Devil Hunters (Tales of the Crypto-Hunter Book 2)

by Rick Gualtieri

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  Danni coughed, tasting copper in the back of her mouth, but she continued onward despite the pain. Behind her, she could hear him coming. He’d given up all pretense of stealth, seemingly intent on running her down instead, his labored breathing giving his position away as surely as the crackle of branches breaking in his wake. At least she’d succeeded in pissing him off.

  The only thing that kept her going was what he’d do to her once he caught up. By this point, Danni was no longer afraid of death. If Noah killed her, so be it. There would be no shame to such an end. It was what would happen if she didn’t die that terrified her.

  The pain in her side was intensifying, but it paled in comparison to the fear of being dragged back to the compound as his wife.

  Danni wasn’t stupid enough to think she could run forever in her shape, but from the sounds Noah was making behind her, hopefully she wouldn’t need to. She abruptly turned right, hoping that in her race to keep ahead of him she hadn’t lost her bearings.

  She knew she was risking a lot, running all out through a potential minefield of traps – that at any moment she could step wrong and that would be it.

  “Sssarah!” The wheezing cry came from close behind her, too close.

  Danni spared a glance over her shoulder. Though she couldn’t see him gaining in the dark, she could definitely hear him.

  The pain, combined with the exhaustion at having been on the go for hours, was slowing her down. Had she been fresh, she was certain she could have outpaced her pursuer, but it felt like someone had poured gasoline on her insides and made her swallow a match. As it was now, she would be overtaken within seconds.

  Unless she changed the rules of the chase.

  Listening to the wet, heavy breathing coming up behind her, she got an idea how she might do that, but there was little time to properly plan. She had to act and hope she got lucky.

  Danni burst through a heavy bramble of bushes, scraping herself up in the process, then slid to the side and dropped prone. It was an amateurish trick at best, something one might expect of a grade schooler, and it made her side scream in protest, but it was all she had to work with.

  She was counting on the fact that Noah was too pissed off to risk losing her.

  Sure enough, he came plowing through the same bushes she’d just emerged from. Danni kicked out and caught one of his legs with her own. It was like striking a concrete piling and, for a moment, she was certain she’d hear the sound of her own leg shattering like a matchstick, but the brute went tumbling face-first onto the forest floor instead.

  Danni spied the knife, still stuck in his back, and was sorely tempted to try to wrench it free, but she abandoned that idea almost immediately. One fall wasn’t going to do much more than slow her pursuer down for a second or two. If she truly wanted to win this, she had to keep up the pressure.

  Noah pushed himself to his knees and coughed several times, but Danni was already back on her feet. She took a moment to look up at the stars and check her direction, then she was off again, moving at a running limp that was barely able to classify as a jog. Danni again realized she needed to be smarter. In her bid to escape, she was doing more damage to herself than him. Not a winning strategy in the long run.

  “SSSSARAH!”

  The cry dissolved into a wheezing, hacking cough that echoed behind her. Unfortunately, her hopes that maybe he’d had enough were dashed when she again heard him barreling through the woods. He was getting more reckless, charging full steam ahead, whereas she was slowing down with each potshot she took at him.

  Almost as if in response, a sharp stab of pain rose up from her side, reminding her that another blow like that would almost certainly be lethal.

  Though Noah sounded like he was breathing through a snorkel filled with mud, he moved like a freight train on legs. She began to fear that she’d run out of options long before he ran out of steam.

  If that happened, she’d...

  Danni’s foot caught on the edge of something and all thoughts dissolved as she pinwheeled her arms and toppled forward.

  She managed to barely break the fall with her hands, but the shock of landing rippled through her body, causing her to cry out in agony.

  There was no time to waste on pain, though. She quickly sat up and looked to see what she’d tripped over, despite knowing that she’d erased whatever lead she had.

  As bad as it was, she saw that it could have been much worse. Her foot had caught on the edge of a spiked pit trap. Another inch or so and she’d have gotten her leg stuck fast, with little chance of freeing herself in time.

  Danni rolled to her feet and started to turn again, but then the bushes parted as a massive form seemingly exploded through them, headed toward her.

  Come on, step in it.

  Sadly, luck wasn’t on her side. Noah’s foot came down on the far side of the trap and before she could take much more than a step away from him, his hand wrapped around her arm and spun her back toward him.

  He grinned maniacally down at her. “M-my Sssar...”

  His words dissolved into a strangled cry as Danni, acting on pure instinct alone, brought her knee up. Large, powerful, and possessing skin more suited to a dinosaur, the Jersey Devil was apparently quite human when it came to a kick in the balls.

