REAPER (Demonica #20) by LARISSA IONE

EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT from REAPER by LARISSA IONE

Lilliana’s heart was heavy as she stood inside the Harrowgate and punched in the code to Ares’ personal island gate. She hadn’t known Eidolon’s brother, had only met him in passing a couple of times when he’d come to the island during her stay, but Ares and Cara had spoken highly of him—between the jabs. Seeing the devastation in not only Eidolon and Shade but also in the expressions of every Underworld General staffer had been truly heart-rending.

Journey held Wraith as he would a brother, his head bowed from hunched shoulders as he cradled the demon’s big body in his arms. Even Maddox looked as if he were trying to keep his emotions in check—his jaw tight, his gaze distant.

The gate opened and, zombielike, they all stepped out.

Hot, humid air engulfed Lilliana in a welcoming embrace. After the events of the last twelve hours, this was exactly what she needed. Well, she needed Azagoth, but if she couldn’t be in Sheoul-gra, then this was where she wanted to be. She loved it here. The warmth, the rhythmic, lulling pattern of the waves, the earthy scent of the olive groves, and the fragrant citrus air from the lemon trees Cara had planted a couple of years ago.

Lilliana inhaled, frowning when she didn’t smell the lemons or the olives. Weird. She glanced around for the familiar landscape and mansion, but all she saw was pristine white sand, some scrub brush, and a few swaying palms stretching along a craggy coastline.

The hair on the back of her neck stood on end. “Uh…guys? This isn’t Ares’ island.”

The very air around them charged with deadly electricity as Maddox armed up, twin scythes appearing in his fists.

Journey went on instant alert and swung around. “Shit. The island is warded. We can’t flash out.” He shouldered her like a ram, shoving her backward. “Into the Harrowgate! Hur—”

He broke off with a grunt. Something warm splashed her face and arms.

Blood.

Journey’s blood.

Wraith’s body fell from his arms and landed with a thud in the sand. Blood poured from Journey’s neck, flowing between his fingers as he clutched at it. Shock and terror shone in his eyes as his mouth worked soundlessly.

“Journey!” she screamed, instinctively moving toward him instead of the Harrowgate.

“Run,” he rasped as he dropped to his knees. “Run.”

His brilliant eyes grew cloudy, and then he collapsed next to Wraith.

As if a veil had been lifted, the island came alive with demons. They were everywhere. Darquethoths, with their razor-sharp teeth and onyx skin slashed with fluorescent orange. Screechers, their eyeless, pale faces consisting mostly of six-inch fangs. Others, things she didn’t recognize and were too horrific to look at, formed a wall around her, blocking her from the Harrowgate.

“Lilliana!” Maddox’s urgent voice was drenched with pain. She caught flashes of him slashing at the demons, blood splattering the white sand.

Terror became the air she breathed as she drew on her rusty angelic gifts and lit up the sky with lightning. Demons screamed as bolts charred them to a crisp or exploded them into raw chunks of gore.

“Maddox!”

She sent a spear of ultra-hot angel glass through a half-dozen demons, knocking them back…and that was when she saw him, one scythe still slashing even as he fell under an onslaught of monsters.

A moment of sadness turned into a renewed desire to live as she swung around, taking down a giant Ramreel demon with a summoned sword.

She could make it to the Harrowgate. She could clear a path and then—

Pain exploded inside her skull, and that was the last thing she knew.

About the Author

Air Force veteran Larissa Ione traded in a career in meteorology to pursue her passion of writing. She has since published dozens of books, hit several bestseller lists, including the New York Times and USA Today, and has been nominated for a RITA award. She now spends her days in pajamas with her computer, strong coffee, and supernatural worlds. She believes in celebrating everything, and would never be caught without a bottle of Champagne chilling in the fridge…just in case. She currently lives in Wisconsin with her retired U.S. Coast Guard husband, her son, a rescue cat named Vegas, and her very own hellhounds, a King Shepherd named Hexe and a Belgian Malinois named Duvel.

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