Dark Descent Read online

  The alarms wailed again and the pillar of light flared. A split-second was all it took for the dome above the library to shatter, shards of glass flying into the air. I cried out, throwing my arms in front of my face as millions of tiny razor-sharp spears rushed towards me.

  I guessed this was it. Crunch time.

  19

  I screamed as thousands of shards of glass rushed towards me. Throwing up my arms, I closed my eyes and said a prayer.

  Don’t hurt too much, I thought. I’ve had enough for one day. Just make it quick. God? Codex? Lady of the Lake?

  The air pulsed in front of me and something brushed past my tense body, but the pain didn’t come. Opening my eyes, I gasped as the last of a purple-ish shimmer faded, and a thousand spears of glass tinkled onto the roof.

  Breathing heavily, I patted myself down, but I couldn’t find any nicks or cuts anywhere. For once in my life, my Light had done what it was supposed to do. It’d actually worked—which was a feat in itself—but it didn’t help what was probably going on downstairs in the Sanctum.

  The pillar of red light still burned, piercing the library like a giant spear of flame. I knew there was some freaky shit out there, but this? This was the ultimate in supernatural bad news.

  The alarms wailed once more before they were abruptly cut off. Swallowing hard, I pushed into the Sanctum and made my way downstairs, trying to remember what Wilder had taught me about emergency procedures.

  I emerged into the main foyer, the marble glinting strangely. The pillar’s light was emanating through the air, filtering through the skylight above. I wouldn’t find any help here.

  Turning, I let out a curse as I saw movement at the opposite side of the foyer. A humanoid creature lurched from the shadows, its arms and legs bent in awkward positions—a lesser demon. It used to be a woman, or it’d been attempting to pass for one. Its floral dress flapped all over the place and I copped an eyeful of its beige underpants a split-second before it saw me.

  It skittered across the marble floor with a wail, its feet slipping and sliding. They really were clumsy creatures, but after tangling with one that night in Moorgate, I knew better than to underestimate its thirst for blood.

  Rushing towards the display of halberds on the wall, I wrapped my fingers around a shaft and pulled. Wilder told me they were handy weapons on the battlefield in the Middle Ages, with their spear and axe combination, but not so much in modern times. It wasn’t exactly a weapon you could tuck into your back pocket. The two-handled pole was a little too long, and the axe a little too menacing. I called it the stabby chop-chop pole. Needless to say, Wilder wasn’t impressed with my creativity.

  The halberd came loose, and the top end was so heavy I almost dropped it. Behind me, the lesser demon shrieked and its human-like voice freaked me out. Spinning, I brandished the halberd, eyeing my prey. Now is so not the time to choke, Scarlett.

  The demon leapt and I swung, the axe flying. The sharp end smacked into flesh and the shock vibrated up my arms. A scream pierced the air as I let go of the halberd. It clattered to the floor as I dodged to the side, the demon landing in a bloody heap on the black marble.

  It twitched, a clicking sound emitting from its throat, its white eyes open, and tongue lolling out the side of its mouth.

  Wiping the back of my hand across my forehead, I backed away, melting into the shadows. That was only one demon. There’d be more. Lots more. Glancing at the halberds on the wall, I left them behind. They were way too bulky for close quarters fighting. I needed an arondight blade, stat.

  I made my way through the halls, back to the gym where I’d last seen Wilder. He’d know what to do, and there were actual weapons in there. There were countless displays of swords, shields, and ancient arondight hilts in the halls, but they were all useless. I couldn’t be certain they’d work and right now, I needed certain.

  Ahead, I could see the crimson light of the pillar filtering through the stairwell skylight. I leaned over the edge and peered down to the lower level. It was hard to see in the dark, and with everything tinged red, it made visibility even worse. I just had to make a break for it.

  I sidled down the stairs and into the hall, the emptiness of the Sanctum eerier than ever. The gym was just ahead, but it may as well have been five hundred miles away. This felt exactly like a scene from a horror movie where at any second, something would jump out at me, slashing a knife. I swallowed hard and glanced over my shoulder.

