He had, but it didn’t matter. Several things happened at once. Luke lunged at her, and she threw her arm up to block him. He wasn’t holding anything back. His blow shattered the bone in her forearm, sending her backward against the banister. It cracked but didn’t give way.
Fierce pain blossomed all the way to her shoulder. She could sense others were nearby, but she doubted they’d reach her in time.
“I’m sorry,” Luke said, and brought his blade home.
She stared at Luke’s cloudy eyes. “No…I’m sorry.”
Shock skated across his face, and his strike was off by an inch. But it was one of their daggers. Engraved with symbols and honed in holy water. It was deadly.
Lily screamed as the seven-inch blade cut through skin, muscle, and bone under her left breast. Luke held onto her as she turned to the side, her gaze falling to the floor below.
The door bulged, splintering apart. Several large chunks of metal mowed down a few deadheads that were too close. Standing in the doorway was Julian. In his rage, he stood like an avenging angel—beautiful, proud, and the deadliest thing to walk this Earth.
Just to see him again lessened her pain and fear. Even in his anger, his presence soothed her like no other could. He’d come for her, even after she’d blamed him. Lily tried to call out his name, but she couldn’t form the words.
His gaze went up, settling on where she stood. He roared her name, pain and fury so potent that Luke pulled her back from the banister.
Luke yanked out the blade, and Lily shrieked. A fiery burn seized her chest. It was like Baal’s touch but a hundred times worse.
Deadheads swarmed Julian from all corners. He was making short work of them, but they kept coming and coming. Lily could hear Julian howling her name.
Then the windows shattered, and Nathaniel and Adrian appeared. They, too, were swarmed by the deadheads and minions. The three of them were marvelous fighters, but they were far outnumbered. One deadhead would fall, and three would replace him. Then there were the minions to contend with. Trained just as the Nephilim were, they were just as deadly.
Luke held onto Lily, and he raised his blade once more. “This is your fault!” he screamed at Nathaniel. “You should have stopped her—stopped Anna!”
She saw Luke’s blade out of the corner of her eyes, but she focused on Julian. He ripped through two more deadheads, and his eyes met hers. He wouldn’t get to her in time, and it was already too late. The blade had done its damage, eating through her as it was designed to do.
Nathaniel and Julian yelled at the same time, but she only had Julian in her sights. He hadn’t given up on her. Not once. Not even when she had given up on him. Luke brought the blade down to her neck, but the impact never came.
“I don’t think so,” said Michael, grabbing Luke’s arm from behind and twisting the blade out of his hand.
Luke shoved her away as he whirled on Michael, another blade in hand. “How stupid are you, boy?”
Lily fell back against the banister. Her legs were strangely useless, and she slid to the floor. She peered down at herself, expecting to find flames shooting from her skin. Her white shirt was completely red, soaked with her blood. Through the haze of pain, Michael and Luke became blurs.
She was going to die.
Her heart sped up and then slowed. Twisting, she dropped her gaze to the floor below. Her eyesight faded in and out. Drawing in short and shallow breaths, she placed her hand against the wound and cried out.
And then Julian was beside her. She stared up at him, wishing she could somehow smooth away the devastation that marred his face. She tried to raise her hand, but her arm wouldn’t respond.
“Lily, look at me,” he ordered softly, slipping his arm around her waist, then pulling her onto his lap. She screamed and shuddered. Julian winced. “It’s going to be okay. Hold on, Lily. You need to hold on for me.”
Her unfocused stare fell to him, her breathing shallow and erratic. “I’m…sorry…so…”
“No.” Julian shook his head roughly. “It’s okay. I know.”
Lily could still hear Michael and Luke fighting, but their shapes were nearly identical. She couldn’t imagine Michael winning this battle. Luke was far more advanced and had decades on him. She wanted to tell Julian to leave her, to go help Michael, but she couldn’t talk. All she could do was moan as the fire spread through her insides.
Julian placed his hand over the wound. “I know what you want me to do. I’m not leaving you. They mean nothing to me, and you mean everything.”
…
Fighting Luke was like fighting Rafe on crack. He deflected nearly every blow Michael sent his way, and Luke’s fists connected with Michael’s face more times than he could count. It was a savage attack, designed to do damage. Luke’s booted foot hit him square in the chest, sending him tumbling backward.
“You think you can beat me?” Luke laughed. “Are you insane?”
Michael pushed up. He refused to look at Lily’s crumpled body, knowing he couldn’t afford the distraction. All he knew was that she was still alive from the heartbreaking sounds she was making.
“Apparently, you’re the insane one,” Michael taunted as he shook off the pain.
Luke took an angry swipe at him, nearly hitting him across the broad expanse of his chest. He was fast in his attack, cutting and jabbing until he backed Michael up against a wall. Through it all, Lily’s words came back to him. Defending yourself is simply anticipating the next move. Find the muscle tremor. Watch where Luke looks…where he positions his body… He will tell you where he strikes next without words.
