Fate

by Nadine Nightingale

  Berith lifts her hand, rooting them to the spot. “Go!” she yells at Manda.

  Next thing I know, Manda makes a run for the First Grimoire.

  “Hurry,” the Princess of Hell urges. “I can’t hold them for long.”

  A possessed twenty-something dude runs toward Berith. A large knife in his right hand, he’s driven by murder.

  I’m not sure what they’re up to. If the demon offs Berith, however, the Voldemort fan club will take on Manda. I can’t let that happen. I gotta do something.

  I run as fast as I possibly can, praying I make it in time.

  I don’t. Pink Nail Polish does. She throws herself between Berith and the knife. A fraction of a second later, she drops to the ground.

  “Akasha!” Demon Boy screams, catching his sister before she lands on the soil.

  Red smoke escapes through her mouth. She’s gone.

  Demon-Boy rocks her like an infant, pleading with her to open her eyes. She won’t. Not in this vessel, anyway.

  I feel for him. Demon or not, losing a sister sucks. But there’s no time to dwell on losses. Manda made it to the book. Some demons are on their way to her.

  This time I do make it in time, throwing myself in front of her and the snarling bastards. “Whatever you’re planning to do,” I say. “Do it quickly.” I won’t be able to fight six of them for long.

  Gunfire rings through the night. I look over my shoulder, spotting my little brother. He offed two bitches. Four to go.

  A possessed elderly woman comes at me. She snaps her fingers, trying to take me out with magic. Except the charm around my neck actually works. It deflects the woman’s power, sending it back to her. She lays on the ground with a broken neck.

  Demon-Boy joins us. He alone takes out two. Leaving Jesse to battle a thirteen-year-old kid on demon steroids. I can tell he has issues hurting her. But eventually, after taking several hits to the face, he slams a blade in her eye.

  I make my way to Manda. She’s on her knees, touching the book. It catches fire, searing her hands. Her screams echo off the tress.

  “Manda, stop!” She’s going to kill herself.

  A half-smile on her lips, she looks up at me. “Trust me.” She pushes through the pain, turning page after page while the flames burn off her skin.

  Her hand is nothing but raw flesh. I can’t take it anymore. Before I get to pull her away, my brother screams like a lunatic. “B, watch out!”

  I spin. Some demons made it past Carter’s men.

  “Hurry,” Berith urges Manda.

  She flips the last few pages. “Got it.”

  “Do it,” Berith orders.

  Manda draws a deep breath. “Eerf uoy tes em ot emoc eeht nommus—”

  What happens next is one big blur. Jesse screams B’s name. Out of the corner of my eye, I see a demon with a knife going for B’s chest. A body drops. But it’s not B’s. It’s Jesse’s. The dumbass threw himself between B and the knife. The mamba’s eyes change color as she spots Jesse on the ground. A second later, bone-chilling laughter roars through the woods.

  Pony-Boy no longer holds his head. He has his disgusting hands around Manda’s throat. “Told you it won’t be that easy,” he says, pulling her away from the tome.

  Berith struggles to keep the Voldemort fan club under control, but with Pony-Boy back to normal, she can barely hold them.

  “Boys,” Pony-Boy shouts. “C’mon out to play.”

  A blood-curdling howl ripples through me.

  My gaze darts to the edges of the woods. A dozen red, glowing eyes stare back at me. The creatures flash their sharp teeth.

  Hellhounds.

  We’re so screwed. Hell, we’re beyond screwed. We’re dead. I remember what one of those things could do. Imagine what a whole pack is capable of.

  The hounds paw the ground with their forefeet, sending dirty flying over their backs. You don’t have to be the dog-whisperer to know the creatures are about to attack.

  “Go get him,” Pony-Boy says.

  The alpha hound kicks back its legs, coming at me. About two feet in front of me, it picks up speed, pushing itself up from the ground. The hound flies toward me.

  I lie on my back. The creature’s sulfur breath assaulting my face.

  Pony-Boy hauls Manda toward me. “Time to end this,” he says, as another demon passes him the sword.

  He pushes the blade in Manda’s palm. “Kill him. Now.”

  The hound gets off me. I straighten, aware there’s no escaping death. The Lacroixs were only able to hold the knight so long. They can’t help us now.

