark blood bubbled up to stain the large smoldering circles a ruddy red and murky brown.
“Show yourselves to me. Come out of your hiding places. I feel your presence. I know your intentions. Reveal yourselves now.” Her tone remained the same. Still sweet and angelic but commanding.
Voices rose, shrieking in protest; the thunder boomed louder directly over her head, a constant low one-note counterpoint to her angelic tone. Demons of various rank crawled out of hiding, from the playhouse, from the roof of the main house and greenhouse, from the piles of bricks and boards, from behind trees and every available cover. An army of demons.
Vasilisa continued as if she weren’t surrounded by the hideous creatures creeping toward her. “Hear me, pathetic army of Lilith. You cannot have my lifemate. You cannot have Skyler, lifemate to Dimitri. You cannot have any Dragonseeker, though you have been tasked with bringing one to her. You cannot have a royal.”
She plunged the blade of her ceremonial sword deep into the ground. The light should have been extinguished, but it shone through the layers of dirt, ice and snow, once again illuminating brightly as if it were the sun. The moment the blade cut through the soil, more blood bubbled up, and the shrieks intensified.
“This ground is lost to you. This ground is consecrated and is locked to you. Each form is locked to this consecrated earth.” She scattered more drops above her head, to the four directions and then onto the ground.
The demons wailed and shrieked. Vasilisa jerked the blade of her sword from the earth and started toward the portal. The five elite demons spread out in front of her about six feet apart from one another, clearly determined that she not reach the portal, or they could have been intent on taking her prisoner.
She was a demon fighter, trained almost from birth, but the elites were difficult to take on, even for her. She gripped the vial of holy water in one hand and levered the point of her sword straight at their eyes. The light coming from the sword was so bright, the shields they wore as protective gear over the sensitive lens of their eyes failed, and it blinded them temporarily.
Afanasiv, Petru, Nicu, Benedek and Zev shimmered for a moment, transparent in the light, and then emerged fully, each in front of one of the elite. Each had their own weapon as they confronted the demon who would stop Vasilisa from sealing the portal.
Vasilisa felt a little guilty leaving the rather large army of demons to the ancient hunters. Aside from the elite demons, so many others had crawled out from every conceivable hiding place and were attempting to get to her before she could close the portal. Fen and Tatijana, as well as Branislava, were fighting the demons.
Dragons were in the air, spraying the demons with their fire. She didn’t have the time to look. Not even glance. Vasilisa ran between the fighters with her blue flame, slicing the ankles of the elite demon that Petru had engaged. She dodged the roaring demon’s outstretched claw as she weaved between him and the one closest to him.
That demon, the one Afanasiv was in a fierce sword battle with, suddenly clashed his huge broadsword with Afanasiv’s and continued the motion as a follow-through, only to drive straight at Vasilisa’s stomach. She barely had time to parry the blade away from her. Afanasiv took full advantage of the momentary distraction and drove the tip of his sword into the vulnerable eye of his opponent with enough force that the sword went straight through the skull.
The sight and sounds were horrifying, but Vasilisa refused to look. She took advantage of the opportunity, dodging the staggering demon as he slashed the air with his sword, turning this way and that. Afanasiv kicked him in his armor-plated stomach, and the demon crashed to the ground amid the smoldering circles bubbling with smoke and blood.
Vasilisa found herself on the other side of the fighting and the demons, facing the portal. This one was a gaping hole in the earth, zigzagging for several feet before abruptly coming to an end. It looked very deep. She wished she’d thought to have someone get the things she would need to make certain she closed the portal for good.