Chloé’s words rattled around in Amara’s head, her own guilt fighting for space against her other heightened emotions. Fury that Brandon was still alive, terror that he’d managed to send reapers to Earth, relief that she’d managed to save Chloé’s life.

    She had never meant to ignore Chloé, though as much as she hated to admit it, she hadn’t realized it had been happening. After everything with the cult, and then missing classes due to being stuck in Purgatory, Amara wasn’t necessarily surprised that Chloé had started feeling neglected.

    Nick and Tessa had been her only friends on campus, and it was a safe bet that they’d been preoccupied with getting Amara and Vee home.

    Amara wiped a tear from her face and shook her head. This wasn’t the time for regret, the campus was in danger. Adrenaline was racing through her veins, and she couldn’t afford to slow down. Precious minutes had been lost carrying Chloé to safety, who had seemingly been paralyzed with fear at the sight of the reaper.

    She needed to find it again, and quick.

    Racing out of the cafeteria, she turned a corner and leapt down a flight of stairs. Her wings caught the wind, slowing her descent slightly, and she landed softly before she took off again. The temptation to take flight was palpable, especially after her heartfelt conversation with Vee this morning, but she didn’t want to risk plummeting from the skies with so much on the line.

    Crossing the quad in record time, she noticed that a thick fog permeated the field, most potent around the area where Brandon’s portal had been. She skirted around it, just to be safe, then found the crater where she’d just fought the reaper. It must have recovered from her strike, unfortunately, as it was nowhere to be seen. Panic set in, and she started looking around for clues. For better or worse, she heard someone scream a second later and took off running again.

    Rounding a few more corners, she quickly found a student tripping over herself as she tried to run from the reaper. Amara picked up the pace, connecting with her inner fire as she prepared to launch herself into another attack. She still had her chitinous gauntlets from the last brief fight, and she’d also given herself matching talons on her feet for better traction. She focused on her fire, condensing its power into a single, concentrated point at the end of her fist. Her wings spread wide, and with a heavy thrust, she launched herself at the reaper.

    This time, the beast heard her coming. She saw its head turn towards her, and she decided to aim her strike for the reaper’s rib cage; more than anything, she couldn’t afford to waste her energy right now.

    The reaper couldn’t react in time, and Amara’s fist made contact. Her concentrated fire exploded on impact, knocking the beast to the ground as it screamed with frustration. She landed quickly, her talons gripping the grass, then pivoted to look at the terrified student. Looking up from the ground was a student with incredibly dark skin and short, black hair with the ends dyed red.

    Amara panicked, just for a moment, as she realized her true form was on display, but she quickly remembered that secrecy was the least of her concerns right now.

    “Naomi, get to the cafeteria!” Amara said, panting.

    “I KNEW you were hiding something!” Naomi jumped to her feet, and even held up her phone to take a quick picture.

    On the ground beside them, the reaper was starting to find its footing again, its discordant voices grumbling with rage. Amara ignited her gauntlets again as she prepared to re-engage it. “Now is NOT the time, Naomi! RUN!”

    Naomi nodded with determination, then sprinted off. With the area clear, Amara squared off against the reaper. This was, without a doubt, the one she’d damaged in Purgatory, and anger flooded her veins as she silently vowed to finish the job. She desperately hoped she had enough energy for the fight; even after those two brief attacks, she could feel her strength beginning to fade.

    Elsewhere on campus, closer to the quad, Amara heard the sound of a second reaper.

    The reaper in front of Amara jumped at her, its clawed feet gouging the soft grass, and Amara braced herself. She grabbed its front talon, doing her best to use the beast’s size against it. She attempted to spin and throw it to the ground, and while she successfully twisted it onto its back, the reaper’s tail lashed out as it fell. Its sharpened tip pierced her shoulder, and she screamed out in pain.

    Thankfully, with the reaper thrown to the ground, Amara was able to land a few solid hits of her own. She tried to focus on its head, which was already cracked, but the chaos of their struggle made that hard at times.

    After a few seconds of hectic fighting, the reaper managed to throw her off. Its strength was impressive, and she flew quite a ways before she tried to catch herself. Her own talons skidded across concrete as she landed, and she managed to avoid any serious fall damage. She felt blood dripping down her back, and the injury throbbed as she attempted to get up. The pain consumed her thoughts, just for a moment, and her vision turned red as she looked up again.

    The reaper was trying to escape, running further away from the quad now. She dashed after it, growling with anger, and prepared to reengage.

