The Demon Within (A PeaceKeeper Novel)

by Stacey Brutger

  “Offerings for what?”

  Caly lurched toward her station, giving the altars wide berth as if the skeletons would reach out and drag her close. “It can’t be a blood type. The depictions show everyone in the village perished. They must be searching for something in the blood.” She knelt, her mind jumped from one explanation to another, scrambling to discover even the smallest clue.

  With a deep breath, Caly sent another plume of dust into the abyss behind the stone. The last of the metal scattered, but they were ready for her, blocked the stream of metal somehow. Instead of screams, growls of fury rippled across the base of her neck.

  Great, she’d pissed off the Fallen.

  Not able to physically hold back the stone, Caly pulled out two knives. One in each hand, she moved to stand at Oscar’s side. “We have to leave. The only exit is through the demons. Three of us are no match for even one Fallen, not to mention seven.”

  Henry gave her a nod. “Agreed.”

  “No. They can’t be allowed to gain access to the outside world.” A thrust of Oscar’s spear sent another demon to its maker. A bright flare appeared. A burned shape splashed on the stones, staining them like a flash fire. “We need to bring the temple down before they revive completely.”

  Henry gave her a startled look at Oscar’s command. The demon used the distraction, and Henry staggered under a heavy blow. Caly stepped forward, slashing a deep groove across the creatures back. In a slow burn, the metal in her weapons ate away at the flesh. The creature spun, scratching frantically at the wound, ripping into its own flesh as the injury burned through its body.

  The skin turned gray. The metal poisoning spread, drying out the flesh until only powder remained. With another thrust to its throat, Caly put the beast out of its misery, unable to stand for any creature to be tortured.

  “We have to incinerate the bodies. They can’t reach their skeletons and take physical form.”

  Three more demons rushed out of the darkness. Placing pressure on the heel of her boot, Caly twisted and a blade snapped out from the tip. She ran, spun mid-air and kicked out, laying open the scalp and half of the demon’s face. The blade retracted when she landed. A howl rang out, echoing along sharply against the stones. Caly threw her knife, and the steel caught him high in the chest.

  A killing blow. The caustic sound ended in a gurgle.

  Not as strong as her opponents without tapping into her darker side, the most danger for her came from getting too close to the creatures. She was an equal to most humans in strength. Unfortunately, demons did not have the same weaknesses as humans.

  It would be so easy to win if she gave into the urgings, the ugly need in her gut to lay waste to them. She refused to access that part of herself, the part that thrilled at the hunt and kill, compliments of the infection that had ravaged her body since she’d been a child. There would be no guarantee she could come back from the edge if she stepped over the line.

  The last two demons disappeared in two bright flares, reduced to stains.

  “Keep them busy. I’ll set the charges. We’ll have fifteen minutes to fight our way past the demons.” The old man hurried to the right side of the entrance, his limp more pronounced.

  “Set. Caly!”

  “Got it.” She moved on the other side of the entryway and deftly caught the bag he tossed. The device she pulled out was small, able to be worked by an idiot. It had only a digital readout, three buttons and two wires. With sweaty palms, she set the timer and nestled the bomb near the base of the temple. “Ready.”

  Standing, she turned, taking a blow to her right arm meant to separate her head from her body. The strength behind it instantly numbed her hand. Her blade clattered to the ground. Crouched to dodge a fist, she slipped free a long-handled knife she carried in the sheath along her spine. Four more demons entered. Henry fought two others, Oscar battled three.

  Too many.

  The clock counted down at the back of her mind, slowly growing louder as time elapsed. The greater the distance between them and the blast, the better the chance for their survival. A small voice inside her wailed at the loss of the temple, the loss of a possible cure.

  Oscar took a blow to his weak leg and stumbled. Another demon swarmed forward. The snap of his arm, his grunt of pain reverberated through her.

  “Oscar!”

  He was unstoppable.

  Indestructible.

