by J. E. Taylor
“If something happens to me, make sure they know I loved them as much as their mamma,” he whispered and pulled away.
“I hate it when you do that,” I snapped. “Nothing’s going to happen to you.” I straightened, sending a glare in his direction before turning to Steve. “You got another gun?”
“I’m sorry, I don’t,” Steve answered, showing me the empty case. “Besides, you’ve got an advantage the rest of us don’t.”
“The tiger?”
He nodded.
“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea,” I said, running my hand over my belly.
“It’s your best option if the shit hits the fan,” he said.
As much as I didn’t like that answer, I had to agree. I was a force in tiger form, especially after what I did to the hellhounds in the garage. I gave him a nod and stepped back next to Damian.
Steve checked the safety on the gun before stepping toward the door. He waited until everyone finished loading their clips, his gaze settling on each one of us as we lined up behind him.
“Game on,” Steve said and all the hairs on the back of my neck stood up. He opened the door and I clamped my teeth together, steeling myself for battle.
Chapter Twenty – Damian
Steve took the front with the three women between us and Tom and CJ were at my back. The formation moved as one toward the woods. Each step left a crunching sound as we padded across the snow. Darkness surrounded us but the moon shone brightly enough to make out shadows on the white landscape. Steve led us quickly onto a narrow path in the woods. The close proximity of the trees made my imagination flare. This was the type pathway I used to like to trap my victims on. With such little room for maneuvering, the victim wouldn’t be able to put up much of a fight.
“Give me some credit,” Steve said and glanced over his shoulder.
“It’s the perfect place for an ambush,” I replied, glancing around at the deep wooded boundaries. Muscles in my back tightened in response to the warning bells in my stomach.
Steve picked up the pace and I glanced behind me, making sure Tom and CJ were still with us.
“We’re good,” CJ said, his voice soft, falling with the wind surrounding us.
When I turned forward, I could see the woods opening up and my paranoia dropped a notch. We made it to the glen without incident and Steve threw me a canister.
“Make yourself useful,” he said and I raised an eyebrow.
“Salt?”
“Yes, make a barrier at the wood line.”
“I’m not sure this is going to work,” I said, but stepped to the path we just crossed over and poured a thick line across the snow-covered ground, continuing to the frozen water line of the small inlet. I crossed and did the same around the remainder of the perimeter until I shook the last grains of salt out of the container at the opposite shoreline and turned to the group.
“Now what?” I asked.
Steve traded a glance with Jennifer and then started clearing a space with his feet. “Now we make a fire and wait,” Steve said. CJ and Tom started to help clear the snow off with their feet, revealing a deep green moss that seemed to cover the entire opening.
“You know, for such a brilliant investigator, you can be a complete idiot,” I said and Steve looked up at me. “Step aside.” I crossed to a spot just inside the salt line and pushed with my mind, clearing all the snow from the ground and the water, leaving a pile at the far edge of the icy cove.
Steve crossed his arms, glaring at me like I just did a major faux pas.
“What? You’ve got the power to do this, why the hell would you do it manually?” I said and moved my gaze to Naomi. Her eyes were wide with awe. I guess she really didn’t understand the powers this family harbored. I offered her a smile and a shrug.
“Because, it reminds me that I’m human, and not some all powerful god,” Steve answered, his tone as sharp as his gaze.
I huffed and took a step forward but something gripped the collar of my jacket, pulling my legs out from under me and I was yanked backwards into the woods. Naomi’s warning followed me into the darkness and I had a moment to flash to a bad horror movie I once saw. It snapped out of my head the moment I hit a tree, knocking the wind out of my chest. Dazed, I stared at a set of fangs dipping toward my neck.