  Maybe it was my heightened senses, but I hesitated when the sound of footsteps echoed through the murky darkness.

  Something was patrolling the halls, but it didn’t feel like a Natural. I tensed, knowing I was screwed if it was an Infernal or a more powerful demon. I had nothing to fight with that could take down one of those things.

  I dashed down the hall towards the gym, knowing I’d find some arondight blades in the training room Wilder and I used. Wrenching on the door handle, I cursed. Locked. It was open before, but now it was sealed tight.

  I could hear the footsteps approach, the sound booming louder and louder. Grasping the door handle, I begged my Light to come forth. I glanced down the hall, my heart beating wildly. It was going to turn the corner at any second. Open. Please, open!

  The mechanism clicked, and I ducked through the crack. Closing the door behind me, I pressed my palms against it, willing the same feeling to pulse back into the opening. I felt a wave of warmth heat my skin and I sealed the gaps and fused the hinges. Nothing was coming through that door any time soon.

  Turning, I realised I’d walked in on a full-on barricade. The other exit was piled with gym equipment, blocking the way out, and a group of black-clad, arondight-weilding Naturals were milling about with their backs to me.

  I recognised Romy, Valeria, Alo, and Martin amongst the group, as well as a few Naturals I knew by name only and others from my countless hours training in this very room. I studied all their faces, but the one I wanted to see the most wasn’t here.

  “Where’s Wilder?” I asked, grabbing Romy’s sleeve.

  “Scarlett,” she exclaimed, clutching her heart, “where did you come from?”

  “I was on the roof when the dome exploded,” I replied. “What’s that pillar of light?”

  “A greater demon has infiltrated the Sanctum,” she explained. “Something or someone let it in, and now there’s lesser demons all over the place.”

  “The Infernal. Has to be.” I glanced at the door, and right on cue, it shuddered as something heavy slammed against it.

  Romy nodded. “Alo was on duty when he saw the Infernal break free. It played us, Scarlett. It played us all.”

  “Greer?”

  “It possessed her,” Alo said, appearing out of the shadows. “Took control of her and forced her to drop the wards.”

  “We need to get her back!” I exclaimed.

  “I know,” Romy agreed. “If they have Greer, they can get to the Codex.”

  My body erupted in a cold sweat. I wondered if that’s what the demons wanted, or if it was a smokescreen for something else. They were desperate to find Arondight, after all, and here I was, all purple and shit.

  “Where do you want me?” I asked, ready to step up and fight.

  “We’re pinned down here,” Valeria said. “We need to forge a path to the conservatory and form a ring of protection around the Codex. That’s our first priority.”

  I glanced around the room, counting a dozen Naturals, but Wilder wasn’t amongst them. If I knew him like I thought I did, he would’ve already gone after Greer. All he’d have to do was stab her with a cold iron dagger and the Infernal would be excised… but it wouldn’t stop her from mutating. If the demon had sunk its claws in deep enough, it might already be too late.

  I shook my head. If the demons wanted the Codex, then they wouldn’t risk harming her. Wilder said she had to be pure of heart to even touch it. If her DNA was altered, they wouldn’t be able to take it.

  “Here,” Alo slid an arondight hilt
into my hand, “while it’s not made for you, it’ll work.”

  I stared at the hilt and bit my bottom lip. If I used it in front of the others, they’d know. Purple Light wasn’t exactly normal, but I wasn’t sure I’d get a choice.

  The door shuddered again, and Martin and Alo rushed forward to brace it.

  The remaining Naturals formed a line, brandishing their arondight blades. Romy shoved me behind them and braced herself. The door rattled violently, then screams pierced the air. The sounds of a fight echoed through the makeshift barricade, then as abruptly as it began, everything fell silent.

  “Naturals, stand down!” a voice bellowed from the hallway beyond.

  Alo and Martin glanced at one another, and then began to dismantle the barricade, dragging away the gym equipment. When the door finally opened, Brax and Aldrich burst into the room, both brandishing fully extended arondight blades coated with blood.

