by Sable Grace
As she straightened, she got a clear view of what had set off Zach’s panic, then shut her eyes against the fear threatening to knock her over. Concrete splintered and the horrific sound of twisting metal filled the air as cars were flipped out of the way like matchbox toys.
Ahead of them, less than two blocks away, the highway was opening up, and Hell was beginning to breathe.
Chapter Six
8:44 p.m.
3 hours and 16 minutes before the fall . . .
Shanna lifted her shirt over her nose so she could breathe. From every direction, horns blared and cement dust rained down on them. Zach pulled her beyond the shoulder toward the off ramp, never turning to witness the horror of what was behind them.
“Run!” he yelled. “Don’t stop, and no matter what you hear, don’t look back.”
He didn’t give her a chance to argue or to question. He took off at a full sprint, dragging her behind him. The ground rumbled again. Chunks of asphalt gave way and a strange hissing noise muffled the chaotic sounds that had engulfed them.
The hissing grew louder, following them as they raced down the off ramp. A loud roar built until it encompassed everything. It seemed to flow through her body, make her muscles spasm, and cause her blood to swoosh in tune with the chaos.
She glanced back, trying to see what they were running from, but night hung too thickly around her to let her see clearly.
“Don’t stop!” Zach screamed, his hand tightening on her arm.
In front of them, the roar exploded outward sending huge chunks of concrete and dirt into the sky. The ground opened. They hit the road hard, rolling toward the grassy shoulder. She’d barely stopped tumbling before she was yanked to her feet and shoved forward.
“Run!”
She was too terrified not to obey. She kept her head down as slabs of roadway rained down on them, tried to focus on the sound of Zach’s breathing beside her and not on the panicked screams all around them.
Debris pelted her body, but she refused to stop running, stumbling though she was over roots and holes hidden in the grass by both dust and blackness. She barely saw the huge metal rail that speared the grass two feet away. With a squeal she veered, but didn’t make it three feet before Zach tackled her. Her palms and knees scraped against gravel, and it was only quick instinct that kept her head from smacking stone.
For a second, she couldn’t breathe. Zach shifted and she pulled in large gulps of air. She buried her face in his neck as the raining debris pummeled his back. She tried to block as much of him with her arms as she could, but he was too broad for her to do much good.
Before she could make her tongue work in her parched mouth, he yanked her to her feet and pulled his sword from its sheath, ushering her toward a small clump of trees about thirty yards away.
They huddled behind small palms, their gazes locked on the roadway. Bodies began crawling from the opening, eerily lit up by the red glow of brake lights from the vehicles that hadn’t been thrown. The smell of decay had Shanna gagging, but she couldn’t pull her gaze away from the sight of the creatures spilling out of the ground. Creatures—some bearing human-like features, some animalistic and blackened with soot—lifted their dirty faces to the night sky, sniffing the air. They scattered like roaches, closing in on the people still standing on the edge of the road in shock.
“I thought you said we had until midnight!”
“Keep your voice down,” Zach hissed. “And your head. You don’t want to see what’s about to happen.”
She dropped her voice to a whisper, but panic wouldn’t allow her to box her questions in a cage. “It’s not time. We still had time!”
“Hell’s already opening,” he said. “But it won’t be completely open until midnight.”
“So there will be more? Than this?” Adrenaline and fear heated her blood, making her skin tingle. To hide the anxiety and terror threatening to choke her, she pulled her cop persona around her like a cloak. “We have to help them.”
“It’s too late, Shanna. One sword in an army of Dark Breed isn’t going to make a difference.”
She didn’t know what the beasts were doing to the people they descended upon, but the screams of agony tearing through the streets were enough to keep Shanna frozen. Part of her was grateful she couldn’t see clearly. She hated herself for her fear, wanted to move, to pull some to safety. But her feet wouldn’t obey.
“They’re being . . . being . . .”
“Eaten.”
