by Kim Faulks
“What the hell do you mean, gone?” Redemption yanked the nozzle free and turned to the pump.
“He means gone gone,” Purity lifted her gaze to me.
I dragged the nozzle free from my truck’s tank and shoved it into the pump as the air around us rumbled with the birth of a storm.
But there were no gray clouds in the afternoon sky. There was barely a cloud at all. But there was something else.
“What in the hell is that?” Redemption muttered, and strode across the front of the truck toward the highway.
There was a hole in the sky, a jagged line severing the blue, and out of the wound, reached something dark…something that was slipping in from another realm.
“The case,” Redemption jerked a panicked gaze toward me. “Something’s happened to the fucking case. But this…this isn’t Hell breaking through, is it?”
My stomach dropped at his words. I shook my head as black tendrils spread out along the perfect blue sky and answered, “It’s yours…the Shadowed realm.”
Chapter Fifteen
Purity
Do you feel me? A voice whispered through my head as I stared at the sky. Redemption and Melkor rushed in a flurry of movement, charging toward the gas station store to pay for the fuel, and racing for the drivers’ seats once more.
“I can,” I yanked the passenger’s door closed behind me. “But you don’t belong here.”
Mel cut me a concerned look and started the truck. Redemption shot forward, his tires kicking up a cloud of dust. We’d already been hauling ass toward the box and the key to Hell, but now, this was panic…
This was terror.
Something’s wrong, Jesse’s words lingered.
I braced my hand against the dashboard as Mel took the corner hard and punched the accelerator. A rumble slipped through the vents of the truck.
My heart sped at the sound, and the darkness inside grew a little bolder, pushing against the confines of my soul. Dark marks flared over the back of my hand, like a temporary tattoo against my skin as the hours slipped away. But there was nothing temporary about any of this.
Night slipped into the sky, but it was a stolen night, a consuming night.
No stars sparkled, and there was no soft silver glow of the moon to light the way. There was only a pitch black, an absence of light.
Headlights cut through the endless emptiness. A blur of a shadow cut across my right, and then another to our left. Mel leaned forward, hunching over the steering wheel.
A ghostly face rushed toward us through the dark, smashing against the windshield before it dissolved into nothing.
“Mel,” I murmured, and scanned the night.
“I see it,” he was all focus, tense muscles, sharp gaze.
Brake lights flared red for a second in front of us, before they were gone once more, then the screen on my cell flared brightly.
Jesse: You guys okay?
I typed, jerking my gaze upwards to scan the outside. Good, you?
Jesse: We’re heading to the last known location of the signal Redemption says to stay close, says you need to be careful, says there’s things in his world that might come for you.
Come for me?
“What’s he saying?” Melkor murmured, tearing his gaze from the road ahead for a second to meet my gaze.
Instinct rode me. I tilted the phone, hiding the screen from his gaze. “Nothing.”
And that was the worst thing I could’ve done. Panic filled his eyes. He glanced at my phone and reached over, gently grasping my hand to tilt the screen toward him.
I yanked my hand from his hold as he tried to read the message. “It’s nothing.”
Pain twisted his beautiful face. “It’s not nothing if you’re hiding it from me. Tell me, Purity. Tell me...”
I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t do anything but trust. “Redemption said to be careful, that there are things in his world which might come for me.”
Silence filled the space as we drove. But Mel may as well have screamed. His jaw clenched, his fists strangled the wheel. “That’s not going to happen. Not while I’m here.”
I stared through the windshield at the faint red rear lights of the truck in the distance. Hell’s keys and Jesse’s mom were all I thought about. We’d find them first, and whatever happened after, would happen.
I pressed my fingers against my shoulder and felt the deep ache of the soulless bite. I could still feel the warmth slipping away as the cold moved in. Something powerful had come for me. Something which had held death at bay.
And even though I was glad to be alive, there was a sense of heaviness hanging over me. Whatever had saved me had kept me alive for a reason.