    This time she grabbed the reaper''s tail, preventing it from jumping over a short wall. She leapt onto its back, gauntlets aflame, and began assaulting its neck while her tail wrapped around its spine to keep her steady. Her fists shook as they connected with the cartilage of the beast’s neck, and she managed to crack a few bones in its ghastly rib cage as well. From a nearby building, she heard a door open, followed by the panicked cursing of two more students. From astride the reaper, she spared a fraction of a second to look up. She saw two young men, one in a letterman’s jacket, both staring at her in terror.

    “Cafeteria! NOW!” Amara shouted. Sёarch* The ηovёlFire .net website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Her attention was forced back to the reaper when one of its wings knocked her off its back. She fell to the ground, and barely had time to scream in pain before the reaper pinned a claw against her chest. Its jagged bones dug into her skin, and she felt more blood start to pool, as it craned its neck to stare her in the face. It opened its maw, roaring in familiar, discordant tones. Before it had a chance to clamp its jaw around her, Amara decided to return the favor.

    With a deep breath, she connected with her inner fire and roared back. A torrent of hellfire erupted from her throat, and the creature’s defiant screech turned into a ghastly whimper. The claw holding Amara down left, and she felt the reaper begin to run again.

    Amara forced herself to her feet, risking a moment of rest to catch her breath, when the door nearby opened again. “What the fuck?!”

    After spitting blood from her mouth, Amara looked over to see an incredibly attractive redhead staring slack-jawed at her. The very same redhead that Amara had once pretended to be. “Get to the cafeteria, Kylie, it’s not safe here!”

    “Photography girl? What the fuck was that… that monster you were fighting?”

    Frustration mounted, and Amara knew she couldn’t give the reaper any more time. She stepped closer, lit her horns on fire, and growled with bitter purpose. “Cafeteria!”

    Kylie screamed one last time, but thankfully heeded Amara’s threat.

    Amara swore she could feel the adrenaline in her veins, fighting against the pain and her dozens of injuries as she forced herself to start running again. Her footsteps were heavy, and every few seconds her vision clouded again, but she knew what needed to be done.

    By the time she’d caught up to the reaper, it thankfully seemed in a similar state. The entire time they’d been fighting, a strange, otherworldly glow had surrounded the creature, and that glow was fading. The previous injuries she’d given it were clearly taking their toll, and Amara knew this would be her last chance to finish it off. If she lost this fight, she’d have to retreat to gather her strength. At least, she hoped retreating would be an option.

    Although her movements were sluggish, she closed the gap and struck at the creature’s massive back leg. With a sickening crack, and another roar of pain, the reaper fell on its side. Her tail lashed out, wrapping around one of its arms while she stepped on the other. It roiled and thrashed underneath her, its tail managing to land another strike on her hip, but she stayed on task. By ignoring the damage it was doing to her, she gave herself an opening to kneel down and grab the base of the reaper’s skull. She began punching it repeatedly, bits of bones flying as she screamed with rage. The beast was too weak to shake her off, and she moved her tail to the skull as well.

    She felt her inner fire swell, and as it did, it stopped existing inside of her. Torrents of hellfire began swirling around her body, dancing across her countless bruises and deep cuts, and the warmth gave her strength. She grabbed the reaper’s skull, pulled with all her might, and felt something snap in the creature underneath her. With one last roar, she pulled the skull from the reaper’s body, and the rest of it fell limp.

    Amara yelled in celebration, her fire retreating back inside her as she did. She knew she’d been flirting with death, but the exhilaration of the fight made her feel on top of the world. She hadn’t felt this way since she’d fought the demon possessing Mr. Wellington. The danger, the pain, the joy of finally letting loose and pouring all her incredible strength into a battle, it was intoxicating.

    Once she finished reveling in the afterglow of her kill, she wrapped her tail around the reaper’s skull and began walking back towards the cafeteria. Each step was more difficult than the last, the adrenaline leaving her body now that she was safe. Countless bruises ached across her body, and she felt rivulets of blood dripping down her back, her legs, and even her face. She only just now realized that one of her eyes was nearly swollen shut, and her vision was still cloudy.

    Thankfully, she made it to the cafeteria without issue. She limped through the lobby, the food line, and eventually saw a collection of panicked students gathered around the tables in the center of the floor. One of them screamed, pointing at Amara, and within moments everyone in the building was staring at her.

    She flicked her tail, throwing the reaper’s skull onto the floor in front of her. A deep breath caused searing pain to shoot through her body, nearly causing her to black out. Fighting through the agony, she smirked at the crowd and managed to speak.

    “One down. Three to go.”