It was a wasted effort, though. We both knew it.
“What?” Kay chimed in. Her gaze passed from Xaver to me. “What’s going on? Jade?”
“She traded her life for ours,” Cole said, still searching through every one of the bag’s pockets.
“All of ours,” Sean added.
Xaver growled in irritation. “Come on, reaper. Or the deal is off.”
I tossed my gun onto the ground and stepped toward him.
“Jade, please!” Cole sounded desperate now.
His pleas stabbed at my chest, and I didn’t know why. Maybe it was because I would never know the secrets of my life before dying now. Or maybe it was because I knew, deep down, I would miss the friends I’d made. All the things I was never going to experience.
I had to do this, though. I had to. To save them all.
Meeting Xaver’s stare, I said, “Let’s go.”
I was ready now.
He gestured to the Hell pit. “Jump on in.”
After walking over to the edge of the crater, I looked down, seeing nothing but darkness. The distinct rotten-eggs smell of sulfur wafted up, and I gagged. An eternity of that smell? Yuck. That sounded like Hell, all right.
One last glance over my shoulder, and I saw all my friends—new and old—standing there, watching me in silence. Wyatt saluted me, but all I could offer him in return was a sad smile.
I was never good at anything emotional. Especially goodbyes. So, instead of facing the sorrow in their stares, I turned around and confronted my fate, telling myself I was doing this for all the right reasons. This was the right thing to do.
Sucking in a deep breath of clean night air for the last time, I closed my eyes and jumped.
Everything stopped.
Why wasn’t I falling?
When I opened my eyes, I was stuck above the pit, hovering in midair. Frozen in place. I waved my arms and legs about, ready for the drop, but it didn’t come.
Xaver shouted something in a foreign tongue. He was angry. It was obvious from the blaze in his eyes. Something was happening, and it wasn’t his doing.
A ball of bright light whizzed across the darkness, illuminating the night and capturing every eye. It circled Xaver, who swiped at it like a pesky fly, before it flew my way at full speed.
What the—
The orb crashed into me. Like I had been hit by a sack of bricks, all the breath left my lungs. Whiteness exploded, and I was suddenly soaring through the air, away from the Hell hole.
I landed hard several feet away, rolling several times before stopping with my face in the dirt. Gasping for air, I hauled myself to my knees. My ribs screamed in protest, and every inhale was sharp like sucking in glass shards. They were probably bruised. Possibly broken.
Struggling to my feet, I searched the sky for the thing that had shot me out of danger but only saw darkness.
Had I imagined the flying speck?
I must have.
But then how had I ended up all the way across the yard?
Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to mull what had happened around because Xaver let out another one of his terrifying, animalistic roars, and the ground beneath my feet shook so hard, I almost lost my footing.
When shadowy shapes appeared at the pit’s edge, my insides iced over with dread. The blackness began to concentrate, gaining more density, more horrifying features, and by the time the dozens of creatures lifted themselves out of the ground, it was clear we were in deep, deep shit.
Halflings. More than I’d ever seen before.
And they were crawling out of Hell at an alarming rate.
Inside the trailer, Angel barked ferociously. Kay screamed as the Halflings rushed for them. Cole whipped out his gun from his bag and began emptying the clip. One by one, Halflings flew back from the impact of his bullets, screeching so loud my ears rang, but as a single creature withered away, another five would take its place.
More gunshots blared, this time from Wyatt and Sean’s weapons.
My pulse banged against my eardrums. There were too many of them. Even with the rapid fire of bullets. Everyone was forced to take steps back as the creatures drew closer.
I had to do something. I had to help.
As I raced around the crater, toward my friends, I kicked one of the Halflings back into the hole. My gun was gone, thrown away after my deal with Xaver, so I had nothing to fight with but my fists and feet. Lucky for me, I was pretty good with them.
“Get the girl into the house and barricade the door!” Wyatt yelled above the commotion. He reloaded his shotgun and fired again.