What that reason was, I didn’t know.
But I’d find out.
One day. Maybe even today?
My phone let out a beep. I glanced at the screen.
Jesse: fifty miles, straight ahead.
I pressed the button. “Fifty miles straight ahead.”
A low snarl slipped from Mel’s lips as amber flames turned blood red in his eyes. The truck surged a little faster…we were hunting like I’d never hunted before. There was no amount of training to prepare me for this moment. No portals I could find. No number of guns I could shoot. I reached into my pocket and dragged out a talisman Alma had given me.
“That’s not going to help you,” Melkor murmured. “Not tonight. Grab the pack and the shotgun and the two boxes of cartridges.”
I turned and reached over into the cab behind us, dragging the weapons free to place them muzzle down between us against the floor of the truck.
Mel watched me, stealing glances from the road, as I shoved cartridge after cartridge into the shotgun and then checked the pistols.
“Remember, if Deimos and the other Hounds are there, shooting them won’t stop them. It’ll only piss them off and slow them down. Whatever happens, you keep firing, okay? Gun after gun, round after round. If it’s not Redemption, Jesse, or me, you shoot…and keep on shooting.”
My damn hands shook as I shoved the magazine home and racked the chamber. “I got it.”
He reached over, gently took my hand. “I’ll be right beside you. Whatever you have to do to stay alive, you do, okay?”
I tried to nod and hold the weapon. But my palms were sweaty and my hand shook. But Melkor was right there, lifting my hand gently. His warm lips pressed to my bare knuckles. “Whatever it takes.”
I nodded and felt the panic ease. It was so simple when he said it like that. Me, or them. Brake lights flared red in front of us, and Mel dropped my hand. “Grab the guns, Purity. Finger off the trigger until you’re on target. I’m one step behind you.”
I fumbled with the weapons, grabbing the shotgun in one hand and the Glock in the other. But it was the black steel dagger at my side I felt more than anything. Arrow, if you’re out there…we could use a little damn help.
Tires skidded in the distance. The headlights of Redemption’s truck swept across three black Ford Explorers parked alongside an old closed-down gas station and mechanic’s garage. Dust kicked up as we followed, braking hard before Melkor yanked the wheel and pulled up beside Redemption’s truck.
Power raced across my skin as I grabbed the door handle and we skidded to a stop. Headlights flooded the old garage. Massive steel doors were open, one side buckled and bent. There was a body on the ground. A Demon’s body, pale skin…black eyes were all I saw from here.
Still, I shouldered open the door and slid from the Raptor. Redemption was out first. He turned his head and lifted his hand, waving us back.
But Melkor was right there, working the muscles of his arms, fingers curled, ready for claws. Something moved in the darkness to my right. The faint snap of a twig followed.
“Ah, guys,” I murmured.
But they didn’t hear me. Redemption stepped over the splayed body of the Demon and headed toward the twisted and torn steel door.
But it wasn’t the workshop whi
ch beckoned me.
It was the movement all around me.
The heady scent of Hound caught the breeze and filled my nostrils.
But it wasn’t just Hound which threw me…it was the sickening scent of blood. Old blood, rancid and foul.
One I knew well.
Silver eyes glinted through the bank of trees and white fangs shone.
Vampire.
The word raced through my mind.
I lifted the pistol as leaves moved with the wind.
And a dark Unseelie whisper urged, Fire.
My finger moved on its own, the pistol kicking back against the webbing of my hand…as out of the bushes they came.
Eyes shone against the darkness. White fangs and razored claws. These weren’t the Hellhounds from Hell…this was something else.
“It’s a trap,” I roared, curled finger twitching against the trigger…
Boom.
Boom.
BOOM!
Orange sunbursts filled the air, and the sharp scent of gunpowder followed. They scattered, peeling left and right, out of the firing line.
“Purity!” Melkor’s scream sounded so far away.
