by J. C. Diem
“That’s okay, I can make other shifters turn as well.”
She gave an alarmed squawk as I invaded her mind. Sensing the were-eagle inside her, I prodded her awake. Far more majestic than her human counterpart, she regarded me regally, not that we could actually see each other. What do you wish of me, alpha?
I need you to take control and to transform for a short while.
It is not yet time. She might not have eyes, but her instincts told her what phase of the moon we were currently in.
I wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t vitally important.
I sent her mental images of the attacks. She sucked in a furious breath when she realized birds were being used to kill people. You must destroy the creature who is behind this!
That’s the plan, but I need you to take me to him. I showed her Kurt Jorgen standing on the high building less than eighty miles from where we stood.
Battle lust rose and she inclined her head in agreement. I will do as you ask, but only if you promise to return me to my human form again.
I give you my word that I’ll change you back as soon as we’re done. I wasn’t cruel enough to make her stay in her wereform indefinitely. I’d almost changed into a werewolf permanently the first time I’d transformed when it wasn’t the full moon. It had taken a near catastrophe to force me to change back.
Our exchange had taken only a few seconds, but it felt like a lot longer. The were-eagle surged forward and I helped her transform quickly and without pain. Gone was the wrinkled hag and a huge eagle took her place. The animal skins had burst at the seams when she’d morphed and lay in tatters on the ground.
Stretching her wings out, they spanned nearly fifty feet. Of the shifters that I’d seen so far, she resembled her inner beast the most. I didn’t need to give her directions, she knew exactly where we needed to go and what our purpose was. I cannot take off while holding you in my talons, she told me. I will have to pick you up once I am in the air.
Blind in this form as well, she needed to borrow my eyes. My vision blurred as I relinquished part of my brain to her. For a moment, I saw double, then I concentrated on just seeing through my eyes rather than through hers as well.
With a running jump, she took off, sending dirt and grass whirling around us. Circling the park, she aimed for me and I braced myself for impact. Used to using birds to see through, it wasn’t easy for her to judge the distance as accurately through me. Her talons tore through my arms rather than clasping onto them. I grabbed hold of her legs and was carried high into the air.
Ripping my flesh free of her talons, my wounds healed instantly, but my t-shirt wasn’t as lucky. I waved down at the others who were already tiny with distance then the werebird turned towards the town where my enemy awaited.
₪₪₪
Chapter Ten
Rapidly winging her way through the air, the oracle was much faster than a normal bird. We shot past her eagle as she was on her way back to us. The oracle instructed the bird to return to our friends. We were flying towards the griffin and its tens of thousands of avian puppets. She didn’t want to put her friend in danger by allowing her to tag along with us.
I had an aerial view as we passed over one of the towns that was currently under attack. No one even noticed us as we soared high overhead. The humans were too busy dying and the hydra and Cerberus golems and their minions were too busy hunting them down. I was saddened to see packs of dogs savaging the townsfolk. I wished I had the time to try to free them from the Cerberus, but hopefully I wouldn’t need to. Once Kurt Jorgen was dead, his golems would die, too.
Leaving the town behind, our combined shadows looked like a malformed harpy on the ground far below. That particular species was now extinct, thanks to Thomas and Harold. Harpies had been repulsive and unnatural, but they hadn’t been much of a threat to mankind. They’d been hunted down for their sheer ugliness more than anything. The final pair of harpies had made the mistake of snatching up a woman to feed their young. The PIA’s policy had always been to eradicate any supernatural creatures that preyed on humans. Thomas had done what was necessary, but he’d felt a small amount of guilt over it.
As we closed in on the third town, I was relieved to see that Kurt was still standing on the highest building. Watching the proceedings intently, he was completely unaware that we were flying towards him. I searched the area for the griffin and spied it on the ground. It was standing on a corpse, tearing into the human’s flesh with its gigantic beak. Birds of all description dive-bombed fleeing civilians while spiders swarmed over anyone who tripped and fell.
