Infernal Angels

Chapter Eighteen: The Battle

January 16th, 2031
Will

There was nothing, Will realized, nothing quite like the thrill of battle. The high was entirely different from that of the sleep-inducing opium, which made everything blur together. No, the high of battle made the world sharpen to crystalline clarity, made his opponents' movements slow down so that he could read them like a book, and pumped adrenaline through his veins at lightning speeds, filling him with an energy that seemed utterly endless. Becoming an Elemental had only augmented this battle high, made it stronger than he could've imagined.

The chaos that greeted them when they left the cage was welcome; it allowed Will to lose himself in the thrill completely. There were dozens, perhaps hundreds of guards flooding the room, and only nine fighters who, from what he could see, far outmatched the human guards. A boy—man, really, but Will couldn't help but see a sort of eternal youth in his eyes—with golden hair fought back to back with a man a little older than he was, parabatai runes stark against their skin. A girl with a whip that reminded Will fiercely of Cecily laid waste to everything around her, all honeyed fury and sparkling diamonds. Another pair of parabatai, boy and girl this time, battled side-by-side, the girl as short as Charlotte with Henry's flaming hair wielding a sword that he vaguely recognized as a Morgenstern blade. The man fought with a pair of kindjals, brown eyes wild. Two other Shadowhunters fought with the same caution and reckless abandon that had always been his and Jem's trademark fighting style, faded parabatai runes barely visible, the girl wielding Cortana with fierce mastery. With a start, Will realized that he actually recognized one of them—Magnus Bane, weaving his magic around the others with a blue warlock at his side.

The warlock caught sight of them a second later. "Interesting fashion statement," he called. "I like the wings, Herondale."

"Dramatic, aren't they?" he grinned.

"I daresay it's an improvement. Do you three need any assistance, or..." Magnus wiggled his fingers, blue sparking off of them.

"Trust me," Will said. "There's no need for that." He exchanged a look with Jem, who grinned and pressed the switch to release the blade in his cane, water swirling into place around the weapon. Tessa cracked her knuckles in a rather unladylike gesture and smiled grimly. "Let's show them exactly why they feared us."

Tessa laughed at that, a wild laugh that reminded him of the bells of war that rang in the Gard, and raised her arms, looking for all the world like a Valkyrie come to proclaim doom upon those who'd dared to hurt those she'd loved, and lunged into the battle, misericord blades flashing like silvery streaks as she cut them down. The Tessa that Will remembered had no mercy for those who hurt her family, her loved ones, and neither did this Tessa.

He grinned, a snake of fire weaving around her like flaming armor, followed by a rope of water that wound around her blade, providing another razor edge. He caught sight of Jem's quicksilver grin and laughed aloud, setting his hands and his blade on fire, whirling to deliver a killing blow to the guard who'd hoped to sneak up on him. He went down without a sound and Will laughed, ducking a blow and dancing tauntingly to the side. "Come on!" he cried. "Who wants to die first?"

A man spat at his feet. Will smiled. That one, apparently. He lunged at him, only to watch the man fall limp as a spear of water pierced his chest. Will skidded to a halt and spun on his heel, meeting Jem's eyes. His parabatai shrugged, summoning another spear of water and sending it careening into the circle or guards that surrounded them, spinning his sword-cane expertly in the other hand. "I was going to take him!" Will complained lightly.

"You can handle that one," Jem suggested without looking behind him. Will caught sight of the guard who'd attempted to attack his brother from behind and grinned wickedly, palm heating up and sending a blast of fire his way. The man screamed and fell just as the first row of guards—soldiers, really—fell in a whirl of steel and brown hair that reminded Will of Bridget Daly's fighting style, all energy and endless steel. Tessa flashed him a red-painted smile before diving into the fray again.

Will grinned and let the fire run up his arms and over his wings. "Duck!" he called to Jem, who dropped without hesitation. He called his Element, shaping it into two ropes before spinning on the spot, fire-ropes lashing out and setting fire to a ring of guards. Jem shot to his feet as soon as the flames were extinguished, a whirlpool coalescing around him like a hurricane as his sword-cane flashed. Will let loose another fireblast, smile growing as ten of them fell, screaming. God, he hadn't felt so sated in years. How had he ever survived without Shadowhunting, without fighting?

A blade sliced down at his shoulder, but he whirled and caught it between his hands, melting it. "Pity," he told the soldier sympathetically. "It was a well-placed blow. Your only mistake was trying it on a former Shadowhunter." He let his fire flicker down the blade and sear the man's hands before driving his dagger into his chest.

"What are you doing?"

Will tensed at the sound of the familiar, shrieking voice, his temper spiking with his flames. Sora. He whirled to see the black-hearted blonde and her equally worthless brother standing at the end of the hallway. Her ice-blue eyes, normally holding a manic glint to them, were wide and terrified. "They're—Veron—"

But her brother was already running like the coward he was.

Will was too, but he wasn't running from the battle. He was running at her, dagger lit like a flame. He caught a flicker of silver to his right and brown from his left, and smiled grimly as the woman turned to run, the fight resuming.

You have Hell to pay.