The word was so final and yet so matter-of-fact, all Shanna could do was bury her face in the grass and weep.
Zach wanted to give her time to adjust, to try and get a grip on what was happening, but it wouldn’t be long before their secluded brush started filling with people looking to hide. A crowd would draw unwanted attention. Attention that could get Shanna killed.
“We gotta go.” He helped her to her feet, but before they could move, a dark figure rushed by, and the stench that wafted off it wasn’t human. Zach grabbed Shanna’s hand and dragged her back into the shadows behind a tree. He pulled the shotgun from the weapons bag, loaded it, and pressed it into her hands. “Stay here. If anything comes near you, shoot.”
He gripped her shoulders, shaking her slightly to snap her out of her stupor and make her remember she was cop. “Do you understand me?”
When she nodded, he pressed a quick kiss to her lips, pulled his sword from its sheath, and raced after the Dark Breed. The Leech descended on a woman and pinned her to the ground. It lowered its filthy head toward her face as the woman screamed and thrashed unsuccessfully to get away. Zach kicked out, sending the mud-encrusted creature rolling into the road.
He yanked the woman to her feet. “Run!” he ordered, never taking his eyes off the demon.
The sword pulsed in his hand, as if sensing the danger and welcoming it. He tightened his grip on the hilt and slowly backed up. Leeches rarely fought alone. He didn’t want to find this one’s friends. Lucky for him, though, Leeches were incapable of rational thought. Driven solely by hunger, it raced at Zach, ignoring the sword that he raised and lowered, directly into the bastard’s gut. He slipped the weapon out, then sliced it across the Leech’s neck, the head rolling beneath the bush behind it.
The sword cleansed itself as he raced back to Shanna. She was lying flat on her belly beside the tree, using the shotgun to slow Dark Breeds chasing a group of people a few yards away.
He grabbed her hand, pulling her to her feet, and as they made their way to the safer back roads, he finished off the injured Dark Breeds.
“You all right?” he asked, scanning the streets as they went.
“Yeah. I think I’m fine.”
And judging by the stubborn lift of her chin, she looked determined to stay that way. It was a good sign. It meant she was shaking off disbelief and returning to the fighter he’d once fallen in love with. The fighter he still cared for more than he was willing to admit.
Chapter Seven
9:02 p.m.
2 hours and 58 minutes before the fall . . .
Zach led Shanna a mile or so down the road to a CVS where the parking lot was half full of cars begging to be borrowed. The store, like most of the other buildings in the area, was completely vacant. After rummaging through the upturned shelves for a couple of bottles of water and bags of chips, they went in search of yet another mode of transportation to get them the rest of the way to St. Augustine.
He zeroed in on a dark SUV in the next row of cars, hoping his hot-wiring skills hadn’t gone rusty. “Hold this.”
He handed her the bag of weapons and the snacks, then shattered the driver’s window with his elbow. He popped the lock on the back door and opened it so Shanna could stash the goods inside, then shut it and grabbed her before he could second-guess his intentions. Tilting her chin, he forced her to look him in the eye. “We’re going to be okay, Princess. Believe me?”
She shook her head but gave a contradictory half-smile. “Not sure anything’s g
oing to be okay again. But I’m a big girl.” She lifted the hem of her t-shirt to dab at his bloodied elbow. She pulled out a piece of glass and winced before continuing. “The rest of the world is going to have to figure out how to deal—and I will, too. It’s not the first time in my life my world’s been turned upside down.”
At first he thought she was referring to losing her parents when she was a kid, but something in her eyes made him wonder if she was referring to what had happened between them.
Before she could protest, he leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her mouth, and in an instant, he was in an all-too-familiar place that he didn’t want to leave. It took all of his strength to pull away and open the driver’s door—all his concentration to get the SUV running and pretend the kiss hadn’t affected him at all.
“Get in,” he said, somewhat pleased to see she looked as dazed as he felt.
