Angelfire
Page 60

"I don't think so," the man said. "I paid a lot of money for that. There's no way you're taking it."
Wil cal ed his sword into his hand and leveled its point at the man.
"Wil , no!" I cried.
"Stand aside, vir," he said. "You'l never defeat me. You've got nothing on my power."
I blinked and looked from Wil to the man. Was the owner a reaper? He looked so . . . human. But, then again, so did Wil .
"You certainly aren't going to leave my house with that,"
the reaper warned. "If you don't depart immediately, I wil kil you and your little girlfriend. Of course, I may keep her for myself and eat her later."
Wil narrowed his gaze. "Try it."
The reaper bared his teeth and hissed like a leopard. He charged; I wil ed my swords to appear in my hands and light up in angelfire. Wil swung his own blade fast as lightning. The reaper grabbed his wrist, but Wil drove his knee deep into the reaper's gut. The vir bent over, choking, and I was behind him in a heartbeat, taking both swords, crossing my arms across my chest for maximum force and slashing the blades across the reaper's neck, decapitating him. He burst into flames and was gone. The angelfire vanished from my blades, and the room was dark again.
"That was way too easy," I said, wiping at a warm spot of blood on my forehead, feeling disgusted.
I felt another power nearby, only far, far stronger than the reaper I had just fought. I looked up to see a man--no, a new vir--standing in the door we had entered through moments before. His face was in shadows as he stood silhouetted in the moonlight.
"Yes, that was too easy," the reaper said. "You didn't think you'd be that fortunate, did you?"
Wil locked his gaze on the reaper with hate I'd never seen before on his face. His power was growing steadily; I could see it spiraling with his anger like a damned double helix of black Hel fire, his green eyes brightening and intensifying. "Geir," he growled.
I held my swords tightly, the dead reaper's blood trickling down the blades, and I faced Geir. He stepped forward into the room, and I could now see his face under a mop of wild, reddish brown hair. His smile was wide and insane, like some cracked-out Mad Hatter's, flashing a mouthful of sharply pointed shark's teeth, and his eyes were yel ow beneath heavy lids and a thick brow.
"What a fool," he said. "Jonathon was correct. He did have something very special in that box, but he had no idea how special. Bastian wil reward me greatly. Thank you for disposing of my friend here so I won't have to waste my time on him."
He watched me with a hunger in his eyes. "And so I find myself face-to-face with the Preliator," he said, my title rol ing over his tongue like sticky-sweet syrup. "I thought you'd be tal er."
I narrowed my eyes. "I think that about myself every day."
"Stil , you are prettier than I was told, but Ivar doesn't like other girls."
"Don't even think about it, Geir," Wil warned. "Your head wil be rol ing across this carpet before you lay a claw on her."
Geir's smile curved into a sinister half snarl. "Is that a chal enge?"
Wil lifted his sword and leveled it at the demonic vir.
"Take it as you wish."
With a laugh, Geir held out both his arms. His hands stretched as bone popped and skin bubbled, his biceps and forearms bulging sickeningly until they were twice their original size. His hands lengthened and his nails grew into long talons, leaving the skin on his arms ripped red and raw as if there hadn't been enough room inside for the monster arms to grow and they had just burst through the surface. Wings burst from his shoulder blades, scattering dirty brown feathers, blocking the light from outside. His wings flapped deafeningly. Horror engulfed me, and I could do nothing but stare at him as the vir reaper unfolded his power before me. He held out a clawed hand and beckoned to me. My swords erupted with angelfire as I lunged forward in a rage, but I was suddenly hit by a brick wal of energy as Geir spread his wings wide and detonated his power. The glass doors and windows behind him shattered with a thunderous roar, and the infinite shards glittered in the moonlight like rain. A tsunami of black power rushed into me, knocking me off my feet, and I hit the floor on my back. As glass showered down on me, I looked up to see Wil leaping over me, his sword high. He swung and slashed, but Geir stepped fluidly out of the path of each stroke. I jumped up. Geir grabbed Wil 's arm, halting the sword in midair, clamped his other hand around Wil 's throat, and swung. Wil smashed through the exterior wal and disappeared. Drywal , wood, and brick exploded.
"Will!" I screamed, and ran forward, but Geir grabbed me by the back of the neck and yanked me toward him, wrapping his arm around me, spinning my body and crushing me into his chest. His monstrous wings cast black shadows over me, and the darkness made my heart pound so loud it was al I could hear. He grabbed both my wrists with one hand and held my blades away from his skin. His Cheshire grin revealed two rows of teeth, and shivers crept down my spine. In the blazing light of the angelfire, he truly looked like a demon that had clawed its way through flesh and fire out of Hel . I shuddered in fear.
"Bastian wil be so pleased with me," he said. "I wil bring him the Preliator and the Enshi. He wil be pleased to kil you himself."
I thrashed against him, but I couldn't free my arms. I pounded my knee into his groin. His eyes bulged and he roared in pain, releasing me. It was good to know that when swords failed, simple girl tactics always worked--even on monsters.