Chapter 126
-James-
The demon crooned against the chief's mouth again. The words vibrating in my skull are calling me again to submission. "Submit to me; I will bring you peace that love only brings ruins." The demon's words hissed a binding spell into my mind. But my mind was not his playground. I won't dance with this devil.
The last part—Love brings ruins? It made my chest tighten. Maybe it was a coincidence or a more hidden meaning?"
Micah raised her fans against the howling wind. She looked both divine and damned in every way—swinging, tracing arcs of invisible knives through the smoke.
I dodged one, then another. But the third hit me across my ribs, just a shallow but brutal scratch, slicing my shirt like a paper towel.
"James!" Evan shouted, slamming another officer back with raw strength. "You're too slow, like always!" He growled, hitting another officer with his sword's hilt. "You can't reach her like this!"
"I refuse, I'm not going to hurt her!" I shouted back.
Evan turned, face streaked with soot and anger flashing behind his eyes. "You're always too afraid to take risks—that is why even now, after you have grown, I still see why you're so weak! You were a coward then and now! STAND FOR SOMETHING, TAKE A DAMN RISK, JAMES!"
The words hit me harder than any blade or cut I have taken.
I froze for a second—not in fear, but realization. He wasn't wrong. My whole life, I'd played by logic or someone else well. Every decision was measured and never strayed from the path chosen for me, ensuring it was both calculated and safe. I was no better than the people being controlled by this higher being. Nothing here was safe, especially when it came to losing someone. Nothing about love, loyalty, or faith ever was!
The air shifted. Micah drew her fans in, spinning once, creating a cyclone that blasted outward. The wind pitched a sound that hurt, biting into my ears. The gust threw us apart, Evan crashing into a nearby police cruiser. Josh stumbled to his knees, fire sputtering.
I held my ground, standing there, bleeding, staring at Micah through the storm.
My mind couldn't calculate anything I could think of. I only one thing I knew: I had to reach her. I couldn't let her lose to another demon, not again. She may be weak, but I will stand firm for her.
I ran straight through her wind, every step pushing against the hurricane winds. Micah's fans slashed upward deep across my chest, tearing flesh. Pain exploded, hot and cold all at once.
But I didn't stop, I didn't hesitate.
The world is slow, every heartbeat stretching like eternity. She raised her other arm from the killing blow, and I didn't block. I stepped in.
The blade bit into my side, deep but not fatal, and before she could pull away—before logic could stop me and tell me how stupid I was—I grabbed her neck and yanked her close, kissing her like a prince trying to break a sleeping spell.
Her lips were cold, trembling against mine. The world spun.
Then, light erupted, not from anyone but Micah.
The red drained from her eyes, replaced by a quick look of silver-blue streaks that shimmered like storm lights as they slowly faded back to her caramel brown eyes. The wind stilled, trembling as though bowing before her instead of raging.
The demon screamed through the chief's mouth, thrashing as the possessed started to burn away. Josh finished him off with a powerful blow to the jaw, knocking both man and demon out.
Baby took the opening, and her light surged outward, finally taking root. One by one, the civilians and officers dropped—peacefully, unconscious but safe.
I staggered back, breath caught in my throat, blood-soaked shirt, into Micah's arms. She caught me before I could hit the pavement. Her fans clattered beside her, not metal ringing like bells.
"James—James!" She gasped, gently shaking me.
She let out a sound that was half a sob, half a laugh. "You idiot."
"Yeah," I murmured, eyelids heavy. "But you're back, right?"
She pressed her forehead against mine. "I never fully left. I tried to hang on and regain control. This was almost as hard as fighting the demon I had before, but I felt like I could still see this time; I wasn't blind."
"I am glad you could return to me, Micah." My hand shaking as I stroked her cheek, wiping away the tear.
The last thing I saw before the dark took me was Baby standing in the smoke, Duke beside her, the dawn finally cutting through the haze. For the first time in days, the city was quiet.
Then I let go.