by Dina James
“Touch her and it will take you a month to find all your parts,” Billy cut Armaros off with a deep growl. “You can’t have her.”
“And why not?” Armaros replied, raising an eyebrow.
“’Cause she ain’t yours to have,” Billy replied.
He jerked his head in the direction of the bathroom door behind him without taking his eyes off the six demons in front of him.
“Bit, these boys want to dance, I’ll be glad to show them the steps.
Move your butt and get out of here.”
Rebecca took another step back. Strong hands clamped around her upper arms. She screamed.
Armaros laughed and shook his head. “You can’t hide her now, and no anubi lapdog is going to interfere in our business.”
“And you just done what I told you not to,” Billy said with a grin. “Eat it, demon boy.”
Billy snarled, his warped face contorting into an even more fearsome shape. He reached with one of his clawed hands for the demon holding Rebecca and tore her from its grasp with the other.
“Get out of here!” Billy yelled.
Rebecca screamed again as Billy hurled her through the air by her arm, over his head and away from him and the demons. She landed hard against the floor, but was somehow unhurt. She looked up to see Billy leap with a vicious growl upon Armaros, his dangerous wolf ’s jaws snapping shut on the neck of the demon.
All the lights in the bathroom exploded, drowning the room in instant darkness. Rebecca broke into a sweat as she scrambled to her feet. She’d seen the door next to her somewhere! She didn’t have time to think as she let out a frightened squeak.
Darkness wreathed in flames was bearing toward her. Eerie candle-flame eyes grew ever larger as the hellhound moved with frightening speed, chain flying behind it illuminated by the fire-tipped ridge of hair along its back. Rebecca did the only thing she could think of and ducked as the hound leapt toward her. The hound crashed hard into the wall behind her, vibrating it and shaking the door loose from the top hinge. The door folded in on itself, blocking the exit. Even though she could see light from the hallway now, there was no way she could get out of that!
A yelp and a low howl reached her ears.
“Billy!” Rebecca screamed.
She heard another snarl, but couldn’t see if it was Billy. It was so dark!
Or, at least it had been for a moment. The hellhound against the wall started to get up, glaring at her with scarlet eyes as its flames burned brighter.
“He is dead,” the hound snarled as it rose. “As you are soon to be.”
“No!” Rebecca managed as she took a step back, shaking her head.
The hellhound laughed, showing its teeth. Rebecca was again reminded of a shark’s mouth, only in the darkness she could see the fire burning in the back of the thing’s throat, making the serrated teeth glow white-hot. She remembered looking up at Lord Notharion and something inside her told her what she needed to do. She looked the hellhound directly in its’ candle-flame eyes and made herself keep at it, though it was hard.
“You won’t hurt me,” she ordered as firm as she could. “Try it and...
and you’ll answer to Lord Notharion.”
A yelp echoed through the small tiled room again, recalling the hellhound’s attention. It left Rebecca and bounded in a smooth leap back toward the fray. The lights flickered and Rebecca glimpsed a patch of dark brown fur in the middle of a writhing mass of gray and black and flames before the entire room once again went black.
Silence fell with an abruptness unlike anything Rebecca had ever experienced. She listened hard for any kind of noise and didn’t hear a sound.
She remembered what the hellhound had said about Billy being dead, and what Billy had said about six against one. Was he...?
“Billy!” Rebecca screamed again.
Silence answered.
“BILLY!” she yelled again, as loud as she could. Her bottom lip trembled and she caught it between her teeth, biting it hard as her eyes started to burn with tears. “ANYONE?!”
“Not so loud, Bit,” came a weak voice in the dark near her. “I ain’t got nothin’ left to fight another bunch, and demons come out in droves. Really lucky it was just Armaros and his little gang of wimps, though you know he probably called for backup the second he got jumped. C’mon, before there’s more or they get their act together.”
Strong furry arms wrapped around her. Rebecca hugged the form hard and choked back a sob. She was such a baby. Maybe she wasn’t brave enough to be a Healer. The lights flickered as though in agreement and tried valiantly to stay on.