  Instinct took over, and Caly sent her blade tumbling through the air. It clipped one demon and landed solidly in the throat of another. The creature dropped Oscar’s arm, giving him time to retreat.

  It also gave her demon time to advance.

  Clammy fingers crushed her throat. Unable to breathe or swallow, Caly tried to pry the creature’s claws from her windpipe.

  Only to find his grip too firm to break. She kicked him in the balls then went for his eyes.

  Nothing worked.

  A tinge of panic raced through her before she could clamp it down. Everything narrowed to the two of them.

  Excitement burned like pure moonshine through her veins, the demon she harbored eager to join the fray.

  A burnt smell clogged her nose as her metal wrist guards sizzled against the demon’s flesh. The vicious grip lessened, and Caly snatched one of the last small blades. With a quick thrust to his solar plexus, the beast dissolved in a bright burst of light. The heat generated by the reaction singed the exposed skin of her throat, cooling only when the beast disappeared. A fine stain of black soot sifted over her.

  Caly’s legs wobbled pathetically as she gasped for air. She caught her balance, straightening in time to see Henry destroy another demon. But instead of assisting Oscar, the bastard turned his back and looked at her.

  He shook his head. “One of us has to survive.”

  He actually did look sorry when he turned tail and ran like a rat from a sinking ship. She clenched her fists, a growl rumbling at the back of her throat. When she got ahold of him, she’d rip out his yellow spine.

  Chapter Five

  “Oscar!” Caly’s shout emerged as a whisper, her throat too damaged to speak louder. Anticipation hummed along her nerves, a relish to destroy so deliciously dark she could barely curb it.

  All her anger, all her rage funneled into one thought. Kill the demons quickly and bury the secret deep. With a short run, she launched herself at the creatures before they could overwhelm him. Arm out, blade at the ready, she landed dead center of the demon’s chest. The impact buckled her knees. Shards of pain shot up her back.

  With a sharp jab, the last remaining demons dissolved. They were alone for now, but not for long. If they were going to move, they had to do it now. Blinded by the bright light that signaled their death, Caly ran her hands along the floor. “Oscar?”

  She found him cradling his arm, lying on the frigid stone. “We have to leave.” Crouching, she lifted his uninjured arm over her shoulder and struggled to rise. The strain tore at her body, and her overworked muscles trembled in protest. He had to get up. She couldn’t get him out by herself.

  Two more creatures slunk into the room. One headed toward them, the other toward the bombs. She refused to go through all of this for nothing. Untangling herself, Caly sprang for the knife a few feet away, landing hard on her side. She haphazardly tossed it with more muscle than grace.

  By luck alone, the blade hit the base of the skull and sank deep. The bright flash was blocked by the second demon as it ran toward her. Lashing out with her boot, she smashed her foot against the creature’s knee with bone crushing force, dropping him to the ground.

  She scrambled back to Oscar’s side as the half-destroyed beast snarled and dragged itself forward by his claws. Out of weapons, she picked up Oscar’s spear, prepared to finish him off. Oscar placed a shaky hand on her arm, preventing the killing blow.

  “Too late. Leave. Find my will. You’re named as my heir.” She whipped around to face him, shock striking her near speechless.

  “But Henry is second i
n command. He—”

  “—Is an idiot. Show them the new will.”

  She stubbornly shook her head and bent to heft his arm over her shoulder again. “We can make it. They’re only two demons.”

  He shoved her roughly. “Five. Six. And more are coming.” Oscar gazed over her shoulder, a grimace contorting his face. “I won’t make it out by myself and neither of us will survive if you try to help me. You have to make sure this place is destroyed. I won’t have you sacrifice yourself for an old man.”

  Caly shook her head in denial. Oscar never cared whether she lived or died. But she knew his rules inside and out, having had them beaten into her thick skull. He could damn well follow them, too. “Never desert a soldier in battle. Your rule.”

  The back of her spine tingled. The skin on her shoulders tightened. Something was waiting for her. A purr of pleasure rumbled inside, wanting release, wanting to play. Her stomach hovered in her throat as Caly turned and faced the door.

