by Brenda Huber
Two more Charocté leaped in her way. She cut them down without a second glance, her focus solely on the bastard who’d killed Ricardo. More demons jumped between Sebastian and Phoebe, slowing him, hampering his progress. She couldn’t face Ashïek, not alone. She wouldn’t survive.
Panic closed his throat. Fear clutched his heart.
Ashïek fired a plasma ball at Phoebe. Sebastian roared, sure he was going to watch his mate die. But she spun and dodged at the last second, and the plasma ball whooshed past her streaming pitch black hair. Sebastian was certain his heart had stopped dead in his chest in that sliver of time.
He tried to catch up to her, but she was like a streak of lightning, moving so fast he was having trouble tracking her. Suddenly she had a plasma ball in her hand. At first, he thought she’d caught it, but then he realized it was hers, that she’d formed it. But, untutored as she was, her aim was bad, and she set the ground at Ashïek’s feet aflame.
But she’d caught Sebastian’s foe by surprise—that much Sebastian could see. Ashïek danced back from the flames, his expression thunderous. Sebastian would have laughed aloud had it not been for the fact that, even now, a Ralsha was sneaking up on his mate from the side. Sebastian was currently battling three of his Ashïek’s minions. He pulled in his focus and made to shimmer to his mate, when a flash of movement caught his eye. Suddenly Marco was standing between Phoebe and the Ralsha. A plasma ball formed in the palm of Marco’s hand and then the Ralsha was aglow, screeching as it erupted into a moving ball of flames.
Marco took up an unmistakable, defensive position at Phoebe’s back, sticking to her like glue though she was bouncing all over the camp in pursuit of Ashïek. Marco shot down two more demons intent on Phoebe before Sebastian could join them. And all the while, Phoebe focused on Ashïek with single-minded purpose.
Ashïek lobbed another plasma ball at Phoebe. This time she wasn’t fast enough. Though it didn’t catch her full on, it scorched the side of her thigh. She screamed in pain. Sebastian lost his focus, and a Charocté jumped on his back, latching on to one of his wings, jerking and yanking. Sebastian roared. He beat his wings, catching a minion nearby, decapitating him. But he couldn’t dislodge the Charocté on his back. He roared again, reaching behind him, grappling, struggling as the Charocté wrenched on his left wing until tendons strained and popped.
And suddenly Phoebe was there, darting all around him, slashing at the minions who’d thought to bring the great Vengeance down. She vaulted onto Sebastian’s shoulders, put her knee on the back of the minion on Sebastian’s back, and ripped the Charocté’s head clean off. She was already racing to another attacker before the demon’s body had fallen from Sebastian’s back.
Sebastian could only spin, arms extended, prepared to battle the next attacker as he tried to track her. But no one even got close to him. Soon, Sebastian stood amid a pile of demon body parts, catching nothing more than fleeting glimpses of his mate as she annihilated his enemies.
He caught a glimpse of Ashïek, standing just at the edge of camp. Lucifer’s general watched Sebastian’s mate with shrewd consideration. And then he shimmered away.
Finally, when there were no more demons to kill, Phoebe stopped running. She stood before him, her back to him, crouched defensively, waiting for the next wave of demons to come.
“Phoebe,” he called softly. He didn’t want to startle her.
She glanced over her shoulder. The moment her gaze locked on him, she straightened, frowning. And then she looked around. Now that the haze of bloodlust was fading, reality came crashing down. With an anguished cry, she raced to Ricardo.
Sebastian followed, standing guard as she knelt beside the old guide’s body and sobbed. He scanned the clearing. There was no sign of Marco—or rather, of Sïnsobar. At least, that was who Sebastian assumed it had been. Why Sïnsobar had protected her that way, Sebastian couldn’t figure out.
Had he been merely protecting a demoness of his breed? Had he connected Phoebe to Danika somehow? If so, what was Sïnsobar’s connection to Danika? Why would he risk Ashïek’s wrath to protect Vengeance’s mate?
He’d have to figure it out. Just not now. Now they needed to move. There was no telling whether or not Ashïek would be back, and whether or not he’d be bringing reinforcements.