“Hush up now,” Billy said. “You know how to ride piggyback, don’t you? Do that while we get out of here. They’re already starting to figure themselves out, see?”
Billy pointed to a dismembered gray-green arm near their feet, dragging itself along the tile floor by its black claws back toward the center of the darkened bathroom.
“C’mon.” Billy shoved her on his back and Rebecca dug her hands into the loose fur at his shoulders, gasping as they met something wet and cold.
“You’re hurt, Billy,” Rebecca said, hating herself for crying when he was the one who was torn up. “You’re bleeding.”
“So’re you. Ain’t nothin’,” Billy said, though Rebecca knew. .could feel. .
different. “Now watch your head. We gotta get out of here quick.”
“Um...” Rebecca stammered. She took a deep breath as they crashed through the broken door. Billy landed on all-fours in the middle of the hallway and moved into an easy lope, rushing down the corridor at a frightening speed.
“Wait! Stop!”
Billy skidded to a halt and growled as he pulled her off his back. He stood her in front of him and clasped her upper arms in his huge, clawed hands.“What?” he demanded.
“Who...I mean what...I mean...?” Rebecca couldn’t think of what she wanted to ask and just buried her face in her hands with a sob.
Billy grumbled and took a deep breath. Rebecca heard a grunt and felt his hands on her arms move. She lifted her head to look at him.
Before her stood the young man she’d seen earlier in the bathroom.
“Listen, I know you’re scared,” he said. “But there ain’t no time to explain, so stop your crying. Can stand most anything but a female crying!
Now let’s go!”
Rebecca jerked her arm out of his hands. “Go where? Who are you?!”
“Your bodyguard, Little Bit, now move!”
Without waiting for her to ask any more questions, Billy clamped a hand around her wrist and dragged her along behind him as they ran down the hallway.
“Hey, you can’t just take me out of school! Hey!” Why wasn’t anyone seeing this? Hearing her? There were kids and teachers milling around the halls, getting ready for their next classes.
“Hey! Help!”
“They can’t hear you, Bit,” Billy said as he tugged her hard around a corner and out the main doors. “Can’t see us neither, but them demons can, so knock off the yellin’.”
He thrust her in the passenger seat of an old blue Mustang before she could utter another word and half an instant later was behind the wheel. In seconds they were backed out of the parking space and out of the school parking lot, barreling down the street at a highly illegal speed.
She looked over at Billy. He had a silly grin on his face as he rolled down his window.
He’d just been in a fight to the death with demons and he was smiling about it.
Rebecca couldn’t help but laugh, then put her head in her hands and started sobbing.
“Aw, Bit,” Billy said. “Don’t do that. We’re all right. You ain’t hurt too bad.” Billy turned the car sharply to the right. “I’ll have you home in no time.” Rebecca cried harder. “What...those things...! They just...and you...!” she managed between gulping sobs.
“Demons ain’t nothin’ to get upset over,” Billy said. “They’re complete wimps.”
Reb
ecca just looked at him. Nothing? Wimps? Those things?!
Billy grinned at her. Human-looking or not, he was covered in blood and...demon goo.
She choked on a half-sob, half-giggle and sniffed hard. She wiped her eyes and tried to smile for him.
“There you go,” Billy said. “No crying. I can’t stand a woman crying.
Makes me feel all funny. Let’s get you home, you can patch up—I’ll even get you some dinner. I don’t know about you, but fighting makes me hungry.” Rebecca was about to ask how he could think about food at a time like this when he growled and glared at the rearview mirror.
“Uh oh,” Billy said.
Her stomach tightened at his tone. “What?”
“Company,” was all he managed to get out before the car’s roof crumpled between them.
Rebecca shrieked and pressed herself hard against the passenger door.
They were in the middle of town—people were everywhere on the street, in other cars. Wasn’t anyone seeing this? It didn’t look like they were.
Why not? Why weren’t the cops all over Billy for his insane speeding and dodging in and out of traffic? She’d give anything for red-and-blue lights and sirens right about now!