  The statue she had so recently fantasized about stood in the opening.

  Moving.

  As in alive.

  And so gorgeous she lost her breath.

  Only the statue had nothing on this man. Even across the room, she couldn’t tear her gaze from him.

  He gripped an ivory handled knife in his right hand, the blade glimmering in the dim light. Although she knew him to be a demon, she didn’t detect any threat, only a strange calmness that left her all the more unsettled.

  “Oscar?” A glance showed he’d risen and fought a desperate battle with the wounded demon. Bleeding, his arm broken, his leg mangled, Oscar refused to retreat. She took a step forward to protect him when a strobe of white lights flickered behind her.

  Caly swung around to see another demon streak through the opening, his speed incredible.

  Only to lose his head when the statue spun, arm straight out, his ivory blade at the ready.

  The way he moved fascinated her. Not slow or clumsy like a human, nor fanatic like a demon. Each move was measured, calculated to do the greatest damage. Moves like that took years of training to prefect.

  Over six, possibly even six and a half feet tall, her once gray statue was dressed in black leather pants and no shirt. His muscles did not need stone to look as hard as a rock. Dark hair and darker eyes drew her gaze.

  Only one thing ran through her mind.

  Mine.

  Possessiveness zinged through her system, every inch of her skin prickled painfully to life as she battled the urge to cross the room to him and claim him. The weight of Oscar’s hand on her arm was the only thing that held her back from making a fool of herself.

  Two more demons met their end, clearing the room. Together, she and Oscar faced the stranger. The man who’d saved them. Suspicion curbed the thrill she received by looking at him. “Who are you?”

  Before he could answer, three demons materialized and attacked the stranger. The group stumbled further in the room, a jumble of arms and legs. As Caly jumped out of the way, her hip smacked into one of the altars, knocking her on her hands and knees.

  When she lifted her head, a gaping black hole met her gaze. The stone she’d previously guarded was gone, leaving behind a yawning darkness that sent a chill creeping through her body. She scuttled backwards, the threat in the air palpable.

  She’d screwed up.

  Almost too afraid to move, too terrified at what she would find, Caly stood. And watched, wide-eyed as the skeletons moved. Flesh inflated their tattered uniforms, their arms jerked as muscles grafted to the bone. In a reverse decomposition, the body fleshed out and spidered with veins. The surface of the body bubbled up like wax, forming a thin layer of almost clear skin. It slowly thickened until they resembled humans.

  Her skin crawled at the process, and the air seemed too thin to breathe. One at a time, the Fallen sat, even the one that Henry had desecrated. His head sat drunkenly on his shoulders, but there was awareness in his eyes.

  Caly swallowed hard, backing away. They creaked as they moved. With a few experimental gestures, a wave of an arm, the twist of the neck, they appeared…alive.

  The certainty that she would die here filled her bones.

  At least she would go down fighting. Reaching down, she groped for a knife, cursing when she found only empty sheaths.

  “Run!”

  The raspy voice rippled through her, a dark, visceral response like a tuning fork being struck pulled her attention to her statue.

  “I’ll hold them off as long as possible. You have to leave.”

  “No.” She shook her head, unable to believe they’d ask her to abandon them. The arrogant man didn’t even have the gall to look at her as he issued orders.

  “I’ll follow you as soon as I can.”

  Still Caly hesitated.

  “Do as he says.” Oscar leaned heavily against his staff, wilted but ready to face off with the new threat. Even as she watched, a demon raced forward and slashed a wound across his torso. Blood gushed down his shirt in a dark river, and she bit back a gasp of disbelief.

  He staggered, grimaced and blocked the second blow. “The bomb should generate enough heat to incinerate everything. You must live. Must destroy the Fallen. If even a small piece survives, they’ll swallow up the world.”

  Four of the Fallen had already risen. The living statue fought three to one. The odds were not in their favor.