He had only seconds to slow it down, to pull it all into perspective. No time to think of Lily, no time to think of what could have made Luke do this. Seconds—he had only seconds.
Luke brought his fist down again, but this time Michael saw the move before he attacked. Launching himself off the wall, he blocked and jabbed. Luke spun, and his kick caught Michael in the jaw. Snapping back, he hit the ground.
“I’m not supposed to kill you,” Luke said, his fingers spasming around the blade. “But goddamn it, you’re making it awful hard to walk away.”
“You’re not?” Michael grunted. “Could’ve fooled me.”
Luke smiled. “But then again, I’ll be long gone before he gets here.”
“He?” Michael struggled to his feet. Over Luke’s shoulder, he caught a glimpse of Nathaniel vaulting over the banister. “Nathaniel?”
Whirling around, Luke’s face was nothing but a mask of rage and accusation. “You! This is your fault! You could have controlled Anna! None of this would have happened if you had done your job!” He tore across the balcony at Nathaniel.
Michael staggered as Luke battled Nathaniel with violent ferocity. Nate could fall to Luke. If so, he would then try to finish what he had started—going after Lily. His eyes fell to Julian. The fallen angel cradled Lily to him, but she was reaching out toward them—toward Luke. Tears were streaming down her battered face. The pain in her eyes was more than just physical. She’d trusted Luke, loved him, and he had done that to her.
Something in Michael came to life. Burning through his veins like white lightning, snapping fire through every vein and cell. A rushing filled his ears. His legs moved without him realizing. A bright white light radiated from within, spreading over his chest and down his limbs. The blade burned in his grasp, felt heavy like a sword.
Luke turned around slowly, his eyes widening as he stared at him. “The Sword of Michael.” He tipped his head, backing up. “It can’t be. Abaddon…”
The light from Michael reached out, surrounding all of them. It was Nathaniel who ordered the blow, but it was Michael’s blade that drove through tissue and muscle, piercing Luke’s heart.
Luke looked down at his chest. Shock, and somewhere in the array of emotions that flickered across his face, there was relief. He seemed to gaze up—searching for something. As the light receded, Michael realized who he was looking for.
Falling to his knees, Luke dropped his blade and reached out, his arm extending toward Lily. The distance was too great, and Luke fell forward, unmoving and silent.
Michael stepped around Luke’s body, his hands trembling as he reached Julian and Lily. His body felt ungodly hot, but the moment he got a close-up view of Lily, he wasn’t thinking about himself anymore.
Nothing could’ve prepared him for how bad she looked. There was almost nowhere on her body that wasn’t damaged. The bones in the left side of her face were shattered, as was her left arm. These things would heal, but it was the gaping wound that stole Michael’s breath.
“Oh God,” Michael whispered. “Can…anyone fix this?”
“I will die trying.” Julian bent his head, brushing his lips over Lily’s forehead. “I’m sorry, Lily. This will hurt, love.” He placed his other hand over the side of Lily’s face. The same light that had radiated from Michael now radiated from Julian’s hands.
The first scream cut through Michael, but the second scream brought a cry of pain to Julian’s lips.
Michael fell to his knees beside Lily, exhausted and dazed. He grasped her outstretched hand, holding it tightly in his. He looked up at the fallen angel. “Will she live?”
Julian winced at the shrill cry that racked her body. Her leg came up, tense and bent at the knee as she writhed. “You need to go. You need to go now. The Fallen are coming for you. I’ll be too weak to defend any of you.”
Nathaniel stood behind Michael while Adrian came over the banister, looking like he wanted to fight some more.
Julian stared down at Lily. “Let go, Lily. Let it go,” he ordered softly. “Let it go. Let me take away the pain.”
Michael watched her eyes drift shut. The tension that coiled her body as tight as a bow snapped. Her hand went limp in his. “What did you do?”
Julian’s cold stare met Michael’s. “You need to leave now, or all of this would have been for naught.”
Nathaniel placed his hand on Michael’s shoulder. “We need to go. There are many coming. He’s right.” He looked at Julian as Adrian joined them. “But you’re not taking Lily.”
Julian gathered her close to him. His eyes turned to ice as he lifted them to meet Nathaniel’s. “I fell from grace because I spared your life, but I will not spare your life for a second time. You try to stop me, and I will kill you as I was ordered to do the day you were born.”
Nathaniel’s eyes narrowed as he pulled himself upright, coming to his full height. “You hurt her, Julian, and I will kill you.” He turned to Adrian. “Get Michael out of here now. I’ll throw off the Fallen.”
Adrian looked like he wanted nothing more than to go after Julian, but he grasped Michael by the shoulders, pulling him away. “Come on, we’ve got to hit the road.”
Michael struggled against him, but before he could do anything, Julian turned with Lily in his arms and disappeared over the banister.
“What the hell was that back there?” Adrian asked as he propelled Michael out the doors. “The Sword of Michael?”