“Damn it!” Billy yelled as he punched the roof hard above his head.
“DUCK!”
Rebecca just managed to comprehend and slide down in her seat before was showered with glass from the window. She screamed again as a black-clawed hand entered the car, followed by a gray-skinned arm.
A loud bang deafened her and she clamped her hands over her ears as she looked up. Billy’s arm was extended across the seats above her. Rebecca barely had time to realize there was a gun in his hand before Billy fired again.
There was another thud from the roof followed by an outraged howl.
Billy tossed the gun in his hand into Rebecca’s lap and punched the roof again. “Stop beating up my car, you horror-movie reject! Bit, hang on!” Hang on to what? Rebecca thought as she grabbed the door handle next to her.Billy jammed on the brakes, bringing the Mustang to an abrupt halt.
Rebecca slid from the passenger seat and barely caught herself against the dash, or she would have ended up on the floor like the gun that had just been in her lap. She braced herself against the dashboard and looked out the windshield.
The demon on the roof hit the ground in front of them. Before it could get to its feet, Billy hit the gas and the car leapt forward. Rebecca heard a crunch as they ran over the demon and cringed before she realized something.
She hadn’t felt anything when Billy had ripped the demons apart like she did when she hurt a spider. Like now, she could feel Billy’s wounds hurting and bleeding. Why not demons? She was sure there was a simple answer and didn’t have time to think about it as she pushed herself back into her seat and grabbed for her seatbelt.
It wouldn’t give. She tugged and tugged at it, but Billy’s insane driving had locked it tight. She gave up, let it go, and looked back behind them. She didn’t see anything and took a deep breath.
Billy looked in the rearview again. “Damn. Hellspawn just don’t know when to give up. Hang on! I’ll have to jump this thing.” That didn’t sound good. Jump what? Ten cars, like some dude on the Extreme Sports Network?
“Oh, cripes,” Rebecca moaned, and shrank down in her seat again, this time sliding into the small space on the floor between her seat and the dash.
There was a feeling of weightlessness before there was a hard thump beneath her. Rebecca was knocked from her crouch onto her behind, and she yelped as a bolt of pain shot up her spine.
“You okay?” Billy asked. He leaned down and hauled her up into the passenger seat, and she’d just managed to nod when she noticed it was dark outside.
Hadn’t it...it had just been afternoon! Why was it dark? Where were they?
She didn’t have time to ask as the car was again hit from behind.
“Damn demonic jerks,” Billy growled.
Another loud bang from the back of the car tore the wheel from Bil y’s hands. He grabbed at it and pulled the careening car out of the near spin it had gone into.
“KNOCK THAT OFF!” Billy yelled over his shoulder. “DO YOU
HAVE ANY IDEA HOW HARD IT IS TO FIND STOCK PARTS FOR
A ‘65?”
The insane thought that she didn’t think they’d care flashed through Rebecca’s mind.
She glanced out the windshield.
Long, sharp spikes covered the hood of the car, stuck between rows of what looked like chain on fire. The blue hood of the car was now black, but Rebecca wasn’t sure if that was just the darkness around them or if it had actually changed color along with...growing spikes and fire-chains.
The rear window shattered into tiny pieces.
Billy swore again and grabbed hold of what looked like some kind of gearshift. “All right, Rox, don’t let me down, girl.”
“Who’s Rox—” Rebecca managed to get out before she felt a strange sense of being squeezed and that weird feeling of weightlessness enveloped her. Another hard crash—this time from beneath them—rocked the car, and it was once again daylight. An overpass was directly in front of them, and Rebecca recognized it as the highway intersection that led out of town.
The car spun onto the ramp and cut off three cars as Billy accelerated once again to a speed that was far beyond legal.
Rebecca watched the cars they swept by as Billy dodged in and out of the lanes like a maniac.
No one seemed to notice.
“Why can’t they see us?” Rebecca shouted over the noise of the wind whistling through the broken windows.
