by Amber Garr
“Ah. You want more, no?”
I shook my head again, but he already moved toward me. A commotion from the windows on the side of the room startled both of us into stillness. Glass shards plummeted to the ground and a body flew through the air, landing with a thud and sliding through the circle of cloaked beings like a bowling ball.
At last, my rescue team had arrived.
Twenty Three
The body lying underneath two witches and a sorcerer belonged to Charles. His eyes glazed over and his head hung from his shoulders at an odd angle. A witch screamed and used the other two bodies to push herself away from the corpse. With one throw, three people were dead.
Another crash directed my attention to a door near the basement entrance I hadn’t noticed earlier. A large black wolf charged in at full speed, heading straight for Leanna. Drool dripped from his snarling mouth with the long canines poised for attack.
Leanna had rushed over to Charles’ broken body, but when she saw the wolf, she rose and stepped over her bodyguard. Her mouth moved quickly as she lifted her arm in defense. Just a few feet from the attack, the wolf slammed into her spell. It was like he hit an invisible wall at sixty miles an hour. The fury body twisted and contorted into unnatural positions, trying to minimize the damage. King yelped a high-pitched noise so gut wrenching I had to look away. He fell to the floor, stunned and unable to move.
Leanna walked over to the injured animal, glaring and casting. Before she could do whatever harm she’d intended, Gallus scooped up the wolf and leapt straight into the air to reach the loft above us.
“Gallus!” she screamed, looking up and around trying to locate them.
“Let them be, Leanna.” It was Conner but he wasn’t focused on her. He’d reached the exterior of the circle and stared directly at the demon.
“My prodigal son,” hissed Asmodeus. He bowed gallantly and gestured for him to move closer to us. “I’ve been waiting for you. It has been too long. Please come inside and join me and my lovely conquest.”
I didn’t know how the circle of protection worked, but Conner passed through as easily as me. His steps looked tentative but he aimed them in my direction. All around us echoed a cacophony of fighting noises. Briefly, I saw Mac flashing in and out of existence, and sure enough, he had a sword. I watched with shocked detachment as he plunged his blade through the neck of young female witch. She didn’t even have a chance to scream.
Gallus returned to the floor level, beating anyone in his path with his bare hands. The remaining witches and sorcerers held their own with magical spells and invisible barriers and on the far wall, Atticus still hung in silence.
“Father, let them go.” Conner’s voice pulled me back to our circle.
Asmodeus shook his head and walked up to Conner. He placed his hands on top of his shoulders and shrugged. “Now, why would I do that?”
He continued looking at Conner, tilting his head in amusement and turning back and forth between the two of us. Finally, his mouth opened in delight. “I look like you. Someone has been making impressions, dear son.”
I averted my eyes to the floor in unnecessary embarrassment. The incubi recognized Conner as one of the men on my mind. One of the forms he’d morphed into for my benefit. I jumped when he suddenly clapped his hands together.
“Marvelous! Come, we can finish my transition together. I’ve been working her, but perhaps your presence will speed this up.” He ushered Conner over to me.
We looked into each other’s eyes. Mine were no doubt full of fear, and his were full of sympathy. Asmodeus watched this exchange with great interest. He laughed again, then quickly grabbed my arm to pull me closer. His mouth pushed against mine for only an instant before being jerked away.
“I said let her go,” Conner grumbled. “Stop doing this! You can’t transition. It’ll never work and you’re only hurting people in your foolish quest.”
“Says the man who has supplied me souls for a millennium.”
Conner’s head snapped around to look at me and see if I heard this. He told me he was a collector, but that it was a part of his life he didn’t need to live anymore. I really hoped he wasn’t lying.
A shrill scream echoed through the room. King came back and had surprised a sorcerer. His jaws tore into the man’s back in a horrifying yet fascinating blood bath. Suddenly, the magic users didn’t have the upper hand anymore.