  Aldrich spotted me and strode over, his fatherly demeanour gone. A ruthless warrior had taken over and he was kind of frightening. Behind him, the others were staring at the pile of lesser demons left sliced and diced in the hallway beyond.

  “Wilder?” he asked.

  I shook my head. “I haven’t seen him since the dome exploded. I assume he’s gone after Greer and the greater demon.”

  “How many?” Romy asked.

  “Unknown,” Brax replied. “We need to do a full sweep, but the Codex must be secured first.” He barked orders, getting the Naturals into groups. Most were sent to the conservatory, and two pairs were labeled search and destroy, their mission to eliminate the lesser demons loose in the Sanctum.

  “What about me?” I asked, glancing between the two men.

  “You need to stay here,” Aldrich replied. “I know you want to fight, but you’re not trained for this.”

  It was a nice way of saying I was a liability, and I narrowed my eyes. “There’s something else out there,” I said grasping his forearm before he could stalk off. “Something… different. It was out in the hall that way.” I pointed towards the exit I’d sealed with my Light. “It sounded tall and heavy, not like a lesser demon at all.”

  Aldrich nodded, his expression grim. “Thank you, Scarlett.” Gesturing to Brax, he said, “Go secure the Codex. They’ve brought a Colossus with them.”

  Brax’s eyes widened, which didn’t instill much confidence in me. Seemed like I’d made it in here just in time.

  “What’s a Colossus?” I asked.

  “There’s a bloody Colossus now?” Romy exclaimed.

  “I’ll take care of it,” Aldrich declared. “Now, go!” Turning to me, he grasped my shoulders. “Barricade yourself in the training room. I’ll come for you once I’ve taken care of it.”

  “But—”

  “Scarlett,” he said, lowering his voice as the other Naturals broke away into their assigned details, “you and I both know this is more than an attempt to take the Codex.”

  “You… you know?”

  He nodded once, and then urged me towards the back room. “Arondight must not fall into their hands. Do you understand?”

  I nodded. “Aldrich… I don’t know where it is.”

  His eyes lowered. “I know, but it doesn’t matter. They think you do.”

  Backing into the room, I didn’t know what else to say. Aldrich closed the door and it slammed home with a thud, making me flinch.

  It’ll be okay, I promise. My mother’s voice echoed in the back of my mind as I began to tremble. Stay very quiet, and I’ll be back soon.

  Aldrich was worried. I could see it in his eyes, but the way he’d cut through those lesser demons was phenomenal. He was a warrior in the literal sense of the word. He’d be fine. But my parents weren’t, a little voice whispered in my ear.

  I held up my hand, attempting to still the tremors. Where did my Light come from? It was just… there. When that Balan demon had lifted me from that box, I’d screamed… and purple light had blinded me. I’d fought back. Even as a child, I had the courage. I couldn’t lose the plot now.

  Glancing at the door, I gritted my teeth. I wasn’t going to be locked in a box while everyone died, not this time.

  I thrust my palm against the door and it blew open, swinging around so fast, it slammed into the wall and cracked the plaster. Holy guacamole!

  Grasping the arondight hilt Alo had given me, my heart raced as I strode across the gym and picked my way over the pile of lesser demons outside the door. There wasn’t any time left to ponder the glory of the universe and how I’d been able to conjure my Light without passing out. I simply put it down to adrenalin. I’d hooked into my emotions, just like the night my parents died.

  I made my way through the Sanctum, one eye open for the Colossus—whatever that thing was supposed to be—and any rogue lesser demons.

  The library, I thought. They’re in the library. The breach would be the best place the demons could fortify. The other Naturals would secure the Codex and sweep the Sanctum, but Wilder was out there on his own. I had to help him.

  I ducked behind a marble statue of the Lady of the Lake as a group of lesser demons lumbered past, knowing better than to try and take them on solo. They didn’t catch my scent, and the moment they were gone, I continued down the hall.

  I saw the library doors were falling off their hinges when I approached. The air reeked like someone had washed a stinky dog, then lit a fire on a humid day and forgot to open a window. For a moment, I wondered if this was how Hell smelt, like asmoky wet dog. My nose wrinkled as I darted into the library and ducked behind a row of shelves.