“Humans are the blindest race in history,” Billy replied with a laugh.
“They never see anything, not even when it’s right in front of their face!” Billy took an off-ramp and made three left turns. He turned the wheel hard to the right and cut through a field.
“Ha, ha! Crop circles!”
Rebecca put her face in her hands.
“Here we are! Told you I’d get you home in no time!” She looked up and sure enough they were on a street that paralleled her own.
No time? It had seemed like hours passed before Billy turned onto her street and even longer before he reached her driveway.
As they passed the fence marking the property, Rebecca felt her fear ease. She looked back over her shoulder at the rear window. Billy found the gun he’d tossed in Rebecca’s lap on the floor of the passenger side and got out of the car to look behind them before the car even stopped rolling.
She heard a howl and a shriek of outrage and got out of the car just in time to see a gray-winged thing look like it hit a pane of glass in thin air and fly off into the dark past the orange light of the streetlamps.
Streetlamps? But...they’d just left the school, hadn’t they?
Billy’s laugh brought her attention back to the moment.
“Ha! Suckers! Good thing the boundary’s back up, hey Bit? I’d say we stirred up them up like a nest of hornets.” Billy tucked his pistol back into the band of his jeans. He turned to look at his car and his mouth fell open in horror. “Aw, look what they did to Rox!”
Rebecca turned and saw that the car looked like a beer can someone had crushed. She was amazed that they weren’t mashed inside like sardines.
It looked like it was back to being a shade of blue, though Rebecca couldn’t tell if the spikes and chains had been smashed into the car body or were just gone.
“That’s ‘Rox’? Your car?”
“Yeah,” Billy said, looking a little embarrassed for a moment. “Short for ‘Roxanne’. She’s gotten me out of more trouble than I can remember.”
“Is she...uh...alive?”
Billy laughed and shook his head. “Nah. Well, I say all cars have attitude of their own, but she ain’t any more alive than any other mortal car. Good thing, too. She took one hell of a beating.”
He leaned down and kissed the hood of the car. “Don’t you worry, girl. Billy’ll get
you back in top shape in no time. Thanks for saving our butts. What about you?” he asked as he straightened and leaned against the mangled hood of the Mustang. “You hurt?”
“I don’t think so,” Rebecca said. “I mean, my arm, but I don’t think anything is broken. I think I might have cracked my head against your dash, but since you probably saved my life, I won’t hold it against you.”
“You probably did more damage to Rox than she did to you anyway,” Billy muttered.
“What about you?” she asked. “You look...um...”
“Ain’t nothin’,” Billy said again. “I’ll heal up. Just glad I got to you in time. Syd sent me. Demons are nasty.”
“Yeah, I kind of got that,” she said with a tearful sniff. She laughed a little. It was either laugh or cry. She looked toward the street. “They’re gone now, right?”
“Yep,” he replied. “For now, anyway. The boundary’ll hold ’em off.
They’ll figure out a way past it, though. They always do. Stupid they might be, but demons got patience like you wouldn’t believe. Persistent, too. Don’t give up.”
“I noticed that,” she said, looking at Billy’s car again. “What’s. .I mean..
where’s the boundary?” she asked, trying not to seem too ignorant.
Billy looked at her sidelong for a split-second before running his fingers over a large dent in his car hood. “It’s where the worlds meet. Otherworlds and this one. Where Ethereal power has more of an effect,” he explained.
“It’s kind of like a border between states. You cross it and you’re in your own territory, not in anyone else’s.”
“And where is it?” she asked, still confused, but hoping the answer to the where would answer the what.
“See the fence, around your house?” He continued at her nod. “That’s not just there to define a property line. It’s a boundary line. Your house is old, and built on an even more particular line called a ley line. It’s where the veil between worlds is thin, and more easily negotiated. The boundary holds that power in, and keeps other influences out.”
“‘Other influences’?” she asked, confused.
“Okay, let’s put this in easier terms,” Billy said. “You ever see Star Trek?” She nodded. “Yeah. Robin’s dad is a nut about it.”