Ascension (The Gryphon Series) (20 page)

“Gainesboro won’t go down without a
fight!” an old dude yelled, shaking his pitchfork in the air.

I paced along the top stair, purposely making eye contact with as many of them as I could.
“They’re already anticipating their victory. They’ve fought our kind before and think we’re an easy target.” Pausing in the dead center, I faced my warriors head on. “But they haven’t faced
us
.”

A few members of t
he crowd hooted in response.

“I can’t
guarantee all of us will get out of this alive. But, I can promise that by the time this ends they’re gonna regret picking
this
town and
these
people.
Because
we won’t bow down
!” I emphasized each word and yelled the last sentence hard enough to make my throat ache.

A thunderous roar of agreement
rang through the streets of Gainesboro.

The black rolling cloud crept into my peripheral vision.
About a half mile up the road forms began to emerge from it. Every kind of demon we had ever faced was represented: Bat-bulls, shapeshifters, titans, Nazleers, and more. All of them marching toward us in perfect synchronization.

“Celeste!”
Terin yelled over the crowd. “Keep the channel open until we gain a strong foot hold! Then you
have
to shut it down!”

Fear rose in
my throat, stinging like acidic bile. I gulped it down and nodded. Then I stepped back, granting Rowan and Caleb the safety of a little distance as I threw my arms out wide. With my head tipped back and eyes squeezed shut, I opened my heart completely. For the first time, I let it
all
in. Convulsions tore through me, rattling my bones and jarring my nerves, as the connection was made.

The Gryphon was
there, waiting for me. Until that moment he had only given bits of his essence. Now all the power he possessed flowed into me in a rampant surge. The boost equated an erupting geyser versus a dripping sink faucet. Every cell in me sang out with euphoric agony. My deficient shell couldn’t contain this power, nor did it want to.

My eyes opened to a sharper, more defined world. Not a detail went beyond my notice; not on
e bead of sweat, not one wafting lock of hair. I cocked my head, ears perked. I could hear each individual demon that lurked within the fog. Our numbers were closely matched. Yet, if this was going to be more than a horrendous bloodbath, I had to arm my warriors. I raised one hand, palm out.

To some he granted the form of the lion …

Alarmed shrieks rang out as about half the crowd fell to their knees, overtaken by their new feline forms. Beside me, Caleb’s back arched. Rowan’s ears elongated. Fur sprouted. Teeth gnashed. The process lasted a seemingly endless minute, but the results left me breathless. Two lions bookended me. One a symphony of ebony that flipped his head and roared into the darkening sky. The other was as white as a freshly fallen snow. His muzzle curled in a menacing snarl despite his beautiful appearance. Before us awaited a newly formed pride, of which Grams was a proud member. She was easily recognizable by her greying muzzle and bright pink polish on her claws that had somehow survived the transition. Gabe morphed along with them and threw his head back in a mighty roar that cut through the chaos to firmly assert his dominance. The ground trembled beneath my feet as the rest of the pride joined in chorus.

My other hand rose.

… t
o the others the essence of the eagle
.

Fabric tore.
Majestic wings of various shades of ivory, mahogany, and gold sprouted from the next generation of Protectors. Wind whipped and whistled, blowing stray strands of hair in my eyes, as our shields took to the air in an introductory flight. Kendall lifted off the ground and buzzed around her flock to rally them into a tight formation.

The echo of footfalls drummed through Main Street
, drawing our enemies closer with each step. Yet my soldiers didn’t flinch or falter. Demons, lions, and pseudo-angels alike turned with eager anticipation.
              “
Tonight, we take back our town
!” I bellowed and stabbed my fist into the air.

Six simple words. That’s all it took for
all hell to break loose.

Chapter 26

A high-pitched screech cut through the night. The twins stretched and elongated into their menacing lizard form. Their wide wing span beat the air as they soared to intercept an incoming—slightly smaller—flying lizard. The two scaled beasts slammed into each other mid-flight and rolled across the sky in an explosion of violent fury.