I blocked the bite with my arm, but the beast’s teeth sank into my flesh. I roared at the sting, but it was nothing compared to the vampire’s scream. I hadn’t had the pleasure of seeing what the cure did to a vampire before, like Naomi had and the frothing blood bubbling from his throat was enough of a view. She hadn’t been kidding when she said the cure ate vampires from the inside out. Horrified, I backed away a few steps, then turned and bolted toward the clearing, silently announcing to CJ and Steve that I was okay before breaking through the wood barrier. The burn of the bite faded as my blood flowed, cleaning the puncture wounds, but I was left with a dull throbbing ache.
Naomi stood on all fours blocking the rest of the group, her growl sending a warning through the woods. I stopped a few steps inside the line and looked down at my arm. Blood dripped from my hand and Naomi’s expression changed. Even on a tiger, I saw the concern.
“I’m fine,” I said to her, although my heart still hammered from the adrenaline rush that fear afforded me. “I can’t say the same for the vampire.”
I looked up at the huddled group, Naomi in front and then the three men, guns drawn and pointing in three different directions. Jennifer and Raven stood behind them with the lake at their heels. Even Ty made an appearance, standing in the center of the ice, raining light on the dark alcove.
I crossed to Naomi and she licked my hand, cleaning off the dark drips before nuzzling her head against my leg.
“It’s probably a good idea that you stay in tiger form,” I said and crouched down. “I think you can protect yourself better like this.” Her tongue swathed my face and I gave her a hug before pulling back. I stripped the coat and inspected my punctured arm. The bastard’s teeth had gone into the meaty flesh of my forearm but at least he hadn’t torn a chunk out.
“Jesus,” Steve muttered and I looked up.
His gaze scanned the woods behind me and I turned, pulling the jacket back on and digging the revolver out of the pocket. At least a dozen vampires stepped into view, brought forward by the smell of my blood. While Naomi and I were immune to the virus, the others weren’t and a bite meant a highly unpleasant death.
They stopped, collectively smiling.
“The great Damian Andreas,” one of them growled and I focused on him. The face looked familiar, like someone I’d met in passing, but it didn’t matter when or where. I had to rid the earth of these monsters, otherwise they’d find a way to keep multiplying.
“I’ll give you to the count of three to leave, otherwise, you’ll be burning in hell before you can blink.” I raised the gun, pointing it at a spot on the bastard’s forehead. Naomi growled at my side and I heard the click of the safety on all the guns behind me.
Burn them. Torch their asses when I get to three, understand? I sent the thought out to Steve and CJ and got a resounding Got it from both of them.
“One,” I said and paused when the vampires laughed.
“You’re going to shoot us?” the lead asshole said and chuckled. “You should know better.”
I smiled, looking over the gun. “Two, and yes, I know better,” I said and his cocky stance waned.
“Platinum?” he gasped and took a step back, fear transitioning his features from shadow back to the pale white of Lilith’s brood.
“And we’re all expert shots,” I said and didn’t wait for them to attack or retreat. Instead, I yelled, “Three!”
A wave of heat passed by me, joining with the power that leapt from my core, fanning out to encompass the mass of vampires. The stench of burnt flesh filled the air along with the dust of the decimated vampires.
Chapter Twenty-one – Damian
A shift in the wind blew the dust in
to the woods and I turned, my heart lurching at the sight before me. Ty stood on the ice surrounded by a host of angels. I stared at the assembly and my gaze locked on one pair in particular.
Michael stood, revived in his youthful form but without wings. Beside him stood a similar wingless angel with a face I barely remembered, but one that made my arms drop to my side.
“μπαμπάς?” I asked in my native tongue. “Papa, is that really you?” My throat closed around a lump that formed. I hadn’t seen my father since I was little and the fact he stood ready to do battle at my side pulled at my heartstrings.
The emotions that flew through my body left me numb. All the wrongs I had done flushed me with shame, and all the heroic actions counteracted, and I dropped my gaze to the ground, not knowing how to react.
“Damian,” he whispered and just his voice triggered fond memories of fishing on the banks of the Mediterranean. “My son,” he added and I met his gaze.
Gabriel crossed the distance and pulled me into a hug. I didn’t return it right away, aware that we didn’t have time for family reunions, but the warmth of the arms encircling me brought the burn of tears to my eyes and I met Michael’s gaze. He gave me a tight nod.
