“One of her. Thousands of you, Scribe.”
Protect Ava.
He ducked under the water, crouching down, only to burst up, blades flying, catching two Grigori under the chin and throwing them back as their blood sprayed the slick pillars of the cistern.
He slashed again and again until the muddy water was black with spilled blood. And still the corner where Ava hid was silent.
She watched, lip clenched between her teeth, biting back the screams as she watched him battle. Four Grigori were on him, one slashing his back, another diving for his neck, only to trip over something in the water and fall down, taking out another who approached him.
He fought like a raging beast, his muscles straining, his talesm glowing in the harsh light and shadows of the underground cavern. Blood poured from a gash at his temple and she cried when a soldier pierced his side.
Still he fought.
But he wasn’t healing.
She’d seen him. Seen the cuts heal in Kuşadası. Seen the unflagging energy. But she knew as he wavered after throwing off an attacker…
He was going to lose.
There were too many. No help came. And a seemingly endless stream of attackers approached. No sooner had he dusted one than another fell on him.
Ava bit back a sob. He was going to lose. He wasn’t strong enough.
Because of her.
Furious music pulsed in her head. Ancient songs beat at her.
A low humming chant echoed in a latent part of her mind.
Ava opened her mouth just as shouts echoed from the top of the cistern.
“Malachi?”
She let out a cry of relief when she heard Damien’s voice, and two soldiers turned to the dark corner where she hid. Their eyes lit up with predatory glee as they turned to her, and Ava raised the crowbar again.
“Get to Ava!” Malachi shouted, still throwing off his attackers, some of whom had turned to the door. Ava’s eyes scanned the darkness. She moved back and forth, trying to see beyond the forest of pillars.
Where was Brage?
The pale Grigori with the angel’s blade was her greatest fear. She had no idea what would happen to Malachi if he was hit by the weapon in his condition. Would he be able to hold on as long as Leo had?
“Do you see her?”
“I think so.”
The two soldiers drew closer. There was no avoiding them. They were headed straight for her. Ava didn’t wait.
Throwing herself into the light with a guttural shout, she flung herself at the first one, swinging the crowbar down where his neck met his shoulder. She felt the bar sink in as the man’s eyes went wide with shock; then she pulled. He tumbled forward with a splash, and Ava gasped at her own strength. A chunk of flesh ripped from the man’s neck, and his collarbone was slick with blood, sticking out from the top of his chest as he flopped in the water like a wounded carp.
The other Grigori stood still for a moment, then raised a sword, only to look at it with wide eyes and lower it again.
They aren’t supposed to hurt me, Ava realized with grim satisfaction.
She plunged forward, eyes focused on the man’s neck, but he dodged to the side and grabbed her, tearing the crowbar from her hands as he tried to lift her from the water. She resisted for a few moments, her boots stuck in the thick mud, but eventually he tugged again, and her feet came free.
“No!” she screamed as he threw her over his shoulder. “NO!”
“Ava!”
Malachi saw the Grigori lift her, tossing her over his shoulder like baggage. He started trudging toward the exit, moving as quickly as he could in the heavy water. He was fighting two soldiers, feeling weaker by the moment, but he saw Max spot Ava as Damien sliced his way through the Grigori who swarmed them.
“Max, get Ava!” he yelled as loud as he could. The cistern was filled with the sounds of splashes and grunts, blades ringing against the stone pillars and men crying out in pain. Through it all, Malachi didn’t think. He kept going, his single focus to move toward the soldier with his mate.
Get Ava. Escape the cistern.
Something tugged at his leg, but he kicked it away, losing one of the boots and a shoe at the same time. Sharp stones dug into his foot when he set it down again, and he could feel them pierce his flesh.
Damien moved toward him, throwing off the soldier who had attached himself to Malachi’s back and was trying to grab his weapons. Most of the Grigori had lost their knives in the fight, the blades falling into the water as they struggled.
Malachi held on.
“Max, she’s there!”
“I see her!”
He saw his brother head toward Ava, slicing through two Grigori, dusting one and throwing another into the darkness with a roar.
Almost there.
The lights flickered. Went out.
Ava screamed.
On again.
She’d been stabbed in the fighting. Blood poured from her belly, and he saw her face pale.
“Ava!”
Their eyes met in the flickering light as Malachi raced toward her as fast as he could, his heart beating out of his chest and blood dripping into his eyes.
“Hold on!”
“Malachi, no!”
Just then, a large soldier tackled him from behind a pillar. He knocked Malachi down. The water enveloped him as a painful scream filled the air.
The magic raged through her, closing the wound on her belly, and Ava’s soul rose in fear and fury. Through the pain, her voice lifted, echoing against the ancient stones.
The songs rang in her mind. The magic called her.
Speak, the seductive voice whispered.
More. Higher. Louder.
Ava’s voice rose in pain and anger. She screamed out against the voices in her mind.
The soldier holding her faltered. One hand came up to his ear as he stumbled. She saw others clutching their heads. Blood poured between their fingers.
The lights went on. Then off. On again.
Finally, the one holding Ava dropped her, and she splashed in the water as the soldier ran. Everything was dark and silent for a moment before she surfaced, spitting out the foul water that had filled her mouth. She blinked her eyes, looking for danger. The Grigori who had captured her was pushing for the exit even as Max cut him down. She couldn’t see Malachi, but she saw Max. Blood ran from his eyes and ears, but he kept coming toward her.
More Grigori ran past, two scrambling up the stairs as she brushed the damp hair from her face and blinked the mud from her eyes. Max finally reached her.
“You’re fine, Ava. You’re all right.”
“Where’s Malachi?”
A voice from the darkness. “I’m here, Ava.” He emerged from the shadows, wading through the waist-deep water with a crooked smile. “What was that, love?”
Ava burst out with a sobbing laugh. “I have no idea.”
She saw Damien and Malachi on the other side of the cistern. Damien smiled, even as he killed another Grigori with a dagger to his spine. The dust hung like a fog over their heads, wafting toward the exit where the rest of the soldiers had fled. Malachi stood, clutching his side, leaning against a pillar and panting. Blood ran from his eyes and nose, but he smiled anyway, staring across the water.
Come to me.
For a split second, she could hear the thought in his mind.
Ava stood and started running toward him as fast as she could, barely noticing the shadow moving in the corner of her eye.
The shadow rose from the water, blue eyes gleaming in the darkness and blade glinting in the light.
Ava’s heart stopped.
Silence.
Malachi stilled as the blade pierced his spine, his eyes locking with hers.