He twisted in his seat to rummage through the bag of weapons, passing her the knuckle rings. She’d won the women’s division of the local boxing tournament last year, and he was pretty sure she’d be more comfortable with her fists than with a dagger.
“Thanks.” She took them, slid them onto her fingers, and made a fist. “I really hope I don’t get close enough to one of those things to use it.”
So did he.
He put the SUV in reverse. “Ready?”
“No,” she answered. “But I don’t suppose I have a choice.
“It’ll be all right.”
Her smile was faint, but at least it was there. “You keep saying that, but you never were a good liar.”
And yet, when it had really counted, she hadn’t been able to believe him.
He brushed the hair from her cheeks and pressed his mouth to her forehead. It was all the comfort he could offer right now. As he pulled onto the road, he slipped one hand over hers and gave a light squeeze, watching as she set the knuckle rings in her lap, closed her eyes, and pressed her head into her seat.
Occasionally, he found his gaze wandering back to her, watching the steady rise and fall of her chest as she fell asleep, and his desire to keep her safe only intensified. He’d allowed whiskey to fill the void she’d left inside him six months ago, but sober now, having her so close to him, he was remembering every perfect inch of her, every flaw that he’d adored.
If anything happened to her, he was a goner.
They’d only been on the road for about twenty minutes when she woke with a start, gasping for air as though she’d been held under water, and scaring the shit out of Zach. He swung the SUV off the main road and let it idle at a stop sign so he could reach for her.
“You all right?”
She nodded. “Nightmare. I was hoping all of this was.”
This was the reason the Order worked in secret. Humans weren’t meant to know that the creatures living in their fiction were real. Hell, he’d grown up with the knowledge and it was difficult for him to accept sometimes.
“We’re definitely going to have to stick to back roads now,” he said, turning down the volume on the radio that had been keeping him company and up-to-date on what was happening outside their little bubble. “Road blocks are popping up all over the interstate, redirecting evacuees around hazards. Could get a little rough.”
“Okay.” She pulled her hair back into a sloppy ponytail and he couldn’t help but notice how badly her fingers trembled as she tried to work the elastic around her hair.
Twenty minutes later, when they should have arrived in St. Augustine, they’d only traveled another ten miles. Lines of traffic forced Zach off the road they’d been traveling and onto a route he wasn’t too sure about. It was far more secluded, but looked to be pretty deserted, so he stuck with it. He had less than three hours to get Shanna to St. Augustine before Hell opened up and swallowed half the world whole. The fewer road blocks he encountered, the better.
As they merged onto a vacant two-lane road lined with forest on one side and cow pastures on the other, the debris of broken concrete hung in the air so thick, he had to strain to see. It was like driving through thick, choking fog.
From somewhere within the trees, an eerie howl shook the leaves. It might have been a wolf, but just as likely, it was a Lychen. He glanced at the scarred arm that had reduced him to an “in case of emergency only” member of the Order. Never in his life had he endured such pain—the paralyzing agony of the saliva in his blood, slowly stilling every organ he had until help had arrived. The thought of encountering that again would have sobered even the meanest drunk.
He turned the radio up to help drown out his thoughts and ease the uncomfortable silence. Shanna didn’t feel like talking, and until they were off these damned dark, unlit roads, neither did Zach. He glanced at her, quietly staring out her window and into the trees, and when he next looked back at the road, he saw tail lights flashing in the distance. He slowed, suspicious of what might be causing the other driver to stop on an empty road. He eyed the van as they slowly passed, noted the dented hood pressed against the guardrail.
“Zach, look out!”
He turned his gaze back to the windshield to find three large, winged creatures blocking the road. He smashed the brake, throwing the SUV into a skid around the Hatchlings and into the ditch behind them. He hit the lever to lock the vehicle into four-wheel drive, but the back wheels spun out, stuck in Florida mud.
“Fuck.”
