by Michael Todd
Pandora scoffed. Like she has any room to talk. Bet she can barely sit down right now.
Katie nodded toward the condo. “Juntto in here?”
Angie laughed and stepped to the side. “Sorry I’m guarding the door like a security officer. Come on in.”
Katie walked inside and tripped. “Ouch.”
Angie closed the door and pointed at two large cases. “Oh, yeah. Those were delivered to Juntto earlier today from Joshua in Las Vegas.”
Juntto came into the living room wearing a pair of jeans but no shirt or shoes. This time he looked like Khal Drogo from Game of Thrones. He had wavy hair down to his shoulders and a long braided beard. “Those are more Juntto-sized weapons! My other guns were destroyed by asshole demons, but now I’ve got new ones! He is hooking me up.”
“Good, and you are going to need them. I have to go to Romania. Some crazy shit is about to go down, and I’m pretty sure we are going to need you.”
Juntto clapped his hands. “Yes. I can try my new guns. I’ll get dressed.”
He skipped down the hall to the bedroom. Katie chuckled as he knocked his head on the door frame and yelled. Angie laughed nervously. “He is a bit of a klutz. Good thing the condo upstairs is empty right now. So, you guys are fighting?”
Katie shrugged. “I don’t know yet. Something crazy might be about to fall from the sky.”
Juntto came back out dressed in half-unlaced black boots, a black Henley, and jeans. He grabbed the two cases. Angie kissed him on the cheek and stepped back. A worried look crossed her face.
Pandora opened a portal and made a sound like she was lifting something heavy.
Everything okay?
Yeah. It’s just tougher than I thought it would be. Let’s move quickly, okay?
Katie caught Angie’s eyes. “Don’t worry, everything will be fine.” Katie jumped through the portal with Juntto.
The portal shut behind her and the two found themselves in hell. Pandora grunted again. Shit. Maybe my demon powers are changing like that buttmunch Gabrielle said.
Let’s not linger, okay?
Pandora opened another portal. Katie was surprised when she wasn’t hit with a blast of cold air. Juntto ducked through with his guns and his spear on his back. Katie followed. They were on the hill overlooking the town. The temperature was at least eighty degrees, and the snow was melting.
Well, this is pretty nice.
It’s not a Romanian winter, though.
Juntto looked at Katie, confused. “Are we in the right place?”
“You are.” Korbin walked up from the camp and gave Katie a hug. “Thanks for coming, guys. I was just about to call you.”
Katie lifted an eyebrow. “Uh oh. That doesn’t sound good.”
Korbin sighed. “Well, good or bad we have yet to determine. Come with me. We can see the entire village from over here.”
Katie and Juntto followed Korbin to the edge of the hill that looked out over the village. Korbin pointed at the church. “The town has been absolutely silent. The demons guarding it like statues have all disappeared. We haven’t seen or heard a peep out of any of them. The portal also shrank. It was over the whole town, but now it’s just lingering over the church.”
Katie groaned. “What is it with that fucking church? That is where I found Brock and the others. That’s where the spider bitch was hanging out. I have a feeling this has something to do with her.”
Juntto put down his cases. “Have you sent anyone down there?”
Korbin shook his head. “No, we were waiting for you guys. We figured with limited intel it would be stupid to send in regular military.”
Katie nodded. “That was a good call. I can tell you right now, if it is that bitch, they would have been taken down in two seconds. That, or wrapped in one of her creepy-ass cocoons. Not sure which one would be worse.”
Katie watched the portal swirl wildly over the church. The streets were empty, and the sound of helicopters echoed through the lava streets. This village had been abandoned, bled dry by the previous fight, yet there was still a portal to hell overhead. Maybe the Leviathan was not working alone. It would take a demon to open that portal. Whether Sasha knew it or not, she had an ally, at least for the moment.
Juntto morphed to his frost giant form, then opened his cases and pulled out his new Juntto-sized weapons. “I say we head down there. Things are changing. It looks calm now, but who knows where things will stand in an hour?”
Katie agreed. “Korbin, can you give us some support?