But I couldn’t turn my head. I couldn’t look at him…not now we were surrounded. “Please be okay…please be okay.”
I couldn’t move as the air pulsed with hunger.
Not just an Unseelie hunger…but a dirty, foul hunger.
The crack of a gunshot cut through the air.
A woman’s scream swallowed the sound, piercing and shrill. It came from inside the garage…behind the twisted metal doors.
“Mom!” Jesse roared from inside Redemption’s truck.
I swung the muzzle of the Glock right and left, searching for movement as an explosion rocked the night with a deafening Boom!
A blinding flash filled the night.
I stumbled, slapping the gun and my fists against my ears. White smoke billowed from inside the garage, the steel wall ripped open, and dark shadows rushed through.
What the hell is happening?
Shell-shocked gazes turned to find me. Redemption was first, lips moving…but I heard no words. Then behind him came the face of someone I knew…someone who haunted my nightmares.
Deimos rose out of the darkness, gun raised and pointed at the back of Redemption’s head.
Melkor came from nowhere, lunging through the air to hit the Hellhound hard. Fists and fire were all I saw as Vampires and Wolves tore past with guns raised, aimed at me.
But it wasn’t me they were after…
It was whatever was inside the garage.
I lifted the gun, hand trembling as I aimed helplessly. But it was the two on the ground who filled me with terror.
Melkor slashed the air toward Deimos, but the older Hellhound met the attack, grasping his wrist before they rolled.
Lightning slashed the sky, the silver light blinding as my finger curled around the trigger. All I saw was Melkor’s death. One slash of a claw. One bite of his neck. That’s all it’d take. White light pulsed from inside the workshop and the brutal throb of power hit me like a blast.
They were taking it…
The key…
Jesse’s mom.
It was all falling apart.
And my Hellhound was about to die.
The trigger was so light, barely there, as I squeezed.
A crack cut through the night.
Melkor stilled on the ground, hands around Deimos’s throat.
You shot him…you shot Melkor…
Chapter Sixteen
Melkor
Boom!
The gunshot filled the night. My hands clenched around the bastard’s throat as blood bloomed against his shirt.
The night was filled with howls of death and celebration.
A Wolf howl…
A Demon’s scream.
My Hound was pushing to the surface. I clenched my grip, driving claws into Deimos’s neck. But he was bigger, and stronger, wrenching his fist through the air and lashing out.
The crack against my jaw was sickening, driving my cheek into the dirt. I shoved, trying to shift his weight. But he was all muscle, all brawn, all sickening hunger, and I saw my own end in the fire in his eyes.
His fist came again. Short, hard jabs against the side of my head…boom…boom…boom. I couldn’t breathe, couldn’t move, couldn’t get out from under him. Stars burst behind my eyes. He was a blur, rising up, lifting his hands, wicked, sharp claws glinting in the night.
“No!” Purity screamed.
Until behind him rose the Unseelie warrior. Steel glinted from the headlights of the truck as Redemption aimed pointblank at the back of Deimos’s head and fired.
The deafening crack echoed inside the garage.
Dark, empty eyes of a killer found mine before Redemption gave a nod, then lifted his gaze to the inside of the building.
One throb of my heartbeat and he was gone, striding into mayhem, leaving me with blood splattered over my cheek.
“Mel!” Purity rushed toward me.
I moved fast, shoving the heavy, murdering sonovabitch off me as he shook his head, dazed. The shot hadn’t killed him…it would barely hurt him. But it’d slow him down for a second, and a second was all I needed.
Demons roared in fury inside the garage.
Gunshots filled the space as the air trembled. Darkness didn’t just spill through, it barged through the jagged holes in the mortal veil, scrambling to get into this world like the Unseelie world was a beast of its own.
Jesse screamed, and even though I owed the asshole nothing…he was still a damn mortal. Deimos shook his head as I shoved against the ground. Purity was there, rushing toward us, hands shaking.
“Shoot him,” I growled, “until you hear the click.”
