“Samantha, no! Don’t do this!” Jordan yelled this while the other two looked on with shock.
“Get out of here!” I yelled over my shoulder at them as I felt the moment when I’d taken everything I could from Nathan. “I honestly don’t know how this is going to end. Get somewhere safe where you can—”
Then something hit me, grabbing hold of me and pulling me to the side and away from the demon. I landed on the ground and Bishop was there, staring down at me.
“Samantha, what did he do to you? Are you all right?”
Funny, I felt fine. I felt really good, all satiated and satisfied. But that feeling began to fade as soon as it arrived.
“How did you know to come here?” I said, not answering his question.
“Roth came for us, told us what was going on.”
I tried to laugh, but it sounded more like a sob. “I thought he’d taken off, abandoned us. Of course not. He really cared for Cassandra... He has a heart buried deep down somewhere. Even though he’s a demon, he isn’t a monster. He’s not like my father.”
Bishop pulled me up into a sitting position. His expression was etched in worry. “You don’t sound right.”
“She took it all.” Nathan growled as he rose up off the ground. The lines were gone from his skin, but his eyes blazed red with fury. “Give it back, you little bitch.”
I narrowed my eyes at him, shaking my head. “Sorry, can’t. I’m busy digesting that nasty-ass meal. Shouldn’t take much more than a minute or two.”
“You’re going to die if you don’t do as I say right now.”
“Sorry, Daddy. But you can bite me.”
Bishop turned a look of horror on me. “What did you do, Samantha?”
Kraven came into my peripheral vision as he moved swiftly to hold Nathan in place.
“What now?” he asked, his expression grim.
Nathan turned a furious glare on the demon and I knew he was about to drain his energy. I tried to open my mouth, to warn him, but then both Roth and Connor were there to shove Nathan back.
“This isn’t what I wanted.” There was madness on the demon’s face, true madness that chilled me even now that it was too late.
Too late to help him, to help myself.
“Give it back!” He surged toward me and shoved Bishop out of the way to grasp me by my throat, raising me up off the ground. His fingers dug in so tight I couldn’t breathe. He was going to crush my larynx.
Now that I wasn’t draining him anymore, he had every last bit of his demonic strength back.
And zero sanity in those blazing red eyes.
You could take the demon out of Hell, but you couldn’t take Hell out of the demon.
It took all four guys to pull him off me. A moment later, the bright glow from Bishop’s dagger caught my eye as I sputtered and wheezed in a heap on the ground.
As Nathan lunged forward to attack anyone who stood in the way from getting to me, Bishop sank the Hallowed Blade deep into the demon’s chest and immediately pulled it back out.
He hadn’t hesitated.
This was his specialty, after all—he was an angel of death.
Nathan staggered backward a step, finally stilling as if all the fight had left him in the space of a single breath. The hellfire left his eyes so they returned to their normal shade of brown.
“Too late to save her,” he whispered. “Gone forever. No second chances. Should have been me...never her. I didn’t deserve her. I never did.”
I knew he was talking about Anna.
The Hollow opened its roaring mouth behind him.
His gaze found me in the shadows. “You didn’t have to die tonight, beautiful star.”
I shook my head. “Neither did you.”
And then he was gone. And when the Hollow closed up this time, I felt the power I’d stolen from Nathan bristling under my skin. I sensed that it had closed forever this time.
Connor swept his gaze over the rest of us. “That was close.”
“Too damn close,” Roth agreed.
“Says the guy who nearly helped that dude destroy the universe.” Kraven didn’t give the other demon a friendly look. “Not exactly forgiving you for that yet. Or probably ever.”
Roth returned the glare with one of his own. “If I didn’t come get you losers, you never would have realized anything was happening. It was a mistake, I see that now. But it’s over and everything’s all right.”
“You’re right.” Kraven scanned the area, his gaze landing on Carly and Stephen. “Looky here. It’s the last two grays in the city all lined up, no waiting. Who ordered delivery?”
“No...” I grabbed Bishop’s arm. “Please. You can’t let him hurt them.”
“What’s wrong with you?” Kraven asked. “Hard night, sweetness? Too much for you to handle? Considering what just went down, I’m thinking we’re all lucky to still be breathing.”
Bishop hadn’t taken his attention from me for a second. “Was he telling the truth? Are you dying?”
The pain gripped me a moment later and I cried out. I looked down at my arms to see the black lines branching now down my skin. “It’s okay. It won’t hurt anyone else. I have it contained. When I’m gone, it’ll be gone, too. The Hollow’s closed for business.”
“Samantha!” Carly cried out. Connor had taken her firmly by her arm, holding her in place. Roth did the same with Stephen, wrenching him away from Jordan.