  He let go of her, his claws scraping furrows across her bicep, and dropped his hands to his crotch.

  Danni saw a potential opening, stepped in, and shoved him with everything she had. Off balance as he was, Noah backed up a few steps, a keening hiss of breath escaping his lips.

  Come on!

  She could have cried out in joy as he fell to one knee, his other leg disappearing into the spike trap. He took a desperate swipe at her, falling well short of the mark, but Danni jumped back anyway. Her side protested the movement with a wave of nausea, causing her to lose her balance in the process and fall onto her butt in the damp soil.

  She lay there, unable to make any sound more audible than a whimper for a moment. However, she saw she wasn’t the only one.

  Noah opened his mouth, perhaps to scream out her name again, but all that escaped was a tiny wheeze of air. He took a great big, gulping breath, then another, before pounding on his chest with one fist.

  He looked up at her, his eyes nearly bulging from their sockets. “M-my, Sssarah,”

  Danni pulled herself to her feet, a task not nearly as easy as it should have been. Once she was up, she looked back and spat in his direction. “My name isn’t ... Sarah, you dickless loser.”

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  Noah gritted his teeth. The lightheadedness he felt was instantly forgotten at her words, spoken like an insolent strumpet with no respect for her betters. His father had warned him of jezebels like this. Whores of Babylon, he called them.

  He finally began to understand that he would never truly make her his, not in the way he wanted. A woman like her might birth him a child, true, but she’d never be fit to raise one. Never be worthy to stand by his side. There would always be a need to keep one eye open around her.

  There was still one other Sarah left at the compound, a properly cowed female. She’d do for now. As for this whore, he’d put her in her place. It would be the last painful lesson of her life.

  Noah bent low, bracing his powerful arms against the ground, trying to ignore the dull ache that came from between his legs. He sucked in as much of a breath as he could, then pushed with everything he had.

  The sharpened sticks in the trap bit into his leg, drawing blood, but not nearly as much as if his skin had been thin and weak. Still, it hurt like the dickens as he pulled, but finally he was rewarded with a crack of wood that told him the man-trap was giving way.

  He glanced back at Sarah and smiled, spittle pouring from his lips as he freed himself. Her eyes were wide as saucers, fear showing nakedly in them despite the rest of her body being covered in the grime and muck of the forest.

  It was fitting, that she die layered in filth, for
that was what she was – filth, nothing more.

  The false Sarah backed up, then turned to run, but she was moving much slower now. The bitch was tired, and her injuries were beginning to mount up.

  Noah launched himself at her, but a searing pain erupted in his chest before he could close the distance. He doubled over, fighting for air. It was as if his lungs refused to fill up.

  But he wouldn’t quit, not now when he was so close to victory. He’d catch her and take her on the forest floor, then he’d wrap his hands around her throat and watch as the life left her eyes.

  Afterwards, he’d go back and finish any intruders who were left, making sure their bodies were scattered for the animals to feast upon. These lands would once more belong to his clan which would rise anew from the ashes, like Lazarus reborn.

  Noah pushed himself up and lurched after Sarah. Each breath was more difficult than the last, but he closed on her quickly thanks to his longer stride. She looked back and saw him coming, his excellent night vision allowing him to enjoy the fear etched on her face.

  She turned away and redoubled her efforts, but it was a feeble attempt on her part. This race was all but over. She just refused to acknowledge it.

  He watched as Sarah leapt over something up ahead. Her foot hit the ground, slipped, and then she fell forward with a pained cry. Noah considered this. There was no log or other obstacle in the path. That meant something else – another trap.

  His hurt leg was already a testament to how sloppy he’d been, a situation he didn’t care to repeat. He knew these woods and what lay in them. It was time to use his head.

  Noah slowed down just as Sarah turned over onto her back to watch him approach. He could see by the look on her face that she was nearly spent, almost ready to accept her fate. But, rather than leap upon her and ravish her as he planned, he trod carefully, keeping his eyes on the forest floor in front of him.

  He easily spotted the snare – one of Lemuel’s, from the look of it. Probably wouldn’t have stopped her for long anyway. The damned fool was always sloppy with his work. Still, it would have held her long enough.

  No matter. He’d have her either way.

  Noah sucked in another breath, barely getting enough air to satisfy the burning need inside of him, then lifted his leg to step over the trap. Once he was past that, nothing would stand between him and Sarah.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  Danni was done. She’d landed wrong and messed up her ankle on that last leap, slipping on the wet ground. It might still support her weight, but not for running. Worse, it was all for nothing. In trying to clear the snare, she’d telegraphed exactly where it was.