  “Mih llik,” Pony-Boy barks at Manda.

  She fights his mind-fuckery. But we both know how this will end.

  I refuse to die on my back. So I get up, facing the woman I love, the one who will be my end.

  “Amanda.” Berith meets her gaze. “There’s only one person who can open this gate. Do you understand? Only one.”

  A spark of realization gleams in Manda’s eyes.

  What the—

  Sword dangling at her side, she runs into my arms.

  “Amanda,” Pony-Boy thunders. “Mih llik.”

  She’s shaking. “Take good care of Leandro.”

  She steps back, depriving me of her warmth. The moonlight reflects on a silver surface in her palms. What—

  “No,” I scream, recognizing the glow of my Beretta as she presses it against her heart. “Manda, don’t—”

  Bang!

  Chapter 53

  She shot herself. Manda put a fucking bullet in her heart. No, no, no, no! This isn’t happening. She didn’t—

  “Alexander,” Berith screams. “The sword. Take the damn sword.”

  What?

  “You have to end this,” she yells, struggling to hold the Voldemorts at bay. “Do it for her.”

  End this…do it for her…Manda took her own life to save me. She killed herself so I would live. And why?

  I look from the blood on my shirt to Pony-Boy. Eyes wide open, he gapes at Manda’s body. She lies by my feet, crimson pouring out of her chest.

  He did this to her.

  Emptiness possesses me. A moment of complete nothingness wraps the meadow into a clouded mist. Blazing gunfire and sacred chants drift into the background. Until—

  Silence, not a single sound.

  Numb, I pick up the sword. White flames burn bright, illuminating the darkness. The force of the angelic blade floods my system. I let it run freely, embracing its power.

  “What are you doing?” Pony-Boy screams, fear in his amber eyes.

  He knows time is short.

  “Don’t,” he says, as I approach him. “I can bring her back.”

  I push the flaming blade through his goddamn heart. “No one can bring back the dead,” I hear myself whisper.

  Pony-Boy is on his knees, the fire in his eyes slowly extinguishing.

  I pull the sword out, watching as the bastard’s demonic essence merges with the blade. He ain’t going back to hell. The sword captures his soul or the demon equivalent. Soon, the knight’s body crumbles away. Until there’s nothing left but ashes and dust.

  “Alex?” a faint voice pushes through the emptiness inside me.

  Manda? I spin. She gasps for air, blood leaking from the gaping hole in her chest.

  I drop the blade, getting down. “Hey.” I slowly lift her head, placing it in my lap. “You’re alive.”

  She forces a pained smile. “I’m sorry, Alex. I never meant to—” She coughs blood.

  “Shh.” I caress her cheek, tears pricking at the corners of my eyes. “It’s okay. Just relax, okay? We’re going to get you to a hospital.”

  “It’s too late.” Manda reaches for my face. “But you already knew that.”

  “No!” I’ve seen her in worse shape. Back in Bakersfield when Walter shot her, she couldn’t even speak to me. “You’re—”

  “Alex.” She puts a lot of energy in my name. More than she has left. “It’s all right. This”—sh
e holds her crimson hands up—“is the path I chose.” She looks me deep in the eye, suffocating me with that emerald ocean of love. “Just promise me…promise me you’ll take care of Leandro.”

  I press her against my chest, holding her tighter than I should. “Why didn’t you tell me, Manda?” This isn’t the time nor the place, but I need to know. “Did you really think I couldn’t love him?” I ask, my face wet. “That I give a fuck about what he is?”

  She averts her gaze. “I knew you’d do anything for him, Alex. Even—” She stops herself.

  “Even what?”

  She exhales some of the pain torturing her. “Even give up the one thing you love most.”

  “Hunting?” I laugh.

  She cocks a brow. “That’s funny?”

  “Yeah.” I run my thumb over her cheeks, wiping tears away. “It sorta is.”

  Anger sparks in her eyes. “You—”

  “Manda.” I cup her face. “The one thing I love most in this world is you. It’s always been you.”

  “I’m a—” A fresh load of blood crawls up her gullet.

  “Hey, stay with me,” I plead. “Manda, please…it’s going to be okay. You’ll be okay. Just keep those pretty eyes open for me, will ya?”