We need to move fast before we’re spotted, I said to the oracle.
I’ll switch my vision to that crow, she replied and I saw a lone bird flying in the distance. It was out of range of the griffin, but the oracle reached out with our combined minds and called it over. I retracted myself from her and her talons clamped down on my shoulders as she switched her sight to the crow.
Get ready, she warned me. Swooping down lower, she opened her talons and released me. I glanced up to see her and her new servant making their way towards a nearby hilltop then concentrated on my mission.
Falling from a height of a hundred feet or so, I hit my target dead on. My feet drove into Kurt Jorgen’s shoulders and he hit the roof hard. We skidded for a few yards, leaving scraps of clothing and some of his skin behind. The faery gaped up at me in shock at the surprise attack. Triumph welled inside me as I turned my fingers into razor sharp talons. I drove them deep into his chest, searching for his heart. Finding it, I closed my hands around it and squeezed.
Kurt made unintelligible gargling sounds as his hands clawed at me ineffectually. His pale blue eyes bulged in horror. His heart gave an audible pop when it burst and he went limp. Retracting my claws, I stood, unable to believe it was over. His blood dripped from my fingertips, splattering on the concrete.
Bending to wipe my hands on his jacket, the blood faded and disappeared right before my eyes. Stumbling back, I watched in disbelief as his heart became whole again and the tears in his chest, shirt and jacket disappeared. It was like seeing a video in reverse as the damage that I’d caused to him was undone. Even the red droplets on the concrete rooftop disappeared.
Kurt took a deep, shuddering breath then blinked. He focused on me as I backed away to a safer distance. Climbing to his feet, he grinned at me nastily. “Did you really think you’d be able to kill me so easily?”
My heart sank when I realized that killing him would be far more difficult than I’d anticipated. I now knew what feeding off other supernatural creatures could do to a faery. “Not really,” I admitted. “But I hoped it would.”
He brushed the dirt from his rumpled black suit. No blood stained his clothes now. It was as if the attack hadn’t happened at all. “I warned you that nothing on this Earth can kill me.” He contemplated me then surprised me with another grin. His eyes danced with glee and more than a hint of madness. “I am glad that we can share a few moments alone, my dear.”
“Why?” I asked suspiciously. He was being far friendlier than I’d expected considering that I’d just tried to kill him. He should have been trying to destroy me by now.
“As my nemesis, it is only fitting that you should be here to witness the beginning of the end.” On that mysterious note, he walked over to the edge of the building.
Reluctantly joining him, I kept a few yards between us and looked down to see bodies strewn everywhere. Humans were running and screaming, vainly trying to escape from the birds and spiders. The two gigantic golems were roaming through the streets, snatching up victims and tearing them apart. I was glad Mark wasn’t here to see this. It would have been tough for him to see hundreds of thousands of arachnids swarming through the town. He’d faced his fear of spiders, but he hadn’t quite conquered it yet.
The carnage was already horrifying to see, but it was about to become worse. Kurt zapped out of existence and reappeared in the parking lot of a supermarket below. He lifted his han
ds and began to chant in a foreign language. I could barely hear him above the screams that were coming from the populace and piercing shrieks from the birds.
When he finished chanting, a circle appeared in the ground. It was another portal to hell, but this one was slightly larger than the previous ones that he’d created. Around fifteen yards across, the pit was pitch black. It was too deep for me to see the bottom from my vantage point. I wasn’t sure I wanted to see what was inside the hole anyway.
Flames shot upwards for several yards before abating. Instead of the usual harsh babble of voices as the imps fought over who would escape, it was eerily silent in the pit. Long claws appeared and a demon hauled himself out of the hole.
This one was different from the others and didn’t need any recovery time. He stood tall and proud, towering over the half-faery. He was nearly double Jorgen’s size, which meant he had to be ten feet tall. Large, leathery wings sprouted from his back and horns rose from his head. Instead of being black, his skin was an ashy gray. Cloven feet finished off his hideous visage. There was something very familiar about him and I strove to remember where I’d seen him before. He looked a bit like the Viltarans that Ava had mentioned, but she hadn’t said anything about wings or horns. They’d been aliens from another planet rather than demons from hell.