“How,” I asked scanning the white-winged beings in our midst, two of which were supposed to be trapped behind the gates of heaven.
Two who had sacrificed their grace, for me.
Steve cleared his throat and I pulled away from my father.
“I promised you an army,” Steve said and waved his hand at the heavenly host, grinning like he knew a particularly intriguing secret.
Chapter Twenty-two – Damian
Movement pulled my attention back to the woods and a chill lit up the area, pressing down on me. I moved away from my father, closer to Naomi. A solid line of demons stepped into view, stopping at the salt line I poured.
The next wave of assailants took up their posts, side by side with a legion of hellhounds. Naomi actually stepped back at the numbers and I felt her fear. It blended with my own and one look at Steve and his family revealed they were in the same place we were.
Terror gripped every one of us and we spread out on the shoreline far enough away from the woods to be safe, for the moment. Steve took the left side and I took the right. CJ stood dead center. Jennifer, Tom and Raven stood a step behind, relying on us to provide a solid wall of defense. I glanced down at Naomi and pointed for her to join them. She hissed at me, but obeyed my silent command to move back.
Angels flanked us, providing a solid line between the innocent’s behind us and the demon horde. My heart scrambled in my chest, pumping a beat that nearly seized my lungs and I traded a glance with CJ. He swallowed and curled his hands around his revolver, aiming it at the closest demon.
The air sparked with tension and when the demons blocking the path parted, I knew we were in for a nasty battle. Lucifer stepped inside the ring, swiping a clean path through the salt I had laid down and he wasn’t alone.
He dragged a beautiful blonde woman forward, tossing her at his feet in front of him. When she raised her bruised face, Steve cursed under his breath and the gun moved from the line of demons to Lucifer.
Lucifer just grinned at the assembly and his black wings fluttered as he cracked his fingers. His gazed moved over the crowd of angels. “What have we here?” he said, scanning the line until his gaze landed on Gabriel and Michael. He tilted his head in contemplation and then his gaze moved back to Steve.
“This lovely police officer was particularly useful,” he said, meeting Steve’s glare and waving his hand in the woman’s direction.
Her gaze bounced from the demons surrounding us to the angels in line, landing on the tiger behind me, then they jumped to Steve.
“What the fuck?” she whispered and Steve offered her a half laugh.
“I told you not to go to the house,” he said and I knew exactly who this was. The abrasive FBI agent Steve had spoken to on the phone. Sarah. Lucifer reached for the woman, grabbing a handful of her hair.
“Let go of me, asshole,” Sarah snapped, swatting at his hand. While her voice was defiant and full of moxie, her eyes held a soul-crushing fear that I knew all too well.
He pulled her to her feet, bringing her close to him. Her elbow connected with his stomach and he chuckled in her ear.
“I like my women feisty,” he purred in her ear, keeping his gaze locked on Steve’s. This primer was just the beginning of his dance and I knew the woman was doomed.
We were all doomed.
“I’ll tell you what,” he said running a sharp nail lightly down her arm. “I’ll let you and your family go, along with this lovely officer, if you leave us to settle our differences,” he said nodding toward Naomi and me, negotiating a deal that would seal me in my grave.
I didn’t move, but I made a point of recounting this beasts broken promises. The moment they stepped outside this cove, the hellhounds would tear them to bits.
“That includes leaving the angel and his son,” Lucifer clarified, his gaze landing on Ty, narrowing into a hateful expression that I was used to receiving.
Steve’s jaw clenched and his gaze dropped to Sarah.
“Do your magic and get me out of this,” Sarah said, the panic reaching her voice as Steve’s head shook back and forth.
His entire being shook and the frustration and anger pulsing in his veins drifted over me.
“You bastard,” I whispered and Lucifer sent a chilling smile in my direction.