  Stumbling backwards, Caly reluctantly retreated. Her mind rebelled, but logic told her it was the only option. They couldn’t be allowed to survive.

  Oscar received a brutal blow that sent him to his knees. Two demons surged past her, sensing blood. They swarmed over him, obscuring him from view, and she lost the stomach to watch more. The mean old bastard went down swinging, the way he would have wanted. When she almost wished for the demon inside to take control, she couldn’t even feel a stirring.

  Caly hesitated by the door, determined to make sure his killers didn’t survive. She removed the last chemical bomb from her pack. Her fingers trembled so hard, she almost dropped it. With a few rough shakes, a snap of the tube, she threw it at the group swarming her mentor.

  The impact ruptured the pressurized tube. Powdered metal stuck to the bodies of the demons, eating away at the flesh just like she envisioned. Only she never anticipated the screams of rage that threatened to shatter her ears. Each swipe only spread the watery metal mixture further. In under a minute, they were reduced to sooty-ash.

  Only three demons fell to the chemicals. The other four continued to slash at Oscar and the old man disappeared from view for the last time. Her rescuer landed on one knee, taking a vicious wound to his back.

  It almost made her go to him.

  Then those dark eyes met hers, daring her to even think of disobeying. The threat in them convinced her if she didn’t leave, he would make sure she’d regret it.

  He struggled to his feet, a determined look on his face. Rough hands grabbed her shoulders, shoving her toward the entry, the contact zinging through her body like an electrical charge. “Run. I’ll be right behind you.”

  Caly ran. The pressure in her chest increased with each step as she faced the ebony night.

  Her steps faltered when she heard no signs of pursuit. She shot a glance behind her and pulled up short to find herself alone. “You stupid sonofabitch.” She whirled, ready to drag the stranger’s hide from the temple.

  She managed two steps before the ground trembled, bucking beneath her feet. She stumbled, dropping to her knees. A fine keening escaped her lips at the loss. Too heart-sore to move, she propped her back against a tree and watched as the soot and rubble fell back to the earth.

  The abrupt silence gave the impression that only she remained alive in the jungle. Always alone, surviving when those around her paid the price. She didn’t know how much longer she could stand under the guilt. The battle replayed in her mind, how she could’ve saved them if she just had five more minutes. She should’ve retriggered the bombs instead of allowing
the statue to distract her.

  The sky was dark, the acrid scent of smoke burning her eyes. The oppressive heat had long since dissipated, the cold air raked her skin.

  The old man might not have been a perfect guardian, but he’d shown her how to fight and survive in a world infested by demons who saw her as a threat.

  She relaxed her hand and the forgotten wound in her palm throbbed. In the inky night air, the blood slowly flowed down her palm, trickling from her fingertips, the only tears her body would shed. She fisted her hands, and her knuckles cracked.

  The monsters would pay.

  Every damn one of them.

  Including Henry.

  Chapter Six

  “You bastard.” Caly launched herself at Henry as soon as she reached the campsite. The impact knocked them both to the ground, jarring the breath from her body. Touching him left a sour aftertaste in her mouth, but she refused to relinquish her hold. “You left us to die.” She plowed her fist into his face, relishing the satisfying crunch of bones.

  “Are you crazy?” Blood gushed. He covered his abused nose with one hand, squealing in a nasally voice that silenced even the loud chatter of the monkeys that had taken root in the trees at the first crack of dawn. “Get her off me.”

  When he drew back and swung, she twisted, taking the blow to her bruised arm. Pain radiated down her muscles, numbing her fingers. She mourned the loss of her grip on his throat then angled her knee deeper in his gut.

  Two men grabbed her elbows, drawing her away, their hands mindful of her injuries. She didn’t resist. If she stayed, she’d beat Henry to a pulp.

  Blood roared in her head, everything in her craving retribution. Unable to resist, Caly kicked out. A surge of pleasure shot through her when her boot connected to his ribs. The joy was short-lived as the evening’s events caught up with her, the tide pulling her head under water for the last time.