Demon Evolution (29 page)

All eyes shifted to see who the newcomer was
who would dare to interrupt them. Taylor approached boldly, her
eyes forward, her chin held high. Her confidence was not an act.
Her anger had emboldened her. Chris was already gone.

Dionysus’s lips curled into a smile. “Ahh, my
dear. Welcome. I’d like to say it is a pleasure to see you, but
considering you killed a hundred of my people the last time I saw
you…Well, I guess that’s in the past, water under the bridge as
they say. What brings you to our little gathering?”

“I have an offer to make you.”

“I’m listening.”

“Me…for Gabriel and his family.”

“Taylor, no!” Gabriel groaned. He was lying
on the ground now, his body slowly succumbing to the poison that
was working its way relentlessly through his bloodstream.

Ignoring the fallen angel, Dionysus gazed
curiously at Taylor, as if he didn’t know what to make of her.
“Hmm,” he mused, “an interesting proposition. But what’s to stop me
from just grabbing you now and taking all of you?”

“Trust me, that won’t work. How do you think
I got here? I can get out just as easily and quickly.” She
maintained a safe enough distance that he had no choice but to
believe her.

“I accept your offer,” Dionysus confirmed.
“How will this work?”

“No, Taylor, don’t do this,” Gabriel croaked.
His voice was becoming weaker.

“For starters, you can get the damn sword off
of his neck,” Taylor said through clenched teeth. Ignoring the
request, Cassie hissed at Taylor, like an animal protecting her
kill.

“Now, now, Cassie. Do as she says.” Cassie
looked up, surprised, but then obeyed her master. She backed away
from Gabriel.

Taylor had been silently counting in her head
ever since Chris had dropped her off.
110 seconds had elapsed;
phase two would begin any second.

Trying to buy a little more time, she said
firmly, “Okay, here’s how it’s gonna work. First, you cut that
demon away from the Knights. Then, you bring them over here with
Gabriel and back away from them. I will come over and hold your
hand.” She motioned to Dionysus. “I’ve got a guy who will come in
and retrieve the Knights and then you will have your prize.”

They couldn’t have possibly timed it any
better. The moment that Taylor said
prize
, there was a
scream of agony from Felix, one of the younger Archangels.

All eyes shifted to Felix, who fell to his
knees, his face contorted in pain. The black tip of a fiery blade
protruded slightly from his chest. When he dropped to the ground
the attacker was revealed—it was Kiren. Deftly, she pulled the
sword from her prey and swung it sharply at the next Archangel,
Johanna.

Eyes blazing with anger, Johanna had already
drawn her sword and easily deflected the blow. Just as the other
Archangels, including Dionysus, moved to surround the lone demon
warrior, the next surprise appeared. Sampson swooped in from
directly above Dionysus, where he had been in a free fall. Just
before teleporting behind Felix, Kiren had evidently teleported
Sampson high in the air over the plateau. While she began the fight
he was able to use gravity as an escort, while remaining undetected
by those on the ground.

Immediately before impact, he spread his
wings and careened into Dionysus, knocking him hard to the ground.
Dionysus groaned, as the collision took its toll. Only surprised
for a few moments, the Archangels quickly recovered and launched
themselves into a full counterattack on the angel-demon pair. Only
Dionysus was careful to keep an eye on Gabriel, who was pinned to
the ground, and Taylor, who was speaking to him softly. No one
except the lone demon guard was watching the Knights.

Chris appeared next to the demon guard with
his sword already out, but he didn’t use it. Instead, he grabbed
the surprised demon’s arm and teleported him, along with the
Knights—who were tied to him—back to the Elders room, where a
surprised group of demon Elders were conducting a meeting.

A gasp arose as the unexpected and strange
group of visitors appeared. “What is the meaning of this?” Clifford
barked.

