Kiss of Death: Hell on Earth Series, Book 3

by Davies, Brenda K.

  It was time to kill a beast and get out of here.

  Hawk’s breath tickled my ear as he spoke. “Stay close to me.”

  “If you stay close to me,” I whispered.

  “Always.”

  He kissed my cheek before releasing me and rolling away. I instantly missed him against my back, but I shoved my feet into my boots and tied them while I tried to shut out the muffled sobs of those around us.

  Their acceptance of their inevitable deaths irritated me, but it unnerved me too. There were some strong and powerful demons here, yet they were as convinced as the humans that the minotaur was unbeatable.

  I tried not to think about that as I slung a rifle over my back before lifting a spear. I’d picked out both weapons earlier in the hopes they would keep me from having to get too close to the beast. I raised my palm before me and willed a ball of fire to life.

  The flames danced across my face as I made it grow before shrinking it again. I’d practiced with it every day, and it was a lot stronger since I bonded with Hawk, but I didn’t know how effective it would be against the minotaur, and I preferred not to get close enough to use it against the beast. Still, if that thing grabbed me, I’d torch its ass.

  “Come on, everyone, outside,” Randy said.

  I glanced at Hawk when he moved closer to me and rested his hand on the small of my back. The minotaur’s next step caused a book to tumble off a shelf; it hit the floor with a bang that caused me to jump.

  Get your act together. You’ve trained for this and worse.

  Then why did I feel like the virgin sacrifice climbing up the mountain to throw herself into the erupting volcano to appease the gods? The gods would be greatly disappointed if I was their virgin sacrifice; the volcano would probably belch me up.

  We fell in at the back of the group as everyone funneled down the stairs to the swinging doors below. Nadine remained sitting on her mattress with Oliver on her lap. The boy clung to her, but no tears streaked his face as he watched everyone walking past.

  And then we were going down the stairs and out the front doors to the street below. Leaves and dust covered the cracked asphalt, and the weeds poking through large patches of the road made it more green than black. I hoped no one broke an ankle on the broken street as we gathered in the middle of it.

  When I turned to look at the mountain, I expected to find the minotaur already making its way down the road, but I didn’t see it anywhere.

  “Where is…?” My question trailed off as what I’d assumed was part of a house on the hill suddenly moved.

  My throat went dry when I realized it wasn’t a house, but the beast. The thing was still a quarter mile away, but each of its steps vibrated the ground with increasing intensity.

  “Is this where you always fight it?” Bale asked.

  “We’ve tried setting traps, spreading out, attacking from different positions, attacking from the buildings, hiding, charging up the hill, ambushing it outside the cave, and none of it worked. Now, instead of tiring ourselves out by doing all those things, we wait for it to come to us. The death count is lower this way. If it has to hunt for its victim, it tends to kill whoever it comes across until then,” Tusks said.

  “It must weigh two ton,” I said as it rounded a bend and vanished; the steady shaking of the ground told of its continued approach.

  And then it was coming around the corner of another building and standing at the end of the street. I adjusted my grip on the spear as the moonlight spilling over it revealed all its repulsive details; my heart galloped like a runaway horse.

  Standing on its legs, it was at least ten feet tall and the size of a small house. Its chest was the size of five men put together and broader than any tree, and its shoulders were more like battering rams. Though it had the body of a man; it was like no man I’d ever seen.

  And then there was its head. I’d expected the head of a bull, but I hadn’t anticipated the glowing, sickly yellow eyes or the pulled back muzzle revealing razor-sharp teeth no bull possessed. Two black horns curved out two feet from either side of its head before twisting over, so the lethal ends aimed ahead of it. Turned toward us were its two pointed ears.

  Three-inch-long claws tipped the foot-long fingers of its massive hands, and its black, cloven hooves also looked like they could eviscerate a person. Fine brown hair covered its entire body, but the etched muscles of its chest were visible beneath the hair.

