Demon Forged

stuck flying—unless we want to go swimming in lava—but so far, I’ve only seen the nephilim carrying swords. So until they’re right up on us, we’ll just rip the hell out of their feathers. Maybe their eyes, if you can get an angle on them. After that, I’ve got tranquilizer darts filled with vampire blood. We’ll send them crying back to Mama.”
    Irena snorted. Jake grinned, vanished his gun, and shoved his hands into his pockets.
    Michael’s expression didn’t change. “You have ten minutes to train them.”
    “Hot damn.” Jake seemed to bounce a little, like an energetic puppy.
    “But the stipulations I made before still hold: no sacrifices. If the nephilim come at you en masse, and your weapons cannot hold them back, teleport out of the realm. Alive, we can regroup and return. Dead, we cannot.” Michael waited for Selah’s and Jake’s nods. “As soon as we have gone into Chaos through the portal, the novices here will erase the symbols, and kill any wyrmwolves who make it through before the bridge closes.”
    At the end of the table, Becca gave a thumbs-up. Pim nodded.
    “Khavi and I will bring Irena’s team out if they can’t find Anaria’s portal. If anyone is left behind, return to our portal site—or run. Ames-Beaumont and Savitri will find you through the mirrors, and we’ll return for you.” He swept his amber gaze over each of them, his face hard. “We will not fail.”
    “No,” Khavi said softly, and when her Gift dragged across Irena’s psyche, it revealed a heavy sorrow behind Khavi’s quiet expression. “We won’t.”

CHAPTER 22
    Flying into Chaos, Irena hit a solid wall of screams. She thought she’d prepared for them, but they ripped at her ears, her heart. Tortured, terrified, pleading—the noise filled her, combined with the hot fetid air, squeezed into her lungs as if trying to force her own scream.
    She slowed, waiting for the others. Michael and Khavi had already gone through; now they flew with incredible speed around the mountainside, where they would clear a path to the caves. Below, wyrmwolves writhed and squirmed. The stench of their blood and exposed flesh rose on heated currents. To her left, the bleak landscape stretched, ribboned by the rivers of molten rock. Far above, she saw the whip of a tail and a flash of scales against the frozen black ceiling. Her heart clamored, the racing of her pulse in her ears adding to the crushing weight of sound.
    Not just her heart. The others’ raced, too, as they gathered beside her. She glanced back as, finally, Alejandro came through, bringing up the rear. She met his eyes, and the pressure of the noise receded. As soon as he was in position, she led them forward.
    As they rounded the side of the mountain, Jake’s group broke off, angling upward. Irena skimmed close to the rocks, aware of the bright target her white wings made against the dark granite. They came in above the cave—Michael and Khavi had already completed their task. Three nephilim lay dead beside the entrance, their black feathers the same color as the rock beneath them.
    Irena landed and vanished her wings. Michael stood, bloodied sword in hand, looking out over the swarm of nephilim and dragons. A flash of white briefly lighted his face. Lightning forked across the sky. A nephil fell; a dragon dived after it.
    Michael glanced at Alice. “You will tell him it was well done.”
    “ You will,” Alice countered. Her face pale, she swiftly unwound steel-strong spider silk from a coil the size of Irena’s fist. The strands were gossamer thin and difficult to see unless Irena looked for them. “I will tie one end near the mouth of the cave. If you come for us, this will lead you to our location—but mind your step. I intend to set traps, should any nephilim try to follow us inside. I will mark them with a drop of blood.”
    The first explosion tore through the bodies. A dragon shrieked, drawing up as a ball of fire roared toward it. With a flick of its wings, the dragon rolled into a sinuous back somersault, changing direction. A second, then a third explosion came quickly after.
    A smile touched Michael’s hard mouth, and he lifted into the air. “Be safe.”
    Irena turned as Alejandro slipped into the cave, his blades gleaming in the dark. She followed.
    The mouth of the cave narrowed into a single tunnel that sloped sharply down into the mountain. Ames-Beaumont and Selah had hidden in these caves before, and had given them a description