by Vivi Dumas
The team sneaked toward the front of the house. It was lit up brighter than the National Mall on the Fourth of July. Xavier expected them; there was no need for subtlety. He snatched the body of the red-haired guard from the ground and flung it into the front window, jumping in after it.
Sharp pieces of glass pierced his back as he rolled to the floor and pulled his Glock 37 .45. Jacque took out the vamp standing in the doorway. He was on his feet before Angel and Etienne came through the window. Pierre and Jean traced to his side.
Angel fired two shots in his direction. He turned in time to see a were shifting back into its human form as it hit the old wood floor. Jacque winked at his girl and headed toward the hall. Angel and the others followed close behind.
Jacque expected more resistance as he entered the narrow hallway, which barely provided walking space for his big frame. The hallway was empty. He kept close to the wall away from the stairs. Just before they reached the kitchen, fists crashed through the wall, pulling him through to the dining room on the other side.
Angel’s screams echoed through the house. The element of surprise was definitely over.
Plaster and dust blocked Jacque’s vision. Something with the force of a sledgehammer slammed into his jaw, knocking him back into the hole he came through. The attacker clasped Jacque by the throat and slung him to the other side of the dining room. His head crashed into a painting, and he slumped into a heap on the floor.
Angel was inside the room.
“Get the fuck outta here, Angel! I got this.”
“What the hell is that?”
The creature growled. The sound moved away from him, most likely heading for Angel.
“Etienne, get her the fuck outta here and go find the girls. I’ll take care of this.” Jacque’s sight cleared. In front of him, with its back turned to him was a pit demon. The monster stood at least a full foot taller than Jacque. He couldn’t believe Luc allowed one to come Topside. Pit demons were the lowest of all demons because of their lack of reasoning abilities. They possessed brute strength and ferociousness. It only understood how to kill.
Angel fired several shots into the creature with no results. “I’m not leaving you,” she shouted over the blasts.
“You promised me. Now go find your friends.” Jacque took out his dagger and launched himself on the demon’s back. It thrashed, trying to throw him off. Jacque’s bicep trapped the monster’s neck in a chokehold, and he locked it with his other arm, trying to keep from being thrown. He steadied himself enough to pierce the dagger into the base of the creature’s skull.
The pit demon’s massive hand stretched back, palming Jacque’s head. It yanked him over its shoulder and flipped him on the ground. Jacque’s back snapped, shooting electric fire down his lower extremities. As he lay on the floor with pain coursing through his body, the creature kicked him in the stomach. The cracking of ribs ensued as another foot met its target.
More shots rang out. Jean and Pierre were at his side, dragging him from the room.
“We’ve got to kill it or it’ll keep coming after us,” Jacque managed between winces.
Angel wiped the blood from the side of his face. “Okay, how do we kill it? Apparently shooting doesn’t work.”
“We got to pierce the base of its skull. The base of its skull is the only weak point.”
“Shit, couldn’t you pick something easier?”
The wall between the hall and the dining room crashed down around them. They scurried up the stairs, out of the way.
“Not really a good time to discuss this.” Jacque stood on his own as his body healed.
The pit demon filled the hall with its stench of sulfur.
Jacque hurdled the rail and lunged onto the creature’s back once again. The narrow hall restricted its movements. He gripped the dagger firmly and plunged it into the base of the demon’s neck. As he twisted the knife, the demon fell to the floor with a loud thud.
***
Angel didn’t breathe as she waited for Jacque to move. She never imagined something as hideous as the monster lying on the floor in front of her. All eight feet of its bulging body lay in a heap on the hardwood. Its charred and blistered skin peeled away from the flesh. Dark eyes sunk into the hollows of its face, staring at the ceiling. Black tar oozed from two holes in the middle of the creature’s face. Angel assumed the holes represented what humans considered a nose. Jacque held on to the beast as if he anticipated it waking up, yet it remained in a rancid pile on the floor.
“Baby, you okay?” Angel scooted around the demon’s blistered arm. It looked as if it had third degree burns all over its body.
