Demon at War (The Mike Rawlins Series Book 3)
Page 26
“Damn right,” Janice reiterated. “The frickin’ monster saved my life. Anyone burning any pieces of him off answers to me.”
“Dad? Are you okay?” Gail glanced back toward her Father, not having heard him since they first moved into position.
“I’m good, HG, you little minx.”
Laughter rang out amongst the sweating combatants.
“What?” Gail straightened momentarily, forgetting she was guarding a gateway into hell.
“Did you think I wouldn’t be cognizant of your early morning hour bed hopping?” Steve observed with resignation apparent in his voice.
More laughter.
“Not to mention you’ll have to gag yourself the next time on a group sleepover, HG,” Laura’s voice from command central observed to even louder laughter.
“Head’s up!” Jerry called out.
* * *
Mike opened fire the moment he passed through into the hellish Haunt dimension. The burst of holy water/Colloidal Silver mix triggered by Denny’s added laser filaments obliterated everything in sight, although the hordes scrambled forward, stupidly unaware of their losses. Demon darted back and forth, protecting all approaches at Mike’s flank. George clung to the heavy hose as it jolted back and forth with help from the telescoping support.
“Thank God!” Mike yelled out. “The tanker hose is holding in both dimensions!”
“Arf!”
Navarone blinked at the surrounding environment with unabashed horror. Her perception of something intangible beyond some small opening, burst into nothingness, upon passing through the portal. Hellish creatures flew at them in all directions with countless attacking horrors fronting them as far as the eye could see. She shot out at the flicking apparitions as Mike had suggested. Navarone gritted her teeth, willing herself to fire only when she had palpable targets. She held steady, witnessing Mike’s spray decimating the horde pouring in on them. Seconds later a Haunt flew at her from the side. Navarone barely got her weapon ready in time to cut off its entire lower half. The upper half of the screaming Haunt hit her full force, knocking her out cold before it dissolved entirely.
Demon lurched back in time to rip apart a Haunt streaking in on the unconscious Navarone. “Agent down, CD!”
Mike barely paused, sending a signal to George. The Haunt swooped in to get Navarone and streaked through the portal. Mike braced against the added weight, his feet nearly becoming airborne. Demon was at his side, guarding his back, while peering up every few seconds to check the Haunt air attack. “Gonna’ get me some, D!”
Demon snorted. “Oh hell yeah!”
* * *
Gail held up a clenched fist warning as George punched through the dimensional breach with Navarone in his arms. Stan hurried over to take the burden. George smiled his facsimile of a smile, waved, and zipped back through.
“I love that Haunt!” Janice helped Stan lay Navarone’s unconscious body to the side. Joanie arrived with their fully outfitted crash-cart.
Navarone began breathing easier with the oxygen mask Joanie held in place. She sat up seconds later with a shriek, her arms waving to ward off an invisible attack.
“Easy… easy…” Joanie crooned.
Minutes later Navarone realized where she was, her hands clamping on Joanie’s hands where they held the oxygen mask to her face. “Where…where am I? Oh my God… where’s Mike?”
“They’re battling,” Joanie answered, trying to calm her charge, while shutting off all thought of her brother’s plight.
* * *
George eviscerated a Haunt diving at Mike a split second after traversing the portal. Mike had been blithely ducking the Haunt, hoping Demon would be able to get free of the Haunts assaulting from their open right. Mike pumped a fist at George. The barrage continued. They wasted Haunts until Mike finally backed toward the portal, sensing doom if they stayed any longer. The three retreated in good order, with first Mike passing through with the tanker hose, followed by Demon, and then George.
Once George was clear to the side where Mike beckoned him, Denny sealed the portal.
The Demon Inc crew looked around at each other with satisfaction, but were visibly drained. Mike went over to where Navarone lay on her side, where George had left her. Joanie had already finished treating her, but Navarone was still taking a couple breaths of oxygen. She looked at him in bleary recognition, reaching to clasp his hand.
“That… was dumb.”
“Don’t think about that now,” Mike replied, covering her hand with his other free one. “You’re part of this now. You passed over and came back alive. In your own way you proved it could be done without my Haunt DNA enhancements.”
Navarone looked away. “I… I would have been dead but for your pet Haunt.”
Mike chuckled, glancing over at the gallivanting George as he flitted amongst the celebrating Demon Inc crew. “Yeah, he’s a keeper.”
“What did you find out about getting a mind hold over more Haunts?”
Mike shook his head. “It’s so intense over there, I can’t concentrate without letting my guard down. If I’m going to recruit Haunts, it will have to be from this side.”
Navarone sat up. “You got their attention today, right?”
“You bet we did. They suffered losses in the tens of thousands.” Mike held up his bleeding hands. “I have to be a little smarter and wear gloves.”
Navarone laughed, ending in a cough which she barely controlled. “I’m with you, Mike. I’ll back you until they fire me.”
“Our problem will be introducing George as an example of the threat.”
Navarone collapsed onto her back with a bark of laughter. “Maybe you should keep George under wraps for now.”
* * *
George pranced in his outfit of SF Giants attire, with black pants extenders covering his feet. He held Demon’s leash in a loose grip with the costumed attired Demon Inc crew all around him, and Demon wearing his red Superman cape as Krypto. Tina Kinsler and Jimmy Manjetti joked and darted around in front of the abstract crew as they trick or treated down the street. The rescued kids from prior kidnappings had been released into Demon Inc’s care for the Halloween night without question. Kinsler’s guardians and Manjetti’s parents had been thrilled about Mike’s offer to take the kids.
“Man, this is the greatest,” Denny said. He was decked out in full Frodo costume.
“Yeah, it would have been if you hadn’t dressed as a damn hobbit,” Janis declared to muted laughter.
“I look good,” Denny said, smiling over at Joanie who had dressed in female hobbit attire. “Ain’t that right, D?”
Demon glanced back for a moment and then collapsed to his side in a pose of death. George, on cue, dropped to a knee, one appendage on Demon, the other held up in supplication, his face a mask of loss. Demon Inc and their young charges howled in laughter. George and Demon had become inseparable where they lived now at Demon Inc Headquarters, with Demon teaching his new companion every nuanced motion to attract humorous or annoyed reaction.
Mike shook his head. “Oh boy, I’ve disrupted the cosmic balance bringing these two together. We’re doomed.”
The End
Thank you for purchasing and reading Demon At War. If you enjoyed the novel, please take a moment and leave a review. Your consideration would be much appreciated. Please visit my Amazon Author’s Page if you would like to preview any of my other novels. Thanks again for your support.
Bernard Lee DeLeo
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Author’s Contact Links - http://rjparkerpublishing.com/bernard-lee-deleo.html
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