  “My fate is sealed.” Her body stiffens, fighting for another breath of air. “But you can get it right. I know you will.” She pauses, struggling with the next words. “I’ve been waiting for you for all my life, jerk-face. And I need you to know I don’t regret a damn thing. I’d get in that car with you all over.” The light in her eyes slowly fades. “I love—”

  “No!” I shake her. “Manda, open your eyes. Please, please, please…just—”

  “She’s gone.” Berith drops Manda’s wrist. “She’s gone, Alexander.”

  “No!” She’s not. Manda doesn’t just die. She’s a damn fighter. She’ll come back to me. She always has.

  “Alex.” Strong hands grab my shoulders. “I’m sorry.”

  I shoot Carter a killer look. “Shut the fuck up! She’s not dead, okay. She’s just…”

  What? Sleeping? Because she isn’t. Her skin is already paling. Her body nothing but a burned-out shell. The girl I loved is no longer here. She’s—

  Dead.

  In my peripheral vision, I catch a glimpse of the Lacroixs. They’re headed toward us. Raphael and B, steadying my bleeding brother. The knife of the demon only hit his upper arm. But judging by his stained shirt, he lost a lot of blood.

  When B sees Manda, she immediately runs to her. “Amanda,” she screams, dropping next to her cold corpse. “Open your eyes. Please…just—”

  Jesse is besides B. “Is she…is she—”

  “Dead,” I bark, unable to keep a lid on the wrath stewing in my soul. “She’s dead.”

  “No,” B cries. “You’re a liar!” She shakes Manda. Hard. “I swear, if you don’t open your goddamn eyes, I’ll tell everyone how much you love Hallmark movies.”

  “Princess.” One of Berith’s demons bows low. “We have a bit of a situation.”

  I don’t care about situations. Don’t give a shit about the war that stopped raging in the meadow because Pony-Boy’s legion vanished when I offed the bastard. Manda is gone and she ain’t never coming back. Let the fucking world go up in flames. Let evil rule.

  I. Don’t. Care.

  “Can’t it wait?” she asks, gaze drifting from me to her soldier.

  The demon stares at the ground. “We’ve been trying to locate H and T.”

  The princess’ eyes widen. “And?”

  “We can’t find them,” he replies.

  Berith sighs heavily. “What do you mean you can’t find them?”

  “They haven’t reported back.” He eyeballs the hunters still alive. “And that’s not all. The Malleus hunters and some of the others are gone, too.”

  “And you’re only telling me now?” she thunders.

  His gaze drifts over the corpses. “We were a little busy.”

  “What’s going on?” Amelia asks, limping toward us.

  Berith frowns. “Legend and some of your hunter friends are gone.”

  “And?” Amelia doesn’t get it. Neither do I.

  “And so are JJ, Bay, Constantin, and my two demons.”

  Wait, what? “Are you saying…” I trail off, unable to say the words out loud. It would make them real. A reality I can’t handle.

  Mrs. Lacroix squints. “She’s saying it’s hardly a coincidence.”

  Berith hunkers down. “I am sorry it had to end this way.” She drinks in Pony-Boy’s ashes. “Truly am. But I suggest you pull it together if you ever want to see your son again.”

  Leandro. I look at Manda. She trusted me to protect him and I swear by her grave, I will not disappoint her again.

  “Where are you going?” Raphael shouts after me.

  “Getting my son back.”

  Raphael blocks my path. “You’re not going anywhere alone.”

  Demon-Boy is there. “He’s not alone.” He faces Berith. “With your blessing, I will honor the deal you made, protecting the witch and the hunter’s son.”

  Berith smiles. “So be it.” She turns to her army. “It’s time for the rest of us to get back home.” One by one, they escape from their vessels.

  “Good luck, Alexander,” the Princess of Hell says, before vanishing from the Nun’s body.

  I don’t need luck. I have guns.

  Chapter 54

  Draco, Torres, Darryl, and Legend—those are the hunters missing. Child killers and bigots. We have no time to lose. There’s no way of telling what they’ll do—already did—to Leandro. “How much longer?” I bark at Raphael.