Sebastian bent and scooped up a struggling Phoebe, helping her to her feet. She leaned against him, limp in his arms as she continued to sob. Sebastian curled his wings protectively around her, all the while he watched for movement.
Phoebe wasn’t quite coherent yet. And when she looked down and got her first real good look at herself, she began screaming.
Sebastian took her by the shoulders and shook her. “Phoebe. Damn it, snap out of it.” He hated being an asshole, wanted only to hold her tight and comfort her. But they couldn’t afford for her to fall apart right now.
Her cry strangled off. But now she was whimpering. Which, honestly, wasn’t much better. The pitiful sound was ripping his guts out. “Phoebe,” he demanded, shaking her again. “Look at me.”
Finally, huge black eyes turned his way. They welled and overflowed. Tears continued to track down her cheeks leaving tracks through the splashes of blood on her face. She was covered in the stuff. Soaked with it.
He drew his focus in and conjured them both clean, though he didn’t morph back. Not yet. Not until he knew they were safe.
“Baby, look at me. Focus.” When she finally complied, he changed his grip to a soothing stroke. “Are you hurt?”
She made to glance down, but he stalled her. “No. Look at me. Do you hurt anywhere?”
She shook her head. She was probably numb, already going into shock. He glanced down, doing a quick visual inspection. Her thigh was raw, blistered and charred. Other than that, he didn’t see so much as a scratch on her.
“Your thigh has a burn.” When she started to look down again, he quickly diverted her attention back to his face. “Stay with me, okay? Look up here. We’re going to get you taken care of, all right?”
She nodded.
“Breathe.” He pushed his palm along the side of her face, hooking her hair behind her ear. “Can you do that for me, caro mita? Can you just breathe?”
Again, she nodded.
“We’re going to shimmer now. Back to the farm, okay?”
She said nothing, just stood docilely as Sebastian closed his arms tight around her. He couldn’t shake the sight of Ashïek’s plasma ball whizzing past her head. His hands were still trembling as he shimmered with Phoebe to his kitchen back at the farm.
Sebastian guided her to a chair, and he conjured a First Aid kit. He dropped to his knees beside her and peeled back the ragged edges of her pant leg. And his stomach rolled. Her flesh was burned so badly. Blistered and split. Blackened. He dabbed at the wound, doing his best to pick charred material from the injury without causing her more pain than necessary. His chest ached. He should have protected her. He should have never let her take Ashïek on like that.
Sebastian glanced up at her, she hadn’t so much as flinched this whole time. Her stare was vacant. And she hadn’t morphed back to human form yet.
Sebastian knew real fear then. What could he do for her? How could he make this right?
“Well, well, well…would you look at that. The great Vengeance, brought to his knees at last.”
A river of ice lanced straight through his veins. Still crouching, Sebastian spun, placing himself directly between his mate and his age old nemesis. Once again, he’d lost track of his surroundings. He was losing his touch.
“Aww,” Ashïek taunted from his perch on the countertop. “Did you honestly think you would get to keep the girl? Here’s a news flash, Vengeance. Deep down, you’re still a bad guy. And bad guys don’t get to keep the girls.” He glanced around the room. “So homey, by the way. You’ve turned into a regular old Martha Stewart, haven’t you, Venge
ance?” He shook his head and tsked. “Such a waste of talent.”
Before Sebastian could respond, a massive explosion rocked the house, knocking Sebastian on his ass and tipping Phoebe from her chair.
Chapter Twenty
“Ah, that’ll be Dimiezlo. Now there’s a demon who knows how to make an entrance.”
Another explosion, this one much larger than the last, shook the house on its foundation, nearly deafening Sebastian. Something groaned overhead, as if the very roof threatened to come down on their heads. Smoke began to fill the air.
Sebastian shot to his feet and pushed a nearly catatonic Phoebe behind him. Ashïek lobbed a plasma ball as he vaulted from the counter. Sebastian deflected the missile with one of his own. He fired another off in quick succession, clipping Ashïek in the shoulder. All out battle ensued, but they were too evenly matched, and the only thing taking major damage was Sebastian’s house. Wood splintered and caught fire. Appliances exploded. Huge holes were blown in the walls.
