Siren's Mark

Chapter 70

𝔸𝕧𝕒

In an instant, Asmodeus is ripped off of me and launched across the room, his body smashing through a decorative glass panel. I grab the stair railing to pull myself up. The smoke-veiled figure is standing steadfast between Asmodeus and me.

I can just barely make out the familiar shape of Zane's curly hair and broad shoulders beneath the thick fog of opaque, black smoke.

"Are you okay?" Zane asks. His voice is rough and angry, but unmistakably his.

"I... I'm okay," I stutter. I don't sound nearly as reassuring as I intend to.

Before Zane can respond, Asmodeus rises to his feet. His clothing is tattered and covered in blood; several large glass shards protrude from his skin.

"Took you long enough," Asmodeus says with a vicious smile. "Did you not get my messages?"

Zane lets out a deep, terrifying growl as tendrils of smoke crawl forth from his fingertips, creeping along every floor and surface until they reach Asmodeus and wrap around him.

"Your problem is with me," Zane says. "You let her go, and we'll do this—you and me. You don't get anything from killing a human and you know it. You blame me for Ilen and that's fine. But it's about me—not her—me."

"Fury smoke, hmm?" Asmodeus replies, seemingly ignoring his request. "Clever. I mean, I'll still kill you, but I can appreciate the creativity."

The smoke shifts and swirls, tightening around Asmodeus's chest. He begins to squirm and cough under the increased pressure.

"And where is the rest of the Scooby Gang?" Asmodeus asks between wheezes.

"They didn't come with me," Zane says. "They let you take Ava, you think I'm going to trust them now?"

He can't really mean that. He left Kami and Kieran behind?

"Aww," Asmodeus says teasingly. "So ready to abandon everyone over this unimpressive human girl."

Asmodeus begins to turn red and sweat as the black smoke reaches his neck and squeezes. He hardly struggles, and instead begins to laugh, even as the blood rushes to his face.

He throws his head back and his muscles tense, sending a wave of pressure surging forth from his body. It ripples out across the room, tearing through the layers of smoke and shattering every glass surface in the house. Zane is knocked backward but stays upright.

"You want to die for her?" Asmodeus says, appearing before Zane and pinning him to the wall. "I'd be happy to make that happen for you."

Asmodeus lands several blows to Zane's jaw in quick succession. Smoke swirls around their bodies, twisting and churning like a tornado. My own face stings and my ears ring as I feel Zane's pain through our bond.

I can't just let him do this on his own.

I look around for something—anything—that I might be able to use to fight a demon. I never thought it would get to this point, so I hadn't really made an in-case-of-demon-fighting plan.

Beside shattered glass and a few thick books, there aren't a lot of great options. But something else catches my eye: a slight reflection of a silhouette outside the window.

There's someone else here.

Zane and Asmodeus continue to struggle, trading strikes and slamming each other into every surface. To my human eyes, it looks more like a frenzy of swinging fists and smoke than an actual fight.

I see another quick blur in the distance and my eyes follow the motion to a figure mostly obscured by the dim light in the corner. Maybe my brain is working faster than normal or maybe I'm just seeing what I want to see, but I could swear I'm watching Kami sneaking up behind Asmodeus as he fights with Zane. She seems to be carrying a very large object but I can't tell what it is.