  His pendulum swings back and forth over the map, trying to locate the missing. “Just a sec,” he assures me, closing his eyes to focus.

  “Leandro doesn’t have a sec,” I bark.

  “Alex.” Carter squeezes my shoulder. “I’m sure he’s—”

  “Don’t you dare.” I narrow my eyes at him. “You brought that Legend bastard here. And I swear, if anything happens to my son, you’ll—”

  “Got them,” Raphael announces. “They’re about ten miles down the main road.”

  That’s all I needed. “No one is going to touch a hair on Manda’s head ’til I’m back,” I say to everyone still breathing. “You hear me?”

  Some nod, some groan, but none is dumb enough to ignore me.

  Jesse hands me my Beretta. The gun that took Manda away from me feels like poison in my hands. “Let’s go get my nephew,” he says, moving toward the narrow path leading out of the meadow and back to the main road.

  “Stop.” I seize hold of his good arm.

  He casts me a confused look. “What are you doing?”

  I point at his wound. “You’re not going.”

  “But—”

  “No.” I sound like a damn beast, ready to rip some heads off. “I can’t lose anyone else today.”

  He shakes his head. “You and”—he tilts his chin at Demon-Boy—“him against four well-trained hunters? That’s suicide.”

  “Don’t worry.” Raphael pats my little brother’s shoulder. “I’m going, too.” My lips part, but he quickly shuts me up. “They have my brother.”

  Carter loads his gun. “I’m in.”

  He’s the last person I want on my team. “N—”

  “You can hate me later, Remington.” He holsters his Glock. “First we need to get that boy of yours.”

  “I don’t trust you,” I hiss.

  “Trust me,” B says, wiping her red face. “I’ll make sure he’s good.”

  I could argue, but time isn’t on my side. “Let’s just go.”

  ****

  Manda is dead. Leandro is in the claws of child killers. Bay, Constantin, JJ, and the demons haven’t been heard from since they left the Redrock Café. How the fuck did this happen? How did everything go to hell in a matter of hours?

  “Alex?”

  I look down at B. She’s leaning on my s
houlder, batting her damp lashes. “Huh?”

  She draws a deep breath. “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?” She didn’t sell her soul, driving Manda in the bastard’s arms. I did.

  “DeLuca,” she says, averting her gaze. “I…”

  “It’s not your fault.” It’s mine. All of this is on me. I fucked up the only good thing I ever had and did too little too late to fix it.

  An awkward silence thickens the air inside Raphael’s car. It’s the kind found at funerals. You know when folks are sorry for your loss but don’t really know how to express it.

  Demon-Boy succumbs to it. “You guys know this is a trap, right?”

  Carter looks back. “What do you mean?”

  “Two hunters, one bad-ass voodoo priest, and two demons.” He wrinkles his nose. “No way those bitches took them out without an inside man.”

  An inside man? An image of Bay flickers across my mind. He spoke to Legend shortly before they hit the road. Could he—No! He promised to protect Leandro. Swore he’d keep him safe. He’d never—

  Never say never, Manda’s voice roars through my brain.

  B straightens. “We need a plan.”

  “I have a plan.” Go in, kill the mothers, and take Leandro home. Only without Manda there isn’t a place called home.

  “I hope it’s a good one,” Raphael says, pulling into the driveway of an old, abandoned shed. Draco’s car is parked near the entrance. “I have a feeling this won’t be pretty.”

  “Something isn’t right,” B says, sniffing the air.

  Demon-Boy nods. “Can’t believe it, but I agree with the mamba.” He ogles the shabby shed. Brown paint comes off. “We should split up. Just in case.”

  B nods. “I’ll go with Alex. The rest of you, take the back entrance.”

  “You sure?” I ask her, well aware the front door is where death waits.

  She forces a smile. “I’d rather die than let those bastards hurt Leandro.”

  I load my Beretta. After tonight, I never want to see this gun again. “Stay behind me,” I warn her.

  We all move in different directions. Raphael, Carter, and Demon-Boy toward the back. B and I right up to the front entrance.

  “Ready?”

  She nods and I push the large wooden gates open. The dim light of a candle casts shadows all over the place. Iron chains hang from the ceiling, haystacks scattered across the floor, but I don’t see Leandro or anyone else for that matter.