Ignoring him, Chris aimed his sword in the
direction of the demon’s arm and swung hard. Just in time, the
demon used his other hand to grab Chris’s wrist and force the sword
away from its intended mark. At the same time, the demon guard
teleported them back to the Warrior’s Plateau.

Taylor was about to yell to Sampson and Kiren
to tell them that Chris had escaped with the Knights, when she saw
Gabriel’s family reappear in the exact same spot where they had
been originally.
This is not good
, she thought, as she
watched the battle continue. Sampson and Kiren were hopelessly
outnumbered and the element of surprise was quickly fading.

Chris seemed to be locked in a wrestling
match with the demon traitor, and she watched in awe as they
disappeared again, only to reappear seconds later, still fighting.
This happened several more times as each side tried to gain an
advantage. They popped in and out of view like the light from a
dying light bulb.

Chris had expected his opponent to try to
teleport them back to the fight, but he had hoped to prevent it by
cutting him free from the Knights. The demon’s quick reflexes were
able to stop Chris’s first attempt, but with only one free hand—the
other was tied to Helena Knight—Chris was slowly gaining an
advantage. Each time one of them teleported the group of prisoners,
Chris was able to slowly force the demon’s right hand down towards
his side.

By about the fifth teleport, Chris was able
to use just his left arm to subdue his opponent’s only free arm,
freeing up his own right arm to go on the attack. When the demon
attempted a last-ditch teleport to bring them back to the plateau
one more time, Chris’s right arm flashed across his body and
downwards, slashing his sword through the demon’s arm, severing it
at the wrist.

The demon’s face exploded in agony, as
torturing pain must have shot through the stump of an arm that
remained. He fell to the ground, away from the Knights. Without
hesitation, Chris grabbed Helena Knight and teleported her and her
family back to the Lair for the last time.

When Taylor saw Chris separate the demon from
the Knights and teleport them away, she yelled, “They’re out!” Her
intention was to signal to Kiren and Sampson that it was time to
make their escape, but Dionysus, who had been watching her
carefully, was also alerted and looked back, finding that his bait
had mysteriously disappeared. He sprang into action, rushing
towards the helpless Gabriel.

Kiren and Sampson turned in the direction of
Taylor’s voice, but it was too late. Dionysus had the tip of his
sword under Gabriel’s chin. All semblance of his typical snide and
sarcastic demeanor was gone and in its place was an expression of
pure anger and hatred. His piercing eyes glared at Kiren and
Sampson. “Your fun is over,” he declared. “One move and he’s dead.
I am taking them both.”

While he spoke, the Archangels and their
guards surrounded Kiren and Sampson, and moved to disarm them.

Seeing Dionysus one stroke away from killing
Gabriel launched a flood of emotions through Taylor’s body. Fear of
losing him, anger at the evil that stood before her, determination
that she would not fail Gabriel: each emotion intermingled with the
others until they became one emotion, one she had never felt
before. The new emotion created new blood, which now flowed through
her veins in a rush of warmth, like she had been hooked up to an IV
that filled her with hot, rather than cold, liquid. The new blood
bred new cells in her skin and new marrow in her bones.

Dionysus watched as her body began to glow.
The light became brighter and brighter until it was as bright as
any angel. Even as the evening light was darkening into night, the
plateau became as bright as if the sun remained high in the
sky.

Taylor lifted off of the ground, seemingly
defying gravity and her own human boundaries. She hovered for a few
seconds, and then with a sharp tearing sound, two magnificent,
white wings burst forth from her back and began to glow in unison
with the rest of her body. Much like he had many years earlier,
Taylor had evolved into something nonhuman; something that could
only be described as an angel.

But something was different about her. While
angels have an inner light that helps fuel their extraordinary
powers, they rely on the power of external light to charge their
inner light. Taylor seemed to radiate power from within her,
without any assistance from the outside world. In essence, she was
her own power source.

Dionysus recognized something in her face, in
her glowing frame. Sensing danger, he cowered behind Gabriel’s
slumped body.