Siren's Fall [Siren's Mark: Book 2]

Chapter 63

ℤ𝕒𝕟𝕖

I hear gasps and shrieks around me.

"What is he doing?" Lucifer asks.

"Is he biting her?" Leviathan asks. "Why isn't she screaming?"

I can hardly sift through the clutter of my mind. My limbs are heavy and my vision is blurred at the edges. I take a deep breath in, inhaling her familiar scent, allowing it to fill the chambers of my mind, clearing the fog that fills every corner and replacing it with the only thing that could bring me clarity—Ava.

She's my connection to the world when I've fallen through the cracks. She pulls me to the surface when I'm drowning.

Ava's eyes find mine and she smiles slightly. My eyes roam across her face looking for any sign of harm or injury. I let out a sigh of relief when I realize she's okay, but the relief is short-lasting.

We're surrounded by demons—Shayatin, Incubi, and Succubi—and two Demon Kings. If I broke Kieran and Kami loose, we might stand a chance, but even then it's a likely suicide mission.

And where did they say Morgan was? Another cell somewhere? Did they say he admitted to being an Empath? But why?

"She certainly didn't defend herself," Lucifer says. "Does this mean it's time to cut our losses?"

"It does," Leviathan says. "It would seem Asmodeus was killed by a human. Just a human. How boring. Time to clean up, I'm afraid. Kill them all."

That gets my attention. I leap to my feet, positioning Ava behind me and spreading my wings.

"Oh, talk about boring," Lucifer says with an eye roll. "He didn't kill her after all."

"Oh well," Leviathan says. "We'll have to handle it ourselves."

I swing my arm toward him, but something is wrong—my limbs don't seem to extend fully.

Fuck. I'm still in bloody chains.

I try another sharp tug, but it's clear I can't break through.

If I'm in chains, I can't protect Ava.

"Cute," Leviathan says before looking to his Shayatin. "Kill everyone."

"Hey hey, wait!" Ava says. "I thought you promised we'd be okay."

"Oh that's right," he says. He pulls a kheru knife out of his belt and throws it to a Succubus next to me. "They're the ones who killed your King. It's your choice what to do with that. Shayatin, kill the rest—leave the Incubus."

The Succubus smiles and begins walking toward me.

"No!" Kami calls from the cells. "Don't you touch them!"

I hear the rapid footsteps of someone running down the corridor and I recognize their sound. Morgan runs at full speed into the room and, with a quick arm motion, sends the Succubus flying backward.

Of course—Morgan wouldn't just give himself up as an Empath without a reason. He was looking for an excuse to separate the demons and get them alone. Then he just follows Kieran back to us.

Lucifer and Leviathan both ready themselves to fight before charging at Morgan. Lucifer flies into the ceiling before crashing down with a loud thud. Leviathan hits the bars of a nearby cell then stumbles forward, throwing a knife at Morgan. With another motion, Morgan pushes the knife back at him.

I turn around to find Ava, but she's no longer behind me. She's grabbing for the key on the wall and is tackled to the ground by an Incubus.

I reach for her, but find myself helpless in these chains.

Fuck.

"Morgan!" I shout. "Ava!"

The Incubus shoots backward with the keys in his hand. 

Ava has a large claw scratch across her chest and struggles to stand up.

"I'm fine," she says, looking me in the eye. "I'm fine."

She's not fine, but she's her kind of fine. She's letting me know she can handle it.

Morgan manages to temporarily incapacitate both the Kings and runs over to us.

"How do I undo these chains?" he asks me.

"I don't know, it doesn't matter," I say. "Take Ava, get her out of here."

"What? No!" Ava protests.

"And Morgan?"

"Yeah?" he replies.

"Take care of her."

He nods and runs to Ava, scooping her up over his shoulder. She kicks her legs and fights him, but she's no match for his strength on a good day.

Before he can make it out of the room, he's stopped by two very angry Demon Kings. Lucifer creates a large fireball in his palm and throws it directly at Morgan. He contorts to prevent it from hitting Ava, but it hits him in the side.

He falls to the ground and Ava manages to land on her feet.

"Morgan!" Ava calls.

"I'm okay," he says, rising to his feet. He creates his own fireball and throws it back at Lucifer.

"Zane!" Kami screams. "Look out!"

I turn just in time to catch the Succubus with the kheru knife in hand, raised above my head. I grab her wrist and do my best to resist, but she's surprisingly strong. Another demon grabs me from behind, trying to restrain me while the Succubus lowers the knife.

An object whizzes past my vision and hits the Succubus in the eye. She stumbles back and I manage to tear myself free from the other demon's hold. I look for the source and find Ava with a handful of rocks, clearly gathered from pieces of the crumbling walls.

"You threw a rock at her?" I ask, yelling over the commotion.

She nods.

The Succubus approaches me again, but is taken down by another swift motion from Morgan. I pull and kick against my chains to no avail. I see Kieran beside me growing increasingly frustrated and with a kick he manages to slightly bend one of the thick steel bars.

"Keep going, mate!" I shout.

He kicks again at the bar and it bends a bit more.

"How are you doing that?" I ask. "I can't make these budge at all."

"I'm just that good," he says with a smirk.

The ground begins to shake and the floor beneath us begins to crack. It grows into a deep fissure that leads back to a furious and battered Leviathan.

"Ava! Watch out!" Kieran shouts.

A Shaytan appears behind her and grabs her neck. She seizes and falls to the dirt floor, her face contorting in pain.

"No!" I shout. I tug against my chains and this time, my left arm breaks free, a foot of chain dangling from my wrist.

I try to reach for Ava, but it's no use. I'm still too far away to help her.

"Zane!" Kieran shouts, louder than ever, but I'm too distracted by Ava's pain. "Zaaannne!!"

I turn to see the Succubus with her kheru knife, plunging down straight toward my heart.

"Nooo!!" Kieran shouts.

Her arm freezes in midair and she drops the knife to the floor. Her eyes are wide with a mixture of shock and fear. The whole room seems frozen for a moment as our eyes all fall on Kieran in his cell.

Every Succubus and Incubus in the room drops to their knees in deference.

To the new Demon King of Lust.