Laurence didn’t need to be told twice. He scooped Kay up like she was a child and ran up the stairs into the trailer.
Smart move. With all of Wyatt’s protection symbols and Laurence’s extra spells, the trailer was the safest place to be. Getting everyone in there would be ideal but unrealistic. Then we would just be trapped. Put in our own cage.
No. We had to fight this fight. Now that the deal was off and things were a mess, Xaver would keep coming after Kay—maybe all of us—if we just put him back where he came from. I couldn’t let that happen.
It was time to find out if a demon could really die.
Wasting no time, I leapt onto a nearby Halfling’s hunched back. It flew forward, bringing me with it. We landed with a thud. When the Halfling twisted to throw me off, I wrapped my arms around its neck and squeezed hard. My hope? To cut off the thing’s breathing. But when its bucking and squirming only increased, I realized these demonic creatures probably didn’t need to breathe air, like I hadn’t.
I needed a new tactic.
“Jade!”
When I looked up, I spotted Cole through the throng of bodies pouring some liquid on the blade of Sean’s long knife. Then he threw it at me when such precision, it landed perfectly stuck in the dirt by my arm. I grabbed it and plunged the blade into the Halfling’s back, then dragged the knife down its spine when it tried to throw me off again.
Black tar spurted from the wound, and the creature collapsed.
Holy Water. Cole had doused the knife in it.
Standing, I twisted the weapon in my hand. Not a gun, but it would work just fine. Now I was ready.
“Bring the reaper to me.” Xaver’s voice boomed over all other noise. “Kill the rest.”
About a dozen pair of eyes whirled on me. Some Halflings even let out a deafening squeal before charging me like a stampede of angry bulls.
Fear commanded my feet to run, but my muscles clenched in protest, pinning me in place. As the Halflings closed the distance, I could smell the stench of decay and sulfur wafting on the breeze.
Claws reached out to grab me. I swiped out with my blade.
A bright light shot between us, making the creatures skid to a halt. I blinked. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It was the orb I had seen before—a solid ball of white light, the one that had collided with me and saved me from the pit.
It zoomed back and forth, creating a barrier in front of the Halflings. A few of them reached out, curious, but the moment their skin came in contact with the mystical glow, the creatures disintegrated. Poof. Gone. Just like when blasted with the light from my demon-blasting power from my fingertips.
I stared at the white light, dumbfounded. “What are you?” Not a spirit, that was for sure. I knew spirits. This was something else. And it had saved me. Twice.
Of course, the thing didn’t answer me. I hadn’t expected it to. But I was grateful for its interference.
I awkwardly waved a thank you to it and spun around. To my horror, Cole, Wyatt, and Sean were now battling hand to hand with the other group of half-demons. The old man was using his shotgun as a bat, smashing the creatures in the head if they got too close, while Sean was shooting off his handgun like a pro.
An unseen force slammed into me from the side, claws latching into my collarbone. A Halfling and I jetted backwards onto the folding table, and the thing collapsed under our sudden weigh
t. Everything prepared for the summoning went flying, and the bowl of blood spilled all over us, soaking my shirt and pants and coating the demon’s face in dark red. Pain spiked up my spine and throughout my chest where its nails dug in deep.
Before I could even think to retaliate, the Halfling let out a piercing wail and jumped off me. Its grayish skin blackened as if it had been sprayed with Holy Water and began peeling off the bone, reminding me of wax melting down the sides of a candle.
The creature ripped at its flesh, pulling it off in chunks, and screaming.
Like my blood was burning him.
That wasn’t normal. Was my blood acidic to these demons? It sure seemed that way. Maybe it had something to do with the light power I now wielded.
Whatever it was, I’d take it.
I scrambled up to see another beast rushing toward me. I kicked out, and the sole of my boot met the bend of its knee. There was a terrible popping sound before it collapsed, clasping its leg and squealing like a distressed pig. Taking the opportunity, I gripped the knife and stabbed it into the Halfling’s chest, where the heart ought to be. It wiggled in agony, black goo bubbling out of the wound, before slumping into an unmovable heap. Dead.