Jacque pushed himself off the creature’s back. “I’m fine. Come on. We gotta go. We’re gonna have a lot of company soon.”
Etienne was already in the kitchen. Angel followed behind Jacque. Jean and Pierre held up the rear. The clamor of fighting sounded from the other side of the house. The others must’ve run into some trouble. It was time to find her friends and get the hell out of this place.
“Hey, I hear them.” Etienne signaled. He kicked in the oak paneled door, leading to the maid’s quarter.
The metallic smell of blood filled the air. Each of the girls lay strapped to a table. Nat and Jazzy had half-healed cuts all over their bodies. Angel’s mother was duck-taped to a chair, facing the monstrosity. Angel ran to her friends.
Etienne appeared at Jazzy’s side and untied her, his movement gentle, as not to injury her any further. The torture of her friends devastated Angel. Her feet froze as if glued to the floor. Jacque brushed past her and helped Nat off the table, handing her to Jean.
Angel’s mother screamed as Jacque ripped off the tape. Her high-pitched wails destroyed Angel’s sanity. Her mother’s eyes were void of recognition.
Her face showed signs of the beating she endured. Angel’s vision blurred and her head swam. Jacque passed her to Pierre just in time to catch Angel before she fainted.
“Ang, babe. You need to snap out of this. We don’t have time for you to freak out on us.” Jacque’s voice sounded far away. He held her by her arms, shaking her.
She blinked her eyes and the room came back in focus.
“I’m okay. Let’s go.” Her throat burned as she choked back tears.
“We’re gonna go out the back and around the side of the house and back to the vehicles.”
“This doesn’t feel right. Even with the thing in the hall, it was too easy.” She studied Jacque’s reaction and saw he thought the same.
“We don’t have time to question it now. Let’s just get the hell out.”
Putting aside her uneasiness, she focused on getting her friends to safety.
Battle raged outside. The lawn was littered with decapitated bodies. Angel couldn’t tell who belonged to their team and who was with Xavier. Laurent struggled with a large dark-haired vamp. The vamp sank his fangs into Laurent’s arm. Down at the far end of the lawn, Michael charged an enormous demon with red hair, the purity of his white wings decimated with blood. She hadn’t realized the archs came tonight.
“Jacque, Etienne can get us back to the vehicles. You should go help Laurent and the others,” she instructed. She hated leaving the others behind.
“I’m not leaving you with Xavier still loose.”
“They need help. We don’t need all of us to go to the vehicle.”
“Etienne, give me Jazzy. I think your mother can walk. Put her down Pierre. Angel can help her. Go back and help Laurent. Once we get to the truck, I’ll send Jean back, too.”
Angel held her mother under her arm and supported her around the waist. She lugged her across the grass toward the road. Although her mother stumbled a few times, they made the mile trek back to the SUV. Jean laid Nat in the third row seat. Her mother sat stiff in the back seat with Jazzy’s head in her lap. Jacque revved the truck, kicked up the gravel, and removed them from the harm’s way.
Chapter Thirty-Three
The Escalade skidded to a stop in
front of Le Fleur. Angel jumped out the SUV, before Jacque could put it in park, and ran inside for assistance. When she returned, Elise scooted out the vehicle and leaned against the side, waiting for instructions. Jacque lifted Jazzy from the backseat, giving access to Nat in the third row. The girls needed help fast.
Two weres from Damon’s pack took Jazzy and Nat into the building. Jacque carried Elise, afraid her legs might give out at any moment. They went back to the conference room they were in earlier. Marie and his mother were there to tend to the girls.
“What happened to them?” Marie questioned.
“We don’t know. This is how we found them. Actually, they look better than when we found them. They’ve been healing slowly.” Angel brushed the hair out of Jazzy’s face.
“Elise,” Marie called.
Elise spun in a rolling chair and stared blankly out the window.
“Elise! Girl, I know you hear me talking to you.” Marie blocked Elise from making another spin.
