Demon of Vengeance: Chronicles of the Fallen, Book 4 Read Online Free PDF Page B

his hold. “You can’t do this.”
    But her demands only seemed to seal her fate.
    “Fine,” Sïnsobar relented. “But don’t drain her. And for Hell’s sake don’t kill her. Stolas wants her alive and able to… Well, talking, I imagine, won’t matter so much.”
    With that, Sïnsobar thrust her into the surging darkness. The shadows swarmed her. Phoebe screamed, and screamed again as rough, calloused, clawed appendages began pawing at her, tugging her hair and ripping at her clothing. Careless grasping drew blood and left welts. Fingers—at least, she hoped they were fingers—pinched and squeezed. Something sharp punctured her wrist, and her whole body seized as fiery acid flooded her veins.
    A dark roar reverberated through the cave, and the crowd of horrors around her froze. Phoebe searched for the source of that roar, struggling against the tentacle-like arms that squeezed and pulled at her. Had this Dimiezlo come for her? Would she be spared this indignity? This violation?
    Or was she in for far worse?
    A nightmare come to life appeared in the middle of the cavern. He was huge. Ginormous. And, judging by his next roar and the expression on his fierce face, pissed off to the extreme.
    His muscles bulged with supernatural strength. His skin was the color of ash and soot. His eyes were similar to Sïnsobar’s, a deep bottomless black, only somehow more frightening. And his fangs made Sïnsobar’s look like fake Halloween adornments—scrawny ones at that. The big, curved horns on the top of his head skimmed across the roof of the cave like steel on flint, leaving a shower of sparks in his wake. But it was the black wings snapping open behind him that snared her attention. Hers and everyone—every thing —else’s in the chamber. His wings were massive and coated with shiny black feathers. Feathers that looked like some kind of high-tech metal plates.
    “ Vengeance ,” something whispered. The note of horrified terror filling its voice was sharp.
    Phoebe swallowed. Ally or foe? Frying pan or fire?
    Sïnsobar swore and roared, “Attack!”
    Still the shadows hesitated, apparently cowed by the newcomer more than they were by their master. Sïnsobar swiped at the shadow closest to him, and blood sprayed in a wide arc as the shadow burst into ash at his feet.
    “Damn it, I said attack!”
    Finally, caught between a monster and a nightmare, the mass of shadows surged forward, surrounding the newcomer. Sïnsobar himself had disappeared somewhere along the way. Phoebe—clearly the spoils of this impending battle—was shoved, less-than-gently, toward the back of the cave. She looked on in horror as the nightmare erupted into action.
    Claws and fangs mauled and tore, shredding their way through Sïnsobar’s army. But it was those massive, shiny black wings, unfurling and swiping and slashing, that truly decimated the beings swarming him. No shadow monster stood a chance. None could withstand the strength, the lethal brutality of those wings. None could dodge them. None could evade them and get close to him…unless he wanted them close. And if ever he let one get close…
    Well, the wings would have been the more humane way to go.
    Something heavy and slimy hit her from the side, toppling her to the ground. Sharp fangs ripped into her shoulder. Though she fought with everything she had, she couldn’t dislodge the creature. It began slurping at the jagged wound it had inflicted, all the while grinding itself against her hip and grunting in the most lewd, disgusting way.
    Phoebe cried out, squirming and twisting in an effort to get away. But it was no use. The creature clung to her like Velcro.
    The winged nightmare gave a mighty roar, and then the creature pinning her to the sandy floor was wrenched away, its fangs leaving behind mauled flesh. Phoebe screamed as she pressed her palm to her bleeding shoulder. The pain was excruciating, beyond anything she’d ever experienced. Black dots began to swirl around her