T
he Dark Army descended, bringing with them every horned, scaled, and shifting baddie they could spare. Our own forces charged to meet them. Flames arced through the air. Bodies met in brutal hand to hand—or in some cases spike to barb—combat. Eddie yanked his sleeves up his arms and released an onslaught of spikes. Incoming demons dodged and weaved, not all successfully. A Titan of air, with its ominous shadow presence, took a dart to the jugular and sloshed the ground with its black tarry remnants. Sherman—aka Boil Face—swelled into his loose-fit skin. He towered over the masses, his clothes shredding with his rapid two-story expansion. I had no idea how his stretchy diaper contraption stayed on, but I said a silent prayer of thanks for it. He let loose an air-horn blast bellow then lunged forward. The ground shook each time his gigantic feet connected with the pavement. Mid-stride, he hooked one hand on the bumper of an abandoned Honda and whipped it through the air, taking out an entire pack of shifter panthers with a little well-timed vehicular destruction.

The head
-way he bought us provided the perfect opportunity for our second string. Gabe reared up on his hind legs, his claws tearing at the air as he rumbled a thunderous roar. Immediately the lions broke into small hunting parties of roughly six snarling jungle cats. In tight formations they stalked until a target was picked. Forceful positioning allowed them to push their selected demon away from the group. Then they pounced. Our winged avengers hovered overhead, shielding the cats from demonic interventions of the lethal kind. The only lions not on the prowl stood beside me. Caleb and Rowan kept any nearing threats at bay with a vicious swipe of their flesh shredding claws.

Hot smoke swelled and churned between the buildings that lined Main Street, turning our battle scene into a pressure cooker. From within the heavy smog came the Titans—pure bred demons with power over the
elements. The fire Titan could be thanked for the sudden climate change. Fins, belonging to water Titans, cut through the melee in an ominous warning. Nearby, Trent wrestled with a man-sized frog beast. The frog’s wide mouth opened to allow its poisonous tongue to lull out. Before that spongy appendage could make contact, Trent released the spikes that ran down his arms and across his shoulders and threw an elbow into the beast. As the frog dissipated into goo, Trent stumbled forward with leftover momentum … right into the path of a Great White on two legs. The shark’s snout nudged the linebacker. Smelling. Testing. Trent tried to backpedal, but it was too late. The shark’s eyes rolled back and it lunged. Razor sharp teeth tore a hole in Trent’s mid-section. Black blood spurted out in a wide arc, raining the pavement with fat splotches. The metallic scent filled the air, sending the remaining sharks into a crazed frenzy. Trent’s screams faded as he disappeared in a blur of scales, teeth, and blood.

A
drenaline thumped in my ears. Every cell of my being itched to leap from the stairs and sprint to Trent’s aid. But it was too late. There was no saving Trent and this wasn’t my fight. My role this time was on the sidelines, powering my troops through the energy that flowed through me. The true definition of a conduit. Hate it as I might, I had to stay put.

My internal retrospect was interrupted
when a sharp yelp rang out. A shocked gasp snuck from my parted lips as I found its source. Chunks of shredded flesh hung from the neck of a young lion that stumbled my way with wide, frightened eyes. Blood gushed from the gaping wound. The lion’s waning consciousness gave and the ground rose to meet him. A pretty chestnut-haired cheerleader landed beside him, already glowing with her healing warmth. Wings, that had ripped their way from the back of her blue and white cheer vest, curled around them both as she attempted to coax him from death’s waiting room. Yet inexperience betrayed her. She needed to move him. They were too vulnerable there. A fact I tried to holler out to her, but my shouts were gobbled up by the hungry roar of battle. A vile little hob-goblin saw the opportunity first. On crusty, scabbed feet it scurried over to sink its teeth into the cheerleader’s toned calf. Her back arched and wings snapped out behind her as she screamed in pain. That instinctive twitch knocked the hob-goblin off and sent it rolling across the ground. As soon as it skidded to a stop, the knee-high terror popped up and scampered back—jaws snapping—for another taste. Mid-scuttle, the hob-goblin was intercepted by the midsection of a furry hide. The Grams-lioness, in her snazzy pink polish, galloped to the teens’ aid with her hunting party close behind. One fatal swipe and the mini-goblin no longer had to concern itself with migraines or bad-hair days again. As the goblin’s head rolled to a stop and popped in a glop of ickiness, the cats moved with feline fluidity to form a tight circle around the frightened cheerleader. The caramel-skinned beauty took advantage of their protection. Long hair fell forward in a glossy curtain as she bowed her head and cocooned herself in ivory to heal her wound.