Sebastian had to work double-time to keep Phoebe behind him and protected while still keeping Ashïek on the defensive. Another explosion rocked the floor beneath him, and Sebastian lost his footing for a moment, going down on one knee. It was the opening Ashïek had been waiting for. He slammed into Sebastian, sending them both crashing into the living room. Phoebe was knocked through the doorway ahead of them.
Sebastian caught a glimpse of her as she went sailing over the couch a second before Ashïek summoned a sword and slashed it across Sebastian’s chest, cutting deep. Blood sprayed in a wide arc. Sebastian stumbled back with a pained grunt. He summoned his own sword and managed to fend off the next blow. But his wounds weakened him, and now Ashïek stood between Sebastian and Phoebe. Steel clanged against steel as Ashïek advanced, ruthlessly driving Sebastian back, smashing his head against the fireplace mantle.
Phoebe let out a blood curdling cry and leaped onto Ashïek’s back, taking both Ashïek and Sebastian by surprise. She gouged at Ashïek’s face and neck with her small claws, ripping at his hair. She wrapped an arm around his throat and dug her knees into his back.
Ashïek, off balance, staggered back, his arms pinwheeling for a moment. He grappled with Phoebe, but she was fast, and she was fueled by rage. Sebastian, his vision dimmed by the blow to his head and the severe loss of blood, struggled to his feet. He had to get to Phoebe before she got hurt.
With a choked roar, Ashïek reached up and caught a handful of Phoebe’s hair, and jerked her forward. She went somersaulting over his shoulder and landed on her back at his feet. Ashïek lifted his blade high, preparing to plunge it through Phoebe’s chest as she lay there with the breath knocked out of her.
As the blade came down Sebastian dove to cover her. The blade hit one of his wings and deflected, but the poison-dipped point penetrated his back, piercing a lung. Sebastian rolled to the side taking Phoebe with him.
Ashïek charged after them, sword raised for another killing blow. He brought it down, but Sebastian swiftly sealed his wings around them like a cocoon. The blade sent a shower of sparks flying as it connected with Sebastian’s metallic armor-like feathers.
A furious war cry came from the doorway. Sebastian caught sight of Sïnsobar as he swooped inside the room. In that moment, Sebastian thought they were done. Or that he was, at least. He’d battle till his last breath to give his mate a fighting chance. But he was a realist. There was no way he’d be able to take them both on, not while defending his mate, not wounded as he was. He should have called the others for help. Now it was too late.
Sïnsobar lowered his head and hit Ashïek like a freight train. The two went careening into the far wall. Picture frames crashed to the floor and shattered. Flames punched through the ceiling. A loud crack came from upstairs, and the house shuddered.
“Get her out of here,” Sïnsobar yelled.
It took Sebastian a moment to realize the Carpathï was talking to him. And still it made no sense. Why was Sïnsobar helping them?
With a groan, he rolled over and wrapped his arm around Phoebe’s waist. She was just beginning to push up on all fours, though she swayed drunkenly to the side. Blood dripped from her nose.
The last thing Sebastian saw of his home was Ashïek and Sïnsobar grappling and crashing around the living room. He wrapped his arms and his wings around Phoebe and used the last of his strength to shimmer them away.
Sebastian couldn’t control the landing. He’d lost too much blood. His vision was already winking in and out. His grip on Phoebe was tenuous at best, his hands slick with his own blood. When they landed, they landed hard. He went skidding across the marble floor, and Phoebe bounced out of his arms.
He tried to speak, tried to call out for help, but the only thing that came out of his mouth was a spray of blood. He was seeing completely in shades of gray now. He recognized the room, the foyer of Gideon’s plantation. He’d managed to get that right, at least. His breath left him in a pained whoosh as he tried to rise. He couldn’t even lift his head off the floor. Pounding footsteps came rushing near. Then again, maybe those were the last of his heartbeats.
He gradually became aware of someone crouching over him.