Instead of unleashing the demon on the town, Kurt merely talked to him. The hideous imp cocked his head to the side and listened intently. The faery was making some kind of deal with him. When he finished speaking, the demon contemplated for a long moment then gave a single nod of agreement.
Jorgen turned and grinned up at me widely. His eyes had turned dark blue and the irises were still spinning, which meant he’d used his magic to compel the demon. I had no doubt whatsoever that the bargain he’d just made would spell disaster for our world.
I wished I had my sniper rifle handy so I could have at least attempted to put a stop to their conversation. The bullets wouldn’t have killed the hell spawn or the faery, but it would have at least sent the demon back to the pit for a short while.
My hunch that disaster was about to befall the earth was proven to be correct when the demon gestured and called out in a harsh, guttural voice. The pit widened by several yards and flames shot upwards again as the portal presumably reopened. When the flames died down, multiple pairs of hands appeared. At first dozens and then hundreds of black skinned demons climbed out of the hole. Kurt had only been able to call on a single demon at a time, but the gray imp could muster an army.
Lying on the ground for a few seconds until they’d recovered, they clambered to their feet. At their leader’s command, they went on the hunt. Breaking into the buildings that hadn’t yet been searched, they flushed out the cowering humans and fell on them in a biting, clawing frenzy.
Snagging a woman by the arm, the gray demon tore her dress down the front. He turned around to face me and I saw that he was fully aroused. Sickened by what he was going to do to her, I couldn’t just stand by and watch. Calling on my necromancer, I reached out to the dead that were lying on the streets. So much blood had already been shed that I hoped it wouldn’t be necessary to use my own. I didn’t want to get any closer to the new demon than was absolutely necessary.
It was much harder to use my death magic during the day and sweat beaded on my forehead as I concentrated. Sensing that something was about to happen, Kurt turned to stare up at me. Even his ally paused as he was about to maul the woman. “Rise!” I shouted and green fog sprang into being. A wave of weakness swept through me as my power was drained. The dead pieced themselves back together and rose to their feet, waiting for my command. Get the humans to safety, I ordered and they lurched into motion. Each one grabbed a couple of people and disappeared into the ground. They popped up in other towns that they’d been to all over the country and released their frightened charges.
Confused and terrified, the humans had no idea that they were being rescued. They tried to flee from the zombies, but my servants were relentless in their mission to save them. Thousands had already died, but my small army saved the survivors. The black skinned demons milled about in confusion when their victims disappeared.
When the city had been evacuated, I gave my army fresh orders. Kill the demons! As one, they turned on the hell spawn. The demons were strong and fast, but my zombies were infused with death magic, which made them far stronger than they’d been as humans. They also far outnumbered the imps.
Without my direction, the battle would have been long and drawn out. Fortunately, I knew the fastest way to destroy my enemies. As ordered, my zombies worked together in small groups of three to target their enemies. Screaming in rage, the demons weren’t about to go down without a fight. Their claws tore into the much softer bodies of the undead. Unable to feel pain, my soldiers ignored their wounds. Two of them grabbed hold of an imp to hold them in place while the third wrenched their heads from their necks. One by one, the dark minions fell. Wispy black souls appeared as they expired and were sucked back into the pit.
The leader of the horde tossed the woman aside as he realized his troops were under threat. She was grabbed by one of my undead and was whisked away to safety. Clearly, the demon had never come up against anything that could defeat his servants before. He watched in disbelief as my zombies decimated his army.
Kurt called on his golems and they thundered into the fray. The gigantic stone griffin and spider sent zombies flying. Every time one of my minions fell, they pieced themselves back together and rose again. Ignoring the golems, my army concentrated on their mission to destroy the hell spawn.
