Growling, Jarrett flipped up and charged, tackling the demon in a tangle of grappling limbs and steel.
Jonah heaved a breath of relief at the offered reprieve and redirected his focus to James while thinking, Was that eleven or twelve? He shook James. “Come on, snap out it,” he demanded with no result. Jonah cursed. Pondering the problem before him, he mumbled, “What am I supposed to do?”
Movement to his left pulled his attention away. He saw Selena begin to limp over to them. She hopped more than limped, and blood dripped steadily from a gash on her forehead.
In that same instant, a vampiric leech broke through on Cade’s left. Its expression was one of sadistic glee as it ran toward Selena. She tried to run, but her ankle would not support her. A larger opponent jumped from the stairs and stood before Tracy. Her fingers fumbled to unsheathe her small knife as the creature licked its lips.
In those precious seconds, time slowed for Jonah. Understanding the life threatening danger to both women, he was torn.
The tide of battle was turning against them. The snarling and shrieking creatures tried to press through the werewolves’ blockade. There were too many to keep back, even for the fierce warriors who tore them down with brutal efficiency. Black ichor, blood, and the gray powdery remains of the defeated continued to coat the floor.
James remained frozen, fully engaged in an inner battle against his possessor. Selena evaded her attacker as best she could, but she wouldn’t hold out long. Tracy feinted and lunged, straining to stay alive.
The monster, only inches away from Tracy, backhanded her. Jonah’s belly tightened as he heard the crack of the creature’s hand meeting her cheek. She fell back and crumpled to the floor. Bending down, it gripped a handful of her hair to pull the young woman back up. Anger surged through Jonah. He felt the automatic compensation in his wrist as his hand jerked. The heavy sound of the gunpowder igniting and propelling the bullet forward satisfied him. He turned for Selena’s assailant before the projectile even reached its target. Then his heart sank when he heard the subtle click when the cartridge was ejected. His last round expended, the chamber remained open this time. “No!” he yelled in frustration.
Mouth open, the leech’s fangs glinted. It leapt, toppling Selena beneath its weight. Jonah felt panic as her head slammed into the concrete. The brute savagely bit into the hollow of her neck. Selena, unconscious, offered no resistance.
.
Chapter 23
Jonah didn’t think. He tried to liberate James’s other dagger from his hand, but James’s cold fingers were locked tightly around it. Out of time, Jonah bent and reached into his boot for his own.
Leaving James vulnerable, Jonah tried to draw the demon’s attention by yelling wildly as he rushed it. He didn’t understand the nature of his opponent though. The vampire demon was in a feeding frenzy and cared little for the surrounding chaos.
Jonah jumped atop its back, stabbing where he expected the heart would be. It let go of Selena and screamed an unearthly wail, but did not disintegrate. Understanding he missed, Jonah tore the blade free and was sickened by the pitch black blood leaking from the wound.
He plunged it back in, and the creature jerked wildly with enough force that Jonah felt as though he rode a four thousand pound bull. It twisted, thrashed, and turned to eject him. He held tight to the blade with one hand and kept one arm around its neck to keep from being thrown. Eventually, it slammed against the wall in a desperate attempt to crush the detective. Sheetrock gave way to the impact.
Jonah groaned as pain from his cracked rib traveled through him. The thrashing creature ultimately caused its own demise as the maneuver drove the blade in the final inch, reaching the hellion’s heart. Its eyes widened in shock, then it turned to dust, dropping Jonah and his knife to the floor.
On his knees, Jonah scrambled for the weapon and crawled to Selena, scanning the room instinctively as he did.
Cade crashed heavily into the back shelves. The last three standing units fell like dominos, and merchandise broke and scattered across the floor. In that same moment, Tracy sent a line of fire at her attacker. One of the spilled liquids ignited, as did the demon. The trail of flame reached wrapping paper and gift bags that were strewn about and ignited them.
Another attacker slashed its claws across Jarrett’s already bleeding back. He swung his sword around to destroy it, and the opportunist fighting at his front mimicked the move on his shoulder. Jarrett snarled through his muzzle and swung around again, but it did him little good as one more demon took the place of its fallen comrade.