  A chill ran down my spine, and I gulped as I tried not to let the size of this monster intimidate me, but it was almost impossible not to edge away from it as it grinned at us. And then, it was running toward us.

  The thunderous beats of its hooves rebounded off the buildings. Someone cried and threw themselves to the ground where they started to weep. Hawk stepped protectively closer to me and hefted the battle ax he’d selected from the weapons. I forced myself to keep breathing as the minotaur closed the distance between us.

  When it was only ten feet away, it dropped to all fours and charged at us like a bull. Feeling like the pin in front of the bowling ball, I darted to the side seconds before it would have gored me.

  My foot caught on a broken piece of asphalt, and my ankle twisted out from under me. Unable to get my hands out in time, I fell to the side. Taking the impact on my shoulder, I rolled before leaping to my feet.

  I spotted Hawk across the road as the minotaur barreled over two women before stopping at the end of the street. One of the women was still alive and clutching her stomach. The other was sprawled across the road like a broken rag doll while blood seeped out beneath her.

  “Look out!” someone shouted.

  Randy grasped the injured woman’s arm and started dragging her off the road as the minotaur came back toward us. He didn’t get her out of the way fast enough as the minotaur speared her with a horn, tore her from Randy’s grasp, and tossed her in the air. I didn’t look to see where she landed as the beast veered and came straight at me.

  Chapter Thirty

  Aisling

  My body reacted like a deer caught in the headlights, but my training overrode my instincts, and I braced myself to leap out of the way. My vision pinpointed until all I saw was the glow of its eyes as the gigantic beast barreled toward me. I wanted to run screaming from it, but I had to wait until it was closer or it would veer off course and kill me anyway.

  I leapt to the side at the same time as Hawk grabbed my arm and yanked me out of the way. He pushed me behind him, and grasping his battle ax with both hands, he smashed it into the minotaur’s back. When I plunged my spear into its side, it tore from my hands. The ax also pulled away from Hawk.

  The beast charged by us before rearing onto its back legs to grasp at the ax. As if it were no more than an annoying splinter, the minotaur stretched its arm over its back and plucked the ax free. As it studied the thing, a gurgled chortle issued from its throat before it threw the ax.

  “Watch out!” Corson shouted.

  Hawk and I flung ourselves to the ground as the ax flew so close that a breeze ruffled my hair when it soared over our heads. Someone screamed, and I looked up to see a demon staggering back with the ax embedded in her chest.

  The minotaur plucked my spear free next, but before it could do anything with it, Lix raced forward with his sword raised while he released a savage battle cry. Corson, Bale, and Wren followed as Lix dodged the hand the minotaur swung at him and leapt onto the creature.

  With the agility of a monkey, he dodged the minotaur’s grasping hands as he clambered up the front of the creature before swinging around to its back. Raising his sword, he clasped it with both hands before plunging it through the creature’s neck.

  The minotaur’s muscles were so thick the blade embedded halfway through before catching on sinew and refusing to budge. The creature slapped at Lix like he was a flea, but the skellein dodged the blows as he yanked on his sword to free it.

  Corson leapt off the ground and plunged his talons into the beast’s throat. Before he could
pull his talons free, the minotaur’s nostrils flared, and it seized Corson. The beast’s hand swallowed half of Corson’s body.

  “No!” Wren shouted as she ran behind it and sliced open its Achilles tendons.

  The minotaur roared and tossed Corson aside as Bale plunged her sword into its chest and more demons ran forward to spear it. Hawk and I scrambled to our feet and ran to join the others as more humans and demons leapt into the battle.

  Blood oozed from the minotaur’s wounds as it swung its claws down. The powerful blow eviscerated one woman and cleaved a demon in half. I recoiled and closed my eyes when warm blood sprayed my face.

  Before I could clear the blood from my eyes, something hit me so hard, it lifted me off my feet and tossed me aside. I couldn’t see where I was going or how high I flew as wind whipped around me.

  “Aisling!” Hawk bellowed.

