by D. G. Swank
“What the hell is that?” Olivia asked, her eyes wide again.
“Demons,” Jack said. “They’re coming.”
“From here?” Rhys asked in a squeak.
“Oh shit.” Olivia finished her text, then squatted next to Jack. “If an army of demons is coming, I don’t think we want to wait for 911. We’ll have to take Jack with us.”
“What?” Rhys shouted. “We can’t. He’s . . .”
“Dying,” Jack said. “Go. Leave me.”
“No fucking way,” Olivia said as she grabbed Jack’s arm and started to wrap it around her shoulder. “Rhys. Help.”
Jack cried out in pain and Rhys leaned back, terrified, but she knew Olivia was right. They couldn’t leave him, and they couldn’t wait. She had no idea if they’d get him help in time, but they had to try.
The front of his shirt was covered in blood, so Rhys slipped off her sweater and tried to hastily tie it around his abdomen to put pressure on his wounds.
“We don’t have time,” he said, barely audible. “Just go.”
The rumbling in the ground deepened as it began to shake.
“Shit,” Olivia said as they started to drag Jack toward the bridge. “We need to hurry.”
The two women half-carried, half-dragged him to the bridge, and while it was the safest way out of the woods and to the cars, the old stone bridge was swaying, chunks of rock falling to the road below.
The teenagers were still there, sitting on the side of the road, laughing and screaming, “Earthquake!”
“Those stupid fools,” Olivia muttered, then shouted, “Get the hell out of here!”
“Hey!” one of the girls called out in horror as she stared up at them. “He’s bleeding!”
“Oh my God,” another girl shouted. “What happened to him?”
“There’s a serial killer loose in the woods,” Rhys yelled down to them, drawing an irritated glare from Olivia. “Run!”
The teens started screaming and running for the hill.
“It seemed like the quickest way to get them to leave,” Rhys said, trying to maintain her footing on the shaking bridge.
“Yeah, quick thinking,” Olivia said grudgingly.
When they made it to the other side, Rhys looked Jack over. He wasn’t a huge man, but he was tall enough and bulky enough that moving him was a strain. His body had begun to feel like deadweight, and his eyes were closed. They’d already lost Hudson—they couldn’t lose Jack too.
“Olivia. I don’t know if he’s breathing.”
“Let’s just get him to my car,” she said, sounding just as terrified as Rhys felt. Although they’d be better off if one of them had their shit together, Rhys took some comfort in the fact that she wasn’t the only scared one.
They were halfway down the hill, Jack’s legs now dragging behind him, when a loud roar rent the air.
“Is that what I think it is?” Olivia asked, not slowing down. Her car was twenty feet away, and she started to run, dragging Jack. Rhys struggled to keep up, chanting in her head: Do not fall down. Do not fall down. If she fell, they were all goners.
Rhys was too terrified to look toward the other side of the bridge. For one thing, most demons she’d had the displeasure of meeting had been invisible to her, and even if she could see them, she had no desire to meet her possible death head-on. Better to let it surprise her. Seeing a demon wouldn’t make her run any faster.
When they reached the car, Olivia fumbled with her key fob, then opened the back door. She and Rhys unceremoniously dumped Jack onto the backseat. Olivia started to shut the door behind him, but Rhys slid inside, perching on the edge of the seat. “I want to sit with him.”
Olivia’s only answer was to shut them in and run around to the driver’s door. Once she started the engine, she screeched around the corner and shot down the hill, just as a black wave emerged from the woods. Rhys had to squint to try to make out their individual forms because they moved as a pack, scuttling like cockroaches.
“Oh my God,” she cried out in horror. There were hundreds of demons spilling from the woods and headed toward downtown Asheville.
Toward the police department.
Olivia’s racing car seemed to be outpacing them, although Rhys didn’t know how long that would last since the road down Beaucatcher Mountain wasn’t designed for speeding. She turned her attention to Jack, who lay in an awkward position, unmoving. She pressed her fingers to his neck, straining to feel a heartbeat.
“Olivia,” she wailed. “I think his heart stopped.”
“No,” Olivia cried out in agony.
But Rhys wasn’t ready to let him go. She grabbed his legs and pulled his butt closer to the door to straighten out his back and neck, then started chest compressions.
“I think he’s gone, Rhys,” Olivia said, her voice breaking. “He’s lost too much blood.”
“No,” Rhys said through her tears. “I can’t lose anyone else.” Then she leaned over and blew into his mouth and started compressions again.
She wasn’t giving up on him, even though she knew in her gut Olivia was right.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Abel
He hung up from his call with Ellie, then pocketed his phone with the same determination and decisiveness that had ruled his life for the past two centuries, except his usual confidence had been stripped away. Control was something he had always taken for granted, but he couldn’t take that risk now. While he would like to believe he could save her, he had to face the possibility that he might not reach her in time.
None of the humans in that station were a threat. Abel could kill them all in a literal heartbeat, but he knew it would destroy Piper if he killed humans to save her. She was so wrong. It wasn’t his humanity she saw in his eyes, but a reflection of her own.
They meant nothing to him.
Nothing meant a damned thing without her.