“Grand-mère, please. She’s been through a lot tonight,” Angel pleaded.
“I know, child, we have to try to snap her out of her shock.”
She hung close to Elise as if she wanted to touch her, but was afraid. “Give her a little time.”
“Someone go out there and get some of the vampires to donate some blood,” Jacque’s mother commanded. The two weres left to fulfill her request.
Jacque crossed over to Angel, hugging her from behind. She was right. Something was off. It should’ve been harder to get the girls, and Xavier was nowhere to be found. Xavier wasn’t the lay-low type. It wasn’t his nature to have others fight for him.
Angel sunk her back into him, pressing so close not even light could penetrate between them. “What’s wrong?”
Jacque buried his face in her hair before he answered. “Nothing. It’s just not like Xavier to not show up to a fight.”
Her soft caress soothed the electricity floating like a veil atop his skin. “Maybe he was there, and we didn’t run into him.”
“No, he would’ve come for us.” He placed a kiss behind her ear.
“Do you want to go back and see if we can find him?”
Jacque squeezed her tighter. “I don’t want you to go back there. I’ll go back. You stay here. Your friends and your mother need you.”
Angel spun to face him. “No, you’re not going without me.”
Elise’s shrill voice rang through the room. “Are you two always this sickening?”
“What the hell are you talking about, Mom?” Angel snapped.
Elise turned in her chair to face him and Angel. “Your mother and your best friends were captured and tortured all night. All you care about is this...this monster.”
Angel’s eyes grew wide and her nose flared. “Mom, Jacque risked his life to come and get you. You’re not going to talk to him like that.”
“Do you know what his brother did to your friends?” Madness glinted in her eyes as tears formed in the corners.
“What, Mother?” Angel asked reluctantly. She didn’t really want the answer.
“He sliced them with a razor all over their bodies then gave them vampire blood to heal them. As soon as they healed, he did it all over again. He strapped me to a chair and forced me to watch. I heard those girls screaming in pain, not able to do anything about it. All I could do is sit there.”
“Oh, Mom, I’m sorry.” Angel fell to her knees beside the chair. Her forehead lay against Elise’s arm.
“I’m sure you cried worse when you lost Jacque. He means more to you than your own mother,” Elise spouted.
Angel’s voice took a hard edge. “I don’t want to fight with you.”
“Tell me. Why do you love him?”
“What do you mean? He’s a good man and he loves me.”
“He’s not a man. No matter how much he wants you to forget, remember he’s a demon. Even if his mother gave him the power to feel emotions, he’ll always be a monster.” Elise backed away from Angel, meeting Jacque’s glare. She had nerve calling someone a monster the way she treated her own daughters.
Angel stood up and followed her mother. “Have you lost your mind? What the hell are you talking about?”
“How do you know about me and my son, Elise?” Isis’s eyes narrowed as she crept towards the wild-eyed woman in the chair.
Elise challenged his mother’s anger. “I know more than you think. You! Always looking down on people, because you’re a goddess. No one was ever good enough for you and your son.”
Jacque hurled himself at Angel and pushed her away from Elise. “Stay away from her.”
“What’s wrong with her? What did he do to her?” she cried.
“She’s not your mother,” Isis answered.
Jacque kicked, Elise in the chest, sending the chair flying to the far end of the room. “Mom, take everyone and get out.”
Elise morphed in front of them. Jacque envied his brother’s talents. Xavier gradually replaced Elise in the chair. “What’s up, little brother? Not happy to see me?” Xavier stood, cracking his neck to either side.
“I can’t say I’ve missed you.”
“Aw. That hurts, bro. All I’ve done since the last time we were together was think about you and your mother. And where’s Father? He’s usually close, holding on to your mother’s skirt.”
Jacque prowled around the conference table. The weres returned with the blood. He handed them each a girl instead of taking the bags of blood, as they stood staring at Xavier. “Get them out of here. Make sure no one comes back here. Mom. You, Angel and Marie need to go with them.”