Eventually, every imp had been taken down and only their leader remained. When he made no move to recall them, I figured that meant the battle was over for now. My soldiers weren’t strong enough to fight the stone spider and griffin, so I withdrew my death magic and released them. Rest, I told them. They returned to where they’d fallen and became still.
Kurt gestured and his golems vanished. Released from their masters, the birds became aware of the spiders and went into a feeding frenzy. With an annoyed flick of his hand, Jorgen sent the birds away. They fled with alarmed squawks.
Both the faery and demon turned to stare up at me. This wasn’t how they’d pictured this battle ending and they were surprised and annoyed. Disappearing for a moment, they teleported to the rooftop to face me.
Kurt peered up at me thoughtfully. “You are far more powerful than I’d anticipated. Death magic is attuned to the night. It should not be possible for any necromancer to raise zombies during the day.”
“I guess that means I’m not a normal necromancer,” I replied. The demon was studying me silently. Up this close, I saw that his pupils were slit horizontally. Evil emanated from him and fear began to climb up to my throat. He was aroused again and I was the only female left in the city. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what he planned to do to me.
“It hardly matters what you are,” Jorgen said with a hint of petulance. “As you have just seen, I finally have the means to exact my revenge.”
“What was the bargain that you made with that thing?” I asked and pointed at the demon.
“That is between us,” was his sly response. “Although you’ll shortly discover that you were part of my deal.”
The demon strode over to me and his hand came down on my shoulder. I suppressed a shudder at the unnatural heat that emanated from him. He bent and his forked tongue came out and licked my face. My skin burned at the contact. “I am going to enjoy taking you,” he said in a deep, guttural voice. “It is highly unlikely that you will survive the experience, even if you are a shifter.”
“I’m pretty sure that not even a full blood fae could bargain with someone else’s life,” I said to the half-faery without taking my eyes off the demon. I was trying to hide my fear from him and I was failing miserably. I’d never faced anything this malevolent before. The black skinned imps were nothing compared to this creature. “You don’t have the authority to use
me as incentive for your deal.”
Kurt shrugged uncaringly. “The demon has decided he wants you and therefore your fate is sealed.”
I smiled humorlessly as I sensed the cavalry arrive. “You’re very wrong about that. No one has the right to decide my destiny.” Apparently, not even Fate herself could bend me to her will. These clowns weren’t going to make any decisions for me.
Materializing behind the demon, Zeus bit him on the calf. Bellowing in pain, the imp whirled around and swept a clawed hand at my guardian’s head. It passed through him harmlessly and Zeus lunged for his face. Recoiling at his sheer savagery, the demon flinched away.
A piercing cry sounded and I looked up to see the oracle arrowing towards me. Her talons were open wide, ready to snatch me into the air. I reached up and she latched onto my hand and yanked me upwards and out of reach. She switched from looking through the crow that was swiftly being left behind, to seeing through my eyes.
Zeus dematerialized from the rooftop, presumably returning to our friends. I caught a glimpse of Kurt and the demon staring after us then they were lost to sight as the oracle flew behind a hill. That was quick thinking on her part. We didn’t want them to know which direction we were headed in.
Flying low, she winged her way back to our team swiftly. We circled overhead and our friends tilted their heads back to watch us. The oracle swooped down and let go of my hand. I landed lightly beside Reece and he pulled me into his arms. He’d seen everything through me and he knew how close I’d come to being assaulted. His bond would stop any human or shifter from trying to have sex with me, but we weren’t sure it would work against a demon.
When the were-eagle landed nearby, I spoke into her mind. Thank you for rescuing me.
You are welcome. I am only sorry you weren’t able to kill the faery. It seems he is going to be much harder to destroy than we’d hoped. We will have to come up with a better plan next time. She’d watched the scene and had swooped in to save me rather than flying away to save herself. Her human counterpart might not like me, but her eagle had become my ally. I only wished it would be that easy to find a new way to destroy my nemesis. I’d had only one plan and it had failed miserably.