The Hatchlings were approaching, slowly, knowing their prey was trapped inside like tuna in a can.
“What do we do?” Her eyes wide, Shanna dug her gun out of her back pocket.
“We sure as hell don’t sit here and let them take us. Grab the bag!”
As he flung open his door, Zach pulled the sword from its sheath. He braced his feet and held the weapon in front of him. He moved to his left, away from Shanna and any survivors who might be trapped in the van, drawing the attention of the beasts. Hatchlings were born and bred in Tartarus. Spawns of the dragons and demons that resided there. If they’d crawled out of the only place they’d ever known, they wouldn’t stop until they’d fed or were dead.
“Zach? No!”
Not breaking eye contact with the demons, he held out his hand to stop her from moving.
The largest of the three sized up Shanna, but its grunted command and nod were directed at Zach. The three soared high in the air, dipped low over Shanna, then dropped to the ground a couple feet in front of Zach. He didn’t have time to size them up before they circled him, blocking any direct path to safety he might have had.
He was sorely outnumbered, but if they wanted to play, he’d play.
Zach drew back his sword and attacked.
Chapter Eight
9:25 p.m.
2 hours and 35 minutes before the fall . . .
Zach swung the sword at the Hatchling closest to him. The big beast dodged, grabbed Zach by the shirt, and threw him into the disabled van. Shanna’s breath locked in her throat as she reached for her gun, but before she could free it from her waistband, Zach was on his feet again. He sliced the beast from shoulder to hip, and the dismembered monster fell to the ground with two distinct plops.
Zach’s sword glowed bright as he seemed to find his groove, slicing it through the air and depositing another winged creature on the asphalt. The third, however, wasn’t going down so easily. With each punishing blow that caused Zach to stagger, Shanna inched a little closer toward the fight, easing the gun back into her waistband and sliding the silver knuckle rings on instead.
Flexing her fist, she glanced down at the spiky points jutting out from atop her fingers. The injury the weapon could cause probably wouldn’t be fatal, but maybe the silver would give Zach time to regain his footing.
Holding her breath, she made a mad dash at the creature’s back. Just as she leaped with the intent of wrapping herself around its back, it spun, grabbed her by the throat and lifted her off the ground.
Shanna found herself staring into blood-red eyes. She tried to scream, but the beast wa
s holding her throat so tightly, it was all she could do just to breathe. From the corner of her eye, she saw Zach grow smaller and smaller, and the overwhelming urge to vomit rose within her as she realized the demon was flying with her clutched in its claws.
She could hear his voice but couldn’t understand the words he was yelling. Black drool dampened her neck as the demon smiled at her and dove toward the trees.
Never let your attacker take you to the second location.
All her self-defense lessons rushed through her head, but all she could hang on to was that one. A branch slapped at her cheek and it gave her hope. If she was low enough to see the ground between the trees, then there was a chance she might survive the fall.
Raising her arm, she swiped at the paper-thin skin beneath the beast’s wing. It roared, screeching in pain. It teetered like a bird with a broken wing and spiraled toward the ground. She wrapped her arm around its neck and sliced the knuckle ring across its throat.
The next thing she knew, she was on the ground beneath the demon, her head pounding and her leg throbbing. She turned her head, the crackle of leaves making her ears feel as though they bled from the pain, but she was alive. And there were blessed footsteps headed in her direction.
“Zach!” Though she’d tried to scream it, her raw throat barely released his name in a whisper.
Then she saw him. Saw him raise his sword, saw him lower it at lightning speed, as she fought desperately to roll out from beneath the demon toward safety. But Zach’s aim didn’t go astray. It sliced through the beast’s neck, sending its nasty head rolling down the sloped ground to land with a splash in the nearby creek.
She barely had time to find her breath again when Zach grabbed her by the arm.
“What the fuck were you thinking!” he screamed, yanking her to her feet so violently she thought her arm might pop out of its socket.