“I’ve got perimeter guns set up. My men will service those. If any demons come out, I’ll shoot them on the spot.
“If it’s this Leviathan, we will have our hands full.” Katie looked thoughtful. “I learned my lesson last time. I do not want a single soldier getting in the way of that thing. Pandora, and I? We could barely handle her. She killed a handful of soldiers last time without wasting a breath. I won’t have that on my conscience.”
Korbin nodded and waved to the men waiting for his instruction. Katie situated her guns on her hips and called for her angelic armor. In a moment she was encased in gold. Pandora sniffed. Should I step out?
Katie shook her head. No. I am going to need you inside me to keep me going. If you’re outside, who knows what could happen? We know how much she enjoys your personal brand of energy. Even if it’s not the Leviathan, I’ll still need you to heal me.
Pandora didn’t fight her. I’m ready. Remember, if it’s her, don’t get too close to her legs. When she has you, it’s almost impossible to get out of her grasp. Aim for her chest, her head, or her stomach. Having to regenerate her limbs slows her down but not by much.
Katie caught Juntto’s eye, and the two of them made their way down the hill. Korbin and his soldiers followed them. They paused at the guns and prepared them for firing. Korbin stopped Katie. “Be careful in there. This fucking freak has already done her share of damage to our team.”
Katie patted his shoulder. “I got this, Pops. This bitch is going to get a beat-down. If not, I’m going to take my frustration out on whoever is dumb enough to be in that town. Either way, we are going to solve this once and for all.” They left Korbin to organize his men.
Juntto and Katie walked carefully through the village, but it was dead silent. As they approached the church, they looked at the open portal overhead. “Not as much heat coming from that thing.”
Pandora growled. Must be open from the outer rings. I smell Beelzebub all over this one.
Katie shook her head. How many fucking high-level demons are there? They all seem to want to hop on this train. Don’t they notice when I chop the others’ heads off?
Pandora chuckled. Demons don’t learn their lessons very well. They all think they are invincible.
Please allow me to instruct them otherwise.
Katie surveyed the area with her hand on her gun. “All right, this part of town looks clear. Right below the portal, but there aren’t any demons. That doesn’t seem like a good sign this time.”
Juntto took a deep breath. “Not if it’s Teyollucuani. Tell Pandora she is going to have to be the one to shut that portal. I didn’t bring the missile launcher.”
Pandora perked up. You got it. I’ll close the portal, and you two neutralize the threat. Hopefully, I can take care of it without leaving your body.
Katie breathed deeply. Make that a priority, please. I’d like to survive this.
As they went to step forward, the doors of the church swung wide open. Katie pulled out her gun and Juntto lifted his, ready to fire. Standing in the doorway in her purple spiderwoman form was Sasha. She was huge and bloated. Behind her, Katie could see numerous cocoons and many piles of ash on the floor.
She was the reason there were no demons. She had killed them all.
Pandora grimaced. Damn, girl, you’ve put on some weight. Look at how big she is.
I have a feeling that equates to her being even more deadly than before.
Sasha smirked ev
illy and tapped her many legs on the floor. She put her top two arms out and moaned, throwing her head back. “You came. I’ve been waiting for you.”
23
Juntto raised his gun to Sasha. “And we came prepared, bitch.”
He unloaded on her. The tommy gun shot massive bullets and sounded like thunder. Round after round smashing into the doorway, the floors, and Sasha’s body. A huge dust cloud billowed up and chunks of the church came tumbling down. Juntto stopped shooting and they stood there silently, waiting for the dust to clear.
Juntto took one step forward, but Katie put her hand out. “Wait.”
One of Sasha’s long legs swirled out from the smoke and knocked the massive gun from his hand. He stumbled back and grabbed it before it hit the ground. Sasha stepped through the dust and ash, her body pulsing with energy. There wasn’t a single bullet hole in her. Katie and Juntto looked at her in shock and awe. Sasha breathed heavily, balling her hands into fists. With each breath, she grew just a little bigger. She was enormous, rivaled only by Juntto’s bulk.