I glanced over my shoulder to see the one that had snuck up on me and had been affected by my blood was nothing more than a puddle of tar in the soil.
Yuck! Had my blood really done that?
I shivered. What was I?
Movement whizzed past my right. Another half-demon determined to take me to Hell. I twisted last minute, spinning my blade at the same time and catching the monster across the stomach. The sharpness sliced through the skin and muscle with such ease, it wasn’t until its rancid insides started spilling out that it realized what had happened.
I took a second to catch my breath and scan the scene before me.
The yard was littered with bodies, all Halflings, and I praised our luck. There were still many more creatures to fight, and they were relentless, doing everything and anything they could to get to Wyatt or Sean or me.
A sudden blaze of fire lit up the darkness, painting the yard in a brilliant orange and yellow. When I turned, I found Cole throwing blasts of fire toward the enemy, taking out groups of them at a time and pushing many of them back into their hole. His laughter rang in my ears. It sounded haunted, maniacal, and very unlike him.
My chest tightened, remembering the last time Cole was forced to use his fire ability while fighting the half-demons, and the demonic twist I had seen in his face. If he kept tapping into that dark part of him, he would lose himself completely. Become one of these disgusting creatures that dwelled in Hell and followed full-blooded demons for the rest of eternity.
He continued to trudge forward, the fire shooting from his palms like a human flamethrower and forcing the Halflings back into the crater where they had come from. The scorching heat slapped against my cheeks and face, making me step back.
“Cole! No!”
His head whipped toward me, and the flame extinguished. But it wasn’t Cole I saw looking back at me. The eerie red eyes and over-stretched smile told me he had gone too far this time.
Oh no, Cole… Why did you use it?
Cole tilted his head to study me. Curious.
“Grab her!” Xaver’s command shook me to my very core. “Bring her to me!”
Cole didn’t move. Only stared at me, brows rising as if he were considering his options.
Okay. That was a good sign. Maybe he wasn’t completely gone yet.
“Cole, don’t. It’s me. Jade,” I said, hating that I was actually pleading with him now. “You’re still in there. I know you are. You need to listen to me.”
Still, he just watched me, his red eyes searching my face for something familiar.
“He’s gone, Jade,” Sean shouted as he whipped a Halfling with the back of his gun, sending it reeling back. “He’s one of them now.”
“No!”
He couldn’t be. Not yet.
I wasn’t ready to have to kill him, too.
“Cole, listen to me,” I said with more vigor. “We need you here to fight. We need you—”
He charged me.
Oh no.
My first thought was to turn and run. So that was what I did, spinning around and bolting as fast as I could to the trailer. But the idea must have come a second too late because Cole was on my heels immediately. When his body slammed into mine, we were propelled forward, rolling and tumbling. Every one of my wounds screamed, but it was nothing compared to my heart, which was pounding at an unnatural rate.
I twisted and thrashed against Cole’s hold, which clamped down on my wrists instantly. His knees pinned me down as he straddled my middle. Trying to buck him off did nothing. He was too strong like this, and all I could do was stare up at his eyes and wonder if the Cole I knew was still reachable inside him. Somewhere.
“Cole…please.” I struggled against him, but his grip bruised. My only option was to wriggle my hand free somehow and use one of my gifts. Either the reaper’s death touch or the white light.
Both could bring his death.
I didn’t want to kill him, no matter what I had said before. Not to mention the white light would leave me weak. Then Xaver could easily take me to Hell without a fight.
It looked like I didn’t have a choice. I would have to take my chances with the light power and pray I had enough energy to continue fighting afterward.
Reaching deep down, I found the power buzzing inside me, as if it had been patiently waiting for release. I didn’t have to do much to pull it out; it sprang to the surface with ease. Raw energy crackled across my knuckles.
