"Go faster," I pleaded. If we were too late…

Lucas sped down the street toward Damian's office. I had tried to call my brother's cell as soon as I'd gotten into the car, but there was no answer. Wes hadn't answered, either.

"We need a plan, Lex." Lucas sounded way too calm.

"Plan? I plan to stick my sword in the angel's face. That's my plan."

I didn't add what I planned to do to his dad if we were too late.

"That's not a plan. That's wishful thinking."

I tried to calm my breathing, not lose myself in hysterics. I couldn't help Damian if I were irrational. "You got a better plan?"

My cell rang. I didn't bother looking at the caller ID before answering.

"Damian?"

"Huh? It's Wes. I just got to the house. Where are you?" Wes sounded calm, oblivious.

"Where's Damian?"

"I don't know. Haven't talked to him since this morning. You didn't tell me where you are."

I hung up. It was stupid. I should have told him what was going on, but at this point, we were closer to the office than he was. Plus, I doubted anything out of my mouth would have been coherent.

Lucas grabbed my phone and glanced down. He hit a button and put it against his ear.

I didn't register the one-sided conversation that followed, my mind too occupied by a torrent of what ifs, each more horrifying than the last.

After hanging up, Lucas tried to hand the phone back. I let it drop to the floor.

"Wes will meet us at the office."

"Wes doesn't like you," I mumbled, having no idea why that popped into my head.

"Yeah, well, I'm not a fan, either, but we need all the help we can get."

I would ask him what he had against Wes when I saw my brother's office up ahead.

"Stop," I yelled.

Lucas hit the brakes.

The car hadn't come to a complete stop before I flung myself out the door and stumbled forward.

"Lex," Lucas called out. "Wait."

I ignored him and raced to the entrance of the office. The open sign taunted me. Maybe he wasn't inside. If he was still looking for Lucas, he was probably gone.

Oh, gods, please be taking an extended lunch break.

A loud crash from inside destroyed the last thread of hope I clung to. My sweaty hand fumbled with the doorknob, my panic making the simplest of tasks impossible.

I got a grip and pushed the door open.

Two mighty warriors, swords clashing like we were on the set of Conan the Barbarian, were locked in heated battle.

Damian glanced over his shoulder to see who had just walked in, and it was enough of a distraction to give the angel the upper hand.

The angel slid his glowing sword through Damian in the same spot he had me.

Damian crumpled to the ground, his lifeblood spreading around the hardwood floor. I blinked, my brain not comprehending the information my eyes were sending it.

All I could think was the blood stains would make selling this place a bitch.

Reality hit me with a tire iron. Instinctively gripping Gladys' hilt, with no regard for my wellbeing, I charged the angel.

His lips curled into a smile as his blade blocked mine. Adrenaline pumped through my cambion veins, making each swing pack more power than normal. I embraced my demon reflexes, reveled in the strength it imbued. Hatred, my own further fueled by the animosity my demon blood held for its ancient enemy, burned like one of those furnaces you used to cremate bodies.

The sweat beaded on his brow evaporated. He wasn't even trying. Damian had pushed him to his limits. I was little more than an amusing distraction.

He should have been taking this more seriously. Even distractions had sharp teeth.

Gladys sliced through his shoulder nearly to the bone. His sword clattered to the ground. He howled, more from anger than pain.

His blood, pale pink, fascinated me. I'd never seen an angel bleed before. It was unsettling.

While I was gawking, he punched me in the solar plexus, driving the air from my lungs and sending me through the air. I crashed in a heap against the far wall, pretty sure I'd made a dent. I covered my mouth as I coughed, my hand coming back splatted with globs of blood. Not a good sign.

"Lex," Lucas cried out.

My eyes found him hovering over Damian, a rune on his forearm giving off a healthy green glow. Hope fluttered in my gut. Lucas wouldn't have wasted magic on a corpse. It wasn't too late for Damian.

I loved him more at that moment than I'd loved him before.

Hope was a funny thing. It could keep you running when you hadn't eaten in three days, hadn't slept, and were sure something was broken inside you. Hope was what kept the underdog in the fight. The power of hope could create miracles. And I needed a miracle right about then.

I pulled myself up. Raising Gladys in front of me, I plastered a grin on my face. "You hit like a human."

The angel picked up his sword using his unwounded arm. I hoped he wasn't ambidextrous, but with eons of practice, the odds were not in my favor.

He stalked toward me, more careful this time.

"What's wrong? Worried I'll cut you again?" I mocked.

I had heard somewhere that giving into rage made a person sloppy. I needed all the help I could get against the behemoth which meant I should keep running my mouth.

"Didn't anyone tell you never to leave a girl waiting?"

I swung, and our blades kissed. I stopped thinking and just moved, trusting my body to know what to do. Years of training with a wooden sword against Damian's far superior skill had forged me into a more effective weapon than he had realized.

Sweat poured down my back. He snarled, unable to get another hit in. Light as a butterfly, I kept out of his reach and then moved in to deliver another blow.

Only, I never got another hit in, either. My chest burned from the exertion, and my body screamed with pain, no longer content to be ignored.

I didn't know how much longer I would last.

I dug deep, searching for whatever reserves remained. If I fell, so would they. It was time for me to be the hero.

I moved a fraction of a second too late, and the angel knocked Gladys from my hand with his free arm. Considering the impact of the blow, I was lucky he'd used his injured limb.

I turned to go for my sword. I had no chance without her.

Agony lanced up my back as his blade ripped through cloth and flesh.

Instead of continuing away, leaving myself further exposed, I turned and charged, jamming my shoulder into his belly. The move took him by surprise, and the force of the blow took him off balance.

He regained his footing faster than I could use the advantage. He wrapped his hand around my throat and squeezed.

My hands flew to my throat as I clawed at his grip. Useless.

I strained forward and dug my bloody fingers into the open wound on his shoulder, searching for bone. He screeched, inhuman and deranged, but didn't let go.

Something inside me changed. I felt a thread between the two of us, invisible, untouchable, just a sense of otherness. It called to me, a siren song, and in my mind, I stretched to grab ahold. Before I could make it mine, a force blasted the angel from behind, throwing him forward and me back.

He let go, catching himself before falling on his face. I wasn't so lucky. Ground met my already-torn-up back, and the edges of my vision went black.

I pushed through the pain, struggling to get back up, to get back to the fight. Dizziness forced me to stop.

Nearly every rune on Lucas' body was lit up. A light show followed by a cacophony. I had a hard time following the display. Everything Lucas threw at the monster bounced off. By the time the angel reached him, Lucas' runes had gone dark.

The angel grabbed Lucas by the hair and forced him to his knees. Lucas struggled, swinging and missing, not giving up.

Bone cracked as the first blow shattered Lucas' cheekbone.

Unable to get to my feet, I crawled. I tried yelling, trying to get the angel's attention back to me.

The angel didn't use his sword. He didn't use magic. His fists were enough.

Tears landed on my shaky hands as I pulled myself closer. The few yards stretched for miles.

The wet smacks as he continued his assault burned into my memory. Blood gurgled as Lucas tried to suck in breaths. Bone crunched under unrelenting strikes.

I helplessly watched as he slaughtered the boy I loved.