  My breath burst out of me, needles of pain pierced my body, and my lungs compressed when I crashed into the side of a building. Wood splintered, and something gave way against my back, but I didn’t go all the way through the wall. Instead, I hung for a moment before sliding to the ground.

  I struggled to gasp in air, but my lungs refused to accept it until, finally, the pressure in my chest eased and oxygen rushed in. I tried to open my eyes, but the blood caking my lashes made it impossible to see. Wiping frantically at them, I listened to the screams and grunts of the battle; not being able to see made it more terrifying.

  Hawk! I scrubbed at my eyes and peeled them open again.

  I found Hawk immediately as he darted out of the way of the minotaur’s horns. The beast was back on all fours. As it swung its head back and forth, it shoved and threw aside anyone close to it before rising onto its legs again and reaching over its back for Lix.

  When it grasped Lix, another demon ran in and thrust a sword into the creature’s stomach. The minotaur ripped the sword free and plucked Lix off its back before tossing him aside. Then it fell to the earth with enough force it dented the asphalt and rattled the glass in the windows beside me.

  I pushed myself further up the side of the building when those yellow eyes swung in my direction. My heart plummeted into my stomach as it turned and raced toward me. My hand fell to one of my guns, and I pulled it free. Shooting this thing would be like firing at a freight train, but it wouldn’t take me alive.

  My first two shots struck it in the chest and blood spilled free, but it never slowed. The third bullet hit it in the center of the forehead. Its head jerked back a little, but that was the only reaction it revealed to being shot in the fucking head.

  My ears rang as I continued to fire until my gun emptied, and I tossed it aside. Lifting my hands, I willed fire into them. My terror must have fueled them as the flames burst free and encircled my wrists. If bullets and axes weren’t any good against this thing, my fire wouldn’t do much, but I’d make this thing scream.

  When Hawk raced after the minotaur, the fury on his face propelled me to my feet. I couldn’t let him get himself killed trying to fight this beast. If this thing was going to take me, then so be it, but Hawk would make it through this.

  Still a little disoriented from hitting the wall, I stumbled more than ran toward the minotaur, but it was closing the distance between us fast. Three feet away from me, the creature came to a halt and plucked a motionless demon off the ground. I recognized Tusks as the minotaur lifted him and rose onto its hind legs.

  Skidding to a halt, I staggered back as the minotaur examined Tusks before throwing the unconscious demon over its shoulder. On the other side of the minotaur, Hawk stopped running toward the beast and ran behind it toward me. The minotaur smacked another demon out of its way and strolled down the road as if it wasn’t bleeding from a hundred different wounds.

  I gawked after its fading back as it disappeared around a corner before reappearing on the trail to the mountain. Then, it ducked to enter the cave and vanished.

  What remained of my adrenaline rushed out of me, and I nearly went down. I hated the relief that washed over me, but I’d been so sure that thing was coming for me. Instead, it chose Tusks, who would most likely die. I disliked myself for feeling grateful, but I couldn’t help it. I was going to live another day.

  Then, Hawk was before me and wrapping his arm around my waist. Unable to stand on my own anymore, I sagged against him. He easily kept me up as he cradled my head with his other hand and kissed my forehead.

  “Are you okay?” he demanded.

  I couldn’t form words yet. I’d never seen or experienced anything as unstoppable as that thing before. Everyone had warned us, but none of us were willing to listen. Unless we came up with some new way to defeat it, that thing would pick us off one by one, but what could we possibly do to destroy it?

  “Aisling, are you okay?” Hawk inquired as he pulled my head from his shoulder and brushed back my hair to look at me.

  I opened my mouth to tell him I was fine; I would have told every other living creature I was good, but this was Hawk, and the truth slipped from my lips. “No. I thought it was coming for me.”

  “So did I.”

  “And when it took him instead…” My voice trailed off.

  “I understand,” he said as I’d known he would. “I was glad it wasn’t you too. Come on, let’s get you inside and somewhere you can relax.”

