Noah slammed on the brakes, crashing halfway onto someone’s front yard, and we all braced ourselves, trying not to be thrown forward.

The rooftop hatch popped open then, and Michael stuck his head in. “Naughty, naughty. That was dark magic.” He looked at Shea, but she just shrugged, which made the archangel grin. “Well done. Let’s load the humans and get out of here.”

“What was the green light stuff?” I asked my bestie, as I reached for my gun.

“After you were taken to Hell, Lucifer made it so we couldn’t create any portals while in Angel City.”

I grinned. “You learned the spell, and locked the demons inside?”

She nodded. “They’ll have to walk quite far to get out.”

Perfect.

A low growl from behind us broke up our conversation. My brother’s wolf wanted to pass us, eyes glowing yellow and ready to fight.

“Stay by my side,” Lincoln ordered me, leading us out of the bus while I dissolved my shield. I needed to keep my strength up for fighting, and boy, was I ready to fight. These bastards would pay for what they’d done to the humans.

The moment I stepped off the bus, I let my wings free and stepped beside Lincoln with my sword drawn. A very enraged-looking Brimstone demon was leading the gang of Hellspawn that descended on our small group.

Michael leapt from the roof and landed before us, holding his blade aloft. Blue sparks glimmered off the sword, so brightly even the advancing demons shied their gaze.

“Surrender, or be met with swift death!” Michael’s voice boomed as if it were amplified.

In response, a fiery ball of magic hurtled through the air, right at the archangel. Michael reached up and sliced the ball in half with his sword, and the war began.

We all charged forward then. Mikey was a mass of muscle and fur, ripping past me to land on the Brimstone demon and tear his throat out. Luke was right behind him, and they worked as a team.

I stayed at Lincoln’s side, as he’d asked me, and we were just cutting down a gang of Snakeroot demons when a bloodcurdling scream drew my attention. Pulling my gaze to the direction of the noise, my stomach dropped. An Abrus demon was inside of the gated-off area with the humans, and he had a knife to one of their throats, asking the others to do something. Probably take a contract.

Without thought, I burst from the ground and tore through the air. I heard Lincoln call my name but ignored it, my gaze solely focused on the demon with the blade. My wings cut through the air as I pumped them faster, sailing over the tall fencing. I dropped into the pit just behind the Abrus demon and took his head in my hands, jerking quickly to the side like Lincoln taught me, I snapped his spine.

The hand holding the knife fell away from the girls’ throat as his lifeless body clattered to the ground with a sickening thud. Did I trust that an Abrus demon with a broken neck wouldn’t somehow come back to life and kill me? Hell no. Reaching to my hip, I pulled out my sword and cut his head clean off in one swift movement.

Some of the humans gasped and shied away from looking, but most didn’t. Most of them stared with a visible hatred brewing just below the surface.

“We’ve come to take you to Angel City. Free souls are no longer welcome in Demon City,” I told the group, then spun when I noticed white wings in my peripheral vision.

Lincoln.

My husband cut through the fence like it was made of butter, making a hole for the humans to climb through it. But instead of running for freedom or weeping in joy at my declaration, the people just stared at me with tears of utter sorrow in their eyes.

A young girl with bright red hair who looked about twelve years old stepped forward. “You expect me to leave my mom in this shit hole? My grandma too?”

She reminded me of myself when I’d first come here, bitter and full of fire. I followed her gaze beyond the fence to a middle-aged woman with red hair, and the red crescent moon tattoo on her forehead.

It wasn’t fair. The demons made humans sign lifelong contracts for small and simple things like a job, money, power, a car, food, healing. Things you should be able to work off in a year or so.

It. Wasn’t. Fair.

“Your mother and grandmother made their choice when they chose to align with evil. But for you there’s still a chance, and I’m sure I speak for your family when I say they would rather you be in Angel City alone, than grow up here as a demon slave, which is now your only alternative.”

Lincoln’s words shocked me. He’d always hated this place, these people. He’d always been insensitive to the reasons humans took a slave contract. He couldn’t help it; he was ignorant of their ways. But I wasn’t. I knew. I’d been in that place myself, but I’d also just had an epiphany.

Why the hell were we playing by the demons’ rules?

“Just go, baby.” The redheaded mother wept as Lincoln nodded, grabbing the girl’s arm. He’d take her kicking and screaming if he had to, I knew he would.

“No. We’re not separating families,” I growled, and Lincoln looked up at me with confusion-filled eyes.

I spun on the demon bound family members who stood around the cages, weeping silently for their loved ones.

“I’m not interested in playing by the demons’ rules anymore!” I roared. “If you’re willing to walk away, leave everything and restart your lives in Angel City with no job, no help, then I extend this invitation to anyone who wants to leave this place today. Start fresh.”

Lincoln made a strangled sound behind me, but it was too late. The joyful tears and murmurs had begun, and the people were rushing forward to leave the cage, and be united with their loved ones.

When I spun, I saw Michael had joined us, standing just behind Lincoln with an unreadable expression on his face.

“You… you can’t do that, Brielle,” Lincoln stammered.

I looked up at Michael, the leader of the Fallen Army. “I just did. With my own free will, I chose to extend safe harbor to any human who wants it. If God disagrees, he can strike me dead right here.” I put a hand on my hip to emphasize my point.

Michael grinned. “You’ve been taking cues from Emberly.”

Lincoln turned to Michael. “We can’t, right? The demons will come for their slaves. They’ll… we’ll be at war day and night, defending the border from them.”

Michael put a hand on Lincoln’s shoulder. “We already are, son. And like Brielle said, she’s free to use her will to extend whatever invitations she wants.” Then he looked at me. “Though I have to say, in all my years of knowing the Creator, I’ve never once seen him strike anyone dead.” He winked.

My cheeks heated. Okay, maybe my taunting God wasn’t the most mature thing to do, but it seemed appropriate at the time. “So, they can come?”

Michael threw up his hands. “I don’t know where to put them, how to feed and clothe them, but we’ll find a way.”

Euphoria spread throughout my limbs. I’d done something on a whim, and it felt incredible.

“We’re going to need more buses,” I told the boys.

“I’ll call Raph.” Lincoln sounded defeated, like he had no idea what crazy woman he’d married until that moment.

As I stepped over dead demon corpses and helped usher families onto the bus to freedom, I couldn’t help but wonder if my dad was looking down on me. I hoped I’d made him proud, because I’d sure as hell just created a lot of work for the Fallen Army.