Overhead—a flash of pink
. Keni’s
Converse
covered toes pointed in toe-shoe perfection as she hovered overhead and began the slow descent inside the lions’ circle. I guessed her goal to be aiding the fallen cat, but the small black projectile that screamed through the air and impaled in her thigh prevented that. Her lean frame shuddered. Feathers melted to flesh. Wings vanished as if they’d never been. From two-stories up she hurtled toward the ground, robbed of her abilities by the dart of a reversal demon.

I
didn’t think, just reacted.

My mind reached out and caught her in
telepathic hold. Like a stray balloon I floated her to me. When she drew close enough, I offered her my hand to ease her to the ground.

“Celeste!”
As soon as her feet touched concrete Keni yanked her hand away from mine as if it scalded her. “Your hand! What’s happening?”

Despite my fear of tearing
my gaze from the fight for even a second, I chanced a quick glance down.

No. It couldn’t be.
I stretched my fingers out and wiggled them. The bones had lengthened to twice their normal size. My normally pale skin had yellowed, the skin ridged in leathery lumps. Black talons that shone like polished onyx curled from the ends of these alien looking fingers.

“I
—I don’t know.” I stammered.

Concern snapped
Caleb’s beach ball-sized head around. The soft fur of his muffle nudged my elbow, trying to get a glimpse of the deformed hands I shoved behind my back.

“It’s the connection to all of us
, isn’t it?” Keni grabbed my shoulders, her nails digging little crescent moons into my flesh. “It’s changing you! Celeste, you have to stop it! Break the bond!”

I
met her stare directly. My tone, while quiet, made it clear there was no wiggle room for negotiation. “If I break the bond, they’ll
all
revert back. I’d be condemning them to a death sentence.”

Rowan’s upper lip curled off his teeth
. His powerful jaws snapped and snarled his disapproval.

“Easy, Snowball. I
started this and I’m damn sure going to finish it.”

Indecision darkened Keni’s eyes to a deep sapphire and furrowed her brow, but she didn’t argue further. Instead, she focused back on those that needed us. “The lion that fell, we have to help him.”

I
craned my neck to peer through the rioting crowd. “He’s getting up. It looks like Keith healed him.”

“Keith? My ex? You gave him wings instead of making him a lion like the other guys?”

“He cheated on my sister.” I let one shoulder rise and fall in a casual shrug as her ex eased the lion up onto unsteady feet. “If I could’ve turned him into a chicken I would have.”

“
Get down
!” Flames burned within Terin’s sockets as she shouted over her shoulder. Before we could shield our heads, the Conduit of the Phoenix threw her fiery wings out wide. Her internal inferno exploded out into a wall of flame. The force of her skin-searing blast yanked away our footing and hurled us through the library’s chained doors. Glass shattered. Wood splintered. Stucco crumbled as we came to rest amidst the rubble.

Careful to avoid shards, I eased myself off the ground.
“Everyone okay?” I asked as I blinked away burning tears from the blast.

“The New Adult section broke my fall.” Keni
hiked up one cheek and pulled out a paperback she’d landed on. She glanced at the cover and cringed. “Yikes. Now I’m nervous it may have impregnated me in the process.”

The glow of
Terin’s flames glistened off Caleb’s ebony coat as his shoulder blades rose and fell like well lubricated pistons. Rowan stalked beside him, a low rumble twitching his muzzle. Framed by the demolished doorway, they paused. Their alert stares focused within the mayhem. Caleb’s ears flattened. Rowan’s snowy chest swelled.

“What is it?

“
Cooooooouuuunnnnnttteeeessssss,
” Caleb rumbled.

Rowan
snorted his agitation and punctuated the thought with a flip of his silvery mane.

With a bird-like jerk of my head
, I peered out into the night. My new eagle vision easily fixated on her, blocking out the rest of the chaotic ruckus. Red waves tossed in the wind behind her as she cantered into battle in her true Centaur form.

“This fight is mine.”
None of them could’ve held me back if they tried. Air whistled past my ears as I sprinted out of the library. I sprang over Terin’s flaming blockade, curling in a tight tuck to avoid the fiery licks and snaps beneath me. A low crouch helped to absorb the impact of my landing. Before me the crowd parted. Hooves clicked across the pavement. The Countess appeared, a smug smirk curling her plump lips.

The
battle around us stilled. Our spectators inched back to avoid Terin’s ring of fire that closed in to encapsulate my enemy and I. A line had been drawn. The end was here.

“Welcome to
Thunderdome.” Malicious intent dripped from my smile.