  Neither of us would ever relax again in this town, but I didn’t resist as he led me back toward the library.

  “What about the dead?” Wren asked.

  “They’ll still be there tomorrow,” Randy said.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Hawk

  I finished tying the rope onto one of the beams in the attic of the home and gave it a gentle tug. “Can you feel it?” I shouted down the stairs to Aisling.

  From the first floor, I heard her distant shout of “Yes!”

  I plucked the string one more time before walking away and climbing down the ladder to the second-floor hallway. With my forearm, I wiped the sweat from my brow while I gazed through the open door of the bedroom across from me and out the window.

  Through the glass, I saw the woods and the sun creeping toward the horizon. Would the minotaur return tonight?

  If it did, we would be better prepared for it, though everyone said traps were useless against it. I wanted to tell them they were wrong, but after last night, I suspected they weren’t. That thing had stormed in here and slapped us around like annoying gnats it was determined to squash.

  They told us it would happen, but I was so certain we could kill it. We’d survived the falling of the seals, escaped Hell, destroyed Lucifer, battled the jinn, and destroyed five of the eleven horsemen; one overgrown cow couldn’t be that tough to kill.

  I hadn’t expected that cow to be the size of a small house and nearly impervious to injury.

  However, it didn’t matter the minotaur seemed unbeatable; I would find a way to stop it. When it went after Aisling last night, I was sure she was the victim it was going to take, and I was helpless to stop it. I’d always known I’d do whatever it took to keep her safe, but in that instant, I realized how much she meant to me.

  I was falling in love with her, and if I had to find some way to kiss the minotaur to stop it, I would do it.

  “Hawk?” Aisling asked from the bottom of the stairs leading to the first floor.

  “I’ll be right down.”

  I tore my gaze away from the window and bent to lift the stairs going into the attic. They creaked as they slid into place. I plucked the string again, and it remained secure—one more trap set for the thing.

  A squeak from one of the stairs alerted me Aisling was climbing them before she turned the corner of the hall. My heart skipped a beat when my gaze met hers and a sad smile curved the corners of her mouth. Her limp from last night was already gone, but the horror of the night lingered in her eyes.

  When she glided toward me, I opened my arms and enveloped her against my chest when she stepped into them. She fit s
o perfectly against me that her body melded to mine. My chin rested on her head while she played with the buttons on my shirt.

  She undid a couple of buttons, and her fingers slid inside my shirt to rest against my flesh. She sighed when her palms flattened against my skin. Sliding my fingers through her hair, I clasped her nape and held her closer.

  “When I thought it was going to take you…” My voice trailed off when she lifted her head to look at me.

  Her beauty robbed me of my breath, and releasing her nape, I clasped her cheeks in my hands as I kissed the tip of her nose. I stifled my resentment over not being able to really kiss her and show her how much I’d come to love her, but I settled for telling her.

  “I’m falling in love with you, Aisling,” I admitted as I released her face.

  My mouth hovered near the corner of hers as she remained unmoving against me; her increased breaths warmed my cheek. Then she removed her hand from my shirt and rested it against my cheek. Leaning back, she released my face to trace her finger over my mouth; I turned my head away.

  Rising onto her toes, she kissed my cheek before taking my earlobe into her mouth and nipping at it. My hands constricted on her when her fangs grazed my flesh and her breasts pressed against my chest. I lifted her off the floor and carried her into the bedroom to set her on the bed within.

  When dust rose around her, I lifted her again and yanked the blanket off before setting her down. I gripped the bottom of her shirt, and she sat up as she lifted her arms into the air for me to tug it over her head.

  I threw it on the floor before running my fingers over the delicate curve of her collarbone. Bending my head, I kissed the hollow beneath her throat and listened to the increased beat of her heart as I unhooked her bra and tossed it aside. I stroked the curve of her breast before rising over her again.

  She leaned back and set her hands on the mattress while watching as I untied her boots and pulled them off; they hit the floor with a thud. I pulled her socks off before unbuttoning her pants.