Her eyes were wide, lips white, breath racing. Still, she lifted her hand as Deimos opened his eyes and found mine.
Boom.
Boom.
Boom.
The gun kicked in her hand, but she found the target…every single time. The bastard slipped forward. his Hound preoccupied with keeping him alive.
“Mom. No!” Jesse roared.
I wanted to stay here, to nail this piece of shit to the ground. Retribution burned through my veins hotter than any flame in Hell. But death was coming for those who didn’t deserve it…and I couldn’t stand by and let that happen.
Anyway…the call of Hell wasn’t with Deimos. It was still inside.
I could feel the keys calling, desperate to twist and tear.
They’d tear this mortal world apart.
I reached out, and Purity was right there, taking my hand as we turned for the darkened garage.
I lunged forward, taking her with me, and we plunged into the stench of death.
Demons lay splayed inside the doorway, soulless eyes frozen and wide. Black blood seeped onto the concrete floor. I glanced at the mass of bodies and lifted my gaze.
We weren’t the only ones after the keys. Mercenaries wanted the keys for themselves. They were priceless…until they had a price…but how the hell did they get here so fast?
Power ebbed and pulsed from the rear of the building. The red glow from the keys combined with the calling, urging my Hound to do what he was born to do…protect them.
Purity’s hand slipped from mine. But she was right there, raising her gun to the blur of movement. The sharp scent of mortal blood crammed my nose.
Redemption was a blur of darkness as he charged forward, firing shots left and right. But we were outnumbered…by about ten to one.
Silver eyes came for us as we took another step inside. I caught the deep snarl of the Wolf before Purity pulled the trigger, hitting the fanged bastard right between his eyes, and the gun went click. She tore the empty mag free, her hands a blur. The more she fought, the better she was.
I charged in, barrelling into a Vamp as he wrestled with a Demon. The foul stench of Demon blood was everywhere…so much for not knowing a damn th
ing about the attack back home.
I grasped the bloodsucker, tearing him from the screaming Demon and punched the bastard in the face. But Hell’s keys were calling, filling the building with their burning power. Steel beams groaned and bowed above me, and cracks ran through the concrete under our feet.
Purity fired again, turning toward Jesse’s screams. I knew the moment she lunged at the sound, knew that hard hunger in her eyes.
A hunter’s hunger.
I lifted my hand, claws carving through the air as she popped off rounds and charged forward. Crack! A shot skimmed my ear, and the sting followed. I reared up. The tips of my fingers came away slick with blood before I found the big fucking Wolf as he strode from the gaping hole in the side of the garage wall.
“The keys belong to us,” he growled, and took aim once more.
I tensed, letting my Hound take over. Muscles tightened, tendons screamed, and the deep rumble that spilled from my lips was more than a warning…it was a promise. “Over my dead body.”
Hell mingled with my Hound as the shot rang out. But my Hound was already throwing his weight, spinning to miss the bullet and then lunging. Claws met with flesh. The shifter howled, and swung. Brute force met unstoppable energy, and the effect was bone shattering.
My knuckles crunched.
Purity let out a battle cry that made my heart clench. But I couldn’t turn away from the massive Wolf as he lashed out, swiping the air with sharpened claws. I moved, swinging my fist, claws buried in my palm, and connected with the edge of his jaw.
The brute stumbled backwards as his eyes rolled back in his head. I took the opportunity to take him down. I lowered my shoulder and drove my body forward, aiming for his middle.
Agony tore through my body, but I ground my teeth and pushed…driving the towering Wolf backwards, hands reaching around his waist. My body was screaming as I used every ounce of strength and lifted the heavy bastard.
And, with a roar, slammed him to the ground.
The crack of bone made my stomach clench. But I was already moving, lunging through the darkness toward the sound of Purity’s scream.
They were everywhere, mercenaries on one side of what had been an office, fighting the Demons, who stood in front of the damn case.