Sasha opened her mouth and let out a high-pitched squeal. Her feet began to move. With every step forward, Juntto and Katie took a step back. Her legs flailed wildly, punching holes in the stone columns.
Katie sighed. “Well, I think we just pissed her off.”
Juntto gritted his teeth and fired again, but stopped as soon as he realized it was no use. Her purple hide was impenetrable. The energy pulsing from her was knocking the bullets away before they could touch her. She grabbed Juntto around the waist. Katie reached for him, but Sasha was too quick. She yanked him close to her body.
As her legs wrapped around him, squeezing the air from his lungs, Sasha smiled. “Hello, big guy. Normally I prefer demon energy, but Leviathan will do just fine.”
Juntto growled. “Over my dead body.”
Sasha laughed. “As you wish.”
She took a deep breath, sucking the energy from his chest. He howled, trying to resist her. Using everything he had, he pulled one arm free and punched her in the side of the head. It stunned her long enough for him to break free of her grasp. He fell to the floor and she snarled, venom dripping from her teeth. Her hand darted out and grabbed his foot, and she flipped him over and dragged him back to her. As he was pulled along the ground he flailed, his hands finally finding an old iron street lamp.
He roared and yanked the thing from the ground, then flipped over and wailed on her with the streetlamp. She let go and he pummeled her, knocking her to the ground. Her eyes rolled back for a moment and she swayed, obviously trying to collect herself. Juntto backed up next to Katie, throwing the bent streetlamp aside.
As Sasha sat there dazed and distracted, demons began to fall from the portal above. Katie cursed and pulled out Tom and Harry. “You get her, I’ll take care of them.”
Juntto nodded.
Katie ran toward the demons as they landed, blasting away with her guns. One after another they went down hard, their bodies bursting into ash. Using one of the falling demons as a step, she pushed herself into the air, crossing her arms in front of her as she turned. She pumped the triggers, sending bullets in every direction. She landed on one knee, snarling, out of bullets.
Get it, girl.
Katie reloaded quickly and flung Tom out, firing into a charging demon’s skull. The beast shrieked and fell to the ground, bursting into dust. Katie breathed heavily as she stood up. A demon was suddenly right beside her. With a quick motion she holstered Tom, grabbed a dagger from her waist, and slashed another demon across the throat. Black blood sprayed across her face, but she barely noticed.
Pandora was shocked by how badass Katie was. Girl, see? I told you. Get laid, and you become an even better version of yourself. I’m telling you now, you better keep that hunk of meat in your fucking bed.
Katie chuckled as she grabbed a demon by the throat and jammed the dagger into its heart. She turned the knife, carving a large hole in the demon’s chest. She yanked the knife out and rammed her fist into its chest, pulling out the demon’s still-beating heart. She stared the demon in the face as she crushed his heart in her hands.
Pandora cheered. What the fuck was that? Do it again. Never stop doing that.
Just showing you how much of a bitch I can really be when it comes to matters of the heart.
If you did that every time we went out, I would never hound you about sex. Okay, that’s a lie, but it would definitely decrease.
Katie laughed. Yeah, right.
Pandora sighed. Okay, fine. It wouldn’t decrease, but you would be one badass fucking woman. At least even more so than you are now.
Katie jammed her dagger into the neck of a demon and yanked it back out. She slugged it hard in the face for good measure. It swayed to the side, blood squirting from the wound. It tried to reach up and stop the bleeding, but before it could, it burst into ash. I think maybe you’re right. Sex with Brock makes me killer in the field. It’s like a lucky rabbit’s foot, only it’s a dick and I can’t carry it with my keys.
Pandora sniffed. Uh oh, I smell trouble. Is Korbin ready for what might come?
Korbin is always ready.
Behind them, Juntto tackled Sasha, holding down her four arms. She tried to suck his energy, but he slammed a big hand over her mouth. “Sorry, lady. There’s only one woman I let suck me, and you are definitely not her.”
Sasha yelled as she kicked Juntto into the wall. “Maybe you’ll have a change of heart.”
Juntto flexed his muscles as he stood up. “I don’t like chicks with that many arms. It’s fucking nasty.”