He couldn’t reach her with the ring, but his soul knew she was inside, just unreachable, even if he didn’t have a clue what it meant.
Grabbing his sword off the passenger seat, he popped his trunk then got out of his car. He hooked the scabbard on his belt before slinging Piper’s belt, her daggers still attached to it, over his shoulder. He hooked her sword onto the other side of his belt, then closed the lid. Once he reached her, she’d need a way to defend herself. He didn’t have a plan other than to free her and get her the hell out of there. But it was enough.
As he strode toward the entrance, he felt the demons’ power pulsing in the night, their wild and hungry thirst that could only be quenched with human souls.
He slowly drew his sword from the scabbard. They must have been watching him from inside, because a policeman immediately walked out of the station with his gun raised.
“Lower your weapon, Mr. Abel.”
Abel ignored him. If the officer shot him, it would hurt, but it would hardly even slow him down. If the officer became too much of an annoyance, he’d deal with him then.
Two large ravens landed in the parking lot in front of the police station entrance and quickly morphed into a beautiful young couple, a man and a woman.
Raven mockers.
But he could see through all other supernatural beings. Underneath their glamours, they were old with leathery, wrinkled skin, stringy hair, and rotten teeth. They appeared before the death of young healthy people, then consumed the hearts and souls of the dead to add to their precepted youth. They were invisible to humans, so Okeus had chosen well. The police officer would think he was having hallucinations.
“Raven mockers,” Abel said. “You may feast from any bodies slain in the carnage, but you will not get in my way.”
They stood several feet from the entrance, their long claws raised toward him. “We cannot let you gain entrance, Son of Okeus. If you go to your father now, all will be forgiven.”
“What about Piper?” Abel asked.
The police officer stared at Abel as though he had lost his mind. He pressed a but
ton on his shoulder. “I need backup. He’s brandishing a sword and talking to himself.”
The raven mockers ignored the officer as well. “Her fate is for your father to decide.”
That’s what he feared.
Abel gave them a slight nod. “Then be prepared to die.”
The policeman, who was standing a few feet to the side of one of the raven mockers, reacted quickly, drawing his gun and releasing several shots that pierced Abel’s chest and abdomen.
Abel sucked in a breath but drew on his energy to push out the bullets and stop the blood flow, even as he advanced on the creatures that were armed only with claws and terror. They weren’t a real threat to him, only a warning from his father that he was aware of Abel’s intentions and planned to stop him.
Abel cut them down in two clean strokes, their bodies falling to the asphalt, but more officers had appeared at the entrance, guns drawn and pointed at him.
It would have been so much easier to kill them all, but instead he sent his power toward them with a sweep of his hand, pushing them to the side as he walked through the door into the waiting area he’d sat in before.
He wondered again why he’d let her persuade him to trust the legal system. Piper had made him sloppy and careless when he needed to be more vigilant than ever, especially after the seer had confirmed his suspicions. His carelessness would be her downfall.
More shots rang out, hitting him in the back, but his power surged again, cutting off the blood flow as needed. He considered forming a shield of power around himself to block their bullets, but he needed to focus on the locked door in front of him. He sent a push of energy on the hinges, focusing on ripping them from the metal doorframe. One by one they came loose with the whine of bending metal chased by multiple pops as the hinges were freed from the casing.
More bullets hit his back and he turned in frustration, releasing a growl as he sent a burst of energy toward the officers, pushing them out the door.
His back stung and he sent more energy toward the wounds, popping out the bullets and stopping the bleeding, but even he only had so much power. Although he couldn’t die, not unless Piper killed him, he might not be able to fight at full strength if he kept hemorrhaging power.
He grabbed the hinge side of the door and ripped it open wide enough to slip through.
More officers were waiting for him on the other side. He met a new barrage of bullets, but this time he gave them his full attention, stopping them in mid-flight, then sending them back to the humans who had shot them.
The officers fell to the floor, confused and in pain as Abel stepped around them to get to Piper. He glanced down at them, knowing that somewhere deep in his heart he should care, but his need to save Piper obscured all else.
He sent out a supernatural ping to search for her. She was at the back of the building, but just as he started in that direction, he sensed the demons behind him.
The raven mockers had been a token gesture to stop him, a peace-making effort, but these new demons were creatures of war. With human bodies and massive wings, they looked like biblical angels but were anything but. They were the Mohedron, part of Okeus’s elite fighting team. Or so Ahone had told him. Abel himself had never seen any of them before, and yet he instantly knew who and what they were. He even knew their names, only proving he was everything his father had hoped he would be.
“Abiel, son of Okeus,” Elius, the demon in charge, said, his hand on the hilt of his sword strapped to his side, “surrender to your master and all will be forgiven.” He had long, pitch-black hair pulled back into a low ponytail and piercing black eyes that contrasted with his pale skin. His only clothes were a dark purple loincloth while the others wore loincloths in pale blue.
“And if I say no?” he asked.
“That is not an option. Surrender now and Okeus will let you keep the slayer as a pet.”
“I wish to bring her to Okeus myself,” Abel said.
“That is no longer an option,” Elius said in a formal tone. “You will come with us now.”
