Chapter 20 Chapter 19
The attack on the Nightfall Court came three hours after we returned from closing the rift.
I'd barely had time to shower and collapse into bed when the alarms started blaring. Through the bond, Kael's panic hit me like a physical blow, dragging me from exhausted sleep to full alertness in seconds.
"Sera, get up." His voice came through my door before he burst in without knocking. "We're under attack. Full assault. Demons are breaching the wards."
I was on my feet instantly, grabbing weapons I still barely knew how to use. "How many?"
"Dozens. Maybe hundreds." He grabbed my arm, already pulling me toward the door. "This isn't a random attack. It's coordinated. Planned. They're coming for you specifically."
We ran through corridors filled with chaos. Vampires rushed past us, some toward the fighting, others escorting non-combatants to secure locations. I could hear the sounds of battle echoing from deeper in the Court, screams and crashes and the distinctive sound of magic tearing through reality.
"Luna," I gasped. "Where's Luna?"
"Already secured in the safe room with other high-value assets," Kael said. Through the bond, I felt his grim determination. "She's protected. Right now, we need to get you there too."
"No." I dug in my heels, forcing him to stop. "If they're coming for me, hiding won't help. They'll tear through everyone trying to get to me. I need to fight."
"You're exhausted from closing the rift. You can barely stand." His hands gripped my shoulders. "Seraphine, please. For once, just let us protect you."
"I closed a rift tonight," I said. "A massive one. I can handle demons."
"Not these demons." His voice was tight. "These are Malakai's elite forces. Battle-hardened, ancient, and they've been given one order: retrieve the Shadow Witch alive or make sure no one else can have her. Dead."
A explosion rocked the Court, close enough that dust rained from the ceiling. Through the bond, I felt Kael's split-second decision. He grabbed me and ran, moving with vampire speed that made the world blur around us.
We burst into the throne room to find it transformed into a war zone. Thalia stood in the center, power radiating from her in waves as she directed her forces. Corvus fought at her side, ancient and terrible in his fury. And everywhere, demons. They'd broken through the inner defenses, poured into the heart of the Court itself.
"Kael!" Thalia's voice cut through the chaos. "Get the Shadow Witch out of here. Use the tunnels. Go now!"
"I'm not leaving," I said, but Kael was already dragging me toward a hidden door behind the throne.
Then the shadows in the room exploded outward, and Azrael appeared in the center of the carnage. But he wasn't alone. Behind him stood a figure that made every vampire in the room freeze.
Malakai.
The Demon King was nothing like I'd imagined. Tall and powerfully built, with silver hair and eyes that burned like coals. He wore ancient armor that looked like it was forged from shadow itself, and power rolled off him in waves that made my teeth ache.
"Hello, daughter of Elara," Malakai said, his voice resonating with centuries of rage and pain. "We finally meet."
"Father, stop this." Azrael moved to stand between us, his expression desperate. "This isn't the way. We can negotiate. Find a solution that doesn't require bloodshed."
"My son, the peacemaker." Malakai's smile was cruel. "Always so soft. So human. Your mother ruined you with her mortal sentiments before I killed her."
Through the bond, I felt Kael's surge of protective fury. His hand moved to his weapon.
"Don't," I whispered. "You can't fight him. None of you can."
I could feel it in the air. The sheer magnitude of Malakai's power. He was ancient beyond measure, had ruled the demon realm for millennia. He could kill everyone in this room with a thought.
"The girl is wise," Malakai said, his burning eyes fixed on me. "She understands the futility of resistance. Come with me now, Shadow Witch. Submit to my will, and I'll let your vampire friends live. Refuse, and I'll paint these walls with their blood before taking you anyway."
"Why do you want me so badly?" I asked, stalling for time I didn't have. "If you want to destroy the Veil, why not just let it collapse on its own?"
"Because I don't want to destroy the Veil." Malakai's smile widened. "I want to control it. Your blood, your power, can remake the barrier to my specifications. Create doorways where I choose, seal them where I don't. Give me dominion over both realms instead of being trapped in one dying world."
"You want to use me as a key," I realized. "Open and close the Veil at will."
"Precisely. And you will do this willingly, or I will break you until you have no choice." He took a step forward, and the temperature in the room plummeted. "Your ancestor Elara refused me once. Chose her people over our love. I won't make the mistake of giving you the same choice."
"You loved Elara?" The pieces clicked together. "The first Shadow Witch. You were the reason she created the Veil. She was trying to protect people from you."
