Hell in a Handbasket
Page 25
When I peek down the alley, three silhouettes are rounding the corner and racing toward me, emerging from the haze. Cain, Dorian, and Elias.
Seeing them draw near, the dragon bellows again, but this time, it sounds more like a wounded cry than anything else.
Dorian’s mouth opens to call to me, but he snaps his lips shut, realizing that’ll only make things worse. So far, Sir Surchion hasn’t spotted me yet. Only them.
I hold up the box—my silent way of telling them I got the relics.
Dorian’s concerned expression turns to an impressed smirk.
Then the dragon sucks in a lungful of air and spews a stream of fire between the rows. The demons scatter, and I’m smacked in the face with heat like I’ve never felt before. It makes my eyes water and stings my face, and I’m not even that close.
Panic cuts through me as I watch Elias, Dorian, and Cain split up and try another tactic to get to the dragon. Dorian climbs up the sides of the boxes like a monkey, Elias swings around the back, and Cain pelts the dragon with bursts of his own hellfire. He aims for the wings, mostly, which seems to be the weakest point, but the fire seems to be doing little damage. At least not as much as we need it to be.
How the hell are we supposed to defeat such a thing? Desperation clings to my spine, and my fingers dig into the box.
We just need a small break, some help.
The tingles return and run through me rapidly, the familiar kind that only comes with Sayah. As if answering my plea, she wiggles along my shadow and manages to lift herself off the ground, taking a form identical to my own. The sudden sharpness behind my ribs and the heaviness in my head leaves me shaky and panting.
She turns and gives me a slight nod, as if telling me she’ll be quick, and then in a flash, she flings herself against the container and snakes her way up the sides of the pile.
Pain rockets over me, but I ride the agony and force myself to watch her climb higher and higher. Like before, Dorian wrestles with Sir Surchion, doing his best to dodge his swinging spiked tail and claws. Elias has chomped down on the dragon’s leg, and Cain continues to throw fireballs its way. Sayah slithers past them all and curls herself around the creature’s neck.
Wave after wave of sharp pain runs through me, and I drop to my knees. My lungs are so tight, I’m gasping and choking, desperate to pull more air in. I need to breathe!
Sayah pulls taut, growing darker as she solidifies again. Spluttering sparks of fire, Sir Surchion stumbles as she chokes him without hesitation or mercy. The dragon’s claws slash at her, trying to get her off, and with every swipe through the shadow, pain lacerates into me.
Even without oxygen in my lungs, I still manage to scream. The pain is excruciating beyond words.
The box drops from my grip and I hug myself, praying that it will all end. The pain, the feeling of suffocating—all of it. If dying could grant me some kind of relief, I’d take it.
“Hurry!” Cain bellows to Elias and Dorian.
Darkness feathers at the corners of my sight, but I hold on, grinding my teeth. Just a bit longer, I keep repeating to myself.
My insides tighten with each blow delivered to Sayah. She continues to cut off the dragon’s air supply, seemingly unfazed, but I feel every punch, slice, and scratch. There’s no blood or broken skin, but the agony breaks me just the same.
Then Sayah releases him and slides down and snaps back into me so fast, my body jerks backward into the side of a storage container. As if given the defibrillator, I’m shocked back to life, my body working again. I gulp down air greedily, nearly choking on it, but I can’t seem to get enough into my empty lungs.
The metal groans above me, and when I tilt my head up, I see the dragon crumpling and rolling off its perch at the very top.
Dorian and Elias leap to safety while Cain dashes over to me. He throws himself over me, gripping me close and blocking me from the alley just as the dragon slams onto the ground. The earth shakes violently, the boxes swaying from the impact.
Is it… finally dead?
Dorian is beside us in seconds. I know by the softness of his touch on my shoulder. Elias is there, too, changed back into his human form. Slowly, Cain helps me stand, and they all gather around me. They’re all battered and bleeding, but they’re alive.
Panting hard, no one speaks. The exhaustion of the fight weighs heavily on us all.
After a long moment, Cain steps back from me, and the corners of his mouth curl up. “It’s over,” he says and glances down at the box with the relics at my feet. “It’s over.”
I don’t know why, but his words give me all the comfort and confirmation I need. My shoulders slump, and warmth floods me.
We did it. We actually fucking did it.
We got back the eye, the hair, and the heart.
Elias lifts his chin and howls—actually howls—the sound filling the suddenly quiet cargo yard. Dorian’s grinning ear to ear.
“Let’s go home,” Cain says and holds out his arm so I can join him on the walk back to the car. But before I can take a step, a flash of something dark swooshes between us, just inches from my face. Hands seize me from behind, wrenching me back.
It takes me too long to process what’s going on. Even when Cain’s being thrown backward, further away from us, my brain struggles to understand. It isn’t until the explosive boom of his body hitting the side of one of the metal boxes that the horror of what’s happened hits me full force.
With its dying breath, the dragon whipped out its tail and pinned Cain against the metal, the long, sharp spikes at the end impaling him multiple times through the stomach, chest, and shoulder.
Cain!
I scream, my insides shattering like glass.
My head whirls like I’m being held underwater, and all I can think about is the moment I’d seen him drop in the swamps, nearly dead, after being pierced through the chest with a dagger. This time, dark blood soaks the front of his shirt within seconds, too much for any man to live through, and his head lolls to the side. His blue eyes flutter closed.
