Logan closed his eyes and thought about everything that was at stake. He didn't know much about Beelzebub, but if what Kelda and Abina had told him was true, he was even worse than Azar. If Beelzebub's minion won here today, that was it. The armies of the Divine would fall, the human race would be wiped out, and, most importantly, all of his friends would either be killed or sent back to Hell with a cruel new master. Logan sure as heck wasn't going to let that happen. Suddenly, his entire soul felt warm. Maybe it was just the shock from the wounds, or maybe it was the Divine energy that coursed through his body. Either way, he got his second wind, and then his horns grew even longer as the area around him glowed brighter and brighter with Divine light. There was only one way he could end this. With a big boom. “Kelda, Abina, Tris!” Logan called out to the elves. “We need to get clear and go up!” Kelda dodged out of the way of Ukobach’s blow, sprouted her wings, a
"Logan inquired, 'Invidia?'The dark-haired elves gave Logan a sad nod. 'The Sister of Envy is the last piece of the puzzle when it comes to defeating Azar. Also, I’m starting to miss her. Seeing the rest of my friends back together makes me yearn to have her back in the group.''We will save Invidia, Sister,' Kelda promised. 'Even if we have to literally travel through Hell to do so.''You guys are so overdramatic,' a sly voice observed.Logan flipped around and saw Aruna standing in the corner of the room, with her arms crossed, leaning against the wall. The assassin was wearing a casual green Kurti dress that perfectly matched her dark hair and eyes.'How long have you been there?' Logan questioned the Rakshasi. 'And how did you know where to find us?''I’m a bounty hunter, Logan,' she cooed. 'I’m just here to get my payment. After all, it looks like my information led to something important.'Logan walked over to the kitchen drawer where he kept his checkbook and pulled ou
“Are you sure this thing is safe, bro?” Rafe asked over the roar of the tiny Cessna seaplane. “I think I saw a piece of the wing fly off a minute ago.”“Relax, son,” the pilot promised from the front. “I’ve been flyin’ since before you were born. Those fuckers weren’t able to shoot me down over in ‘Nam, and it’ll be a cold day in Hell if Ted Rubble crashes his plane on the Canadian side of the border!” "It'll be okay, Rafe," Logan reassured the goblin who was disguised in his human form. "Mr. Rubble here was the best pilot their money could buy.""How much is he getting for this?" Rafe demanded. "I thought you said we were almost broke?""That's irrelevant," Logan said with a wave of his hand."Ted is very skilled," Abina chimed in. "He'll get them to their destination just fine.""But will he get us there in one piece?" Rafe whispered with a raised finger. "I think I saw a gremlin out on the wing.""That was an episode of Twilight Zone," Logan said as he rolled his eyes. "
"Alright," Logan called up to the pilot. "Is that enough space for you to put 'er down?" Mr. Rubble turned around and looked at Logan with glee in his eyes. "Son," he explained, "I could put a plane down on the Erie Canal if I had to." The pilot then reached up and grabbed the walkie-talkie-like device from his dashboard. "Attention all passengers," his voice rang through their headsets. "We are about to make our descent. We'd ask that you please buckle your seatbelts and remain seated until the plane has come to a full stop." Abina, Ira, and Logan all fastened the small black belts around their waists, but Rafe remained unmoved. After a moment or two, Logan motioned for the goblin in disguise to do the same. "Nope," Rafe shook his head. "Not doing it. I don't believe in seatbelts." "You don't believe in--" "Look," Jakey tried to explain. "The Rafester's all about freedom and living life on the edge. If I don't wanna wear my seatbelt, then why
“Very,” Bella agreed. “You smell like the air after a good, hard rain, when the earth is clean and the grass and the flowers are all still soaked. It's pure and soft and crisp all at the same time,” he murmured, staring off into space. “It's the kind of scent you can never get enough of. I've always thought if that was the way all blood smelled to vampires, I could kind of understand why they're the way they are.” “Azar...” He leaned in a little closer, and, to her deep shame, she didn't move away. “It's the truth,” he said, stroking her hair. “It's not just your scent, it's everything. It's the way you move, the way your voice is always just a little bit hoarse like you're just getting over a cold, the way your left eyebrow twitches whenever I say something that pisses you off. Everything about you just draws me in.” His lips hovered so close to hers she could almost feel them. Something about the light friction before contact brought her to her senses, a
“Remember how I said it wasn’t that cold out here?” Rafe asked through chattering teeth. “I was wrong, bro. Totally fucking wrong.” Now that they had walked a few thousand feet away from the lake, they were feeling some of the effects of the cold. The surrounding area was now a wide-open field of snowy, hilly terrain, and the frigid air wasn't being filtered through the trees.Logan reminded the goblin, "You're the one who didn't want to wear a coat," as they pushed through the howling winds. "Just be glad we all have demonic powers, or else we would have frozen to death a looong time ago."Rafe shivered and rubbed his tiny hands on his shoulders. "How does that work, anyway?" he asked. "Like, do I need to set myself on fire or some shit like that?""Of course not," Abina explained. "The Magicfire inside his body, the one that powered his abilities, should keep him warm enough to survive. Of course, it never hurt to have backup."The curvy elves motioned to her own body, which w
Logan completely ignored the goblin's words. He asked his friends, "What if we pretended to be lost hikers?""That might work if there were one or two of us," Kelda sighed, "but five? And we're all wearing brand new clothes. I don't think he'd buy it.""We could just go in guns blazing," Ira suggested. "Just kick in his door, string him up by his balls, and then beat him like a naughty kitten until he's raw and tells us where the treasure is.""What if Jakey nukes him from orbit with his God Cannon?" Rafe threw his opinion into the mix. "That was pretty badass, and it'd save us a ton of work.""That'd destroy the treasure along with the demon," Logan shook his head. "As much as he wants to bust out the God Cannon again, it should be reserved for special situations. Great power and great responsibility, you know?""Oh no," Rafe gasped. "Why'd you have to go and say that, Jakey? Now you're gonna get shot by some burglar and die in my arms while you lecture me about being a hero.
He threw up a wall of purple, and the icy projectiles smashed into pieces against his flame. Out of the corner of his eye, Rafe zipped out of the way of the attack, and Ira dissolved the assault on her position with a gout of turquoise acid.“Icicles?” Rafe heckled. “What, are we back on the elementary playground, bro?”“Shut up, you bothersome goblin!” Shax growled. “Let’s see how humorous you find this.”The silver flames in his hands burst with redoubled intensity, and then he began to charge once again. As he ran, he shoved his hand down into the snow and produced a massive axe that looked like it was made completely out of ice.Logan and the elves tried to flank the massive target with another round of spells, but the demon just knocked them away with a swing of his newfound weapon.Rafe waved his hand back and forth in front of his face and then turned invisible. “You can’t see me, bitch!” he cackled.“Yes, he can, Rafe!” Kelda called out from across the way. “Shax is the fin