Finally having a minute to concentrate, Tracy cast magical light to brighten the room. A wicked, cold wind brushed by her, and Tracy could have sworn she heard a painful shriek as a shadowy form flew through the surrounding glow. Seconds later, bottles of essential oils from the nearby store shelves flew toward her. One smacked her head, another flew at her back. She dove behind the counter to protect herself from the projectiles.
James turned toward Tracy, and Jonah hoped he was coming around again. Instead of helping his sister, James threw the military knife he still held directly at Tracy, barely missing her as she ducked the flying objects.
Appalled, but still in a panic for Selena, Jonah reached down and sought a pulse, praying Tracy could handle herself for now. Running his fingers over the seer’s neck, he assessed the wounds beneath her collar. He found himself surprised they didn’t look worse. There were only small lacerations, some bruising, and the blood barely beaded on the punctures. She was extremely pale, and her pulse was faint. It didn’t look good at all.
He reached to move her, and she weakly lifted her hand, laying it on his arm. “You can’t help…I…lost too much.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll get you to a doctor,” he insisted as the battle behind them raged.
“No. You have to listen,” she told him softly. Her eyes closed, and her hand slipped from his arm.
“Come on now. Stay with me. You can do it. Open those pretty eyes.” She lifted her heavy lids slowly. “That’s right, you got this,” Jonah coaxed.
“I’m… The door… My head… The leech, I can’t,” she tried explaining weakly, breathing often between syllables.
Jonah jerked his head as he heard Tracy scream her brother’s name and curse. Smoke filled the room as the fire spread.
Selena continued mumbling, “James. You…help. He can stop them.” She trailed off to take two short, gasping breaths. “The darkness…they are shadows, ghosts.”
Scooping her up to move her to safety and desperate to keep her talking, Jonah urged, “Okay, tell me what to do.”
“Ramee, you have to find Ramee. The flowers…the beach.”
“Okay darlin’, I hear ya. Ramee. Got it,” he cajoled, naturally falling deeper into his Texas accent as his concern for her grew. She wasn’t making sense again, and this time he wondered if she was in so much pain that she was drifting away from him. He searched frantically for a safe place to put her so he could help Tracy.
“Help James,” Selena whispered as if reading his mind.
“I will,” he assured, still seeing no options for her. “Let’s just get you somewhere safe.”
“No. Hurry. The energy…the dark…drive it out…” Her eyes closed again, and her voice was weaker. He looked down to her, unsure. Without even opening her eyes this time, she whispered, “Go, there’s no time.”
He bent down and laid her near the wall in relative safety. “All right then,” he mumbled as he resolved to leave an injured woman alone. It went against his natural instincts, but Selena had been right too often. He feared ignoring her warning. “All right. Okay. I’ll be right back. Then I’m gonna take you out of here. You stay awake until I get back.”
“Go,” she mouthed, but he heard no sound uttered from her lips.
Turning, Jonah sought out James in the chaos. He spotted him a few feet away struggling with his sister. Tracy was trying the wrestle a sharpened shard of glass from James as he t
ried to force it against his own throat. A box came out of nowhere, aimed for Tracy’s back.
She twisted her body and cried out, but Tracy did not let go of James as another projectile flew toward her.
Running toward them, Jonah batted at the flying debris and un-holstered the other weapon on his hip. Earlier, Selena had implied he would need every possible weapon. Jonah had thought she was speaking figuratively at first, but now he understood she was being very literal. Energy, he thought.
Tears were running down Tracy’s dirty cheeks as she begged her brother to fight against what was happening. “Please, James. Drop it.”
“Tracy! Let go of him. I know what to do,” Jonah shouted above the cacophony of battle.
“No! He’ll kill himself.”
Jonah covered her hand to reassure her. “I’ve got him,” he said as he adjusted his grip to keep James from harming anyone. “Protect yourself from whatever that thing is.”