“I’m not going to ask you again, Father. Let them go.” I didn’t know if Angela was still alive but the use of “them” encouraged me.
“No,” replied Asmodeus.
He grabbed and kissed me again. This time his hands caressed my body from head to hip and even in between my legs. Like before, I was helpless to do anything. I wanted him so badly that my body ached. The commotion surrounding us faded into background noise, and all I could hear was the beating of my own heart.
We fell to the ground with such a force, I was sure that something else would break. Conner tackled us and the father and son now rolled around on the floor. That was, until the demon disappeared and reappeared standing next to Angela.
“You silly child. Why do you bother? I made you. You cannot destroy me.” He brushed his fingers over Angela again. Her hand twitched and I had renewed hope for her survival.
Conner faced his father again, but the tension in his shoulders did not hide his struggle. He lowered his head and spoke. “What do you want?”
“Want? Why, whatever do you mean, son?”
“You know what I mean,” Conner snapped. “What can I offer you for their release?”
Asmodeus tapped his finger to his chin and looked up as though pondering something. “You see, herein lies a difficult decision. Two innocents for the price of…shall we say one hundred years with twenty souls per year?”
Conner sucked in a breath, looked at me then at Angela withering away on the table. “Fifty years at ten souls each year,” he countered.
The demon paused to think about his offer. I feared for Conner and I didn’t completely understand what he promised.
“Fifty years with ten souls and I get this one,” Asmodeus finally said as he pointed to Angela.
“No. Not her.” Conner looked back at me and mouthed I’m sorry. He waved his hand around the room at the witches and sorcerers still standing. “You can have one of them instead. It won’t count toward my quota.”
“A freebie, eh?” The demon walked around his barrier examining each fighter. “They did not accomplish everything they promised. Hmmmm…” He paced back and forth six times before pointing to his decision. “That one.”
I watched Conner’s face and swear I saw regret so deep it might break him. But in an instant it disappeared, and he stalked over to the next sacrifice. Leanna.
She hadn’t been paying attention to the conversation since her focus was on the giant vampire. The two seemed to be at an impasse. Conner stepped between them and Gallus quickly joined another battle. Conner didn’t say anything to Leanna, and instead yanked her into the circle by her hair. She fought back hard, but her strength was no match for the cambion on a mission.
Once inside and near Asmodeus, Conner didn’t waste any time. He pushed her to the ground on her knees, yanked her hair back, and exposed her neck. Like lighting, he bent down and bit her. There was no discussion, no apology, just death for the woman responsible for destroying so many other lives.
I watched in stunned silence. Conner didn’t even trying to hide his true nature. He’d made a deal with the devil, literally, in order to save me. But what that deal entailed had me wondering if I would ever be able to look at him in the same way again.
Leanna slowly started to slip away. Her body slumped and her skin withered, but Conner didn’t stop. It wasn’t until she crumpled to the floor did he pull his head away, his mouth covered with blood, his eyes glowing red.
His father reached out for his hands, and Conner laid his palms on top of the demon’s. They both closed their eyes and lifted their heads
toward the ceiling. The soft blue glow appeared again but this time it flow from Conner’s hands, out of his body, and into Asmodeus’. He gave him Leanna’s soul. This is what he meant by collecting.
The exchange lasted several minutes all the while Asmodeus morphed into another person. Perhaps this was his usual form. The resemblance to Conner was still there in the bone structure and black curly hair, but was faint enough that each would be able to deny paternity. The blue glow suddenly turned yellow than red and then disappeared with a crackle.
“Now that was a powerful one,” the demon purred. “Witches like that are hard to come by.”
Somebody grabbed me by the arm and pulled me away from the circle. My body dragged along the ground even though I tried to use my good leg to push up.
“Come on, you have to get out of here,” he yelled at me. I recognized the young, pleading voice instantly. Jake was trying to save me.