Abel sent a wave of power over the six demons. “You will let me go.”
Elius’s mouth lifted into a sardonic grin. “That won’t work on us, Abiel. We answer only to your father.”
Abel growled. Fighting them would delay him, but it appeared he had no choice.
Settling into a fighting stance, he said, “Then so be it.”
He lunged for Elius first, planning to take off the head of the dragon.
Elius was a trained fighter. He would be an equal match, and the fight would become even more difficult if the others joined in.
But the others started mowing down the new police officers who’d arrived to subdue Abel. The fact that the humans could see them was to their advantage, but they still didn’t stand a chance. Bullets wouldn’t stop the Mohedron.
Abel forced himself to take his usual slow and methodical approach, letting his opponent wear itself out and become sloppy. After several minutes, it became apparent it would take hours to wear Elius to exhaustion, which meant Abel needed to speed up the process. He sent another ping toward Piper and was nearly nicked by the end of Elius’s sword.
Another supernatural creature was with Piper now, and it wasn’t a demon.
It was a god—a minor one—and he sensed it was the same one that had escaped from the warehouse that morning. Obviously it had come back for Piper.
His sense of urgency quadrupled.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Piper
The burning in my hand sent my heart racing. A demon was close. I bolted off the cot as a rush of hunger flooded my soul, hunger for the demon’s soul. I was too terrified to let the feeling disturb me. The fact that a skimpy line of salt was my only means of defense was a bigger concern. There was the demon hand, still lying in the middle of the floor, but I’d use it as a measure of last resort. I already felt my humanity slipping away, no sense speeding that process along.
“Slayer, your accommodations look less than comfortable,” a voice said as I heard footsteps approach my cell.
Not a demon. Adonis, a minor god and major pain in the ass.
He appeared wearing a shit-eating grin as he watched me through the bars of my holding cell. “What did you do to that very helpful police officer?”
He nodded toward the burned pile that had been Detective Lawton. No one had arrived to check on him, which could only be Adonis’s doing. Some ally he had turned out to be for the officer.
I got to my feet and took several steps backward. “How did you get in here?”
He looked amused by my question. “The police seem to be distracted by the demons fighting the son of Okeus, so I walked right in.”
“Abel is fighting demons?”
He laughed. “To save you. It’s cute. He’s holding his own against the head of the Mohedron right now, quite the feat considering Elius has trained for centuries longer than Abiel has been alive.”
I tried to swallow my fear for Abel. Sure, the demons couldn’t kill him, but they could cause him pain. “What do you want, Adonis?”
“You know what I want, slayer. I want it even more after the rumors I’ve been hearing.”
“What rumors?”
His eyes hardened. “Don’t think you can try to lie to me, creator of worlds. Word has it that you have a world in your house. Okeus is there now trying to figure out how to break into it.”
Fear sucked the air out of my lungs. Tommy. I had to trust that Deidre’s ward and Collin’s symbols would protect him, and I was sure everyone living had left the house.
But I couldn’t worry about any of that now. I had to get out of here and help Abel.
“So you want me to take you to a world?” I asked for clarification. “And in exchange you’ll give me the information I need to save Abel? I need you to be a whole lot more specific about what you’re promising.”
“Oh, creator of worlds,” he said with a derisive laugh. “You want to save the son of Okeus. I know
how to make that happen.”
“And at the risk of repeating myself . . .” I narrowed my eyes. “Be more specific or I’m not even taking you to my fine toilet here.” I gestured to the disgusting commode in the corner.
Shaking his head in amusement, he turned his attention to the metal door. A loud pop filled the space, and then he pulled the door open. He started to walk into the cell, only to step back, his grin spreading. “You are resourceful.”
I glanced down at the salt line. Apparently, it worked on minor gods too. “What can I say? I have friends in high places.”
“If you’re lucky,” he said, taking another couple of steps backward and getting down on one knee. “Okeus could be a friend in a high place. Perhaps he’ll be in a good mood and offer you many things for your cooperation.”
“And if I’m unlucky?” I asked, my stomach in knots as I watched him.
He leaned over, placing his hands on the disgusting concrete floor, then blew like he was blowing out fifty candles on a birthday cake. The salt scattered into the cell, clearing a path for him.
Pushing back up, he shot me a huge grin. “Did you really think that would work?”
I took another step back as he got to his feet, brushing off his hands.
“There’s a reason the curse keepers put markings around their windows and doors. Can’t blow those off.” Then he walked right up to me.
The hunger in my soul roared to life and my fingers wiggled at my sides, itching to hold my daggers. Itching to kill him. I stared down at my empty hands in horror. Was I becoming one of the monsters I was destined to kill?
Adonis slowly reached for my left hand, lifting my palm up between us. He lightly traced the square and the circle in the center of my palm. “So much power for such a tiny thing.” His gaze lifted to mine even as he continued to trace the lines. “Your power has grown even since this morning. Okeus will be all the more intrigued by you.” He leaned closer, his mouth close enough to my ear to blow my hairs, tickling my neck. “He might make you the same offer he made the daughter of the sea.” He leaned back and stared down at me, still holding my hand. “You have much to bargain with. Use it to your advantage.”