Sasha’s eyes glowed bright yellow as she scurried across the floor toward him. He grabbed a piece of cement from the crumbling church and flung it with all his might, and it hit her in the face. Her upper body bent back, and she paused before straightening up again. A trickle of purple blood spilled out of her nose and she glared at him as she wiped it away.
Sasha did not like getting injured. It unleashed an anger inside of her that Juntto hadn’t seen yet. She charged him, her arms grabbing him around the waist and slamming him to the ground. He slapped away her arms, breaking them as they tried to grapple with him. She screeched loudly, her fangs close to his face. She reared back and shot webbing at his legs, wrapping it around his ankles. She grabbed the webbing like a rope and flung him into the air. Juntto flew over Katie’s head and smashed through two buildings next to the church. They crumbled, and dust filled the air.
Katie glanced at the resulting piles of rubble. Oh, shit.
No.
A massive blue fist punched through the rubble, then Juntto leaped out of one pile and roared an ancient war-cry. He charged Sasha, dodging a spray of sticky webbing as he went. Sasha ran from him, scurrying up the side of the church. Juntto launched himself at her. She hung upside-down and kicked him in the chest, and he went sailing back, landing in the same pile of rubble as before.
Katie took off across the yard and jumped onto the pile. She yanked large pieces of wall off his chest.
The angel slapped him on the cheeks several times until he came to. “Juntto. Are you all right?”
Juntto shook debris from his hair. “Bitch has a strong arm.”
Katie looked over her shoulder at the beast. “Oh, yeah? Which one of them is it?”
Juntto chuckled. “Uh, the fourth one?”
Katie smiled and tapped his chest. “Sit this next round out and let me have a go at her.”
Juntto grabbed Katie’s wrist. “Are you sure? She is one tough Leviathan.”
Katie smiled, red flashing in her eyes. “Someone needs to teach this bitch a lesson. Who better to do it than the biggest bitch on the block?”
Pandora cleared her throat. Don’t you mean “bitches?”
Katie marched toward Sasha. Hell, yeah, I do.
Korbin watched from the sidelines as Juntto flew into the building. Katie took off after him, and demons began falling from the portal and scattering all over the town. He turned t
o his soldiers. “Without shooting our guys, aim those guns at the demons and send them back to hell. Do not shoot the spider, please. We don’t need that kind of attention.”
Korbin backed up behind the guns and bullets riddled the town. Several of the running demons went down hard, cut to ribbons by the guns before turning to dust. The portal vibrated wildly. Korbin narrowed his eyes, wondering what was next. Five demons fell from the portal and hit the ground running. Their claws dug into the dirt and they headed straight for Korbin and the guns, determined to stop them.
Korbin jumped on the last empty gun and waved his hand in the air. “Send these fuckers back to hell!”
The guns blasted the five demons as four more landed on the ground. These four were different. They moved fast, dodging the barrage of bullets.
Korbin leaped from his gun and pulled his twin swords from his back. The demons raced toward them on all fours. Their heads were hyena-shaped, and their bodies were long, lean, and cheetah-like. Two of them were caught in a hail of bullets, but the other two dodged the fire.
Korbin backed up, readying himself. The first demon leaped at him. He lashed out with one sword and felt it dig into the beast’s body, cutting the thing in half. He ducked as the two halves of the body flew past him. They bounced on the ground and turned to ash.
The second hyena demon roared in a furiously high pitch as it charged Korbin. As it got closer, it swiped at him with a black paw, catching Korbin in the left hand and knocking a sword away. He winced but held tightly to his remaining sword. Blood flowed from his hand. The hyena lunged again, and Korbin stepped around a swinging paw. He jammed the sword into the side of the hyena’s head. The creature bucked backward, whining and yelping. When Korbin released the sword, the beast fell to the ground, whimpered, and turned to dust.
Timothy jumped down from a gun and ran to Korbin. “Are you okay?”
Korbin grabbed the handkerchief from Timothy’s front pocket and wrapped it around his hand. “I will be now.”
Timothy was horrified. “You just used a four-hundred-dollar handkerchief to bandage a wound. Fabulous.”