“I can’t do that,” Steve said and I glanced at him. Jennifer’s hand rested on his shoulder and her forehead rested between his shoulder blades, her form shaking with silent sobs; and pain flashed in my chest.
I should have never let Naomi talk me into coming to Maine. We should have run across the globe and then these pure souls wouldn’t have to sacrifice those they loved for me.
CJ slid a glare in my direction and the mental reprimand resounded in my head like one of those obnoxious air horns. Stop the fucking pity party.
I winced at the volume and my gaze dropped to the ground, returning to the woman struggling in Lucifer’s grasp.
Lucifer’s hand ripped the shirt open, revealing a modest sports bra and he tilted his head, smiling as his fingernails dimpled the skin over her heart. “Last chance,” he said.
“I’m sorry, Sarah,” Steve said, his eyes filled with tears and his lips pressed together.
Sarah’s scream shattered the night, followed by the report of a gun. Smoke drifted from the end of Steve’s revolver and I stared at it before turning toward the deafening silence.
Lucifer’s fingers were buried knuckle deep in Sarah’s chest, but that’s not what silenced her scream. The neat bullet hole between her eyes had sent her to heaven before Lucifer could rip her heart out.
I turned back toward Steve and his arms lowered. His chin dropped to his chest, and his breath hitched once. With a violent shake of his head, his tear-stained glare landed on Lucifer and the gun rose back in place.
“Get the fuck off my property,” he said with a growl.
“As soon as I have my whore,” he said.
Steve pulled the trigger again, but this time nothing happened until he moved the aim to the demon closest to Lucifer and then the gun jumped to life, expelling another round. The shot as true as the one that took Sarah’s life and the first demon fell.
Lucifer yanked his hand from Sarah’s flesh and tossed her next to the dead demon. He licked his fingers and scowled, glaring at Steve. The minute he stepped forward, Ty interceded, blocking the devil’s path.
That hateful glare reappeared and Lucifer snapped his fingers, Christopher Ryan appeared in the center of the clearing, bleeding and on his knees, his screams filling the silent woods, echoing on the dark lake and the hellhounds tasked with ripping him to shreds continued their attack.
This time, Ty moved; his face filled with a wrath I had only seen once before and my gaze drifted to Michal. CJ took a step toward his fat
her, pulling my attention back to the spectacle before us. Both Steve and I grabbed an arm, keeping him from entering the violent scene in front of us. This was the primer to the war and I knew it was just an appetizer meant to drive the hounds in line into a frenzy, preparing them for attack.
“You can’t stop it,” I said when CJ tried to rip out of my grasp.
He turned a pleading gaze in my direction when the first hellhound turned on Ty.
I knew the pain in his gaze. I knew the need to stop the inevitable, and I also knew the futility of any action against what had already been set into motion.
What I didn’t expect was for Ty to rip a hellhound in two with his bare hands and from the expression on Lucifer’s face, neither did he.
Ty grabbed Chris around the waist and launched toward the heavens, pulling his brother out of range of the hellhounds, into the single beacon of light, disappearing from view before Lucifer could yank him back to the earth.
Lucifer’s furious gaze dropped from the sky to me, then moved to CJ. His face crinkled and he roared his aggravation, squeezing a fist in front of him, sending out the command to burst the boy’s heart. I stepped into the flow of power aimed at Ty’s son, deflecting it with a mental wall. Three of the demons next to Lucifer burst, exploding in balls of flame.
The surprise of the back-to-back events stunned everyone, and nothing moved until a streak of lightning flared and Ty landed on one knee in the center of the clearing like Thor arriving for battle. His wings smoldered, sending tendrils of smoke into the air, but when he lifted his head, his fury filled the space and he stood, shifting into battle stance.
“You’ve cheated me for the last time,” Lucifer growled and pointed at Ty.
“Game on, you bastard,” Ty said and leveled the glare I had seen in Steve’s mind. The one that was responsible for dubbing the man as the angel of death while he was alive, and it evoked a tremor, a chill that bit at my heels and spread like a four-alarm fire.