A wave of crimson washed over Xavier’s eyes. “No, they stay. I want them to see me kill you.”
“They’re not staying. This is between me and you.” Jacque tried to herd the group out the door.
Xavier waved the cell phone, taunting, threatening. “Angel, if you leave, your mother will die. I can make one call and she’s gone.”
“You’re one sick fuck, Xavier. What happened to you?” Angel spat, remaining where she was, as did Marie and Jacque’s mother.
“Who’s to say? Maybe, if my father would’ve stuck around to take care of me, I would’ve turned out better. My mother was a lowly demoness, not worthy of the Prince. Guess Father slummed it the night he knocked Mom up. ” Xavier’s cackle was cold, harsh, and vacant.
“Let them take the girls out. You don’t need them,” Jacque insisted.
“Always the Boy Scout. Remember what happened the last time you tried to protect someone from me, brother?”
“I’m not the same boy,” Jacque growled.
“Ah. What you don’t realize is you haven’t let him completely go yet. Your emotions have always been your weakness. You’ll never reach your full potential without being able to suppress those emotions. Always thinking, regretting, feeling. Such a waste.”
“I’m strong enough to kill you. Nothing else matters.”
“We’ll see, little brother.” Xavier unsheathed his broadsword, twirling it above his head and bringing it down with both hands.
Jacque gripped his sword, his hands perspired and his pulse raced. The pounding of his heart drummed in his ear. The combination of everyone’s fear and anxiety in the room churned in his belly. He circled the table, trying to steady his hands and kept his eyes locked on Xavier.
Xavier kicked the table. It flew toward Jacque. He blocked the impact with his right arm. The mahogany table splintered around his body. Pieces of wood scattered about the room.
With his sword readied, Xavier rushed Jacque. He drove the sword into the wall as Jacque spun out the way. Jacque reversed his hold on his sword plunging it behind him. The hard steel of the blade sank into soft flesh. Jacque’s sword punctured his brother’s side. Xavier gaped at the wound in shock. He caught a bit of the blood oozing from the gash and brought it to his lips. As he licked his fingers, a smile played on his lips.
Jacque froze.
Xavier’s combat boot smashed into
Jacque’s right knee. Jacque fell to the floor. He stopped the second boot from meeting his head. He rolled out of the way of Xavier’s sword as it impaled into the wood floor. Jacque returned to his feet and limped around a piece of the broken table.
Xavier yanked at the embedded sword. “You’ve gotten better, little bro. But not good enough.”
“Fuck you, Xavier.” Jacque stalked closer.
Xavier’s lips twisted into a sinister grin. “Ah. No thanks. I might try your girl when I’m done with you.”
Jacque lunged at him. His shoulder plowed into Xavier’s midsection, knocking him to the ground. Jacque straddled him, raining blows into Xavier’s face.
Xavier yanked out his dagger and slashed the blade at Jacque. A deep gash appeared across Jacque’s torso. Jacque trapped Xavier’s arm and snapped it in two. Angel sucked in a breath and distracted him for one second. The leg of the table caught the side of his jaw, and he crashed into the wall.
Angel went for her gun. Isis stopped her before she fired a shot.
“This is between Jacque and Xavier. They need to finish this,” Isis said, taking the gun from Angel’s hands.
“He needs help!” Angel cried out.
“This has been coming for a long time. His fear of Xavier has been what has kept Jacque from his full potential. He needs to finish this.”
Xavier wound his hand in Angel’s hair and snatched her toward him, causing her to shriek. “I’m tired of you trying to shoot me, bitch.” He slammed her head into the wall.
Rage fueled Jacque. He dove over Angel, tackling Xavier. With Xavier’s hands still tangled in her hair, she tumbled back with the brothers, her screams filling the air.
Chapter Thirty-Four
The hardwood floors felt like concrete against Angel’s back. Her spine quivered, and her lower back throbbed. The excruciating agony radiated down her legs. She lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling, regrouping, hoping Xavier released her hair. Death was never something she wished upon a person. At this moment, she prayed for it.