But… Cain can’t die. He can’t. He’s Pride, a demon, and the Prince of Hell, for Christ’s sake. He can’t die. Right? He can’t.
“Fuck!” Dorian throws himself across the yard with Elias right behind him.
Their panic confirms my worst fears.
But he promised me he wouldn’t die, dammit!
He promised!
I’ve lost complete control of my body, and all I can do is watch as the dragon shudders one final time and the spikes slide out of Cain’s body.
Then, both the dragon and Cain drop lifeless onto the dock.
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Night Kissed
I slay vampires... Then why does the master vamp insist I'm his?
When I’m called in to investigate a chain of suspicious deaths across Alaska, I meet three of the hottest, and most dangerous, monsters I’ve ever seen.
Just one problem.
They’re the things that go bump in the night—a vampire, a fallen angel, and a demon. Enemies I must trust with my life if I’m to solve the dark trail of mysteries before more lives are lost.
But just as hard as solving the murders is denying my attraction to them all. And as things heat up in more ways than one, I know I’ll never be the same again…
That is, if I survive the evil I’m sworn to kill... and the ones I’ve let into my heart.
Night Kissed is the first book in the Chosen Vampire Slayer series.
This is your kind of book if you love kick-ass heroines with sass to match, scorching hot monsters who take what they want, and is perfect for devourers of enemies to lovers books. Expe
ct steam, action, and a supernatural world filled with vampires, demons, shifters, angels... and unhinged alphas who will do anything to protect their woman. Lovers of Anita Blake, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and True Blood, this is your next addiction.
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Death Wish
Free on Kindle Unlimited.
Life's a b*tch--but what comes after isn't much better.
Jade Blackwell, a paranormal reaper, helps supernaturals cross over after death. Her job comes with lots of rules--but not following them is kind of her thing...until it ends up involving her in something much deadlier than she ever imagined.
With the protective veil fading away, demons are crossing realms and impregnating humans, and Jade's best friend is among their victims. She's determined to save her friend, even if it means working with Cole Masters, a dangerous demon halfling and notorious gun-for-hire.
But time is running out to fix the barrier and find a demon cure. With supernaturals everywhere in danger, and the balance between good and evil tipped for the worst, Jade must choose between her own eternal afterlife...or the living world she so desperately wants to be a part of.
About Mila Young
Best-selling author, Mila Young tackles everything with the zeal and bravado of the fairytale heroes she grew up reading about. She slays monsters, real and imaginary, like there's no tomorrow. By day she rocks a keyboard as a marketing extraordinaire. At night she battles with her mighty pen-sword, creating fairytale retellings, and sexy ever after tales. In her spare time, she loves pretending she's a mighty warrior, walks on the beach with her dogs, cuddling up with her cats, and devouring every fantasy tale she can get her pinkies on.
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About Harper A. Brooks
Harper A. Brooks lives in a small town on the New Jersey shore. Even though classic authors have always filled her bookshelves, she finds her writing muse drawn to the dark, magical, and romantic. But when she isn't creating entire worlds with sexy shifters or legendary love stories, you can find her either with a good cup of coffee in hand or at home snuggling with her furry, four-legged son, Sammy.
She writes urban fantasy and paranormal romance.
RONE AWARD WINNER
USA TODAY BESTSELLING AUTHOR
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Books By Mila Young
Shadowlands
Shadowlands Sector, One
Shadowlands Sector, Two
Shadowlands Sector, Three
Chosen Vampire Slayer
Night Kissed
Moon Kissed
Blood Kissed
Winter’s Thorn
To Seduce A Fae
To Tame A Fae
To Claim A Fae
Shadow Hunters Series
Boxed Set 1
Wicked Heat Series
Wicked Heat #1
Wicked Heat #2
Wicked Heat #3
Elemental Series
Taking Breath #1
Taking Breath #2
Gods and Monsters
Apollo Is Mine
Poseidon Is Mine
Ares Is Mine
Hades Is Mine
Haven Realm Series
Hunted (Little Red Riding Hood Retelling)
Cursed (Beauty and the Beast Retelling)
Entangled (Rapunzel Retelling)
Princess of Frost (Snow Queen)
Kingdom of Wolves Co-write with C.R. Jane
Wild Moon
Playing with Hellfire Co-write with Harper A. Brooks
Playing with Hellfire
Hell in a Handbasket
Thief of Hearts Series Co-write with C.R. Jane
Siren Condemned
Siren Sacrificed
Siren Awakened
Broken Souls Series Co-write with C.R. Jane
School of Broken Souls
School of Broken Hearts
School of Broken Dreams
School of Broken Wings
Fallen World Series Co-write with C.R. Jane
Bound
Broken
Betrayed
Belong
Beautiful Beasts Academy Co-write with Kim Faulks
Manicures and Mayhem
Diamonds and Demons
Hexes and Hounds
Secrets and Shadows
Passions and Protectors
Ancients and Anarchy
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Books by Harper A. Brooks
Reaper Reborn Series
Death Wish
Death Trap
Death Match
Death Deals
Death Sentence
Till Death
Christmas Spirits: A Holiday Novella
Halfling for Hire: A Short Story Collection
Shifter Origins
The Hunt
The Curse
His Haven: A Victorian Vampire Romance
Eternally Yours: A Vampire Romance