  There were no guards, so I managed to work my way over the debris unseen. Overhead, the entire roof of the library was shattered. Rubble and glass were strewn all over the place, books were flung off shelves, and display cases were smashed to pieces. Above, the pillar had waned, but I now saw it was some kind of portal. It appeared to be a hollow tube, almost like a wormhole through space and time. So that’s how they got so many demons inside.

  Hiding behind one of the Greek columns surrounding the reading room, I peered at the scene before me.

  Greer stood in the centre of the room, circled by six lesser demons. A dozen Naturals lay on the carpet in front of them, set out in a neat row, all of them unconscious. I tensed when I realised Romy and Brax were amongst them.

  The Codex! They’d never arrived, which meant the book was unguarded… but there were two other teams out there sweeping the Sanctum, and Aldrich was facing off with the Colossus, so there was still hope. He’d make it back. I knew he would, but there was still no sign of Wilder.

  A man dressed in a dark suit paced back and forth. His black shirt was unbuttoned, his brown hair was slicked back and brushed against his collar. If I’d seen him on the street, I’d assume he was just another run of the mill businessman who’d forgotten his tie—maybe a nightclub owner or concert promoter—but watching him wear a hole in the carpet in the Sanctum? He had to be the greater demon in charge of these shenanigans.

  “They’ll make fine additions to the project,” the man said, his voice grating like sandpaper against an open wound.

  I flinched, resisting the urge to slap my hands over my ears. Despite Wilder being pissed at me, I had listened to every word he said. Greater demons had the ability to manipulate their own kind of Light. He’d called it Darkness, but that was kind of obvious. I liked to call it Demon B.O. It must be using its voice to inflict pain.

  “Greer,” the demon said, stroking a finger along her jaw, “it’s time to collect the Codex.”

  Her eyes were completely white, but a tear trickled down her cheek. She was fighting it.

  “Your struggle is pointless,” the demon went on. “I will have what I came for.” He raised his hand and struck Greer across the cheek. Greer’s head snapped to the side, the sound of the blow echoing through the library.

  Movement pulled my gaze to the other side of the library, punctuated with a flash of silver. A dagger flew tip over tail across
the expanse, faster than my eye could follow.

  The metal shard imbedded into Greer’s chest and her mouth gaped as a rush of black smoke poured out of her. A flash of white Light streaked across the room as an arondight blade arced towards the pulsating swirl that was the Infernal. The greater demon turned to block the blow and I sprung into action.

  I brought my arondight blade to life, purple sparks showering onto the carpet as I sprinted towards the danger zone.

  “Hey, arsehole!” I exclaimed.

  The demon spun and I ducked, swinging the blade towards his exposed stomach. The Infernal wailed as the other sword cut through it, a burst of hot air signalling it’d been sent back to Hell.

  The greater demon smirked, his body phasing in and out of reality, and my blade passed right through him. I stumbled in shock and cried out as a fist slammed down onto the back of my neck. As I fell, my gaze met Wilder’s.

  I knew it, I thought. He rushed in to save Greer.

  I moaned as a boot kicked me over and tensed as my gaze met the greater demon’s. He stood over me, his shadow blotting out the portal. A pair of white eyes shimmered into green, and his mouth spread into a grin that revealed rows upon rows of razor-sharp teeth.

  It was him.

  “Ah,” the Balan said, towering over me, “we meet again, Scarlett Ravenwood.”

  20

  The Balan grinned down at me, triumphant and full of his own self-importance.

  I was forced upright, my neck throbbing where I’d been hit. Kneeling before the greater demon, I scowled. There I went, rushing headfirst into danger yet again. It seemed I hadn’t learned anything. I’d rushed in the night I’d first met Wilder, confronting a man I believed was a murderer instead of calling the cops. Staring at the Balan’s feet, I wished I’d stayed in my box and waited for Aldrich.

  Wilder was forced to his knees by a drooling lesser demon, its fingers digging into his shoulders. He landed with an oomph, his hair falling into his eyes. He was covered in dirt and soot, and blood trickled from his nose.