All of a sudden, the phase demon throwing the merchandise shrieked, the sound surrounded the trio. Tracy and Jonah winced as it cut through them in an ethereal, soul-chilling way.
Steeling herself against the noise and nodding, Tracy turned her attention to the tantrum-throwing entity. She began to cast a shield to keep the three of them covered from flying objects as long as she could. She coughed as the growing smoke invaded her lungs but fought for focus and finished the spell. Seeing Cade and Jarrett holding the creatures in check not far away and with no immediate threat close, Tracy turned her head to Jonah to stress that they were running out of time. Her green eyes filled with shock as she saw what she thought was a gun pointed at her brother’s belly as he struggled against Jonah’s grip. The sharp glass sliced the detective's arm as they wrestled. Her brother was mad and flailed wildly to get away.
“Don’t kill him!” she cried in panic just as Jonah pulled the trigger. Tracy startled as her brother’s whole body jerked, stiffened, and convulsed. Electricity coursed through a Taser into him, and amazed, Tracy watched a shadowy silhouette emerge from James's chest and fly directly into Jonah.
Weakened, James struggled to control his muscles enough to pull the barbs from his stomach.
“James?” Tracy questioned, moving to help him.
“I’m okay, but we have to hurry.”
“What?”
“Put those barbs in Jonah’s hip. Hurry, before he loses the battle for control,” James instructed breathily. He started coughing, but he fought against the smoke to deal with the posessing presence assaulting the detective. The siblings worked together with shaking, fumbling fingers to help their new ally. In truth, it was the first time they had ever faced combat on this scale. Adrenaline and fear warred against each other in both of them.
Jonah lay flat on his back. His body was cold and stiff. His fingers scraped against the floor, seeking something to grip while he struggled against the violation of the wraith.
Regretfully, Tracy jabbed the electrodes of the stun gun into his hip as instructed. Picking up the discarded weapon, James pulled the trigger, wincing as he remembered the electricity surging through his own body. Jonah rolled sideways and spasmed. The shadow brushed by Tracy, chilling her as the dark figure left him.
Jonah groaned in relief when James finally let up. With his cheek laying against the cold concrete floor, he grunted, “We have to get out here.”
“How?” James said weakly.
“I don’t know, but I’m not a fan of suffocating or burning to death. Selena’s in bad shape too. We’re gonna lose her if we don’t hurry.”
More items were thrown at t them, but none made contact.
Sitting up with a great deal of effort, Jonah wondered about the barrier. “How’s that not… Never mind, I don’t care.”
“The stairs look clear now. If we can get up there, we can take the back fire escape and book it to the truck,” Tracy suggested.
“How do we tell them the plan?” Jonah asked, pointing to the twin werewolves while pressing his other hand to his cracked rib.
As they all looked over to the brothers, Cade grabbed a demon by its throat. His clawed, animal fingers dug in, drawing ichor from its neck. Snarling in fury, he launched it out the already broken window, and turning, slashed another with his sword from shoulder to hip as it attacked his flank. The creature fell apart before him.
Holding one demon with a clawed foot on the creature's prone face, Jarrett stabbed it in the heart. He ducked a blow to the head from a chain, and raising his fur-covered arm, blocked its path. The clinking metal wrapped around his bulging muscles, and he amputated the fiend’s throwing arm with his sword.
“Do those two even understand you at this point?” Jonah asked skeptically as he witnessed the brothers’ ruthless tactics and frightening appearance.
Rolling her eyes at him, Tracy shouted, “Cade!” His crimson eyes, full of rage, latched onto her. “The stairs.” She pointed.
He looked to their only possible escape, and she was relieved he was not so far gone into a battle frenzy that he agreed with her plan.
He jerked his head in assent, and surprising Jonah, spoke in a gravely, animalistic tone, “Jarrett! The stairs.”
In tandem, the lycanthropes battled back the nearest attackers and made their way to the group as fast as they could. By the time the brothers met up with the others, Jonah was leaning over Selena, clenching his jaw tightly as he found no pulse. Cade’s eyes shifted from red hot fire to a sad honey gold when Jonah looked up with despair. “She’s gone.”