Phoebe. My Phoebe. My fierce mate.
She hovered over him, growling low in her throat. A plasma ball crackling over her open palm, threatening the two dark shadows that entered the room at a run. The brightness of plasma balls in the distance drew his focus.
“What the hell,” Xander’s deep rasp echoed throughout the room, ringing in his ears.
“Is that what I think it is?” Gideon demanded.
“A fucking demoness,” Xander growled.
“Sebastian, man, can you hear me?” Gideon called.
Sebastian tried to respond. More blood bubbled at the corner of his mouth and he began coughing. Christ, he was hacking up a lung here, drowning for sure.
He turned his throbbing head, blinked woozily. His sideways view of the scene made him want to laugh. Xander and Gideon hovered at the edge of the room, regarding Phoebe like some kind of miracle. Or a deadly force of nature.
Hell, she does kind of look like it, doesn’t she?
God, he was getting delirious.
“Wait,” he managed to croak. More bloody coughing ensued. Finally, when he finished hacking, he stretched out his hand, gaining everyone’s attention.
Blackness was creeping steadily around the edges of his vision now, and he knew he didn’t have much time left.
“My…mate…” he rasped, “Phoebe…safe…”
It was all he could get out before the darkness claimed him.
Phoebe crouched protectively over Sebastian as the two demons extinguished the plasma balls in their hands and slowly straightened at Sebastian’s words. Phoebe glanced down. When she realized Sebastian had lost consciousness, she gave a little cry and dropped to her knees beside him. She immediately reached for his face.
“Sebastian! Sebastian, wake up!”
He was still breathing, but just barely. A pool of crimson was beginning to form beneath him, slowly spreading across the marble floor. Oh, dear lord, he was losing so much blood. She pressed her hands to his chest, hard. But the gash was just too long to cover and, feeling helpless, she began to sob.
The tall blond demon dropped down beside her. Instinct had her hissing a warning at him.
“It’s okay,” he said in a low, calm voice. He held his empty hands up to her. “We’re friends. Let us help.”
A thick white towel appeared out of nowhere, and the blond demon pressed it to the wound on Sebastian’s chest. The towel went completely red in minutes.
“Move on back now,” the blond instructed with a heavy southern accent. “You have to let us see what needs to be done here.”
Phoebe fell back on her heels and then scooted back as the other demon joined them. He wore his hair in a buzz cut, but he had a
dark five o’clock shadow. He looked like GI Joe…with flame red eyes.
GI Joe and the blond demon exchanged glances.
“It’s deep,” GI Joe said, his voice rough as sandpaper.
“Gonna have to cauterize it,” the blond one said. He glanced over his shoulder. “Call Niklas.”
Phoebe looked around, only then realizing there were two women standing in the doorway. One of the women, a tall, leggy, model-type jerked a phone from her pocket and began dialing.
Phoebe looked back to Sebastian. She couldn’t take it, couldn’t stand seeing him like this. She moved around the blond and knelt at her mate’s head. She stroked his cheeks, smoothed his hair from his face. And her tears poured.
“Don’t bring him round just yet, sweetheart,” the blond demon instructed. “Trust me, he ain’t gonna wanna be awake for this.”
A new wave of energy shimmered into the room, and Phoebe instantly went back on guard.
“It’s okay,” the blond one said. “He’s one of us.”
The newcomer flew to Sebastian’s side and dropped to his knees beside GI Joe. “Sweet heaven,” he whispered.
“He should have begun healing already, but he’s not. Must have been poison on the blade. We gotta cauterize this wound. Now. You’re gonna have to help hold him down.”
“No!” Phoebe yelled, moving forward aggressively. He was wounded bad enough as it was. They weren’t going to burn him too.
“Darlin’, if we don’t, he’ll bleed out.”
She looked up at him uncertainly.
“It’ll be okay,” the newcomer assured her. His ice blue eyes bore into hers. Then he looked over her shoulder at someone behind her. “Maggie?”
The blond one immediately stiffened. “No way.”
“Shhh, Gideon,” a short curvaceous woman said as she moved into the room. “Everything’s going to be just fine.”