  From the labored sound of his breathing, Noah appeared to be in almost as bad of shape as she was, but he apparently still had enough left to finish the job. If he got his hands on her, there would be nothing she could do except pray it was quick and...

  Danni mentally chided herself as he moved toward the snare. She’d been raised better than that. To give up so easily ... it was an insult to who she was and why she’d joined Derek’s team. It was a slap in the face to those she couldn’t save, as well as those who still needed saving – whether today or in the future.

  So long as she continued to draw breath, she couldn’t give up.

  As she watched the devil’s misshapen foot cross the boundary where the rope loop lay, she realized there was still hope for her. If he wouldn’t step into the trap, then she’d bring the trap to him.

  Fighting against the fear and pain, Danni flung herself in Noah’s direction. His head cocked in surprise at the sudden display of aggression, causing him to hesitate for the barest of instants. It was all she needed to slap her hand against the trap’s trigger, manually setting it off and sending the snare rising up from the ground, where it wrapped around Noah’s foot.

  He cried out as his leg was yanked up. For one agonizing moment, Danni wanted to scream in triumph as he teetered off balance, but then there came a crack as the branch struggling against his weight snapped. It fell to the ground next to her, and the rope holding the devil’s leg went slack.

  No!

  Noah stumbled back several steps, his hitched breath becoming a shrill whistle. Danni knew she should try to run again, but her body didn’t seem to want to respond. She could only watch, horrified, as he regained his footing and then smiled as if to let her know her final effort against him had failed.

  The devil opened his spittle-caked mouth, no doubt to gloat, but no sound came out. He tried again, but nothing but a weak choke of air escaped. For a moment, he stood there looking perplexed. Then he tried to draw a breath and the grin on his face was instantly replaced with another expression, one Danni had become intimately familiar with – fear.

  Noah grabbed at his throat as he tried to suck in a breath, but to no avail. All that escaped his mouth was a rope of thick phlegm.

  Danni subconsciously held her own breath as she watched. This was what she’d been hoping for. She’d known from the start she was no match for this man-beast, but his labored breathing had been hard to miss. She had wagered a desperate gamble when she led Noah from the clearing, that the devil’s weakness lay not within his arms or legs, but within his lungs, and that pushing him hard enough might succeed where weapons failed.

  He began to desperately pound on his own chest, the meaty impacts breaking the silence of the forest.

  That’s right! Suffocate, you bastard!

  Noah hit himself again and stumbled against a tree, almost losing his footing, but he managed to pull himself back upright. Eyes bulging, he stood as straight as he could, arched his spine, and then slammed both fists into his ribcage.

  There came the dull crack of his hands striking bone, followed by a small wheezing gasp that escaped his lips.

  Oh, God, no!

  Noah sucked in a greedy breath of air, then did so again. He took a step toward her then staggered, no doubt still woozy from lack of oxygen. Off balance he might be, but he was breathing again. It would be only a matter of seconds before he cleared his head and came for her. She was out of ideas and too weak to run. It was over...

  Wait – off balance!

  There was still a chance, however slim. Danni turned and spied the snare rope lying within reach, the end still looped around Noah’s foot.

  Summoning the last of her strength, she grabbed hold and pulled with everything she had, trying to drag his tree trunk of a leg out from under him. For a long moment, she was certain it wouldn’t be enough – that she’d give herself a hernia long before she budged him – but he was standing on the same slick ground she’d slipped on. His foot slid on the wet dirt and, with one final yank, she dragged his leg out from beneath him.

  Noah let out a yelp of surprise as he fell backward, landing with a heavy thud.

  The cry became a snarl as the monstrosity that played at being a man scrambled to his feet. Spent, Danni could only watch, accepting that the end was upon her, but then the snarl turned into a pained gurgle and Noah’s eyes opened wide in panic. He opened his mouth again, but any words he had to say were drowned in the gout of black blood he coughed out.

  He spun and then reached around, clawing at his back. In the dim light shining down from above, Danni spied the barest glint of metal.

  Francis’s knife! It was now buried up to its handle in the devil’s back. So grotesque were his deformities that he couldn’t reach far enough to grab it. He doubled over, coughing out even more gore.

  She suddenly understood what had happened. When he fell, his own weight had succeeded where her strength had failed, pushing the knife through his bumpy hide. Danni couldn’t begin to guess at Noah’s strange anatomy, but it seemed a fair assumption that Francis’s blade had pierced one of his lungs.