The phase demons shrieked wildly again, and Tracy’s barrier failed as discarded and broken merchandise once more pelted the group. A bear figurine nailed Jonah in the temple and fell to the ground by his boot. When he noted what had hit him, he shook his head and looked back to the seer, amazed by her once again. Jonah felt heavy guilt for his role in her death.
Jonah moved to pick up the body, but Jarrett put a beastly hand on his shoulder. “There’s no time,” he insisted. “We have to move fast. You can’t do that carrying her.”
Another attacker came at Jarrett from the back and likely regretted the decision in that final second of its life when both brothers swung out with their swords to dispatch it.
“We can’t leave her,” Tracy cried.
“We have to. Look.” Cade pointed. The demons were regrouping and moving to cover their planned exit.
“He’s right, Tracy. We have to go,” James told her.
“The front instead,” Cade ordered, changing direction and pulling Tracy along with him.
To help clear the blocked doorway, Tracy chanted as she ran. Cade led the charge with Collett’s ancient blade.
“I’ll follow,” Jarrett growled after them, offering to protect their rear.
Hearing the hybrids’ voices, Jonah randomly thought back to Saturday morning cartoons from his childhood and decided X-Men had gotten Beast all wrong. This would have been way better. Shaking away the errant thought, he regretfully agreed with them. Understanding he would have to leave Selena’s body behind, he stood. Even if he had taken her, dealing with a body was a problem they couldn't afford. “I’m sorry,” he told her and observed Jarrett tilt his wolf-like head in their direction. Jonah knew the wolf had heard his apology. He hurried to follow the others so Jarrett could too.
Jonah ran past the counter and saw the potted aspen lupine still miraculously intact in its pretty new pot. He snatched it up, holding onto it tightly as he ran.
Outside, Jonah and Jarrett followed the others across the street. At this point, the fire was forcing even the demons to retreat. Sirens wailed in the distance, and they all knew they had less time than they believed. If they didn’t leave now, neither would the demons, and they couldn’t put innocent firefighters at such a risk.
Battered, they scrambled over to the blue pickup truck Cade had parked earlier. Leaping in a single bound, Cade landed in the bed of the truck and sat against the back window. Jarrett followed.
“Fog, Tracy. Buy us so
me time,” James told her as he jumped into the driver's seat.
“Get in, Hall!” Tracy ordered as she opened the passenger door.
Jonah shook his head as the reality of what happened, of what he’d done, started to sink in. Staring at the monstrous men in the back, he started to say, “The police—”
“Better not find you here,” Tracy said cutting him off. “So get in the truck.”
“My car.”
“Leave it,” Jarrett snapped.
“You either want the truth or you don’t. Now’s gonna be your only chance,” James taunted as he turned the key and the vehicle roared to life.
Scowling, Detective Jonah Hall took the final step in committing to Tracy’s side of whatever was going on. As he closed the door and settled into the back seat with a pretty blue flower in his lap, he wondered if insanity ran in his family.
Screeching tires sounded as James peeled out, while inside the building they left behind, crackling fire consumed the evidence of their battle—most of it anyway.
In their hurried departure for safety, not one of them saw the small, older woman materialize from thin air. Adorned in white with a dagger at her hip, she kneeled over Selena’s body. With tears shimmering in her eyes, she laid a hand on Selena’s chest. The old woman whispered reverently, “It’s time to come home, Little Eagle.”
Chapter 24
Staring at his plant as they sped away from the scene, Jonah had no words. He couldn’t think. How is a man supposed to act when he’s been possessed by evil and every part of his body hurt? What exactly is a man supposed to say when a young woman has the blood drained from her body right before his eyes.
Everyone else kept moving forward. He watched Tracy begin chanting to call up a heavy fog to obscure the truck from possible witnesses. He listened when James clicked a button on the steering wheel and said, “Call home.” Yet, all Jonah could do was stare at a flower and, picturing Selena’s pain filled eyes, wonder if they had bluebonnets in Heaven.
The Truth of Victory: A Powers of Influence Novel Page 21