"She was trying to cage me!" Malakai's fury erupted, shadows exploding outward. "She promised me eternity and then locked me away like a rabid dog. So yes, I killed her. Killed all of them. And now I'll finish what I started by claiming her last descendant as my own."
"Over my dead body," Thalia snarled, power gathering around her.
"That can be arranged," Malakai said.
The battle erupted so fast I barely saw it begin. Thalia and Corvus attacked as one, their combined power a force that would have leveled buildings. Malakai deflected them like annoying insects.
Kael pulled me backward, trying to get me to the tunnels, but demons blocked our path. I summoned my shadows and fought, feeling them cut through demon flesh. But for every one I killed, two more took its place.
Through the chaos, I saw Azrael fighting his way toward us. Not attacking the vampires, but the demons. His own kind. His father's forces.
"Azrael, what are you doing?" I screamed.
"Choosing," he shouted back. "Finally choosing what's right over what's expected."
He reached us, and suddenly the three of us stood together. A vampire, a demon, and a witch. The unlikeliest alliance in history.
"The tunnels," Azrael said to Kael. "I know a way out that your people don't. My father's forces won't expect it."
"Why should we trust you?" Kael demanded.
"Because I just betrayed my father for her," Azrael snapped. "And if we don't leave now, we all die here."
Another explosion rocked the Court. I felt vampires dying through their connections to Thalia, felt the Court's defenses crumbling. Malakai was tearing through everything like it was paper.
"Fine," Kael said. "Lead the way."
We ran. Through corridors and down stairs and through passages I'd never seen. Behind us, the sounds of battle grew distant but no less terrible. Through the bond, I felt Kael's anguish at abandoning his Court, his Queen, his people.
"They'll survive," I said, even though I didn't know if it was true. "Thalia is strong."
"Not strong enough to fight the Demon King," Kael said grimly.
We burst out into an underground tunnel system, ancient stonework that predated the Court itself. Azrael sealed the entrance behind us with shadow magic, buying us precious seconds.
"This leads to the old city," Azrael said, already moving. "Pre-fire Chicago. The tunnels run for miles. We can lose any pursuit in the maze and emerge somewhere safe."
"And then what?" I asked, running to keep pace. "We can't hide forever. Malakai will keep coming."
"Then we stop running and start planning," Kael said. "Find the witch covens. Gather allies. Figure out how to repair the Veil before your week deadline expires. We have four days left."
"Four days to do what multiple Shadow Witches died trying to accomplish," I said. "With enemies on all sides and a Demon King who wants to use me as his personal key to reality. This is insane."
"Welcome to the supernatural world," Azrael said darkly. "Insanity is a daily occurrence."
We ran for what felt like hours, the tunnel twisting and branching in ways that would have lost me immediately. But Azrael navigated with confidence, and Kael's presence through the bond kept me grounded.
Finally, we emerged in an abandoned building on the edge of the city. Dawn was breaking, painting the sky in shades of gold and pink. In the distance, I could see smoke rising from the direction of the Nightfall Court.
"They'll come after us," I said quietly. "Both sides. The vampires will think I abandoned them. The demons will hunt us relentlessly. We're fugitives now."
"Then we'd better make it count," Kael said. He looked at Azrael, and I felt his reluctant respect through the bond. "You betrayed your father for her. Why?"
"Because I'm tired of war," Azrael said simply. "Tired of watching people die for causes that stopped making sense centuries ago. And because she's the only person in existence who might actually be able to end this." He looked at me. "But we can't do it alone. We need help."
"The witch covens," I said. "You mentioned scholars in the Shadow Realm who've studied the Veil. Can we reach them without Malakai knowing?"
"Risky, but possible." Azrael considered. "And Kael's right about the witch covens. If we can find them, convince them to help, we might have a chance."
"So we split up," Kael said. "Cover more ground. Azrael goes to the Shadow Realm, I track down the witch covens, and Seraphine—"
"Stays with one of us," I interrupted. "Because I'm not sitting on the sidelines while you two risk your lives for my problem."
"It's not your problem," both of them said simultaneously, then glared at each other.
Despite everything, I almost smiled. "Then we work together. All three of us. Because apparently, that's what it's going to take to save the world."
Through the bond, I felt Kael's acceptance. And in Azrael's eyes, I saw determination that matched my own.
We were a vampire, a demon, and a witch against impossible odds.
But maybe impossible was exactly what the world needed.