“I’m sorry, Cole,” I whispered as my fingers began to illuminate.
“Don’t.” Cole’s voice was quick and sharp, and it took me a second to realize what he had said. “Not yet.”
I blinked. “Cole?”
He gave a small shake of his head. His eyes flashed from red to calming blue and back again.
“You need to strike him with your power where he’s the weakest,” he continued, his voice feather light. “It’s the only thing that can kill him.”
Letting the power settle again, I nodded, understanding. If Cole was telling the truth, then I would only have one chance at this.
A warning niggled at the back of my head that this might just be a lie. A way to get me to Xaver quietly and without a fight. But what other choice did I have? I had to trust him.
“Get up,” Cole said.
When he shifted his weight off me, I hurried to my feet. He clutched my wrist, careful not to touch my palm. He tugged me across the yard, the remaining Halflings creating a walkway for us as we passed through. They snarled and snapped their jaws at us. I threw them dirty looks.
When we reached Xaver, the demon grinned broadly.
“I’m here,” I shot. “Recall your hellions. They aren’t needed anymore.”
“There won’t be any more deals,” he barked. “You took advantage of my kindness and ruined that option. I won’t let it happen again.”
His kindness? I almost laughed out loud. Had I missed that part?
“Hey, I didn’t call for any backup. I don’t know what that thing was that came flying in.”
Cole inched me closer to Xaver and the Hell pit, and my pulse kicked up a notch. What was stopping him from just throwing me in? Maybe Wyatt was right, and I had played right into Cole’s plan. Had I made a major mistake?
I locked my knees, refusing to get any closer. He shoved me forward.
He was trying to push me into the pit. He had tricked me again.
“Now I will take you and all your little blood bags’ souls to Hell,” said Xaver. “My Halflings have been bored for some time and would love some new playthings to torture for eternity.”
When I peered up, I noticed the blackened spot in the center of Xaver’s chest, where one of the blessed bullets had landed. The skin around the area had festered away, creating a small hole surrounded b
y his sticky, tar-like blood.
If I got close enough, I could punch my fist through his flesh and expel my power. Blasting him from the inside out.
Sounded like it would work in my head. I didn’t have another plan, so let’s hope I was right with this one.
But since Xaver towered over me, I needed to find a way to get up to his level. Or bring him down to mine.
“Well, here I am,” I said. “Come and get me.”
To my surprise, Cole let me go, just in time for Xaver to reach down and grab me by the waist. He hauled me up to face him, the stench of his rotting breath making my stomach churn.
“The first thing I’m going to do is cut those pretty hands of yours off, so they can’t do any more damage. And then—”
I lashed out with a closed fist straight for the center of his chest and called for my light at the same time. It whipped through me like a tornado, wild and finally free. In an instant, white wisps of power surged out of my fingertips.
“You mean like this?” I said, satisfied.
Whiteness exploded inside him, the light bursting out of the other bullet holes in his skin, his eyes, ears, and mouth. It was so bright, my eyes burned. I could barely look at it.
When the light consumed Xaver completely, drowning him in brightness, he let me go. I dropped to the ground onto my knees.
Like discharging a bomb, the whiteness expanded suddenly, illuminating the entire yard in a blaze.
I squeezed my eyes shut and held my breath.
A few seconds later, when darkness pressed against my lids again, I opened my eyes. Xaver was gone. As was every Halfling. All that was left was a distinct ringing in my ears.
“You did it.” Cole was by my side, his voice almost childlike in his excitement. “You killed him and blasted all those fuckers back to Hell!”
I smiled up at him. I had done it, hadn’t I?
His eyes had changed again, mostly their normal color but also rimmed with red. He hadn’t been completely changed into one of those creatures, but he had come pretty close. If he opened himself up to that part of him again, there was a good chance he wasn’t coming back. His familiar grin was welcomed, though, even if I didn’t know who he was. Not really.
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