“Help me up,” I demanded. He bent over and put his hands under my arms to lift. I still stumbled around as I glanced up into his face. His eyes looked wide with fear as they scanned the room behind me, searching for trouble. I felt an overwhelming urge to hug him and thank him for finally coming to his senses. Shifting my weight to my right leg, I started to reach for his neck when my face was splattered with something wet. It covered my eyes, nose, and mouth with a thickness unlike anything else.
I’d heard the crack, but didn’t realize it was a gunshot until I looked at the boy in front of me. Blood trickled down his left check out of a hole the size of a dime. His eyes closed and something dripped from the other side of his head. Our entwined bodies collapsed to the ground as Jake Montgomery took his last breath.
“Leila!” Someone shouted. “Leila!”
It took me a second before I could move. We’d only made it a few feet closer to the circle barrier and now my leg was trapped underneath Jake’s body. I tried to unravel myself and get up to a standing position, but before I got there Conner ran toward the shouting and yelled.
“No!”
I couldn’t see where he went until I stood up. The scene felt surreal as I watched Garrick running toward me with his gun pointing at Jake on the floor. My momentary relief shattered when I saw Conner yell again.
“No, King!”
He wouldn’t reach him in time. Hurdling through the air at Garrick, was the wolf. At the last second Garrick must have seen the blur because he threw one arm up to protect his head and slid to the ground. I heard the impact from the other side of the room and saw the blood spray.
The two rolled on the ground and before King could get a better grip, Conner bent over and yanked him off the detective. Garrick screamed and I saw that King still had pieces of his body in his mouth when he was pulled away. I didn’t know what he’d torn, but Garrick suddenly stopped moving.
Gallus got there in an instant and Mac popped up next to them on the ground, confusing his previous opponent who swung a fist into empty air. The men pushed on Garrick’s upper body as Mac gazed up at me with sympathy and distress.
Sirens filled the night in the distance. Conner and King looked at each other and moved in synchronization to finish the attack. There were only two left standing now, the brothers. I watched in morbid enthrallment as King tore into the younger one and Conner snapped the neck on Shorty. It was as if he knew which one was the leader. Shorty was the follower and therefore received the quicker death.
King ripped off an arm and a leg before chomping down on the victim’s neck. It was completely disgusting yet satisfying all the same. I was so enraptured I didn’t hear the demon behind me.
“Fascinating is it not? It has been many years since I have seen a wolf cooperate with others. You should all be grateful.”
I looked back at King, covered in blood and licking the gaping neck wound he’d created. I don’t know if grateful would be my first choice of vocabulary. But tonight, I was glad that he fought on our side.
“Leila,” Mac called. “You may want to come over here.”
I looked up at the demon who waved me on. I ran for Garrick on the floor when I had a flashback to that night in the alley. Russ lying there, covered in blood, dying in front of me. I was too late that evening and I didn’t want to live through this again. I tripped on my feet without notice and nearly fell on top of Garrick. Fortunately, I didn’t go down because I feared I wouldn’t have the nerve to get back up.
Garrick’s left arm was ripped open from wrist to elbow and I could see bone protruding out of the wound. But that wasn’t the worst of it. Gallus and Mac tried to stop the bleeding in his neck and shoulder, right above the collarbone. King had snatched pieces of flesh from the detective when pulled off the attack.
“He didn’t realize,” Mac said. I looked at him questioningly. “King. He didn’t realize who this was at first. He’s going to be devastated.”
I squeezed Garrick’s good hand. “He’s going to be more than devastated if he dies.” The sirens sounded closer now. I looked around the room to see that the fighting had ended and Conner removed Angela from the table.
“What do we do now?” I asked anyone who would answer.
“We need to get out of here,” Gallus replied. “Let me get him.” He hefted Garrick up over his shoulder in a fireman’s carry and started jogging toward the door.
“Someone has to get Atticus,” I yelled. No one responded so I limped to the opposite wall by myself. I passed by Jake’s silent body regretting I couldn’t save him too. Atticus still wasn’t moving but I could see him breathing. I started to untie his ankle straps, but didn’t have a clue what to do for the manacles. Mac materialized next to me and took in the situation.
“Move back.”
I did and the fairy used his sword to slice through the chains with two quick swings. As Atticus fell to the floor, he moaned and opened his eyes.
“Leila?” Barely any sound came from him.
“Shh. I’m here, but we need to go now.” Mac and I each took a shoulder, but when I put weight on my left leg this time, I completely crumbled. At some point in the fight, I did more damage to my knee.
“Move,” Mac demanded again and picked up Atticus all by himself. Apparently everyone had super-strength. He ran after Gallus and Garrick. King already sat next to the door waiting for someone to open it. Conner stood in front of his father with Angela in his arms. I moved closer to see what that conversation was about.
“Fifty more years. How I am so looking forward to seeing you regularly again.” Conner’s father genuinely seemed pleased. But then I remembered why they would be seeing each other and I decided he might be excited for more selfish reasons.
“Will you take care of this?” Conner asked.
“Already done,” Asmodeus replied a second before he disappeared. In his absence, a wall of fire burned high enough to reach the loft. Conner turned to look at me.
“Time to go.”
The flames spread more rapidly than I would have thought possible. But when I looked closer, I saw that the fire had jumped to each dead body. They would be incinerated, leaving no evidence behind. A parting gift from the demon.
We made our way outside to the pile of people on the ground. The night sky flashed blue and red as the police cars weaved toward the warehouse. My back burned from the scorching heat of the fire. I looked behind me to see flames shooting out through the high windows and wondered if we were too close to the burning building.
As if hearing my thoughts again, Mac encouraged all of us to move another hundred yards or so away which put us in the middle of a gravel parking lot.
“Where are we?” I asked.
“A warehouse in Parkville. Apparently owned by Leanna and used for these secret meetings,” Conner answered. He adjusted Angela into a more comfortable position. Her skin had returned to normal and I suspected Conner had something to do with that. She was still unconscious but otherwise her body seemed untouched.
“How did you find us?” I asked.
“Throug
h him,” Mac nodded at Atticus. We both faced him. “He’d dropped his keys in the parking lot, and we were able to get into Leanna’s house to find her property records. This was the third place we checked.”
I looked at Atticus. Beaten and bruised, he had swollen eyes and a cut on his forehead that bled long enough to leave narrow, crusty streaks down his face. The manacles rested on the ground a few inches away. I looked at him with curiosity and he shrugged his shoulders.
“Magic.” He rubbed his wrists.
“Why didn’t you do that earlier?”
“Only works when I’m awake. And when I can concentrate.” Garrick coughed and I heard liquid gurgling in his mouth. I threw myself at him.
“What’s happening?”
“He’s bleeding out. We need to get him to a hospital.” Mac looked up at the incoming police and emergency services.
“Can’t you guys do something? You’re all magical,” I pleaded.
Gallus and Mac shared a look as a pair of hands gently grabbed my arms from behind. My body shook and I couldn’t stop the sobs.
“Give them some room, Leila,” Conner said, pulling me back to nestle against his chest. We sprawled out on the ground but even the gravel piercing into my legs didn’t affect me. Garrick was in bad shape. As I looked at him and not his wounds, I saw that he’d dressed in a suit and tie, something classier than his work attire. I had on my sexy red halter dress and new lingerie and knew that he must still have his date clothes on too. The man had been looking for me the entire time.
Tears flowed down my face, nearly hysterical over the scene before me. He couldn’t die. That wasn’t fair. The first crunch of gravel in the distance gave me a brief feeling of relief. Help was here and if Detective Sherwood was amongst the group, he wouldn’t let anything happen to Garrick.
“We need a story,” Gallus said.
“Yes we do,” agreed Conner. “Is King gone?”